[introduction]

Arden Moore: Welcome to the Oh, Behave!! show on Pet Life Radio.  I’m your host, Arden Moore.  We’re back for a second look at one of the coolest shows on the air.  It is called, “The Greatest American Dog” and each week, you lucky listeners, we get to talk to the contestants from the show.  And this week, we are happy that we have the wonderful, Elan, and her beautiful giant Schnauzer, Kenji.  Welcome to the show, Elan.

Elan Hagens: Thank you.

Arden Moore: Yeah.  We’re going to talk a little bit about what life is like being on that set.  And hanging out with a bunch of dogs and other, you know, some two-leggers, right after we take this commercial break.

[commercial break]

Arden Moore: Welcome back to the Oh, Behave!! show on Pet Life Radio.  I’m your host.  We are lucky to have Elan Hagens.  Is that the right pronunciation?

Elan Hagens: Yes.  Élan Hagens.

Arden Moore: Right.  And you live in Portland, Oregon?

Elan Hagens: Yes, I do.

Arden Moore: Alright.  Now, she’s got this really cool dog named Kenji, just a little one, over seventy pounds. 

Elan Hagens: That’s right.

Arden Moore: A giant Schnauzer who goes by the nickname of Big Mama.  Many of you might have seen Elan and Kenji on the show, “Greatest American Dog.”  We tuned in every week.  My two dogs, Chipper and Cleo, and even my cats are paying attention, Elan.  They’re fans of dogs.  Tell us.

Elan Hagens: Yeah.  They’re like, “Oh, I want the big, black dog off the screen.”

Arden Moore: [laughs] They actually like the big, black dog because one of my cats...

Elan Hagens: Good.

Arden Moore: …is a big, black cat.  She’s like, “Oh, he looks like me.”  Hey, so tell me a little bit about how you even got picked and why you wanted to get on the show?  You have a one beautiful Schnauzer; I have to tell you that.

Elan Hagens: I, thank you, thank you.  Well, you know, I’m a huge, huge dog lover and I volunteer for Humane Societies.  And you know I’ve always just been a huge animal advocate.  And, unfortunately, I have a huge addiction to reality T.V. 

Arden Moore: Ok.

Elan Hagens: And so when I saw that this ad came up with dogs and reality T.V., it, it was like something that I, I felt like I should have written this.  I wrote this, you know, just for me.  And so when I saw this, I was like, “Oh, my gosh, I have to just like see what it’s about, apply.”  And I just sent an email to see what it’s about and you know its all history from there.  I made it to the top twelve.

Arden Moore: You did.

Elan Hagens: I just made it to the top twelve.

Arden Moore: You did.  I mean that is pretty, that’s pretty doggone great.  I, pardon the pun, I didn’t mean it to come out like that.  But what I like, too, Elan, is you’ve got quite a mix of people from different geographical locations, ages, and, my gosh, the mugs on those dogs.  But what did you think when you saw that there were not one, but two, Schnauzers on the cast?  That’s a pretty good plug for Schnauzers.

Elan Hagens: It’s, it’s a really good plug for the Schnauzer breed, you know, especially since the Schnauzer breed is a little more, you know, high-strung, too.  It, it was great.  But you know they also chose us for, you know, the, our characters.  And you know Brandy has a certain character that is great for T.V. as well. 

And so, it always helps that you have a mother who’s kind of crazy and a dog who’s a young dog and you know a cute little Schnauzer.  So it was great to have another Schnauzer on the set.  And we are totally different, of course, in everything.

Arden Moore: Tell us the difference.  Let’s talk a little bit about Big Mama because this is her time in the spotlight.  What, what’s Kenji like and how did you get her?

Elan Hagens: Kenji is a fun, fun, exuberant, playful dog that thinks that everybody’s there to pet her.  She thinks that… 

Arden Moore: Ok.

Elan Hagens: You know it’s all about fun, life’s about fun because that’s what young dogs think.  They think, you know, who wants to train, who wants to do obedience?  I’d rather go chew on a stick, or play, or jump on you and make you upset, or grab your sock off of your foot.  You know, she loves to have fun. 

