The Doggy Diva Show

Health and Lifestyle Contributor Monica Leighton offers timely and helpful advice for pet parents during Pet Poison Prevention Awareness Month and Kathleen Donnelly, award winning author and professional K- 9 handler, premieres the release of the third book in her popular National Forest K-9 book series - Killer Secrets. 

Listen to Episode #164 Now:

Transcript:

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Announcer: This is Pet Life Radio.

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Announcer: Let's talk pets.

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Announcer: The views conveyed by the guests on this program do not necessarily represent the views of the host or owners of The Doggy Diva Show, and do not necessarily constitute endorsement of products.

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Announcer: Medical information shared by the guests on this program are those of the guests and are for informational purposes only.

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Announcer: They should not replace the medical advice of your veterinarian.

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Susan Marie: Hi, this is Susan Marie from The Doggy Diva Show.

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Susan Marie: This episode features helpful advice for Pet Poison Prevention Awareness Month and an award-winning K-9 mystery author.

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Susan Marie: That's what's on our show, so let's get started.

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Announcer: Come here, babies.

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Announcer: It's time for a treat, The Doggy Diva Show.

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Announcer: Here's national award-winning author and animal advocate, Susan Marie.

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Susan Marie: Hi, welcome to The Doggy Diva Show, the show for animal lovers.

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Susan Marie: I'm your host, Susan Marie, and as always, I'm joined by my K-9 co-hosts, the Doggy Divas themselves.

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Susan Marie: Thank you for joining us today as we bring you the experts in the pet and animal world right to you.

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Susan Marie: Contact us at the doggydiva.com.

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Susan Marie: That's the doggydiva.com.

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Susan Marie: We love hearing from you, so go grab a cup of coffee and your pet's favorite treat, and we'll be back in just a moment.

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

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Susan Marie: Welcome back everyone to the Doggy Diva Show.

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Susan Marie: With us to share timely and important tips for pets and pet parents is Monica Leighton, president of Professional Pet Sitting.

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Susan Marie: Hey Monica, how are you?

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Susan Marie: With March being Pet Poison Prevention Month, I was thinking it's very ironic because four years ago this month, all three of mine were not on purpose, but our neighbor had put out a poison for a rodent and we had a rainstorm and it went into our yard.

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Susan Marie: So all three of mine, they suffered from it.

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Susan Marie: So I am very pro Pet Poison Prevention Month because there's so many things we need to be aware of.

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Susan Marie: And it took us a couple, it took us like a day or so to figure it out because it comes up like almost like pancreatitis or something.

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Susan Marie: So it's really important to be aware of it, to be aware of things that can go on, whether it be in your yard, in your household, whether you're out for a walk, whether it's a plant, it could be inside your house.

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Susan Marie: So can you share some helpful tips with our listeners for Pet Poison Prevention Month?

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Monica Leighton: Absolutely.

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Monica Leighton: They have so many different studies and things that talk about all the common pet toxins.

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Monica Leighton: They even have all the little segments.

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Monica Leighton: We could have a show, we could have multiple shows just covering all the different things out there that can be toxic to your pets, which is so scary.

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Monica Leighton: I mean, it's just so much.

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Monica Leighton: Their most common things that are called in is a lot of human prescriptions, over-the-counter prescriptions that your pet gets into.

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Monica Leighton: Foods, chocolate, even some veterinary products.

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Monica Leighton: They'll get a pet's pill that is for a bigger pet at home and the smaller pet grabs it or things of that nature.

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Monica Leighton: Household items, cleaning items, rodenticides, rodonar baits and things like that.

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Monica Leighton: Certain plants, sprays, gardening products.

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Monica Leighton: The list just goes on and on.

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Monica Leighton: But the main thing that I really wanted to kind of let people know is number one, first thing that happens is contact your vet or contact the Pet Poison Helpline because there's a lot of great information out there, which is amazing.

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Monica Leighton: It's so wonderful that we have that.

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Monica Leighton: But it's not all one size fits all.

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Monica Leighton: It's different for every pet, every circumstance, what they get into.

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Monica Leighton: There's different dosages for different sizes.

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Monica Leighton: And it's not always treated the same way with each and every pet.

