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Hey, humans. How's it going? Susan Ruth here.

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Thanks listening to another episode of, hey, human

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podcast.

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This is episode 416,

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and my guest is Shannon Walker.

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Shannon is a world class dog trainer, and

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the founder

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of man's best friend, top dog academy and

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northwest battle buddies, which is a profit that

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helps train and provide service dogs to

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Veteran's experiencing Ptsd,

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traumatic brain injury and military sexual trauma.

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S is also the executive director of the

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association of service dog providers for military veterans.

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She has experienced in dog psychology,

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pack order, and dog instinct, and she's helped

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thousands of people and dogs, including

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many, many police departments,

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bond and train and learn with their dog.

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She's a really lovely woman. She has devoted

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her life to helping

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others

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hugely

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supportive of the veteran community,

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and,

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I mean, anyone that works with dogs is

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already

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the best of the best in my book.

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So... And to work with dogs who then

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help people.

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It's an incredible life's purpose. So I'm excited

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for you to hear.

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Shannon Story. General stuff, I'm on Patreon at

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Susan Ruth.

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Check out hey human podcast dot com for

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links and to learn more about my guests

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and the show.

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Check out susan root dot com to learn

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more about me and my other artistic endeavors.

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And follow Susan Ruth and hey human podcast

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on social media,

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find my albums, my music on Spotify, Apple

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Music, I amazon Music, wherever you get your

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music, rate review and subscribe to hey, human

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podcast on itunes. I heart

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stitch your

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blurb. I mean, it's out there. It's everywhere

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for the most part. If you have a

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podcast app. It's probably on there. If it's

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not, let me know and I will get

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it on there.

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Thank you for listening. I appreciate you. I

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hope you are doing well in these

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in uncertain times

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and hang in there and just know that

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I'm out here rooting for you.

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Alright. Be well.

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Take care.

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Here we go.

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Shannon Walker, welcome to hate human.

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I. Thank you very much for having me

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on your show. Super excited today. Yeah. I'm

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excited to. When I read bios of people

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when they're sent to me, you know, when

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I see anything that says dog in there.

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Yeah. I get extraordinarily excited. So I'm I'm

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thrilled that you you came on the show.

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I like to start these by asking people

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where they grew up and what shaped them

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when they were younger that led them onto

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their path. Yeah. That's a great question. So

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I grew up in Oregon, which is a

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Cowboy town, Growing up. It had, like, the

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fifth largest rodeo

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in the United states every year. So our

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little town just turned into this. I mean,

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you saw people parked. People would run out

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their yards for people to park trailers or

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camp out in, and they would actually...

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Would leave their home and rent out their

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home that week. For people to come. It

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was crazy, but it was my favorite time

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of the year, my dad, you know, when

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we talk about what shapes my life, I

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grew up with an amazing family, and my

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parents were just incredibly loving and incredibly supportive.

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And my mom was always the 1 that

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was a soft placed a land, but my

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dad was very much. He commanded respect. I

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never back talked him once in my life.

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But he was an incredible patriot. So when

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we look at kinda what shaped what I

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do now, my dad was all about achievement.

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My dad was all about... You never quit.

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It's I mean, he perseverance was everything.

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And even though he didn't say that, he

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lived it, and that's the example. And so

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now when you look at the work that

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I do with dogs and veterans and things

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like that. If we look back at my

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experiences with my dad, you know, my dad

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served during the Korean war,

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he loved

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America. And he taught me to believe and

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got family in country, and when you're in

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the presence of a veteran you're in the

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presence of a hero,

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And he never said that, but again, yet

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that was modeled, and we'd be at the

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Middleton roundup, and he'd have his hand his

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heart during the National Anthem, and he always

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had a tear running down his face or

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quiver chin

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because

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he just loved America, and he loved the

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men and women who provided our freedom. And

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even though he would always go and shake

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somebody's hand and thank him for their freedom,

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but he was always extremely uncomfortable if anybody

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came up to him because you know, he

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taught me when you're in the presence of

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a veteran you're in the presence of a

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hero even though he never considered himself 1.

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And so it shaped that really framed

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my

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opinion, everything I've done in my life, if

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I was to look back at my life,

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you could say I really applied that even

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though that wasn't a conscious thing. It's just

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who I am and how I was raised.

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So it was pretty awesome. I was very

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blessed growing up. You you hit on something

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really major at least in my

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estimation that you can say whatever you want.

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You can talk about your thoughts and feelings

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and all that till the cows come home,

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but it's really about

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how you live your life.

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You you become the living embodiment of example

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by your actions, and deeds,

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At 100 percent. It's like, what are you

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telling people every day about yourself

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and you didn't say 1 word?

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They saw it in your actions. They saw

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how you served them. They saw how you

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cared about them. They saw your heart or

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how you handled

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conflict.

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Being a single mom, I was extremely aware

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of that growing up with my boys

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because

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their future

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what I was very aware

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that I had a major effect on how

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they would choose to live life.

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Because we can come in my opinion. We

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can come from a lot of different experiences.

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As a matter of fact, my father,

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he did not have the example

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said for him about what a good family

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was. So what he did is he took

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the opposite. He goes, this is how my

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family was, so I want the opposite. I

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want my children to be loved don't want

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them to be provided for. I want them

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to have the support because he never had

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it. So people can go 1 way or

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the other. You can you can either be

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a product of your environment or you can

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d be determined,

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I will choose

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how I will

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respond to these things happening? And then how

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do I wanna affect people and and especially,

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you know, as I've learned through life because

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I have a few decades behind me, I

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really wanna be my best self in every

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room. So in every room, I'm authentically me

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even though not everybody gets all of me.

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Yeah. I can relate to that. Yeah. Yeah.

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I'm curious. This is

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completely off topic and rather personal, but when

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you have a father

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who models

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that kind of man

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isn't that make dating super difficult?

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Yeah. Absolutely. It makes dating. You don't No.

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These are all subconscious decisions. This is all

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a subconscious everything,

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but it did and the fact that, you

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know, I was a single mom that tells

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you how well I

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I did that. And I... And and and

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if we're gonna... I... I don't have that

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lot in my life. When I was a

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single mom, I was dedicated to my children.

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And I... I... And my businesses and that

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was pretty much how I've lived in my

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life. And I have my dogs, so I'm

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good. Yeah. I what more do you need,

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really? No. Right? Exactly. They told my love

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bucket for sure. So... Yeah. Did you grow

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up in a dog family then or was

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this something that that came by you later?

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Oh, no. I I've started begging for a

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dog when I was, like, 4 or 5

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years old, and we've had dogs ever since,

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and I wanted to be a veterinarian until

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I worked in a vet clinic, and then

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cried all the time. So I'm like, okay.

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I can't work in vet clinic, and I

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had no idea I'd become a dog trainer

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that was very organic and totally, the minute

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I was exposed to that world. I was

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hooked. But I've always... I wanted to live

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on a farm. I wanted horses. I love

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dogs, I... Every every animal that was on

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the street. I felt was lost. We had

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cats. I just wanted to save

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everybody. I just wanna save all the animals

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I saw. I'm still that way. I'm feeding,

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like, 3 feral cats outside. I mean... Yeah.

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I mean, it's...

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You know, I I can't... I I love

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animals so much, and especially dogs. So. Where

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do you live now? Battleground Washington.

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Oh, I'm from Washington State. Oh, awesome. Where

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you live? Well, I live in Santa Monica,

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but I was born in Seattle. Oh, you

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are. Yeah. Lots of rain. So I'll be

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there with it... I'll be up there in

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2 weeks for a golf tournament. So Oh,

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texas is nice. Gal is putting 1 on

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front on profit northwest battle base. So... Okay.

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Well, let's get into the starting of

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you working with service animals. And,

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was it already in the beginning

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geared toward veterans and Ptsd? Or is this

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something that came later? So how... What was

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the arc of that? So I got married.

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It got pregnant with twins to answer that

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question. I got married, got pregnant with twins,

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and then realized right away I'd started training

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for myself in the sc in sport, which

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is, like police dog training.

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And then very early on, I realized I

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needed to get a job, But because I

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didn't want put my children in daycare. So

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everybody that needs to do that. You know,

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I mean, you know, I... That that's a

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heart. That's that's a that's a difficult road

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to navigate. I would imagine, but I I

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didn't want I wanted to be able to

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stay home and steal my own values into

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my children. And so I was able to

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start my own business my dog training business.

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A little bit of knowledge is at dangerous

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thing. I knew a little bit more than

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I knew last week, so I felt like

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I could start a business. And I really

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did. I just started it, and I just

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faked it till I made it. Well, 30

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years later now. I'm still training dogs, but

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it's really changed my world. I didn't know

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the decision out of necessity

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to make money and be a stay at

267
00:10:00,482 --> 00:10:01,677
home mom, so I needed to do a

268
00:10:01,677 --> 00:10:04,147
business outside of my home. So I took

269
00:10:04,147 --> 00:10:04,944
my hobby,

270
00:10:05,502 --> 00:10:07,892
made it a profession, and I grew from

271
00:10:07,892 --> 00:10:08,131
there.

272
00:10:08,785 --> 00:10:11,345
So we built a kennel on 4 acres

273
00:10:11,345 --> 00:10:13,504
here, and I had my 4 profit business

274
00:10:13,504 --> 00:10:15,105
and what... And I was just trained and

275
00:10:15,184 --> 00:10:16,945
I was working with the police departments. I

276
00:10:16,945 --> 00:10:19,117
competed for 10 years. And I was just

277
00:10:19,117 --> 00:10:20,872
helping all these pet owners with their dogs,

278
00:10:21,031 --> 00:10:22,946
you know, and listening to and seeing the

279
00:10:22,946 --> 00:10:26,136
tears and working dogs with bite histories and

280
00:10:26,136 --> 00:10:28,050
saving dog families is what I was doing.

281
00:10:29,021 --> 00:10:30,691
And then 1 day a veteran walked into

282
00:10:30,691 --> 00:10:32,998
my business, looking for help. He wanted his

283
00:10:32,998 --> 00:10:34,350
personal dog to be trained to be a

284
00:10:34,350 --> 00:10:34,907
service dog.

285
00:10:35,479 --> 00:10:37,548
And so because I was doing a groom

286
00:10:37,548 --> 00:10:39,061
at that time, I was doing a bath.

287
00:10:39,459 --> 00:10:40,812
And... But because he walked in and he

288
00:10:40,812 --> 00:10:42,483
was a veteran, I had somebody take over

289
00:10:42,483 --> 00:10:43,677
what I was doing, and I went to

290
00:10:43,677 --> 00:10:44,632
serve him personally.

291
00:10:45,363 --> 00:10:47,511
And he talked about wanting his dog to

292
00:10:47,511 --> 00:10:48,625
serve him and be a service dog for

293
00:10:48,863 --> 00:10:49,261
Ptsd.

294
00:10:49,738 --> 00:10:51,409
So I just did what I do. I

295
00:10:51,409 --> 00:10:52,935
assessed the dog told them what it was

296
00:10:52,935 --> 00:10:54,684
gonna take, how long it was gonna take

297
00:10:54,843 --> 00:10:55,638
She was young enough,

298
00:10:56,353 --> 00:10:58,181
and I felt it had temperament enough based

299
00:10:58,181 --> 00:10:59,453
on my first evaluation.

300
00:11:00,184 --> 00:11:01,458
So he left her with me for months,

301
00:11:01,618 --> 00:11:03,370
and I trained her. And then when it

302
00:11:03,370 --> 00:11:04,564
was time for him to come in for

303
00:11:04,564 --> 00:11:06,078
his training portion of it.

304
00:11:06,954 --> 00:11:08,785
That's where things started to change for me.

305
00:11:09,598 --> 00:11:11,751
And so I learned about the suicide rate

306
00:11:11,751 --> 00:11:12,788
amongst our American heroes.

307
00:11:13,506 --> 00:11:15,819
I had learned that since he had been

308
00:11:15,819 --> 00:11:17,334
home. First of all, he had been self

309
00:11:17,334 --> 00:11:19,979
medic with illegal drugs for quite some time,

310
00:11:20,138 --> 00:11:21,490
but now he had been cleaned for a

311
00:11:21,490 --> 00:11:24,990
year, heavily involved in the Va. And in

312
00:11:24,990 --> 00:11:25,706
his journey,

313
00:11:26,279 --> 00:11:27,874
on his path to healing. He wanted to

314
00:11:27,874 --> 00:11:29,788
have a service dog, but he was also

315
00:11:29,788 --> 00:11:32,202
talking to me about how 6

316
00:11:32,659 --> 00:11:33,159
of

317
00:11:33,537 --> 00:11:35,292
the men out of his unit.

318
00:11:36,899 --> 00:11:39,523
Had committed 6 had committed suicide on American

319
00:11:39,523 --> 00:11:40,557
soil after coming home.

320
00:11:41,829 --> 00:11:43,579
And I just couldn't believe it. My dad

321
00:11:43,579 --> 00:11:45,567
had always taught me that freedom wasn't free.

322
00:11:46,457 --> 00:11:49,187
But I had no idea the price that

323
00:11:49,563 --> 00:11:51,793
they are men and women who served our

324
00:11:51,793 --> 00:11:53,306
country are still paying even though they're not

325
00:11:53,306 --> 00:11:54,261
wearing the uniform anymore.