And the first time I ever saw a giant Schnauzer was at a dog show fundraiser and, for a Humane Society.  And I saw this dog and I thought, “You know what?  That dog looks so cool.  It is diving in the waves.  It’s so obedient.”  And it doesn’t shed which is a huge thing for me being that I am allergic to dogs.  And I love dogs.

Arden Moore: You’re allergic to dogs?

Elan Hagens: I’m allergic to dogs.  I’m allergic to everything under the sun.  I am.  But you know what?  It’s something I deal with.  And I’d rather sneeze all day long and be miserable for the rest of my life than not have a dog.  But you know it’s always good to have a non-shedding breed if you do have severe allergies like me. 

Arden Moore: Yeah.

Elan Hagens: And so I saw the dog and I knew that, right when I saw her, I talked to the people.  They told me that she was going to be a ridiculous amount of work because of her breed and her temperament.  But you know I’ve been through much worse in my life and much more. 

You know I’m a very resilient person, me growing up and everything.  And you know dealing with my situation growing up and having a dog, this is easy.  People think it’s hard but it’s really not that hard.  And you know she’s a great, great dog and everybody who meets her just falls in love with her.

Arden Moore: That’s what I wanted to ask you a little bit, Elan.  You kind of had a tough childhood.  I understand from you bio that you grew up kind of in a hard situation.  But you sure have a positive attitude.  What are some of the things that have happened in your life?

Elan Hagens: You know being raised, my mother, first of all, had me when she was in her early forties.  And so…

Arden Moore: Wow.

Elan Hagens: For me to, you know, to be brought up in an environment where I had an older mom.  My brothers and my sisters, you know, had done their mistakes and they’d moved out of the house.  And growing up, I was basically like an only child with a single parent.  You know, my father wasn’t involved, so a lot of times by myself.  I was just by myself as a child. 

So I always fantasized about you know having a dog, having a friend, a companion, with me all of the time.  And so I did have a cat when I was little who I was obsessed with.  But you know growing up I just knew that you know, I wanted to be a veterinarian or I wanted to be with dogs.  I just wanted to be with animals. 

And so from the first time I was able to actually financially afford an animal and move into an apartment that was animal-friendly, it was the first thing I did was get a dog.  I knew without a doubt that I was getting a dog at some period in my life.  And it happened when I was twenty years old and got my first little Yorkie. 

And then I just fell in love.  My life completely changed, has completely changed.  And then I always have a friend now.  I always have company on a walk, you know?  People are so much friendlier to you when you have animals, too.

Arden Moore: Oh. I, I agree.  You have a big dog and a little dog.  I have a big and a little dog, too.  So I don’t think the people that are watching “Greatest American Dog” know that you have a little Yorkie named Zsa-Zsa.

Elan Hagens: They, they really don’t and they assume that I just have this big, old, black beast.   And that, you know I don’t have this passion towards little dogs.  When my little dog is actually, you know, she’s, of the two dogs that I have, my little dog has had the time to bond with me a lot stronger than Kenji because Kenji is more of an independent breed who’s, you know, rough and tough and not so much a lap dog.  So, my dogs, I do have very different relationships with both of my dogs.  They’re both Mamas’ girls, of course.

Arden Moore: Of course.

Elan Hagens: But my little dog is always with me, always, you know, hanging out.  And she’s less of a struggle than Kenji is to, you know, pop her in my car and you know go places with me.  But you know I do have a little dog.  And people don’t realize that.

Arden Moore: Well, how do they get along, Elan?  How do the, how does Zsa-Zsa and Kenji get along?

Elan Hagens: You know it was a very, very hard to transition for Zsa-Zsa being an only little dog and not being harassed by other dogs all of the time.  And it was a very hard transition to put those two dogs together.  But now that we’ve gone over that like six, seven month period of Kenji’s growing up and being absolutely nuts. 

And Zsa-Zsa loves Kenji.  And he antagonizes her about playing.  They play so rough that sometimes I get scared you know, because Zsa-Zsa and Kenji, Zsa-Zsa’s so little compared to Kenji.  But Kenji’s so smart.  She’s knows her tolerance.  She knows how to play with little dogs so well that you know I never worry about her.  She’s such a great dog.

Arden Moore: Oh, that’s good.

