November 1, 2022 • 41 mins
If you're an animal lover, listen up! Darilyn welcomes onto the podcast Raquel Cid! The Washington Heights native is a Dominican-American badass making a difference in the world of animal rescue. She is the founder of Paws and Perros, she is a podcast host, and she is a dog foster. Make sure to tune in to find out how Raquel got into the groove of fostering animals, and how you too can help an animal find their forever home.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Oh yeah, me hint there. I just want to give
you a heads up. The program you are about to
hear may have some explicit language, it may not. It
also depends on where the vibes and the spirit leads us.
Hope you enjoy. Welcome to more Anita, a deep dive
into the Latin X experience. With more Anita, we want
(00:22):
to create a community and a shared space with you
while sharing knowledge and inspiration. This show is about celebrating
our culture with guests who exemplify the best of us.
I'm Darrylene Castillo Vito, so you may or may not know.
(00:43):
I'm a real crowd dog mom all over here. That's right,
my precious girl Pixie, a three year old thirteen pound
Chihuahua terrier who is the supermodel and queen of the house.
And the sweet brown eyed, old soul five or old
sixty pound pitfull Georgie. Why are we bringing my sweet
(01:04):
babies up because we have the host of Paul's and
Bro's podcasts in the room, Rakel said. Rakel is from
New York City, you'r and she is Dominican Wapa. So
she has been fostering animals since two thousand eighteen. Not
having any prior formal experience with cats, boar dogs. Each week,
(01:30):
Rakel deconstructs the world of animal rescue and she shares
the amazing people who are saving fairy lives impacting humans,
and she shares knowledge on how to become a part
of this community as well. I had the absolute honor
and privilege of being on Pause and Pros and shared
(01:50):
my personal story of how I became a dog mama
to one amazing Pixie and then later dog mama to Georgie.
I talked so much about my mental health and how
Pixie saved me during my life of touring and traveling.
Pixie became my es S a emotional support animal during
(02:12):
my travels. Now, I know there are some feelings about
e s A and some people see it as an
excuse to not pay a pet fee, which, hey, do
you pet fees are expensive as f but Pixie truly
emotionally supported me. I struggled so much with loneliness and
(02:33):
depression on the road. Traveling is great and all, but
being away from home, living out of a suitcase, not
having a base of feeling grounded, can be extremely taxing.
After a while, Pixy, she gave me structure, love and
companionship that I never knew I needed. After my amazing
convo with Raquel on Paul's and Bettles, I had to
(02:56):
share her with you guys here on Monanita. We really
we get into adopting rather than shopping. How Hakel began
her journey towards becoming a foster mama, which led her
to palls and battles, and how she has been using
her podcast to learn, educate, and really connect people with
nature and animals. We touch based on so many animals,
(03:19):
not just dogs and cats. We even talk about bats. Okay, whatever,
I'm a little nerdy. I love Animal Planet. So this
episode was such a blast and a big changeup what
we normally have on here. You gotta shake it up
sometimes and learn something new. I promise that's what Kel
and I bring to the table in this episode. Animal
(03:39):
Planet is so dope. I don't care how nerdy it sounds.
So take a step into the world of animals with
Haratl sit bain leofl Me Henkel has entered Monanita. We
are so excited to have you here. Um that you
are the host of Paul's and Beros podcast, which talks
(04:03):
all about dogs, all about cats, and I had the
honor of being on Paul's because I don't know if
my listeners even know, but I'm an animal lover and
I have two dogs that my fiance and I rescued separately,
but now you know, all live together. UM and Raquel
(04:23):
had reached out to me, and UM was interested in
having me on the podcast, and I was like, oh
my god, wait a second. I love this because I
grew up watching Animal Planet and like watching all the
what's that dog Trainer show? The one that's like really
famous with Caesar Melian because what is he up to?
Where is he at? Caesar? What's popping? But I missed
(04:47):
like I was like, I have never seen a latine, like,
first off, the mini ghana from New York. Hello. Also Um,
like the repping for the animals and like be at
the forefront and having like really important conversation. So that's
what we're about here on mor Anita. And I was like,
I have to have Raquel in the room. How did
pause begin? How did like where did you take your
(05:10):
love for animals? And then say I'm about to do
a podcast. Yes, Oh I'm thrilled to connect with you.
And talk more about this with you, and I love
learning about your both of your rescue dogs, So thank you,
um so with positive battles. The reason I started this
podcast is because I so in I started fostering dogs.
(05:31):
And I've always been an animal lover and I'll tell
you in a few like how that animal love grew.
But in I started fostering and once. Since then, I
have fostered over twenty five cats and dogs. And I've
always loved dogs and I didn't really understand cats. I
like them from afar, but then after fostering them, and
(05:54):
that will be a whole other spiel too, It's just
I love them and there's so many stereotypes around them.
They're actually really awesome. And the majority of the ones
that I rescued, literally were just an exception of one,
were like so similar to dogs, and you know, and
so basically for me, poss and barros. I started this
because I actually had to take a break from fostering.
(06:15):
We moved a year ago of state, so we moved
from the Bronx to upstate New York, and where we
moved they don't allow dogs. And then even though I
tried my best to find a place that would allow animals. Um,
you know, it didn't happen. And we were also expecting
a baby girl. So I have a seven month old
actually she's eight months today, Happy birthday. Yes, I love that. Yeah,
(06:38):
so my little Malou is eight months today, and so
I was like, you know what I need to learn
about motherhood before I continue also fostering. However, for me,
it's very important to stay in the space and through
a podcast, I can really echo and and highlight the
voices of people who are rallying behind animals. And so
my intention with poss and Barros is to inspire animal
(07:00):
us to take action, whether that's rescuing like you did,
or that's adopting or starting your own pet based business.
I love that. Okay, there's so much to unpack here
because so are amazing soundman August who's you know in
the room right now. Um he has cats. And I've
been one of those people where, um, cats have always
(07:21):
frightened me, like they know I don't like them, like
they know I don't like them. So then they come
and they want to mess around with me like they
feel it, And I know and I see it. Cats
are really smart. I get it and I've grown to
like cats a little more like this year because I
have friends that I've been around now that have cats,
(07:42):
and um, I just spent a lot more time with them,
and they're still like a fifty fifty. I'm still have
scared and I'm also still like, you are so cute.
But that's enough. Okay, you stay over there, um, because
I want to tap into like your cats. Tell me
all the juice about the cats, Okay, So basically, UM,
let me see. Okay. So I when I started fostering,
(08:07):
and I guess I could start a little bit at
the beginning. So I've always I've always loved animals, and
I think that love grew from every single summer I
went to the Dominican Republic to spend it with my grandparents.
So I spend it with my mom's side and then
also with my dad's side of the family and everyone.
Both of my grandparents homes they always had dogs or cats,
(08:28):
and so that exposure, I feel like, really grew my love.
And then it was also interesting because on one side,
so from my mom's side, my grandparents never allowed the
dogs inside like they lived outside. They had a house
for the like they did have their their space, but
they were never allowed inside and they were never really pets.
So when I would come, my grandmother would always be likemano, like,
(08:50):
you gotta be careful. You can get all these things.
That's a culture thing. And we talked about this on
your podcast. So when I was growing up, it was
the same thing. I was like, you were not allowed
to have an animal in the house. It was not
a pet. It was like, oh, you want to you
want to pet? Meet up? Okay, here's a goldfish. Like
that was that was the cab So I totally feel that.
(09:11):
I don't really feel that. Yeah. And then from my
father's side, so my grandmother she always also had dogs,
but the difference was that her dog was allowed in
the home. So I got to see both. And then
every time I would come and be like, mom, can
we please get a dog? And I also think visiting
the Dominican Republic, I had exposure to cows and chickens
and my grandmother would get milk directly from a farm,
(09:33):
so I would go with her. She would go get
her chickens, and I could see like how they were
living and you know, very different than in the US.
So I think that constant exposure. And then there's also
a lot of stray dogs in the Dominican Republic. Um,
just like in a lot of developing countries that you
don't see in the US, in particular New York, because
I know some cities in the US you do see
this surprisingly. Um. But basically, it took me years to
(09:57):
convince my mom that for us to have a pet,
And so finally, junior year of high school, she was
like okay, and I couldn't believe it, like I thought
that she was lying. So it happened. And when we
first got our dog, his name is Bubbles, and he's
still with us today. He's fourteen years old, and yeah,
he's are the sweetest boy ever. But when we got him,
(10:19):
my mom would touch him, wash her hands, touch him,
wash her hands, like okay, let's be careful. Now. That
didn't last long. She lets him go on her bed,
she will be eating and she'll give him some food
from her hands. Like it's totally different. And I see
this in people who then have that close exposure. Um.