326
00:11:55,473 --> 00:11:57,412
And I started to see

327
00:11:58,110 --> 00:12:00,027
how he responded in public. So when it

328
00:12:00,027 --> 00:12:01,465
came time for us to go out in

329
00:12:01,465 --> 00:12:01,785
public,

330
00:12:02,360 --> 00:12:04,440
and start to train his dog. I saw

331
00:12:04,440 --> 00:12:07,000
the panic attacks. I saw the anxiety, but

332
00:12:07,079 --> 00:12:09,159
I also saw him do for his dog

333
00:12:09,159 --> 00:12:10,679
what he was unwilling to do for himself.

334
00:12:11,574 --> 00:12:13,492
And I saw him find courage to lead

335
00:12:13,492 --> 00:12:14,930
her where he was afraid to go alone.

336
00:12:15,968 --> 00:12:17,646
And for me, out of everything I'd done

337
00:12:17,646 --> 00:12:18,285
in the dog world,

338
00:12:19,498 --> 00:12:22,293
I've competed in Sc. I've competed internationally. I've

339
00:12:22,293 --> 00:12:24,868
helped police officers with their dog. I've helped

340
00:12:24,927 --> 00:12:28,200
thousands of pet families, but this was different.

341
00:12:29,172 --> 00:12:31,560
And so we finished his training, and I

342
00:12:31,560 --> 00:12:33,174
watched him walk away

343
00:12:33,869 --> 00:12:36,098
with his head high and his shoulders back.

344
00:12:36,988 --> 00:12:39,453
And I significantly felt like I'd made the

345
00:12:39,453 --> 00:12:41,043
difference in the quality of somebody's life.

346
00:12:41,838 --> 00:12:44,701
And so that moment was amazing, but then

347
00:12:44,701 --> 00:12:47,341
that kinda where it was for me until

348
00:12:47,341 --> 00:12:49,250
veterans started to come to my business.

349
00:12:50,363 --> 00:12:51,818
Veterans who knew him

350
00:12:52,527 --> 00:12:54,361
Before he had Sammy as a service dog

351
00:12:54,361 --> 00:12:56,035
and after he had her as a service

352
00:12:56,035 --> 00:12:58,267
dog, and they started coming and looking for

353
00:12:58,267 --> 00:13:00,912
dogs. They started coming and they wanted they

354
00:13:00,912 --> 00:13:02,820
wanted what Kevin had, and I didn't have

355
00:13:02,820 --> 00:13:04,648
dogs to give them. So in my simple

356
00:13:04,648 --> 00:13:06,874
minded thinking, I thought, if I can just

357
00:13:06,874 --> 00:13:09,036
adopt dogs out of shelters, I can give

358
00:13:09,036 --> 00:13:10,468
them, and I can say thank you for

359
00:13:10,468 --> 00:13:12,299
my freedom. And I... That's what I did.

360
00:13:12,538 --> 00:13:13,811
I went right out to a local shelter.

361
00:13:14,129 --> 00:13:15,903
They checked me out. They checked up my

362
00:13:15,960 --> 00:13:17,472
reputation. I walked out with 5 dogs for

363
00:13:17,472 --> 00:13:19,476
free. I already had a kennel and a

364
00:13:19,476 --> 00:13:21,067
staff to take care of him professionally, and

365
00:13:21,067 --> 00:13:21,703
we got started.

366
00:13:22,578 --> 00:13:24,828
That was 257

367
00:13:25,455 --> 00:13:26,352
service dogs

368
00:13:26,804 --> 00:13:28,550
ago, 257

369
00:13:28,550 --> 00:13:30,296
veterans lives changed, and we have not lost

370
00:13:30,296 --> 00:13:31,804
1 veteran into suicide in the last 12

371
00:13:31,804 --> 00:13:33,074
years. We have not lost 1.

372
00:13:34,442 --> 00:13:37,311
It's amazing. And so that's... It's incredible. That

373
00:13:37,311 --> 00:13:40,123
was the arc. That encounter changed

374
00:13:40,819 --> 00:13:41,377
my life.

375
00:13:42,349 --> 00:13:43,088
And it

376
00:13:43,465 --> 00:13:45,401
and it has just opened up a world

377
00:13:45,778 --> 00:13:48,250
that needs the expertise of what we have

378
00:13:48,250 --> 00:13:50,084
and we bring and and just... I mean,

379
00:13:50,164 --> 00:13:51,142
there's just a whole

380
00:13:51,614 --> 00:13:54,087
not just a chapter but a novel after

381
00:13:54,087 --> 00:13:55,683
that, but it all started with 1 dog

382
00:13:55,683 --> 00:13:58,396
and 1 veteran and the and seeing the

383
00:13:58,396 --> 00:13:58,896
need

384
00:13:59,369 --> 00:14:00,906
and knowing that

385
00:14:01,364 --> 00:14:03,678
god gifted me with a talent that I've

386
00:14:03,678 --> 00:14:04,178
also

387
00:14:04,796 --> 00:14:06,631
perfect my craft and my skill.

388
00:14:07,444 --> 00:14:08,803
And honed it in so I can make

389
00:14:08,803 --> 00:14:10,401
a difference, and that's what we do every

390
00:14:10,401 --> 00:14:11,940
day. It's beautiful.

391
00:14:13,197 --> 00:14:15,355
Absolutely beautiful. Thank you for that service.

392
00:14:16,169 --> 00:14:16,808
Absolutely. It's...

393
00:14:18,166 --> 00:14:19,685
You know, the veterans will talk to us,

394
00:14:20,164 --> 00:14:21,602
you know, especially at graduation day,

395
00:14:22,401 --> 00:14:23,440
and they're just thanking us.

396
00:14:24,493 --> 00:14:25,211
And it's like,

397
00:14:26,488 --> 00:14:27,845
what I try to tell them, it's not

398
00:14:27,845 --> 00:14:29,760
a cliche, but it's an honor to serve

399
00:14:29,760 --> 00:14:30,000
them.

400
00:14:30,639 --> 00:14:31,756
It is an honor.

401
00:14:32,730 --> 00:14:36,089
To walk their walk freedom with them because

402
00:14:36,089 --> 00:14:38,169
that is what this is when they're walking

403
00:14:38,169 --> 00:14:40,183
through them mall with their service dog, when

404
00:14:40,183 --> 00:14:42,498
they're going through Tsa when they're going out

405
00:14:42,498 --> 00:14:44,414
in public, we have veterans that have not

406
00:14:44,414 --> 00:14:46,330
been in public. Sometimes we had 1 veteran

407
00:14:46,330 --> 00:14:48,166
that hadn't been in a mall for decade.

408
00:14:49,139 --> 00:14:50,813
But he's doing it with a service dog

409
00:14:50,813 --> 00:14:52,967
and he's using the dog as the tool

410
00:14:52,967 --> 00:14:55,918
it is to help mitigate the symptoms of

411
00:14:55,918 --> 00:14:58,884
his ptsd for him to ground himself for

412
00:14:58,884 --> 00:15:00,485
him to be able to collect himself and

413
00:15:00,485 --> 00:15:02,884
get back to a place in his brain

414
00:15:02,884 --> 00:15:04,644
where he can then press on and move

415
00:15:04,644 --> 00:15:06,324
forward with the mission of the day, and

416
00:15:06,324 --> 00:15:08,100
that's how they'll put it. It's like, The

417
00:15:08,100 --> 00:15:09,779
mission is, I'm... They look at it. Is

418
00:15:09,779 --> 00:15:11,139
that, The mission is is to go into

419
00:15:11,220 --> 00:15:13,139
Walmart and to do my shopping list and

420
00:15:13,139 --> 00:15:15,059
walk out. And to us, we take it

421
00:15:15,059 --> 00:15:16,419
for granted. We walk in, We walk out,

422
00:15:16,579 --> 00:15:18,499
we're you know, whatever it is. But for

423
00:15:18,499 --> 00:15:18,737
them,

424
00:15:19,530 --> 00:15:21,617
some of them, that is a debilitating

425
00:15:22,386 --> 00:15:23,679
act or

426
00:15:24,131 --> 00:15:24,631
assignment

427
00:15:25,259 --> 00:15:26,536
But now they're doing it,

428
00:15:27,334 --> 00:15:28,930
but they're doing it with the service at

429
00:15:28,930 --> 00:15:30,926
their side as the tool that it is

430
00:15:30,926 --> 00:15:32,762
because they learned how to manage the tool

431
00:15:32,762 --> 00:15:34,933
use the tool. To get through it and

432
00:15:34,933 --> 00:15:36,291
to do it and they find their best

433
00:15:36,291 --> 00:15:36,771
self in it.

434
00:15:37,809 --> 00:15:39,567
Is there a particular breed. Now, obviously, you

435
00:15:39,567 --> 00:15:41,779
when got rescue dogs says tend to be

436
00:15:41,979 --> 00:15:44,210
all sorts of different kinds of dogs. Do

437
00:15:44,210 --> 00:15:45,745
you find that certain breeds

438
00:15:46,122 --> 00:15:47,100
and or much

439
00:15:47,476 --> 00:15:49,125
take to it better? And then,

440
00:15:49,644 --> 00:15:51,321
what is the process? How do you take

441
00:15:51,321 --> 00:15:54,038
a dog who's just being a dog and

442
00:15:54,038 --> 00:15:56,115
she... Yeah. Sharing them to be a champion?

443
00:15:56,529 --> 00:15:58,684
Yeah. Absolutely. Well said. So first of all,

444
00:15:59,163 --> 00:16:01,317
yes. We still take rescue dogs and then

445
00:16:01,317 --> 00:16:02,754
in the beginning, it was all rescue dogs.

446
00:16:02,913 --> 00:16:05,320
But as our number started to grow is

447
00:16:05,320 --> 00:16:07,707
our waiting list started to grow. And because

448
00:16:07,707 --> 00:16:09,537
we have we have donor dollars to be

449
00:16:09,537 --> 00:16:11,208
respectful of. We don't wanna waste them. Once

450
00:16:11,208 --> 00:16:12,799
we start training. We wanna make sure we

451
00:16:12,799 --> 00:16:14,886
can finish that. But if you're failing a

452
00:16:14,886 --> 00:16:16,263
dog halfway out

453
00:16:16,641 --> 00:16:18,634
and have to repurpose that dog, then those

454
00:16:18,634 --> 00:16:19,990
are donor dollars wasted.

455
00:16:20,469 --> 00:16:22,303
That was another veteran that is now having

456
00:16:22,303 --> 00:16:23,500
to wait longer on the list.

457
00:16:24,231 --> 00:16:24,970
And so

458
00:16:25,424 --> 00:16:26,616
we do still use

459
00:16:27,173 --> 00:16:29,241
rescue dogs, but for the most part, we

460
00:16:29,241 --> 00:16:32,183
use purpose bread dogs. We use English labs

461
00:16:32,183 --> 00:16:34,902
and English cream golden retriever. We also use

462
00:16:34,902 --> 00:16:35,720
for the hypo

463
00:16:36,334 --> 00:16:38,641
australian lab doodle, and then we'll also use,

464
00:16:38,720 --> 00:16:41,701
you know, just regular lab doodle. And so

465
00:16:41,997 --> 00:16:44,623
that's typically the wheelhouse we're in, but, yes,

466
00:16:44,782 --> 00:16:46,612
we still will have, like, in this last

467
00:16:46,612 --> 00:16:49,733
group, we had a hound lab rescue, and

468
00:16:49,733 --> 00:16:52,283
he was an amazing dog. So you're right.

469
00:16:52,601 --> 00:16:54,195
Going into the shelter, there's a mixed bag.

470
00:16:54,354 --> 00:16:55,709
And the other thing is that in the

471
00:16:55,709 --> 00:16:57,541
shelter, unfortunately, there's a lot of pit and

472
00:16:57,541 --> 00:17:00,108
pit and I'm not against the breeds at

473
00:17:00,108 --> 00:17:01,783
all. We actually have some pip in our

474
00:17:01,783 --> 00:17:04,516
program from early on, But we don't wanna

475
00:17:04,575 --> 00:17:06,329
handicap the veteran by because our veterans, a

476
00:17:06,329 --> 00:17:07,606
lot of them are in the work environment.

477
00:17:08,179 --> 00:17:10,099
And when you have an office job and

478
00:17:10,099 --> 00:17:12,099
your pit bull is there with you when

479
00:17:12,099 --> 00:17:13,859
your clients have to walk in or your

480
00:17:14,019 --> 00:17:17,035
German shepherd dog or your rot or your

481
00:17:17,314 --> 00:17:19,726
Ba or her breeds can be

482
00:17:20,103 --> 00:17:23,052
exactly. It can intimidate the public. But everybody

483
00:17:23,052 --> 00:17:24,646
wants to see a lab or a golden

484
00:17:24,646 --> 00:17:26,654
retriever. So we have to take all of

485
00:17:26,654 --> 00:17:29,445
these things into consideration when we're pairing for

486
00:17:29,445 --> 00:17:32,554
the overall success of the team, which is

487
00:17:32,554 --> 00:17:34,401
the veteran and the service dog. And then

488
00:17:34,401 --> 00:17:35,992
what we do is whether we get it

489
00:17:35,992 --> 00:17:38,537
all out of a shelter or we purpose

490
00:17:38,537 --> 00:17:38,934
breed them,

491
00:17:40,047 --> 00:17:42,512
they go... The the puppies go into a

492
00:17:42,512 --> 00:17:45,397
foster home up to a year, and they're

493
00:17:45,397 --> 00:17:48,354
part of somebody's family. They're loved. They're just

494
00:17:48,354 --> 00:17:49,253
part of the family

495
00:17:49,712 --> 00:17:52,043
as they grow up. And then when it's

496
00:17:52,043 --> 00:17:53,718
at... About a year old or so, that's

497
00:17:53,718 --> 00:17:55,075
when they come to us, and we train

498
00:17:55,075 --> 00:17:57,570
them for 5 months, how we get them

499
00:17:57,788 --> 00:18:00,039
to be able to be this sometimes out

500
00:18:00,039 --> 00:18:01,640
of control dog that was living in a

501
00:18:01,640 --> 00:18:03,000
family loved full of life.

