Believe in Dog

A lifelong animal lover, Natalie Keegan has created a life she loves by connecting her background in psychology with her passion for dogs. After witnessing firsthand, the difference that the love of a dog made in her son’s life, Natalie decided to learn even more about dogs by becoming a dog trainer. Seeing the power to connect her professional work with children with her dog training skills, Natalie founded the Kids-4-K9s organization and was awarded a prestigious Open Society Institute fellowship to launch her program in schools.  Kids-4-K9s has a mission to teach compassion in everyday interactions between people and companion animals. If you have a high school-aged child in the Baltimore area, they can even learn from Natalie at the Kids-4-K9s Summer Camp at the Baltimore Humane Society. In addition to Kids-4-K9s, Natalie  also runs her own dog training business, My Creative K9, and volunteers at local animal shelters in the Baltimore area.  Natalie & her husband also welcome children into their home through Maryland’s foster care system.  Find Links, Show Notes & Lots of Awesome Photos at: https://believeindogpodcast.com/episodes-1/episode44 Episode Sponsored By: Hugs & Belly Rubs Dog Health Journal: https://www.hugsandbellyrubs.com/doghealthjournal

From leaving New Jersey to start a new life – and a holistic dog boutique –  in Montana to history, science and technology, Ellie and I cover a lot of ground in this episode. Ellie’s life was forever changed when she was scrolling on social media one morning and saw a video that shook her to her core. This was a video showing laboratory testing on beagles.  A beagle owner herself, Ellie was horrified and decided she was going to do something about this. Now the Dog Mom to two rescued laboratory beagles among the rest of her menagerie, Ellie now adds author to her resume.  Ellie’s book, Laboratory Dogs Rescued: From Test Subjects to Beloved Companions, takes a look through the past, the present and the future of the use of animals in research. In the second half of the book, we hear from the organizations rescuing these dogs and many heart-warming stories from the adopters of beagles rescued from laboratories. So what can we do about this?  A lot, actually!  Ellie shares many easy things that each of can do right from our phones to help. While the topic of laboratory testing on animals may sound like a grim subject, this topic is discussed in a sensitive manner filled with fact-based information and tangible takeaways.   Find Show Notes, Links and Photos at: https://believeindogpodcast.com/episodes-1/episode-43   Episode Sponsored By: Hugs & Belly Rubs Dog Health Journal: https://www.hugsandbellyrubs.com/doghealthjournal

Marta Negro is one of the bravest and coolest people that I’ve ever met and I can’t wait for you to hear her story. Leaving at the end of 2019 to embark a solo adventure around the world, Marta hitchhiked her way through Poland and worked as a tour guide in Russia before landing in Thailand to volunteer at an animal rescue helping Thai street dogs.  On her first day at the rescue, Marta fell in love with a little dog named Teaspa who really needed some TLC.  Marta knew she had to bring Teaspa home with her to Scotland and made a promise to Teaspa that she was now Marta’s dog. Unfortunately, Marta happened to meet Teaspa in March of 2020. And there were some major things happening in the world.  Marta had to make the heart-breaking decision to leave Teaspa behind in Thailand temporarily. While Marta spent months trying to figure out how to get Teaspa from Thailand to Europe, she discovered there was not one central clearinghouse for pet owner or travelers to coordinate.  So she decided to create it.  And Help The Dog Fly was born. Find Show Notes, Links and Photos at: https://believeindogpodcast.com/episodes-1/episode42   Plus listen for details on how to win tickets to Pawject Runway!

It’s not an exaggeration for me to say that the information in this episode could save your dog’s life. After a terrible accident, Paweenduh (you can call her “P” for short) found her purpose and has dedicated her life to raising awareness about keeping your dog safe in the car with dog seatbelts with Dogs Ride Certified. Believe it or not, so many products for pets are not regulated.  So just because you buy a dog seatbelt that says that it is “crash tested,” P explains to us what this really means.  By the end of this episode, you will know what the safest products for your dog are, where to find them and how to use them.  I have to admit that we don’t use seatbelts with our dogs, but I’m going to change that.  I’ll share where we are with our journey, as well. Find Show Notes, Links and Photos at: https://believeindogpodcast.com/episodes-1/episode41   Episode Sponsored By: Hugs & Belly Rubs Dog Health Journal: https://www.hugsandbellyrubs.com/doghealthjournal

April Doherty has dedicated her career to seeing that animal abusers are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. As a paralegal with the Baltimore County State’s Attorney Office for the past 18 years, April shares her experiences witnessing animal abuse and neglect cases being taken more seriously by all players in the criminal justice system.  April’s impressive resume also includes training and educating law enforcement – both home and abroad! We also talk about the emotional toll that this work can take and why self-care is so important. April also opens up about being diagnosed with breast cancer in December 2020. Her vulnerable social media sharing about this journey are helping women – including me! – with processing all the emotions that come from facing this diagnosis and learning to live this next chapter of life. In her “spare time,” April also helped create the Love Leads Project, is a Show Your Soft Side “Softie,” works at Grand View Farm and is certified as a personal trainer.    Find Show Notes, Links and Photos at: https://believeindogpodcast.com/episodes-1/episode40   Episode Sponsored By: Hugs & Belly Rubs Dog Health Journal: https://www.hugsandbellyrubs.com/doghealthjournal

