Covered In Pet Hair

Join Isabel and her guest, Erin Moore of The Business End of the Leash, for a discussion on work/life balance, travel, and the importance of taking care of oneself when working in the pet industry.

During the show, they discuss how Erin's profound loss of her heart dog, Piper, impacted her dog training and coaching career, which now focuses on professional dog trainers. When the unexpected happens, such as a traumatic event, Erin believes that having a plan for a business that works for you can make all the difference. She also explains how dog trainers can make this plan a reality for themselves and how she supports them in that effort.

Erin is a profound pet lover and dedicated coach; she's a joy to chat with and a great resource for pet care professionals. Enjoy the show!

Listen to Episode #126 Now:

BIO:

Erin Moore is a passionate dog trainer and business coach who helps dog training professionals build sustainable, ethical businesses. After 13 years as a dog trainer, she experienced significant burnout and transformed her approach to business. Her personal journey led her to develop a unique coaching model that helps dog trainers scale their businesses more efficiently. By implementing online components and strategic systems, Erin dramatically improved her own business performance - increasing her monthly revenue from $8,000 to $23,000 while reducing her work hours to just 30 per week. A key motivation for her work came from her heart dog, Piper, whose loss in April 2022 inspired her to help other dog professionals create businesses that allow for meaningful personal time and work-life balance. Through her platform The Business End of the Leash, Erin offers coaching, podcasts, and resources designed to support dog training entrepreneurs in building thriving, purpose-driven businesses. Her core philosophy centers on working smarter, not harder, and helping dog professionals avoid the burnout she previously experienced. Erin is committed to showing trainers how to create businesses that align with their passion for dogs while providing financial stability and personal fulfillment.

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 a dog trainer consultant coach that's gonna help make your life so much easier.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: We're also gonna talk about pet bereavement, and if you are not a dog trainer, not a pet professional, but you have lost a pet, you'll wanna stick around, because we have some really great ways to help soothe your soul.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Don't go anywhere, I'll be right back and introduce you to our guest today, as soon as we hear 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, and today I have the pleasure of having a drink and a chat with a pet parent, an entrepreneur.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: She's a dog trainer business coach.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: She's a coffee lover, a tea drinker, a world traveler, and a Dungeons and Dragons nerd.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: She's originally from South Africa, now lives in Canada.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: She's dog mom to Fergus and her sole dog Piper, whom we will be discussing at length.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: She is a second time guest on Covered In Pet Hair, and she is the owner of The Business End of the Leash.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: In her business, she helps dog trainers create blended programs so that they can actually live their life, while also helping pets.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Her name is Erin Moore.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Welcome, Erin.

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

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Erin Moore: Thank you so much.

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Erin Moore: It's so good to be back.

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Erin Moore: I'm really glad to be here.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: I am too.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: I know you've been traveling a lot.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: I've been following you a little bit.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: We're going to catch up and find out everything you've been up to since we last spoke.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: But before we do that, let me introduce our drinking game today.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: So anybody at home participating in our drinking game, anytime you hear this word.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: The secret word is Piper.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Take a drink of whatever you're enjoying, but please be over 21 in the US to partake.

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

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: So I know you're not a big drinker.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: So what are you having today?

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Erin Moore: I'm getting me some ginger ale.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: The best.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: That's my go-to.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: If I'm not feeling a cocktail, that's my go-to.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: It feels refreshing.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: It's not too sugary.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: It's perfect.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: I am feeling like a glass of wine, which is often how I feel, to be honest with you.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: I love a glass of wine in the afternoon, and I'm having my favorite Pinot Grigio.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: I'm going to share this because we're right around the holidays.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: If you are a Costco member, the Kirkland Pinot Grigio is what you need for your holiday parties and celebrations.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: It's like $6.99, and it's a crowd pleaser, and it's one of my favorites.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: So, I mean, we all know that Kirkland brand makes good stuff, but this Pinot Grigio stands out.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: It's so good.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: And there's Sauvignon Blanc also.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: If you want to go a couple of dollars more, awesome.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: This is not sponsored.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Just a little tip for you boozy pet lovers like me.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: So I want to dig in to where you've been, what you've been up to.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: And then once I know where you've been and what you've been up to, I'm going to introduce our first game.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: But I feel like we can't just dive into that yet.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Can you give my audience just a little rundown of who you are, what you've been up to?

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Erin Moore: Sure.

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Erin Moore: It ties in well with the bereavement topic because I don't think I would have done any of these things if I hadn't been in the place of grief that I was.

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Erin Moore: My life would have looked very different.

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Erin Moore: But I've been in existential crisis for two and a half years in the grief.

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Erin Moore: So I've been doing all kinds of adventury things just trying to figure myself out and find out who I am and what I want to do.

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Erin Moore: I took a trip home to South Africa and I was there for a month, month and a half and then to Morocco there for a month, and then to Malaysia there for a month too.

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Erin Moore: It was kind of trotting around the world and experiencing different cultures and meeting so many amazing, incredible, kind, wonderful people who just are open to sharing their culture and open to sharing their ways of doing things.

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Erin Moore: I learned so much about myself but about other people.

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Erin Moore: I think it's a privilege, I know, but if you can travel, I think it's really important to do.

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Erin Moore: We learn so much about ourselves and about how similar we all are as people and how interconnected we really all are regardless of where the birth lottery has us being born.

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Erin Moore: I love that, the birth lottery.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: I talk about the birth lottery a lot because I was born in Ecuador, but I was born to a very specific level of education and societal influence in Ecuador.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: So I recognize my privilege and my luck when it comes to the birth lottery often.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: So I know that you said that you were in an existential crisis because of bereavement.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Would you mind sharing a little bit about Piper, what she meant to you and what it was like when you lost her?

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Erin Moore: Yeah, she was my absolute everything.

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Erin Moore: She was the first dog that I had as an adult on my own.

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Erin Moore: I got her right after I got divorced.

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Erin Moore: She was the first healthy relationship I ever had.

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Erin Moore: All of the big decisions that I made in my life revolved around her in some way.

