Covered In Pet Hair

Join Isabel and author, Anne Abel for a trip down memory lane - with memories ranging from Anne's adventure in Australia following a world-famous musician to her reluctance to get a dog for her kids and how she found her way to a naughty dog named Milo. In this entertaining and eye-opening interview, Anne holds nothing back. She's honest, authentic, and hilarious as she recounts story after story about what she has learned as a reluctant dogmom turned warrior dog parent.

Listen to Episode #118 Now:

BIO:

Anne Abel’s story about unwittingly rescuing an aggressive dog, Milo, won a Moth StorySLAM in New York City. She has won two additional Moth StorySLAMs in Chicago. Her credentials include an MFA from The New School for Social Research, an MBA from the University of Chicago, and a BS in chemical engineering from Tufts University. She has freelanced for Lilith; Philadelphia Daily News; The Jewish Exponent; Philadelphia Weekly, Main Line Life and Main Line Today, and formerly wrote a weekly column, “The Homefront,” for Main Line Welcomat. She also taught English and creative writing at the Community College of Philadelphia. Anne lives in New York City with her husband, Andy, and their three rescue dogs, Ryan, Megan, and Chase. She grew up outside Boston, MA. In January, 2016 Anne and Andy, moved from suburban Philadelphia with their three dogs to Chicago, where Andy was a visiting professor at the University of Chicago. Anne had no idea what she was going to do in this city where the daytime high was nine degrees. When she met her new dog walker she asked, “What do you do when you aren’t walking dogs?” “I host a storytelling open mic in the back of a bar. You should come sometime and tell a story.” Anne went to the storytelling open mic just to listen. Unexpectedly, she found herself telling a story. For the next two years Anne became part of the storytelling circuit of Chicago, including The Moth. She won two Moth StorySLAMs in Chicago. Then she and her husband moved to New York City where she won a Moth StorySLAM for telling the story about Milo.

Transcript:

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Announcer: This is Pet Life Radio.

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Announcer: Let's talk pets.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Welcome to Covered In Pet Hair, a boozy show for pet lovers on Pet Life Radio.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: I'm your host, Isabel Alvarez Arata, and today I have the pleasure of having a drink and a chat with an author that has a very relatable story to tell.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: I will tell you all about her and introduce you as soon as we come back from these messages from our sponsors.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Hi, I'm Isabel Alvarez Arata, the host of Covered In Pet Hair.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: You know the expression, cats have nine lives?

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Well, what if you could give them one more?

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: A Give Them 10 movement is on a mission to help give cats an extra life.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: How?

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: With spay and neuter.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Spaying and neutering your cat helps them live a longer, healthier life.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: And it helps control re-roaming cat populations too.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Learn more about the benefits of spay and neuter and meet Scooter, the neutered cat, at givethemten.org.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: That's givethemten.org.

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Announcer: Let's Talk Pets on petliferadio.com.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Welcome back to Covered In Pet Hair.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: I'm your host, Isabel Alvarez Arata.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: And today I have the pleasure of having a drink and a chat with a pet parent, a published author.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: She's an adventure seeker, a world traveler, a fitness fanatic and a Tai Chi student.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: She's a theater lover, a storyteller.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: She's originally from the Boston area, lived in Philadelphia for 35 years and moved back to Midtown Manhattan in 2018.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: She's wifed a husband of 46 years.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: His name is Andy.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: And she's dog mom to two Bijan rescues, their 14 years old, Megan and Chase.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: She is the author of a memoir titled Maddie, Milo and Me, which was published in April by SheWritesPress.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: She is Anne Abel and she's here to tell her story about Maddie and Milo and all that came with those two adventurous pet parenting experiences.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Welcome, Anne.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: It's so good to have you on the show.

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Anne Abel: Thank you so much.

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Anne Abel: It's so good to be here.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Well, I am thrilled to have you here.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: I have been listening to some podcasts that you've already done as part of my research, and I find your story so relatable in so many ways.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: I know that my audience is going to enjoy this as much as I am.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: I hope you enjoy this too.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Before we dig in to all of that, I want to introduce our drinking game today for our audience.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Anybody at home participating in our drinking game today, anytime you hear this word, the secret word is reluctant.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Take a drink of whatever you're enjoying.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Please be over 21 to partake in an alcoholic beverage in the US.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Never drink and drive and always drink responsibly.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: I know you've had a pretty rough week, my friend.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: What are you joining us with today?

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Anne Abel: Well, I'm pretty consistent.

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Anne Abel: It's my Essentia Overachieving Water because I need all the help I can get achieving.

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Anne Abel: So I think overachieving water.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Speaking of overachieving, I hear you have a second book coming out in 2025.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: So I think you're doing just fine.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Is it the water or is it just who you are?

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Anne Abel: Probably a combination of both.

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Anne Abel: I take help wherever I can get it.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: I love that.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Well, I take help wherever I can get it to.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: I'm having a white wine today from my membership to nakedwines.com.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: I have never heard of this wine.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: I don't even know what grape it is.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: It's an Italian grape.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: And cheers.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: I just want to enjoy this Friday evening getting to know you.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: So here, cheers.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Thank you for being on the show.

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Anne Abel: Thank you.

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Anne Abel: Can I drink some of my water?

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: I'm so happy you're on the show today.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: I want to get to know more about your writing experience as well as your pet parenting experience and I want to do that by playing a first game with you called Memoir Memories, about the process of writing your memoir.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: So this is a quick fire game.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: So keep your answers as short as possible.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: We're going to dig in a little bit further once I ask you some specific questions, but are you ready to play?

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Anne Abel: I'm ready.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: I know.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: So anybody who's not sure, I do not share any of my questions or games beforehand.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: So my guess when they say, I'm ready, it's because they have no idea what to expect.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: And that's the way I like it.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Okay.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: All right.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Here we go.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: The first question is, when did you get the itch to write a memoir?

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Anne Abel: Was it to be it?

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Anne Abel: I know exactly when it was.

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Anne Abel: It was 2018.

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Anne Abel: Probably April 2000.

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Anne Abel: No, 17.

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Anne Abel: No, wait, okay.

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Anne Abel: You didn't, this isn't prepared.

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Anne Abel: So 2018 in April.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Okay.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: And what is it?

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: What was it that made you want to write a memoir versus a novel or non-fiction of other sorts?

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Anne Abel: Well, I was always a memoir person.

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Anne Abel: I don't write fiction.

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Anne Abel: I never, I have a long answer.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: No, yeah, go for it, go for it.

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Anne Abel: Okay, well, I was actually, we moved to Chicago in 2016 for my husband to visit the University of Chicago from Philadelphia.

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Anne Abel: And I got kicked out of improv pretty, I had eight degrees there in January.

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Anne Abel: So I signed up for improv at Chicago.

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Anne Abel: I got, I failed and failed and pretty quickly got kicked out.

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Anne Abel: I came home, it was February.

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Anne Abel: I had no one.

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Anne Abel: My dog, new dog walker came in, I said, what are you doing?

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Anne Abel: You're not walking dogs.

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Anne Abel: He said, I host a storytelling open mic.

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Anne Abel: I had never heard of storytelling before.

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Anne Abel: Eventually I went, I listened, but I actually got up because there was three men who got up, who were just really horrible.

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Anne Abel: And I never say this, but I said to my husband, I can do better than that.

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Anne Abel: I'd never stood in front of a mic.

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Anne Abel: And I got up and I spoke for four minutes.

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Anne Abel: People were cheering.

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Anne Abel: And then I started doing open mics and people were coming up and they loved my stories.

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Anne Abel: And then I started getting invited to curated shows.

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Anne Abel: And I'd always had writers' block.

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Anne Abel: I was a freelance writer and I could write if an editor said, go write about that tree in your backyard, however many words you wanted, I could do it.

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Anne Abel: But if I sat down and wanted to write about me, it's like, so what, who cares?

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Anne Abel: And I was under the desk.

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Anne Abel: But here I had people coming up to me afterwards saying, oh, will you be in my show?

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Anne Abel: Oh, that's so interesting.

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Anne Abel: So that gave me encouragement.

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Anne Abel: And then someone said, you've got to go to the moth, which I had never heard of the moth.

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Anne Abel: And I won a few story slams, but then I wanted to get better.

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Anne Abel: So I contacted this woman, a storytelling coach, and it was over the phone.

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Anne Abel: And the first thing she said to me was, if I could wave a magic wand and grant you any wish, what would it be?

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Anne Abel: I thought she was going to ask me my storytelling hopes and dreams.

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Anne Abel: And I said to write a book.

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Anne Abel: I don't even know where that came out of.

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Anne Abel: And she said, well, then that's what you've got to do.

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Anne Abel: And I knew she was right.

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Anne Abel: And so that was Abel made you.

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Anne Abel: Three months, I didn't do it.

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Anne Abel: I just was, I kept getting angrier and angrier and angrier at myself because I just couldn't do it.

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Anne Abel: And then I work out every day.

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Anne Abel: Nothing stops me.

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Anne Abel: And I don't question it.

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Anne Abel: You know, the Nike, just do it.

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Anne Abel: I love that because you just do it.

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Anne Abel: And then you get off and you feel great.

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Anne Abel: So one day in July, after three months, I was just getting, it was getting worse.

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Anne Abel: I was feeling worse and worse.

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Anne Abel: And I said, okay, after you work out, you're just going to go sit at your desk for two hours.

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Anne Abel: That's it.