But so that's where I think the love grew. And
then I finally got to have my own dog. So
(10:41):
once I went to college and I did my m
b A. I was away for five years because I
continued on to do grad school and my family dog
stayed with my mom. So once I went back home
and then moved, it was kind of like, okay, yeah,
you're not taking him. And then I also think I
was young and I did want to go out and
all of that stuff off, and I kind of knew
a dog wouldn't be you know, which is why I
(11:02):
always tell people like, be very sure that you're willing,
like this is a hundred You're making a commitment forever.
So yeah. So then once I moved out, I moved
to the Bronx with at the time he was my
boyfriend now husband, And when I moved out with him,
I always thought, Okay, I want to foster. I couldn't
do this when I lived at home, but I kept
putting it off because when you're not seeing what some
(11:24):
of the animals are going through directly. You can hear
about it from a friend, but it doesn't really compel
you to move, I think, in anything unless you're really
seeing it. Just like we all know we should be recycling,
We all know that we should be doing all these things,
but I think if we were actually going to the landfill,
seeing the oceans, it would be different. So the same
thing with animal abuse and rescue. So there were two
(11:46):
incidents is where I found two straight dogs. One was
left tied to a pole. Um. It was like the
you know, like the hot dog dogs, like dash yep.
Somebody left it. And I knew when we were walking
that someone abandoned that dog. But my husband was like, no,
somebody just went upstairs or something. I said, no, there's noble.
They got in the corner here, there's no reason why.
(12:07):
So that ended up being true. It was an abandoned dog.
I took it home all this stuff. Then another dog
came through. UM. I saw these girls walking a dog
and they were like, hey, we found this dog. We've
been walking around. Nobody's claimed him, and our mom won't
allow us to keep it. And it was like in
bones darling, like literally the skinniest thing. And I was like,
(12:28):
wait a minute, because I had Groce series. I said
just wait for me. I'm gonna go up and I'll
come down. And I went and it was like before work,
and I had to take the dog to this uh
to the shelter, et cetera. When I encountered those two
instances that compelled me to take action. I was like,
what are you waiting for? You don't live at home anymore,
your husband's on board at the time, boyfriend, and so
what do you And that's what really started my fostering journey.
(13:02):
When I used to do my family visits city r
I would get so sad, like seeing all those stray
dogs like when I was little, and my when I
used to feed them, like get beat that. So my
mom was like, stop feeding those animals, like you know that,
so you're gonna get rabies, Like but I'm like, no,
they're just they just want they just want food, like
(13:22):
they're just there's so many of them. And then I
just always shared that love too with animals, and the
same thing my mom was like no animals in the house.
She gave me one week trial with a dog and
then she was out, and then I didn't get my
dog until I got older. So I totally totally hear you.
But fostering it's a whole different level. And my mom
(13:45):
got into fostering just to get like a little trial
to see if she likes the dogs and like how
can she get herself more comfortable? So like that was
a route that my mom took that led her to
gaining comfortable, comfortable bility with dogs and finally now having
her own dog. And then also like shout out to
(14:06):
your now husband, because that's a lot. Yeah, we're fostering,
and I mean, do you still you still foster now
to this day? Sadly for the past year, I haven't
um because when we moved here, they don't allow pops
and we moved into a house and recently renovated at that,
so um, you know, I have hope that we can
(14:28):
convince because now that we lived here for a year
and we're great residents, I have hoped to ask him,
but no, So it's been a year. And I have
to say my husband didn't grow up with any animals
and and he so he didn't know, like this was
set in our wedding speech because like his brother ended
up adopting one of my dogs and one of my
(14:49):
senior dogs at that and then his other brother ended
up getting a dog, and then Jason ended up changing
a dog's diaper. That's like another story. So it's wait, wait, wait, wait,
wait what Let's talk about the typer moment for a second. Yeah,
so you went from never having a dog to that, Um, well,
he knew how passionate I was about it. And I've
(15:11):
always been a dreamer, and I think that I maybe
would have gone into something animal related sooner had I
not been kind of resisting because and you might know this,
like coming from an immigrant household, it's the expectation is, Okay,
you're going to be an architect, doctor, lawyer, and so
growing up my grandparents friends in the Dominican Republic used
(15:34):
to be like like it was like I was gonna
be a doctor. So then I was like, um, I've
always loved helping people, and I just felt like, um,
you know, going into medicine would be it. Then I
went through a whole path of that, thinking I want
to be a nurse, a social work, all this, and
today I'm a career coach. That's my nine to five
helping people land jobs in tech. Um. But I think
(15:54):
with I didn't pursue a career in animal rescue because
I didn't really see either available unless you were like
a trainer or a vet. And then I think, yeah,
you don't animal Planet, yeah, or Animal Planet, And I'm like, okay,
like how do you even It just didn't seem something attainable,
and I think even now part of pots and Battles
(16:16):
is also a journey of me speaking to people who
are doing great things and rescue and how can I
make that into something in the future too. So um So, basically,
when him and I started dating, I always vocalized how
much I loved animals, and I said how I wanted
my own farm, and like I want chickens in the
future like I I you know, and what a rare
(16:37):
thing like the city girl, like I get girls stout
by things, but when it comes to like animal poop
and things like that, like I'm fine, like bring it
and bring it like I, you know, I'm not girls
stout by it. Um Like I used to volunteer with
horses when I, uh, when I started abroad in Australia,
and I used to pick up their poop and it
was like the best volunteer job ever. I didn't care.
But so I always was open with him. And then
(16:59):
when I have when I asked him about fostering, I
thought he would say no, but he was on board
and um so through the journey. Our very last dog
that we um fostered last year. His name was Captain
he did have to be put to sleep. UM. We knew,
we knew taking him in that he was going to
pass away because we've had to fosters fosters UM, which
(17:23):
is kind of like hospice, but basically you've taken a
foster knowing they're going to pass away. So we took
him to give him his forever, last best last days UM.
And he stayed with us for a couple of months,
and he had a condition where he was slowly losing
his ability to walk and UM and and basically we
had to change his his diaper because he was also
(17:43):
losing that function. I mean, how do you deal with
like the aftermath of everything Like that's such an emotional UM,
such an emotional roller coaster, like the idea of fostering UM,
and it just seems so it could be really the
as well. How do you like process all of that?
How do you That's the one thing for me, I'm like,
(18:04):
I would love to foster. Don't get me wrong, I
would be so down to foster. But like for me,
I'm so emotional, Like I remember when I had my
I think I mentioned to you my first puppy on
my own and I was touring so much. And I
was really young, and I was like, you know, in
(18:25):
the beginning of my career, and I was like, oh
my god, I can't keep him. Like there were some
gigs that I was getting that I just couldn't travel
with a dog, and the stress of like trying to
find someplace for him, not being comfortable leaving him with
certain people like strangers, and um just it's expensive, like
(18:47):
boarding your dog, and then the trauma of that, Like
so I had to give him away and like it
was the hardest thing. Smokey his name was Smoky. It's
so silky, a silky Australian terrier, so cute, and I
like I kind of like rescued him off the craigslist.
Like this is like we're talking way back like in
(19:08):
two thousand. Oh my gosh. Yeah, And that was like,
I it took a while for me to get over that,
Like that was a very traumatic experience. So I can't
even imagine, like how do you handle that? How do
you handle like the revolving door. I'm so glad you're
asking me about that, because I think that's the one
(19:29):
of the main hesitations that people have when they think
about fostering the way I like to position it is
like go with the end in mind. So the goal
is goodbye, and the goal is to help this cat,
dog or rabbit find it's forever home. And you are
literally saving a life when you foster, because when you foster,
(19:52):
you're not only saving the dog. Let's say that you're fostering,
but you're also making space at the shelter for another
dog to go in. You're also impacting whoever ends up
adopting that dog all the benefits that there are just
emotionally in owning a dog. So you're literally like saving
three lives. Um. And the other thing I have people
(20:15):
consider is what's the alternative. So if you don't foster,
and you're able to, let's say you're interested, but you're like,
you know, and it's so real it can't be heavy,
you know, So definitely not something to dismiss. But if
you don't foster, than the alternative is that this dog.
So imagine, imagine you're one of your dogs at the shelter.