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Erin Moore: She came with me from South Africa to Canada.

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Erin Moore: I started my first business because I was really tired of leaving her home and going to work in corporate.

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Erin Moore: So I started a dog walking business.

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Erin Moore: And then she was the reason I moved into dog training because she was getting tired of having all these other dogs around her all the time.

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Erin Moore: And then she was one of the reasons I moved into coaching because she was getting older and I didn't want to be operating a dog training business the way we were told to and spending all of my time driving around to clients, etc.

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Erin Moore: And I wanted more time with her.

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Erin Moore: So all of these big decisions in my life were made in part around her.

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Erin Moore: She was my touchstone.

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Erin Moore: She was my biggest support in everything and anything.

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Erin Moore: She taught me how to have fun.

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Erin Moore: There's a lot of, I have a lot of childhood trauma stuff that meant that learning how to have fun was not something that I did as a kid because I was too busy surviving.

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Erin Moore: So she taught me just how to have fun and how to enjoy life and how to be in the moment and how to, she had such an impact on, she still does.

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Erin Moore: She has an impact on absolutely everything that I have done in my life.

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Erin Moore: And I tied up so much of that childhood trauma with my relationship with her in so many different ways.

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Erin Moore: It wasn't even conscious at first with, I will provide for you the life that I should have had.

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Erin Moore: I will provide the safety and stability and security for you that I never had.

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Erin Moore: And I did.

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Erin Moore: And things she needed pushed me to do things I didn't want to do to get there.

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Erin Moore: So she impacted every single area and aspect of my life.

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Erin Moore: And when I lost her, it was I didn't know who I was without her.

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Erin Moore: I didn't know how to function as a human being without her because all of a sudden, I had to make these decisions for me.

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Erin Moore: I had to make the decision about what I wanted, what was best for my life rather than what was best for her, what she needed.

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Erin Moore: And just figuring out who I was and what I like to do with my time, you know, all of that was so new.

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Erin Moore: And I'm still like two and a half years and I'm still finding my footing.

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Erin Moore: Yeah, I've got more solid footing under me for sure.

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Erin Moore: Of course.

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Erin Moore: But there's still areas where I'm like, I don't know what to do here.

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Erin Moore: I don't know who I am here.

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Erin Moore: I don't know what is needed of me.

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Erin Moore: I would know what to do if it was for Piper, but I don't know what to do here.

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Erin Moore: So it was incredibly, like my whole world just ended.

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Erin Moore: And getting through the loss of the most important being in my life without the support of the most important being in my life was just this weird messed up, like I don't even know how to do this.

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Erin Moore: So it put me in an existential crisis, but it just shifted how I view the world, how I view business, how I view everything, and how I view relationships, what's important in life, what's not, what we spend our time doing, all of that stuff just was suddenly on the table looking at it going, well, that's dumb.

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Erin Moore: And why are we doing that?

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Erin Moore: And why am I spending time doing this?

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Erin Moore: So it's been a whole relearning process.

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Erin Moore: As well as we don't live in a world that is conducive for pet loss.

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Erin Moore: It's not something that people understand, the magnitude of it.

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Erin Moore: There's a lot of, let's just get another dog, or it's just a dog, or there's a lot of misunderstanding there around the level of loss.

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Erin Moore: When the reality is like pet loss is often much more impactful for a lot of us than human loss.

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Erin Moore: Because our relationship is different.

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Erin Moore: She's the being who saw me at my absolute worst.

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Erin Moore: Nobody else did.

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Erin Moore: Nobody in my life saw me in that way.

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Erin Moore: She did.

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Erin Moore: She's the being who knew me to my core because she lived with me every single day.

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Erin Moore: She went through all of those hard times.

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Erin Moore: That's not a loss that is easy to adapt to, especially not in a world where people are like, just get over it.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: You're not over it already.

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Erin Moore: It's two years and you're still upset about it.

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Erin Moore: That kind of attitude that exists a lot.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Well, I think a lot of people have that attitude either because they've never connected to a pet on the level that you were connected to Piper or it hasn't happened yet.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: They will at some point get it.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: I think whether you believe in God or the universe or whatever, I feel like life has a way of teaching us lessons.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: The more we judge a situation without understanding it, I think the more likely we are to find ourselves in that situation.

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Erin Moore: A hundred percent.

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Erin Moore: Anecdotal evidence of my life is that.

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Erin Moore: The situations where I'm like, I don't get it.

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Erin Moore: I don't understand why.

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Erin Moore: Then a year later, I'm like, I get it now.

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Erin Moore: Okay.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Exactly.

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Erin Moore: I'm sorry for the judgment because now I get it.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: I really am careful with what I judge because I really don't want God or the universe or karma to come back and be like, remember when you were talking all that nonsense?

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Come back to reality.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Yes.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Well, I actually, I love that we just talked about how it is sometimes more monumental to lose a pet than a human because of the nuance of the relationship, which is very different than the relationships that we have, even with our closest loved ones of the humankind.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: I want to invite you to play a game where you give me your opinions.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: I used AI to give me a comparison between bereavement benefits and bereavement resources for those who have lost people and those who have lost pets.

00:11:49.895 --> 00:11:52.455
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I call this game, This vs.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: That Bereavement Edition.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: I just want your input, like your thoughts on these statements.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Here we go.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Traditional bereavement typically arranges from three to five days of leave for immediate family members, whereas pet bereavements, when available, is generally shorter with most companies offering one to three days.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: What are your thoughts on that?

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Erin Moore: I think that neither of those is long enough period of time for something that big, right?

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Erin Moore: And it's just an indicator of how we value money over people in our society and expect people to just go through these huge fricking traumas and then come back to work like nothing happened five days later or three days later.

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Erin Moore: That's my first thought.

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Erin Moore: Yes.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Well, yeah, an immediate family member, five days.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Yeah.

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Erin Moore: Like who?

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Erin Moore: How?

00:12:45.195 --> 00:12:48.595
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Like your spouse, your parent, your child, five days.

