Episode 15: Puppy Love (And Work)

[00:00:21] Welcome to 45 left and right podcast. [00:00:25] This is going to be episode 15, puppy love and work. [00:00:35] It is summer schedules have changed and I am having trouble getting podcast episodes out every week. So I'm going to. It's just going to be a little more sporadic until school starts again. I am keeping the topics light for the summer, and then once school comes back in, I'm going to have more meaningful content. [00:01:05] Today I do have meaningful content, but it is happy, happy. [00:01:13] Let's talk about dogs now. A little disclaimer. I love other pets as well. We have a cat as well as two dogs and a snake. But dogs are so love out loud. They are easy to talk about. I will talk about the others later because I love them too. Even the snake. [00:01:40] When I first joined the army and I was living on my own, I really wanted a dog, one that was just my own. [00:01:51] I was living in Charlotte at the time, so I went to the Humane Society of Charlotte to look at their dogs. As I was browsing the kennels, I spotted this beautiful beagle with big doe eyed brown eyes in this melodic, trilling beagle bugle. It's like this. [00:02:21] And if you've never met a beagle, to love a beagle is to love their howl, because they bark a lot. But hers was beautiful. [00:02:34] I took her out to play in and she was so silly and fun. [00:02:43] I immediately put in an application for her and I was told that they would check into my references and they would let me know. And if you have not filled out an application for an animal at a rescue or a shelter, it's extensive. They want your housing history. You know, do you own, do you rent? Have you had animals before? What's your job status? I mean, it is significant. [00:03:14] So they, you know, they were going to check my references and then let me know. A couple of days later, the director of the shelter called me and she broke the news. She said she thought angel would not adjust well to all of the moving and changes of a military life. So I couldn't have her. [00:03:43] They were going to adopt her to someone else with a more stable lifestyle. [00:03:51] I was devastated. [00:03:53] She encouraged me to look at this other beagle named Jack. [00:03:58] I remember Jack because he was in the kennel next to angel. Actually, they gave him two kennels and he seemed very hyper. He was just doing these circles and circles and those kennels, and honestly, he seemed like a handful. [00:04:18] Still, I wanted a dog. And I went back to the shelter to meet Jack. He was adorable. Of course, he's a beagle and he was a little pocket beagle, so he was smaller than angel. We hit it off right away. And the shelter director, she was there to make everything, you know, go smoothly. And I think she felt kind of bad that angel wasn't a good fit. [00:04:50] So everything was going well. And then Jack barked. [00:04:56] It was this horrible, loud, high pitched, sounded like a seal barking, and it sounded like he was dying. It was the exact opposite of Angel's bark. And I laughed. I mean, you sort of had to. And I looked up at the shelter director, and she was just looking at me like, oh, no, she's not gonna like him because of this bark. [00:05:27] You know, she's not gonna want to adopt him. But I loved him. I thought it added to his personality if he was adorable and funny. And I don't even think I had to put in an application. Jack was mine. [00:05:45] So on the same day that I was at the shelter, I looked over at one point, and I saw angel in the yard. I had to do kind of a double take because, you know, I thought she had been adopted. I was told she had been adopted. The shelter director told me that she had been adopted, and the adopter changed her name to Sterling. [00:06:09] Yuck. [00:06:11] And this adopter, I think she was a woman, had taken angel to a veterinarian, and the vet had taken x rays of her hips and told her that she would have to have major surgery because of her hip dysplasia, and it would be a lifelong condition and cost her thousands of dollars. [00:06:34] And so she was scared, and she brought her back, and the shelter director said, do you want her, too? And, of course, I did. But I also knew I could not handle two dogs by myself while I was going to flight school. [00:06:51] But I did know a certain fella who was living by himself, who loved dogs just as much as me, who I could probably persuade. So Jeff came down the next weekend, and he took one look at her, and he was in love. I remember his face distinctly done. I don't remember all of the logistics and getting her up there. I think we drove and met halfway, but we got angel up to New Jersey, and she kept Jeff company for a long time. [00:07:36] Jack was a very naughty beagle who I loved more than anything, sometimes even more than Jeff. And Jeff knows this. [00:07:49] I could tell a million Jack stories. He was character. [00:07:55] When it came to finding food and getting into trouble, he was a genius. We had to hide trash cans behind locked doors