(20:39):
Um when you the dog is just not the same
in this space where it's allowed. It's there in this
small crate um or like you know, some some shelters,
the size will be different. But basically it's just not
a natural environment for them. It doesn't allow them to
show up as their best selves. It could be the
best dog, but at the shelter, it's barking away, it's nervous,
(21:03):
there's so many people. So a lot of times the
dogs that have a really difficult time at the shelter,
if it's a kill shelter, they will be put to
sleep if nobody adopts them, because people tend to go
to the dog that is like overly social, not the
one that is in the back corner shivering. Um. And
then also if it depends on the dog's age, a
(21:25):
lot of people want younger dogs, and so like by fostering,
you're helping somebody envision this dog in their home. Because
when you see those photos of the dog at the shelter,
it tends to look crusty, like the floor is crusty everything,
and you're like, oh, I feel bad for the dog,
but like I can't see them. If you see those
after photos of the dogs like in somebody's home, oh
my gosh, it looks like a completely different dog and
(21:46):
the personality is different. Um. The last thing I'll say
about that too is that we're stronger then we think.
So if you go with the end in mind, you know,
the goal is goodbye, to get them a good home.
It's gonna soften the emotions a little bit. And then,
to be honest with you, the day that I say goodbye,
it hurts. I cried, Like you know, I cry. I've
(22:08):
had my my Sometimes I need like a whole day
of decompression and I'm like my baby. But but then
I'm over it. Then I'm over to three days a
week like um, and then I'm fine. So that's definitely
you know, you gotta do what you gotta do to
self preserve. It's gonna hurt, but it doesn't compare to
the alternative. It's so important that you said that too,
I think because I think for people to understand, like
(22:31):
if you're interested in fostering, like I never thought about that,
it's like staging. It's like staging the dog, like getting
the dog in a comfortable space so like they can
be adopted and like they can feel like themselves and
like and feel their best to like be their best
for their their next home. I wanted to also add
(22:53):
to that, as a foster, you give the dog or
an opportunity to really decompress. So who that dog is
at the shelter is very different in your home after
one or two weeks. So, um, some dogs that appeared
to be like intimidating and barking away, they were just scared.
They were scared and they're barking like I don't know
what's going on. So people think like if they get
(23:14):
a shelter dog, they're getting a dog that's been abused.
That's not the majority of cases. It depends on what
state you're in. But so in the twenty plus cats
and dogs that I have fostered, only a very small
handful were like abuse cases and it was questionable. Um.
The others were that like I had one where the
owner was passing away from cancer and she told her
(23:37):
landlord like, hey, do you know somebody who would put
both of my dogs to sleep? Because I don't know
who would take them in, And so then you know,
they convinced her otherwise. Um, because the dogs went to
a faster as opposed to the shelter, and so she
allowed them to live. Right. Then there's cases where people move,
they lose their jobs, so like, you're not getting a
damaged dog like you might be thinking, and even if
(24:00):
the shelter is gonna try to do a good job
at placing them where they feel fit. So if you
foster Darning, let's say, then it's like that dog, you
can really tell the potential on you home, like this
is their personality as opposed to from the shelter, and
there's a stigma to you with all of that. Within
all of that, I think it's like, oh, if I
go to the shelter, I go to like I'm getting
a dog that's going to be problematic. Right Then the
(24:23):
other side of it, then I look at like people
who breed and I'm actually curious about your opinion on
that because and I have friends who have gotten their
dogs from breeders who are like, oh no, I would
never get a dog from a shelter. It's like it's
a divide and I'm so curious for you, like what
do you think about breeders and like that position because
there are so many dogs that are in shelters and
(24:45):
that that do need homes and that should be adopted. Yes, Okay,
so I don't like to I feel like people need
to do their research. And when I say research, it's
not oh I went on the breeder's website and it
says they're terrified. Great, Okay, I can say that, Like
what does that mean? So I would say I prefer
(25:06):
and really push adopt, don't shop. But I understand that
there's some people that they're very fixated on wanting a
particular breed and they're like, I want this breed a
you know whatever. People have their preferences, and I feel like,
until they learn more about it. But basically, if you're
really really stuck on like because I always say, get
(25:28):
a dog based on the personality and your lifestyle, and
it's better actually when when you get a dog that
is a little bit older and I mean like even
two plus years, because unless you're really committed to that
puppy stage, then please don't get a dog. But that's
a whole you know, because don't do it. It's it's difficult. Um.
But basically, what I I would say is, um, if
(25:50):
you want a particular breed, there are rescues that are
breed focused. So there's a rescue for bulldogs like, oh
my goodness, right, every like um, I think it's every
decade or so, there's like a breed that is really popular.
So right now. It's like French cheese and bulldogs and
so everybody wants a friend. See, but then what happens.
There's a lot of abuse with these poor babies because
(26:14):
they're breeders that, like you said, there's a lot of
money to be made. The breeder isn't asking you. Let's
say I wanted to adopt a dog. They're not like, okay, okay,
what are hours? Are you home? Um? Are you committing
to this dog forever? They don't ask you any questions.
They don't care. As long as you have the money,
you can buy this dog, and so do yep, and
(26:34):
so with these breeders, and if you look into this,
you'll be horrified to know that they have things as
basically a lot of these dogs get it's almost like rape. Um.
They will have them breed because it's not like you
can talk to the dog and say, okay, do what
you gotta do right now to get pregnant. It's like
(26:55):
they have them have a litter and before and even
for like humans, like you can't just have a baby
the next month, like you need to heal. They don't
allow that proper healing, and they can't get them pregnant
over and over and over again, and a lot of
times because they're just viewing this as money, they don't
even provide the proper living conditions. If you look into
(27:15):
some of these rescue cases, it's like dogs that they
never um, they never had a bed and then they
create without a bed in there that they poop and
pee in the same place and they're just it's like horrific.
And so if you're really set on choosing a breeder,
then I would say to you ask them questions. If
they're not willing or right away get offended by you
(27:36):
asking questions, you need to run then why because if
have you seen mom? How does mom look? How does
dad look? What? You know? What is the case? Don't
just go off of the photos online. UM. I don't
want to bash all breeders. I want to believe that
there are some that are um that really love the
dogs and doing it responsibly. What I have found is
(27:57):
that when I've questioned breeders in the past, UM, I've
had them just like block me. So then I'm like,
what do you have to hide? Why can't you answer
simple questions or or you know? UM. But I also
don't like to bash people because um, that that are
considering a reader, because I'm like, educate yourself. And this
is why if you have a friend direct them to
pet Finder you can. That's well, that's why we're here.
(28:19):
We're here to like say, do the home work, do
the knowledge, and how would you know a verified breeder?
Like is there a certificate? Like how do you become
a verified breader? M hm, that is a spot that. Yeah,
that's an amazing question. So to be honest, and actually
I need to do my research on this, I don't
think that there's like a there's not like an organization
(28:41):
or program, not that I'm familiar with. I'm trying to
think of like the American Kennel Association and it's not
like they're going to their homes and verifying this. So honestly,
I think that, um, you know, when you think of
like marketing, they use the right words, just like when
we buy shampoos and things like fortified, you know, nourish,
(29:01):
and there's some labels you can just slab on because
you know that people are looking for that. So no,
I would say some signs to look for are if, um,
do they ask you any questions like is there a
form that you need to fill out or is it
just all very transactional? Um? Yeah, communication wise. Do they
show videos of mom and dad and how they live like, um,
(29:23):
are you able to go see mom and dad and
and the litters like does when you get there? Is
it clean? Do the do they have does mom have
a proper vetting situation? What's going on there? Um? So
I would stay looking for those signs and then you know, referrals,
but don't go based off of because again it's gonna
be marketing and so they're gonna make their website look beautiful.
(29:45):
And I'll be transparent with you. When we got our
family dog, we got him from a breeder. I was
in high school. I didn't know about this, and we
went off of the website. The website looked nice. Then
we went to the store and my family dog's name
is Bubbles, and he blew a bubble from his nose,
which is why I called him that. But but I
(30:09):
now see that they actually have like a little cold,
and I, you know, I can't say that I would have.
I don't you know, I didn't see mom and Dad.
I didn't know about this. So now that I know better,
I do better and I would never buy a dog. Um.
But yeah, and you know there's a thing too when
you love animals. What I would challenge listeners who love
(30:31):
animals is just question the things that you purchase or
do because a really big one that people contribute to
and they don't even know it is through tourism. And
are you going to a resort and taking a photo
with like the monkey that has chained And are you
going to Thailand and take and doing the excursions with elephants?