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Monica Leighton: So if you have a pet that does get into something that you're concerned about, you wanna remove the pet from the toxin, check and make sure that the pet's safe, they're breathing.

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Monica Leighton: Do not give any home antidotes.

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Monica Leighton: Do not induce vomiting.

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Monica Leighton: Just consult your vet.

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Monica Leighton: Sometimes people will say, oh, you can induce vomiting.

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Monica Leighton: You can give them hydrogen peroxide on the tongue or do this or do that.

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Monica Leighton: Don't do that until you contact your veterinarian or a pet poison helpline.

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Monica Leighton: Certain things, depending on the time frame, you know, if you get home and see your pet's gotten into something, it may not have happened immediately.

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Monica Leighton: So maybe past the point of vomit inducing.

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Monica Leighton: It's just treated in different ways.

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Monica Leighton: And sometimes you can almost make things worse by reacting quickly without knowing the best solution on how to solve it.

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Monica Leighton: So always contact Pet Poison Helpline, contact your veterinarian, tell them what's going on.

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Monica Leighton: If you have the information on what the pet ate, that's gonna help them so much or what they got into.

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Monica Leighton: Have detailed things, the best you can do to kind of let them know how much, what dosage or what plant or whatever it was that they got into.

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Monica Leighton: And they'll let you know the best thing to do if you need to go straight to a vet, if you need to induce vomiting, if you need to give something else.

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Monica Leighton: Always contact them first.

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Monica Leighton: That's always gonna be your number one best defense.

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Monica Leighton: Because again, if you do something that may be contradicting, it could potentially make things worse.

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Susan Marie: And that's so important, Monica, like for myself, I had no idea what it was.

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Susan Marie: By the second one, the next day we figured it out.

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Susan Marie: Because we do everything, so it's definitely not, we do the very natural, the pest care, but not everybody does.

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Susan Marie: So everyone, which I learned how things can happen and kind of spiral out of control and you're not in control of it.

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Susan Marie: So that's why it's so important to be aware and it's really important to call your vet right away to give you the best advice because you could be inducing vomiting, thinking that you're doing the right thing when there could be something totally different wrong.

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Susan Marie: It may not be what you think it is.

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Susan Marie: So it's always important to call your vet.

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Susan Marie: And also the Pet Poison Hotline, that's another number that's up on my refrigerator.

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Susan Marie: Can you share with everyone what that Pet Poison Hotline is?

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Monica Leighton: Yeah, so Pet Poison Hotline, it is staff veterinarians.

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Monica Leighton: They are around the clock 24-7.

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Monica Leighton: So if your vet's office is closed, you can call them.

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Monica Leighton: They do charge a fee, it's $85.

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Monica Leighton: And that $85 fee is per incidence.

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Monica Leighton: So you could call in and let them know what's going on.

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Monica Leighton: And if they say, hey, you know, pet's got to go to your vet, they'll be able to contact your vet.

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Monica Leighton: This is what's going on.

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Monica Leighton: This is what I told them to do.

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Monica Leighton: They'll talk with your veterinarian.

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Monica Leighton: There's so many instances where we had pets come in and had gotten into things.

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Monica Leighton: And Dr.

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Monica Leighton: Reinhart would have me call Pet Poison Helpline just because they have such a huge knowledge wealth when it comes to toxicities and the best treatments.

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Monica Leighton: And you can have medications that aren't, you know, not every vet is going to be familiar with every single med out there, especially when you have a ton of human products, what the dosages are, you know what I mean?

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Monica Leighton: How they come, what it could possibly do to a pet, that having Pet Poison Helpline is such a huge help.

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Monica Leighton: And you can go on to their website, and that's petpoisonhelpline.com.

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Monica Leighton: You can call them.

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Monica Leighton: Their phone number is 1-855-764-7661.

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Monica Leighton: And like I said, you know, there is a fee involved, but just like if you were to go to a veterinary, there's going to be a fee involved either place.

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Monica Leighton: But they are going to know firsthand exactly what's going to do to your pet, what signs to be looking for, when to go for help, and how to help along the way.

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Susan Marie: And having spoken with them myself, they're very good and very thorough and they guide you very well.

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Susan Marie: And, you know, they help you to make decisions.

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Susan Marie: So I had one of my dogs.

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Susan Marie: This was quite a few years ago.