and put them up high. And even then, Jack would figure out how to get in there and knock them down and get through and get, you know, food out of there. In his lifetime, he ate an entire large papa John's pizza in only, like, five minutes. Pans of brownies, many stolen sandwiches, two pounds of twizzlers, puzzle pieces, and that is a story I will tell later in this episode. And even rat poison. [00:08:44] Obviously, the rat poison required some intervention. [00:08:48] Despite his terrible bark and very strong appetite for trouble, he was sweet and affectionate and bold. [00:09:01] Angel ended up being a wonderful dog, too. Though she wasn't as mischievous as Jack, she always benefited from his antics. If he knocked over a trash can, she was there to help him out. [00:09:19] She was goofy, and she enjoyed walks and following her nose. She was an amazing companion for all of us, but especially Jack. I'm sorry, Jeff. Jack too. [00:09:36] Jeff would come home from work, throw on his roller blades, this was the late nineties, and let her take him around his apartment complex. [00:09:47] Her hips were a problem, but really nothing glucosamine couldn't handle. We gave her daily glucosamine in it, and it really helped. We did have to be careful picking her up. Honestly, Jeff was really the only person who could do that. And we didn't leave her with young children because they always went to grab. [00:10:17] But overall, she was just an amazing dog. And we ended up with a third dog, Taco, who found as a. Okay, so you hear the barking in the background. We have dogs. Um, a puppy. That's new, so there's a little conflict. But back to my story. We ended up with a third dog, Taco, who we found as a puppy at this horrible mexican restaurant near my townhome in Alabama. He was a, I don't know, pit bull lab mix. He was awesome. Um, when we found him, he was still a puppy, you know, maybe ten months old, and he was trying to find shade under the eaves of this terrible restaurant. And though I am normally the one who wants to adopt every dog on the planet, Jeff is the one who suggested we bring him home to give him water and food, and I knew where that was going. So in under a year of being married, we had three dogs. [00:11:32] Three dogs who traveled around the country with us to the heat and humidity of Alabama, the frozen tundra of upstate New York, through blizzards and tornadoes, and then to North Carolina. They were our children. [00:11:52] They gave us companionship and laughter and love, as well as sometimes some frustration and chewed up belongings. [00:12:04] Jack and angel lived about 13 years and died right before we moved to California. We picked up Zuzu, our cat, right before we moved and drove across the country with this tiny little orange furball kitten and big, sweet, 70 pound taco to southern California. Taco died about a year after we moved here. After a long, wonderful life. He was 70 pounds of sweetness. [00:12:41] So sweet, in fact, that the Beagles, weighing 25 pounds each, bullied him around. [00:13:05] Welcome back to 45. Left to right podcast, it is research time. [00:13:12] I'm going to talk about the good things and bad things about owning a dog for adults and for children as well. [00:13:23] So the first article is from AKC, the American Kennel Club, their website. I figured they know a little bit about dogs. And it's entitled ten Science based benefits of having a dog. The first benefit is dogs make us feel less alone. [00:13:50] I mean, think about it. Dogs can be there for you when people can't. They offer this amazing, unconditional love, which also gives you emotional support. Even if the dogs don't know they're giving emotional support, they're there. And then they give you the cuddles and the licks, and it helps stave off that feeling of social isolation. [00:14:19] And this article actually quotes a very small australian study that discovered that dog ownership can reduce loneliness. [00:14:32] I can attest for this. [00:14:34] When I was in flight school, you know, I was away from Jeff, I was away from my parents, not too far, but I was really busy in flight school. And flight school is really hard. [00:14:50] No one will get through it, saying it is easy, and if they do, they're big, fat liars. There were days when I felt like I was the worst student to have ever gone through the program. And I felt very sorry for myself. [00:15:10] Then I would walk through the door of my town home, and this little tri colored beagle would greet me, and his tail was wagging and he was wiggling and jumping and barking. [00:15:27] Jack would make me feel like I was the most wonderful person in the world. And to him I was. [00:15:37] And even though having a dog added some extra work to my flight school days, it was totally worth it, because I think if I went home to an empty house feeling really bad about myself, I could really see myself falling into more depression and isolating. You know, he really. He really helped me get through. [00:16:05] And Jeff had a similar experience with angel. [00:16:10] He