And then are you swimming with dolphins? Um, that's a
(30:53):
whole other thing that is like so abusive, it's really
really bad. Yeah, I think that now. I think the
knowledge situation is the thing that like is the main
thing that needs to be spread. And like I'm with
you on adopt, don't shop. I think that with the
exception of them, like if you're looking for a specific
kind of dog or specific kind of and whatever, specific
(31:16):
kind of breed and you're like I want that specifically,
do your research and you do it properly, Like I'm
I'm all about that. But I think that's the hardest
part too, Right, It's like verifying and online and like
the web, and it's crazy out there, so highly recommend
knowledge is power. I feel like that's like our motto
and every single episode that we do here on Modernita
(31:50):
hack Out. So I know you have a baby now,
happy birthday baby today, and I'm just curious like for you,
like your next step into that, because that's a whole
different layer of something that I thought about, like, oh
my god, I have two dogs. I have a sixty
pound pitfull and I have of thirty well pixies a
little chunky now, so like a sixteen pound Chihuahua Chihuahua
(32:13):
terrier um. And I'm like, oh my god, when I
have a baby, like are they going to get along?
Like do you have any of those like hesitations now
that you do have a eight months baby? Have you
thought about that, like when you're gonna incorporate like if
you are ever going to incorporate fostering back into your
life and or having a nactual pet full time? Have
(32:35):
you has that been like what is that? Like? Yeah,
oh my gosh, I'm so happy you're asking this because
I I just didn't interview with a trainer, a dog trainer,
and he was talking it's all. The episode hasn't aired
out yet, um, but by the time people listen to this,
it might already be, but he was giving so many
tips around how to introduce and like cohabitate with your
(32:58):
dogs and a baby. It is very important for you
to take the necessary precautions and not try to do
too much too quickly, because dogs do thrive off of
consistency right like they'd like it. As humans, we can
get a little bored with, like with things being too much,
like if we have the same we eat any like
(33:18):
we have the same schedule every single day. But with them,
they really thrive off of that because it's familiar. They
know what to expect. And so when you introduce a baby,
you know, all of the things are gonna get dishrouveled.
It's like all of a sudden, it's like why is
that lying? You know? Why is she holding this little thing?
And it keeps making these weird noises, like why is
she stressed? Why is she up at one in the morning.
(33:40):
She would be up one in the morning and four
in the morning, you know, So the dog schedule gets dishoveled.
So Um, to answer your question, will I ever have
dogs and my baby? Um, yes I will. And it's
a matter of probably when we move from here and
taking precautions. So some tips I would have would be
it kind of just depends on how old your child is,
(34:02):
but but it's still is the same in the sense of, Okay,
you want to introduce them slowly if it's a baby,
and because they're gonna be way smaller. Is like you
want to really respect your dog's boundaries and create boundaries
with your child. I see a lot of videos of
this that people think is cute, where like I saw
(34:23):
a toddler feeding a dog, well teasing. It had like
um ham in its hand and then it was like
giving it to the dog, taking it away, giving it,
taking away, giving, taking the dog didn't do anything, but
like could you imagine doing that to a human? And
like on a bad day when I'm really hungry, I
might bite you. Like, well, you know they're not says like,
(34:46):
come on, like we're still different species. You have to
so still and there's they're still an animal. There's still
an animal. Yeah, And so that confusion. So I think,
um some things that like I would say, like question
what you're finding cute and playing around with Like is
your kid constantly pulling at the tail constantly and the
dog is going away and you as a parent are
(35:07):
ignoring the signs, like the dog is clearly uncomfortable. It's yawning,
which is a sign of uncomfortable itty. Um, the tail
is but beneath its um, you know it's legs, it's
going to a corner. And yet you're still trying to
force this because now you're putting the baby in a
bad predicament and the dog. So it's just like being
being mindful to that. Um. And then and then like
(35:28):
you know, if you're um, I know that there's a
page and now I'm forgetting. But it's all about introducing
your baby to the dog because there's more practical tips.
But I would say setting boundaries going slowly. They actually say,
before you have a baby, could you hold like a doll?
Like it sounds silly, but like and and um, play
the crying noises so that it's just not startled by
(35:50):
those things because it's questionable on whether a dog knows
that a baby is a baby, because especially think of
a two year old. It could see eye level to
your dog. I don't know that the dog knows that's
a child. Um. So it's just kind of setting those
boundaries and you see it all the time where people
successfully live with baby and dogs, but there are those
(36:12):
rare cases where kids have gotten bit and it's just
I think, um, yeah, what you as a parent are
what boundaries are you setting and following that, like respecting
the dog and also respecting the baby and respecting yourself.
I think in the house are so so important. This
(36:34):
is the moment that we've all been waiting for. This
is our speed question rounds. Are you read deep? Oh?
I hope so? Okay? Question one? If you could have
any other animal in the world, no limitations, So it
could be a wild, exotic animal, it could be an
animal that's extinct, it could be an animal that's no
(36:55):
longer around. What animal would you want to live in
your home? Oh my gosh, Um, you can only choose one,
only one, okay, besides my obvious choice that would be dog.
I love them so much. I would say a horse.
And I know it's like not someone, but horses are incredible.
(37:16):
They they're emotional intelligence. Do you want like a horse
horse or do you want like one of those pony horses? Oh? No,
I want a horse horse. Okay. What color? Oh my gosh,
a brown horse? And yeah, I mean and and you
said only one species, but I'd love like ten. Plus
they're incredible from intelligence that they're emotional intelligence is incredible.
(37:39):
And what would the name of the horse be? Oh
my gosh, why does the name Bamby come to mind?
And Bamby wasn't even a hare, but hey, Bamby. I
love that. I love that. I want to beat bandy. Okay.
Question two, who is your favorite animal expert, animal inspiration,
(37:59):
animal person? Who is your favorite person that you like
it's your go to? Who is that? Wow? What a
good question. Okay, Well, I would say that that has
been in process. At the beginning of my journey, it
used to be Caesar a Malian, But now that I
know a little bit more, I would say that somebody
(38:19):
that I kind of really aspire to be more like
is Jane Goodall. And she works primarily with primates, so
like apes and per mission. What I love is that
she wants to create a world where we live in
harmony with nature, and I just feel like that's the
perfect goal because even we're often afraid of what we
(38:42):
don't understand, and I feel like what she promotes let's
be in harmony with each other because, for example, baths,
Like how many of us aren't like afraid and be like,
oh they look so creepy but actually um, but actually
we need them. If there were no bad if there
were no baths to be back, we actually would have
any gave So no tequila, there'll be no bananas, there'd
(39:04):
be no chocolate, and the mosquitoes would eat us all
alive because they trapped like a thousand mosquitoes. I don't
know if it's like an hour or every two hours,
but like we need each other like literally every single
no matter how creepy certain animals might look, you don't
have to love it and be like I wanted as
a pat, I actually encourage you. Don't ever do that
(39:24):
because you're messing up in the ecosystem. But can we
live in harmony together? You don't have to love something,
you could just respect it. I love that, Okay. Last question,
what reminds you of home or makes you feel like home?
Mm hmm. What reminds me of home is any time
(39:45):
I have San coltro or Yes, that really reminds me
of home and visiting the Dominican Republic and being there
with family. And yeah, so a nice on culture which
doesn't happen often reminds me of home. I love that
(40:06):
same Now I want that, Kay, if the people want
to follow you, follow what you're doing, like learn more
about animals and become more involved in the community. And
and just your episodes are awesome, like I've mentioned them
in the introduction, Um, everybody should tap in. There's something
to learn, and there's something to learn beyond cats and dogs.
(40:28):
It's like it's so informative and it just inspires me
to be a better human being with nature as well
and with animals. So thank you for that. But where
can our listeners also get that same reaction? Yes, you
can follow me on Instagram pause andros so p A
ws behros p E r R O S. And then
(40:49):
if you want any tips around career, because that is
I'm also an expert in that you can follow me
on You can follow me on Instagram as well. At
coached by Sid and sid is see like Charlie I
d So coached by c I D. Kay. Thank you
so much for coming into Moranita, Thank you for giving
your time. I'm so excited to see all the lessons
(41:11):
that you continue to teach and the people that you
continue to connect. Thank you so much. It's been an honor.
I love your energy, and I love that you're also
highlighting the Latino community. We need this. Thank you so much.