502
00:18:03,720 --> 00:18:05,400
They're still full of life, but we also

503
00:18:05,400 --> 00:18:07,375
now want them to be disciplined and purpose

504
00:18:07,494 --> 00:18:09,487
So when they are vested, they are functioning

505
00:18:09,487 --> 00:18:10,762
as a tool that they need to be,

506
00:18:11,001 --> 00:18:14,030
which is mitigating symptoms of Ptsd and walking

507
00:18:14,030 --> 00:18:15,306
out the life with that handler.

508
00:18:15,880 --> 00:18:17,480
So we train the dogs for 5 months

509
00:18:17,480 --> 00:18:18,200
here on site,

510
00:18:18,840 --> 00:18:21,480
and then we teach them all about public

511
00:18:21,480 --> 00:18:23,640
access. We teach amazing obedience, but we also

512
00:18:23,640 --> 00:18:25,172
teach them how to task. For the symptoms

513
00:18:25,172 --> 00:18:25,970
of Ptsd.

514
00:18:26,449 --> 00:18:28,044
And then what we also do and they're

515
00:18:28,044 --> 00:18:29,718
out in the environment doing everything.

516
00:18:30,277 --> 00:18:32,430
And then our veterans come from across the

517
00:18:32,430 --> 00:18:33,945
nation and they train with us for 5

518
00:18:33,945 --> 00:18:35,075
weeks 5 days a week.

519
00:18:35,791 --> 00:18:36,984
They pass their testing,

520
00:18:37,382 --> 00:18:38,813
and we take them everywhere. They don't wanna

521
00:18:38,813 --> 00:18:40,484
go. We do... They do everything They don't

522
00:18:40,484 --> 00:18:40,882
wanna do.

523
00:18:41,614 --> 00:18:43,130
Just for the hope that service dog is

524
00:18:43,130 --> 00:18:45,124
gonna bring to their life. And then we

525
00:18:45,124 --> 00:18:46,241
gift it to them at the end of

526
00:18:46,241 --> 00:18:48,396
the 5 weeks, which is always the... And

527
00:18:48,396 --> 00:18:50,570
the most amazing day, other than the day

528
00:18:50,570 --> 00:18:52,650
they meet their service dog. That's the second

529
00:18:52,650 --> 00:18:55,289
most amazing day in this organization. But then

530
00:18:55,289 --> 00:18:57,536
once they leave, They come back at 3

531
00:18:57,536 --> 00:18:59,601
months and retest. They don't have to do

532
00:18:59,601 --> 00:19:01,269
the 5 weeks again, but they retest after

533
00:19:01,269 --> 00:19:01,667
3 months,

534
00:19:02,461 --> 00:19:04,527
and then they re they retest 9 months

535
00:19:04,527 --> 00:19:06,539
later and then every year after that for

536
00:19:06,539 --> 00:19:08,559
the life of the dog. So our veterans

537
00:19:08,700 --> 00:19:10,399
come back and rec certify.

538
00:19:10,700 --> 00:19:12,380
We get eyes on the dogs, and we

539
00:19:12,380 --> 00:19:14,159
wanna offer that continued

540
00:19:14,872 --> 00:19:17,360
support for our veterans, whatever they may need

541
00:19:17,497 --> 00:19:19,883
after they leave us in, you know, with

542
00:19:19,883 --> 00:19:21,807
with their dog, you know, with life changes

543
00:19:21,807 --> 00:19:23,080
whatever it might be. You know, I tell

544
00:19:23,080 --> 00:19:25,069
our veterans, you know, we're a family. When

545
00:19:25,069 --> 00:19:27,058
you leave, you're part of the Northwest Val

546
00:19:27,058 --> 00:19:28,331
based family and we're there for you.

547
00:19:28,982 --> 00:19:31,760
Because life can... Life doesn't stop life and

548
00:19:31,760 --> 00:19:33,744
no matter what you're doing or where you're

549
00:19:33,744 --> 00:19:35,252
at or what you're dealing with. You know,

550
00:19:35,411 --> 00:19:36,602
so many of are better and they'll come

551
00:19:36,602 --> 00:19:36,760
here.

552
00:19:38,049 --> 00:19:40,606
And in those 5 weeks, sometimes their wife

553
00:19:40,606 --> 00:19:43,722
will leave them. Sometimes it's the anniversary date

554
00:19:43,722 --> 00:19:46,220
of their buddy who committed suicide or

555
00:19:46,534 --> 00:19:49,171
their bus but their best buddy commit suicide

556
00:19:49,171 --> 00:19:50,070
while they're here

557
00:19:50,689 --> 00:19:52,686
or their meds get messed up or their

558
00:19:52,686 --> 00:19:55,013
meds don't show up. Or whatever it might

559
00:19:55,013 --> 00:19:57,476
be. But in the life doesn't stop, and

560
00:19:57,476 --> 00:19:59,542
we we have the honor of working with

561
00:19:59,542 --> 00:20:01,234
these these American heroes

562
00:20:01,624 --> 00:20:03,139
that are just... They refused to be denied,

563
00:20:03,299 --> 00:20:05,771
and they refuse to become a statistic of

564
00:20:05,771 --> 00:20:07,526
the 22 a day, and they're looking for

565
00:20:07,526 --> 00:20:11,376
a way to not just survive but live

566
00:20:12,560 --> 00:20:16,289
but differently than they've been surviving before because

567
00:20:16,289 --> 00:20:18,432
there's a difference between surviving living.

568
00:20:19,163 --> 00:20:20,678
And we just tell them because they come

569
00:20:20,678 --> 00:20:21,954
in, and they don't trust us.

570
00:20:22,832 --> 00:20:24,746
They they have all these walls and barriers.

571
00:20:25,383 --> 00:20:25,883
And

572
00:20:26,340 --> 00:20:27,935
we just tell them trust the process.

573
00:20:28,508 --> 00:20:29,940
And then they meet their dog and they

574
00:20:29,940 --> 00:20:31,531
bond with the dog, and we see these

575
00:20:31,531 --> 00:20:33,997
walls start to come down. They start to

576
00:20:33,997 --> 00:20:37,134
open up, and the tight lip trembling

577
00:20:37,666 --> 00:20:39,890
veteran that we may meet on day 1

578
00:20:39,890 --> 00:20:42,034
that's thrown up in his car, thrown up

579
00:20:42,034 --> 00:20:42,907
in the parking lot.

580
00:20:43,720 --> 00:20:46,039
Trembling coming in, can't even look us in

581
00:20:46,039 --> 00:20:46,440
the face.

582
00:20:47,240 --> 00:20:48,680
At the end of 5 weeks where a

583
00:20:48,680 --> 00:20:51,480
service dog aside is holding a microphone talking

584
00:20:51,480 --> 00:20:53,334
to a group of people, hundred people saying

585
00:20:53,334 --> 00:20:55,172
about how their dog chain... Is already changing

586
00:20:55,172 --> 00:20:55,492
their life,

587
00:20:56,610 --> 00:20:58,528
and it's amazing. And that's what I get

588
00:20:58,528 --> 00:20:58,848
to do.

589
00:20:59,567 --> 00:21:02,056
That's that's the world we walk in. Yeah.

590
00:21:02,453 --> 00:21:02,770
Wow.

591
00:21:03,406 --> 00:21:04,358
It's very powerful.

592
00:21:05,153 --> 00:21:07,320
How do you prepare for

593
00:21:08,488 --> 00:21:09,464
the fact that

594
00:21:10,410 --> 00:21:12,319
Unfortunately, dogs don't live to be a hundred

595
00:21:12,319 --> 00:21:14,069
years old as much as we wish they

596
00:21:14,069 --> 00:21:16,217
did. How do you prepare them for that?

597
00:21:16,709 --> 00:21:19,021
Now, that is such a great question. We

598
00:21:19,021 --> 00:21:20,376
prepare for the loss of a service dog.

599
00:21:20,535 --> 00:21:23,245
We already have processes in place, and our

600
00:21:23,245 --> 00:21:24,782
veterans know this. So

601
00:21:25,173 --> 00:21:28,222
as a quick story. So 2 years ago

602
00:21:28,519 --> 00:21:29,794
on New Year's Eve,

603
00:21:30,511 --> 00:21:31,387
I get a call.

604
00:21:32,279 --> 00:21:35,319
From our veteran liaison at 11:30, and she

605
00:21:35,319 --> 00:21:37,079
tells me that 1 of our veterans just...

606
00:21:37,319 --> 00:21:38,039
Their dog just died.

607
00:21:38,680 --> 00:21:39,880
11:30 on New Year's eve,

608
00:21:40,599 --> 00:21:41,000
unexpected.

609
00:21:41,814 --> 00:21:43,731
And so I'm like, give me his number,

610
00:21:43,811 --> 00:21:46,288
so I called Ryan was his name, but

611
00:21:46,288 --> 00:21:47,587
his golden retriever bullet

612
00:21:48,046 --> 00:21:50,210
just died And so I called him in

613
00:21:50,210 --> 00:21:52,276
the first question I... So it's 11:30 at

614
00:21:52,276 --> 00:21:53,786
night on New Year's Eve. And when I

615
00:21:53,786 --> 00:21:55,932
say we're a family I mean it. First

616
00:21:55,932 --> 00:21:57,521
question I said is, are are you alone?

617
00:21:57,934 --> 00:21:58,894
And he had his wife with him.

618
00:21:59,615 --> 00:22:00,274
Because that's

619
00:22:00,734 --> 00:22:02,815
that's our first thing. I... We wanna get

620
00:22:02,815 --> 00:22:03,855
them through this process.

621
00:22:04,494 --> 00:22:05,774
So he is with his wife and then

622
00:22:05,774 --> 00:22:07,622
the second question I is Can we serve

623
00:22:07,622 --> 00:22:08,757
you with another dog

624
00:22:09,287 --> 00:22:11,030
like, right away. And he was even... And

625
00:22:11,110 --> 00:22:12,615
I said, I know your grieving bullet and

626
00:22:12,615 --> 00:22:14,692
this... But I want you to know you

627
00:22:14,692 --> 00:22:16,598
will immediately be moved to the top of

628
00:22:16,598 --> 00:22:18,425
our list, and we are working dogs right

629
00:22:18,425 --> 00:22:19,854
now, and I will hand pick a dog

630
00:22:19,854 --> 00:22:22,317
for you right now and be sending you

631
00:22:22,317 --> 00:22:23,768
pictures. He says, let me think about it,

632
00:22:23,848 --> 00:22:25,526
and I'll get back with you. 2 days

633
00:22:25,526 --> 00:22:27,604
later. He goes, I I can't survive without

634
00:22:27,604 --> 00:22:30,161
a service dog. We picked the dog and

635
00:22:30,161 --> 00:22:31,575
we sent him the pictures

636
00:22:32,170 --> 00:22:32,670
and

637
00:22:33,680 --> 00:22:35,348
we just kept feeding them the pictures and

638
00:22:35,348 --> 00:22:38,049
within 2 months, he was in, meeting the

639
00:22:38,049 --> 00:22:38,549
dog

640
00:22:39,258 --> 00:22:40,694
and we went through... He... Because he was

641
00:22:40,694 --> 00:22:42,289
already a season Handler. He didn't have to

642
00:22:42,289 --> 00:22:44,522
do the 5 weeks, but he went through

643
00:22:44,522 --> 00:22:46,117
everything that we wanted him to go through

644
00:22:46,117 --> 00:22:47,633
and that dog is serving him today. But

645
00:22:47,633 --> 00:22:48,691
we tell our veterans

646
00:22:49,003 --> 00:22:50,990
if anything happens to your dog or, you

647
00:22:50,990 --> 00:22:53,376
know, some dogs... We're we're 13 years old

648
00:22:53,376 --> 00:22:55,920
now, we have some are very, very first

649
00:22:55,920 --> 00:22:57,908
veterans with dogs the dogs are passing away.

650
00:22:58,638 --> 00:23:00,710
And those veterans those veterans are being moved

651
00:23:00,710 --> 00:23:02,701
to the front of our list, and we

652
00:23:02,701 --> 00:23:05,090
are serving them immediately. We have a hundred

653
00:23:05,090 --> 00:23:06,763
and 5 veterans waiting on our list for

654
00:23:06,763 --> 00:23:09,013
service dogs. A hundred and 5 veterans that

655
00:23:09,013 --> 00:23:11,490
are looking for help. They wanna survive differently,

656
00:23:11,649 --> 00:23:11,889
better.