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Erin Moore: You're not even over the shock of it in five days.

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Erin Moore: Never mind even starting to grieve effectively.

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Erin Moore: Like, no, I think it's bullshit.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: And we should really include pets in that immediate family.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: 100 percent.

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Erin Moore: 100 percent because they are.

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Erin Moore: They are an immediate family.

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Erin Moore: Yep.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Yes.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Like I understand you not giving me five days if my mom's dog dies, but like if it's mine, like it is immediate family and I need to have the time.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Okay.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Next one.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Traditional bereavement leave is widely offered and often mandated by law in many countries.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: Pet bereavement leave is still relatively uncommon with only a small percentage of companies offering formal policies.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: I found three companies, Kimpton, Trupanion, and Mars.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: I have a friend who said that the USDA, because they obviously work with animals, agriculture, they do have some flexibility.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: So I'll shout out to those companies.

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Isabel Alvarez Arata: But what are your thoughts about it being so uncommon?

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Erin Moore: It doesn't surprise me with my own experiences and what I've seen in the world around it.

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Erin Moore: But I think it's, as with a lot of things in capitalism, it's very short-sighted because if you're expecting people to just push through something that they can't push through like that, they're not going to be the level of productive you want them to be.

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Erin Moore: They're not going to be the level of focus that you want them to be.

00:14:05.435 --> 00:14:14.435
Erin Moore: And they're sure as hell not going to be the level of committed to you that you want them to be when you're showing that you don't give a shit about this huge thing that they are going through and dealing with.

00:14:14.435 --> 00:14:16.435
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Oh my gosh, I can't agree more.

00:14:16.435 --> 00:14:20.495
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Like, I feel like sometimes I have a stressful day and I can't focus.

00:14:20.495 --> 00:14:25.115
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And it's not a huge loss and it's not, you know, something monumental.

00:14:25.235 --> 00:14:26.895
Isabel Alvarez Arata: But like, I am just not productive.

00:14:26.895 --> 00:14:29.855
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So what's the point of me being at my desk at that point?

00:14:29.855 --> 00:14:31.715
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I've got to get up and walk away.

00:14:31.715 --> 00:14:33.015
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And obviously, I work for myself.

00:14:33.015 --> 00:14:34.935
Isabel Alvarez Arata: You work for yourself and we have that ability.

00:14:34.935 --> 00:14:49.835
Isabel Alvarez Arata: But when you're sitting, and especially in like an office environment with people like chit chatting and giggling over here and you're going through this huge life experience, it's got to be so hard and so frustrating and so debilitating in many ways.

00:14:49.895 --> 00:14:51.015
Erin Moore: Of course, yeah.

00:14:51.015 --> 00:14:56.535
Isabel Alvarez Arata: The next one is loss of human family members is universally recognized as a valid reason for time off.

00:14:56.535 --> 00:15:05.435
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Pet loss is gaining recognition, but many employees still feel hesitant to request time off without explicit policies in place.

00:15:05.435 --> 00:15:08.115
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Like, can I get the day off because my dog died?

00:15:08.115 --> 00:15:10.515
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Like it just is a hard conversation to have.

00:15:10.515 --> 00:15:13.535
Erin Moore: Well, especially when we're in that grief at the time, right?

00:15:13.535 --> 00:15:27.455
Erin Moore: Because when we're in that grief, we're also not thinking the way we would have been not in that grief or able to handle conflict or rejection in that way, you know, where we would normally be able to handle it.

00:15:27.455 --> 00:15:30.755
Erin Moore: We are at our most vulnerable when we're in that piece of grief.

00:15:30.755 --> 00:15:35.575
Erin Moore: So it makes sense to me that people would be hesitant when they're in that place to be able to reach out.

00:15:35.575 --> 00:15:42.655
Erin Moore: And again, I think it's bullshit because we should be able to, all of our feelings, we should be able to talk about them.

00:15:42.655 --> 00:15:44.135
Erin Moore: We should be able to express that.

00:15:44.135 --> 00:15:49.355
Erin Moore: We should be able to ask for these things without a fear attached to it.

00:15:49.415 --> 00:15:51.095
Erin Moore: And it reminds me of a friend of mine, actually.

00:15:51.335 --> 00:15:58.075
Erin Moore: Her heart and soul dog, this was like 20 years ago, passed away and she told her boss I need a day off and he was like, no, it's a dog.

00:15:58.075 --> 00:16:06.055
Erin Moore: So she's like, okay, I quit and she left because she just couldn't, and she was lucky enough to be in that situation, but she was like, I couldn't, how could I sit there?

00:16:06.055 --> 00:16:07.195
Erin Moore: My whole world was shattered.

00:16:07.195 --> 00:16:14.175
Erin Moore: How could I sit there and make sales for, I forget even what it was that she was selling, but it was not important.

00:16:14.175 --> 00:16:15.735
Erin Moore: It did not matter in that moment.

00:16:15.735 --> 00:16:23.895
Erin Moore: And the fact that they didn't value me enough for that time that I needed, they judged whether it was important enough, meant that I didn't need them.

00:16:23.895 --> 00:16:24.935
Erin Moore: I was like, hey, man.

00:16:24.935 --> 00:16:38.635
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Good for her, good for her, because right now, this is actually the next comment I have, is traditional bereavement policies are typically well defined and formalized, as well as an expected cost for businesses.

00:16:39.495 --> 00:16:42.295
Isabel Alvarez Arata: They just expect it to be something they have to cover.

00:16:42.295 --> 00:16:54.135
Isabel Alvarez Arata: When it comes to pet bereavement policies, which are often less formal, some companies can offer flexibility without written policies, but they actually can lead to improve morale and retention rates.

00:16:54.135 --> 00:16:58.675
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So it's a bad business decision to not let your friend take the day off.

00:16:58.735 --> 00:17:00.715
Erin Moore: Yep, it absolutely is.

00:17:00.715 --> 00:17:14.895
Erin Moore: And I mean, we're seeing this more and more and more, just with the shifts in our world view, and since COVID, the shifts in how people view work and capitalism and all of that, where people are just like, we're not valued at work, so why are we going?

