March 31, 2023 • 39 mins
Dog Gone
Episode 02: Kumo (Yorkshire Terrier) - w/Michelle Las
Jason Connell and Michelle Las share the memorable life of Michelle's dog, Kumo.
Kumo (Yorkshire Terrier)
October 25, 2003 - July 6, 2020
(16 years, 8 months, 12 days)
Recorded: 02-17-23
Studio: Just Curious Media
https://www.JustCuriousMedia.com/
Listen:
https://DogGone.buzzsprout.com/
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Host:
https://www.instagram.com/MrJasonConnell/
Guest:
https://www.instagram.com/LasWellHealth/
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jason Connell (00:01):
Whoa, just curious. Welcome to Just curious
media. This is doggone. And I'mJason Connell on the show. Today
I'm joined by Michelle loss.
Michelle Las (00:13):
Hi, Jason. Thanks for having me. Appreciate it.
Jason Connell (00:16):
Absolutely. Well, this is our second episode of
Dog on. So I'm really honoredanytime someone wants to come on
something new and also verypersonal like this. So thank you
for coming on the show thisjourney. For those who don't
know those who follow justcurious media. And this is kind
of a new show in our repertoire.
This is a dog lovers podcastdevoted to honoring the lives
(00:36):
and memories of man's bestfriend. So the first episode was
me sharing my personal story ofmy recent dog who passed away.
And so it's not as easy to getguest other shows people are
like, Yeah, I'll come on andtalk about that movie or this.
This is very different. Soagain, thank you. And we've
never spoken, we've only beenemailing so I know some of the
story. But we'll just have aconversation about your dog. And
(00:57):
your dog's name was Kuhmo, whowas a York Shire terrier. And
yes, I love the name. I love thebreed. I'm going to bring up
some photos here behind me thatyou just sent me which is
adorable. By the way. These areso cute. Here's Kuhmo Look at
this guy. A male on love thisone. He's already for the car.
(01:17):
Like the car, right? Yeah. Andthen this is like the
showstopper right here. So good.
The post grooming the book.
Yeah, that was that was? Yeah.
Well, before we get into Kuhmo,to know a little bit more about
you, I looked at your website,which I guess is last well,
health.com. And to find out thatyou're a national board
(01:39):
certified health and wellnesscoach and functional medicine
certified health coach. And Ilove that you wrote this as
well, one of your Facebook's orsocial media, I help people
finally find their own path tofeeling good. Ageing well, and
finding balance and confidence.
Wow, yeah, incredible missionthat you're on Michelle. And
then to hear as I learn more, asI read more about you how this
(01:59):
kind of came as a second careerpath, and maybe just more
backstory on you, and then wecan kind of get caught up on how
Kuhmo came into your life.
Michelle Las (02:10):
Yeah, no, Thanks for Thanks for having me. You
know, it's it's interesting howwe even got introduced right,
from a former colleague of mine,and I used to I had a long
career as a legal recruitingdirector are at a law firm in
New York City. So verycorporate, you know, a law firm,
(02:31):
and a long career. And longstory short, I was, you know,
was married, with no children.
And at 43, the day after my 43rdbirthday, my husband passed away
suddenly, the next morning, and,you know, obviously, that, you
know, we're talking about lossand grieving and, and that
(02:53):
obviously, was a big loss and atrauma for me at that time. And,
you know, of course, you you gothrough the motions of trying to
manage those emotions, trying todeal with the shock, you know,
go you returned to work, and youhave to do your job, and you go
through, you know, the motionsof dealing with that after the
(03:14):
fact. But honestly, after abouta year of going back to work, I
realized that I didn't reallyenjoy what I was doing anymore.
And I think because of thesudden loss of my husband, it
made me realize that there wereother things in life that I
really wanted to pursue, that Iwasn't getting a chance to do,
because I was working in thatjob. So, you know, I think that,
(03:35):
in that pursuit of findingsomething else, I decided to
leave the law firm life, andthen kind of almost find myself
again, for lack of a betterword, and then the pandemic hit.
And so I have actually left myjob in the middle of the first
year of the pandemic. And then,you know, after that, I had
(03:58):
nowhere to go, I was home alone,I had been meaning to travel,
you know, I was going to dothis, you know, Eat Pray Love
trip, and, you know, visitfriends go travel by myself. And
obviously, we were all sort ofstuck at home a bit scared to
kind of go out there and docertain things. And we were
prohibited to so it gave me theopportunity honestly, to focus
(04:19):
on things that I was ignoring,focus on eating better, moving
more, getting back to takingcare of myself in a more
thoughtful way. And in doingthat, I realized that I wanted
to pursue health coaching as anext career. So I use the
pandemic honestly as anopportunity to pivot and go back
to school, get my certification,and then I decided to launch a
(04:43):
business last year. Wow. So youknow it. It was a big
transition. Definitely a biglifestyle change compared to
what I used to do. You know, NewYork City Law Firm life is very
different than being anentrepreneur and a health coach.
So
Jason Connell (05:00):
I'm That's incredible. Wow. Well, first,
I'm sorry for your loss. I whenI read that and heard it and our
mutual friend who is mygirlfriend, Sophia introduced
us, and she told me a little bitand I was like, Oh my gosh, this
is just a story of a dog loss.
It's even greater than that. Andbut you use it as a transition,
I think. Wasn't it even the daybefore your 11th wedding
anniversary? Is that correct?
Michelle Las (05:23):
Yeah, yes. Yes, it was. I mean, it's so now the end
of July for me is very, it's ait's it can now I can now say
it's bittersweet. So it's my mybirthday. The day after is the
the day Patrick passed away. Andthen the day after that was, is
our, like our anniversary.
Jason Connell (05:42):
Wow. Well, and it's interesting how just the
pandemic changed things. I guessyou were in New York and you
left New York, I was in LosAngeles for nearly two decades.
It gave me a chance toreevaluate, you meet someone on
the other coast and your life'schanged. So there are some
silver linings out there for thepandemic definitely are. And in
sometimes, yeah, it's good totry out a different life. I
(06:03):
mean, you were throwing acomplete curveball, and you'll
never recover. But you'vepivoted and helping others is
just incredible. And during thistime, please go ahead.
Michelle Las (06:13):
Oh, no, no, I was just going to say I think
sometimes it takes something bigto kind of motivate you and
inspire you to make a changewhether you know whether or not
it's a big or small. You know,if that didn't happen to me, I
don't know if I might have stillbeen there. For all I know.
Jason Connell (06:30):
Yeah. Yeah.
Absolutely. So during this time,though, Kuhmo was in your life
because lived a great life asfar as numbers. Go, but maybe
talk about how Kuhmo thisbeautiful Yorkshire Terrier came
into your life. Let's go back tothat. Yeah, stage.