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Anne Abel: And I had this story, this story about a trip I had taken to Australia to follow Bruce Springsteen when I quit my job at the community college and I suffered with depression and I was terrified about being in this empty house with no structure.

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Anne Abel: And I hate to travel.

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Anne Abel: I hate to be alone.

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Anne Abel: I hadn't known what a Bruce Springsteen was a year earlier.

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Anne Abel: I had never been to a concert.

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Anne Abel: I went home and I had heard somewhere that he would be traveling in Australia in February.

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Anne Abel: This was October.

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Anne Abel: I went home, then a week that trip was booked and I was going to Australia for 26 days to see eight concerts in five different cities.

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Anne Abel: I was terrified and I didn't go to change.

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Anne Abel: I just went because I had ECT three times.

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Anne Abel: I was inpatient twice and I was 16 years old.

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Anne Abel: I wasn't doing those things.

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Anne Abel: I had to come up with a creative solution on my own.

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Anne Abel: That's what I did.

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Anne Abel: I didn't go to change.

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Anne Abel: But I came home with this ball of energy inside me that I had never had before, and I was determined not to lose it.

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Anne Abel: I came back to Philadelphia.

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Anne Abel: I got rid of all my friends in Philadelphia because they weren't really friends.

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Anne Abel: In Australia, strangers had come up and said things to me, and I would step outside myself and look at myself through their eyes.

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Anne Abel: At home, people were rolling their eyes like, oh, it must be nice to be able to be a Bruce Springsteen roadie.

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Anne Abel: I was really fighting for my life whereas, in Australia, there was one young man said, my mother just retired, we can't get her off the couch to go to a movie and look at you.

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Anne Abel: It was lonely, it was hard, but it was also really exhilarating.

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Anne Abel: So I knew this was a story and that's what I wanted to write about.

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Anne Abel: So that first day, I went up to my desk, and for two hours I wrote, and my husband was my muse because I needed to have someone who I thought would be interested.

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Anne Abel: And every day I'd show it to him, he's not a writer or anything, he'd go, that's good, that's good.

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Anne Abel: And anything that came into my head that might remotely be connected, I wrote it because if I started saying, no, that's not, that doesn't belong, I would end up not writing anything.

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Anne Abel: So the first draft was a thousand pages.

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Anne Abel: And the final tenth draft, the final draft is 400 pages.

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Anne Abel: But that first draft had everything pretty much that had ever happened to me in my life up until that point.

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Anne Abel: So that's how, and then what happened was, it was during the lockdown, I was working on this and I sent it to my editor and she was working on it, it was taking her forever.

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Anne Abel: We were stuck in the house.

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Anne Abel: And a friend of mine kept saying, you should write about Milo, you should write about Milo, you should write about Milo.

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Anne Abel: So I sat down and wrote the Milo story, and then that was a much more straightforward story.

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Anne Abel: So I decided to concentrate on that one and get that out into the world and then go back to the other one.

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Anne Abel: So that's how these two books came to be.

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Anne Abel: And it's all because this woman said, oh, leave the magic one.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Wow.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Well, I totally agree with you about writing.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: I write for magazines too.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: I'm a journalist, and whenever I'm assigned something, I can write about it, but writing my own story definitely is hard.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: I haven't even started, but I too have a dream of writing something, sharing it with the world in a book format.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: So we shall see.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: I will get my inspiration from you, who now from not knowing where to start, now having two books, one in 2024, one in 2025, is the 2025 book, the one that about Australia?

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Anne Abel: Yes, fall 2025.

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Anne Abel: It's about.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: And what's the title?

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Anne Abel: Well, right now it's alive, but I don't know.

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Anne Abel: I'm trying to imagine what the covers are going to be.

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Anne Abel: I mean, with these trees.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: That's such a cool process.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Okay.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: So how long does it take you to write a book, more or less?

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Anne Abel: Oh, well, again, I started The Australia Story July 2018, and it was accepted last year, so 2023, but, you know, I mean, it really varies.

00:12:10.602 --> 00:12:11.502
Anne Abel: It really varies.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: And yeah, everybody's process is different.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: That's why I ask these questions, because there's people who are like, oh, I locked myself in a hotel room and wrote for two months, and I had to get it done and they do it.

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Anne Abel: Right.

00:12:22.822 --> 00:12:24.802
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And then there are people who take way longer.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: It just start and then ignore it for four years and then write it all in one.

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Anne Abel: I remember Bruce Springsteen wrote it.

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Anne Abel: I think he just sat down and did it in like three months or something.

00:12:36.522 --> 00:12:37.762
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Yes, exactly.

00:12:37.762 --> 00:12:39.502
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Like there are people who do it that way.

00:12:39.502 --> 00:12:44.062
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Most people do it a lot less of a straight line for sure.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Did it evolve from what you originally planned?

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Just the Milo story.

00:12:49.242 --> 00:12:50.122
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Did it evolve?

00:12:50.122 --> 00:12:57.462
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Because you wanted to tell just the story of Milo, but your book really turned out to be about more than just that naughty dog.

00:12:57.462 --> 00:12:57.962
Anne Abel: Right.

00:12:57.962 --> 00:13:00.382
Anne Abel: Well, it's not just about dogs.

00:13:00.382 --> 00:13:01.522
Anne Abel: It's about life.

00:13:01.522 --> 00:13:04.042
Anne Abel: Milo didn't exist in a vacuum.

00:13:04.982 --> 00:13:10.622
Anne Abel: And so it's about the forces that I tried to show why I did what I did.

00:13:12.242 --> 00:13:13.182
Anne Abel: And it's about dig it.

00:13:13.182 --> 00:13:18.002
Anne Abel: When you write something like that and one of the editors, that's their job.

00:13:18.002 --> 00:13:19.342
Anne Abel: You need to dig deeper.

00:13:21.062 --> 00:13:26.382
Anne Abel: It's in your head, so you assume everyone knows, but people don't know.

00:13:26.382 --> 00:13:33.122
Anne Abel: So there were instances where I had to just go back and, as you say, unpack the whole thing.

00:13:33.122 --> 00:13:34.162
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Yes.

00:13:34.162 --> 00:13:43.042
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And how do you feel about sharing it now, now that it's out in the public and that big part of you is out for everybody to see?

00:13:43.042 --> 00:13:50.502
Anne Abel: I'm a pretty open person, so I just hope people will like it and people can get something out of it.

00:13:50.502 --> 00:13:58.462
Anne Abel: There's a lot of lessons in watching someone else's live life or seeing how someone else copes with things.

00:13:59.042 --> 00:14:05.382
Anne Abel: If you're in a similar situation, it gives you an idea of a possibility of how to deal with things.

00:14:05.382 --> 00:14:06.602
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Yes, absolutely.

00:14:06.602 --> 00:14:10.102
Isabel Alvarez Arata: That's what I love about your story in general is that it's so relatable.

00:14:10.102 --> 00:14:23.442
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And I think that you go deep in that you do highlight the ways that our pets don't exist in a vacuum, how they impact every part of our lives and our personal growth as well.

00:14:23.442 --> 00:14:36.782
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So last question for this game is if there was one story in the book, the Milo book specifically, is there one story that is like your favorite, that if you had to read it at like a book tour, that's the story you would read?

00:14:36.782 --> 00:14:37.682
Anne Abel: Well, there's a few.

00:14:37.682 --> 00:14:43.182
Anne Abel: I mean, there's one, but it's not earth shattering, but it's one of my favorite moments.

00:14:43.182 --> 00:14:48.942
Anne Abel: And that's when, so Milo was really aggressive, out of control and alpha, I'm a beta.

00:14:48.942 --> 00:14:51.602
Anne Abel: I'm like, I'm just not like that at all.

00:14:51.602 --> 00:14:53.922
Anne Abel: And the teacher kept yelling at me.

00:14:53.922 --> 00:14:56.402
Anne Abel: She, you know, once she said something, I said, well, you're the boss.

00:14:56.402 --> 00:14:58.022
Anne Abel: She goes, no, Anne, you're the boss.

00:14:58.022 --> 00:15:00.022
Anne Abel: But you know, so it was really hard.

00:15:00.022 --> 00:15:01.942
Anne Abel: That was just beaten out of me in childhood.

00:15:01.942 --> 00:15:06.422
Anne Abel: But I have this crazy, out of control dog who bit my kids.

00:15:06.422 --> 00:15:09.322
Anne Abel: And she says to me, you need, and he's just, everything triggers him.

00:15:10.702 --> 00:15:11.982
Anne Abel: Leaves rustling, everything.

00:15:11.982 --> 00:15:18.602
Anne Abel: She said, you have to take him into a crowded place and you have to start desensitizing him to these triggers.

00:15:18.602 --> 00:15:19.982
Anne Abel: I'm like, okay, yeah, right.

00:15:19.982 --> 00:15:24.062
Anne Abel: And she was very authoritarian and I'm kind of intimidated by those people.

00:15:24.062 --> 00:15:26.442
Anne Abel: But I said, it was sarcasm.

00:15:26.442 --> 00:15:27.462
Anne Abel: I'm like, okay.

00:15:27.462 --> 00:15:29.462
Anne Abel: So, but then I backed off.

00:15:29.462 --> 00:15:31.122
Anne Abel: I figured, I knew she was on my team.

00:15:31.122 --> 00:15:37.142
Anne Abel: So one day I'm out there walking him and we end up, it was like, it was 10 degrees out.