00:17:15.415 --> 00:17:20.655
Erin Moore: Like, I have to work, how many jobs to make ends meet, and I get treated like, feel like, so why am I doing it?

00:17:20.655 --> 00:17:22.595
Erin Moore: And it just falls into that same category.

00:17:22.595 --> 00:17:28.135
Erin Moore: If they don't value you as a person, why would you value them as a company?

00:17:28.135 --> 00:17:29.815
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Correct, absolutely.

00:17:29.815 --> 00:17:39.755
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Last one, as more millennials and Gen X individuals who have high rates of pet ownership enter the workforce, the demand for pet bereavement policies is likely to grow.

00:17:39.755 --> 00:17:40.955
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I would agree with that, would you?

00:17:40.955 --> 00:17:42.415
Erin Moore: Yeah, I can see that too.

00:17:42.615 --> 00:17:56.395
Erin Moore: And especially in the Western world, where so many people in that demographic are choosing not to have kids, like an intentional choice not to have kids and instead are having pets.

00:17:56.395 --> 00:18:03.455
Erin Moore: Yeah, that absolutely makes sense to me with those groups of people, that there's going to be more of a need for it.

00:18:03.455 --> 00:18:08.175
Erin Moore: Also, with millennials and younger, we're also more emotionally aware.

00:18:08.175 --> 00:18:17.595
Erin Moore: We're more aware of how important it is to feel our feelings and express our feelings and grieve properly rather than just suck it up and push through.

00:18:17.595 --> 00:18:20.615
Erin Moore: So that also makes sense from that generational perspective.

00:18:20.615 --> 00:18:21.475
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Exactly.

00:18:21.475 --> 00:18:26.895
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I know I hear a lot of older generations be like, everybody's stressed out and everybody's anxious these days.

00:18:26.895 --> 00:18:29.875
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I'm like, no, you all were too, but you weren't able to talk about it.

00:18:29.875 --> 00:18:31.055
Erin Moore: Talk about it.

00:18:31.055 --> 00:18:31.775
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Exactly.

00:18:32.075 --> 00:18:44.515
Isabel Alvarez Arata: We have the ability to speak about these things and hopefully we have families and friend groups that allow us to express our feelings unlike they did 50 years ago when it was like, I don't want to hear about that.

00:18:44.515 --> 00:18:46.755
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Something's wrong with you if you can't get out of bed.

00:18:46.755 --> 00:18:47.275
Erin Moore: Right.

00:18:47.275 --> 00:18:48.335
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Shake it off and get up.

00:18:48.335 --> 00:18:50.175
Erin Moore: Pull yourself up by your bootstraps.

00:18:50.175 --> 00:18:51.295
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Exactly.

00:18:51.295 --> 00:18:52.215
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Exactly right.

00:18:52.215 --> 00:19:05.135
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So tell us a little bit about how Hyper's loss impacted you professionally, because I'm sure that like we just spoke, you weren't as motivated to run your business and be an entrepreneur.

00:19:05.135 --> 00:19:08.035
Isabel Alvarez Arata: It really derailed a lot of your plans, I'm sure.

00:19:08.235 --> 00:19:20.335
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So tell us how it affected you first, just so that I think people can relate to what maybe you were feeling and how you kind of took on the few days or months that followed that loss.

00:19:20.335 --> 00:19:28.935
Erin Moore: It was like everything in my life, including my business became, I wasn't quite sure what the point was.

00:19:28.935 --> 00:19:36.035
Erin Moore: I wasn't quite sure what the point of any of it was, because what did anything in the world matter without her?

00:19:36.915 --> 00:19:39.635
Erin Moore: Especially given how tied in with everything she was.

00:19:39.635 --> 00:19:42.915
Erin Moore: I think for pet professionals, this is a really big one too.

00:19:42.915 --> 00:19:44.335
Erin Moore: Pets are part of our business.

00:19:45.775 --> 00:19:50.635
Erin Moore: They're on our business cards, they're in our logo, they're in the company name, they're on our market, they're everywhere.

00:19:50.635 --> 00:19:52.355
Erin Moore: They're business partners as well.

00:19:52.355 --> 00:19:55.735
Isabel Alvarez Arata: They're the reason many of us started it, exactly.

00:19:55.955 --> 00:20:10.855
Erin Moore: So there's a level of grief there that was also different, because I know for some people, work is an escape from the grief and they're able to go and their dog wasn't a part of that, so they're able to just compartmentalize.

00:20:10.855 --> 00:20:15.195
Erin Moore: But for me and I think for a lot of people, I wasn't able to do that because she was the reason for it.

00:20:15.195 --> 00:20:18.855
Erin Moore: She was on everything, she was everywhere in my business.

00:20:19.375 --> 00:20:23.835
Erin Moore: That's tied with just the feeling of like, what is my purpose as a human being?

00:20:23.835 --> 00:20:26.255
Erin Moore: What is the point of any of this?

00:20:26.255 --> 00:20:33.915
Erin Moore: Really made it hard to want to push and grow my business, to want to do the running of the business stuff.

00:20:34.975 --> 00:20:47.775
Erin Moore: And I had an unfortunate incident too, where there was some shit that happened with some clients like weeks after Piper passed as well, that just like sent me in a tailspin about people and trusting people and relationships and stuff like that.

00:20:47.775 --> 00:20:55.175
Erin Moore: And also formed another barrier for me between the, I don't wanna like, none of this matters at all.

00:20:55.175 --> 00:20:56.315
Erin Moore: All that matters is her.

00:20:56.315 --> 00:21:10.535
Erin Moore: So it was really, from an emotional standpoint, it was hard to get my head to a place of, I still need to do this stuff, because there's gonna come a time where I'm gonna come out of this and I'm gonna feel differently.

00:21:10.535 --> 00:21:18.535
Erin Moore: And if then I wanna burn down my business and walk away, fine, but right now is not the time to make that decision because of where I'm at, you know?