Michelle Las (06:46):
Yeah. So ironically, Kuhmo was gifted to
me by my late husband, thewithin the first year of us
dating, which is very funny,right? You don't expect someone
here's a dog to give you here'sa dog, right. And it's
interesting, because, you know,there's no there was no previous
conversation about it. We sortof just, and I was I'm a dog
(07:09):
person. So my family had a dogwho had passed away a few years
before. So you know, he knewthat. But giving someone a dog
as a present without previousconversation is a big deal. So
it was a Christmas gift. Thesecond Christmas, we were dating
but he had told me about it inOctober and that's sort of you
(07:30):
know, we in a few weeks after hetold me, we picked him up. So I
met Kuhmo when he was about youknow, we picked him up from a
breeder. He was about eight to10 weeks. So yeah, I had him
since then. And I mean, he'ssuch a very sweet dog. I think.
You know, sometimes people havethis impression of Yorkies they
are Oh they're so yappy. They'renot exactly they're very loud.
(07:53):
They're they're yappy, and hewas not your typical Yorkie was
very calm and very sweet. veryobedient, and he's just a quiet
sweet dog. So, and he had a longlife. I mean, he lived almost he
was just shy of his 70thbirthday, which is unbelievable
wild Yeah,
Jason Connell (08:12):
it's never enough though. It's never enough but
right for dogs it's a reallygood was like a cat cat like
Yeah, but I love the namebecause I owe you know when I
get have a dog and I've had toas an adult, Brody and Nico Nico
loss, but you know, you're gonnasay a name a million times. So a
better be fun and better becatchy, fun to say Kuhmo is
great. But was it? Is it shortfor anything, but I also looked
(08:34):
up it's a Japanese word, meaningboth cloud and Spider was was
that at play? Or?
Michelle Las (08:39):
No, you know, so it's funny. My, I'm Filipino.
My, my late husband was Chinese.
And we, you know, I was thinkingabout food. Is there a Filipino
food that I could name himafter? And we thought of these
different words and just nothingsounded right. Yeah. And I have
no idea where como came from.
And then we found out later thatKuhmo meant little cloud in
(08:59):
Japanese. So I'm like, Okay,well, that's great. You know,
like, that's his name, but forsome reason, it's stuck. And we
used it, but honestly, itdidn't. We tried to have
meaning. And you know,interspersed in his name, but it
just didn't work out. But it
Jason Connell (09:13):
was Kuhmo. You own it? Yeah, exactly. And it
was 13 pounds. Here it is,again, fresh from the groomers
right here so tiny. So this guycould travel not just in the
car. Do you take him onairplanes and things like that?
Michelle Las (09:25):
I did not know. i He was definitely a homebody.
You know, it's like one of thesethings when you have a dog,
right? They tell you all thethings that you're supposed to
do. Oh, sure. So crazy. Trainthem. You're supposed to
socialize them. He was not hewas definitely a homebody, he
wasn't socialized. So he wasdefinitely fearful of other
dogs. Okay. And we didn't takehim to travel and fortunately,
(09:48):
my parents lived nearby. So hespent a lot of time and actually
the grandparents, thegrandparents, right. So, there
was, you know, when when we hadmoved, they actually they My
parents retired, but when whenthey retired, we actually had
him stay with them for severalyears just because for us
schedule, the thought behind itwas, you know, they're always
(10:11):
home, they have a big backyard,and then we are gone, you know,
nine to 1011 hours of the dayit, it felt more fair, although,
you know, it's our dog we kindof, it's like you have the kids
and you dump them at the parent.
Jason Connell (10:23):
He's been there for a while. Yeah, we gotta get
him back. Right? Oh, that's goodto have though. He so he had the
best of both worlds. He had thebig yard and everything and
extra love. Well, back to yourpoint, I meant to say, I see
this in movies and commercialswhere it's like, Hey, here's a
dog. It's like our a pet. Youdon't just give someone that,
you know, it comes with a ton ofresponsibility. And I just
wanted to ask, were you livingtogether at that point in time?
(10:45):
Or did Patrick say, okay,
Michelle Las (10:48):
that's, that was the other ironic part of it,
right? Because at the time, wewere I, there was a time and I
think was my mid 20s. I wasliving with my parents, okay.
And I, at that time, when hegifted me the dog, and we had
started dating, I was livingwith my parents with this dog.
They're like, Oh, okay, youdon't just give it to the
everybody just don't give it tothe person. Everybody gets the
(11:09):
dog. So, you know, in, in that,you know, sort of like now that
became, you know, the familydog. But, you know, it's, it's
interesting, because even thoughthere's so much work that goes
into raising a puppy, I almostdon't remember that part.
Because all these years that youhave with your dog, you sort of
forget about that. It's likewhen you have a baby or like
sometimes I think I don't havechildren. But I imagine that
(11:32):
when you have children, youthink of all these things like,
oh, he had sleepless nights, youknow, all this stress. And then
to some extent, you're like, Oh,it was worth it. Or not?
Jason Connell (11:42):
Well, he lived almost be 17. So they grow up
fast. Six months, you know,seven months, eight months. And
so he was born just to be exacthere to be precise. October
25 2003. Awesome. And you gothim around the holidays,
Christmas time. 2003. So he'sjust still, I don't have photos
of that guy. But I'm sure Kuhmowas like tiny like a gremlin
(12:03):
like really little. And
Michelle Las (12:04):
yeah, I should have sent you some of those
pictures, because I feel likewhen you see Yorkie puppies
there, they almost all look thesame. Yeah, but they're, they're
really like a little furball.
You can fit them. I rememberhaving a picture of him. We put
them in a food scale, and youfit perfectly. So gosh, that's
Jason Connell (12:20):
so funny. Yeah.
And we'll get into the morestories, but he passed away July
6 20 2016 years old, eightmonths, 12 days, but it's never
enough. It's like I do anythingto have my dog. You know, he
lived half that time becausethings happen and they take
over. But you had an incrediblerun, and you change a lot. And
that almost 17 years, yourrelationship you were living
with your parents when Kuhmocame into your life. And it's
(12:43):
like, yeah, I
Michelle Las (12:45):
was single. And then I was married. And then I
was a widow, right? And
Jason Connell (12:49):
then you're transitioning, and then you're
in a pandemic. And then they'rejust, they're like, I moved
cross country a couple of times,with my two different adult dogs
at different times in my life.
It's like, you think back, it'slike, oh, my gosh, they were
with me during the I waschanged, you know, you're
changing and they're there.
They're like, the person you cancount on your co pilot. So I
just know how important theybecome in all facets of your
(13:10):
life.
Michelle Las (13:11):
Yeah, I mean, they are. So you know, I know, it's
hard to sometimes explain topeople who don't have dogs,
especially, because there's thisbond and this loyalty that you
can't even describe. And, youknow, they just, they are there
with you, they they love youunconditionally. They hang out
with you all the time, theyfollow you to the bathroom, they
follow you and they are waitingfor you when you get home and
(13:31):
they're always happy to see you.