would get home from a long day at work and let her out of her crate. Beagles cannot be trusted alone in a house. They will eat things and bark and destroy things, and they would go ahead and they would just walk all over the place, all over his apartment complex, different little hiking trails. You know, he felt alone then because he was living far away from me and his family. [00:16:43] And he was all on his own for the, you know, first time in his life. But he had this beautiful beagle to keep him company and make him feel like the wonderful person that he is. [00:17:00] Alright, so this next article was actually quoted in the above article, also from the AKC website, and it is called people living with mental health challenges often benefit from companion animals. [00:17:19] So basically this is quoting. They looked at 17 different studies and of those 17 studies, 15 contained positive elements of pet ownership for people with mental health challenges. And I like how they say challenges because the word disorder makes it sound like, well, there's something wrong with you, but I think at every point in some in your life you're going to have mental health challenges. So some of these positive effects are that it eases emotional distress, such as relieving worry. And dogs provide comfort and it lessens feelings of loneliness by providing you this companionship. And also, you know, especially having a dog adds this link to social interaction with other people. When you take a walk in the park with a dog, the dog acts as this magnet that attracts conversation with others. Imagine having an adorable little beagle on the end of your leash. People notice. People say, oh my gosh, they're so cute now with Jack, since his bark was so terrible to hear. [00:18:46] People would say, what's wrong with your dog? [00:18:51] And of course, I would say, absolutely nothing. But it did invite conversation. [00:18:59] Dogs also distract a person from their condition and makes a person become less absorbed with their personal issues. I don't really love that wording of it. It's like, oh, well, you're self absorbed, but when you're going through a mental health challenge like depression or anxiety, yeah, it's easy to only think about that. So pets can give their owners a sense of identity and self worth. You know, when I was in flight school, coming home to this beautiful beagle who needed me, needed me to feed him and take him out to go to the bathroom and provide a roof over his head, I thought, well, if I mean nothing to anyone else, and I know I did, I mean something to this dog. And he made me know that in how he loved me and, you know, treated me. [00:20:05] So because an owner has responsibility for this little critter, your life has greater meaning because you're responsible for this other living being. [00:20:20] You know, I really feel like anytime I've had really bad depression or anxiety, even though I have an amazing family and I've always had really amazing supportive friends, having to take care of a dog really did a lot for me. [00:20:42] All right, so that is kind of a little bit of a tangent on the mental health, but going back to the original article, another benefit of having a dog is they are good for your heart. [00:20:59] People who own dogs actually show that they have a lower risk of death. [00:21:08] You have lower blood pressure. [00:21:11] You have a better response to stress. [00:21:15] I think I read somewhere, and I didn't find the resources to support this, but petting an animal actually directly lowers your blood pressure. So that's pretty cool. [00:21:30] So a bond between dogs and their humans reduce stress, which improves cardiovascular health. It reduces the stress hormone of cortisol, it lowers your blood pressure, your heart rate, and it slows your breathing. [00:21:49] So number three, dogs help us in times of crisis. [00:21:56] This is quoting veterans with a service dog has significantly fewer symptoms of PTSD and showed improved coping skills. [00:22:10] Think about how many types of therapy dogs there are. You have guide dogs for people who are blind, diabetic alert dogs, therapy dogs for hospitals, for kids to read to, mobility assistance dogs. They use great danes a lot for this, to have someone that you can help brace and, you know, help them assist. They have dogs that are helpful for people with autism, for dogs that can detect a seizure. I mean, I've even seen they train dogs in pediatric hospitals to, you know, be able to do a CAT scan. Like, show how a CAT scan goes to a child and how it doesn't hurt them. I mean, just. I'm sorry. They're amazing. [00:23:08] All right, number four, dogs encourage you to move. [00:23:14] So according to this 2019 british study discovered that dog owners are nearly four times more likely than non dog owners to meet daily physical activity guidelines. [00:23:32] Dog owners spend nearly 300 minutes every week walking with their dogs. That is 200 more minutes of walking than people without a dog of their own. That's crazy. [00:23:53] We