Yea Monanita is a production of Sonato in partnership with
(41:33):
I Heart Radios Michael la podcast Network. For more podcasts
from I Heart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio app,
Apple podcast, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
Oh yeah, me hint there. I just want to give
you a heads up. The program you are about to
hear may have some explicit language, it may not. It
also depends on where the vibes and the spirit leads us.
Hope you enjoy. Welcome to more Anita, a deep dive
into the Latin X experience. With more Anita, we want
(00:22):
to create a community and a shared space with you
while sharing knowledge and inspiration. This show is about celebrating
our culture with guests who exemplify the best of us.
I'm Darrylene Castillo Vito, so you may or may not know.
(00:43):
I'm a real crowd dog mom all over here. That's right,
my precious girl Pixie, a three year old thirteen pound
Chihuahua terrier who is the supermodel and queen of the house.
And the sweet brown eyed, old soul five or old
sixty pound pitfull Georgie. Why are we bringing my sweet
(01:04):
babies up because we have the host of Paul's and
Bro's podcasts in the room, Rakel said. Rakel is from
New York City, you'r and she is Dominican Wapa. So
she has been fostering animals since two thousand eighteen. Not
having any prior formal experience with cats, boar dogs. Each week,
(01:30):
Rakel deconstructs the world of animal rescue and she shares
the amazing people who are saving fairy lives impacting humans,
and she shares knowledge on how to become a part
of this community as well. I had the absolute honor
and privilege of being on Pause and Pros and shared
(01:50):
my personal story of how I became a dog mama
to one amazing Pixie and then later dog mama to Georgie.
I talked so much about my mental health and how
Pixie saved me during my life of touring and traveling.
Pixie became my es S a emotional support animal during
(02:12):
my travels. Now, I know there are some feelings about
e s A and some people see it as an
excuse to not pay a pet fee, which, hey, do
you pet fees are expensive as f but Pixie truly
emotionally supported me. I struggled so much with loneliness and
(02:33):
depression on the road. Traveling is great and all, but
being away from home, living out of a suitcase, not
having a base of feeling grounded, can be extremely taxing.
After a while, Pixy, she gave me structure, love and
companionship that I never knew I needed. After my amazing
convo with Raquel on Paul's and Bettles, I had to
(02:56):
share her with you guys here on Monanita. We really
we get into adopting rather than shopping. How Hakel began
her journey towards becoming a foster mama, which led her
to palls and battles, and how she has been using
her podcast to learn, educate, and really connect people with
nature and animals. We touch based on so many animals,
(03:19):
not just dogs and cats. We even talk about bats. Okay, whatever,
I'm a little nerdy. I love Animal Planet. So this
episode was such a blast and a big changeup what
we normally have on here. You gotta shake it up
sometimes and learn something new. I promise that's what Kel
and I bring to the table in this episode. Animal
(03:39):
Planet is so dope. I don't care how nerdy it sounds.
So take a step into the world of animals with
Haratl sit bain leofl Me Henkel has entered Monanita. We
are so excited to have you here. Um that you
are the host of Paul's and Beros podcast, which talks
(04:03):
all about dogs, all about cats, and I had the
honor of being on Paul's because I don't know if
my listeners even know, but I'm an animal lover and
I have two dogs that my fiance and I rescued separately,
but now you know, all live together. UM and Raquel
(04:23):
had reached out to me, and UM was interested in
having me on the podcast, and I was like, oh
my god, wait a second. I love this because I
grew up watching Animal Planet and like watching all the
what's that dog Trainer show? The one that's like really
famous with Caesar Melian because what is he up to?
Where is he at? Caesar? What's popping? But I missed
(04:47):
like I was like, I have never seen a latine, like,
first off, the mini ghana from New York. Hello. Also Um,
like the repping for the animals and like be at
the forefront and having like really important conversation. So that's
what we're about here on mor Anita. And I was like,
I have to have Raquel in the room. How did
pause begin? How did like where did you take your
(05:10):
love for animals? And then say I'm about to do
a podcast. Yes, Oh I'm thrilled to connect with you.
And talk more about this with you, and I love
learning about your both of your rescue dogs, So thank you,
um so with positive battles. The reason I started this
podcast is because I so in I started fostering dogs.
(05:31):
And I've always been an animal lover and I'll tell
you in a few like how that animal love grew.
But in I started fostering and once. Since then, I
have fostered over twenty five cats and dogs. And I've
always loved dogs and I didn't really understand cats. I
like them from afar, but then after fostering them, and
(05:54):
that will be a whole other spiel too, It's just
I love them and there's so many stereotypes around them.
They're actually really awesome. And the majority of the ones
that I rescued, literally were just an exception of one,
were like so similar to dogs, and you know, and
so basically for me, poss and barros. I started this
because I actually had to take a break from fostering.
(06:15):
We moved a year ago of state, so we moved
from the Bronx to upstate New York, and where we
moved they don't allow dogs. And then even though I
tried my best to find a place that would allow animals. Um,
you know, it didn't happen. And we were also expecting
a baby girl. So I have a seven month old
actually she's eight months today, Happy birthday. Yes, I love that. Yeah,
(06:38):
so my little Malou is eight months today, and so
I was like, you know what I need to learn
about motherhood before I continue also fostering. However, for me,
it's very important to stay in the space and through
a podcast, I can really echo and and highlight the
voices of people who are rallying behind animals. And so
my intention with poss and Barros is to inspire animal
(07:00):
us to take action, whether that's rescuing like you did,
or that's adopting or starting your own pet based business.
I love that. Okay, there's so much to unpack here
because so are amazing soundman August who's you know in
the room right now. Um he has cats. And I've
been one of those people where, um, cats have always
(07:21):
frightened me, like they know I don't like them, like
they know I don't like them. So then they come
and they want to mess around with me like they
feel it, And I know and I see it. Cats
are really smart. I get it and I've grown to
like cats a little more like this year because I
have friends that I've been around now that have cats,
(07:42):
and um, I just spent a lot more time with them,
and they're still like a fifty fifty. I'm still have
scared and I'm also still like, you are so cute.
But that's enough. Okay, you stay over there, um, because
I want to tap into like your cats. Tell me
all the juice about the cats, Okay, So basically, UM,
let me see. Okay. So I when I started fostering,
(08:07):
and I guess I could start a little bit at
the beginning. So I've always I've always loved animals, and
I think that love grew from every single summer I
went to the Dominican Republic to spend it with my grandparents.
So I spend it with my mom's side and then
also with my dad's side of the family and everyone.
Both of my grandparents homes they always had dogs or cats,
(08:28):
and so that exposure, I feel like, really grew my love.
And then it was also interesting because on one side,
so from my mom's side, my grandparents never allowed the
dogs inside like they lived outside. They had a house
for the like they did have their their space, but
they were never allowed inside and they were never really pets.
So when I would come, my grandmother would always be likemano, like,
(08:50):
you gotta be careful. You can get all these things.
That's a culture thing. And we talked about this on
your podcast. So when I was growing up, it was
the same thing. I was like, you were not allowed
to have an animal in the house. It was not
a pet. It was like, oh, you want to you
want to pet? Meet up? Okay, here's a goldfish. Like
that was that was the cab So I totally feel that.
(09:11):
I don't really feel that. Yeah. And then from my
father's side, so my grandmother she always also had dogs,
but the difference was that her dog was allowed in
the home. So I got to see both. And then
every time I would come and be like, mom, can
we please get a dog? And I also think visiting
the Dominican Republic, I had exposure to cows and chickens
and my grandmother would get milk directly from a farm,
(09:33):
so I would go with her. She would go get
her chickens, and I could see like how they were
living and you know, very different than in the US.
So I think that constant exposure. And then there's also
a lot of stray dogs in the Dominican Republic. Um,
just like in a lot of developing countries that you
don't see in the US, in particular New York, because
I know some cities in the US you do see
this surprisingly. Um. But basically, it took me years to
(09:57):
convince my mom that for us to have a pet,
And so finally, junior year of high school, she was
like okay, and I couldn't believe it, like I thought
that she was lying. So it happened. And when we
first got our dog, his name is Bubbles, and he's
still with us today. He's fourteen years old, and yeah,
he's are the sweetest boy ever. But when we got him,
(10:19):
my mom would touch him, wash her hands, touch him,
wash her hands, like okay, let's be careful. Now. That
didn't last long. She lets him go on her bed,
she will be eating and she'll give him some food
from her hands. Like it's totally different. And I see
this in people who then have that close exposure. Um.