00:15:37.202 --> 00:15:40.622
Anne Abel: It was too, so fortunately, there were no people out.

00:15:40.622 --> 00:15:42.162
Anne Abel: So I knew it would be safe.

00:15:42.162 --> 00:15:48.582
Anne Abel: And we end up near this bed bath in the meand near our house and there was a lobby on the first floor and elevators up.

00:15:48.582 --> 00:15:49.622
Anne Abel: And we go in there.

00:15:49.622 --> 00:15:51.442
Anne Abel: Really, it was 10 degrees out.

00:15:51.442 --> 00:15:53.702
Anne Abel: And wouldn't you know, it was January.

00:15:53.702 --> 00:15:56.102
Anne Abel: They had a picnic table and chairs.

00:15:56.102 --> 00:15:58.342
Anne Abel: They were already getting ready for spring.

00:15:58.342 --> 00:16:02.442
Anne Abel: So I sit down, I take off my coat and I sit in the chair at the picnic table.

00:16:02.462 --> 00:16:09.422
Anne Abel: I put Milo beside me and I decide we're going to desensitize him so we won't want to attack people.

00:16:09.422 --> 00:16:12.382
Anne Abel: And I had morsels of chicken in my pocket.

00:16:12.382 --> 00:16:16.582
Anne Abel: And we're sitting there and there was an escalator that went up to the store and down to the store.

00:16:16.582 --> 00:16:25.722
Anne Abel: So we're sitting there and I'm shoveling these chicken bits in his mouth and I see this older woman coming down the stairs and then her bag rustled.

00:16:26.122 --> 00:16:30.842
Anne Abel: And I knew I'd had him about a month, now maybe six weeks, and I knew him so well.

00:16:32.402 --> 00:16:35.302
Anne Abel: Just every muscle, I knew what that meant.

00:16:36.182 --> 00:16:39.262
Anne Abel: And he heard the bag and he went on alert.

00:16:39.782 --> 00:16:43.282
Anne Abel: And I'm shoving, Milo, you don't want to eat this lady.

00:16:43.282 --> 00:16:44.962
Anne Abel: You don't want to eat this lady.

00:16:44.962 --> 00:16:48.162
Anne Abel: And then she's walking on, she's putting her gloves on.

00:16:49.282 --> 00:16:50.442
Anne Abel: Was it reckless of me?

00:16:50.442 --> 00:16:57.642
Anne Abel: Yes, it was reckless probably, but I like to say, as I said in the book, that you're a surgeon, you have to start on someone.

00:16:58.482 --> 00:17:00.782
Anne Abel: So, you know, someone has to be first.

00:17:00.802 --> 00:17:12.822
Anne Abel: And I'm just shoveling, and as I'm shoveling, he starts to calm down, and she just walks along past us, oblivious to this intense picnic that was taking place right by there.

00:17:12.822 --> 00:17:20.842
Anne Abel: And then a few minutes later, this young college student came down, and Milo got tense, and then he stops, and he's like, what kind of dog is that?

00:17:20.982 --> 00:17:30.562
Anne Abel: And he starts making, you know, and I'm shoveling the treats in it, and I'm thinking, we're not here to learn how to make small talk, but how he was very nice, and he's like, oh, you're a lucky dog.

00:17:30.562 --> 00:17:35.542
Anne Abel: And after he left, I turned to Milo, I said, he was a nice boy, wasn't he, Milo?

00:17:35.542 --> 00:17:50.222
Anne Abel: And it was just, I suffer with depression, and it was late afternoon, and that's usually when I feel my lowest, but there I was, sitting in a lobby of a bed bath and beyond in January at a picnic table, feeling good, you know, and it was a nice picnic.

00:17:50.222 --> 00:17:53.102
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Feeling like you were, that was a really big win.

00:17:53.102 --> 00:17:55.022
Anne Abel: Yeah, yeah, it was the beginning.

00:17:55.402 --> 00:17:58.882
Anne Abel: It was probably the beginning of his progress.

00:17:58.882 --> 00:18:03.602
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Okay, so you mentioned leaving your job at the community college.

00:18:03.602 --> 00:18:13.642
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Were you involved in education prior to becoming a writer, Brody, whatever you want to describe yourself as?

00:18:13.642 --> 00:18:22.522
Anne Abel: Toward the end of Milo's life, I started teaching at the community college, English at the community college of Philadelphia, and I did that for five years, and I loved it.

00:18:22.522 --> 00:18:34.582
Anne Abel: I loved it, but I had this one class, and they were literally throwing desks, and I'm not easily scared, but one day they were plotting against me out in the hall, and you know what?

00:18:34.582 --> 00:18:35.722
Anne Abel: I walked out.

00:18:35.722 --> 00:18:41.022
Anne Abel: It was a beautiful October afternoon, the sun, I just thought, you know what, I don't need this.

00:18:42.202 --> 00:18:43.862
Anne Abel: There was no support.

00:18:43.862 --> 00:18:45.322
Anne Abel: There was no support.

00:18:45.322 --> 00:18:52.062
Anne Abel: I went and talked to the head of the department, and he said, well, that's why we have these beige phones in the room if you're worried.

00:18:52.542 --> 00:18:54.742
Anne Abel: So I went at that day probably.

00:18:54.742 --> 00:18:58.182
Anne Abel: I did, it was that day I picked up the phone and it didn't work.

00:18:58.202 --> 00:18:59.102
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Oh my goodness.

00:18:59.682 --> 00:19:00.422
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Okay.

00:19:00.422 --> 00:19:00.962
Anne Abel: Yeah.

00:19:00.962 --> 00:19:10.222
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And so before Milo, you actually had your other dog, who was, from my understanding, a perfect dog.

00:19:10.222 --> 00:19:12.142
Isabel Alvarez Arata: She was perfect.

00:19:12.142 --> 00:19:13.202
Anne Abel: Absolutely.

00:19:13.202 --> 00:19:15.982
Anne Abel: All she wanted to do was give love and take love.

00:19:15.982 --> 00:19:18.562
Anne Abel: She even taught us this game called Family Hug.

00:19:18.562 --> 00:19:24.502
Anne Abel: I don't know how she taught it to us, but somehow she'd corral us and we'd go in our hall.

00:19:25.142 --> 00:19:28.482
Anne Abel: It was sort of like duck duck goose, only no one was ever out.

00:19:28.482 --> 00:19:32.602
Anne Abel: She'd start running around and we'd all scream, Family Hug, Family Hug.

00:19:32.602 --> 00:19:35.122
Anne Abel: And then she'd stop next to us and we would hug her.

00:19:35.122 --> 00:19:39.262
Anne Abel: And it was a really lovely game.

00:19:39.262 --> 00:19:42.222
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Did you rescue Maddie or she was a Wheaton Terrier?

00:19:42.222 --> 00:19:42.562
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Yes.

00:19:42.562 --> 00:19:43.102
Anne Abel: No.

00:19:43.102 --> 00:19:43.982
Isabel Alvarez Arata: How did you get her?

00:19:43.982 --> 00:19:48.482
Anne Abel: Well, my middle son had wanted a dog pretty much from the day he was born.

00:19:48.622 --> 00:19:51.042
Anne Abel: And I really didn't want a dog.

00:19:51.042 --> 00:19:55.942
Anne Abel: I can't, I mean, I just did, so we got him every kind of an caged or tanked animal.

00:19:55.942 --> 00:20:01.862
Anne Abel: And then for his 10th birthday in January, right before I saw a headline, African Hedgehog, the perfect pet.

00:20:01.862 --> 00:20:04.582
Anne Abel: So I called the store to get, and I said, how about that?

00:20:04.582 --> 00:20:07.242
Anne Abel: And he wanted a dog, but if he couldn't get a dog.

00:20:07.242 --> 00:20:13.182
Anne Abel: So I called the pet store and he said, well, ma'am, you know, you have to wear rubber gloves to hand, they're really porcupines.

00:20:13.762 --> 00:20:18.762
Anne Abel: And I just realized it was sadly, my heart's saying it was time for the dog.

00:20:18.762 --> 00:20:21.902
Anne Abel: And I'm not a shopper and I need an appliance.

00:20:22.582 --> 00:20:25.902
Anne Abel: When we moved from Boston to Philadelphia, I looked at three houses and bought one.

00:20:25.902 --> 00:20:30.622
Anne Abel: If I need an appliance, I get it good enough, but good enough wasn't going to cut it with the dog.

00:20:30.622 --> 00:20:33.402
Anne Abel: So I got a book, almost 500 breeds.

00:20:33.402 --> 00:20:38.582
Anne Abel: And then one day one of my other sons came home from a teammate's house, excited about a Wheaton Terrier.

00:20:38.582 --> 00:20:44.042
Anne Abel: I looked it up, did everything, but emptied the dishwasher, called the breeder again in January.

00:20:44.042 --> 00:20:46.802
Anne Abel: She said, fine, we'll put you on our list for May.

00:20:46.802 --> 00:20:47.822
Anne Abel: And I hung up the phone.

00:20:47.822 --> 00:20:50.462
Anne Abel: I thought sometimes it's just so easy to be a good mother.

00:20:50.462 --> 00:20:54.182
Anne Abel: It was, you know, anything can happen between January and May.

00:20:54.182 --> 00:21:03.502
Anne Abel: And then five days later she calls me and she says, well, we have this 10 month old dog named Maddie, we're going to use her as a show dog, but her neck's too short.