There's no doubt about that. Soit is true. You know, they're
kind of went through throughthrough all those things. And
even though they don't speak,then they kind of know what's
going on.
Jason Connell (13:42):
They pick up on your tendencies like nobody's
business. And then if you're notaround them, maybe when Kuhmo
was at your parents or when hepassed away, you miss those
things like I'm gonna get up No,I'm not stepping over the dog
now. It's weird. You have tolike retrain yourself. We're so
conditioned to having themaround. Yeah. And so I was
asking you some we were justemailing but like, what were
(14:03):
some of his great tricks. Couldhe do the classics? Is that was
como good.
Michelle Las (14:08):
He was um, you know, it's funny, some of these
people and especially nowonline, they teach their dogs so
many different tricks. But, youknow, we start with the basics,
like the set, you know, like thedown the shake, you know, but he
didn't go crazy with the tricks,honestly. I mean, he was so
good. You just sort of almostdidn't know he was there. He
(14:29):
would just kind of walk, youknow, walk around the apartment,
walk around the house. Well,that was his domain Missy as you
get older.
Jason Connell (14:35):
Right. He's a homebody that's his place. He
got comfortable there is happy.
Michelle Las (14:40):
He was happy in his yard and his apartment and
his house. It was nice. And he
Jason Connell (14:45):
could roll over to it was he was a good at the
classic rollover.
Michelle Las (14:47):
He didn't do a rollover Yep, he did. Rollovers
actually have a dog now andhaven't gotten the rollover done
down yet. See?
Jason Connell (14:54):
Wow, I will talk about that. That's a question
that comes up a lot. As soon asI go through grief and losing a
dog people who like you He saiddon't know, like, they're not
dog people. That's the firstthing that asked me, Hey, when
you get a new dog and say, Man,I need some time, you know, it's
not just like replace a for B,you need time. It's a huge
responsibility. We travel infact, since I always have bigger
(15:15):
dogs road trips become he's partof the deal. So it's like, oh,
we're gonna, you know, we'regonna fly down to Florida. Well,
I'll just drive because asyou're either just bring him it
changes a lot of things in yourlife, you know? But which is all
worth it. It's all so very, veryworth it. So what were some more
traits that Kuhmo had, besidesbeing very comfortable at home
didn't overly socialize withdogs total homebody which cracks
(15:38):
me up to this guy run aroundruling the roost, but anything
else you said he never barked.
I've never met a YorkshireTerrier that didn't just wrap
its head off. At any noises.
Michelle Las (15:49):
It was so odd.
Because, you know, I think Iknew that part when we got him
like, Oh, your keys are, youknow, they're loud. They're
yappy. They bark at everything.
And, you know, honestly, unlessmaybe, I mean, not that he never
barked. But unless there waslike someone, you know, someone
at the door, but then he wouldalways be fine. They'd walk in
and, you know, he's fine. He'sover it. But nothing really
(16:11):
triggered him. You know, heactually, I have a five year old
nephew. And, you know, I feellike having a dog and a baby.
Watching that bond between thetwo, especially since he was
older is one of the sweetestthings. And he's still my, my
nephew still remembers him andstill kind of mourn him and sad
that he's gone because there wassuch a bond, he would help feed
(16:32):
him and very sweet just to kindof stick by a side you know, he
as a baby, I think they know,dogs know that. Okay, this is a
new person. I'm supposed to be alittle bit, you know, a little
bit protective, supposed to staygentle. Stay by their side.
Jason Connell (16:47):
Yeah. It's very endearing. You're absolutely
right. I love that. It reallyis. So then they had a bond. And
then well, your nephew also lostKuhmo. So that's its own thing.
You know, you're young and Idon't know how they dealt with
the loss. But I'm sure that youknow, it's tough for a kid to
even kind of rationalize we lostprobably don't even comprehend.
What were his Kuhmo? And I'msure thanks, tough. Yeah. How
(17:09):
did that go?
Michelle Las (17:11):
Um, you know what, it's, it's interesting, because,
you know, when it happened, hewas only three. Okay. You know,
and it's hard to explain to athree year old, what death is
like, you know, and when Kumarpassed away, it was early
morning as well. And, you know,I, I brought him over to say
goodbye to my to my brother, andI brought him his body to the
(17:33):
house. But I didn't, and theycame outside to the car to say
bye, but obviously, for a threeyear old, it's a little bit.
Yeah, you don't know, you don'tknow, you don't want to put that
on a three year olds plate. ButI think it's really just one of
these things you have to be, hewas very sad. Obviously, he
didn't and didn't understand whyhe wasn't coming back. But I
think later on his parent, mybrother and my sister in law
explained the you know, he died.
And unfortunately for this, mynephew, he has been exposed to
(17:57):
death. You know, my husband hadmy late husband had passed a
couple years before. I mean, hewas so young and didn't
remember, but he understandsthat someone who used to be here
is no longer here. So you know,in in that, you know, I think he
realizes that he's, he'ssomewhere better. He's not
coming back. But they still havethat bond. And I actually, I
(18:20):
have to find it. But I remember,several years ago, I had as a
gift to my late husband, I hadfound this site that makes and
you might, might be familiarwith it. It's a site that makes
replica like stuffed animals,but because of your dog, yes.
And I got one you did severalyears ago. And, you know, you
(18:41):
work with the designer, ifsomething's off. Like for
example, I had worked with thisperson. And I said, Oh, the eyes
are off. Can you tweak it alittle bit? And honestly, I
should send you a pictureseparately. They got it spot on.
And now I gave that littlestuffed animal to my nephew in
his bedroom on the shelf andit's the cutest thing. That's
(19:02):
amazing. And he calls him babyKuhmo
Jason Connell (19:06):
baby cool. Yeah, that's an incredible thing. I've
seen like other things like theymemorialize like a 3d kind of
thing now that they have outthere but that's great and great
for a kid at that to have youknow what a great way to honor
the memory. Also, you just saidhe was such an use all caps are
I like that such a good pup andhe just looks like yeah, you
(19:27):
know, and that's great. Itdidn't really like a pain. He
was always there. And then Iasked for a couple of stories
and I love this one that how heloved napping next to the both
of you, which was great. He washe was a Napper a cuddler. I'm
assuming 13 pound dog probablysleeps in your bed. I don't
know. I don't know how thatworks.
Michelle Las (19:44):
Yeah, he was a bed sleeper up until, you know, the
very like the last couple yearshe actually tore his fur like I
don't think dogs have ACLs but adog ACL he tore it. Honestly, a
month before my husband my latehusband had passed out My gosh.
And so, you know, dogs areresilient as you know this when
(20:06):
they get hurt and things happen.