But so that's where I think the love grew. And
then I finally got to have my own dog. So
(10:41):
once I went to college and I did my m
b A. I was away for five years because I
continued on to do grad school and my family dog
stayed with my mom. So once I went back home
and then moved, it was kind of like, okay, yeah,
you're not taking him. And then I also think I
was young and I did want to go out and
all of that stuff off, and I kind of knew
a dog wouldn't be you know, which is why I
(11:02):
always tell people like, be very sure that you're willing,
like this is a hundred You're making a commitment forever.
So yeah. So then once I moved out, I moved
to the Bronx with at the time he was my
boyfriend now husband, And when I moved out with him,
I always thought, Okay, I want to foster. I couldn't
do this when I lived at home, but I kept
putting it off because when you're not seeing what some
(11:24):
of the animals are going through directly. You can hear
about it from a friend, but it doesn't really compel
you to move, I think, in anything unless you're really
seeing it. Just like we all know we should be recycling,
We all know that we should be doing all these things,
but I think if we were actually going to the landfill,
seeing the oceans, it would be different. So the same
thing with animal abuse and rescue. So there were two
(11:46):
incidents is where I found two straight dogs. One was
left tied to a pole. Um. It was like the
you know, like the hot dog dogs, like dash yep.
Somebody left it. And I knew when we were walking
that someone abandoned that dog. But my husband was like, no,
somebody just went upstairs or something. I said, no, there's noble.
They got in the corner here, there's no reason why.
(12:07):
So that ended up being true. It was an abandoned dog.
I took it home all this stuff. Then another dog
came through. UM. I saw these girls walking a dog
and they were like, hey, we found this dog. We've
been walking around. Nobody's claimed him, and our mom won't
allow us to keep it. And it was like in
bones darling, like literally the skinniest thing. And I was like,
(12:28):
wait a minute, because I had Groce series. I said
just wait for me. I'm gonna go up and I'll
come down. And I went and it was like before work,
and I had to take the dog to this uh
to the shelter, et cetera. When I encountered those two
instances that compelled me to take action. I was like,
what are you waiting for? You don't live at home anymore,
your husband's on board at the time, boyfriend, and so
what do you And that's what really started my fostering journey.
(13:02):
When I used to do my family visits city r
I would get so sad, like seeing all those stray
dogs like when I was little, and my when I
used to feed them, like get beat that. So my
mom was like, stop feeding those animals, like you know that,
so you're gonna get rabies, Like but I'm like, no,
they're just they just want they just want food, like
(13:22):
they're just there's so many of them. And then I
just always shared that love too with animals, and the
same thing my mom was like no animals in the house.
She gave me one week trial with a dog and
then she was out, and then I didn't get my
dog until I got older. So I totally totally hear you.
But fostering it's a whole different level. And my mom
(13:45):
got into fostering just to get like a little trial
to see if she likes the dogs and like how
can she get herself more comfortable? So like that was
a route that my mom took that led her to
gaining comfortable, comfortable bility with dogs and finally now having
her own dog. And then also like shout out to
(14:06):
your now husband, because that's a lot. Yeah, we're fostering,
and I mean, do you still you still foster now
to this day? Sadly for the past year, I haven't
um because when we moved here, they don't allow pops
and we moved into a house and recently renovated at that,
so um, you know, I have hope that we can
(14:28):
convince because now that we lived here for a year
and we're great residents, I have hoped to ask him,
but no, So it's been a year. And I have
to say my husband didn't grow up with any animals
and and he so he didn't know, like this was
set in our wedding speech because like his brother ended
up adopting one of my dogs and one of my
(14:49):
senior dogs at that and then his other brother ended
up getting a dog, and then Jason ended up changing
a dog's diaper. That's like another story. So it's wait, wait, wait, wait,
wait what Let's talk about the typer moment for a second. Yeah,
so you went from never having a dog to that, Um, well,
he knew how passionate I was about it. And I've
(15:11):
always been a dreamer, and I think that I maybe
would have gone into something animal related sooner had I
not been kind of resisting because and you might know this,
like coming from an immigrant household, it's the expectation is, Okay,
you're going to be an architect, doctor, lawyer, and so
growing up my grandparents friends in the Dominican Republic used
(15:34):
to be like like it was like I was gonna
be a doctor. So then I was like, um, I've
always loved helping people, and I just felt like, um,
you know, going into medicine would be it. Then I
went through a whole path of that, thinking I want
to be a nurse, a social work, all this, and
today I'm a career coach. That's my nine to five
helping people land jobs in tech. Um. But I think
(15:54):
with I didn't pursue a career in animal rescue because
I didn't really see either available unless you were like
a trainer or a vet. And then I think, yeah,
you don't animal Planet, yeah, or Animal Planet, And I'm like, okay,
like how do you even It just didn't seem something attainable,
and I think even now part of pots and Battles
(16:16):
is also a journey of me speaking to people who
are doing great things and rescue and how can I
make that into something in the future too. So um So, basically,
when him and I started dating, I always vocalized how
much I loved animals, and I said how I wanted
my own farm, and like I want chickens in the
future like I I you know, and what a rare
(16:37):
thing like the city girl, like I get girls stout
by things, but when it comes to like animal poop
and things like that, like I'm fine, like bring it
and bring it like I, you know, I'm not girls
stout by it. Um Like I used to volunteer with
horses when I, uh, when I started abroad in Australia,
and I used to pick up their poop and it
was like the best volunteer job ever. I didn't care.
But so I always was open with him. And then
(16:59):
when I have when I asked him about fostering, I
thought he would say no, but he was on board
and um so through the journey. Our very last dog
that we um fostered last year. His name was Captain
he did have to be put to sleep. UM. We knew,
we knew taking him in that he was going to
pass away because we've had to fosters fosters UM, which
(17:23):
is kind of like hospice, but basically you've taken a
foster knowing they're going to pass away. So we took
him to give him his forever, last best last days UM.
And he stayed with us for a couple of months,
and he had a condition where he was slowly losing
his ability to walk and UM and and basically we
had to change his his diaper because he was also
(17:43):
losing that function. I mean, how do you deal with
like the aftermath of everything Like that's such an emotional UM,
such an emotional roller coaster, like the idea of fostering UM,
and it just seems so it could be really the
as well. How do you like process all of that?
How do you That's the one thing for me, I'm like,
(18:04):
I would love to foster. Don't get me wrong, I
would be so down to foster. But like for me,
I'm so emotional, Like I remember when I had my
I think I mentioned to you my first puppy on
my own and I was touring so much. And I
was really young, and I was like, you know, in
(18:25):
the beginning of my career, and I was like, oh
my god, I can't keep him. Like there were some
gigs that I was getting that I just couldn't travel
with a dog, and the stress of like trying to
find someplace for him, not being comfortable leaving him with
certain people like strangers, and um just it's expensive, like
(18:47):
boarding your dog, and then the trauma of that, Like
so I had to give him away and like it
was the hardest thing. Smokey his name was Smoky. It's
so silky, a silky Australian terrier, so cute, and I
like I kind of like rescued him off the craigslist.
Like this is like we're talking way back like in
(19:08):
two thousand. Oh my gosh. Yeah, And that was like,
I it took a while for me to get over that,
Like that was a very traumatic experience. So I can't
even imagine, like how do you handle that? How do
you handle like the revolving door. I'm so glad you're
asking me about that, because I think that's the one
(19:29):
of the main hesitations that people have when they think
about fostering the way I like to position it is
like go with the end in mind. So the goal
is goodbye, and the goal is to help this cat,
dog or rabbit find it's forever home. And you are
literally saving a life when you foster, because when you foster,
(19:52):
you're not only saving the dog. Let's say that you're fostering,
but you're also making space at the shelter for another
dog to go in. You're also impacting whoever ends up
adopting that dog all the benefits that there are just
emotionally in owning a dog. So you're literally like saving
three lives. Um. And the other thing I have people
(20:15):
consider is what's the alternative. So if you don't foster,
and you're able to, let's say you're interested, but you're like,
you know, and it's so real it can't be heavy,
you know, So definitely not something to dismiss. But if
you don't foster, than the alternative is that this dog.
So imagine, imagine you're one of your dogs at the shelter.