657
00:23:12,768 --> 00:23:15,578
And but our existing veterans go to top

658
00:23:15,578 --> 00:23:17,327
of that list, and we'll immediately plug them

659
00:23:17,327 --> 00:23:19,236
in. So they have hope, and they have

660
00:23:19,236 --> 00:23:20,905
pictures of the dog they're gonna get, and

661
00:23:20,905 --> 00:23:22,257
then we get that dog ready as soon

662
00:23:22,257 --> 00:23:22,814
as possible.

663
00:23:24,184 --> 00:23:26,661
Gosh. I... I mean, when you say there's

664
00:23:26,661 --> 00:23:28,499
so many... I hate that there's that many

665
00:23:28,499 --> 00:23:29,139
people waiting.

666
00:23:29,858 --> 00:23:32,175
Yeah. That... But there's only you... There's only

667
00:23:32,175 --> 00:23:34,420
so many you that and your people that

668
00:23:34,420 --> 00:23:36,324
you have and only so much space and

669
00:23:36,324 --> 00:23:38,149
money and all of that. This is my

670
00:23:38,149 --> 00:23:41,744
biggest frustration with the military is that they

671
00:23:42,054 --> 00:23:43,886
send people to boot camp, they get them

672
00:23:43,886 --> 00:23:46,117
all prepared to go do the duty. And

673
00:23:46,117 --> 00:23:46,617
then

674
00:23:47,471 --> 00:23:49,782
when they get back, that's it. Sorry. You're

675
00:23:49,782 --> 00:23:51,238
on your own kid. It's

676
00:23:51,709 --> 00:23:54,180
I know the Va is there, and... But

677
00:23:54,180 --> 00:23:56,094
it's just not it's not enough. That's it's

678
00:23:56,094 --> 00:23:58,406
not enough. And these are human beings that

679
00:23:58,406 --> 00:23:58,906
complex

680
00:23:59,602 --> 00:24:00,000
struggles.

681
00:24:00,574 --> 00:24:02,888
Able exactly. So my twins served in the

682
00:24:02,968 --> 00:24:03,687
Army and marines.

683
00:24:04,565 --> 00:24:07,539
And so when they came out, they immediately

684
00:24:07,598 --> 00:24:10,086
plugged to this. Because this is this was

685
00:24:10,086 --> 00:24:11,922
their life before they went into service and

686
00:24:11,922 --> 00:24:13,198
this is like their life when they came

687
00:24:13,198 --> 00:24:15,832
out. And you're exactly right. I saw my

688
00:24:15,832 --> 00:24:17,598
boys go through this system. I saw my

689
00:24:17,598 --> 00:24:19,267
boys go through the, you know, the out

690
00:24:19,267 --> 00:24:21,652
processing and everything that that all happened.

691
00:24:22,288 --> 00:24:22,788
And

692
00:24:23,162 --> 00:24:25,308
they're not prepared, but the difference is they

693
00:24:25,308 --> 00:24:27,736
come out especially those that have Ptsd

694
00:24:28,434 --> 00:24:30,350
and have... They come out different and changed,

695
00:24:30,509 --> 00:24:32,185
and it's not just about... And the government,

696
00:24:32,345 --> 00:24:34,101
yes, they need to step up, and they...

697
00:24:34,261 --> 00:24:34,761
And

698
00:24:35,074 --> 00:24:36,511
And I'm not an expert in a lot

699
00:24:36,511 --> 00:24:38,347
of things, but I will tell you medications

700
00:24:38,347 --> 00:24:40,423
are not necessarily the answer. We have veterans

701
00:24:40,423 --> 00:24:42,897
that about on, literally over 30 meds a

702
00:24:42,897 --> 00:24:43,456
day to cope.

703
00:24:44,269 --> 00:24:46,024
That now with a service dog after a

704
00:24:46,024 --> 00:24:48,896
couple years with the supervision of their their

705
00:24:48,896 --> 00:24:50,891
medical professional are down to 1 med.

706
00:24:51,623 --> 00:24:54,173
We have veterans... That are completely medication free.

707
00:24:54,651 --> 00:24:56,801
A service dog may not be for everybody,

708
00:24:57,439 --> 00:24:59,032
but for the 257

709
00:24:59,032 --> 00:25:00,068
that we've served it is,

710
00:25:01,039 --> 00:25:02,550
And my prayers that for the hundred and

711
00:25:02,550 --> 00:25:03,982
5 that are on our list it is,

712
00:25:04,618 --> 00:25:06,209
you know, But but I would say,

713
00:25:06,846 --> 00:25:08,772
you know, 1 of our of the executive

714
00:25:08,772 --> 00:25:10,129
members of this team, you know, he talks

715
00:25:10,129 --> 00:25:12,144
about, you know, it's we the people

716
00:25:13,001 --> 00:25:15,075
that need to take care of our military.

717
00:25:15,727 --> 00:25:17,317
It is we the people. The only thing

718
00:25:17,317 --> 00:25:18,986
that is in the way of the hundred

719
00:25:18,986 --> 00:25:21,688
and 5 veterans being served is money.

720
00:25:22,324 --> 00:25:23,993
It costs us 25000

721
00:25:23,993 --> 00:25:26,472
dollars to get a dog prepared and gifted.

722
00:25:26,631 --> 00:25:29,412
These dogs are gifted to our veterans. They've

723
00:25:29,412 --> 00:25:31,160
already paid a price for these dogs. We

724
00:25:31,160 --> 00:25:33,486
gift them while they're here through the training,

725
00:25:33,646 --> 00:25:36,120
they are charged nothing. These dogs are gifted,

726
00:25:36,599 --> 00:25:38,355
and we are 1 of the largest providers

727
00:25:38,355 --> 00:25:40,351
in the United States for veterans with service

728
00:25:40,351 --> 00:25:42,144
dogs of Pt. There are a lot of

729
00:25:42,204 --> 00:25:44,445
organizations out there and more power to, but

730
00:25:44,445 --> 00:25:45,884
they might be doing 5 dogs a year.

731
00:25:46,445 --> 00:25:48,457
We're doing 40 dogs a year. And that

732
00:25:48,457 --> 00:25:50,366
may not sound like very much to somebody.

733
00:25:50,525 --> 00:25:51,718
But when you look at the body of

734
00:25:51,718 --> 00:25:54,423
work, it's huge, but the difference between us

735
00:25:54,423 --> 00:25:54,741
serving,

736
00:25:55,314 --> 00:25:58,346
veterans in a timely manner is money. It

737
00:25:58,346 --> 00:25:59,383
is we need it.

738
00:26:00,101 --> 00:26:02,470
And we are very grassroots. I will say

739
00:26:02,986 --> 00:26:05,948
Northwest battle buddies has a monthly giving program

740
00:26:06,004 --> 00:26:09,181
called operation never quit. And the story is

741
00:26:09,181 --> 00:26:10,372
about 1 of our veterans.

742
00:26:11,024 --> 00:26:13,102
That refused to be denied, and he opened

743
00:26:13,102 --> 00:26:14,961
up his heart and told his story

744
00:26:15,340 --> 00:26:17,678
about a suicide attempt and

745
00:26:18,057 --> 00:26:20,190
got saved by his wife and it's an

746
00:26:20,388 --> 00:26:22,931
incredible story and the day he met his

747
00:26:22,931 --> 00:26:25,077
service dog was the anniversary of that suicide

748
00:26:25,077 --> 00:26:27,699
attempt. And he still has her, and he's

749
00:26:27,699 --> 00:26:29,074
still thriving, and

750
00:26:29,384 --> 00:26:31,644
It's an incredible monthly giving program, but

751
00:26:32,184 --> 00:26:34,985
Northwest battle and profits like us are relying

752
00:26:34,985 --> 00:26:36,424
on the American people.

753
00:26:37,320 --> 00:26:39,559
To say, thank you for my freedom because

754
00:26:39,559 --> 00:26:42,039
everything begins with freedom. Think about what we're

755
00:26:42,039 --> 00:26:43,420
gonna do every day

756
00:26:44,039 --> 00:26:46,375
that freedom doesn't play a factor, get being

757
00:26:46,375 --> 00:26:47,734
able to go where we wanna go do

758
00:26:47,734 --> 00:26:49,414
what we wanna do. Say what we wanna

759
00:26:49,414 --> 00:26:51,575
say, what is our profession gonna be? What

760
00:26:51,575 --> 00:26:52,775
do we wanna do in life? What do

761
00:26:52,775 --> 00:26:53,654
we wanna be in life?

762
00:26:54,783 --> 00:26:56,451
That freedom came with a price, and I

763
00:26:56,451 --> 00:26:57,245
didn't have to pay it.

764
00:26:58,674 --> 00:27:00,818
My boys did, the men and women we

765
00:27:00,818 --> 00:27:01,295
served it.

766
00:27:02,263 --> 00:27:03,934
But I didn't have to. So what can

767
00:27:04,093 --> 00:27:06,401
I do to give back? Find on profit,

768
00:27:06,560 --> 00:27:08,413
it's gonna make a difference, Give to us

769
00:27:08,470 --> 00:27:09,129
northwest battle.

770
00:27:09,837 --> 00:27:12,062
Yes. Northwest battle buddies. Absolutely.

771
00:27:12,936 --> 00:27:14,628
War as hell or is complicated,

772
00:27:16,592 --> 00:27:18,046
warfare is complicated

773
00:27:18,674 --> 00:27:19,894
politics are complicated.

774
00:27:20,994 --> 00:27:22,694
It's that whole mess

775
00:27:23,474 --> 00:27:23,794
bad.

776
00:27:24,355 --> 00:27:26,515
But the people that are... That's as they

777
00:27:26,515 --> 00:27:27,815
say boots on the ground

778
00:27:29,323 --> 00:27:30,198
doing their job,

779
00:27:30,993 --> 00:27:33,322
yeah, the... You know, we owe them a

780
00:27:33,379 --> 00:27:34,253
humongous debt.

781
00:27:34,810 --> 00:27:36,242
In my personal opinion,

782
00:27:36,813 --> 00:27:37,052
Yes.

783
00:27:37,688 --> 00:27:40,153
I believe that when you serve in the

784
00:27:40,153 --> 00:27:43,016
military, when you come back, your rest of

785
00:27:43,016 --> 00:27:43,755
your life

786
00:27:44,130 --> 00:27:44,607
is free.

787
00:27:45,179 --> 00:27:47,729
Your medicines are free. That's doctor is free.

788
00:27:48,128 --> 00:27:50,598
Your restaurants are free. Yeah. Your phone bill

789
00:27:50,598 --> 00:27:52,830
is free. That's that's my opinion.

790
00:27:53,482 --> 00:27:56,025
I know that that's a grand idea,

791
00:27:56,661 --> 00:27:59,284
but it seems like the least we can

792
00:27:59,284 --> 00:27:59,522
do.

793
00:28:00,635 --> 00:28:02,156
Yeah Well, I don't disagree with you at

794
00:28:02,156 --> 00:28:03,029
all, and you're right.

795
00:28:03,663 --> 00:28:05,091
Less than 1 percent of the people in

796
00:28:05,091 --> 00:28:06,859
the United States have the courage

797
00:28:07,628 --> 00:28:09,547
to sign on the... Dotted line and say,

798
00:28:09,705 --> 00:28:11,054
I will go wherever you ask me to

799
00:28:11,054 --> 00:28:12,641
go, I will do whatever you ask me

800
00:28:12,641 --> 00:28:13,990
to do to be a part of something

801
00:28:13,990 --> 00:28:16,211
greater than myself and to serve people I

802
00:28:16,211 --> 00:28:16,688
will never meet.

803
00:28:17,578 --> 00:28:20,370
And the families of those veterans that suffer

804
00:28:20,370 --> 00:28:22,364
and are without them and live with the

805
00:28:22,364 --> 00:28:24,437
uncertainty because those families are serving the same

806
00:28:24,437 --> 00:28:26,192
way. I know what it is to have

807
00:28:26,192 --> 00:28:28,757
my sons out of this country, not have

808
00:28:28,757 --> 00:28:31,784
contact, miss them, be wondering, be worrying, not

809
00:28:31,784 --> 00:28:33,457
knowing what they're... Where they are what they're

810
00:28:33,457 --> 00:28:34,971
doing. I would tell you this, and this

811
00:28:34,971 --> 00:28:36,460
is why what you're doing is so beautiful

812
00:28:36,579 --> 00:28:38,727
full. We just need to be louder.

813
00:28:39,761 --> 00:28:40,977
We with this

814
00:28:41,590 --> 00:28:42,567
support of our veterans

815
00:28:42,942 --> 00:28:46,462
because it's proactive, it's beautiful. It's serving. It's

816
00:28:46,462 --> 00:28:48,714
being a blessing, serving people

817
00:28:49,091 --> 00:28:50,206
out of a open heart.

818
00:28:51,095 --> 00:28:52,365
We just need to be louder.