Okay, they bounce back through.
Yeah, like they he went throughPT, hydro, it was actually, to
be honest, a good distractionfor me to kind of helping to
take care of him and helping himrehab after. And he you know, he
was actually he was able to runafter the fact. I mean,
obviously it took time, but Butyeah, he after that incident he
(20:29):
was sleeping by the foot of thebed on the floor. No more
jumping up and the bed. Yeah,I'm not. I'm not sleeping. I'm
not getting up there anymore.
Yeah.
Jason Connell (20:38):
Well, and you had mentioned he was relatively
healthy until minus the ACLtear. But until the last month,
right loves this great life.
He's nearing 17. But then whatdoes something started? What
rapid weight loss? Was that?
What it was or what you notice?
Yeah. So
Michelle Las (20:54):
you know, we he started having some bouts of
incontinence. So you know, like,he couldn't hold his urine. So
we got, there's not a picture,but we got one of those doggie
diapers, you notice that she washaving more accidents. So And
honestly, his demeanor was fine,his appetite was fine. It was
just having these accidents. Andthat was happening probably,
(21:14):
like several months before. Butyou know, the doctor, you know,
the vet said he was probably itsold age, it could have been a
pancreatic issue. But there wasnothing, there were no other
major symptoms to you know, youdon't want to necessarily just
go in and operate on a dog atthat age, if you don't have to,
right. So then, but startedrealizing a couple months, and
(21:35):
maybe my hopefully my memory isbetter than I'm giving it but a
couple of months. Towards theend, we notice he really started
losing weight quickly. And Ihave a picture actually that I
looked at him like, wow, I tookit from the top and his profile,
you know, you looked at thisthird profile, and it was very
thin. And then honestly, youknow, my, my, like I said, my
dog was living with my parentsfor a while. And I had spent the
(21:59):
weekend with family. And it wasthe middle of the summer. And we
had a great weekend. You know,he was in the kiddie pool with
my nephew probably hated it.
Because dogs eat water. Well,being some dogs. Yeah, some
dogs. True. Very true. Somedogs, like water, some dogs
hated it. But he was sittingthere. And then I got a call
from my dad. I think it was aMonday morning. And he said
(22:22):
Kuhmo come on died. Like he. Sobasically what he said is, you
know, as usual, you open theback door to let him out. And he
just sat and then he just laydown and that was it. And you
know, I think it was two yearsto the month that my husband had
passed away. So by the to yourdeath anniversary would have
(22:46):
been later that month. And tosome extent, I actually felt
okay with that. Like, obviouslyI was you know, I was really
sad. You know, it was It wassudden because it came out of
nowhere. Also, you know, we Youmean he was he was definitely
showing his age those lastcouple months. But just having,
you know, no signs of anythingelse. And just, you know,
(23:06):
passing away that morning. Ifeel like, to me, it was his way
of saying, Okay, I had my longlife. I'm done. I'm going to
join my dad, you know?
Jason Connell (23:18):
Yeah, you would share that. And I thought about
that. Like, it's hard. It'salways hard. Yeah. And it leads
to some knowing around twoyears. Yes. He's gonna go be
with Patrick, who will helpbring him into your life. So
yeah, it's very symbiotic. And abeautiful way to to look at
that. And it's interesting howhe passed away. My last dog
wanted to go outside. Wecouldn't find him. Sometimes
(23:40):
they just No, and they go offand they want to save you the
trouble because I was at thatpoint, like, he's deteriorating.
Do you make that call to youknow, to put him down, which
would bring extra guilt for me?
And he's he's like, No, I'mtapping out. I'm really not
good. And it's horrible. Butit's interesting that Kumo did
that to like, hey, yeah, this isthe best of me, and they go off,
you know, with dignity. And theysay goodbye. And it's, it's I'm
(24:03):
like, honored that dogs canthink that way. I know they are.
They're very intuitive. They'revery bright. They know us, and
they know themselves better thanwe even can fathom. So you saw
him last the day before? Is thatright? Is that?
Michelle Las (24:17):
Yeah, the day before I'm wild was looking when
before this podcast, I waslooking back at pictures and we
had a family day. My parents, mybrother, you know, his family at
his house. And it was, you know,like, beginning of July. So as
hot and humid as you know,northeast weather can be and
then have another picture. So Idefinitely saw him again that
(24:40):
weekend, either the next day orthe day after, and it happened.
So it's almost like he had histime with people. His family and
Jason Connell (24:48):
celebration.
Michelle Las (24:49):
I'm tired.
Jason Connell (24:50):
What was the July 4 celebration, I assume? Yeah.
Michelle Las (24:53):
I mean, it wasn't actually on July 4, but it was a
July 4, you know, weekend long,you guys. Yeah, we had a lot of
family time, right. So it'salmost like he waited Good to
see everyone and then I saw himright before. And you know,
honestly, I think it's hard formy parents, especially my dad,
my dad was sort of his I mean,I'm not gonna not gonna lie. I
think my dad was probably hisfavorite person towards the end
(25:14):
because they spent a lot ofquality time together. Yeah,
like he would watch Jeopardy onthe couch or by his feet, he
would feed him his like handfeed and his apples at nine
o'clock at night. So definitelya love dog. That's so
Jason Connell (25:27):
cute. So yeah, he really bonded with your parents.
Did they have another dog aswell? Was it just Kuhmo run in
the house when he was overthere?
Michelle Las (25:34):
Yeah, no, just them I think, you know, it's one
of those things when, you know,this was a little bit before my
brother had his children. Sothey had time just with
themselves and the dog and itwas the grandchild when was the
grandchild? Right, the first thefirst grandchild. And then when,
you know, my nephew, and nowniece came along, you know, my
parents started helping to takecare of them. So then the dog,
(25:57):
you know, Kumar get moreexposure to little kids, which
was nice, because sometimes, youknow, introducing dogs to
children isn't always theeasiest thing. And the
transition isn't always thebest.
Jason Connell (26:08):
Absolutely. Well, would you like to? You don't
have to don't feel any need. Butwould you like to say something
to Kuhmo here on this podcast?
Michelle Las (26:16):
Oh, yes. I mean, I didn't necessarily think about
something. But I just want himto know, I'm sure he does that
he was the best dog very loved.
I hope he's happy with his dad,because I just picture them kind
of hanging out. Yeah, hangingout in the backyard by the pool
he came was not in the pool, butjust hanging out in like, nice
weather all the time. Nothinghappening, honestly, to some
(26:37):
extent, I feel like they, theyknew what was going to what was
going on in the world right now.
And they said, You know what,I'm gonna go somewhere better.
Let's just get out of here.
Jason Connell (26:48):
That's a great God. And so time has passed,
your life continues to evolve.
And obviously, the memories likeI'm still waking up, I lost my
dog. You know, it was May of2022, may 11. And he left too
early, he'll still pretty fresh.