(20:39):
Um when you the dog is just not the same
in this space where it's allowed. It's there in this
small crate um or like you know, some some shelters,
the size will be different. But basically it's just not
a natural environment for them. It doesn't allow them to
show up as their best selves. It could be the
best dog, but at the shelter, it's barking away, it's nervous,
(21:03):
there's so many people. So a lot of times the
dogs that have a really difficult time at the shelter,
if it's a kill shelter, they will be put to
sleep if nobody adopts them, because people tend to go
to the dog that is like overly social, not the
one that is in the back corner shivering. Um. And
then also if it depends on the dog's age, a
(21:25):
lot of people want younger dogs, and so like by fostering,
you're helping somebody envision this dog in their home. Because
when you see those photos of the dog at the shelter,
it tends to look crusty, like the floor is crusty everything,
and you're like, oh, I feel bad for the dog,
but like I can't see them. If you see those
after photos of the dogs like in somebody's home, oh
my gosh, it looks like a completely different dog and
(21:46):
the personality is different. Um. The last thing I'll say
about that too is that we're stronger then we think.
So if you go with the end in mind, you know,
the goal is goodbye, to get them a good home.
It's gonna soften the emotions a little bit. And then,
to be honest with you, the day that I say goodbye,
it hurts. I cried, Like you know, I cry. I've
(22:08):
had my my Sometimes I need like a whole day
of decompression and I'm like my baby. But but then
I'm over it. Then I'm over to three days a
week like um, and then I'm fine. So that's definitely
you know, you gotta do what you gotta do to
self preserve. It's gonna hurt, but it doesn't compare to
the alternative. It's so important that you said that too,
I think because I think for people to understand, like
(22:31):
if you're interested in fostering, like I never thought about that,
it's like staging. It's like staging the dog, like getting
the dog in a comfortable space so like they can
be adopted and like they can feel like themselves and
like and feel their best to like be their best
for their their next home. I wanted to also add
(22:53):
to that, as a foster, you give the dog or
an opportunity to really decompress. So who that dog is
at the shelter is very different in your home after
one or two weeks. So, um, some dogs that appeared
to be like intimidating and barking away, they were just scared.
They were scared and they're barking like I don't know
what's going on. So people think like if they get
(23:14):
a shelter dog, they're getting a dog that's been abused.
That's not the majority of cases. It depends on what
state you're in. But so in the twenty plus cats
and dogs that I have fostered, only a very small
handful were like abuse cases and it was questionable. Um.
The others were that like I had one where the
owner was passing away from cancer and she told her
(23:37):
landlord like, hey, do you know somebody who would put
both of my dogs to sleep? Because I don't know
who would take them in, And so then you know,
they convinced her otherwise. Um, because the dogs went to
a faster as opposed to the shelter, and so she
allowed them to live. Right. Then there's cases where people move,
they lose their jobs, so like, you're not getting a
damaged dog like you might be thinking, and even if
(24:00):
the shelter is gonna try to do a good job
at placing them where they feel fit. So if you
foster Darning, let's say, then it's like that dog, you
can really tell the potential on you home, like this
is their personality as opposed to from the shelter, and
there's a stigma to you with all of that. Within
all of that, I think it's like, oh, if I
go to the shelter, I go to like I'm getting
a dog that's going to be problematic. Right Then the
(24:23):
other side of it, then I look at like people
who breed and I'm actually curious about your opinion on
that because and I have friends who have gotten their
dogs from breeders who are like, oh no, I would
never get a dog from a shelter. It's like it's
a divide and I'm so curious for you, like what
do you think about breeders and like that position because
there are so many dogs that are in shelters and
(24:45):
that that do need homes and that should be adopted. Yes, Okay,
so I don't like to I feel like people need
to do their research. And when I say research, it's
not oh I went on the breeder's website and it
says they're terrified. Great, Okay, I can say that, Like
what does that mean? So I would say I prefer
(25:06):
and really push adopt, don't shop. But I understand that
there's some people that they're very fixated on wanting a
particular breed and they're like, I want this breed a
you know whatever. People have their preferences, and I feel like,
until they learn more about it. But basically, if you're
really really stuck on like because I always say, get
(25:28):
a dog based on the personality and your lifestyle, and
it's better actually when when you get a dog that
is a little bit older and I mean like even
two plus years, because unless you're really committed to that
puppy stage, then please don't get a dog. But that's
a whole you know, because don't do it. It's it's difficult. Um.
But basically, what I I would say is, um, if
(25:50):
you want a particular breed, there are rescues that are
breed focused. So there's a rescue for bulldogs like, oh
my goodness, right, every like um, I think it's every
decade or so, there's like a breed that is really popular.
So right now. It's like French cheese and bulldogs and
so everybody wants a friend. See, but then what happens.
There's a lot of abuse with these poor babies because
(26:14):
they're breeders that, like you said, there's a lot of
money to be made. The breeder isn't asking you. Let's
say I wanted to adopt a dog. They're not like, okay, okay,
what are hours? Are you home? Um? Are you committing
to this dog forever? They don't ask you any questions.
They don't care. As long as you have the money,
you can buy this dog, and so do yep, and
(26:34):
so with these breeders, and if you look into this,
you'll be horrified to know that they have things as
basically a lot of these dogs get it's almost like rape. Um.
They will have them breed because it's not like you
can talk to the dog and say, okay, do what
you gotta do right now to get pregnant. It's like
(26:55):
they have them have a litter and before and even
for like humans, like you can't just have a baby
the next month, like you need to heal. They don't
allow that proper healing, and they can't get them pregnant
over and over and over again, and a lot of
times because they're just viewing this as money, they don't
even provide the proper living conditions. If you look into
(27:15):
some of these rescue cases, it's like dogs that they
never um, they never had a bed and then they
create without a bed in there that they poop and
pee in the same place and they're just it's like horrific.
And so if you're really set on choosing a breeder,
then I would say to you ask them questions. If
they're not willing or right away get offended by you
(27:36):
asking questions, you need to run then why because if
have you seen mom? How does mom look? How does
dad look? What? You know? What is the case? Don't
just go off of the photos online. UM. I don't
want to bash all breeders. I want to believe that
there are some that are um that really love the
dogs and doing it responsibly. What I have found is
(27:57):
that when I've questioned breeders in the past, UM, I've
had them just like block me. So then I'm like,
what do you have to hide? Why can't you answer
simple questions or or you know? UM. But I also
don't like to bash people because um, that that are
considering a reader, because I'm like, educate yourself. And this
is why if you have a friend direct them to
pet Finder you can. That's well, that's why we're here.
(28:19):
We're here to like say, do the home work, do
the knowledge, and how would you know a verified breeder?
Like is there a certificate? Like how do you become
a verified breader? M hm, that is a spot that. Yeah,
that's an amazing question. So to be honest, and actually
I need to do my research on this, I don't
think that there's like a there's not like an organization
(28:41):
or program, not that I'm familiar with. I'm trying to
think of like the American Kennel Association and it's not
like they're going to their homes and verifying this. So honestly,
I think that, um, you know, when you think of
like marketing, they use the right words, just like when
we buy shampoos and things like fortified, you know, nourish,
(29:01):
and there's some labels you can just slab on because
you know that people are looking for that. So no,
I would say some signs to look for are if, um,
do they ask you any questions like is there a
form that you need to fill out or is it
just all very transactional? Um? Yeah, communication wise. Do they
show videos of mom and dad and how they live like, um,
(29:23):
are you able to go see mom and dad and
and the litters like does when you get there? Is
it clean? Do the do they have does mom have
a proper vetting situation? What's going on there? Um? So
I would stay looking for those signs and then you know, referrals,
but don't go based off of because again it's gonna
be marketing and so they're gonna make their website look beautiful.
(29:45):
And I'll be transparent with you. When we got our
family dog, we got him from a breeder. I was
in high school. I didn't know about this, and we
went off of the website. The website looked nice. Then
we went to the store and my family dog's name
is Bubbles, and he blew a bubble from his nose,
which is why I called him that. But but I
(30:09):
now see that they actually have like a little cold,
and I, you know, I can't say that I would have.
I don't you know, I didn't see mom and Dad.
I didn't know about this. So now that I know better,
I do better and I would never buy a dog. Um.
But yeah, and you know there's a thing too when
you love animals. What I would challenge listeners who love
(30:31):
animals is just question the things that you purchase or
do because a really big one that people contribute to
and they don't even know it is through tourism. And
are you going to a resort and taking a photo
with like the monkey that has chained And are you
going to Thailand and take and doing the excursions with elephants?