819
00:28:52,920 --> 00:28:55,142
You know, the voices is, sometimes it's not

820
00:28:55,142 --> 00:28:57,125
that... There's more of them. They just happen

821
00:28:57,125 --> 00:28:59,442
to be louder and they get attention. So

822
00:28:59,442 --> 00:29:01,192
we need to be loud and speak. And

823
00:29:01,192 --> 00:29:02,328
so thank you for

824
00:29:02,942 --> 00:29:03,442
letting

825
00:29:04,135 --> 00:29:05,806
Northwest bad buddies me myself,

826
00:29:06,696 --> 00:29:08,923
highlighting the work that we're doing and the

827
00:29:08,923 --> 00:29:10,673
sacrifice for our veterans and how they need

828
00:29:10,673 --> 00:29:12,366
us. So thank you

829
00:29:13,154 --> 00:29:15,306
sal. I mean out screaming from the rooftops

830
00:29:15,306 --> 00:29:17,140
as long as I'm alive. Yeah. There you

831
00:29:17,140 --> 00:29:19,053
go. I love it. I think there's something

832
00:29:19,053 --> 00:29:21,227
interesting too as you were saying

833
00:29:21,619 --> 00:29:23,694
you know, once the veteran is paired with

834
00:29:23,694 --> 00:29:24,253
the dog.

835
00:29:25,450 --> 00:29:25,950
And

836
00:29:26,568 --> 00:29:29,202
look, there... There's a thing about that they

837
00:29:29,202 --> 00:29:31,368
become then of service, to the animal as

838
00:29:31,368 --> 00:29:32,879
much as the animal as being a service

839
00:29:32,879 --> 00:29:35,581
to them. It's a different kind. It's an

840
00:29:35,581 --> 00:29:38,045
emotional bond, and you have to take care

841
00:29:38,045 --> 00:29:39,396
of this animal. You have to feed this

842
00:29:39,396 --> 00:29:41,321
animal to walk this animal to water this

843
00:29:41,321 --> 00:29:43,310
animal, You have to make sure that he

844
00:29:43,310 --> 00:29:46,095
or she is is staying healthy and thriving.

845
00:29:46,652 --> 00:29:48,898
And if The 1 thing I know at

846
00:29:48,898 --> 00:29:51,289
my age is that the best way to

847
00:29:51,289 --> 00:29:53,601
get out of your head is to do

848
00:29:53,601 --> 00:29:54,717
something for someone else.

849
00:29:56,007 --> 00:29:57,862
Absolutely. And to have that

850
00:29:58,399 --> 00:29:58,638
relationship.

851
00:29:59,515 --> 00:30:01,429
I mean, I think right there is is

852
00:30:01,429 --> 00:30:04,714
an incredible opportunity for somebody to go, Okay.

853
00:30:04,953 --> 00:30:06,869
I'm in my head and it's chaos in

854
00:30:06,869 --> 00:30:08,566
here, but there's this

855
00:30:09,024 --> 00:30:09,524
creature

856
00:30:09,982 --> 00:30:11,978
that is fully dependent on me.

857
00:30:12,696 --> 00:30:13,196
And

858
00:30:13,827 --> 00:30:15,522
Yeah. I mean, that's humongous

859
00:30:16,057 --> 00:30:17,730
is 1 of our veterans in the last

860
00:30:17,730 --> 00:30:19,720
group. He said the leash goes both ways.

861
00:30:20,278 --> 00:30:22,840
Yeah. Oh, I love that. I know. It

862
00:30:22,840 --> 00:30:24,271
was awesome, But it is. So the thing

863
00:30:24,271 --> 00:30:25,861
is is that the culture of what we

864
00:30:25,861 --> 00:30:28,484
do is designed around the way that our

865
00:30:28,484 --> 00:30:30,312
veterans are trained and the culture that they're

866
00:30:30,312 --> 00:30:32,078
used to. First of all, It was a

867
00:30:32,078 --> 00:30:33,595
veteran that came up with the name Northwest

868
00:30:33,595 --> 00:30:35,112
battle buddies because the minute you go into

869
00:30:35,112 --> 00:30:36,948
the military. Even though I never served, but

870
00:30:36,948 --> 00:30:38,944
what I know or what I've heard is

871
00:30:38,944 --> 00:30:40,301
that you're signed to battle buddy.

872
00:30:41,113 --> 00:30:43,020
They never go anywhere without you. You are

873
00:30:43,020 --> 00:30:45,166
responsible for each other. So it's a veteran

874
00:30:45,166 --> 00:30:46,858
that came up with the name Northwest Battle

875
00:30:47,073 --> 00:30:47,867
because of that,

876
00:30:48,995 --> 00:30:49,495
cultural

877
00:30:50,585 --> 00:30:51,085
familiarity.

878
00:30:51,778 --> 00:30:54,083
And then we're talking about discipline. We're talking

879
00:30:54,083 --> 00:30:56,786
about leadership. We're talking about breaking barriers. We

880
00:30:56,786 --> 00:30:59,528
are talking about courage. We are talking about

881
00:30:59,584 --> 00:31:00,698
overcoming and never quitting.

882
00:31:01,573 --> 00:31:03,323
And I tell our veterans this all the

883
00:31:03,323 --> 00:31:05,248
time. Where's your battle buddy, protect your dog,

884
00:31:05,328 --> 00:31:06,604
this or that, your dog will never be

885
00:31:06,604 --> 00:31:07,799
the dog you want them to be until

886
00:31:07,799 --> 00:31:08,996
you're the leader they need you to be.

887
00:31:09,474 --> 00:31:11,148
This is a tool that is reliant on

888
00:31:11,148 --> 00:31:13,142
you that will serve you the rest of

889
00:31:13,142 --> 00:31:15,714
its life if you lead it well, and

890
00:31:15,714 --> 00:31:17,315
we are gonna set you up for success

891
00:31:17,315 --> 00:31:18,914
to do that and give you the skills

892
00:31:18,914 --> 00:31:19,714
and the discipline.

893
00:31:20,115 --> 00:31:22,527
But it's everything they know. They... It's the

894
00:31:22,527 --> 00:31:24,036
culture, the way we train the dogs, the

895
00:31:24,036 --> 00:31:25,545
way we train our veterans It is the

896
00:31:25,545 --> 00:31:27,928
culture, the cam. You know, we have many

897
00:31:27,928 --> 00:31:29,913
of our veterans because the 5 weeks is

898
00:31:29,913 --> 00:31:32,714
hard. The Not everybody makes it through. And

899
00:31:32,714 --> 00:31:34,785
it's hard, but we've had veterans and it

900
00:31:34,785 --> 00:31:36,537
said that'll say they wanna quit, and they'll

901
00:31:36,537 --> 00:31:37,971
they'll pair up, and they'll be like, I

902
00:31:37,971 --> 00:31:39,817
won't quit if you don't quit. And the

903
00:31:39,817 --> 00:31:41,329
day that 1 feels like quitting, the other

904
00:31:41,329 --> 00:31:42,522
1 keeps them in. And the other day,

905
00:31:42,602 --> 00:31:44,193
the other 1 feels like quitting, and they

906
00:31:44,193 --> 00:31:45,864
do that and they get each other through.

907
00:31:46,754 --> 00:31:48,822
And it's incredible. It is... And it doesn't

908
00:31:48,822 --> 00:31:51,447
matter what conflicts. So Northwest Dog serves all

909
00:31:51,447 --> 00:31:51,924
conflicts.

910
00:31:52,561 --> 00:31:55,186
A lot of organizations only serve post 09:11.

911
00:31:56,156 --> 00:31:58,466
But we serve all conflicts. Our hundredth dog

912
00:31:58,466 --> 00:31:59,900
went to a Vietnam veteran,

913
00:32:00,776 --> 00:32:02,232
and that was just

914
00:32:02,608 --> 00:32:03,108
amazing

915
00:32:03,644 --> 00:32:03,883
because...

916
00:32:04,853 --> 00:32:07,556
They didn't get what they deserved. So I

917
00:32:07,556 --> 00:32:09,544
love to serve our Vietnam veterans. I love

918
00:32:09,544 --> 00:32:10,736
to serve all of our veterans, but the

919
00:32:10,974 --> 00:32:12,977
Vietnam veterans really have my heart. But it

920
00:32:12,977 --> 00:32:14,569
doesn't matter what conflict you can be a

921
00:32:14,888 --> 00:32:17,992
Vietnam veteran that is now serving somebody who's

922
00:32:17,992 --> 00:32:20,380
25 years old that is here getting a

923
00:32:20,380 --> 00:32:22,490
dog. And so you're looking at the decades

924
00:32:22,787 --> 00:32:26,375
of living and battling Ptsd, and he's finally

925
00:32:26,375 --> 00:32:28,847
getting help. And then you have somebody that's

926
00:32:28,847 --> 00:32:31,336
younger, but but they serve each other in

927
00:32:31,336 --> 00:32:32,075
the cam

928
00:32:32,852 --> 00:32:34,768
and the unity in that group.

929
00:32:35,407 --> 00:32:37,163
It's it's a privilege for me to be

930
00:32:37,163 --> 00:32:38,861
able to observe it and

931
00:32:39,172 --> 00:32:41,632
witness it and and be surrounded in that

932
00:32:41,632 --> 00:32:42,132
culture

933
00:32:42,505 --> 00:32:44,965
because it's unlike anything I've ever experienced anywhere

934
00:32:44,965 --> 00:32:46,711
else in the world and anything I've been

935
00:32:46,711 --> 00:32:48,474
involved in, it's really beautiful.

936
00:32:49,111 --> 00:32:51,361
What's it's important to know you're not alone

937
00:32:51,657 --> 00:32:53,487
and that someone else is is there for

938
00:32:53,487 --> 00:32:55,317
you. I mean, that's the bottom line of

939
00:32:55,317 --> 00:32:56,351
being a human being.

940
00:32:56,845 --> 00:32:58,684
Yeah. Well, they they tell each other all

941
00:32:58,684 --> 00:33:00,525
the time. I got you. You're having a

942
00:33:00,525 --> 00:33:01,884
hard. You know, it's like, they're going into

943
00:33:01,884 --> 00:33:03,565
them mall. Somebody's already t on or wanting

944
00:33:03,565 --> 00:33:04,445
to throw up in the parking and lot

945
00:33:04,445 --> 00:33:05,979
and they're like buddy. I got you. We'll

946
00:33:05,979 --> 00:33:07,256
do it together. I got you.

947
00:33:08,134 --> 00:33:09,810
So we had 1 in this last group,

948
00:33:10,129 --> 00:33:11,427
the veteran has seizures

949
00:33:12,044 --> 00:33:13,401
brought on by the Ptsd.

950
00:33:14,534 --> 00:33:16,052
And he had a grand seizure in the

951
00:33:16,052 --> 00:33:16,292
mall.

952
00:33:17,410 --> 00:33:19,008
And all the other buttons stood around with

953
00:33:19,008 --> 00:33:20,606
their dogs and they waited. Some of them

954
00:33:20,606 --> 00:33:22,537
were praying. Some of them were just... Standing

955
00:33:22,537 --> 00:33:24,844
looking around, almost like standing guard as this

956
00:33:24,844 --> 00:33:25,401
1 veteran.

957
00:33:26,197 --> 00:33:27,549
He knew he was gonna see. He's, like,

958
00:33:27,709 --> 00:33:28,743
do not call 911,

959
00:33:30,033 --> 00:33:31,390
And we already nukes. Because we knew all

960
00:33:31,390 --> 00:33:32,827
their medical history when they come in, but

961
00:33:32,827 --> 00:33:34,664
they're right in the middle of this mall.

962
00:33:35,143 --> 00:33:36,420
He's having a seizure on the floor,

963
00:33:37,458 --> 00:33:38,815
and the dog is right there.

964
00:33:39,469 --> 00:33:40,825
And we waited for him to come out

965
00:33:40,825 --> 00:33:42,818
and immediately the dog goes, and he starts

966
00:33:42,818 --> 00:33:46,009
tactile reinforcement grounding with the dog, helping him

967
00:33:46,009 --> 00:33:48,481
come out. He's disoriented that dog just melted

968
00:33:48,481 --> 00:33:50,987
into him. But I was standing there watching

969
00:33:51,202 --> 00:33:52,713
not only what he was going through, but

970
00:33:52,713 --> 00:33:54,327
what he was living with

971
00:33:54,940 --> 00:33:57,008
just trying to find a better way forward.

972
00:33:57,818 --> 00:34:01,233
And I was so emotional because sometimes they're

973
00:34:01,233 --> 00:34:03,243
struggle to watch their struggle

974
00:34:03,617 --> 00:34:05,761
for me, it's almost too hard to watch.

975
00:34:06,574 --> 00:34:08,569
We had this 1 gal. She's 78,

976
00:34:09,527 --> 00:34:10,964
and she was in this last group, and

977
00:34:10,964 --> 00:34:12,103
we're going through Tsa.

978
00:34:12,880 --> 00:34:14,557
And she, by the time we were getting

979
00:34:14,557 --> 00:34:16,969
out, she was having such a bad panic

980
00:34:16,969 --> 00:34:19,449
attack. Is the worst I've ever seen. I

981
00:34:19,449 --> 00:34:21,449
was helping her walk out. I didn't know

982
00:34:21,449 --> 00:34:22,969
if she wasn't gonna go to the floor.