00:21:18.535 --> 00:21:22.875
Erin Moore: So I really had to do a lot of work of like, we're putting this decision off for then.

00:21:22.875 --> 00:21:24.255
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Wow, that's impressive.

00:21:24.255 --> 00:21:37.315
Isabel Alvarez Arata: That's very impressive that you had the kind of composure at the moment, for lack of a better word, to remind yourself amidst that chaos and that grief, that it wasn't a good time to make decisions.

00:21:37.315 --> 00:21:41.615
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Because a lot of people will just, and this happens to me where I just like, I'm like, I can't.

00:21:41.615 --> 00:21:44.535
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And I push things away when they're too difficult.

00:21:44.535 --> 00:21:57.415
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And whether or not I can pick it up later, whether or not I regret it later, I just kind of take that protection at that moment and maybe shoot myself in the foot as a result, because I just can't take anymore.

00:21:57.415 --> 00:22:04.095
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So that was really great because I do think you have so, I've always followed you and I think you have so much to offer the pet community at large.

00:22:04.095 --> 00:22:15.935
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Obviously, you work specifically with pet professionals, but I know that you have a lot of followers that are not pet professionals who just connected with you because of that pet loss, that you really shared, you put yourself out there.

00:22:15.935 --> 00:22:27.435
Isabel Alvarez Arata: You, instead of holding it in, really went to social media and to your work and shared your story, which is not easy to do, especially when you're in the throes of the grief.

00:22:27.955 --> 00:22:35.215
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I want to learn more about how you self-soothed, as the last two and a half years have gone by.

00:22:35.215 --> 00:22:37.815
Isabel Alvarez Arata: What ways helped at the beginning, what ways help now.

00:22:37.815 --> 00:22:39.195
Isabel Alvarez Arata: But we got to take a break right here.

00:22:39.195 --> 00:22:44.875
Isabel Alvarez Arata: We're going to hear from our sponsors and when we come back, I'll invite you to play a game I've called Soothe the Soul.

00:22:44.875 --> 00:22:45.695
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So don't go anywhere.

00:22:45.695 --> 00:22:47.195
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I'll be right back with Erin Moore.

00:22:50.335 --> 00:22:53.555
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00:22:53.555 --> 00:22:56.135
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00:22:56.135 --> 00:23:01.695
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00:23:01.695 --> 00:23:02.435
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00:23:02.435 --> 00:23:04.035
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00:23:04.035 --> 00:23:08.815
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00:23:08.815 --> 00:23:13.075
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00:23:13.075 --> 00:23:20.355
Announcer: Learn more about the benefits of spay and neuter and meet Scooter, the neutered cat, at givethemten.org.

00:23:21.435 --> 00:23:22.775
Announcer: That's givethemten.org.

00:23:44.055 --> 00:23:45.655
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Welcome back to Covered in Pet Hair.

00:23:45.655 --> 00:24:01.455
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I'm your host, Isabel Alvarez Arada, and today I'm speaking to Erin Moore, and she is a dog trainer turned dog training coach, turned grief counselor for so many of us online because she shared her story about her profound loss with her soul dog, Piper.

00:24:01.913 --> 00:24:24.593
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And right now, I'm gonna invite you to play, Erin, a game I've called Soothe the Soul, where I'm gonna give you one minute to tell me ways that you would recommend a pet parent or pet professional who's going through a monumental loss like yours was with Piper, how they can find some kind of peace in the pain and in the grief.

00:24:24.593 --> 00:24:25.973
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Are you ready to play?

00:24:25.973 --> 00:24:26.793
Erin Moore: Yes, let's go.

00:24:26.793 --> 00:24:28.933
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Three, two, one, go.

00:24:28.933 --> 00:24:32.993
Erin Moore: Firstly is find the right people to be around, because there are gonna be a lot of people who don't get it.

00:24:32.993 --> 00:24:36.833
Erin Moore: And if we waste our time and energy trying to make them get it, it just makes everything harder.

00:24:36.833 --> 00:24:38.433
Erin Moore: So find the right people who already get it.

00:24:38.493 --> 00:24:46.313
Erin Moore: And these are the people who, it doesn't matter how many times you need to cry about it, how many times you need to talk about it, how many times you need to say the same thing, that is part of the process.

00:24:46.313 --> 00:24:52.673
Erin Moore: Talking about it, crying about it, feeling those feelings, not packing it up and putting on a brave face and going, yeah, I'm fine.

00:24:52.673 --> 00:24:59.033
Erin Moore: And then you're dying inside and 10 years later, you can't even look at a picture of your dog because you haven't processed your grief.

00:24:59.033 --> 00:25:05.853
Erin Moore: I did a thing that I call tapping the tear duct, which is I found a movie or a song that I knew would make me cry.

00:25:05.853 --> 00:25:11.613
Erin Moore: And I put it on so that it could send me into the crying, which would send me into the grief and then I could process and come out the other side of it.

00:25:11.613 --> 00:25:14.133
Erin Moore: Because my instinct was I don't want to cry.

00:25:14.133 --> 00:25:14.873
Erin Moore: It sucks.

00:25:14.873 --> 00:25:16.253
Erin Moore: I don't want to be in this place.

00:25:16.253 --> 00:25:19.453
Erin Moore: But knowing that we have to feel it to get through it, right?

00:25:19.453 --> 00:25:20.953
Erin Moore: So that's the first thing.

00:25:20.953 --> 00:25:24.973
Erin Moore: Find creative outlets for you, whether it's something like taking an improv class.

00:25:24.973 --> 00:25:31.133
Erin Moore: D&D, I cannot recommend enough for grief because you get to roleplay out whatever you're feeling in a safe way.

00:25:31.133 --> 00:25:41.013
Erin Moore: You get to say whatever the hell you want, feel whatever you want, do whatever you want in a way that really is accepted and embraced by the people playing and the storyline.

00:25:41.013 --> 00:25:47.473
Erin Moore: It really allows you to explore thoughts that may not be safe to explore without the protection of it being in a game.