have a twelve year old dog named Tex. He is a sweetheart, but because of his age, he can't go on really long walks anymore, especially in the heat. But he really likes to play with me in the backyard. He gets these silly zoomies, and we run around sort of fake dodging each other, and it gets me moving every single day. And I know it's good for him, too. [00:24:25] He likes to sleep a lot, so it's good for him to get out as well. [00:24:30] Number five. This is so crazy. Dogs are made to be more irresistible. [00:24:39] So there is an article, and it's entitled, sweet puppies and cute babies. Perceptual adaptation to baby facedness transfers across species. That is a lot of words. [00:25:00] This was published March 13, 2013, and it basically said, the cuter the baby or the cuter the puppy or kitten, the better we will take care of them. Their faces make us feel good, and we want to make them happy and make sure they're taken care of. [00:25:24] A dog's facial features possess what they call an infant schema. And because they are so cute, they have these social releasers that can trigger an innate caregiver response from us towards our dogs. So the next time you cannot stop watching a cute dog video, know that the big eyes and the floppy ears are scientifically appealing. [00:26:01] We had two beagles with brown eyes, big brown eyes that they use to beg for food, and big floppy ears. Case closed. [00:26:17] Number six. [00:26:19] Dogs make us happier. Just looking at a dog can lift your spirits. A 2009 study in Japan found that staring into your dog's eyes can lay, can raise your level of oxytocin, which is also known as the love hormone. And it's actually what runs through a pregnant woman's body, I think, to make it so we can get through that pregnancy, but that's a whole other thing. [00:27:12] Welcome back to 45, left or right podcast. I'm gonna have some more research here about the benefits of owning a dog for kids. [00:27:25] And this comes from a story. [00:27:28] So last week we got a puppy. You heard her in the background in the first part because she was harassing our twelve year old dog, my jiu jitsu professor. Master Eric has a dog who unexpectedly had puppies. They did not know she was pregnant. [00:27:52] These puppies are husky golden retriever mixes. Apparently there is a word for these. They call them go barians. But, you know, I kind of prefer gold ski myself. [00:28:08] Now, we have always said that we would never get a puppy because they are a lot of work. [00:28:17] But we were. Jeff and I were relaxing in our recliners one evening, and I said, with no agenda or expectation, oh, Master Eric has some puppies. And Jeff said, oh, what kind? [00:28:33] Now, I said, husky, golden retriever. But all he heard was the very sweet, loyal dog of his childhood, golden retriever. Not the possibly psychotic escaped artist. Energetic, dramatic and noisy husky. [00:28:56] Next thing we know, we are in San Jacinto, 40 minutes away at Master Eric's house looking at their fluffy and adorable puppies. [00:29:07] Now, we picked Luna because she was the smallest of the litter and was the most mellow of the group. Though mellow is not a word to describe any seven week old puppy. [00:29:25] We wanted mellow because we have our twelve year old, very sweet dog, Tex, and then our eleven year old, very sweet, yet still a cat. Cat Zuzu. [00:29:41] Master Eric brought her over to our house later that week so we could see if she and Tex got along. [00:29:49] We knew that Zuzu would not like a puppy but would eventually adjust and Tex and Luna got along pretty well. I mean, as much as a twelve year old dog and seven week old puppy can. [00:30:06] Luna is amazing. She has golden fur and blue eyes. [00:30:15] She is seven weeks old, absolutely adorable and hell on wheels when she is awake. The only way that I can prepare and record for a podcast episode is when she is asleep. She woke up at the beginning of this podcast so it's been interesting. She has a bevy of toys and chewies, but she really loves to chew on my computer cords and blankets. [00:30:47] She is essentially all out, all of the time. Even her naps are dramatic. [00:30:58] Alright, so I want to talk about five advantages for kids who grow up with dogs. This is from the Drake center and it's just a blog that they have. So the first benefit is it's a life lesson in responsibility. [00:31:21] They are taking care of a living thing. [00:31:26] Luna is going to be Devin's dog mostly, though I know I'll be doing most of the work, especially during the day when he's at school or camp. [00:31:40] Our twelve year old dog Tex has always been low energy, so Devin has only been able to bond with him so much as a husky golden mix. Luna is going to be very high energy, so she should be a good fit for Devin. [00:32:03] So when we brought her home, we were trying to figure out her sleeping arrangements for now, since she's not yet crate trained, Devon said, she is my dog, I am going to stay up with her at night. Now, I thought that he would lose interest in that, but