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Susan Marie: We had someone come over to the house who didn't have their purse shut, and they had ibuprofen in it.

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Susan Marie: And one of my dogs decided to feast on some.

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Susan Marie: And we called the Pet Poison Hotline because, of course, it was a Sunday.

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Susan Marie: And they walked us through everything, what to do.

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Susan Marie: And when we had all, they gave us the information to give the emergency room vet.

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Susan Marie: And, you know, it was, they're very, very good.

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Susan Marie: Just for the listeners, one more time.

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Susan Marie: Obviously, we're going to call our vet right away, but can you just give out the Pet Poison Hotline one more time so that, you know, they can write it down?

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Monica Leighton: So it's petpoisonhelpline.com, and it's 1-855-764-7661.

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Susan Marie: Well, Monica, thank you, as always.

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Susan Marie: This is great information, and it's very timely for the month of March.

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Susan Marie: So, everyone, make sure you have that number in your phone so that you're not scrambling or don't have to run through the refrigerator when something happens to your pet, which you want to make sure that you're reacting to it right away.

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Susan Marie: And always, when something is happening to your pet, always call your vet because most vets have on there, even if they're closed, they'll have on their answering machine what to do.

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Susan Marie: So call your vet, call the Pet Poison Hotline.

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Susan Marie: Monica, as always, I thank you so much.

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Susan Marie: This is such great and timely information.

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Monica Leighton: Oh, of course.

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Monica Leighton: If they can know where to go, then the pets can stay safe and that's the goal.

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Susan Marie: Absolutely.

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Susan Marie: All three of my girls ended up doing great, but it was from reacting very quickly and my vet recognizing the signs and also they contacted the Pet Poison Hotline too.

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Susan Marie: So I think everything works in conjunction with each other.

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Susan Marie: So again, I thank you so very much.

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Monica Leighton: Thank you.

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Susan Marie: And we'll be back in just a moment.

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Susan Marie: Hello, everyone.

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Susan Marie: Susan Marie here to tell you about the award-winning three-book series, The Doggy Diva Diaries.

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Susan Marie: In this series, Ms.

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Susan Marie: Olive learns that it doesn't matter what you look like on the outside, it's the kindness and love you have on the inside that counts.

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Susan Marie: Available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other online booksellers.

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Susan Marie: And please visit us at the doggydiva.com for more information.

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Susan Marie: Thank you, everyone.

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Susan Marie: Coming up, an award-winning author premieres the latest release in her popular K-9 Suspense series.

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Susan Marie: Stay with us.

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Susan Marie: Welcome back, everyone, to the Doggy Diva Show.

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Susan Marie: Kathleen Donnelly is an award-winning author and a K-9 handler for private narcotics dog detection company who utilizes and draws from her real life experience as a K-9 handler to instill realism into her popular National Forest K-9 Mysteries book series.

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Susan Marie: Kathleen is with us today to premiere her third book in the National Forest K-9 Mystery book series, Killer Secrets.

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Susan Marie: And we want to welcome back Kathleen.

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Susan Marie: Hey Kathleen, welcome back.

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Kathleen Donnelly: Hi, it's so great to be back.

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Kathleen Donnelly: Thank you so much for having me on the show again.

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Kathleen Donnelly: I really appreciate it.

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Susan Marie: Oh, it's always our pleasure and your books, I love them.

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Susan Marie: So, and I know that the listeners do, but for some of our first time listeners, can you tell us about your K-9 handler background and how this work inspired you to write this series?

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Kathleen Donnelly: Sure, I'd be happy to.

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Kathleen Donnelly: I have worked since 2005 for a private company called Sherlock Hounds Detection K-9s, and we utilize our K-9s to go into mainly schools and they are trained to find drugs, alcohol and gunpowder.

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Kathleen Donnelly: And so our big goal is just to keep schools a safe environment and a great learning place and help kids make better choices.

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Kathleen Donnelly: So that's my background.

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Kathleen Donnelly: As I worked with my dogs, I was really lucky working with several trainers to see police dogs in action and other types of law enforcement dogs, bomb dogs and all sorts of, I mean, it's just amazing what dogs can do.

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Kathleen Donnelly: So all the different jobs.

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Kathleen Donnelly: And this book idea started to form that I wanted to have a K-9 handler and her melanoise solve mysteries.