Elan Hagens: They just drive me insane running around all over the place.

Arden Moore: You know people who are also addicted to reality shows; I’m giving a big paws-up here talking about myself as well.  They’re going to wonder, how did you feel about getting booted off at number two?  I mean you do have a big, young dog.  And they have the judges and all of that.  So is there anything you wanted to let the people know about how, a kind of a behind the scenes deals?

Elan Hagens: Yeah.  You know, to bring a house dog like say, everybody has a dog who has in their house, to bring their dog across the country or to a whole different environment.  And ask them to do what you want them to do at all hours of the day, any hours of the day.  You know sitting around in hot lights and hot sun, places they have never been and for them to act well.  It’s a really hard thing for you to get your dog to do. 

Fortunately, Kenji was wonderful.  I couldn’t have been any more proud of her than you know than, I was so amazed with her that there’s times where I was like almost crying because I couldn’t, I was so just excited to see her perform and see her pay attention to me and see her sometimes leave the other dogs alone. 

To see my dog laying in a dog bed with ten dogs running around her and see her actually do a “Down” and a “Stay” was, and leave the other dogs around her and ignore them alone, which I finally got her to do, was such a great hurdle for me that, you know, I could’ve been just satisfied with that. 

Arden Moore: Yeah.

Elan Hagens: I could’ve been just satisfied with that.  And so, for me to have to be, to be told that you know you’re harsh on your dog.  I don’t believe your dog has fun.  I don’t think that Kenji, I think you’re too strict on Kenji, was, you know, totally, totally wrong.  Because when I got to the show, we did have you know private trainers on set, the work task trainers.  And one thing that they kept pressuring me to do and that the people in the house also encouraged me to do was you need to be strict with your dog.

Arden Moore: Right.

Elan Hagens: You don’t let them get away with everything because right now when they’re in their most impressionable age, when they’re, you know, up to two years old.  This is the time when you have to be a little more strict on your dog because after that your dog knows what’s expected out of them and then it’s all easy from there. 

Everybody knows, who has a puppy, knows that you have the, you know, constantly tell your dog, you know, “Don’t chew that up.”  You know, “Get off of the counter.  Please don’t get on the couch.”  You know and after awhile they figure out what’s expected out of them.  Kenji’s still learning how to kind of be a dog and she’s very, very immature.  And so her…

Arden Moore: Well, her body’s growing faster right now than everything else.  She’s like one of those kids in middle school.

Elan Hagens:  XX. Yes.

Arden Moore: You know, they grow faster physically as their brain starts catching up with them.

Elan Hagens: Yeah.  And Kenji’s is, I’ll admit it, she’s extremely immature.  She’s extremely immature, so for her to hold her ground with dogs who have been all around the country and commercials.  And to do back flips and knew obedience perfectly when I was still working on obedience and they were working on the tricks.  And I had to work on obedience and tricks was a, a very strong challenge for me.  And I actually broke down and cried in the house and was so stressed out once.

Arden Moore: Oh.

Elan Hagens: It was, you know, I was sick of everybody telling me what to do.  I was sick of people you know thinking that Kenji was a, not a good dog, because she’s a great dog.  And, you know, it’s so much pressure on me because I don’t ever want to put my dog in a situation where she’s not having fun. 

Because in all actuality this is, this is for my dog.  This wasn’t for me.  This was for Kenji to learn and to grow and to be a better dog and to show America that, why everybody loves her and why she’s so sweet.  And that’s all I wanted to get across is that she was a very sweet dog and, for her breed, she is a wonderful, wonderful girl.

Arden Moore: Oh, is she, is she much of a barker?  You know, Schnauzers sometimes have the vocal.

Elan Hagens: Schnauzers are very, very barky and that is in their blood.  And Kenji, she’s a barker when it’s necessary.  So she’s a healthy barker.  When there’s somebody at the door or somebody outside coming up, she barks.  And that’s a healthy bark. 

Sometimes she gets carried away because the Yorkie’s also a little yappy and she’s always the one who starts it.  And I always get a little upset when she starts it because before my Yorkie started getting a little, starting it, she actually didn’t bark almost at all, Kenji didn’t.  There’s always one who starts it in the pair but.