00:21:03.502 --> 00:21:05.382
Anne Abel: You can come out this weekend.

00:21:05.382 --> 00:21:08.902
Anne Abel: And if everything, and I could have said, no, we want a puppy.

00:21:08.902 --> 00:21:13.182
Anne Abel: I didn't have to tell my kids that she called, but I'm not like that.

00:21:13.182 --> 00:21:18.562
Anne Abel: So with a heavy heart, I said, okay, okay, we'll be there.

00:21:18.562 --> 00:21:24.282
Anne Abel: And they all got in the car on Sunday, and I just walked through my house looking at it.

00:21:24.282 --> 00:21:26.602
Anne Abel: It's never going to look like this again.

00:21:26.602 --> 00:21:32.782
Anne Abel: And again, my depression just, I was mired on that 50, 60 minute ride to the bleeder's house.

00:21:32.782 --> 00:21:35.082
Anne Abel: I didn't hear anything that went on in the car.

00:21:35.082 --> 00:21:38.002
Anne Abel: The kids checked out, they said, go in the kitchen, we'll send Maddie up.

00:21:38.002 --> 00:21:43.902
Anne Abel: And I'm just standing there like, you know, this is kind of the end of my life, up on the toes.

00:21:43.902 --> 00:21:50.562
Anne Abel: All of a sudden, this white ball of love comes swirling into the room, runs around and lands at my feet.

00:21:50.562 --> 00:21:53.702
Anne Abel: I collapse my feet, hug her, and I was in love.

00:21:53.702 --> 00:21:56.422
Anne Abel: And that was, I was in love.

00:21:56.422 --> 00:21:58.982
Anne Abel: That was, there was no, that was it.

00:21:58.982 --> 00:22:00.042
Isabel Alvarez Arata: That is wonderful.

00:22:00.042 --> 00:22:03.702
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And I know that you had, how many years with Maddie?

00:22:03.702 --> 00:22:04.522
Anne Abel: Seven.

00:22:04.522 --> 00:22:08.642
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Seven, before you had a very traumatic experience losing her.

00:22:09.262 --> 00:22:11.862
Isabel Alvarez Arata: She was hurt by a delivery truck.

00:22:11.862 --> 00:22:14.362
Anne Abel: Again, ten days before Christmas.

00:22:14.362 --> 00:22:15.482
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Oh my goodness.

00:22:15.482 --> 00:22:20.442
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I can't imagine the trauma that one would have after watching that happen.

00:22:20.442 --> 00:22:21.942
Anne Abel: I didn't see it happen.

00:22:21.942 --> 00:22:22.782
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Thank goodness.

00:22:22.782 --> 00:22:30.402
Isabel Alvarez Arata: But still knowing that that happened and having to, you know, say goodbye so much sooner than I'm sure you expected to, right?

00:22:30.402 --> 00:22:34.102
Isabel Alvarez Arata: We always think, hopefully they'll live 12 years, 13, maybe even 15.

00:22:34.642 --> 00:22:35.102
Anne Abel: Right.

00:22:35.102 --> 00:22:37.802
Isabel Alvarez Arata: But 7 is just not, you're not prepared for that.

00:22:37.802 --> 00:22:44.762
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So I can only imagine how traumatic that was for you, for your spouse, for your children.

00:22:44.762 --> 00:22:51.602
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And I did read that you basically waited about 24 hours before you got another dog.

00:22:51.602 --> 00:23:00.922
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Tell me about that from going, from being so reluctant to have a dog in the first place, to fast tracking Milo's arrival.

00:23:00.922 --> 00:23:01.522
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Tell me about that.

00:23:01.582 --> 00:23:04.242
Anne Abel: Well, I saw the error of my ways.

00:23:04.242 --> 00:23:05.062
Anne Abel: I love Maddie.

00:23:05.482 --> 00:23:07.282
Anne Abel: I was now a dog person.

00:23:07.282 --> 00:23:14.162
Anne Abel: And I mean, I worked at home, she sat by my desk and we would go out, have a snack.

00:23:14.162 --> 00:23:23.922
Anne Abel: I mean, we spent a lot of time together and I still get the chills remembering that to be there day after day, the whole void would just be horrible.

00:23:23.922 --> 00:23:35.242
Anne Abel: So, and this is just how I, and this might not be funny to some people, but again, my husband and I have been married 46 years and we joked that I should be so lucky the day after.

00:23:35.242 --> 00:23:40.562
Anne Abel: I hope I go first, but if I don't, I wanna get married.

00:23:40.562 --> 00:23:41.522
Anne Abel: I like being married.

00:23:41.522 --> 00:23:42.682
Anne Abel: I don't like being alone.

00:23:42.682 --> 00:23:44.802
Anne Abel: I like being with people that I love.

00:23:44.862 --> 00:23:49.402
Anne Abel: And I needed at least a distraction from the void left by Maddie.

00:23:49.762 --> 00:24:00.982
Anne Abel: And now my kids and I was a little worried that the kids might, and my younger kids were 13 and 17, so they weren't really young babies.

00:24:00.982 --> 00:24:13.642
Anne Abel: But before we made the commitment to go to the rescue, we called my therapist, because I was worried that they would, I didn't want them to think people or living beings were just replaceable.

00:24:13.642 --> 00:24:14.342
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Right.

00:24:14.342 --> 00:24:21.942
Anne Abel: And we talked about it and she said that they were old enough that I was, we were always doing for them.

00:24:21.942 --> 00:24:33.622
Anne Abel: And they were old enough to consider the situation and understand me and my depression and how important this was for my mental health and to be able to do something for me.

00:24:33.622 --> 00:24:42.082
Anne Abel: And we went to school, we told them we had an appointment at the rescue and they both said, we're not ready, we need to mourn and grieve Maddie.

00:24:42.562 --> 00:24:59.862
Anne Abel: But we understand, we understand and we all went together and actually one thing I said that I thought was, I said, if we took a rescue home, then at least one living being in the universe would be better off for this horrible thing for Maddie's being killed.

00:24:59.882 --> 00:25:07.702
Anne Abel: There was just no, you know, there was nothing positive about it, but if we brought home a rescue, someone would be better off.

00:25:07.702 --> 00:25:17.562
Anne Abel: And then when we got there, I had told the man I wanted a small lap dog, we didn't shed and we get there and he's out in the meadow waiting for us with this beautiful dog.

00:25:17.562 --> 00:25:19.722
Anne Abel: And we just fell in love with him immediately.

00:25:19.722 --> 00:25:23.762
Anne Abel: But then my wits, I said, well, wait a minute, I told you I want a small lap dog.

00:25:23.762 --> 00:25:29.702
Anne Abel: So he goes, okay, come in the waiting room, I'll put Milo back and I'll send out and bring out another dog.

00:25:29.702 --> 00:25:34.782
Anne Abel: And then, so Milo, we meet in the meadow, you know, he's just lying there.

00:25:34.782 --> 00:25:51.982
Anne Abel: So in this little cramped waiting room at like six o'clock on a cold December night, and he unleashes this little Bichon named Scooter, who was very aptly named because he's really standing off the walls of my 13-year-old son, who didn't want to get another dog right away.

00:25:51.982 --> 00:25:55.002
Anne Abel: He's the one in the family with the least work, says the least.

00:25:55.002 --> 00:25:57.842
Anne Abel: He goes, take Scooter back, we want Milo.

00:25:57.842 --> 00:26:02.042
Anne Abel: And then the man, I mean, he's a very good salesman.

00:26:02.042 --> 00:26:06.422
Anne Abel: It was right after 9-11, it was December of 2001.

00:26:06.422 --> 00:26:08.782
Anne Abel: And he said, well, let me take you through the kennels.

00:26:09.402 --> 00:26:11.262
Anne Abel: Maybe you have friends who need dogs.

00:26:11.262 --> 00:26:12.962
Anne Abel: We have a lot of 9-11 dogs.

00:26:12.962 --> 00:26:16.482
Anne Abel: And all the dogs are at the cage barking and going nuts.

00:26:16.482 --> 00:26:19.882
Anne Abel: And then Lila's just crawled up in a ball on a bed of rats.

00:26:19.882 --> 00:26:21.822
Anne Abel: And we stopped and we look at him.

00:26:21.822 --> 00:26:25.682
Anne Abel: And here's this animal we had bonded with an hour earlier out in the meadow.

00:26:25.682 --> 00:26:31.642
Anne Abel: And he's just, and then when we got back, my son said, okay, we can take Milo home.

00:26:31.642 --> 00:26:34.702
Anne Abel: I mean, you know, it was very well orchestrated.

00:26:35.362 --> 00:26:43.402
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Well, I did hear that you suspect that maybe Milo was under some, an influence of some kind of calming essence or something.

00:26:43.402 --> 00:26:51.202
Anne Abel: Okay, I don't know, Westview, Oregon, we never, you know, no one, it wasn't really important to us, but it was night and day.

00:26:51.202 --> 00:26:51.382
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Yeah.

00:26:51.382 --> 00:26:58.862
Anne Abel: We get it, and the next day he comes home and he's just, he's like, he's a wild, he was a wild animal, biting, humping.

00:26:58.862 --> 00:27:08.502
Anne Abel: I mean, he was just, you know, and there he was, he had been so, we call them Melo Milo in the meadow, so I don't know what they do in it.

00:27:08.502 --> 00:27:10.062
Isabel Alvarez Arata: They don't, they don't do that.