And then are you swimming with dolphins? Um, that's a
(30:53):
whole other thing that is like so abusive, it's really
really bad. Yeah, I think that now. I think the
knowledge situation is the thing that like is the main
thing that needs to be spread. And like I'm with
you on adopt, don't shop. I think that with the
exception of them, like if you're looking for a specific
kind of dog or specific kind of and whatever, specific
(31:16):
kind of breed and you're like I want that specifically,
do your research and you do it properly, Like I'm
I'm all about that. But I think that's the hardest
part too, Right, It's like verifying and online and like
the web, and it's crazy out there, so highly recommend
knowledge is power. I feel like that's like our motto
and every single episode that we do here on Modernita
(31:50):
hack Out. So I know you have a baby now,
happy birthday baby today, and I'm just curious like for you,
like your next step into that, because that's a whole
different layer of something that I thought about, like, oh
my god, I have two dogs. I have a sixty
pound pitfull and I have of thirty well pixies a
little chunky now, so like a sixteen pound Chihuahua Chihuahua
(32:13):
terrier um. And I'm like, oh my god, when I
have a baby, like are they going to get along?
Like do you have any of those like hesitations now
that you do have a eight months baby? Have you
thought about that, like when you're gonna incorporate like if
you are ever going to incorporate fostering back into your
life and or having a nactual pet full time? Have
(32:35):
you has that been like what is that? Like? Yeah,
oh my gosh, I'm so happy you're asking this because
I I just didn't interview with a trainer, a dog trainer,
and he was talking it's all. The episode hasn't aired
out yet, um, but by the time people listen to this,
it might already be, but he was giving so many
tips around how to introduce and like cohabitate with your
(32:58):
dogs and a baby. It is very important for you
to take the necessary precautions and not try to do
too much too quickly, because dogs do thrive off of
consistency right like they'd like it. As humans, we can
get a little bored with, like with things being too much,
like if we have the same we eat any like
(33:18):
we have the same schedule every single day. But with them,
they really thrive off of that because it's familiar. They
know what to expect. And so when you introduce a baby,
you know, all of the things are gonna get dishrouveled.
It's like all of a sudden, it's like why is
that lying? You know? Why is she holding this little thing?
And it keeps making these weird noises, like why is
she stressed? Why is she up at one in the morning.
(33:40):
She would be up one in the morning and four
in the morning, you know, So the dog schedule gets dishoveled.
So Um, to answer your question, will I ever have
dogs and my baby? Um, yes I will. And it's
a matter of probably when we move from here and
taking precautions. So some tips I would have would be
it kind of just depends on how old your child is,
(34:02):
but but it's still is the same in the sense of, Okay,
you want to introduce them slowly if it's a baby,
and because they're gonna be way smaller. Is like you
want to really respect your dog's boundaries and create boundaries
with your child. I see a lot of videos of
this that people think is cute, where like I saw
(34:23):
a toddler feeding a dog, well teasing. It had like
um ham in its hand and then it was like
giving it to the dog, taking it away, giving it,
taking away, giving, taking the dog didn't do anything, but
like could you imagine doing that to a human? And
like on a bad day when I'm really hungry, I
might bite you. Like, well, you know they're not says like,
(34:46):
come on, like we're still different species. You have to
so still and there's they're still an animal. There's still
an animal. Yeah, And so that confusion. So I think,
um some things that like I would say, like question
what you're finding cute and playing around with Like is
your kid constantly pulling at the tail constantly and the
dog is going away and you as a parent are
(35:07):
ignoring the signs, like the dog is clearly uncomfortable. It's yawning,
which is a sign of uncomfortable itty. Um, the tail
is but beneath its um, you know it's legs, it's
going to a corner. And yet you're still trying to
force this because now you're putting the baby in a
bad predicament and the dog. So it's just like being
being mindful to that. Um. And then and then like
(35:28):
you know, if you're um, I know that there's a
page and now I'm forgetting. But it's all about introducing
your baby to the dog because there's more practical tips.
But I would say setting boundaries going slowly. They actually say,
before you have a baby, could you hold like a doll?
Like it sounds silly, but like and and um, play
the crying noises so that it's just not startled by
(35:50):
those things because it's questionable on whether a dog knows
that a baby is a baby, because especially think of
a two year old. It could see eye level to
your dog. I don't know that the dog knows that's
a child. Um. So it's just kind of setting those
boundaries and you see it all the time where people
successfully live with baby and dogs, but there are those
(36:12):
rare cases where kids have gotten bit and it's just
I think, um, yeah, what you as a parent are
what boundaries are you setting and following that, like respecting
the dog and also respecting the baby and respecting yourself.
I think in the house are so so important. This
(36:34):
is the moment that we've all been waiting for. This
is our speed question rounds. Are you read deep? Oh?
I hope so? Okay? Question one? If you could have
any other animal in the world, no limitations, So it
could be a wild, exotic animal, it could be an
animal that's extinct, it could be an animal that's no
(36:55):
longer around. What animal would you want to live in
your home? Oh my gosh, Um, you can only choose one,
only one, okay, besides my obvious choice that would be dog.
I love them so much. I would say a horse.
And I know it's like not someone, but horses are incredible.
(37:16):
They they're emotional intelligence. Do you want like a horse
horse or do you want like one of those pony horses? Oh? No,
I want a horse horse. Okay. What color? Oh my gosh,
a brown horse? And yeah, I mean and and you
said only one species, but I'd love like ten. Plus
they're incredible from intelligence that they're emotional intelligence is incredible.
(37:39):
And what would the name of the horse be? Oh
my gosh, why does the name Bamby come to mind?
And Bamby wasn't even a hare, but hey, Bamby. I
love that. I love that. I want to beat bandy. Okay.
Question two, who is your favorite animal expert, animal inspiration,
(37:59):
animal person? Who is your favorite person that you like
it's your go to? Who is that? Wow? What a
good question. Okay, Well, I would say that that has
been in process. At the beginning of my journey, it
used to be Caesar a Malian, But now that I
know a little bit more, I would say that somebody
(38:19):
that I kind of really aspire to be more like
is Jane Goodall. And she works primarily with primates, so
like apes and per mission. What I love is that
she wants to create a world where we live in
harmony with nature, and I just feel like that's the
perfect goal because even we're often afraid of what we
(38:42):
don't understand, and I feel like what she promotes let's
be in harmony with each other because, for example, baths,
Like how many of us aren't like afraid and be like,
oh they look so creepy but actually um, but actually
we need them. If there were no bad if there
were no baths to be back, we actually would have
any gave So no tequila, there'll be no bananas, there'd
(39:04):
be no chocolate, and the mosquitoes would eat us all
alive because they trapped like a thousand mosquitoes. I don't
know if it's like an hour or every two hours,
but like we need each other like literally every single
no matter how creepy certain animals might look, you don't
have to love it and be like I wanted as
a pat, I actually encourage you. Don't ever do that
(39:24):
because you're messing up in the ecosystem. But can we
live in harmony together? You don't have to love something,
you could just respect it. I love that, Okay. Last question,
what reminds you of home or makes you feel like home?
Mm hmm. What reminds me of home is any time
(39:45):
I have San coltro or Yes, that really reminds me
of home and visiting the Dominican Republic and being there
with family. And yeah, so a nice on culture which
doesn't happen often reminds me of home. I love that
(40:06):
same Now I want that, Kay, if the people want
to follow you, follow what you're doing, like learn more
about animals and become more involved in the community. And
and just your episodes are awesome, like I've mentioned them
in the introduction, Um, everybody should tap in. There's something
to learn, and there's something to learn beyond cats and dogs.
(40:28):
It's like it's so informative and it just inspires me
to be a better human being with nature as well
and with animals. So thank you for that. But where
can our listeners also get that same reaction? Yes, you
can follow me on Instagram pause andros so p A
ws behros p E r R O S. And then
(40:49):
if you want any tips around career, because that is
I'm also an expert in that you can follow me
on You can follow me on Instagram as well. At
coached by Sid and sid is see like Charlie I
d So coached by c I D. Kay. Thank you
so much for coming into Moranita, Thank you for giving
your time. I'm so excited to see all the lessons
(41:11):
that you continue to teach and the people that you
continue to connect. Thank you so much. It's been an honor.
I love your energy, and I love that you're also
highlighting the Latino community. We need this. Thank you so much.
Yea Monanita is a production of Sonato in partnership with
(41:33):
I Heart Radios Michael la podcast Network. For more podcasts
from I Heart Radio, visit the I Heart Radio app,
Apple podcast, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
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