1 00:00:00,020 --> 00:00:04,940 The comedy4cast Network. Let's dog-ear that for now. 2 00:00:07,080 --> 00:00:12,780 It's time once again for the Dog Days of Podcasting, a call for podcasters to 3 00:00:12,860 --> 00:00:15,980 try to put out a podcast every day in August. 4 00:00:16,060 --> 00:00:20,980 For more information, go to dogdaysofpodcasting.com. 5 00:00:21,140 --> 00:00:24,720 We always take this month to provide you with some interesting, 6 00:00:25,120 --> 00:00:27,500 yet totally useless, odd news. 7 00:00:27,580 --> 00:00:32,820 And this year, to celebrate the Platinum Anniversary of comedy4cast, 8 00:00:33,040 --> 00:00:40,500 or PAC for short, we'll end each Dog Day episode with part of a classic comedy4cast episode. 9 00:00:40,920 --> 00:00:45,260 So, let's get started with Odd News, PAC! 10 00:00:46,100 --> 00:00:51,360 Today we're off to a remote location, Kangaroo Island in Southern Australia. 11 00:00:51,440 --> 00:00:57,920 This is the spot where, in November of 2023, Georgia Gardner and Josh Fishlock 12 00:00:58,000 --> 00:01:04,220 were on a camping trip when they discovered that their pet dog Valerie had run away from the campsite. 13 00:01:04,900 --> 00:01:10,340 Valerie had been microchipped, and she was wearing an Apple AirTag on her collar. 14 00:01:10,540 --> 00:01:16,140 Unfortunately, the AirTag needs Apple Bluetooth devices nearby to assist with tracking. 15 00:01:16,220 --> 00:01:21,879 And Kangaroo Island is very sparsely populated, largely used for farming and 16 00:01:21,959 --> 00:01:26,520 livestock. And we must point out, it is also home to numerous predators, 17 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:30,060 including snakes and eagles. 18 00:01:31,540 --> 00:01:36,140 There are also kangaroos, but since it's called Kangaroo Island, 19 00:01:36,660 --> 00:01:38,480 that seemed to be pretty much a given. 20 00:01:38,780 --> 00:01:43,860 After days of searching, aided by members of the community, Gardner and Fishlock 21 00:01:43,940 --> 00:01:47,980 had to return home to mainland Australia. without Valerie. 22 00:01:49,020 --> 00:01:53,460 It was one of the hardest decisions Georgia and Josh had ever had to make. 23 00:01:53,860 --> 00:01:59,300 They left behind some of their clothes and some of Valerie's toys near the spot where she ran off. 24 00:02:01,760 --> 00:02:07,660 Days of waiting turned into weeks, and then months, and hope began to turn into 25 00:02:07,740 --> 00:02:09,720 acceptance of the inevitable. 26 00:02:10,780 --> 00:02:16,000 Okay, this is odd news, not sad news. Let's turn this one around. 27 00:02:16,220 --> 00:02:20,980 In February of 2025, more than a year after Valerie had gone missing, 28 00:02:21,340 --> 00:02:25,680 a farmer on Kangaroo Island snapped a picture of a dog running through the fields. 29 00:02:25,960 --> 00:02:29,860 Yeah, it's an odd hobby, but to each their own. The photo eventually made it 30 00:02:29,940 --> 00:02:31,919 to the Kangala Wildlife Rescue. 31 00:02:32,220 --> 00:02:37,260 Although the team at Kangala Wildlife generally focus on wildlife, 32 00:02:37,660 --> 00:02:41,860 not pets, they had been in touch with Georgia Gardner and Josh Fishlock since 33 00:02:41,940 --> 00:02:43,040 Valerie had gone missing. 34 00:02:43,220 --> 00:02:47,419 And they shared the photo. It was indeed Valerie. Hooray! 35 00:02:47,880 --> 00:02:55,500 After 529 days in the wild, Valerie was still alive. Oh, and we left out one tiny detail. 36 00:02:55,919 --> 00:02:59,520 Valerie is a 10-pound miniature dachshund. 37 00:03:00,060 --> 00:03:05,139 You know, a wiener dog. Now came the issue of trying to catch Valerie. 38 00:03:05,500 --> 00:03:09,720 Lisa Karen, who runs Kangala Wildlife Rescue with her husband Jared, 39 00:03:10,020 --> 00:03:15,720 said it was no small feat, not realizing the obvious joke value of that statement. 40 00:03:15,960 --> 00:03:19,400 They figured it would only take a few days to catch the dachshund. 41 00:03:19,500 --> 00:03:24,140 They put out some standard latch door traps and proceeded to catch bushtail 42 00:03:24,220 --> 00:03:29,620 possums, feral cats, wallabies, pretty much everything except Valerie. 43 00:03:30,020 --> 00:03:34,460 Eventually, they rigged up a big pen with a roof, several wildlife cameras, 44 00:03:34,780 --> 00:03:39,060 and a remote-controlled door, setting it in the spot where the dog had last been seen. 45 00:03:39,240 --> 00:03:42,740 They replenished the enclosure daily with food, like roast chicken, 46 00:03:43,000 --> 00:03:47,400 and filled it with Valerie's toys and clothes that carried the scent of her owners. 47 00:03:47,700 --> 00:03:51,260 After a few failed attempts, where the miniature dachshund grabbed the food 48 00:03:51,340 --> 00:03:54,800 and ran — ooh, how embarrassing to be slower than a wiener dog. 49 00:03:54,940 --> 00:03:59,520 The team was finally able to close the remote control door with Valerie inside. 