And I tell you, and I've lost anadult dog years prior. It's been
so long, though. But I'll dreamsometimes. And he's there very
(27:10):
vividly, I wake up. And so it'slike, well, those memories are
there. And now I live in a newplace a beautiful home a
different part of the country.
It's like, you can't help butthink, oh, he'd love it here.
He'd love these acres that wehave in the oceans right there.
And I'm still going through thatI'm still grieving that it
hasn't been long enough for meto think about next dog. But you
mentioned earlier, you do haveanother dog. So at some point in
(27:30):
time, it went right away, Iassume you are open to the idea
of having another dog in yourlife and maybe talk about that a
little bit.
Michelle Las (27:41):
Yeah, I mean, you know, it's, it's interesting,
right? Because I was married forI was with Patrick for almost,
you know, it was like 1516years. So, in we were married
for almost 11. So he wasobviously a big part of my adult
life. And Kuhmo was a big partof my adult life. And there's a
lot of love and memories there.
And, you know, interestinglyenough, during the beginning of
(28:04):
the pandemic, I ended up meetingsomeone. And you know, we before
this call, we were talking abouthow the pandemic had some silver
linings, I ended up meetingsomeone, we started dating,
we're still together, and thingsare going well, and you know,
you move forward in your life,thank you, you move forward in
your life. And it doesn't meanthat you forget about your past
(28:27):
or your memories, or you juststop talking about it. It's part
of you. And so, you know, it'sinteresting, too, because
Michael is the man I'm with nowmy partner, and he never got to
meet Kuhmo. But when we weretalking, it was when he died,
actually, when Kuhmo died, itwas around the time we started
talking. So it was and I hadsent him a picture of him with
(28:50):
his little doggie diaper and,and everything. Which is, you
know, and I said, I was like,Oh, I'd like you to meet him
someday. And, you know, now thatI think about it, I wonder if
it's like one of these like, youknow, it's almost like, okay, he
knew that there was like a newtransition or a new chapter in
my life coming along. Yeah, in away. And you know, something, I
(29:11):
like something I never reallythought of that way before. But
I think that in this newrelationship, you know, we are
open to different things. We hehad a dog prior to meeting me as
well. He's divorced, and he, Iguess, gave up the dog and when
he got divorced, and then youknow, he knew about and I said,
(29:32):
I said, Oh my gosh, like thatmust have been one of the
Jason Connell (29:36):
heartbreaking part. I know. That's even worse
than a breakup.
Michelle Las (29:45):
Oh, it made me sad because I you know, like to
think about how close we arebonded we are to our dogs. You
know, not that not to put any,you know, price tag or like
emphasis on like, a relationshipor a marriage ending but it's
it's different. Um, So then weknow we started dating. And now
obviously, it's more than twoyears later, last year, we had
(30:07):
been talking about a dog. And,you know, we said, well, maybe
we should just pull the trigger.
And, you know, we decided to geta dog together and we got the
dog about 10 weeks, 10 weeks oldor so. And now he's going to be
a year next next week, actually,
Jason Connell (30:22):
wow, what kind of dog?
Michelle Las (30:25):
No, it's a Doxon ah, and, and, you know, we we
did not do. Personally speaking,we said we both we both like
dogs. And honestly, ironically,my late husband grew up with a
Doxon. So it's interesting. But,you know, I never had a toxin.
Michael never had a toxin and wejust we'd like them and we were
(30:46):
throwing around breed ideas. Andwe were in for a surprise, you
know, you hear about all thestereotypical dachshund traits
Yeah, he has them. Yeah, he'sgot them all. He's stubborn. He
follows us very needy. Veryloyal, very sweet but really
only likes us and our dogwalker. Breeds he barks a lot
Jason Connell (31:08):
all breeds are different dogs have different
personalities tendencies. What'sthe dog's name? I just gotta
know. Just so Oh, his his nameis Otto Otto. Love it another
great name. Save a lot. Well, itlastly on on Michael's previous
dog. I also feel for the doglosing Michael like that bond is
that hurts. But I get it. Where
Michelle Las (31:28):
did he go?
Jason Connell (31:28):
Yeah. Where'd that guy go? Our lives. It's
interesting how parallel theyare. When Sophia, my partner
came into my life, I brought mygreat dog and to see that that
was like a deal breaker, arethey going to bond and I think I
hit it off. And they have theirown, like love for each other.
And it meant the world to me.
And then now we're at thateverything is a deal breaker. If
it's like I can handle that dog.
(31:51):
Well, that dog is not goinganywhere. Well, we're in our
infant stage of talking. But itwas magical. And then down the
road. At some point down theroad. I see another dog in our
lives. And we've even got like abook from the library. Like all
the breeds just trying to do onyour homework what you're
comfortable with, like probablylike what you guys did and right
on your Datsun. So yeah. Wow,that's wonderful. And maybe
(32:14):
there wouldn't be an auto ifthere wasn't a Kuhmo. Right?
Like, they kind of just comeinto your life change you rewire
you and now you know, the nextphase of your life.
Michelle Las (32:23):
Yeah, I mean, I definitely feel that you know,
the circumstances and sort ofsituations and experiences you
have shape you and change you.
Also just with loss and trauma,generally you either learn from
it and grow or you can let itkind of hold you back. And I
think it's a learning lesson.
And there's always room formore, right? There's always room
(32:45):
for more, you know, love morerelationships, more dogs,
whatever that may be?
Jason Connell (32:51):
Absolutely. Do you encounter this? You just
kind of hit me to ask you beinga life coach, do you run into
people that are dealing withthis specific thing? Losing a
dog?
Michelle Las (32:59):
Yeah, I mean, so with what I what I usually
manage. As a health coach, mymost of my clients actually are
women, mostly women, honestly,kind of further along in their
career, and they are at the topof their career, and they've
sort of ignored their health andjust wellness generally, in you
know, you kind of sometimes youknow, and you probably know
(33:21):
this, you sacrifice a lot ofthings to kind of get to the top
and where you want to be. Andsometimes even if when people
have children, you know, you'realways prioritizing other
people, your partner, yourcareer, your children, and then
you know, that's the time whenpeople feel like, okay, now is
the time for me, I need tostart, I want to feel better in
my own skin, I want to, youknow, start moving or eating
(33:44):
better. And all these habitslike stress less. All these
things, I think, especially witha pandemic led us to realize
that we need to focus on and Ithink we always knew that, but I
think there was more of anemphasis on it. The last few
years,
Jason Connell (33:57):
I actually checked out your website, I said
it earlier, do you want to goahead and plug it because some
of the foods you have on there?