00:27:10.062 --> 00:27:12.642
Isabel Alvarez Arata: They don't do that and really there's no way to know, right?

00:27:12.642 --> 00:27:16.122
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Like I heard you say there was no way to say that.

00:27:16.122 --> 00:27:21.022
Isabel Alvarez Arata: It was just kind of like, it was a possibility just because of the difference, exactly.

00:27:21.022 --> 00:27:25.122
Anne Abel: It's what my son said as I was banded to the sand one day, but.

00:27:25.122 --> 00:27:26.782
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Yeah, it could be true.

00:27:26.782 --> 00:27:28.642
Isabel Alvarez Arata: It absolutely could be true.

00:27:28.642 --> 00:27:38.242
Anne Abel: We were the third family in 18 months, and when we went for our interview at the dog school, and the woman said, she told us, you're the third family in 18 months.

00:27:38.242 --> 00:27:41.562
Anne Abel: He should never have given, he knew you were vulnerable.

00:27:41.562 --> 00:27:43.382
Anne Abel: He should never have given you Milo.

00:27:43.382 --> 00:27:44.822
Anne Abel: You should take him back.

00:27:44.822 --> 00:27:48.682
Anne Abel: At that point, he was just sitting perfectly with next to my husband.

00:27:48.682 --> 00:27:49.442
Anne Abel: I said, but look at him.

00:27:49.442 --> 00:27:53.662
Anne Abel: He's being so good that that's because he's internally stressing.

00:27:53.662 --> 00:27:56.082
Anne Abel: He knows what we're talking about.

00:27:57.262 --> 00:27:59.142
Anne Abel: I didn't come here for a sentence for Milo.

00:28:00.902 --> 00:28:04.082
Anne Abel: I came here for help, and then we laughed at my kids.

00:28:04.082 --> 00:28:05.022
Anne Abel: And it's so sweet.

00:28:05.022 --> 00:28:07.242
Anne Abel: They hadn't wanted to get another dog.

00:28:07.242 --> 00:28:12.342
Anne Abel: And here, this is his dog completely terrorizing everyone, but they became so defensive of him.

00:28:12.362 --> 00:28:15.802
Anne Abel: And when we got outside, they're like, because I had told her all the problems.

00:28:15.802 --> 00:28:18.482
Anne Abel: They said, why didn't you tell her all those things?

00:28:18.482 --> 00:28:20.402
Anne Abel: They were very defensive of Milo.

00:28:20.402 --> 00:28:21.822
Anne Abel: And that was one thing.

00:28:21.822 --> 00:28:26.962
Anne Abel: And they never once said to me, see, you should never have rushed out to get another dog.

00:28:27.222 --> 00:28:29.242
Anne Abel: I mean, we're very, everyone was supportive.

00:28:29.242 --> 00:28:29.722
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Right.

00:28:29.722 --> 00:28:35.722
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Well, I'm a big believer that we get the dog that we're supposed to get, or the pet that we're supposed to get.

00:28:35.722 --> 00:28:38.862
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And that sometimes they need us more than we need them.

00:28:38.862 --> 00:28:42.382
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So it sounds like maybe Maddie, you needed her.

00:28:42.382 --> 00:28:43.182
Anne Abel: Okay.

00:28:43.202 --> 00:28:46.262
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And Milo, he needed you.

00:28:46.262 --> 00:28:49.962
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And sometimes that's just how it works.

00:28:49.962 --> 00:28:55.942
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And we're kind of used to that relationship where they support us and they give us all this love.

00:28:56.122 --> 00:29:00.302
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And then the next pet that comes into our life is a total change.

00:29:00.302 --> 00:29:03.582
Isabel Alvarez Arata: It's they need us and they need our support.

00:29:03.582 --> 00:29:05.922
Anne Abel: I do think I got a lot out of that.

00:29:05.922 --> 00:29:10.902
Anne Abel: I think it actually, at one point I said, I helped Milo, Milo helped me.

00:29:10.902 --> 00:29:11.682
Anne Abel: It was simple.

00:29:11.682 --> 00:29:12.762
Anne Abel: It was complicated.

00:29:12.762 --> 00:29:13.622
Anne Abel: It was love.

00:29:13.622 --> 00:29:14.522
Anne Abel: I mean, exactly.

00:29:14.522 --> 00:29:15.722
Anne Abel: It was a different love.

00:29:15.722 --> 00:29:18.742
Anne Abel: It was a whole different relationship than with Maddie.

00:29:18.742 --> 00:29:26.502
Anne Abel: But that's another theme in my book, actually, that I feel strongly about this with people and all living beings, individuality.

00:29:26.522 --> 00:29:30.622
Anne Abel: My parents just squashed any individuality.

00:29:31.042 --> 00:29:36.322
Anne Abel: When my kids were born, I was determined to nurture whatever sparks they found.

00:29:36.322 --> 00:29:40.562
Anne Abel: Then with Maddie was a certain kind of dog and I nurtured that.

00:29:40.562 --> 00:29:49.282
Anne Abel: Then Milo, once we started working, when he had his joie de vie, he was adventurous, athletic.

00:29:50.182 --> 00:29:59.062
Anne Abel: I took a lot of pleasure in letting him, even though I ended up going in the woods, which I hated, hated, hated.

00:29:59.062 --> 00:30:10.022
Anne Abel: When I'd see him come soaring by me, being this animal that he was meant to be, I had heard in meditation class about sympathetic empathy.

00:30:10.022 --> 00:30:11.182
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Yes.

00:30:11.182 --> 00:30:12.762
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Sympathy versus empathy, yes.

00:30:12.862 --> 00:30:13.242
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Yeah.

00:30:13.242 --> 00:30:19.682
Anne Abel: And just seeing, there I was in the woods, which I hated trudging along, but I did it every day for an hour.

00:30:19.682 --> 00:30:24.662
Anne Abel: I hated every minute, but then all of a sudden, I would see him just being Milo.

00:30:24.662 --> 00:30:28.842
Anne Abel: And I would, to this day, I get chills when I remember those moments.

00:30:28.842 --> 00:30:32.662
Anne Abel: So I found joy in unexpected places.

00:30:32.662 --> 00:30:33.582
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Absolutely.

00:30:33.582 --> 00:30:37.022
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And I want to get to know Milo and what made him such a naughty dog.

00:30:37.022 --> 00:30:38.282
Isabel Alvarez Arata: But we'll take a break right here.

00:30:38.282 --> 00:30:47.602
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And when we come back, I've got a game to play where you're going to tell us all the things that Milo did to get him re-homed three times in 18 months.

00:30:47.602 --> 00:30:48.422
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Don't go anywhere.

00:30:48.422 --> 00:30:52.762
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I'll be right back with Anne Abel, author and dog lover.

00:30:56.262 --> 00:30:58.742
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00:31:55.657 --> 00:31:57.097
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Welcome back to Covered In Pet Hair.

00:31:57.097 --> 00:31:58.777
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I'm your host, Isabel Alvarez Arata.

00:31:58.777 --> 00:32:07.577
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And today I'm having a fabulous conversation with Anne Abel, who is the author behind the newest memoir called Maddie, Milo and Me.

00:32:07.577 --> 00:32:27.557
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And she is here to share her story, but not only share the fact that she wrote a book and how that book came to be, but also the story of a very unexpected dog that came into her life under duress in many ways and all the things that he taught her while also making you crazy a little bit, right?

00:32:27.557 --> 00:32:30.257
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And he made you a little nutty, I feel like.

00:32:30.257 --> 00:32:31.917
Anne Abel: Oh, it was terrifying.

00:32:31.917 --> 00:32:34.477
Anne Abel: I was what was standing between the world.

00:32:34.477 --> 00:32:36.737
Anne Abel: I mean, you could attack anyone or anything.

00:32:36.737 --> 00:32:37.897
Anne Abel: It wasn't going to be good for him.

00:32:37.897 --> 00:32:40.617
Anne Abel: It wouldn't be good for the person on the other side of him.

00:32:40.617 --> 00:32:45.477
Anne Abel: I mean, I was what was standing between him and a life in a rescue.

00:32:45.477 --> 00:32:49.637
Anne Abel: And I was had no, I knew nothing about dogs.

00:32:49.637 --> 00:32:59.557
Anne Abel: I really had no, I had no interest in training dogs, and if I had known, I made the commitment right away, I just couldn't send them back.

00:32:59.557 --> 00:33:09.837
Anne Abel: If I don't know, I would have done the same thing if I had known what was ahead for me, but I'm glad I didn't know because it was a commitment to his whole life.

00:33:09.837 --> 00:33:17.177
Anne Abel: Every day for two years, I was in the woods, which I said I don't like woods, but I did it.

00:33:17.177 --> 00:33:20.497
Anne Abel: I did it for Milo because it was really good for him and he loved it.

00:33:20.777 --> 00:33:32.957
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Yes, I think the people who are going to relate to this the most are people who've had a heathen dog, like one of these dogs that are just completely out of control, that are not other dog friendly, that are potentially not human friendly.

00:33:32.957 --> 00:33:43.357
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And unless you've lived that life, and I have maybe not to the extent that you experience, because it sounds like Sox maybe was more afraid of strangers than just anybody.

00:33:43.357 --> 00:33:47.237
Isabel Alvarez Arata: It sounds like Milo was aggressive in many cases toward whomever.

00:33:47.237 --> 00:33:52.577
Isabel Alvarez Arata: But I had a dog that literally like most people would have taken her back, like you said.

