Welcome to the Soul Touched by Dogs Podcast, the show for dog lovers who
see dogs not as toys or tools, but wise souls worth our respect and care.
I'm an Herrmann, and I'm your host.
I talk to poor some humans, people who do great work for dogs and their people.
So come and join us for today's conversation.
Anke: Hello and welcome, Erin.
I'm very excited to have you here today.
Erin: Thank you so much for having me.
Anke: Well, as always, let's start with sharing with people where on
this lovely earth you are and, you know, what's your business with dogs?
Erin: Sure.
I am in Baltimore, Maryland, which is on the East coast of
the U S, uh, about an hour from Washington, DC, the nation's capital.
And, uh, I'm here because I am so obsessed with dogs that it has
just taken over my whole life.
And I have two different dog podcasts that I do.
I help run a nonprofit organization, uh, and I also have some products
that I've been working on.
So I'm excited to, to dive into these with you today.
Anke: Oh, lovely.
I can't wait.
I can't wait to unpack all of that.
So the totally obsessed with dogs.
Yep.
Get that.
So how, how did you get sucked into that?
Like what, like, did you grow up like this or when did you have your first dog?
Or how, when did the obsession start?
Erin: Well, it's kind of a funny story.
I did not at all grow up with any kind of pets or animals.
I was, I wouldn't go so far to say scared of them, but I didn't have a
ton of great experiences with dogs.
And when I met my husband, from the moment I met him, when we were dating,
he kept saying he wanted to get a dog and, but he always kind of lived in these
apartments where you couldn't have dogs.
And so when we bought our first house, uh, he's like, you know, okay, we're
getting a I, I think we lived here for like, 10 days before we brought our dog
home and I was kind of reluctant about it.
I, you know, I was like, not sure about this whole thing, but he
had a very specific vision that he wanted a female Brindle Pitbull.
And that was our first dog, Lucy.
And she's actually the logo of the Believe in Dog podcast.
And, uh, over the course of a couple of years, it just all changed
my life, changed the direction of what I did in my spare time.
And over the last 10 years, 20 years now has just completely, uh, taken over.
Anke: I love that.
I love that.
It's funny.
It's actually, I mean, apart from the husband's story, that's
very much like my, I, I didn't grow up with, with a dog either.
So it was when I moved to Spain 20 years ago that it was like, Ooh, finally I
live in a space and I can have, yeah.
So.
Well, having your first dog is kind of one thing, you know, to turn it into
two podcasts and non profit, like that's a whole different level of dedication.
So how did you, what sparked the idea to take this further than, you
know, somebody just loving their dog?
Erin: So it's so interesting, right, because I didn't, I so didn't
know anything about dogs that I didn't know that there's people
who have a problem or a negative stereotype around pit bull type dogs.
And it kind of speaks to my heart because at my heart I'm like a don't
judge a book by its cover, you know, kind of misunderstood kind of thing,
you know, uh, tattoos, piercing, you know, like my husband's already
tattooed and, you know, but he's like the softest, hardest guy, you know.
So.
That just very much speaks to me.
And so I kept, I couldn't, like, I couldn't believe that
people didn't love these dogs.
And I kept thinking, well, if they met Lucy, they would understand.
And I was looking for opportunities to, you know, highlight how
awesome of a dog that she was.
And that was what got me started in volunteering.
And there was a group of Uh, dog owners in Baltimore who would do things like
pit bulls on parade where we dress our dogs up in silly costumes and
walk them around, you know, the inner harbor and introduce them to people.
And then through that, we kind of took our organization in a different
direction where we started providing free pop up veterinary care.
in under resourced communities in Baltimore.
And a lot of those dogs that we're reaching were pit bull type dogs.
So it was really important to us, but we help, you know, any kind of dog.
Uh, and so that has just led me to so many interesting people whose
lives have been changed by dogs.
And when I started realizing there was all these cool stories, I'm like,
everybody should know about this.
And then that's kind of how it led into starting the Believe in Dog podcast.
Anke: Oh, I love that.
I love that.
So tell people, that podcast, what's it about?
Like, what's the format?
So who do you talk to and what do you talk about apart from dogs, I guess?
Erin: So I love a long form deep dive conversation.
I'm in the car a lot, so I like having those hour long episodes.
And so sometimes I'm sharing new things that I'm learning, and I'll bring
somebody on, you know, that might be like a trainer or a veterinarian or
somebody who has something to share, you know, tactical knowledge wise.
And then sometimes it's just people who are doing really cool things in the world
with their dogs, whether it's writing a book or starting a nonprofit organization
or something, and kind of really hearing the story of how this dog developed
Dog came into their life and you know, they started going off in a different
direction that they never envisioned.
And so I, I really liked having that kind of mix of, you know, both learning
and like kind of heartfelt stories.