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Kathleen Donnelly: And as it developed, I found out the Forest Service had a K-9 unit, which fascinated me.

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Kathleen Donnelly: Those K-9s really become backup officers for the law enforcement officers because they're often out in the wilderness on their own with only the dog as their backup.

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Kathleen Donnelly: So it just made for a fascinating job and taking it into fiction and having fun creating this story with it.

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Susan Marie: Well, and you do such a wonderful job.

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Susan Marie: And I personally love all mysteries, with books in general, that have like an animal theme through them.

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Susan Marie: And I truly appreciate the strong bond between Forest Service Officer, Maya Thompson, and her K-9 partner Juniper.

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Susan Marie: And for those who may be catching up in the series, can you tell us about them and what they've experienced in your first two books in the series, Chasing Justice and Hunting the Truth?

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Kathleen Donnelly: Sure.

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Kathleen Donnelly: One of my goals in writing the National Forest K-9 series was to really show an officer and their K-9 coming together and sort of that bonding process, how it goes.

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Kathleen Donnelly: So I think the books, not only, I mean, you always have a character arc in books, but this also has an arc as far as Maya and Juniper bonding.

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Kathleen Donnelly: So in the first book, Maya is forced to take Juniper on as a K-9.

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Kathleen Donnelly: She actually comes into the book not wanting to do K-9 handling again, due to some past experiences, but her best friend who was Juniper's handler at the beginning of Chasing Justice dies and he's murdered.

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Kathleen Donnelly: And in order to solve the murder, she has to face that fear of working a dog again.

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Kathleen Donnelly: And together she and Juniper solve her friend's death.

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Kathleen Donnelly: And then in book two, they've been together for a while, they've passed certification, they're starting to bond and work together.

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Kathleen Donnelly: And Juniper and Maya end up solving the cold case murder of her mother and grandmother and finding out the truth about what happened in the past.

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Kathleen Donnelly: And they go off into the wilderness together and track some pretty dangerous criminals.

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Susan Marie: Now, in book three, I love it because Maya is a very strong female character, and of course, Juniper is strong too.

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Susan Marie: I love Juniper.

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Susan Marie: But in the third installment, can you just tell us a little bit about Killer Secrets?

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Susan Marie: Because it kind of has a whole different twist on it.

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Kathleen Donnelly: It does.

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Kathleen Donnelly: Killer Secrets goes in a little different direction.

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Kathleen Donnelly: One thing I learned about the Forest Service is because the National Forest are so big, the law enforcement officers and K-9s end up working with multiple agencies.

00:16:38.904 --> 00:16:42.684
Kathleen Donnelly: So different counties, different sheriff's offices in those counties.

00:16:42.924 --> 00:16:54.744
Kathleen Donnelly: And so I decided for book three, I would go ahead and take Maya and Juniper out of their usual home base and take them to a new county where they deal with a sheriff who's not maybe who he seems.

00:16:55.064 --> 00:17:00.004
Kathleen Donnelly: And there's a serial killer on the loose who's made his dumping grounds, the National Forest.

00:17:00.304 --> 00:17:03.904
Kathleen Donnelly: And the bodies are revealed when an avalanche comes down a mountainside.

00:17:03.924 --> 00:17:06.104
Kathleen Donnelly: So obviously this is set in January.

00:17:06.244 --> 00:17:12.144
Kathleen Donnelly: So they have to go over and solve these murders and figure out who the serial killer is before he catches them.

00:17:12.844 --> 00:17:18.764
Susan Marie: And I love an atmospheric, like with the avalanche and all that, that brings so much to the story.

00:17:18.784 --> 00:17:19.744
Susan Marie: Oh, that's awesome.

00:17:19.884 --> 00:17:24.104
Susan Marie: Now, Maya and Juniper, they've not only grown professionally.

00:17:24.244 --> 00:17:28.984
Susan Marie: And I think that in the third book, we really see this coming because they're out of their comfort zone.

00:17:29.004 --> 00:17:30.304
Susan Marie: They're into another area.

00:17:30.384 --> 00:17:47.004
Susan Marie: But also personally, can you tell us, and this is what I like about this story, you not only have the professional, and I mean, it's very suspenseful and intense, but you also have a personal relationship that Maya and Juniper have with Deputy Josh Colton.