983
00:34:23,210 --> 00:34:23,264
Such

984
00:34:24,183 --> 00:34:26,341
and it was aft... And I'm... I stay

985
00:34:26,341 --> 00:34:28,818
strong during. But afterwards, it's like,

986
00:34:29,777 --> 00:34:32,035
to watch what they have to endure

987
00:34:32,508 --> 00:34:34,655
to get through. The things that we take

988
00:34:34,655 --> 00:34:36,109
for granted every day

989
00:34:36,961 --> 00:34:38,177
is so humbling

990
00:34:38,869 --> 00:34:42,184
and it's sometimes it's overwhelming because it's so

991
00:34:42,304 --> 00:34:42,622
sad,

992
00:34:43,338 --> 00:34:46,518
but to watch this courage and action and

993
00:34:46,518 --> 00:34:49,381
the human spirit that refuses to be denied.

994
00:34:49,779 --> 00:34:51,949
They're like, I will never quit

995
00:34:53,058 --> 00:34:54,737
and they don't. And she walked away with

996
00:34:54,737 --> 00:34:55,456
her service dog.

997
00:34:56,655 --> 00:34:58,652
And it's just incredible. And I have so

998
00:34:58,652 --> 00:35:00,570
many stories like that. They're all the same,

999
00:35:00,730 --> 00:35:02,262
but they're all unique. To themselves.

1000
00:35:02,980 --> 00:35:05,772
It's incredible. It's incredible what we get to

1001
00:35:05,772 --> 00:35:07,846
do and who we get to walk out

1002
00:35:07,846 --> 00:35:10,739
life with. I'm so blessed and so privileged

1003
00:35:10,956 --> 00:35:11,456
that

1004
00:35:12,006 --> 00:35:12,903
my circle

1005
00:35:13,595 --> 00:35:15,501
is American heroes every day.

1006
00:35:18,201 --> 00:35:19,552
How do you take care of you?

1007
00:35:23,463 --> 00:35:24,737
I take care of me.

1008
00:35:25,374 --> 00:35:27,524
Thank you. That's a great question. Self care.

1009
00:35:28,001 --> 00:35:28,718
I'm a christian.

1010
00:35:30,483 --> 00:35:32,549
I rely on my relationship with Jesus Christ.

1011
00:35:33,105 --> 00:35:35,092
I spent time with my family.

1012
00:35:35,887 --> 00:35:38,932
I am involved. In mentoring programs. I have

1013
00:35:38,932 --> 00:35:40,051
a Ceo coach.

1014
00:35:41,170 --> 00:35:42,229
I am

1015
00:35:42,768 --> 00:35:45,539
always trying... Working on being my best self

1016
00:35:45,739 --> 00:35:48,376
and and engaging and learning my coaching skills,

1017
00:35:48,536 --> 00:35:49,655
my leadership skills,

1018
00:35:50,454 --> 00:35:53,171
all of that to invest in myself, I

1019
00:35:53,171 --> 00:35:54,210
work out every day.

1020
00:35:55,424 --> 00:35:56,623
I play with my dogs,

1021
00:35:57,741 --> 00:36:00,318
and I'm with my family. So my downtime

1022
00:36:01,177 --> 00:36:03,661
is time with my family. Time with God,

1023
00:36:03,820 --> 00:36:05,248
my 80 year old mother. She goes don't

1024
00:36:05,248 --> 00:36:06,041
tell people hold old.

1025
00:36:06,597 --> 00:36:09,452
But lives with me. Now, for almost 3

1026
00:36:09,452 --> 00:36:10,483
years this October.

1027
00:36:11,133 --> 00:36:13,594
And that is a special blessing. So that's

1028
00:36:13,594 --> 00:36:15,126
how I do that. And then

1029
00:36:16,214 --> 00:36:17,802
and then I just rely on god every

1030
00:36:17,802 --> 00:36:19,724
day, and we push through every day, and

1031
00:36:19,884 --> 00:36:21,316
I'm not gonna say that it is not

1032
00:36:21,316 --> 00:36:24,022
without challenges and sometimes I'll never say I'm

1033
00:36:24,022 --> 00:36:24,260
overwhelmed,

1034
00:36:24,977 --> 00:36:27,126
but there are days that life is just

1035
00:36:27,126 --> 00:36:27,523
life.

1036
00:36:28,414 --> 00:36:29,295
And I need a break.

1037
00:36:30,094 --> 00:36:31,855
But I've taught my kids ever since they

1038
00:36:31,855 --> 00:36:33,054
were little, no matter what.

1039
00:36:34,014 --> 00:36:35,534
You always do what comes next.

1040
00:36:36,428 --> 00:36:37,621
And if you don't know what it is,

1041
00:36:37,860 --> 00:36:39,769
you wait for it and then you do

1042
00:36:39,769 --> 00:36:39,928
it.

1043
00:36:40,962 --> 00:36:42,394
And that's just how I lived my life.

1044
00:36:43,684 --> 00:36:45,682
I'm am assuming your dad is passed?

1045
00:36:46,161 --> 00:36:47,120
Yeah. He died.

1046
00:36:48,239 --> 00:36:49,598
December twentieth 2011.

1047
00:36:50,397 --> 00:36:52,155
What's his name? Glenn Walker.

1048
00:36:53,449 --> 00:36:56,825
I'm sure that Glen is looking down and

1049
00:36:56,964 --> 00:36:57,763
so proud.

1050
00:36:59,280 --> 00:36:59,520
Yeah.

1051
00:37:00,173 --> 00:37:00,673
He

1052
00:37:01,207 --> 00:37:03,139
he was such an amazing

1053
00:37:03,832 --> 00:37:05,684
force on this earth for me

1054
00:37:06,457 --> 00:37:08,617
that when he died, I actually thought it

1055
00:37:08,617 --> 00:37:10,468
was gonna break me. I've heard people say

1056
00:37:10,842 --> 00:37:12,192
this broke me and I never... And, like,

1057
00:37:12,271 --> 00:37:13,860
get over yourself a little bit. But when

1058
00:37:13,860 --> 00:37:15,862
he died, I just wasn't quite how I

1059
00:37:15,862 --> 00:37:17,688
was gonna continue to cope because he was

1060
00:37:17,688 --> 00:37:19,436
such a source of strength and wisdom for

1061
00:37:19,436 --> 00:37:19,595
me.

1062
00:37:20,628 --> 00:37:22,455
And I was Daddy's girl, spoke with him

1063
00:37:22,455 --> 00:37:23,940
every day even though we might have lived

1064
00:37:24,297 --> 00:37:26,681
United States part, he I was a daddy's

1065
00:37:26,681 --> 00:37:29,303
girl all the way my whole life.

1066
00:37:29,939 --> 00:37:30,439
And

1067
00:37:31,702 --> 00:37:33,214
I was with him when he died, but

1068
00:37:33,214 --> 00:37:35,600
when he died, I I did. I I

1069
00:37:35,600 --> 00:37:36,952
just didn't know how I was gonna.

1070
00:37:38,558 --> 00:37:40,463
I I wasn't thinking about anything serious. I

1071
00:37:40,463 --> 00:37:41,653
just didn't know how to cope. I just

1072
00:37:41,653 --> 00:37:43,265
didn't know how I was gonna do life

1073
00:37:43,320 --> 00:37:45,146
without talking him every day and having that

1074
00:37:45,146 --> 00:37:46,813
source of strength on this earth with me.

1075
00:37:47,782 --> 00:37:49,774
But I was going through just shortly after.

1076
00:37:50,172 --> 00:37:51,925
I literally cried every day for year after

1077
00:37:51,925 --> 00:37:52,482
my dad died.

1078
00:37:53,677 --> 00:37:55,350
And then I needed to get myself together

1079
00:37:55,350 --> 00:37:57,598
because my boys needed me. To stop grieving.

1080
00:37:57,838 --> 00:38:00,315
And everybody's everybody's journey is their own, but

1081
00:38:00,394 --> 00:38:01,833
I I needed to...

1082
00:38:02,871 --> 00:38:05,358
I needed to move on not move on

1083
00:38:05,358 --> 00:38:07,501
from my father, but III

1084
00:38:07,501 --> 00:38:09,088
stopped... I needed to stop crying every day.

1085
00:38:09,961 --> 00:38:12,342
And... But I was shortly after being my

1086
00:38:12,342 --> 00:38:13,950
dad died, I was gonna and bookstore and

1087
00:38:14,030 --> 00:38:16,110
I looked up at this picture of these

1088
00:38:16,110 --> 00:38:18,670
horses running on the beach, and they were

1089
00:38:18,670 --> 00:38:20,030
running as fast that could couldn't, and it

1090
00:38:20,030 --> 00:38:20,590
was so beautiful.

1091
00:38:21,163 --> 00:38:23,470
And the scripture was Hebrews 12 1. It

1092
00:38:23,470 --> 00:38:25,379
says let us run with perseverance the rays

1093
00:38:25,379 --> 00:38:26,095
marked out for us.

1094
00:38:26,970 --> 00:38:28,719
And I felt like that was now the

1095
00:38:28,719 --> 00:38:30,405
scripture for my life. That no matter what

1096
00:38:30,405 --> 00:38:32,791
life brings, even without my dad, it was

1097
00:38:32,791 --> 00:38:35,757
about perseverance and it was about pressing on

1098
00:38:35,813 --> 00:38:36,313
and

1099
00:38:36,927 --> 00:38:37,881
and being a blessing.

1100
00:38:38,532 --> 00:38:40,361
And that's the scripture for Northwest battle buddies,

1101
00:38:40,520 --> 00:38:42,508
that is the scripture for my life. And

1102
00:38:42,508 --> 00:38:43,939
that is how I look at life. And

1103
00:38:43,939 --> 00:38:45,449
so even though there are days that are

1104
00:38:45,449 --> 00:38:46,086
just like,

1105
00:38:46,642 --> 00:38:46,960
wow.

1106
00:38:48,808 --> 00:38:50,566
Sometimes I'm overwhelmed and I know I just

1107
00:38:50,566 --> 00:38:52,643
need an app, because then I'm gonna feel

1108
00:38:52,643 --> 00:38:55,933
differently having that perspective. You know, living being

1109
00:38:55,933 --> 00:38:57,851
my best self and living my best life

1110
00:38:57,851 --> 00:38:59,449
and serving my family the way I wanna

1111
00:38:59,449 --> 00:39:00,807
serve them and the people that are around

1112
00:39:00,807 --> 00:39:02,485
me is a daily journey of how I

1113
00:39:02,485 --> 00:39:04,574
can be better. I love that. It's good

1114
00:39:04,574 --> 00:39:05,291
to have purpose.

1115
00:39:06,088 --> 00:39:06,327
Yeah.

1116
00:39:06,964 --> 00:39:09,353
Yeah. Yeah. Well, without purpose you're just existing.

1117
00:39:09,592 --> 00:39:10,469
Right? Yeah.

1118
00:39:11,265 --> 00:39:12,141
I mean, think about it.

1119
00:39:13,112 --> 00:39:15,442
Tell me about the process

1120
00:39:15,817 --> 00:39:17,169
you you get the new dog.

1121
00:39:17,806 --> 00:39:18,783
Can you tell

1122
00:39:19,317 --> 00:39:22,359
right away that they are gonna be really

1123
00:39:22,359 --> 00:39:23,158
into the program,

1124
00:39:23,557 --> 00:39:24,856
there... I feel like

1125
00:39:25,555 --> 00:39:27,553
I mean, I've had dogs my whole life,

1126
00:39:27,793 --> 00:39:30,030
and I feel like when you're training them,

1127
00:39:31,080 --> 00:39:33,146
At first, they're kind of wiggly and they

1128
00:39:33,146 --> 00:39:34,656
don't really... They're like, what, you have a

1129
00:39:34,656 --> 00:39:36,404
snack in your hand or whatever it is,

1130
00:39:36,960 --> 00:39:39,197
and they want to please. That's just dogs,

1131
00:39:39,435 --> 00:39:40,887
just the the most purest

1132
00:39:41,497 --> 00:39:43,480
version of love you can get. They yep.

1133
00:39:43,717 --> 00:39:45,304
I mean, they teach us so much about

1134
00:39:45,304 --> 00:39:45,462
love.

1135
00:39:46,112 --> 00:39:48,659
But I mean, do you kind of... I

1136
00:39:48,659 --> 00:39:50,250
know that for me when I've trained my

1137
00:39:50,250 --> 00:39:53,138
pups that that there's that moment

1138
00:39:53,448 --> 00:39:56,012
where they... Where it clicks, and they realized

1139
00:39:56,306 --> 00:39:58,290
they're like, oh wait. I get it. And

1140
00:39:58,290 --> 00:40:00,274
everything kind of shifts. So do you see

1141
00:40:00,274 --> 00:40:01,544
that and then you go, oh, I know.

1142
00:40:02,354 --> 00:40:05,071
Or do some still... You think, oh, well,

1143
00:40:05,311 --> 00:40:06,589
this is gonna be a great pet, but

1144
00:40:06,589 --> 00:40:09,146
not the not the working bag. Yeah. So

1145
00:40:09,146 --> 00:40:11,313
great question. So when it... When we're going

1146
00:40:11,313 --> 00:40:13,459
to the process of training, if where we're

1147
00:40:13,459 --> 00:40:15,763
gonna find, they're gonna make it or we

1148
00:40:15,763 --> 00:40:17,352
have to repurpose them. I will tell you

1149
00:40:17,352 --> 00:40:20,386
our our percentage of repurposing or dogs that

1150
00:40:20,386 --> 00:40:23,563
fail is extremely low to the national standard.