00:25:47.473 --> 00:25:49.573
Erin Moore: D&D was huge for that.

00:25:49.573 --> 00:25:51.133
Isabel Alvarez Arata: That is so cool.

00:25:51.133 --> 00:25:54.593
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Well, we're out of time, but tell me more.

00:25:54.593 --> 00:25:55.493
Isabel Alvarez Arata: One more.

00:25:55.493 --> 00:25:58.853
Erin Moore: Therapy if you can, if it's feasible for you.

00:25:58.853 --> 00:26:08.573
Erin Moore: Again, just a safe space where you can understand grief, you can understand the process of what it is, because we get sold so much about what our feelings are and what they should be.

00:26:08.793 --> 00:26:16.793
Erin Moore: If we can understand what the grief process actually looks like and that it's actually really normal, then that can help a lot.

00:26:16.793 --> 00:26:18.273
Erin Moore: Don't try and forget your dog.

00:26:18.273 --> 00:26:19.053
Erin Moore: That was a big one.

00:26:19.053 --> 00:26:24.953
Erin Moore: One of the reasons I dove into speaking about her so much was because how I had grieved previously was so different.

00:26:24.953 --> 00:26:25.933
Erin Moore: I did pack it all up.

00:26:25.933 --> 00:26:27.033
Erin Moore: I did put it all away.

00:26:27.033 --> 00:26:29.953
Erin Moore: I did because I just needed to move on and survive.

00:26:29.953 --> 00:26:31.273
Erin Moore: Then I never processed it.

00:26:31.533 --> 00:26:37.613
Erin Moore: My mom died when I was 13, and I remember in my 20s being like, you totally affect me.

00:26:37.613 --> 00:26:41.893
Erin Moore: I hardly ever think about her, not realizing that that's actually the office.

00:26:41.893 --> 00:26:46.013
Erin Moore: That it was affecting me so much because I wasn't thinking about her.

00:26:46.013 --> 00:26:52.233
Erin Moore: I didn't want to relegate Piper to a memory of the past because I didn't want to feel the pain.

00:26:52.233 --> 00:26:54.373
Erin Moore: That happens so much for people.

00:26:54.373 --> 00:27:00.353
Erin Moore: Turn into it and talk about them and keep your connection with them because they're never gone.

00:27:00.353 --> 00:27:09.413
Erin Moore: They're not physically here, but they're always here and depending on what you believe spiritually, and I do believe spiritually that they are around waiting for us.

00:27:09.413 --> 00:27:12.173
Erin Moore: I stayed connected to that so much.

00:27:12.293 --> 00:27:16.073
Erin Moore: I did some consultations with an animal communicator.

00:27:17.573 --> 00:27:20.393
Erin Moore: I have doubts about a lot of animal communicators.

00:27:20.393 --> 00:27:24.633
Erin Moore: I think some people definitely have a way with it and some people are just charlatans and trying to make money.

00:27:24.633 --> 00:27:29.033
Erin Moore: But what I was able to tell myself was it doesn't really matter if I get what I need from it.

00:27:29.033 --> 00:27:30.413
Erin Moore: Who cares if they're charlatans?

00:27:30.473 --> 00:27:36.293
Erin Moore: Who cares if I get what I need from it and it helps me, then I'm going to do it.

00:27:36.293 --> 00:27:41.113
Erin Moore: Whatever things people might judge you for, if it's going to help you, go do it.

00:27:41.113 --> 00:27:43.673
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Absolutely.

00:27:43.673 --> 00:27:59.073
Isabel Alvarez Arata: The therapy also, I will say, I know that there's a lot of people who are anti-taking anything to help you soothe, but therapy and then telling your therapist if you maybe need some medical intervention, and there's no shame in that.

00:27:59.133 --> 00:28:00.953
Isabel Alvarez Arata: There's no shame in asking for something.

00:28:00.953 --> 00:28:09.973
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I remember I had terrible postpartum anxiety, and they kept doing the test for me, and I kept being like, yeah, I'm good, but the test didn't ask the right questions.

00:28:09.973 --> 00:28:15.373
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Because if they had asked me, if I was having any intrusive thoughts, I would have been like, oh yeah.

00:28:15.373 --> 00:28:17.593
Isabel Alvarez Arata: But the test didn't ask about that at that time.

00:28:17.593 --> 00:28:19.973
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Hopefully, it asks now, so it's hard.

00:28:19.973 --> 00:28:25.313
Isabel Alvarez Arata: That's why it's so important to talk to a therapist that gets you or a friend that gets you.

00:28:25.313 --> 00:28:33.613
Isabel Alvarez Arata: If somebody tells you maybe you need to see somebody about getting on something, either even just periodically, as you adjust to your loss, please listen to them.

00:28:33.613 --> 00:28:42.613
Isabel Alvarez Arata: We have too much shame around mental health and mental health medicine and mental health solutions, and talk therapy and psychiatry and all of that.

00:28:42.613 --> 00:28:47.093
Isabel Alvarez Arata: It has its place and pet bereavement is not the exception.

00:28:47.093 --> 00:28:48.673
Isabel Alvarez Arata: It really is not.

00:28:48.673 --> 00:29:03.293
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I was so thankful for having already been treated for anxiety when my Titan passed, because I feel like I did not have that horrific reaction to his loss that I would have normally had.

00:29:03.293 --> 00:29:09.993
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I was on the anti-anxiety medication since my second was born just because of the postpartum anxiety.

00:29:10.593 --> 00:29:14.473
Isabel Alvarez Arata: It's a nice little bonus of being on that medication.

00:29:16.573 --> 00:29:19.973
Isabel Alvarez Arata: User resources, guys, user resources, there's no shame in it.

00:29:19.973 --> 00:29:31.533
Erin Moore: There's a fine line between using resources like that to avoid our feelings and using it to be able to manage and cope with our feelings in a way that actually allows us to move through them.

00:29:31.533 --> 00:29:32.253
Erin Moore: Exactly.

00:29:32.253 --> 00:29:33.073
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Exactly right.