00:17:47.124 --> 00:17:51.024
Susan Marie: Can you tell us a little bit about that and how that plays into the series?

00:17:51.464 --> 00:17:56.004
Kathleen Donnelly: Yeah, so Josh, it ends up being Maya's love interest throughout the series.

00:17:56.004 --> 00:17:59.644
Kathleen Donnelly: These are considered romantic suspense, so there's a little bit of romance.

00:17:59.924 --> 00:18:06.204
Kathleen Donnelly: And throughout the series, I've enjoyed developing the relationship between Maya and Josh.

00:18:06.224 --> 00:18:09.404
Kathleen Donnelly: And of course, like you said, Juniper, because she's an important piece.

00:18:09.864 --> 00:18:14.304
Kathleen Donnelly: Josh loves Juniper as much as Maya does, which is really important to Maya.

00:18:14.624 --> 00:18:22.524
Kathleen Donnelly: And so in book three, their relationship gets pushed a little bit and they will work to, they break apart a little bit and come back together.

00:18:22.544 --> 00:18:29.924
Kathleen Donnelly: And it was really fun to write to see how these two characters would go through some tough times together and face some adversity together.

00:18:30.284 --> 00:18:33.384
Susan Marie: Well, and in real life, I think that that happens to so many people.

00:18:33.404 --> 00:18:42.104
Susan Marie: So those reading the books, such as myself and other listeners right now, are probably, they could either identify it or know someone who they can identify with.

00:18:42.124 --> 00:18:48.404
Susan Marie: And it's always good when people reunite, but maybe they go through a little bit what shows realism in that relationship.

00:18:48.424 --> 00:18:50.464
Susan Marie: So I truly appreciate that.

00:18:50.824 --> 00:18:53.664
Susan Marie: Now, and as you know, I really enjoyed the series.

00:18:53.684 --> 00:19:03.124
Susan Marie: It has that edge of the seat suspense, plus the importance of both the professional, and personal aspects of the human-animal bond.

00:19:03.144 --> 00:19:09.084
Susan Marie: So I have to ask you, Kathleen, is there gonna be a Book Four in the National Forest K-9 series?

00:19:09.104 --> 00:19:12.164
Susan Marie: And if there is, could you possibly share anything with us?

00:19:12.644 --> 00:19:14.504
Kathleen Donnelly: There will be a Book Four in the series.

00:19:14.824 --> 00:19:16.504
Kathleen Donnelly: I don't have a release date yet.

00:19:16.544 --> 00:19:18.864
Kathleen Donnelly: It's still early in the process for it.

00:19:19.044 --> 00:19:24.104
Kathleen Donnelly: But there are some storylines I open up in Killer Secrets that then I will continue on.

00:19:24.124 --> 00:19:33.324
Kathleen Donnelly: And I feel like I wrap them up well in Killer Secrets, but they're there, and I'm looking forward to in Book Four, opening them up and exploring them a little bit more.

00:19:33.524 --> 00:19:38.564
Kathleen Donnelly: And it has to do with more of Josh's past as we come into Book Four.

00:19:39.164 --> 00:19:40.604
Kathleen Donnelly: So that'll be fun.

00:19:40.664 --> 00:19:47.944
Kathleen Donnelly: And of course, again, Juniper will play a big role in helping solve the crime and helping Maya fight crime.

00:19:47.964 --> 00:19:49.744
Kathleen Donnelly: So it's going to be a lot of fun.

00:19:49.744 --> 00:19:54.744
Kathleen Donnelly: And I actually have a rough storyline for Book Five as well, but that one's not as developed yet.

00:19:54.764 --> 00:19:55.444
Susan Marie: Wow.

00:19:55.684 --> 00:19:58.064
Susan Marie: So that gives us a lot to look forward to.

00:19:58.584 --> 00:20:00.324
Susan Marie: Yeah, I love that.

00:20:00.724 --> 00:20:01.204
Susan Marie: Yeah.

00:20:01.364 --> 00:20:09.664
Susan Marie: And I have to tell you, I read a lot of books that have a lot of dog lead characters and Juniper is one of my favorites.

00:20:09.764 --> 00:20:12.324
Susan Marie: I have to tell you that I love Juniper.