00:33:52.577 --> 00:33:55.517
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Most people would have said like, this is not going to work.

00:33:55.517 --> 00:33:56.657
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I can't do this.

00:33:56.657 --> 00:33:59.657
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And luckily, she found her way, her name was Sox.

00:33:59.657 --> 00:34:08.937
Isabel Alvarez Arata: She found her way to me and my family and me at that time in my life, where I was able to commit to helping her.

00:34:08.937 --> 00:34:12.237
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And she lived with me for 12 years, almost exactly.

00:34:12.237 --> 00:34:15.517
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And that was really, really hard.

00:34:15.517 --> 00:34:17.557
Isabel Alvarez Arata: But it was worth it because I learned so much.

00:34:17.657 --> 00:34:20.837
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And I think that she prepared me for parenting humans.

00:34:20.837 --> 00:34:23.457
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I actually had my dogs before I had my kids.

00:34:23.457 --> 00:34:32.017
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And let me tell you, that is a boot camp of how to work with another creature, a wild animal, like you said.

00:34:32.017 --> 00:34:35.177
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So I want to get to know just how wild Milo was.

00:34:35.177 --> 00:34:37.797
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I have a game called Milo Mayhem.

00:34:37.797 --> 00:34:45.057
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And I'm going to give you two minutes on my handy dandy clock here just to give us some examples of things that Milo did.

00:34:45.057 --> 00:34:50.057
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Off the top of your head, just ready, like, I mean, just let it go.

00:34:50.057 --> 00:34:55.597
Anne Abel: Okay, well, first of all, anyone who came into our house, he humped and jumped, he barked, he howled, he prowled.

00:34:55.597 --> 00:35:00.077
Anne Abel: But you know, the rescue man, when he dropped in our house, said you should take him for a walk.

00:35:00.077 --> 00:35:02.137
Anne Abel: So it's December, it's cold.

00:35:02.137 --> 00:35:05.557
Anne Abel: I didn't want a dog way back because I hate walking dogs.

00:35:05.557 --> 00:35:06.697
Anne Abel: We didn't have to walk Maddie.

00:35:07.157 --> 00:35:10.737
Anne Abel: So we go out, any squirrel, any lead.

00:35:10.737 --> 00:35:16.757
Anne Abel: I mean, he literally was pulling me on my belly on the cold, wet leaves after anything that moved.

00:35:16.757 --> 00:35:20.737
Anne Abel: And then finally, a few days later, I got him up four-tenths of a mile.

00:35:20.737 --> 00:35:23.457
Anne Abel: There was a sidewalk and we're there.

00:35:23.457 --> 00:35:24.537
Anne Abel: And that was going to be better.

00:35:24.537 --> 00:35:32.497
Anne Abel: And then all of a sudden, I'm flying, I'm on my stomach in front of, and I look up and I was due for rotator cuff surgery.

00:35:32.497 --> 00:35:40.197
Anne Abel: And a school bus, I'm on my belly on the road and a school bus comes screeching to a halt and arms length away from me.

00:35:40.197 --> 00:35:45.177
Anne Abel: And I'm just, I'm lying there on the ground and then I make sure nothing's broken.

00:35:45.177 --> 00:35:48.717
Anne Abel: I stand up, I get a whole mile over to the side of the road.

00:35:48.717 --> 00:35:53.517
Anne Abel: I also hate being the center of attention and all this traffic is now backed up.

00:35:53.517 --> 00:35:56.657
Anne Abel: And every rush hour traffic, they're all staring at me.

00:35:56.657 --> 00:36:06.337
Anne Abel: So when everybody had gone and it was like new people, I just turned to Milo and I just screamed, I hate you so much, I hate you and I'm taking you back.

00:36:06.337 --> 00:36:12.537
Anne Abel: And then I looked at him and I just resigned myself to what I thought would be 15 years of servitude.

00:36:12.537 --> 00:36:14.117
Anne Abel: But he was just out of control.

00:36:14.117 --> 00:36:17.757
Anne Abel: He was after our dog school interview where we got rejected.

00:36:17.757 --> 00:36:22.597
Anne Abel: We took him to an acquaintance's house, who's a dog with just five rescues.

00:36:22.597 --> 00:36:27.237
Anne Abel: And she made my husband and me leave and she took him with the kids.

00:36:27.237 --> 00:36:30.037
Anne Abel: And we came back and she had him doing all these tricks.

00:36:31.817 --> 00:36:34.577
Anne Abel: And she said, look, I don't know that he isn't salvageable.

00:36:34.577 --> 00:36:37.717
Anne Abel: He's an out of control, high energy dog.

00:36:37.717 --> 00:36:42.837
Anne Abel: And for all I know, maybe he had a bit of wolf in him.

00:36:42.837 --> 00:36:46.857
Anne Abel: I was told no amount of training will ever make Milo perfect.

00:36:47.597 --> 00:36:54.217
Anne Abel: And until a week before he died, he bit my husband on the wrist because some pea soup fell out of the refrigerator.

00:36:54.217 --> 00:36:55.877
Anne Abel: My husband reached for it.

00:36:55.877 --> 00:36:57.877
Anne Abel: And my husband said, it's my fault.

00:36:57.997 --> 00:37:00.097
Anne Abel: The rule is, if it hits the ground, it's Milo's.

00:37:00.097 --> 00:37:01.457
Isabel Alvarez Arata: It's Milo's.

00:37:01.457 --> 00:37:05.797
Anne Abel: People would see us with these bandages and they'd say, you have to get rid of that animal.

00:37:05.797 --> 00:37:08.437
Anne Abel: And when he's not an animal, he's part of our family.

00:37:08.437 --> 00:37:10.177
Anne Abel: But he had this little...

00:37:10.497 --> 00:37:14.677
Anne Abel: So we did a lot of behavior, you know, and we had routines.

00:37:14.677 --> 00:37:21.697
Anne Abel: But there's an episode in my book where I talk about when he bit me, you know, he actually bit me twice.

00:37:21.697 --> 00:37:27.097
Anne Abel: He lunged at me twice because I was too lazy and too rushed to go through the routine.

00:37:27.217 --> 00:37:28.737
Anne Abel: I gave him a bone too.

00:37:28.737 --> 00:37:33.217
Anne Abel: But I didn't do the usual things to make remind him that I was the alpha.

00:37:33.217 --> 00:37:37.377
Anne Abel: And then I bent over to tie my shoe and something just clicked.

00:37:37.377 --> 00:37:40.617
Anne Abel: You know, he just kind of lost it and he went after me.

00:37:40.617 --> 00:37:45.877
Anne Abel: So but, you know, we settled into a routine and I was, we may believe I was the alpha.

00:37:45.877 --> 00:37:49.177
Anne Abel: We both knew I wasn't the alpha, but I am.

00:37:49.177 --> 00:37:54.557
Anne Abel: And he usually did for me so that we could have a, and oh my God, I love that dog.

00:37:54.557 --> 00:37:56.417
Anne Abel: I love him so much.

00:37:56.417 --> 00:37:58.817
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Well, that was three minutes and 20 seconds.

00:37:58.817 --> 00:37:59.657
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So you're fine.

00:37:59.657 --> 00:37:59.957
Anne Abel: You're fine.

00:37:59.957 --> 00:38:02.077
Anne Abel: I was expecting you to stop me.

00:38:02.077 --> 00:38:05.097
Isabel Alvarez Arata: No, no, nobody ever finishes and I never stopped you.

00:38:05.097 --> 00:38:06.337
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So don't worry about that.

00:38:06.337 --> 00:38:08.637
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So describe Milo physically.

00:38:08.637 --> 00:38:09.797
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Was he a bigger dog?

00:38:09.797 --> 00:38:12.077
Isabel Alvarez Arata: As you did mention that you wanted a little lap dog.

00:38:12.077 --> 00:38:14.957
Anne Abel: For me, big, you know, 60, 65 pounds.

00:38:14.957 --> 00:38:15.257
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Wow.

00:38:15.257 --> 00:38:16.237
Isabel Alvarez Arata: That is big.

00:38:16.237 --> 00:38:16.537
Anne Abel: Yeah.

00:38:16.537 --> 00:38:18.857
Anne Abel: I mean, you know, I wanted a small lap dog.

00:38:20.317 --> 00:38:23.117
Anne Abel: He was beautiful and he really was so cute.

00:38:23.117 --> 00:38:24.877
Anne Abel: And again, I suffered with depression.

00:38:24.877 --> 00:38:32.017
Anne Abel: So it was, and he was just curious about everything, whether it was the bees in the backyard or a spider that went under the bed.

00:38:32.017 --> 00:38:33.857
Anne Abel: He just had such energy.

00:38:33.857 --> 00:38:39.397
Anne Abel: And again, as I'm remembering it, it would just be, it was really fun.

00:38:39.397 --> 00:38:51.057
Anne Abel: And I don't use that word often to watch him like go after, like stalk the bees or stalk the spider or just be so excited about being in the woods about everything.

00:38:51.057 --> 00:38:54.797
Anne Abel: You know, just he was just this real Joanne Bee.

00:38:54.797 --> 00:38:58.977
Anne Abel: And it was really good for me to be exposed to that.

00:38:58.977 --> 00:38:59.817
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Yeah, yeah.

00:38:59.817 --> 00:39:01.737
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Totally different experience.

00:39:01.737 --> 00:39:10.917
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So when did you realize that you had gone kind of looking to fill the void that Maddie left and you had filled it with this mayhem?