Arden Moore: Well, when you came back home, were you greeted like a hero?  I mean how are the folks that you know, your friends?  And how are people hanging out with Kenji now, treating you both now that they’ve seen you on T.V.?

Elan Hagens: Yeah, it’s, it’s always funny because you know me and Kenji are as normal as normal can get, especially being in Portland, Oregon.  It’s just a, you know, an easygoing Northwest town.  There’s no celebrities here.  It’s just a normal town. 

And so to be recognized, you know, my dog is getting recognized because I’m nothing without her.  I am nothing at all without my dog.  And so for her to get recognized and people saying, “Oh, she’s beautiful and everything.”  It’s so flattering.  It, it really is flattering.  And it feels good to you know, know that I, you know, I’ve been working really hard with her and people are actually noticing and appreciating it.  It makes you feel good like a proud parent, you know? 

It, I’m really, really proud of my dogs.  And, you know, in New York, we just got back from New York a day ago.  It is crazy there.  You know people are just nuts about this dog.  And it’s a bigger population.  But I’m telling you, people just freaking love Kenji.  And they are so said that she left. 

And they saw Kenji and met her this last week and they said, “I can’t believe that’s the same dog we saw on T.V.  You know, she is so well-behaved.  She’s such a sweetheart.  I can’t believe they made you, and you’re nice, too.  I can’t believe that, you know, you, you looked like that on T.V.”  And I was like, “You know, well, it is reality.  And as we all know you can never see all of reality when it comes to an hour show.”

Arden Moore: Oh, that’s for sure.  So who are you rooting for now?  I don’t want you to tell us the ending.  But is there a special dog or two that you and Kenji are rooting for now?

Elan Hagens: Yeah.  Me and Kenji have always had a, from day one, we’ve always had a strong attachment to Tillman and Ron.

Arden Moore: Ok.

Elan Hagens: And, you know, who doesn’t like a skateboarding Bulldog who has a face like that?  And Ron is such a funny person that he makes me laugh.  I don’t, as I told Ron all of the time, I don’t know what I’d do without him because he made me laugh so much and his dog did.  And Lori and Andrew are great because I love little dogs, too. 

And to have, for me to look up to another African-American woman who owns Dalmatians and, you know, all of these Egyptian dogs just, and is a dog trainer and owns a dog daycare, something that I’m trying to get into now, was, I was so, I was like almost star-struck by Lori because she’s such a nice person.  And to me she’s a nice person, but some people you know she’s so strict.  And we’re so much alike that I love being and seeing a minority there that was other than me who was somebody who was younger.  It was really good for me to see.

Arden Moore: Yeah.  I think they did a great job of casting, getting a good mix of people and a good mix of dogs.  You’ve got mutts.  You’ve got purebreds.  You’ve got, you know, people from all parts of the country.

Elan Hagens: All parts.

Arden Moore: So, yeah.

Elan Hagens: Big dogs, all dogs.  And, you know, and that’s good because not, they already knew not all dogs would get along with each other.  And so the way they casted it, it was made sure that every dog at least had one or two dogs that they could play with and that they were friends, that they could be friends.  And you know that’s how people kind of migrate towards each other is their dogs get along.  Then, you know, they all kind of migrate towards each other.  A lot of dogs don’t like Kenji just because she’s a big, young, exuberant, black dog.

Arden Moore: Yeah.

Elan Hagens: And so we do have the problems of being in the household and having you know older dogs who are bigger, you know, just not liking her and not wanting them anywhere near her.  So you know to I had to do a lot of protecting of Kenji’s dignity and everything.  Because you know a dog would you know another contestant’s dog might attack Kenji?  But in a long run can’t finish the fight because she’ll look bad because she’s a big, black puppy there.  And so I did a lot of protecting of Kenji’s, for Kenji’s namesake, while I was there.

Arden Moore: Wow.  I can see that you really love your dog.  And I’m so excited that you could be a guest on our show.  You’ve got to give Kenji a…

Elan Hagens: Yeah.

Arden Moore: …big treat from my two dogs, Chipper and Cleo.  I know she’s got a…

Elan Hagens: Oh, she’ll get it.