1151
00:40:23,881 --> 00:40:25,391
Not very often We have to face that

1152
00:40:25,391 --> 00:40:27,138
because we are purpose breeding now, so I'm

1153
00:40:27,138 --> 00:40:29,406
breeding dogs that are genetically inclined

1154
00:40:29,943 --> 00:40:31,699
to be able to do the work. But

1155
00:40:31,699 --> 00:40:33,454
some... And what we're looking for is dogs

1156
00:40:33,454 --> 00:40:35,623
that are social, dogs that are confident. I

1157
00:40:35,623 --> 00:40:37,378
mean, it... Because it does come down to

1158
00:40:37,378 --> 00:40:39,451
genetics, and then it comes down to learn

1159
00:40:39,451 --> 00:40:42,083
behavior. So... And the fact that we've been

1160
00:40:42,083 --> 00:40:43,598
doing this for decades and I have an

1161
00:40:43,598 --> 00:40:46,164
incredible team we know what we're looking at

1162
00:40:46,164 --> 00:40:48,077
within minutes when we're looking at a dog.

1163
00:40:48,634 --> 00:40:50,626
So it's not like anything as a mystery

1164
00:40:50,626 --> 00:40:52,380
to us at this stage of the game.

1165
00:40:52,635 --> 00:40:54,235
And there are some dogs that sometimes we

1166
00:40:54,235 --> 00:40:56,074
are on the fence. We're like, well, we're

1167
00:40:56,074 --> 00:40:58,015
gonna see how this plays out

1168
00:40:58,715 --> 00:40:58,954
because...

1169
00:40:59,594 --> 00:41:01,526
Because sometimes you'll get into it, because the

1170
00:41:01,526 --> 00:41:03,275
more we require of the dogs through the

1171
00:41:03,275 --> 00:41:04,865
4 months or through the 5 months of

1172
00:41:04,865 --> 00:41:05,183
training,

1173
00:41:05,819 --> 00:41:07,727
we'll now start to expose the dog for

1174
00:41:07,727 --> 00:41:10,763
something that maybe the dog can't overcome. And

1175
00:41:10,763 --> 00:41:12,116
then we have to wash them, but it's

1176
00:41:12,116 --> 00:41:14,186
very, very rare. Usually, you'll see the writing

1177
00:41:14,186 --> 00:41:16,414
on the wall early. But we've also are

1178
00:41:16,414 --> 00:41:17,926
really good at what we do. And so

1179
00:41:17,926 --> 00:41:19,297
we find a way to work the dog

1180
00:41:19,297 --> 00:41:21,691
through it, so it can master the exercise

1181
00:41:21,691 --> 00:41:23,048
so we can go on and serve better

1182
00:41:23,048 --> 00:41:25,203
and well, not just well, but with excellence.

1183
00:41:25,362 --> 00:41:27,844
We have amazing dogs. And Is there a

1184
00:41:27,844 --> 00:41:29,670
sobriety requirement for the veterans?

1185
00:41:30,225 --> 00:41:33,002
Oh, absolutely. There's a very strict application process.

1186
00:41:33,637 --> 00:41:36,523
They have have stable housing, stable income. They

1187
00:41:36,523 --> 00:41:39,235
have to have a diagnosis of Ptsd. Most

1188
00:41:39,235 --> 00:41:41,411
of them are all in a medical

1189
00:41:42,202 --> 00:41:45,388
professional under their care, whether it's even counseling

1190
00:41:45,388 --> 00:41:46,583
or whatever it might be, they have to

1191
00:41:46,583 --> 00:41:48,733
have an honorable discharge. They have to be

1192
00:41:48,733 --> 00:41:50,485
clean and sober for at least 6 months.

1193
00:41:50,979 --> 00:41:52,655
If there are in any programs, they can

1194
00:41:52,655 --> 00:41:54,091
go on our list, but they just have

1195
00:41:54,091 --> 00:41:56,166
to wait to make sure everything is good.

1196
00:41:56,485 --> 00:41:59,215
And then whatever gets them qualified to come

1197
00:41:59,215 --> 00:42:01,215
into this program, they have to maintain all

1198
00:42:01,215 --> 00:42:03,055
of that after they received their service dog,

1199
00:42:03,215 --> 00:42:04,494
they sign a contract when they leave.

1200
00:42:05,295 --> 00:42:06,815
And if they fall out of what would

1201
00:42:06,815 --> 00:42:07,474
have been

1202
00:42:07,855 --> 00:42:08,094
qualification,

1203
00:42:08,669 --> 00:42:10,820
then we reserve the right to seize the

1204
00:42:10,820 --> 00:42:12,036
dog. And unfortunately,

1205
00:42:12,413 --> 00:42:12,913
twice

1206
00:42:13,289 --> 00:42:14,563
in 257,

1207
00:42:14,802 --> 00:42:16,635
I have... You know, we've recovered the dog.

1208
00:42:17,033 --> 00:42:17,533
So

1209
00:42:18,162 --> 00:42:19,512
Wow, that's gotta be tough.

1210
00:42:20,147 --> 00:42:21,496
It's very tough. But you know what? I

1211
00:42:21,496 --> 00:42:22,688
will... But you know what Let me just

1212
00:42:22,688 --> 00:42:25,069
say this. But it's not tough. It's... First

1213
00:42:25,069 --> 00:42:27,155
of all, you can't lead if you're not

1214
00:42:27,155 --> 00:42:28,273
willing to do hard things.

1215
00:42:29,070 --> 00:42:30,985
But those veterans with where they were in

1216
00:42:30,985 --> 00:42:32,421
their life, we care about them.

1217
00:42:33,234 --> 00:42:35,388
But they were they became so disconnected.

1218
00:42:36,026 --> 00:42:36,824
1 veteran...

1219
00:42:37,702 --> 00:42:39,377
I don't even wanna... But 1 veteran it...

1220
00:42:39,536 --> 00:42:41,541
There was no there were no tears. It

1221
00:42:41,541 --> 00:42:42,970
wasn't like you thought it would be. It's

1222
00:42:42,970 --> 00:42:44,876
like they were so disconnected from their dog

1223
00:42:44,876 --> 00:42:45,591
and their life.

1224
00:42:46,703 --> 00:42:48,530
It was just a responsibility they didn't need

1225
00:42:48,530 --> 00:42:50,612
to care for anymore, but that's that's an

1226
00:42:50,612 --> 00:42:53,005
anomaly that is absolutely not the norm. You

1227
00:42:53,005 --> 00:42:54,920
know, our veterans of... The veterans that have

1228
00:42:54,920 --> 00:42:56,275
our dogs would die for these dogs.

1229
00:42:56,994 --> 00:42:58,509
They would die for these dogs. These dogs

1230
00:42:58,509 --> 00:42:59,705
are a lifeline to them.

1231
00:43:00,519 --> 00:43:01,960
You know, that's why we can trust our

1232
00:43:01,960 --> 00:43:04,440
veterans with them is because... I mean, they...

1233
00:43:04,599 --> 00:43:06,519
The and I'm not even exaggerating when I

1234
00:43:06,519 --> 00:43:07,719
say they take a bullet for their dog.

1235
00:43:07,960 --> 00:43:10,125
I'm not. That's just the way they're they're

1236
00:43:10,125 --> 00:43:12,431
cut from that cloth. Yeah. The better that

1237
00:43:12,431 --> 00:43:13,306
we serve. Yeah.

1238
00:43:14,499 --> 00:43:16,860
Have such a beautiful story, and it's a

1239
00:43:16,979 --> 00:43:19,452
credible. And it's interesting because I think I

1240
00:43:19,452 --> 00:43:21,127
think of the... The kind of training that

1241
00:43:21,127 --> 00:43:22,664
a canine unit

1242
00:43:23,121 --> 00:43:25,354
needs, a dog that's going into the police

1243
00:43:25,354 --> 00:43:28,474
service. Mh. Or or even Tsa, you know,

1244
00:43:28,633 --> 00:43:30,461
bomb sniffing, drug sniffing, all that.

1245
00:43:31,335 --> 00:43:33,958
It's interesting to think that you have this

1246
00:43:33,958 --> 00:43:36,918
dog, and then the pathway of its education

1247
00:43:36,918 --> 00:43:38,989
of what it's going to become, whether it's,

1248
00:43:39,068 --> 00:43:41,457
you know, the family dogs sit, lie down,

1249
00:43:42,652 --> 00:43:43,152
shake

1250
00:43:43,543 --> 00:43:44,043
or

1251
00:43:44,418 --> 00:43:46,406
they'll get, you know, for somebody who's disabled,

1252
00:43:46,565 --> 00:43:48,497
you know, get this food out of the

1253
00:43:48,634 --> 00:43:50,168
refrigerator or get my

1254
00:43:50,637 --> 00:43:51,512
let me know if I'm about to have

1255
00:43:51,512 --> 00:43:53,581
a diabetic coma or, you know, whatever it

1256
00:43:53,581 --> 00:43:54,956
is. It's just fascinating.

1257
00:43:56,047 --> 00:43:58,832
The spectrum of what these dogs are capable

1258
00:43:58,832 --> 00:44:01,398
of. Yeah. It's... I had hundred percent agree

1259
00:44:01,398 --> 00:44:02,914
with you because I have the honor working

1260
00:44:02,914 --> 00:44:05,705
with the police departments. I've competed working with

1261
00:44:05,705 --> 00:44:08,417
seizure detection dogs, pets, service stubs for veterans,

1262
00:44:08,577 --> 00:44:10,190
whatever it is. That's why I think the

1263
00:44:10,190 --> 00:44:12,110
dog is 1 of them amazing creatures.

1264
00:44:12,670 --> 00:44:14,909
Walk on this Earth because the gift they

1265
00:44:14,909 --> 00:44:16,849
can bring in the versatility

1266
00:44:17,323 --> 00:44:19,545
Based on the breed, the breed tendencies, you

1267
00:44:19,545 --> 00:44:21,054
know, you have your genetics, but then you

1268
00:44:21,054 --> 00:44:22,188
also have environment.

1269
00:44:22,562 --> 00:44:25,022
When they have the leadership that they deserve

1270
00:44:25,022 --> 00:44:25,578
and need.

1271
00:44:26,389 --> 00:44:29,738
They can do great amazing things in the

1272
00:44:29,738 --> 00:44:30,935
service of the human,

1273
00:44:31,573 --> 00:44:32,610
bringing value,

1274
00:44:33,328 --> 00:44:35,742
unconditional love, support and life saving

1275
00:44:37,009 --> 00:44:37,509
abilities,

1276
00:44:38,282 --> 00:44:39,157
but then also,

1277
00:44:39,872 --> 00:44:41,384
just the ability that they can make it

1278
00:44:41,384 --> 00:44:42,497
feel safe in the middle of the night.

1279
00:44:44,021 --> 00:44:45,925
Kevin with Sammy. He would hear a sound

1280
00:44:45,925 --> 00:44:47,671
in the middle knight and take his gun

1281
00:44:47,671 --> 00:44:48,464
to clear his house.

1282
00:44:49,337 --> 00:44:51,083
After having Sammy as a service dog,

1283
00:44:51,733 --> 00:44:53,563
If he heard something, he'd look over and

1284
00:44:53,563 --> 00:44:54,995
if she's laying their sleeping,

1285
00:44:55,632 --> 00:44:57,859
he knew there was nothing, and he'd go

1286
00:44:57,859 --> 00:44:58,496
back to sleep.

1287
00:44:59,148 --> 00:45:01,381
Because she, with her senses are gonna be...

1288
00:45:01,461 --> 00:45:03,455
Is gonna be the first 1 to whatever

1289
00:45:03,455 --> 00:45:05,609
is strain. She's his first line of defense,

1290
00:45:05,768 --> 00:45:08,501
and he learned to rely on her instincts

1291
00:45:08,814 --> 00:45:10,086
that are greater than his,

1292
00:45:10,961 --> 00:45:13,108
which brought peace of mind and security. I

1293
00:45:13,108 --> 00:45:15,436
mean, it's like, when you have a tool

1294
00:45:15,493 --> 00:45:16,708
that is that versatile

1295
00:45:17,019 --> 00:45:18,955
that brings that many elements

1296
00:45:19,732 --> 00:45:22,206
to the service that brings value to our

1297
00:45:22,206 --> 00:45:24,281
life. It's like, there is no weather. There's

1298
00:45:24,281 --> 00:45:26,922
no There's nothing that man can create as

1299
00:45:26,922 --> 00:45:30,024
a prop prosthetic or a medical piece of

1300
00:45:30,024 --> 00:45:32,092
it... Of, there... A medical piece of equipment

1301
00:45:32,092 --> 00:45:32,887
to serve a disability.

1302
00:45:33,699 --> 00:45:35,215
And then you have a live animal that

1303
00:45:35,215 --> 00:45:37,609
can do all of that plus. Yeah. You

1304
00:45:37,609 --> 00:45:40,083
know? So... Yeah, It's pretty awesome. Yeah. I

1305
00:45:40,083 --> 00:45:41,280
remember when my Mic died,

1306
00:45:41,854 --> 00:45:43,609
when he passed away, I just remember how

1307
00:45:43,609 --> 00:45:44,646
quiet the house was.