50 00:03:59,860 --> 00:04:04,360 Valerie was whisked off to the vet and got a bill. I mean, a clean bill of health. 51 00:04:04,540 --> 00:04:07,620 She'd even gained some weight. All muscle, apparently. 52 00:04:08,240 --> 00:04:12,000 Georgia Gardner said that Valerie is now a bit more independent. 53 00:04:12,300 --> 00:04:16,960 She's still quite attached to her owners, but she's stronger and more on her own. 54 00:04:17,140 --> 00:04:21,180 I'll bet. I'm guessing Valerie is a lot different now. For instance, 55 00:04:21,399 --> 00:04:24,380 she's probably working the whole guilt trip angle. 56 00:04:24,560 --> 00:04:29,180 Oh, you want me to learn how to sit up and beg? Sure, no problem. 57 00:04:29,480 --> 00:04:35,060 Why wouldn't I want to do that for you? After all, you only left me alone on Kangaroo Island. 58 00:04:35,760 --> 00:04:41,540 And now, let's celebrate 20 years of comedy forecast with this classic clip. 59 00:04:41,740 --> 00:04:46,040 I thought this clip would be very appropriate to use, given the subject of that 60 00:04:46,120 --> 00:04:50,500 odd news story. This episode was released on May 1st, 2008. 61 00:04:50,820 --> 00:04:55,900 It started an experiment that lives on even today. And it's one you can participate 62 00:04:55,980 --> 00:04:58,260 in. Let's go to me so I can explain. 63 00:04:58,580 --> 00:05:02,680 I have a mission for those of you who deal with corporate-speak business meetings. 64 00:05:02,760 --> 00:05:04,760 You know the kind of meeting I'm talking about. 65 00:05:04,880 --> 00:05:08,560 It's the kind of meeting where they use phrases like forward thinking, 66 00:05:08,920 --> 00:05:12,200 best practices, and takeaways. 67 00:05:12,380 --> 00:05:16,759 It's the kind of meeting where someone says they will reach out to their direct 68 00:05:16,839 --> 00:05:19,660 reports and repurpose their resources. 69 00:05:19,920 --> 00:05:23,840 Okay, well, I've often wondered where those phrases come from, 70 00:05:23,920 --> 00:05:27,339 and I've decided to try and start my own. 71 00:05:27,560 --> 00:05:34,300 I want to introduce the phrase dog ear into the lexicon of silly business speak. 72 00:05:34,500 --> 00:05:38,800 Let me give you the phrase in context. But first, if you're not familiar with 73 00:05:38,880 --> 00:05:43,760 the phrase, dog ear usually means that you fold down the corner of a page. 74 00:05:43,899 --> 00:05:46,480 It's a way of making a bookmark to hold your place. 75 00:05:46,740 --> 00:05:50,120 Now, let's use the phrase in our new way. 76 00:05:50,770 --> 00:05:53,810 You're in a business meeting and the topic starts to drift off. 77 00:05:53,990 --> 00:05:57,029 You want to put that topic aside and get back to the main topic. 78 00:05:57,250 --> 00:06:01,950 So you say, can we just dog ear that topic for now? 79 00:06:02,190 --> 00:06:06,490 Don't explain the phrase. No, no, just use it. If it's good business speak, 80 00:06:06,710 --> 00:06:09,410 people will sort of get the context and go with it. 81 00:06:09,529 --> 00:06:13,890 Or better yet, they'll pretend they understand it and start using it. 82 00:06:14,110 --> 00:06:18,470 See, my ultimate goal is I want to be in an airport or something like that on 83 00:06:18,550 --> 00:06:22,510 the other side of the country and hear someone use that phrase. 84 00:06:22,910 --> 00:06:25,190 Maybe they're talking on the cell phone or something. I don't know. 85 00:06:25,310 --> 00:06:27,650 But I want to see if this thing spreads. 86 00:06:28,210 --> 00:06:32,330 Now, kids, don't use this in school, all right? Business speak is a horrible 87 00:06:32,410 --> 00:06:34,670 thing and you're best off leaving it to the adults. 88 00:06:35,150 --> 00:06:39,530 It's okay to occasionally point and laugh when someone says synergistic monetization. 89 00:06:39,870 --> 00:06:41,310 Just don't make a habit of it. 90 00:06:44,090 --> 00:06:47,710 That about wraps it up for today's Odd News Pack. But first, 91 00:06:47,930 --> 00:06:50,970 a shout-out to the comedy4cast Patreon patrons, 92 00:06:51,350 --> 00:06:55,990 including our producer-level patron, Paul Barrie, from the A Window to the Magic 93 00:06:56,070 --> 00:06:59,210 podcast at windowtothemagic.com. 94 00:06:59,370 --> 00:07:02,210 You too can support comedy4castand 95 00:07:02,290 --> 00:07:06,870 get episodes before everyone else for as little as $2 a month. 96 00:07:07,110 --> 00:07:13,630 Just search for comedy4cast, all one word with the number 4, on patreon.com. 97 00:07:14,390 --> 00:07:20,250 Script, voices, and original music by me, Clinton Alvord Copyright 2025, 98 00:07:20,330 --> 00:07:24,890 all rights reserved Talk to you again next time But for now, 99 00:07:25,150 --> 00:07:28,010 that's it We're done, done, done, done, done Bye-bye. 100 00:07:28,880 --> 00:07:40,420 Music.