Arden Moore: I guess her favorite food is chicken and rice, right?

Elan Hagens: Oh, she, she loves chicken and rice.  But she would just love a big, old, fat, greasy slice of pizza. 

[laughter]

Elan Hagens: That’d be her favorite.  And you know what?  She got one when we were done with the show.  I gave her two greasy slices of pizza and I didn’t even care.  I fed her from the table and I didn’t even care for once in my life.  [laughs]

Arden Moore: Well, that’s called bringing dog joy right into your heart.  And I’m so glad…

Elan Hagens: Yeah.

Arden Moore: You got to be on the show.  Best of luck to you.  And I just think you have one beautiful dog.  And I love the big dogs.  And I love the little dogs.  But Kenji was special.  So I was, I’ve got to tell you, I was bummed when it, when his time was shortened because I think he could have really just excelled.

Elan Hagens: Learned and benefited from it.  Yeah.  Thank you.  You know, thank you for saying that.

Arden Moore: Alright.  You take care, Elan, ok?

Elan Hagens: Thank you.

Arden Moore: I’m so glad we got to have Elan and her great dog, Kenji, as our special guests on this episode of Oh, Behave!!  We’re in for a second treat, listeners, because we have a very special person that has been watching the show and she’s a big fan of Schnauzers.  Her name is Flo Frum.  She’s one of my best friends and she has a great dog named Buddy, who’s a mini Schnauzer.  So we’re going to get the public’s perspective on the show, “The Greatest American Dog” right after this commercial break.

[commercial break]

Arden Moore: Welcome back to the Oh, Behave!! show on Pet Life Radio.  I’m your host, Arden Moore.  As I mentioned, we were trying to spotlight each person that gets booted off “The Greatest American Dog” show each week on Pet Life Radio.  This day, though, we’re having a special treat.  We’re going to talk to some people who’ve been tuning into the show.  Our guest today for the second half of the show is the fabulous Flo Frum from Oceanside, California.  Big old paws-up to you, Flo.

Flo Frum: Hi, there. 

[laughter]

Flo Frum:  Happy to be on the show.

Arden Moore: So tell me, you are in love with dogs.  But you are in love with Schnauzers.  Why, what is it about the Schnauzer breed that you just go ga-ga over?

Flo Frum: The Schnauzers, I think, are one of the smartest dogs and they’ve very loyal to their owner.  They’re the most loving dog.  And I’ve had two now and this last one is the best, super great.

Arden Moore: Really quiet, too, right?

Flo Frum: No, he’s a barky dog.  He barks all of the time.  We call, his name is Buddy.  We call him Buddy Barky.  But when I’m not home, he doesn’t bark. And when my friends are with him and I’m not there, he’s just quiet as a mouse.  But when I’m there, the birds in the bird bath cause him to bark.

[laughter]

Flo Frum: He never stops.

Arden Moore: I think the changes in the molecules cause him to bark, don’t they?

Flo Frum: I don’t know what it is.  He’s just a barky dog.  But I love him.  You know, I, the worst part is walking him and he barks at everybody that comes near.  And people just kind of give me a dirty look.  And I feel kind of embarrassed but then I keep on walking.

Arden Moore: Well, he’s a sweet dog.  In fact, Buddy Barky is my dog, Chipper’s, boyfriend.  So I mean he’s got a lot of charm.  And I, I think it’s great that he’s got a good set of lungs.

Flo Frum: He really has and, and he, he loves other dogs.  The things is he sounds like he’s vicious but he really isn’t.  He really wants you to love him and play with him.  But people don’t understand that because he sounds like he’s ready to chew them up.

Arden Moore: [laughs] He’s like, “I’m here.  I’m here.  I’m here.  I’m here.  I’m here.  Come on.”

Flo Frum: Yeah.

Arden Moore: I think it’s great though because if somebody knocks on your door, a solicitor, Buddy barks so loud and so often that they can’t even get their sales pitch.  He’s kind of a bonus for you, right? 