1308
00:45:45,843 --> 00:45:47,838
I it was... I mean, firstly,

1309
00:45:48,476 --> 00:45:50,807
devastated, I've never felt that kind of pain

1310
00:45:50,807 --> 00:45:51,367
is losing.

1311
00:45:51,846 --> 00:45:54,163
It's a it's like it's it's beyond.

1312
00:45:54,962 --> 00:45:56,800
It's beyond. It sucks so bad.

1313
00:45:57,374 --> 00:45:59,527
But I just remember how quiet the house

1314
00:45:59,527 --> 00:45:59,847
was.

1315
00:46:01,123 --> 00:46:02,160
Yeah. Oh,

1316
00:46:03,037 --> 00:46:05,052
the emptiness and the whole

1317
00:46:05,829 --> 00:46:06,706
in the home.

1318
00:46:07,359 --> 00:46:10,389
That that energy and that life brought and

1319
00:46:10,389 --> 00:46:12,702
the joy in just all the nuances. I

1320
00:46:12,702 --> 00:46:13,739
100 percent.

1321
00:46:14,377 --> 00:46:16,131
I have a pot I have AIA Youtube

1322
00:46:16,131 --> 00:46:18,535
channel. And when my rot while passed away,

1323
00:46:18,853 --> 00:46:21,558
my team... I... The minute passed away, I

1324
00:46:21,558 --> 00:46:23,627
came home and I wrote a a tribute

1325
00:46:23,627 --> 00:46:23,866
to him.

1326
00:46:24,599 --> 00:46:26,519
And then my Youtube team says, can you

1327
00:46:26,519 --> 00:46:28,440
please, can we can we do attribute and

1328
00:46:28,440 --> 00:46:30,440
put it on Youtube? So I was so

1329
00:46:30,440 --> 00:46:32,519
honored that they honored him that way and

1330
00:46:32,519 --> 00:46:34,523
it so beautiful, but I get it, and

1331
00:46:34,682 --> 00:46:35,001
I just...

1332
00:46:35,954 --> 00:46:37,227
But the thing is is that so what...

1333
00:46:37,465 --> 00:46:38,896
The pain is so great. You're like, I'll

1334
00:46:38,896 --> 00:46:40,805
never do it again, but the value they

1335
00:46:40,805 --> 00:46:43,365
bring is even greater. So for most people

1336
00:46:43,365 --> 00:46:43,842
like me,

1337
00:46:44,559 --> 00:46:45,911
I have to go out and get another

1338
00:46:45,911 --> 00:46:47,742
1 because I need that in my life.

1339
00:46:47,981 --> 00:46:50,783
I need dogs in my life. And what

1340
00:46:50,783 --> 00:46:53,016
they bring to me because it's unlike what

1341
00:46:53,016 --> 00:46:53,973
any human can.

1342
00:46:54,691 --> 00:46:56,206
Amen did that sister? Yeah.

1343
00:46:56,844 --> 00:46:57,084
Yeah.

1344
00:46:57,802 --> 00:46:59,397
Do you know the the poem, the Rainbow

1345
00:46:59,397 --> 00:46:59,636
bridge?

1346
00:47:00,289 --> 00:47:02,440
Oh, yeah. Yeah. I got to interview, Edna,

1347
00:47:02,599 --> 00:47:03,794
who wrote that. She wrote it when she

1348
00:47:03,794 --> 00:47:06,820
was a teenager in my my. I'll I'll

1349
00:47:06,820 --> 00:47:09,050
send it to you. It's yeah. It's incredible.

1350
00:47:09,544 --> 00:47:11,939
She's her. Yeah. That would be... That is

1351
00:47:11,939 --> 00:47:12,918
the most popular.

1352
00:47:13,456 --> 00:47:15,713
She had no idea. She was a grown

1353
00:47:15,771 --> 00:47:16,251
woman,

1354
00:47:16,650 --> 00:47:18,406
this not just just a couple years ago.

1355
00:47:18,646 --> 00:47:19,933
I mean, she's She's older.

1356
00:47:20,568 --> 00:47:23,108
She only just found out that this poem

1357
00:47:23,108 --> 00:47:24,481
she wrote when she was 16

1358
00:47:25,092 --> 00:47:26,283
or 15 or 16.

1359
00:47:27,014 --> 00:47:28,529
She wrote it about her dog major,

1360
00:47:29,088 --> 00:47:31,720
her beloved dog who passed, and she had

1361
00:47:31,720 --> 00:47:33,554
no idea that her friend and... She had

1362
00:47:33,554 --> 00:47:35,389
shared it with her friend, and then her

1363
00:47:35,389 --> 00:47:37,820
friend had started sharing it. And it went

1364
00:47:37,880 --> 00:47:40,059
worldwide for no. I mean, you're all the

1365
00:47:40,119 --> 00:47:41,719
shades later, and she had no clue.

1366
00:47:42,760 --> 00:47:44,840
Wow. Bless her heart. Well, that was beautiful.

1367
00:47:45,000 --> 00:47:46,773
It was totally beautiful a full beautiful job.

1368
00:47:47,012 --> 00:47:48,770
And no it's so great. Tell people, all

1369
00:47:48,770 --> 00:47:50,928
the places they can find you, if they

1370
00:47:50,928 --> 00:47:52,446
wanna donate if they wanna check out your

1371
00:47:52,446 --> 00:47:55,410
videos, all of that. So northwest battle buddies

1372
00:47:55,410 --> 00:47:57,954
dot org is the profit that serves our

1373
00:47:58,034 --> 00:47:59,727
American heroes that we gift

1374
00:48:00,181 --> 00:48:02,033
professionally trained service dogs to our veterans

1375
00:48:02,344 --> 00:48:03,298
battling Ptsd.

1376
00:48:03,935 --> 00:48:06,800
Northwest dot org. We need people's help. We

1377
00:48:06,800 --> 00:48:09,586
need the American people to step up and

1378
00:48:09,586 --> 00:48:11,257
say thank you for my freedom in a

1379
00:48:11,257 --> 00:48:11,710
life

1380
00:48:12,230 --> 00:48:14,630
changing way by donating. You can check us

1381
00:48:14,630 --> 00:48:16,809
out our 9 nineties wear completely transparent.

1382
00:48:17,670 --> 00:48:19,589
Shannon Walker, the pack leader on Youtube is

1383
00:48:19,589 --> 00:48:20,389
my Youtube channel.

1384
00:48:21,044 --> 00:48:23,359
And, I have Shannon Walker Unlimited, which is

1385
00:48:23,359 --> 00:48:26,393
my Llc. I'm also the executive director of

1386
00:48:26,393 --> 00:48:28,628
the association of service dog providers, which is

1387
00:48:28,628 --> 00:48:29,985
a national nonprofit.

1388
00:48:30,638 --> 00:48:31,138
Of

1389
00:48:31,911 --> 00:48:34,299
service dog providers. It's an elite group of

1390
00:48:34,299 --> 00:48:36,766
service dog providers across the United States, and

1391
00:48:36,846 --> 00:48:38,755
I'm the executive director. So I have the

1392
00:48:38,755 --> 00:48:40,840
opportunity to serve in many capacities to help

1393
00:48:40,840 --> 00:48:43,708
bring knowledge and integrity into the service dog

1394
00:48:43,708 --> 00:48:45,699
industry, fighting for our veterans on many, many

1395
00:48:45,699 --> 00:48:47,849
different levels. And so it's it's an honor

1396
00:48:47,849 --> 00:48:49,859
to do all of that. Well, thank you

1397
00:48:49,859 --> 00:48:51,856
for for all the work you do. It's

1398
00:48:51,856 --> 00:48:54,195
incredibly important. It's be... It's a beautiful

1399
00:48:54,574 --> 00:48:56,411
life's work and purpose.

1400
00:48:56,971 --> 00:48:58,190
And I imagine

1401
00:48:58,504 --> 00:49:01,141
that you are leading others to, you know,

1402
00:49:01,221 --> 00:49:03,538
it's following your footsteps and do the same

1403
00:49:03,538 --> 00:49:06,095
too. So thank you for that because exponentially,

1404
00:49:06,749 --> 00:49:08,503
the work that you do is going to

1405
00:49:08,503 --> 00:49:10,200
ripple out and and be

1406
00:49:10,657 --> 00:49:11,157
incredibly

1407
00:49:11,534 --> 00:49:12,012
impactful.

1408
00:49:13,049 --> 00:49:15,362
Absolutely. Well, you from... It's about legacy.

1409
00:49:16,574 --> 00:49:18,811
Is about legacy. And we absolutely wanna leave

1410
00:49:18,811 --> 00:49:21,049
the world better than we found it. Yeah.

1411
00:49:21,289 --> 00:49:22,967
And we wanna work to go on long

1412
00:49:22,967 --> 00:49:24,725
after we were there. Yeah.

1413
00:49:25,539 --> 00:49:27,611
Really quick. I'll tell you. So the New

1414
00:49:27,770 --> 00:49:29,045
York Dog film festival,

1415
00:49:29,444 --> 00:49:31,835
which is in October. They actually have a

1416
00:49:31,835 --> 00:49:34,563
new category of veterans with dogs of Ptsd.

1417
00:49:34,723 --> 00:49:38,158
So we're entering 3 videos into that. And

1418
00:49:38,158 --> 00:49:40,315
hopefully, they'll get be chosen, but and it'll

1419
00:49:40,315 --> 00:49:42,079
be touring. So people will be able to

1420
00:49:42,079 --> 00:49:44,224
see our dogs and our our veterans and

1421
00:49:44,224 --> 00:49:47,084
everything else. So it'll tour Canada and the

1422
00:49:47,243 --> 00:49:49,490
United States in 50 to a hundred theaters

1423
00:49:49,490 --> 00:49:50,447
in 20 25.

1424
00:49:51,245 --> 00:49:54,117
So anyway, they tell our story. I love

1425
00:49:54,117 --> 00:49:56,606
it. That's great. Do you do Tiktok? Because

1426
00:49:56,766 --> 00:49:58,682
I think people make tons of money on

1427
00:49:59,001 --> 00:50:02,375
Tiktok? So I monetized on Youtube, my Facebook.

1428
00:50:02,672 --> 00:50:04,050
I'm monetized on Facebook

1429
00:50:04,364 --> 00:50:06,998
my team just started Tiktok for me. Yeah.

1430
00:50:07,237 --> 00:50:08,434
I don't know what it is. It must

1431
00:50:08,434 --> 00:50:10,429
be Instagram. I'm on Instagram and Facebook, but

1432
00:50:10,509 --> 00:50:12,758
I think they started me on Twitter. I

1433
00:50:12,758 --> 00:50:14,588
don't know if it's Tiktok or not. I

1434
00:50:14,588 --> 00:50:15,463
don't look at all that.

1435
00:50:16,180 --> 00:50:16,418
Yeah.

1436
00:50:17,055 --> 00:50:18,248
I just pay attention to what I do

1437
00:50:18,248 --> 00:50:19,681
to and I have a team, you know?

1438
00:50:20,094 --> 00:50:22,332
I've I'm obsessed with all the dog, content

1439
00:50:22,332 --> 00:50:24,809
on Tiktok. It's the best. And and I

1440
00:50:24,809 --> 00:50:28,085
think it monetize really highly, you know, people

1441
00:50:28,085 --> 00:50:28,585
love

1442
00:50:28,899 --> 00:50:30,733
all of this kind of stuff. So it's

1443
00:50:30,733 --> 00:50:33,762
just another financial income stream. I'll ask my

1444
00:50:33,762 --> 00:50:36,074
team about it. Because I only started this

1445
00:50:36,074 --> 00:50:38,401
a little over a year ago. The Youtube

1446
00:50:38,401 --> 00:50:39,677
and all that. So I'm just little rios.

1447
00:50:39,837 --> 00:50:40,953
So I'll ask him if they're into that.

1448
00:50:41,113 --> 00:50:41,352
But, yeah...

1449
00:50:42,389 --> 00:50:44,543
Youngest person on your team and ask them.

1450
00:50:44,782 --> 00:50:46,138
Yeah. There you go. I know you're like,

1451
00:50:46,297 --> 00:50:48,070
I don't know. So... Yeah. I will. Thank

1452
00:50:48,070 --> 00:50:50,230
you for that, though. Thank you. Thank you

1453
00:50:50,230 --> 00:50:52,550
for listening everybody. Thank you, Shannon.

1454
00:50:53,269 --> 00:50:54,710
Thank you very much for having me on

1455
00:50:54,710 --> 00:50:56,560
show. It's awesome. You're great. Thank you. You

1456
00:50:56,560 --> 00:50:58,470
too. Alright. Have a wonderful day.

1457
00:50:59,186 --> 00:51:01,255
Welcome. Thank you. Alright. Bye bye. Bye everybody.

1458
00:51:01,652 --> 00:51:02,289
Bye bye. Bye.

1459
00:51:05,166 --> 00:51:07,811
Great review and subscribe to hey human podcast

1460
00:51:07,867 --> 00:51:10,251
on itunes or wherever, you get your podcast.

1461
00:51:10,649 --> 00:51:11,682
Thanks. Bye.