00:39:10.917 --> 00:39:12.917
Isabel Alvarez Arata: When did that, you realize that was that instance?

00:39:13.897 --> 00:39:15.217
Anne Abel: I mean, right away.

00:39:15.217 --> 00:39:24.477
Anne Abel: And then that's another theme in this book is that I was brought up being told I was a burden not to ask for anything including help.

00:39:24.477 --> 00:39:33.697
Anne Abel: But with Milo, and then at one point, halfway through our first kindergarten class, I needed rotator cuff surgery and I told the teacher.

00:39:33.697 --> 00:39:36.397
Anne Abel: And she's like, no, you have to postpone the surgery.

00:39:36.397 --> 00:39:38.897
Anne Abel: You know, I signed up six months earlier or whatever.

00:39:39.617 --> 00:39:42.057
Anne Abel: And she's, Milo, Milo's gifted.

00:39:42.057 --> 00:39:46.537
Anne Abel: And I laughed because my kids were really bright, but no one ever called them gifted.

00:39:46.537 --> 00:39:48.897
Anne Abel: And she said, I said, well, we'll take the class.

00:39:49.497 --> 00:39:52.097
Anne Abel: Next time, she goes, no, Milo will be bored.

00:39:52.097 --> 00:39:55.437
Anne Abel: Anyhow, the jungle drums of the dog community beat.

00:39:55.437 --> 00:40:07.817
Anne Abel: And before you knew it, they were like, maybe they were offering to help this friend acquaintance would take Milo to class.

00:40:07.817 --> 00:40:11.317
Anne Abel: And at first, that was really uncomfortable, accepting this help.

00:40:11.317 --> 00:40:14.077
Anne Abel: But then I knew it was good for Milo.

00:40:14.077 --> 00:40:18.317
Anne Abel: And so through Milo, I learned that it's okay to ask for help.

00:40:18.317 --> 00:40:20.877
Anne Abel: It's okay to accept help.

00:40:20.877 --> 00:40:22.837
Anne Abel: So that was a big lesson for me.

00:40:23.637 --> 00:40:24.757
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Yes, absolutely.

00:40:25.317 --> 00:40:30.337
Anne Abel: And you know, when you get an animal like this, you need to get asked for expert help.

00:40:30.337 --> 00:40:36.057
Anne Abel: I could, you know, that was really, I just put my trust in this teacher.

00:40:36.057 --> 00:40:39.737
Anne Abel: And like when she said, go out and be trigger him to, you know, I just really had faith.

00:40:39.737 --> 00:40:41.137
Anne Abel: And she was on my team.

00:40:41.137 --> 00:40:42.777
Anne Abel: You know, she was on our team.

00:40:42.777 --> 00:40:44.597
Isabel Alvarez Arata: That is really important.

00:40:44.597 --> 00:40:46.097
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I do think that that's really important.

00:40:46.097 --> 00:40:51.417
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Before I started my work as a writer, I actually ran a pet sitting dog walking business.

00:40:51.657 --> 00:40:59.857
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And we definitely had dogs that were challenges, you know, and we considered ourselves part of that team.

00:40:59.857 --> 00:41:12.057
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And when it was too big for a professional dog walker or pet sitter, we always said, like, we cannot continue being on your team unless you go to somebody who's going to help you modify this behavior.

00:41:12.057 --> 00:41:16.477
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And I do think that people think it's too expensive.

00:41:16.477 --> 00:41:19.517
Isabel Alvarez Arata: They think that it's, you know, too much work.

00:41:19.717 --> 00:41:34.037
Isabel Alvarez Arata: But if you're going to commit to a special dog, dog that has high energy, reactive, has, you know, minimal idea of what boundaries are, et cetera, then you have to put in that work and you have to make that investment.

00:41:34.037 --> 00:41:40.377
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And I'm so impressed that you went from having, like, this perfect dog to getting this dog that was a challenge.

00:41:40.377 --> 00:41:42.857
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And you knew immediately, like, I need help.

00:41:42.857 --> 00:41:46.437
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Because a lot of people might have been like, you know, he'll eventually get there.

00:41:46.437 --> 00:41:47.437
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Maddie was perfect.

00:41:47.437 --> 00:41:48.097
Isabel Alvarez Arata: He'll get there.

00:41:48.217 --> 00:41:50.057
Isabel Alvarez Arata: But you were really proactive.

00:41:50.057 --> 00:41:51.617
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Is that just who you are?

00:41:51.617 --> 00:41:53.017
Anne Abel: Oh, I am very proactive.

00:41:53.017 --> 00:41:59.717
Anne Abel: But the guy went and the rescue guy, when he dropped Milo off, he said, oh, Milo would benefit from dog school.

00:41:59.717 --> 00:42:02.457
Anne Abel: So right away I called, it was called, what a good dog!

00:42:02.457 --> 00:42:04.057
Anne Abel: Exclamation point.

00:42:04.057 --> 00:42:08.277
Anne Abel: And she, so we signed up and she said, well, you have to come for your interview in a week.

00:42:08.277 --> 00:42:11.417
Anne Abel: And we went, that's when the woman said, you've got to give him back.

00:42:11.417 --> 00:42:16.657
Anne Abel: And then we went to our acquaintance who had given me the name of the rescue, who had put me in touch.

00:42:17.037 --> 00:42:22.117
Anne Abel: And she's the one who said, I don't, you know, I think he, I'm not sure he isn't salvageable.

00:42:22.117 --> 00:42:25.057
Anne Abel: But then what she did was, she never admitted this.

00:42:25.057 --> 00:42:29.897
Anne Abel: She called the owner of the school, Mary, because she had said, it's too bad Mary can't come see him.

00:42:29.897 --> 00:42:33.317
Anne Abel: But she only sees the exceptional dogs, the show dogs.

00:42:33.317 --> 00:42:35.377
Anne Abel: And we got home that night.

00:42:35.377 --> 00:42:38.417
Anne Abel: And there was a message, Mary will be at your house.

00:42:38.417 --> 00:42:40.517
Anne Abel: Mary, we will be at your house tomorrow at five o'clock.

00:42:40.517 --> 00:42:42.077
Anne Abel: This was New Year's Eve.

00:42:42.077 --> 00:42:43.437
Anne Abel: I wish she was going to be there.

00:42:43.437 --> 00:42:47.677
Anne Abel: So someone called her and said, whatever kind of exceptional Milo.

00:42:47.677 --> 00:42:49.177
Anne Abel: And she wasn't a trainer.

00:42:49.177 --> 00:42:50.357
Anne Abel: She owned this dog school.

00:42:50.357 --> 00:42:54.597
Anne Abel: And so I showed up to class and we were in a separate room from everybody else.

00:42:55.057 --> 00:43:02.237
Anne Abel: But she told me what every week, she said, I had homework every week and I just did what.

00:43:02.237 --> 00:43:03.237
Anne Abel: So it was a lot of work.

00:43:03.237 --> 00:43:05.857
Anne Abel: I mean, there was a lot of work up front.

00:43:06.137 --> 00:43:15.317
Anne Abel: For the first six months, it was because you have to establish who's the alpha.

00:43:15.317 --> 00:43:18.477
Anne Abel: I think when I was in the midst of it, I didn't really think about it.

00:43:18.877 --> 00:43:20.537
Anne Abel: I kept thinking back on it.

00:43:20.537 --> 00:43:22.257
Anne Abel: I mean, it was all consuming.

00:43:22.257 --> 00:43:23.077
Anne Abel: Like, if I had been-

00:43:23.077 --> 00:43:24.157
Isabel Alvarez Arata: You're a mom though.

00:43:24.157 --> 00:43:25.697
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So you were a mom already.

00:43:25.697 --> 00:43:27.197
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So you knew what that was.

00:43:27.197 --> 00:43:29.337
Anne Abel: Okay, I'm glad you brought that up.

00:43:29.337 --> 00:43:30.957
Anne Abel: I had three of the eat.

00:43:30.957 --> 00:43:32.797
Anne Abel: My boys were so easy.

00:43:33.757 --> 00:43:34.997
Anne Abel: They were just a joy.

00:43:35.477 --> 00:43:42.137
Anne Abel: They were really, like they were high-achieving, nice, friendly, you know.

00:43:42.137 --> 00:43:47.177
Anne Abel: All of a sudden, I was the mom of the bad boy at school.

00:43:47.177 --> 00:43:50.117
Anne Abel: I mean, go to school, the mothers would pull-

00:43:50.117 --> 00:43:52.037
Anne Abel: Every now and then, Mary would say, come into the room.

00:43:52.037 --> 00:43:55.497
Anne Abel: And she had a woman with a spray bottle, mixture of water and vinegar.

00:43:55.497 --> 00:43:56.637
Anne Abel: Oh, my Lord.

00:43:56.637 --> 00:43:59.337
Anne Abel: And everybody, we'd come in and they'd pull back.

00:43:59.957 --> 00:44:00.717
Anne Abel: We were just-

00:44:00.717 --> 00:44:05.517
Anne Abel: I was shunned and I was not used to being the mother of the bad.

00:44:05.517 --> 00:44:09.177
Anne Abel: Had to get used to it because that's what my mom had to get used to it.

00:44:09.177 --> 00:44:15.497
Isabel Alvarez Arata: It's really funny because I had a super easy dog, Titan, my first puppy as an adult.

00:44:15.497 --> 00:44:17.697
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And he was like Maddie, perfect.