Flo Frum: They don’t.  Yeah.  They don’t get their sales pitch.  And they back up off the porch as if to say, “Ok.  That’s it.  I’m not even going to stay.”  That’s wonderful because I don’t even have to talk to them.  [laughs]

Arden Moore: I think I want to tape his voice so when my doorbell rings, it’ll be, “Raow, raow, raow, raow, raow.  Raow, raow, raow, raow, raow.  Raow, raow, raow, raow, raow.”  So then, nobody’ll solicit at my door.  I’m going to tape Buddy after this show.  How about that?

Flo Frum: Well, you can.

Arden Moore: It’s very easy.  He’ll do it on command, right?

Flo Frum: He will.  He will.

Arden Moore: Hey.

Flo Frum: He’ll do anything on command.

Arden Moore: That’s right.  He’s a very smart dog.  But speaking of Schnauzers, now here you are.  You, you watch some reality shows.  You’re big on, what are some of your shows that you really enjoy watching?

Flo Frum: Well, I love reality shows.  But I particularly like this dog show because I saw the commercials with the dogs, with the Schnauzers.  Then I thought, “I, well, maybe I’ll learn something about controlling a barking Schnauzer.”  I haven’t learned that yet.  But I saw that giant, black Schnauzer.  And, oh, I thought he was just the most gorgeous dog and the little white one, too.

Arden Moore: Yeah, that’s Beacon.  So yeah, Beacon and Kenji out of twelve dogs on the show.

Flo Frum: Yeah.  I. 

Arden Moore: Two were Schnauzers.

Flo Frum: I know.  It’s because they’re so smart.

[laughter]

Flo Frum: They are so smart.  They really are.  Two out of, how many?  Twelve?

Arden Moore: Twelve.

Flo Frum: I think that’s pretty good.

Arden Moore: So you know Kenji the dog that was booted off, he’s only about a year old and he’s a big dog.  He’s like over seventy pounds, got a lot of energy.  He’s a little high-strung.  But didn’t you think part of it was his youth kind of at play?  You know, he’s a little exuberant.  Some of those other dogs on the show are older dogs, a little quieter, calmer.

Flo Frum: Well, I like that exuberance.  I think that’s what makes the show interesting.  I love to see when they go, when they go tearing off on their own, which they’re not supposed to, I can kind of, kind of chuckle over that because my dog would do the same thing.

Arden Moore: Well, I was doing a little noodling on the Schnauzer breed on Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, and it said that that dog originated in Germany in the 1400s.  You’ve had Schnauzers a long time.

Flo Frum: Yes, we have.

Arden Moore: You’ve, and it said that the word comes from the German word, “snout,” because of their furry muzzles.  Did you know that?

Flo Frum: What, no I didn’t.  But I do know that when I took him out one time, I, I was walking on a main street.  And a little girl went by and she said to her mother, “Oh, look at the dog with the mustache.” [laughs]

Arden Moore: And the other thing I didn’t realize is, did you know that the mini Schnauzer is the result of crossing the original Schnauzer with Pinschers and Poodles?

Flo Frum: No, I didn’t know that.

Arden Moore: But the giant Schnauzer, like was on the show, Kenji, is a result of crossing the original Schnauzer with Great Danes, Bouviers, and Collies.

Flo Frum: Wow.  I didn’t know that at all.

Arden Moore: So now you can amaze your friends with your Schnauzer trivia.

Flo Frum: Yeah.

[laughter]

Arden Moore: That’s very interesting.

Flo Frum: Well, there’s only one Schnauzer left on the show and that one, his name is Beacon.  Beacon is just a little white Schnauzer which is sort of a rare color for a, a miniature Schnauzer.  And Beacon’s about a year and a half old.  And I wanted to let you know, if you’re rooting for Beacon, his favorite toy is a stuffed animal that looks, I’m sorry, looks just like her.

[laughter]

Arden Moore: I mean, a little narcissistic, wouldn’t you say?  [laughs]

Flo Frum: I would say that’s a little narcissistic.  But that’s ok.  They, they can be.  Look, no matter what they do, they’re my favorite of all breeds.  I’m crazy about Schnauzers.

Arden Moore: Now there’s another dog on the set, a Brittany named Star that; it sounds like you also like.  It’s owned by a guy named Bill.  Tell me why you like Brittany?