00:29:33.073 --> 00:29:35.073
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Absolutely.

00:29:35.073 --> 00:29:42.473
Isabel Alvarez Arata: One of the things that I always want people to know is that it is just as monumental as everything else.

00:29:42.473 --> 00:29:54.853
Isabel Alvarez Arata: If you were to lose a pet traumatically, unexpectedly, the loss is the same as a mother who loses her child unexpectedly, dramatically, and you wouldn't judge that mom for doing whatever she needed to soothe her broken heart.

00:29:54.853 --> 00:29:57.893
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So just remember that these things are available to you.

00:29:57.893 --> 00:30:10.493
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And one of the things that I want to talk about too as we end this show is how pet professionals and even if you're a pet parent listening, pet professionals, we really connect to the pets in our care.

00:30:10.493 --> 00:30:15.713
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And sometimes it's not even our own pet that we lose and really affects us.

00:30:15.913 --> 00:30:25.993
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I remember when I was a professional pet sitter having to be there when a cat was put down because he had thrown a clot, his parents were traveling, I was taking care of him.

00:30:25.993 --> 00:30:26.913
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I had to be present.

00:30:26.913 --> 00:30:32.053
Isabel Alvarez Arata: It was the first time I ever had to do to be in a euthanasia situation.

00:30:32.053 --> 00:30:38.753
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And I remember feeling so emotionally drained for months after that and having friends that didn't get it.

00:30:38.753 --> 00:30:50.113
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So what advice do you have for those pet pros who really do get so attached to these animals in our care and maybe the people in their life are like, it's not even your dog.

00:30:50.113 --> 00:30:52.133
Erin Moore: Yeah, again, it's the same advice, right?

00:30:52.133 --> 00:30:53.993
Erin Moore: It's talk to people who do get it.

00:30:53.993 --> 00:30:56.053
Erin Moore: It's allow yourself to feel it.

00:30:56.293 --> 00:31:03.573
Erin Moore: And even if other people don't get it, allow yourself to feel it anyway, because it's valid, because the concept of ownership of a pet is so dumb anyway.

00:31:03.573 --> 00:31:09.233
Erin Moore: Like if you have a connection with an animal, it doesn't matter whether they live in your house and you're the one feeding them or not.

00:31:09.233 --> 00:31:10.073
Erin Moore: It's a loss.

00:31:10.073 --> 00:31:15.673
Erin Moore: It's a loss that you are going to feel like any other and that's normal and that's okay.

00:31:15.673 --> 00:31:22.293
Erin Moore: And make sure that you're doing all the things that you can to take care of yourself for that loss too, whether they're your dog or not.

00:31:22.293 --> 00:31:22.953
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Absolutely.

00:31:22.953 --> 00:31:30.773
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And should their clients be, like let's say that it's a dog trainer who works with clients one-on-one.

00:31:30.773 --> 00:31:31.973
Isabel Alvarez Arata: What do they tell their clients?

00:31:31.973 --> 00:31:35.093
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Should they be honest, saying like, I just don't have it right now?

00:31:35.333 --> 00:31:36.373
Isabel Alvarez Arata: What did you say?

00:31:36.373 --> 00:31:36.853
Isabel Alvarez Arata: What did you do?

00:31:36.853 --> 00:31:39.573
Erin Moore: That's where I was like incredibly grateful.

00:31:39.573 --> 00:31:49.953
Erin Moore: I mean, if I end up burning down my business a year from now and doing something else, I will always be grateful that I had a blended program set up because it allowed me to take the time that I needed.

00:31:49.953 --> 00:32:02.053
Erin Moore: It allowed me to, I could focus on the clients that I did have, but because there are so many places within a blended program that they can get support that isn't directly from me, it also gave me the space that I needed.

00:32:02.053 --> 00:32:09.293
Erin Moore: So I was working, you know, the first like two weeks, I didn't work at all and I just told my clients and I was like, you know, done.

00:32:09.293 --> 00:32:14.973
Erin Moore: But then after that, I was working two hours a day just to meet my client needs because they were paying me for that.

00:32:14.973 --> 00:32:20.193
Erin Moore: But I didn't need to do anything else because the business was set up in a way that took care of itself to do that.

00:32:20.193 --> 00:32:24.413
Erin Moore: And it's sustained till now, like it's still sustaining, right?

00:32:24.413 --> 00:32:37.113
Erin Moore: So like that is one of the things that hit home for me why Blender programs are so important for dog pros because it gives you the space to take that time without having to sacrifice the money, right?

00:32:37.113 --> 00:32:42.273
Erin Moore: Because none of us should ever have to make the decision, do I grieve or do I go and get paid?

00:32:42.273 --> 00:32:44.933
Erin Moore: Like that is such an awful thing to have to do.

00:32:44.933 --> 00:32:48.313
Erin Moore: And when you have a Blender program set up properly, you don't have to make that choice.

00:32:48.313 --> 00:32:49.873
Erin Moore: You can do both.

00:32:49.873 --> 00:33:07.153
Erin Moore: So like if you're in a place where you know it's coming because it's going to happen for all of us, but you're not there right now, now is the time to make sure that your business is set up in a way that you can take that time without your clients having to be left kind of hanging and waiting for you.

00:33:07.673 --> 00:33:12.153
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Right, right, because all of us, we go in to help the pets, so we don't want to leave them hanging.

00:33:12.153 --> 00:33:17.053
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So can you, for those that are listening and aren't really familiar with blended programs, can you describe them for us?

00:33:17.053 --> 00:33:28.153
Erin Moore: So a blended program, it's a combo of a couple of online components where your clients are doing a lot of the learning theory, the exercises that they need, the why behind things.

00:33:28.153 --> 00:33:40.193
Erin Moore: They're learning that online and they're getting feedback from you via video so that by the time you work face to face with them, whatever that face to face looks like, they already have that info.

00:33:40.193 --> 00:33:47.313
Erin Moore: They already have practiced it and basically you're spending your in-person time proofing the behavior with them and helping generalize it with them.