00:44:17.697 --> 00:44:19.937
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I mean, he had only one accident.

00:44:20.337 --> 00:44:25.117
Isabel Alvarez Arata: We got him at four months and he had one accident in the house because we were traveling and we hadn't let him out.

00:44:25.117 --> 00:44:26.797
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And you get busy and you forget.

00:44:27.497 --> 00:44:31.817
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And then we got socks and it was like having an infant.

00:44:31.817 --> 00:44:37.697
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And when I had children, I mean, my dogs were over 10 when my kids were born.

00:44:37.697 --> 00:44:39.717
Isabel Alvarez Arata: My first was a challenge.

00:44:39.717 --> 00:44:46.037
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And I said, my sister just had a baby and she said, I don't know how you did it because you were alone.

00:44:46.037 --> 00:44:48.337
Isabel Alvarez Arata: My husband is in the military, so he was gone a lot.

00:44:48.337 --> 00:45:06.917
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And I was like, I had the best teacher, socks prepared for that intensity of motherhood, of that, having to be there, plan for them, know that they need you, make, kind of see where you can, cannot come in because the person's coming and you're trying to cross the street.

00:45:07.337 --> 00:45:18.377
Isabel Alvarez Arata: That intensity of caring for a special needs dog is really very much akin to having a child because it's all consuming.

00:45:18.377 --> 00:45:23.897
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And there are people out there who say, parenting is not parenting.

00:45:23.957 --> 00:45:26.157
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And I'm like, well, it depends on the dog you get.

00:45:26.157 --> 00:45:27.957
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And it depends on the cat you get.

00:45:27.957 --> 00:45:31.577
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Because sometimes it's even more intense than parenting.

00:45:31.577 --> 00:45:32.937
Anne Abel: Right, right.

00:45:33.677 --> 00:45:34.657
Anne Abel: It depends.

00:45:34.657 --> 00:45:35.697
Isabel Alvarez Arata: It really does.

00:45:35.697 --> 00:45:37.697
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And all of this teaches you.

00:45:37.697 --> 00:45:41.917
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So if you had to kind of give us a summary of what your book is.

00:45:41.917 --> 00:45:44.177
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I mean, I know it's a memoir.

00:45:44.177 --> 00:45:49.397
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So it's more than just about the story of these two dogs and how they impacted your life.

00:45:49.397 --> 00:46:00.177
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Tell us about what else we'll learn about you and your story as a pet parent from somebody who didn't really want a dog to now somebody who's being interviewed on a pet podcast.

00:46:00.177 --> 00:46:05.277
Anne Abel: Well, I think one thing I mean, it's not even though there's two dogs on the cover.

00:46:05.277 --> 00:46:07.617
Anne Abel: It's not just a dog book.

00:46:07.617 --> 00:46:19.317
Anne Abel: It's about coping with life, coping with depression, how you manage to, hope gives you the courage and fortitude to do the hard work you need to do to create.

00:46:20.317 --> 00:46:26.417
Anne Abel: So how to kind of find that hope and the important, the energy that you get.

00:46:26.417 --> 00:46:34.317
Anne Abel: My parents, I didn't feel loved or liked by them, but the energy derived from loving another being and being loved back.

00:46:34.337 --> 00:46:43.217
Anne Abel: And just because you didn't have it when you were growing up, doesn't mean you can't find love and respect as an adult.

00:46:43.217 --> 00:46:50.497
Anne Abel: And just the importance of perseverance, of not giving up to feelings of hopelessness and despair.

00:46:52.377 --> 00:46:55.617
Anne Abel: I'm very much one foot in front of the other.

00:46:56.397 --> 00:46:57.237
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Sounds like it.

00:46:57.237 --> 00:47:00.137
Anne Abel: You're easier than others.

00:47:00.557 --> 00:47:01.777
Anne Abel: And dogs helped me.

00:47:01.917 --> 00:47:09.137
Anne Abel: And Maddie, she was so sweet and loving, so that of course is good for someone who's depressed.

00:47:09.217 --> 00:47:13.997
Anne Abel: And Milo, to be honest, we thought I was an introvert, but I was a depressed extrovert.

00:47:14.097 --> 00:47:20.237
Anne Abel: Cause then I have Milo, and once he got, after six months, I started going to a dog park.

00:47:20.237 --> 00:47:21.457
Anne Abel: I made friends.

00:47:21.457 --> 00:47:25.637
Anne Abel: It was like, so he got me out into the community.

00:47:25.657 --> 00:47:28.977
Anne Abel: It used to be at four o'clock, three o'clock before I'd go to get my kids.

00:47:28.997 --> 00:47:30.317
Anne Abel: I was feeling really bad.

00:47:30.317 --> 00:47:33.297
Anne Abel: I'd go to the Whole Foods parking lot and watch people.

00:47:33.297 --> 00:47:34.617
Anne Abel: But now I had Milo.

00:47:34.617 --> 00:47:37.257
Anne Abel: I'd go, and you see the same people.

00:47:37.457 --> 00:47:39.517
Anne Abel: Really, you make friends.

00:47:39.797 --> 00:47:44.597
Anne Abel: Your dog, Milo had this, we actually had them get married.

00:47:44.677 --> 00:47:45.797
Anne Abel: He made believe they were married.

00:47:45.797 --> 00:47:46.837
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Yes, yes.

00:47:47.257 --> 00:47:52.997
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I saw in your intake form, in your guest form that Milo had a wedding.

00:47:52.997 --> 00:47:54.337
Isabel Alvarez Arata: He was a groom.

00:47:54.337 --> 00:47:57.077
Anne Abel: Our dog who died last week had the wedding in December.

00:47:57.077 --> 00:47:58.797
Anne Abel: But yeah, that's our second.

00:47:59.017 --> 00:48:00.937
Anne Abel: That was a real wedding.

00:48:02.137 --> 00:48:05.177
Anne Abel: But I'm just saying that Milo got me out.

00:48:05.397 --> 00:48:13.357
Anne Abel: The book is about just different ways to cope with situations and not to give in that it can get better.

00:48:13.357 --> 00:48:18.857
Anne Abel: And in my case, Milo was, you know, dogs can help you, pets can help you.

00:48:18.857 --> 00:48:29.877
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And you can help the pet because I think a lot of it is we think about how much and how grateful we are for our pets because they do fill our lives so much.

00:48:29.877 --> 00:48:40.057
Isabel Alvarez Arata: But I have to raise a glass to you for not returning that dog because nobody would have judged you for saying this is too much for me.

00:48:40.057 --> 00:48:45.637
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Nobody would have thought it was crazy to say, like, I can't take this on.

00:48:45.637 --> 00:48:52.197
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And I'm sure you had your inner voice saying this is too much, but you put one foot in front of the other and you did it.

00:48:52.197 --> 00:48:57.797
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And that takes so much courage and conviction and love.

00:48:57.797 --> 00:49:04.437
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And so I have to, I have to praise you for that because that truly is, it says so much about you as a person.

00:49:04.437 --> 00:49:10.477
Anne Abel: I guess when you're in it, you don't think, I mean, that day he pulled me in front of the bus after we had him just a few days.

00:49:10.477 --> 00:49:14.477
Anne Abel: And I pictured going home, putting him in the station and driving.

00:49:14.477 --> 00:49:16.977
Anne Abel: And then I saw him on that bed of rags.

00:49:16.977 --> 00:49:22.457
Anne Abel: And like I said, I just resigned myself to 15, I wish 15 years of servitude.

00:49:22.457 --> 00:49:27.457
Anne Abel: I remember just thinking I was just going to be his servant for 15 years.

00:49:27.457 --> 00:49:30.657
Isabel Alvarez Arata: But it takes a very special person to rise to the occasion.

00:49:31.197 --> 00:49:35.297
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So I want to propose a toast to you for all the stuff that you've shared with us.

00:49:35.297 --> 00:49:40.897
Isabel Alvarez Arata: The inspiration that it is to hear somebody say, after all the turmoil, it was worth it.

00:49:40.897 --> 00:49:41.857
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So cheers, Tina.

00:49:41.857 --> 00:49:43.537
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Thank you for being my guest.

00:49:43.537 --> 00:49:45.237
Anne Abel: Okay, thank you.

00:49:45.237 --> 00:49:46.197
Isabel Alvarez Arata: My pleasure.

00:49:46.197 --> 00:49:49.217
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I also want to propose a toast to my executive producer, Mark Winter.

00:49:49.217 --> 00:49:50.217
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Thank you, Mark.

00:49:50.217 --> 00:49:56.117
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And to our audience for joining us for these wonderful stories about these amazing pet lovers in the world.

00:49:56.117 --> 00:50:06.917
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I love to celebrate these stories and these storytellers and the impact they make maybe in the industry or maybe in the life of just one super exceptional gifted dog named Milo.

00:50:06.917 --> 00:50:11.217
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So here's to a life covered in pet hair, because there's no better way to live.

00:50:11.217 --> 00:50:12.377
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Cheers.

00:50:12.377 --> 00:50:18.697
Isabel Alvarez Arata: To learn more about Covered In Pet Hair, please visit coveredinpethair.com or petliferadio.com.

00:50:18.697 --> 00:50:21.597
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Thanks for watching and I'll see you next time.

00:50:21.597 --> 00:50:24.957
Announcer: Let's talk pets every week on demand.

00:50:24.977 --> 00:50:27.617
Announcer: Only on petliferadio.com.