Anke: Yeah.
I love that.
So, so if, if you had to sum up the core, like call it the essence of
the message, like what's the, what's the, what's the, you know, what's
the core you want to communicate?
Like, say the, like where I'm coming from is like, for me, it's like,
you know, kindness first.
You know, because like, let's just look at dogs differently.
Not, they're not a toy, they're not toys for the kids, they're not the tool, you
know, like they have so much to teach us, you know, and to kind of actually
almost discover our own kindness.
Through giving it to them and respecting them for what they are, you know?
So that's kind of what I wanna, you know, kind of communicate and amplify,
you know, basically bringing people on.
So if you were to summarize the core message of, of your podcast or
your, your work, what would that be?
Erin: Well, I always say that dogs.
can show up in our lives as healers, as teachers, and as inspirations.
And so I like to kind of share a mix of those different kinds of
stories as well as sharing what that has looked like in my life as well.
Anke: So do you want to give a little glimpse of that?
One of those?
Erin: Sure, so I'm actually a five year breast cancer survivor and having my
dogs in my life was just so incredibly healing and important at that time.
It was such a surprise, you know, I have always said as a joke, because
you have to laugh sometimes, right?
Like, we're a heart attack family, not a cancer family.
Like, I didn't know how to approach this.
It was, it so caught me out of the blue and was just such a shock.
And so, you know, Having my dog, I have my best girl Penny at that time, and to
just be able to get in the car with her and watch her stick her head out the
window while I'm cranking some 90s rock and just driving around, you know, just
kind of helped me, you know, process my emotions, help me stay in the moment.
Um, and when I was physically not feeling well after chemo and things
like that, you know, she was right there alongside of me for that also.
And, uh, I'm just so grateful, you know, for both of my dogs.
Sometimes, they can just bring comfort without even having to say anything.
Whereas people, I start feeling pressure to be like, no, I'm okay.
Everything's fine.
You know?
And so they just kind of let you be.
Anke: Yeah.
That's, that's so true.
And they get you, right?
You can't trick a dog.
I always say like, you can trick a person.
You can't, you can't trick a, you can't trick a dog.
Yeah.
So, and you, you, I mean, I can't help it.
I I'm curious in a, like, You just mentioned before we started recording
that you're working on, on, um, you know, on, on a way for people to even like,
track what's going on with the animals, because I think the tracking piece,
especially like in the health context.
Like it's a, it's big, you know, so tell me a little bit about that, we'll,
we'll dig into that in a, in a different episode, but just touch on that.
Erin: Sure.
So I created something I call the Dog Health Journal.
And right now it's a PDF download, but I'm working on a new way to do it
that I think is going to be awesome.
Uh, and it was born out of my frustrations and this whole saga with my girl Penny.
And.
She, you know, she had these allergies, she had these red itchy feet, and my
vet would be like, okay, try green tea soaks or Epsom foot soaks, and we're
going to try this herb and that herb.
And she would have all these sores, you know, on her feet and be looking at, and
so I was trying to look for this way to, you know, quantify what we were doing.
Like, I don't know, how do I know if that's working?
I need to count up these sores and, you know, and I was, I would play around
with like a template for something and.
So I finally just hired a graphic designer to, like, create what I was looking for
to track, you know, things like their food intake and what supplements they're
getting each day and how much exercise, you know, they're getting and, uh, if I,
like, we had, um, a dog sitter, so if I needed a way to, like, leave notes for the
dog sitter about, like, how to do this and she could write something back to me, you
know, and it's kind of all in one place.
place.
And I was just, it was just sort of born out of all this.
And when my vet saw it, she's like, Oh my God, I wish all of my clients did this.
Like, you know, you need to make this available for other people.
And even things like water and, you know, the, the pee and poop,
you know, things like that.
Anke: Yeah, I love, I love that because it is so true, right?
Because, because you make some changes and then like, how do you
know whether that's worked, right?
Especially the stuff that isn't just like today I eat this and
tomorrow I can see the results, especially with the things that, that.
Right, when you're making those
Erin: diet changes, you know, it can take a couple of weeks and, you know, and
then you're like, when did I start that?
I don't know.
Anke: I think, I think you, you know, I think we almost need like
the human and the dog version of it.
Erin: Yeah.
It's on my list of, it's on my to do list.
Anke: Oh, so it's on your project list, right?
Oh, that But it actually helped, it actually
Erin: helped me save my dog Penny's hearing, because she had an ear
infection, and we started using this medication in her ears, it's a really
common ear medication, and like a couple days later, I came home, and she
didn't get up to greet me at the door.
And then, you know, the mailman came, and she would always bark
at him when the mailbox, you know, clanged, and she just slept right
through it, and all of a sudden I realized she wasn't hearing things.