So I was like, wow, there's alot going on here. It's
wonderful. So congratulations,but please,
Michelle Las (34:07):
thank you. Yeah, no, I think, you know, from
based on when Patrick passedaway, it really just woke me up
into thinking, you know, do Iwant to what do I want to do
with the next kind of half of mylife? Right? And, you know, I
think we make jokes about overgetting old, you know, I was in
my early my mid 40s. And that'snot all, you know, it's not,
(34:28):
there's so much more life tolive and, and I said if I don't
make a change now, and I don'tstart taking care of myself,
like what's going to happen andwhere I'm going to be. So I
think in focusing so much on myhealth and kind of taking care
of my mind and my body. I reallysaw what it could do how I could
feel and I also just wanted tostart helping other people. So
(34:49):
you know, Last Mile Health. Iuse my last name and health and
wellness is so important andit's in there two different
things. So I wanted to integratethat into the name. I think it's
really just helping people whoare focused on it and who are
who are motivated to finallychange and kind of start
focusing on themselves andfeeling better. I just want to
help them get there. Becausesometimes what happens is it's
(35:09):
very overwhelming. Oh, yeah. Tokind of say, oh my gosh, there's
so many areas of my life I wantto work on, I just don't know
where to start. And then theyjust throw their hands up and
just say, forget it. I'm justgoing to do what I, what I'm
doing.
Jason Connell (35:21):
I'm comfortable on this changes, correct? Yeah,
correct. Change
Michelle Las (35:24):
is tough. And it's really just habit, changing
habits, finding out in, youknow, using like, little steps,
and how do I do that? And how doI keep someone accountable? And
that's where I come along, Ikind of helped with education
and resources andaccountability.
Jason Connell (35:39):
And dogs help Michelle and this they help
something after they help peopleand people with dogs or pets in
general. live longer. It's acomfort. Yes. So
Michelle Las (35:49):
yeah, it's definitely there. I mean,
there's research behind that,you know, it's, it's part of
it's part of almost this idea ofjust community and relationships
and positive connections. Andthat's what pets give you, you
know, they give you thisunconditional love. And yeah,
you know, there's something tobe said about, like, oh, there's
less sleep in your bed. Anddoesn't that, you know, bother
you sleep. I said, Well, youknow, like, they make you happy.
(36:11):
You know, frustrated as hellsometimes but really heavy
Jason Connell (36:15):
and a lot of sacrifice. I don't know, I've
had 100 Plus pound dogs. So theysleep on the floor, but by the
bed. That's when I draw theline. But no, all the time,
energy training money doesn'tmatter. It made my life better.
It enriched my life. It'spriceless. So
Michelle Las (36:31):
honestly, I think that having a dog in my life
just made it so much more. Youknow, I want to say richer, but
that's such a broad word. Ithink you just the love you feel
for a dog or just a pet is justit's indescribable. Honestly,
like, and I think I've heardsome people say, you know, oh,
it's so painful because theydon't live long lives and you
(36:54):
lose them. It's so painful tolose them. I don't think I could
do that over and over again. AndI'm gonna say I said, I say I
would just because the qualitytime you have with them is so
much better while you have them.
So I mean, I would, you know, Ijoke around sometimes I'm like,
should we get another one justto keep them? Like, is it? But
then I'm like, I don't know.
(37:16):
Well, that drives me crazy. Buthonestly, I think dogs are one
of the best things God evercreated. Yes, not to get
religious but the universe evercreated. Absolutely. But I just
I think yeah, I just thinkthey're, you know, they're such
a great way to kind of make yourlife better. Yeah, even if you
have children. I think sometimesalso just watching I honestly
(37:37):
one of my favorite things iswatching babies and dogs grew up
together. I could watch thosevideos online all the time.
Jason Connell (37:45):
Yeah, they are so cute. And you said it great.
Yeah. And the members. I mean,coming on here. I want to thank
you, Michelle, for coming on andsharing Kumo story. The
Yorkshire Terrier, a beautifuldog forever has changed your
life and paved the way forwhat's to come. But thank you
again, Michelle, I greatlyappreciate you coming on and
sharing your story. It's noteasy to do. Hopefully you
(38:07):
enjoyed it as well. And others,you know, when they hear it and
see it. And any final wordsbefore I give a shout out to
guests to come on the show andour usual outro. Anything else
you want to add?
Michelle Las (38:19):
Yeah, no, I just wanted to say thank you. I mean,
I think it's interesting,because when I heard the topic
of the podcast, so that'sinteresting. I've never heard of
a podcast like that before. Butyou know, for people who, who
really appreciate dogs andunderstand and just go through
the loss and losses that theyhave, I think it's a it's a
great way to just put storiesout there because they do they
make you grow in different ways.
And I think it's just ablessing.
Jason Connell (38:43):
Thank you. What I launched just curious media dog
on popped in my head, and Istill had a dog. I had lost the
dog years prior. And I was like,you know what's funny, it's
almost like taboo to like, Hey,here's how I'm feeling. You
don't just overly share thosethings. Maybe you're close
enough. You're super tightcircle. I was like, it shouldn't
be that way. We should celebratethe lives of our dogs because
(39:04):
they're not just like,replaceable. Even if I get
another in my life. I'll neverreplace what I've had. So it's
like, I wanted to create a formand we're still figuring it out.
But I think it's alreadyworking. I'm able to talk to
people now. Oh, thank you again,Michelle. Thank you, and any
other guests that wants to comeon and share your story. Please
(39:25):
contact us we definitely needmore guests to keep the show
running. Thank you so much forlistening and please be sure to
subscribe to the dog on podcastand the dog on YouTube Live
Channel. You can also reallyhelp us by giving the show a
five star rating on Applepodcast. And for all your
listeners that enjoy sharingyour thoughts. You can leave us
a review on Apple podcast sendus a direct message or post a
(39:46):
comment on any dog on socialmedia platform. We also highly
recommend checking out our otherpodcasts and visiting just
curious media.com
Whoa, just curious. Welcome to Just curious
media. This is doggone. And I'mJason Connell on the show. Today
I'm joined by Michelle loss.
Michelle Las (00:13):
Hi, Jason. Thanks for having me. Appreciate it.
Jason Connell (00:16):
Absolutely. Well, this is our second episode of
Dog on. So I'm really honoredanytime someone wants to come on
something new and also verypersonal like this. So thank you
for coming on the show thisjourney. For those who don't
know those who follow justcurious media. And this is kind
of a new show in our repertoire.
This is a dog lovers podcastdevoted to honoring the lives
(00:36):
and memories of man's bestfriend. So the first episode was
me sharing my personal story ofmy recent dog who passed away.
And so it's not as easy to getguest other shows people are
like, Yeah, I'll come on andtalk about that movie or this.