he has stayed up with her and taking care of her every night and we have offered to help to split up the nights, but he won't do it. He's like, nope, she is my responsibility. [00:32:38] Very impressive. [00:32:41] All right, so a second benefit for kids is kids who grow up with with dogs are healthier, so there is a distinct advantage for kids toward their immune system. [00:32:59] Recent studies in pediatric health have concluded that children who lived with pets, but especially dogs, during their first year of life, actually had a better immune system than those who did not. [00:33:18] These researchers believe that exposures to dog may have positively boosted the maturation of their immune systems during infancy. [00:33:32] So in addition, when children did fall ill, they needed a shorter course of antibiotics compared to the children who did not live with pets. That is so cool. This is especially an advantage for kids with allergies, children that were predisposed, or at least one parent suffers from, like Jeff does, who had respiratory allergies or asthma, are much less likely to develop similar issues if they have a dog in the house. They found that early exposure is key. Children who had a dog after the first year of birth had no added health benefits. So if you have a dog when they're infants, it benefits them and either reduces or eliminates allergies. [00:34:38] Now another. So one thing with the allergies, Jeff has terrible allergies to both dogs and cats. And we've always had dogs and cats, but he seems to have less of a reaction to all of our critters. Now, he can't, like, put them right up in his face, you know, but. But he has a reduced allergies. [00:35:08] We call them the cutest little allergy shots. Now, obviously, this is not the case for everyone. This is anecdotal, but we have noticed it over the years. [00:35:22] So another benefit for children is better emotional intelligence. And this makes sense. You know, your child is caring for another life. They're responsible for them, and that can make them a more compassionate person. They're feeding them or walking them at times, you know, a kid might have something else they want to be doing, but they have the responsibility. [00:35:51] So they have to step outside of themselves and practice being selfless. Now, Devon has done a great job with Luna at night, but he does get distracted when she needs to be outside. You know, make sure she's gone to the bathroom. [00:36:09] I've noticed that he has been a little lazy on that, but we're learning, too, and, you know, he'll get it, but it's just good for them to have to think about something other than themselves. [00:36:26] Another benefit is that children who have a dog get more play and more exercise. [00:36:37] On average, children who have a dog in the home exercise an average of eleven minutes more per day than those who do not have a dog. Now, those minutes might not seem like a lot. I feel like it is. But they add up to five and a half hours per month and 66 hours per year. And some researchers believe that dog ownership may be a viable way to help combat childhood obesity. [00:37:12] That makes sense to me. Now, Devon already gets a lot of activity every day. Right now he's at jiu jitsu. [00:37:22] But I think having his physical activity correspond with taking care of a dog will increase his empathy and compassion. He already, I think, innately has a lot of empathy and compassion for other people. But this kind of connection with his dog will be priceless. And I really can't wait to, to see how that goes. I'm really excited for it. [00:37:55] So other, some other benefits. This actually comes from another AKC article. Like I said, I think they know what they're talking about when it comes to dogs. And this is eight ways kids benefit from having a dog. They did repeat some of the ones I've already stated, so it's not going to be all of the eight. [00:38:19] Let's see. So one thing that I thought was interesting is kids feel supported when they have a dog because a lot of kids know that they can go to their dogs to talk to, to confide in. [00:38:38] Dogs are really good listeners. [00:38:40] But just having another living creature to go to when, you know, maybe they don't have anyone else or don't want to share specific things with their parents or, you know, siblings. So that was kind of neat. [00:38:56] Another one is better cognitive skills. So some research has suggested that kids who talk to their pets, whether by giving praise and commands or even just babbling, show improved cognitive development. [00:39:17] Now, I don't know how they measured for that, but I thought that was pretty interesting. [00:39:25] Let's see. Kids who have dogs are happier because playing with a pet raises levels of serotonin and dopamine, which calm the mind and increase the mood. [00:39:41] Let's see. [00:39:43] They're more responsible. Having a dog is a huge responsibility, and, you know, getting your kid involved in your pet's career will prepare them for responsibilities later in life. One