Flo Frum: Oh.  Well, she’s so beautiful and she’s so gentle.  And I felt terrible when she got hurt.  She’s just a lovely, lovely dog.  And, and her owner, let me say, I think the owners of all of these dogs have been so enjoyable to watch.  And I love to see their, their affection for their animals.  I’m an animal lover and I just think it’s wonderful to see these people that treat their dogs with such love, that that’s important.  That’s what makes the show so special for me.

Arden Moore: Yeah, I agree.  And, and just for you listeners, Bill and Star.  Bill’s sixty years old and he’s been married for over thirty-five years to his wife, Sherry.  And he said on the show, this was the first time they’ve really been separated for any time. 

And he had his little dog, Star, a Brittany who’s seven years old, and in the second episode of the show, something happened where she either got bit or ran into something or and, and her ear bled.  And he had to cradle her in his arms to take her to an emergency veterinarian.  I mean I just tore my heart when I saw that, Flo.

Flo Frum: Oh, that was sad.  That was really sad.  I, I’ve got to love them.  I feel for Bill.  I thought he was so special.  And, of course, I’m a senior citizen, too.  So I know how important these dogs are in your life.  They, they make your life so much richer and so much happier.

Arden Moore: Well, I have to admit, I am addicted to the show.  And I can’t wait until Thursday.  I actually TiVo it on my T.V. so I can replay it after it goes off.  It’s like I want to, I want to enjoy every little morsel.  It’s like, you know, it’s?

Flo Frum: I know.

Arden Moore:  So, it, for me, it was a summer treat.  And I’m really glad that the show is doing well.  And I’m just very happy, Flo, that you took the time to come here.  Folks, Flo Frum from Oceanside, California has been one of my dearest friends for a long time.  She and I play a card game called Skippo.  And sometimes you win, sometimes I win.  But we don’t really care.  But we sure cover a lot of ground in between those shuffles of the cards, don’t we?

Flo Frum: We sure do. And we bring our dogs along with us, too.  Yes.

Arden Moore: That’s right.  I bring Chipper and Cleo over to see Buddy Barky.  And they have a ball.

Flo Frum: They do.  They have a wonderful, when the other two don’t come, we pull the chair up and Buddy Barky sits on the chair and watches us play cards.

Arden Moore: Yeah.  He’s making sure I’m not cheating.  I think that’s what he’s probably doing, right?

Flo Frum: Well, he’s, he’s trying to spook her so that I’ll win.

Arden Moore: Yeah.  That’s right.  Well, folks, you’ve been listening to the Oh, Behave!! show on Pet Life Radio.  I’m very happy that on the front half of our show, we had Elan Hagens and her dog, Kenji, who were on “The Greatest American Dog” show.  They were booted off after week two, but don’t hold that against them.  They have a, a great friendship and relationship there. 
And then on the second part, we had a special guest, Flo Frum, from Oceanside, California, who has a wonderful mini Schnauzer named Buddy.  And the two of them tune in each week to see “The Greatest American Dog” show.  I also want to thank my show producer for making this show possible.  He works the magic quietly, like the guy in “The Wizard of Oz.” 

Also, folks, remember I am launching my Happy Tour book tour.  It’s going to kick off August 10th in Oceanside, California.  And I have great news.  It’s going to stretch from Rhode Island to Kauai, Hawaii.  I will end my tour August 4th in Kauai.  You can get all of the details on my tour.  I hope if you’re anywhere near there, you come and see.  It’s just, go to www.ardenmoore.com.  And also on the Pet Life Radio Oh, Behave!! show, we are posting the tour dates and times.  Everywhere we go, we’re going to be giving away gifts and prizes. 

We have a national photo contest right now.  So go to zootoo.com or to the Pet Life Radio or the Arden Moore dot com for details.  We’re going to be giving away a prize.  We want you to send in the happiest, goofiest, friendliest photo you have with your favorite dog or cat.  It’s all due to the books’ names, “Happy Dog, Happy You” and “Happy Cat, Happy You.” 

And if you have any ideas for shows or want to give me a comment or two, just email me at arden@ardenmoore.com.  So, until next time, this is you flea-free host, Arden Moore, delivering just two words for all you two, three and four-leggers out there, Oh, Behave!!

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