This is very different. Soagain, thank you. And we've
never spoken, we've only beenemailing so I know some of the
story. But we'll just have aconversation about your dog. And
(00:57):
your dog's name was Kuhmo, whowas a York Shire terrier. And
yes, I love the name. I love thebreed. I'm going to bring up
some photos here behind me thatyou just sent me which is
adorable. By the way. These areso cute. Here's Kuhmo Look at
this guy. A male on love thisone. He's already for the car.
(01:17):
Like the car, right? Yeah. Andthen this is like the
showstopper right here. So good.
The post grooming the book.
Yeah, that was that was? Yeah.
Well, before we get into Kuhmo,to know a little bit more about
you, I looked at your website,which I guess is last well,
health.com. And to find out thatyou're a national board
(01:39):
certified health and wellnesscoach and functional medicine
certified health coach. And Ilove that you wrote this as
well, one of your Facebook's orsocial media, I help people
finally find their own path tofeeling good. Ageing well, and
finding balance and confidence.
Wow, yeah, incredible missionthat you're on Michelle. And
then to hear as I learn more, asI read more about you how this
(01:59):
kind of came as a second careerpath, and maybe just more
backstory on you, and then wecan kind of get caught up on how
Kuhmo came into your life.
Michelle Las (02:10):
Yeah, no, Thanks for Thanks for having me. You
know, it's it's interesting howwe even got introduced right,
from a former colleague of mine,and I used to I had a long
career as a legal recruitingdirector are at a law firm in
New York City. So verycorporate, you know, a law firm,
(02:31):
and a long career. And longstory short, I was, you know,
was married, with no children.
And at 43, the day after my 43rdbirthday, my husband passed away
suddenly, the next morning, and,you know, obviously, that, you
know, we're talking about lossand grieving and, and that
(02:53):
obviously, was a big loss and atrauma for me at that time. And,
you know, of course, you you gothrough the motions of trying to
manage those emotions, trying todeal with the shock, you know,
go you returned to work, and youhave to do your job, and you go
through, you know, the motionsof dealing with that after the
(03:14):
fact. But honestly, after abouta year of going back to work, I
realized that I didn't reallyenjoy what I was doing anymore.
And I think because of thesudden loss of my husband, it
made me realize that there wereother things in life that I
really wanted to pursue, that Iwasn't getting a chance to do,
because I was working in thatjob. So, you know, I think that,
(03:35):
in that pursuit of findingsomething else, I decided to
leave the law firm life, andthen kind of almost find myself
again, for lack of a betterword, and then the pandemic hit.
And so I have actually left myjob in the middle of the first
year of the pandemic. And then,you know, after that, I had
(03:58):
nowhere to go, I was home alone,I had been meaning to travel,
you know, I was going to dothis, you know, Eat Pray Love
trip, and, you know, visitfriends go travel by myself. And
obviously, we were all sort ofstuck at home a bit scared to
kind of go out there and docertain things. And we were
prohibited to so it gave me theopportunity honestly, to focus
(04:19):
on things that I was ignoring,focus on eating better, moving
more, getting back to takingcare of myself in a more
thoughtful way. And in doingthat, I realized that I wanted
to pursue health coaching as anext career. So I use the
pandemic honestly as anopportunity to pivot and go back
to school, get my certification,and then I decided to launch a
(04:43):
business last year. Wow. So youknow it. It was a big
transition. Definitely a biglifestyle change compared to
what I used to do. You know, NewYork City Law Firm life is very
different than being anentrepreneur and a health coach.
So
Jason Connell (05:00):
I'm That's incredible. Wow. Well, first,
I'm sorry for your loss. I whenI read that and heard it and our
mutual friend who is mygirlfriend, Sophia introduced
us, and she told me a little bitand I was like, Oh my gosh, this
is just a story of a dog loss.
It's even greater than that. Andbut you use it as a transition,
I think. Wasn't it even the daybefore your 11th wedding
anniversary? Is that correct?
Michelle Las (05:23):
Yeah, yes. Yes, it was. I mean, it's so now the end
of July for me is very, it's ait's it can now I can now say
it's bittersweet. So it's my mybirthday. The day after is the
the day Patrick passed away. Andthen the day after that was, is
our, like our anniversary.
Jason Connell (05:42):
Wow. Well, and it's interesting how just the
pandemic changed things. I guessyou were in New York and you
left New York, I was in LosAngeles for nearly two decades.
It gave me a chance toreevaluate, you meet someone on
the other coast and your life'schanged. So there are some
silver linings out there for thepandemic definitely are. And in
sometimes, yeah, it's good totry out a different life. I
(06:03):
mean, you were throwing acomplete curveball, and you'll
never recover. But you'vepivoted and helping others is
just incredible. And during thistime, please go ahead.
Michelle Las (06:13):
Oh, no, no, I was just going to say I think
sometimes it takes something bigto kind of motivate you and
inspire you to make a changewhether you know whether or not
it's a big or small. You know,if that didn't happen to me, I
don't know if I might have stillbeen there. For all I know.
Jason Connell (06:30):
Yeah. Yeah.
Absolutely. So during this time,though, Kuhmo was in your life
because lived a great life asfar as numbers. Go, but maybe
talk about how Kuhmo thisbeautiful Yorkshire Terrier came
into your life. Let's go back tothat. Yeah, stage.
Michelle Las (06:46):
Yeah. So ironically, Kuhmo was gifted to
me by my late husband, thewithin the first year of us
dating, which is very funny,right? You don't expect someone
here's a dog to give you here'sa dog, right. And it's
interesting, because, you know,there's no there was no previous
conversation about it. We sortof just, and I was I'm a dog
(07:09):
person. So my family had a dogwho had passed away a few years
before. So you know, he knewthat. But giving someone a dog
as a present without previousconversation is a big deal. So
it was a Christmas gift. Thesecond Christmas, we were dating
but he had told me about it inOctober and that's sort of you
(07:30):
know, we in a few weeks after hetold me, we picked him up. So I
met Kuhmo when he was about youknow, we picked him up from a
breeder. He was about eight to10 weeks. So yeah, I had him
since then. And I mean, he'ssuch a very sweet dog. I think.
You know, sometimes people havethis impression of Yorkies they
are Oh they're so yappy. They'renot exactly they're very loud.
(07:53):
They're they're yappy, and hewas not your typical Yorkie was
very calm and very sweet. veryobedient, and he's just a quiet
sweet dog. So, and he had a longlife. I mean, he lived almost he
was just shy of his 70thbirthday, which is unbelievable
wild Yeah,
Jason Connell (08:12):
it's never enough though. It's never enough but
right for dogs it's a reallygood was like a cat cat like
Yeah, but I love the namebecause I owe you know when I
get have a dog and I've had toas an adult, Brody and Nico Nico
loss, but you know, you're gonnasay a name a million times. So a
better be fun and better becatchy, fun to say Kuhmo is
great. But was it? Is it shortfor anything, but I also looked
(08:34):
up it's a Japanese word, meaningboth cloud and Spider was was
that at play? Or?