thing, even before Luna that we, that we had Devin doing was feeding texts every evening. Now, was he perfect at that? No. Did he need reminding? Yes, but I had noticed he has bonded more with text since he started feeding him, so. And now we'll see with Luna, you know, how much, how much more responsible he's going to be. I can tell you, him sleeping with her every night is just warms my heart, for sure, in Jeff's heart, but, you know, he's already stepping up to, to help with her, so that's pretty cool. [00:40:45] All right, so this is all wonderful and rosy, but there are negatives of having a pet or a dog, and these are just from my experience. [00:40:57] Number one, you don't have as much flexibility. It is difficult when you have a dog to have to take a spontaneous trip because you have to find someone to watch them or you have to board them and even taking them with you. You have to find dog friendly hotels or, you know, when you go out to eat, you have to make sure that the dog is welcome. Or you can leave the dog back where you're staying. I mean, there, you know, there's a lot of different logistical things. We don't generally take techs on trips with us because of this, but also because he is a little bit of a nervous dog. And so it's not fun for him to go on these trips. But we also have these amazing, perfect neighbors who bring them to their house when we're gone, and he has a little vacation of his own. Sometimes I don't think he's happy that we get back because he's had so much fun with them. [00:42:00] And also, we. We fly a lot to where we're going, and I don't. I don't fly with. [00:42:08] With our pets, especially if they have to go under, you know, in the cargo area. We won't do that. So too many things can go wrong. [00:42:19] So another negative is they are messy. Let's talk about Jack. [00:42:28] Jack was naughty, but also affectionate and sweet. One time, I made some brownies, and I left them on the counter, and then I left for flight school, whatever I was doing that day. And I came home and I saw that the brownies with the pan were gone. And the couch seemed a little out of place, but I couldn't figure out where the brownies were. I was talking to my mom, and I'm looking for this pan of brownies. I'm like, mom, I don't know where they went. It's completely disappeared. And then I noticed that the skirt on the back of my goodwill couch was missing. [00:43:16] Under my love seat was a half full pan of brownies. He had licked and licked that pan all the way from the kitchen under the love seat, and then couldn't get under the love seat, so he ripped off the skirt in an effort to finish the brownies. [00:43:37] This was only one of many messes that I had to clean up with this dog. He was still so cute, though. [00:43:47] Training requirements, you know, you gotta potty train them, crate train them. They need to be. Have some basic obedience. [00:43:57] I am learning. This is the first puppy I've ever had. And you gotta teach them everything you know. Oh, you don't pee on the floor. You pee outside. You need to be in your crate, but they have to be safe in the crate. And you. I mean, it's just. It's a lot. [00:44:14] They're expensive vet bills. Training them, the stuff you get for them. We just dropped $350 of Petsmart just to get this puppy. You know, her crate, her beds, toys, all kinds of things. And, of course, a rehoming fee for her, $300 for her first vet visit and her first set of vaccination. [00:44:43] I don't even want to talk about how much money we have spent this year on our cat's teeth. I mean, we love her, but she's expensive. [00:44:55] And when they die, it is, oh, it is so hard. My dad says they only break your heart once. [00:45:07] We lost angel and Jack within a weak of each other. It was horrible. [00:45:14] He started having trouble breathing on Mother's Day 2013, and, you know, we had to put him to sleep. And then I did not think I was going to have this reaction of a little misty here. [00:45:31] I did not think I would ever recover from that. And then a week later, the same thing happened to angel. Did you know that dogs could get lung cancer even if they're not around smoke or anything like that? That's what both of them had. [00:45:49] But we knew that we gave them a really wonderful life. I mean, angel, Jack, and then later taco. They lived in Alabama where there were trails for them to hike and see sniff. In New York, they got to jump and frolic through the snow. They went back packing and camping with us and we always walked them a lot. In North Carolina, we lived near a greenway where we often walked, and there were bunnies and squirrels for them to bark at. They had amazing lives. [00:46:44] Welcome back to 45 left or right podcast. Like I've said, we are talking today about how dogs rule, and I also think cats and other pets rule. We have a cat, like I've mentioned, Zuzu, and she has her own rescue story that is really interesting and a snake, mustard, who is one of Devin's absolute favorite Christmas presents. But dogs are easier to talk about