And so when I was able to look at my notes and see, oh, we just started
this ear medication 48 hours ago.
Could this be affecting her hearing?
And it turns out, yes, in a very small percentage of dogs, there's an ototoxicity
reaction to common ear medications that can make them lose their hearing.
And so because we caught it so quickly, she did eventually
regain some of her hearing.
Anke: Wow.
That is incredible.
Like that's like that alone is already like makes this more than worth it.
Right.
It's such a powerful story, you know, because it's.
It's just something that's so easy to overlook and, and when you, and I don't
know, like, I have no sense of time, like, you know, it's like, I think, oh
yeah, we just started that yesterday and it was like three months ago, kind
of thing, kind of thing to document.
It definitely, definitely makes, makes all the sense in the world.
And humor.
You know, I just love all the stuff you do with dogs.
Like, there's like, it seems like, do you have time for anything else?
Because you have other Well, I actually do have a full
Erin: time job.
Anke: Like, maybe like, that would be an interesting topic.
Like, how to fit it all in.
It's always like, you know.
Take your passion and do something with it, but like you're taking
this to a whole new level.
So, so you've got another podcast as well.
Erin: Yes, it's called The Alternative Dog Moms.
I actually partner with a really kind of famous dog blogger named Kimberly Gaudier.
And so we, like, really nerd out on the health things and talking to, you know,
holistic and alternative practitioners and learning about things like
homeopathy or, uh, traditional Chinese veterinary medicine and things like that.
And we've gotten to talk to some amazing people like, uh, Dr.
Ian Billinghurst and Dr.
Barbara Royal.
And it's just been so much fun.
And I, I really get into the, the nerdy health stuff.
Anke: I love that.
I love that.
I must say, I must say, like this podcast has been like this for me as well.
Like you get to talk to all these amazing people.
It's like you learn so much.
You learn a lot in the process and it's, it's incredibly inspiring to
see how many people actually do really great work with, you know, with dogs.
So, um, yeah.
Apart from the, from the, from the journal, like, do you have something
else on your massive bucket list?
Like, something that you're working on or that you've got going on, or
on the, on the, on the, on the plan?
Erin: Oh my gosh, well, I have a list of, posted here next to me of,
like, 10 different t shirt designs that I have various work, you
know, working on in various stages.
And so that's one of my goals for the summer is to get that t shirt store
launch, you know, t shirt stickers, you know, all the things like that.
Uh, ones that I haven't seen before that I'm excited about.
Anke: Ooh, like, look, see, I've got like these old Fetch by Docs t shirts.
Like, I'm on the, on the mugs and t shirt bandwagon as well.
So that's, so what, what is the day job
Erin: I actually work as a paralegal.
Anke: Okay, I was just thinking, like, how do you have experience
with everything that's going on?
That's fascinating.
Did you see, like, a crossover, something where the two worlds meet?
Erin: Well, it takes a lot of organization skills, number one.
And number two, uh, you know, seeing projects from, you
know, a thought until finished.
And the specific type of work that I do, we actually do a lot
of medical journal research.
And so that's actually kind of what introduced me to, you know,
how to do your own research.
And, you know, use things like PubMed and, you know, work with, Um, you know, at
my day job, we work with a lot of expert doctors and expert witnesses and stuff.
So I think, uh, some of it's all kind of, you know, blended
together in the dog world also.
Anke: I love that.
I love that.
Like, I think that's where we do the magic is when you bring two worlds together
in an unusual, unusual kind of way.
Yeah.
That's, that's great.
Fascinating, for sure, for sure.
So, where can people go and, you know, find out about you and, you know,
because I think there's, there's so many questions people could come to
you with, because you've been on this massive journey and have spoken to so
many different people, because sometimes it's not only just, you may have the
answer, you might know somebody who is actually perfect for it, right?
Erin: I feel like my brain is a clearinghouse for where to start solving
all different kinds of problems, you know.
But yeah, I'm most active on Instagram as Erin the Dog Mom and then through
my website, the Believe in Dog Podcast dot com, which links to
everything else that I'm doing as well.
Anke: I love that.
So we're obviously following the links.
below the video if you're watching and in the show notes,
obviously, if you're listening.
So you can have a chance to get in touch with Erin.
Well, thank you so much.
It's like, it feels like we just scratched the surface.
So we definitely have to have you back to talk about, I think I'm
kind of really curious to dig in more into the alternative health
kind of, you know, what, what you've learned and you know, and how you're
going with the, with the journal.
So when that's out, you know, I think we're going to, we're back
and really diving into that topic.
So for now, thank you so much for coming and sharing your passion.
And, um, can't wait to get you back again.
Erin: Thank you.
This was so much fun.
Appreciate your time.
Thanks so much for listening.
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Email me at Anke.
That's A N k E at Soul touched by dogs.com.