Episode 36. Aligning Your Heart With Your Career with Kristin von Kreisler Today we’re welcoming award-winning, bestselling author Kristin von Kreisler to the podcast. A lifelong animal lover – and animal empathizer! – Kristin’s life was forever changed one night when she stumbled upon a terrified beagle in need of assistance.  Naming her Bea, Kristin made it her mission to show love and patience to this pup who had never experienced life outside of a cage.  Several years later, the tables were turned and Bea helped Kristin get through the hardest time in her life.  And through this experience with Bea, Kristin made it her mission to change the focus of her career to align with her heart and focus her writing on animals.  Kristin is with us today to share her newest book, A Reason for Hope is about a woman's fight for justice and a courthouse dog who comforts and supports her. It was a true honor and pleasure to speak with Kristin.   TW: SA. If you have been impacted by sexual assault, 24/7 help is available at the National Sexual Assault Hotline: 1-800-656-4673.   Find Show Notes, Links and Photos at: https://believeindogpodcast.com/episodes-1/episode36   Episode Sponsored By: Hugs & Belly Rubs Dog Health Journal: https://www.hugsandbellyrubs.com/doghealthjournal

Episode 35. The Great Adventures of Paddington & Zurich: A Follow-up with Carla & Wayne Greenside Today we’re welcoming back Carla & Wayne Greenside. When we last spoke on Episode 21, Carla & Wayne shared the story of the unlikely friendship of Paddington the Morgan Horse and Zurich the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog. Carla & Wayne wanted to further share Paddington & Zurich’s friendship by creating a children’s book about the unlikely duo. I’m excited to share that The Great Adventures of Paddington & Zurich is now available to pre-order and will ship out on February 14. There are 2 versions of the book, a picture book for younger children and a chapter-book novel for older kids. Carla & Wayne also share their experiences competing in American Kennel Club Conformation dog show competitions with Quinn, the Greater Swiss Mountain Dog and Instagram Dog-fluencer.  They gave me a Dog Show 101 Tutorial as I’m completely unfamiliar with this world! Find Show Notes, Links and Photos at: https://believeindogpodcast.com/episodes-1/episode35 Episode Sponsored By: The Hugs & Belly Rubs Dog Health Journal

10 Years of Serving Baltimore’s Dogs with B-More Dog - Part 2 In September 2011, B-More Dog’s (a Baltimore-based non-profit organization)  scrappy group of volunteers launched a program called Community Pit Bull Day to provide free vaccines to dogs in under-resourced communities in Baltimore City. Now known as the B-More Dog Wellness Clinics, over the past 10 years, more than 3300 dogs have received services from B-More Dog. The Clinics have grown in size, in services provided and in partnership with other organizations.  All dogs visiting the Clinics receive an exam with a veterinarian, vaccines (if needed), medications to treat common illnesses & conditions (if needed), nail trims & light grooming, leashes & collars and free dog food. In this episode, we hear mini-interviews with volunteers Dr. Michelle Myers, Jennifer B., John, Christina, V, Garrick and Rachel, sharing their experiences over the past 10 years from why they were motivated to volunteer their time to what they’ve learned along the way.   To support the work of B-More Dog in the community: DONATE: https://bit.ly/BmoreDogDonate VOLUNTEER: https://www.bmoredog.org/volunteerform  

10 Years of Serving Baltimore's Dogs with B-More Dog - Part 1 In September 2011, B-More Dog's (Baltimore-based non-profit organization) scrappy group of volunteers launched a program called Community Pit Bull Day to provide free vaccines to dogs in under-resourced communities in Baltimore City. Now known as the B-More Dog Wellness Clinics, over the past 10 years, more than 3300 dogs have received services from B-More Dog. The Clinics have grown in size, in services provided and in partnership with other organizations.  All dogs visiting the Clinics receive an exam with a veterinarian, vaccines (if needed), medications to treat common illnesses & conditions (if needed), nail trims & light grooming, leashes & collars and free dog food. In this episode, we hear mini-interviews with 6 volunteers (Pauline, Dianna, Hillary, Dawn, Ashley and Jennifer G.) sharing their experiences over the past 10 years from why they were motivated to volunteer their time to what they’ve learned along the way.   To support the work of B-More Dog in the community: DONATE: https://bit.ly/BmoreDogDonate VOLUNTEER: https://www.bmoredog.org/volunteerform   Find Show Notes, Links and Photos at: https://believeindogpodcast.com/episodes-1/episode-34

Presley & Taylor are country music recording artists  – and sisters! – known for creating beautiful harmonies.  They are also huge animal lovers and have 3 dogs! Presley & Taylor recently released a heartwarming song called “Choose Me” which tells the story of a shelter dog finding their forever home. The lyrics remind me so much of how my dog Penny joined our family that I was almost in tears the first time I heard it. Today we hear the story of what “Choose Me” means to Presley & Taylor, the story behind the music video and how proceeds from the streaming & downloads will be donated to the Pedigree Foundation.  We’ll also hear more about what being Pedigree Foundation Ambassadors means to them and about their life as Dog Moms. Find Show Notes, Links and Photos at: https://believeindogpodcast.com/episodes-1/episode33 WATCH THE VIDEO for “Choose Me” DOWNLOAD THE SONG “Choose Me”