00:20:12.444 --> 00:20:18.664
Susan Marie: Not that I know her in real life, but I do in real life know a dog that reminds me very much of Juniper.

00:20:18.684 --> 00:20:20.104
Susan Marie: So I love Juniper.

00:20:20.384 --> 00:20:31.664
Susan Marie: So Kathleen, where can the listeners go to learn more about you, learn more about the National Forest K-9 book series, including the release of the third book in the series, Killer Secrets?

00:20:32.344 --> 00:20:33.144
Kathleen Donnelly: Great question.

00:20:33.164 --> 00:20:34.544
Kathleen Donnelly: They can go to my website.

00:20:34.604 --> 00:20:36.704
Kathleen Donnelly: It's kathleendonnelly.com.

00:20:36.944 --> 00:20:39.624
Kathleen Donnelly: On that website, you can sign up for my newsletter.

00:20:39.804 --> 00:20:41.364
Kathleen Donnelly: The newsletter gives tons.

00:20:41.364 --> 00:20:50.084
Kathleen Donnelly: I send it out towards the end of every month and it will keep everyone up to date on releases, how to pre-order, and of course, the website has that information as well.

00:20:50.384 --> 00:21:02.824
Kathleen Donnelly: If you sign up for the newsletter, you also get, I wrote a little non-fiction book about my time working dog, so it's a little short story book called Working Tales about working all the different K-9s over the years.

00:21:03.064 --> 00:21:04.764
Kathleen Donnelly: And then I'm also on social media.

00:21:04.924 --> 00:21:14.744
Kathleen Donnelly: All those links are also on my website, but you can find me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and I think they're all under author Kathleen Donnelly, but the links are on the website.

00:21:15.004 --> 00:21:19.964
Kathleen Donnelly: And I really enjoy connecting with my readers over social media, so I try to get back to all the comments.

00:21:20.264 --> 00:21:27.344
Susan Marie: That's so important, and I think that that's one of the things that you do really well, and it's great when a reader can connect with the author.

00:21:27.364 --> 00:21:36.724
Susan Marie: I think that that kind of gives it that little extra something, because once you're in love with the series, you're in love with the series, and as a byproduct, the author.

00:21:37.744 --> 00:21:38.444
Kathleen Donnelly: Very true.

00:21:38.604 --> 00:21:39.304
Susan Marie: Yes.

00:21:39.644 --> 00:21:48.964
Susan Marie: So Kathleen, I want to thank you so much for being our guest today and for premiering the third book in your popular National Forest, K-9 Mysteries, Killer Secrets.

00:21:49.064 --> 00:22:02.824
Susan Marie: And I also want to share with the listeners that Killer Secrets was as a selected feature as one of Miss Olive's favorite things in the recent issue of Suncoast Pet Magazine and it is truly a fan favorite.

00:22:02.824 --> 00:22:08.824
Susan Marie: So I want to thank you again for visiting us, being on our show and premiering Killer Secrets.

00:22:08.924 --> 00:22:12.884
Susan Marie: And we can't wait to talk to you for the fourth installment.

00:22:13.084 --> 00:22:15.464
Susan Marie: So it gives us something to look forward to.

00:22:15.484 --> 00:22:17.284
Susan Marie: So I thank you so very much.

00:22:17.624 --> 00:22:18.724
Kathleen Donnelly: Yes, thank you very much.

00:22:18.744 --> 00:22:20.344
Kathleen Donnelly: And I look forward to talking with you again.

00:22:20.684 --> 00:22:26.244
Susan Marie: And for those who want to connect with Kathleen, please go to kathleendonnelly.com.

00:22:26.504 --> 00:22:27.724
Susan Marie: So thank you again.

00:22:28.404 --> 00:22:29.924
Susan Marie: And we'll be back in just a moment.

00:22:35.514 --> 00:22:37.534
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Susan Marie: We would like to thank our guests this week, and also, as our doggy divas always say, please love your pets because they love you unconditionally.

00:23:07.694 --> 00:23:14.674
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00:23:15.394 --> 00:23:18.334
Susan Marie: And as always, please have a great Diva Week, everyone.

00:23:19.974 --> 00:23:23.314
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00:23:23.734 --> 00:23:32.314
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