00:33:47.313 --> 00:33:51.233
Erin Moore: And rather than sitting there trying to teach them something new in person.

00:33:51.233 --> 00:34:02.513
Erin Moore: And so, you know, it has benefits in so many different ways, but one of the biggest ones is your time isn't required for your clients to be learning, but you're there to help them through the process.

00:34:02.573 --> 00:34:05.413
Erin Moore: You don't lose that personal connection that you have with them.

00:34:05.413 --> 00:34:10.173
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Yeah, it sounds like a really great way to get some freedom for life, because life happens.

00:34:10.173 --> 00:34:17.673
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Like, you know, you have kid, you have an aging grandparent, you hurt yourself, you end up in the hospital with appendicitis.

00:34:17.673 --> 00:34:19.433
Isabel Alvarez Arata: There's so many things that can happen.

00:34:19.433 --> 00:34:26.133
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And when we are, as a person who provided services for 12 years, I had a team and we kind of backed each other up.

00:34:26.133 --> 00:34:32.873
Isabel Alvarez Arata: But a lot of businesses, pet pros are not set up that way, where even if they did have a backup, it wouldn't be for a long term, right?

00:34:32.873 --> 00:34:39.533
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Like they might have somebody help them one day, but not necessarily for the weeks that follow this accident or incident.

00:34:39.533 --> 00:34:46.233
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So it sounds like such a great way to kind of like have a little bit of an insurance on somebody's business.

00:34:46.233 --> 00:34:52.433
Erin Moore: So that you can take the time when you need it, because we are not meant to just work, pay bills and die.

00:34:52.433 --> 00:34:53.413
Erin Moore: That's not our purpose.

00:34:53.413 --> 00:34:55.153
Erin Moore: That's not what we're here for.

00:34:55.153 --> 00:35:13.873
Erin Moore: And just because we're in a helping profession where we get a lot of value and a lot of like our purpose comes from helping others doesn't mean that we shouldn't have a life too, or that we shouldn't be protected to be able to take the time that we need when we need it, whether it's for an injury or family issues or bereavement or whatever.

00:35:13.873 --> 00:35:16.733
Erin Moore: We have to live as well as be business owners.

00:35:16.733 --> 00:35:21.493
Isabel Alvarez Arata: The Blended program will be there for you when you need it or when you really just want it.

00:35:21.493 --> 00:35:24.493
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So that's exactly, so I think that's such a great idea.

00:35:24.493 --> 00:35:39.293
Isabel Alvarez Arata: How can my audience learn more about you please mention your TikTok and all the things that you do on social media so that somebody can, even if they're not dog trainers and they're not necessarily interested in a coaching situation, I do want people to know that you're a great resource.

00:35:39.293 --> 00:35:45.053
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Just even if they go back to the beginning and watch old videos and connect there.

00:35:45.053 --> 00:35:47.353
Erin Moore: Well, I'm on TikTok, dogbizcoach.

00:35:47.353 --> 00:35:50.653
Erin Moore: I'm on Facebook as well, same thing, dogbizcoach.

00:35:50.653 --> 00:36:08.533
Erin Moore: My website is dogbizcoach.com, and I talk very openly about business stuff, about grief stuff, about trauma stuff, about I genuinely believe that part of our purpose here is to connect with other people and share our real experiences so that we let other people know that they're not alone.

00:36:08.533 --> 00:36:15.833
Erin Moore: So yeah, if anybody is, whether it's grief or business or whatever, dog stuff, please come and join the community.

00:36:15.833 --> 00:36:19.413
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Yeah, I think there's such a human connection to you.

00:36:19.413 --> 00:36:29.993
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Like I feel like even before I had you on the show, I could just feel how like really genuine, authentic you are and how you don't put up like this pretenses.

00:36:29.993 --> 00:36:32.613
Isabel Alvarez Arata: You don't tell people you're okay when you're not.

00:36:32.613 --> 00:36:35.793
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And I think we can all learn a lot from that.

00:36:35.793 --> 00:36:47.493
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So I just want to propose a test to you for being that person, being a light and letting the dark come whenever you're feeling it so that we can all recognize that we are all creatures of light and dark, right?

00:36:47.493 --> 00:36:48.113
Isabel Alvarez Arata: We are.

00:36:48.113 --> 00:36:50.793
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Some days are good, some days are bad and that's okay.

00:36:51.193 --> 00:36:51.933
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So cheers to you.

00:36:51.933 --> 00:36:53.033
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Thank you for being my guest.

00:36:53.033 --> 00:36:54.513
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Thank you so much.

00:36:54.513 --> 00:36:55.213
Isabel Alvarez Arata: My pleasure.

00:36:55.213 --> 00:36:58.153
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I want to propose a test to my executive producer, Mark Winter.

00:36:58.153 --> 00:36:59.073
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Thank you, Mark.

00:36:59.073 --> 00:37:02.373
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And to our audience, I hope you found some peace in this conversation.

00:37:02.813 --> 00:37:05.093
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I know for sure many of you related to Erin.

00:37:05.093 --> 00:37:06.413
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I know I've been there.

00:37:06.413 --> 00:37:10.753
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And if you don't get it, let's hope you never do, right?

00:37:10.753 --> 00:37:23.513
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Let's hope that you don't ever understand what we're referring to in this episode, but I think a lot of you do and I hope you find your healing and I hope you soothe your soul so here's to you all, take good care of yourselves.

00:37:23.513 --> 00:37:27.113
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Here's to a life covered in pet hair because there's no better way to live.

00:37:27.113 --> 00:37:27.793
Announcer: Cheers.

00:37:27.793 --> 00:37:28.753
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Cheers.

00:37:28.753 --> 00:37:34.353
Isabel Alvarez Arata: To learn more about Covered In Pet Hair, please visit coveredinpethair.com or petliferadio.com.

00:37:34.353 --> 00:37:36.853
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Thanks for watching and I'll see you next time.

00:37:36.853 --> 00:37:42.873
Announcer: Let's talk pets every week on demand only on petliferadio.com.