since they are these all out love bugs. But I will discuss other pets at another time. I can tell you that our cat Zuzu is quite annoyed that we brought this hyper puppy in the house, but the puppy will learn to stay away from this mad orange thing with needles on her paws. She hasn't learned it yet, though, so I want to end with some Jack the Beagle stories. I could write about a book on Jack the Beagle, and I probably will one day because he was a very memorable and funny dog. [00:48:03] So I have two stories that illustrate how dogs color our lives in wonderful, wonderful ways. [00:48:14] When I was deployed to Iraq in 2005, Jeff was left alone in the northernmost part of New York with three dogs, one of whom was known for trouble in his wife's absolute love. [00:48:34] He told me once, like he told me once I got home that he was terrified that something would happen to Jack under his watch. [00:48:46] Jeff loves puzzles. He could hover at a table and put together a puzzle for hours. I do not have a proclivity for puzzles, so I just let him do these alone. [00:49:03] He was working on a 2000 piece puzzle with a watermelon on it, and I was deployed. He was about halfway through when he came home to find a messed up puzzle on the floor. Like things had shifted and several chewed pieces on the floor. [00:49:26] He knew exactly which dog to blame, and Jack had no remorse. [00:49:34] Jeff was so mad, and he told me all about it on our next phone call. He was like, do you know what your dog did? I'm gonna send him to you in Beagle bits. I mean, all this stuff. I did not have much sympathy. And I said, well, have you been paying much attention to him? You need to pay attention to him, or he'll act up like this, like you're not doing what you're supposed to be doing. And he told you. [00:50:07] Jeff ordered a new 2000 piece watermelon puzzle. He finished it, and Jack the beagle survived my deployment. Jeff said he made sure he was giving Jack lots of love. [00:50:27] So we framed that puzzle, and it has hung in every home that we've had since then, because not only is it a funny Jack story, but it's also kind of a reminder of all that we've been through. [00:50:43] So the second story is one about our engagement. [00:50:50] Jeff and I have been dating for nearly five years, and I was about halfway through flight school in my instrument phase. [00:51:02] I was due to have a break between instruments and starting the next phase, which was basic combat skills. And I had planned on flying up to New Jersey with Jack to see Jeff. [00:51:16] Unfortunately, I flunked my instrument checkride very unexpectedly because that was the easiest phase for me. So I couldn't fly up. And Jeff was planning on proposing to me that weekend in New Jersey. So Jeff was really bummed, so he decided to come see me instead. And this was not unusual. We flew back and forth a lot. [00:51:48] I don't know how we afforded it, but we did it. So we got to my townhouse in Alabama, and he insisted we take a walk right then and there. And I thought that was weird because it was raining a little bit. But we went and brought Jack along. [00:52:07] We went to one of my favorite places to run there called parkour's Lake. And it's a little fishing pond for kids. And I love running, walking in the rain, I don't know. Well, warm rain, like it is there in Alabama. [00:52:27] So we're walking around, he was saying, all of these sweet things to me, but that wasn't anything unusual to me. And Jack was on the leash and he ran after a squirrel. So I went with him. I ran away with him. And I Jeff was just left there trying to propose, though I didn't know that. [00:52:52] Finally we get to a pretty little bend in the trail and Jeff. Jeff got down on one knee and proposed. [00:53:02] And I felt so foolish because I had let myself dog almost ruin Jeff's proposal. But now it is a really funny and sweet story, and it says a lot about Jeff, that he wasn't upset that the dog did this and that he wasn't upset at me for only paying half attention. [00:53:30] Jeff knew how much I loved the dog and instead of being jealous or resentful, he accepted it and ended up loving Jack just as much as I did. [00:53:45] This has been 45 left or right podcast. Thank you so much for listening. If you're a new listener, thanks for checking it out and I hope you enjoyed it and listen again if you are a faithful listener. Wow, really, thank you so much. [00:54:04] And if you want some more content on the podcast, in this episode, I have a website, 45 left or right podcast.com, where I have blog posts with different stories and different research about each episode. This episode I will of course, have pictures of Luna, our new puppy text, our grumpy right now dog, and of course Jack and Angel and Taako and all of our dogs that we've had together, as well as other stories about how we got them and all of that. So hope you enjoyed. And we're going to Colorado next week, so we will be back then. So it might be a couple of weeks before the next episode, but I'll let you know. Bye for now.