Michelle Las (08:39):
No, you know, so it's funny. My, I'm Filipino.
My, my late husband was Chinese.
And we, you know, I was thinkingabout food. Is there a Filipino
food that I could name himafter? And we thought of these
different words and just nothingsounded right. Yeah. And I have
no idea where como came from.
And then we found out later thatKuhmo meant little cloud in
(08:59):
Japanese. So I'm like, Okay,well, that's great. You know,
like, that's his name, but forsome reason, it's stuck. And we
used it, but honestly, itdidn't. We tried to have
meaning. And you know,interspersed in his name, but it
just didn't work out. But it
Jason Connell (09:13):
was Kuhmo. You own it? Yeah, exactly. And it
was 13 pounds. Here it is,again, fresh from the groomers
right here so tiny. So this guycould travel not just in the
car. Do you take him onairplanes and things like that?
Michelle Las (09:25):
I did not know. i He was definitely a homebody.
You know, it's like one of thesethings when you have a dog,
right? They tell you all thethings that you're supposed to
do. Oh, sure. So crazy. Trainthem. You're supposed to
socialize them. He was not hewas definitely a homebody, he
wasn't socialized. So he wasdefinitely fearful of other
dogs. Okay. And we didn't takehim to travel and fortunately,
(09:48):
my parents lived nearby. So hespent a lot of time and actually
the grandparents, thegrandparents, right. So, there
was, you know, when when we hadmoved, they actually they My
parents retired, but when whenthey retired, we actually had
him stay with them for severalyears just because for us
schedule, the thought behind itwas, you know, they're always
(10:11):
home, they have a big backyard,and then we are gone, you know,
nine to 1011 hours of the dayit, it felt more fair, although,
you know, it's our dog we kindof, it's like you have the kids
and you dump them at the parent.
Jason Connell (10:23):
He's been there for a while. Yeah, we gotta get
him back. Right? Oh, that's goodto have though. He so he had the
best of both worlds. He had thebig yard and everything and
extra love. Well, back to yourpoint, I meant to say, I see
this in movies and commercialswhere it's like, Hey, here's a
dog. It's like our a pet. Youdon't just give someone that,
you know, it comes with a ton ofresponsibility. And I just
wanted to ask, were you livingtogether at that point in time?
(10:45):
Or did Patrick say, okay,
Michelle Las (10:48):
that's, that was the other ironic part of it,
right? Because at the time, wewere I, there was a time and I
think was my mid 20s. I wasliving with my parents, okay.
And I, at that time, when hegifted me the dog, and we had
started dating, I was livingwith my parents with this dog.
They're like, Oh, okay, youdon't just give it to the
everybody just don't give it tothe person. Everybody gets the
(11:09):
dog. So, you know, in, in that,you know, sort of like now that
became, you know, the familydog. But, you know, it's, it's
interesting, because even thoughthere's so much work that goes
into raising a puppy, I almostdon't remember that part.
Because all these years that youhave with your dog, you sort of
forget about that. It's likewhen you have a baby or like
sometimes I think I don't havechildren. But I imagine that
(11:32):
when you have children, youthink of all these things like,
oh, he had sleepless nights, youknow, all this stress. And then
to some extent, you're like, Oh,it was worth it. Or not?
Jason Connell (11:42):
Well, he lived almost be 17. So they grow up
fast. Six months, you know,seven months, eight months. And
so he was born just to be exacthere to be precise. October
25 2003. Awesome. And you gothim around the holidays,
Christmas time. 2003. So he'sjust still, I don't have photos
of that guy. But I'm sure Kuhmowas like tiny like a gremlin
(12:03):
like really little. And
Michelle Las (12:04):
yeah, I should have sent you some of those
pictures, because I feel likewhen you see Yorkie puppies
there, they almost all look thesame. Yeah, but they're, they're
really like a little furball.
You can fit them. I rememberhaving a picture of him. We put
them in a food scale, and youfit perfectly. So gosh, that's
Jason Connell (12:20):
so funny. Yeah.
And we'll get into the morestories, but he passed away July
6 20 2016 years old, eightmonths, 12 days, but it's never
enough. It's like I do anythingto have my dog. You know, he
lived half that time becausethings happen and they take
over. But you had an incrediblerun, and you change a lot. And
that almost 17 years, yourrelationship you were living
with your parents when Kuhmocame into your life. And it's
(12:43):
like, yeah, I
Michelle Las (12:45):
was single. And then I was married. And then I
was a widow, right? And
Jason Connell (12:49):
then you're transitioning, and then you're
in a pandemic. And then they'rejust, they're like, I moved
cross country a couple of times,with my two different adult dogs
at different times in my life.
It's like, you think back, it'slike, oh, my gosh, they were
with me during the I waschanged, you know, you're
changing and they're there.
They're like, the person you cancount on your co pilot. So I
just know how important theybecome in all facets of your
(13:10):
life.
Michelle Las (13:11):
Yeah, I mean, they are. So you know, I know, it's
hard to sometimes explain topeople who don't have dogs,
especially, because there's thisbond and this loyalty that you
can't even describe. And, youknow, they just, they are there
with you, they they love youunconditionally. They hang out
with you all the time, theyfollow you to the bathroom, they
follow you and they are waitingfor you when you get home and
(13:31):
they're always happy to see you.
There's no doubt about that. Soit is true. You know, they're
kind of went through throughthrough all those things. And
even though they don't speak,then they kind of know what's
going on.
Jason Connell (13:42):
They pick up on your tendencies like nobody's
business. And then if you're notaround them, maybe when Kuhmo
was at your parents or when hepassed away, you miss those
things like I'm gonna get up No,I'm not stepping over the dog
now. It's weird. You have tolike retrain yourself. We're so
conditioned to having themaround. Yeah. And so I was
asking you some we were justemailing but like, what were
(14:03):
some of his great tricks. Couldhe do the classics? Is that was
como good.
Michelle Las (14:08):
He was um, you know, it's funny, some of these
people and especially nowonline, they teach their dogs so
many different tricks. But, youknow, we start with the basics,
like the set, you know, like thedown the shake, you know, but he
didn't go crazy with the tricks,honestly. I mean, he was so
good. You just sort of almostdidn't know he was there. He
(14:29):
would just kind of walk, youknow, walk around the apartment,
walk around the house. Well,that was his domain Missy as you
get older.
Jason Connell (14:35):
Right. He's a homebody that's his place. He
got comfortable there is happy.
Michelle Las (14:40):
He was happy in his yard and his apartment and
his house. It was nice. And he
Jason Connell (14:45):
could roll over to it was he was a good at the
classic rollover.
Michelle Las (14:47):
He didn't do a rollover Yep, he did. Rollovers
actually have a dog now andhaven't gotten the rollover done
down yet. See?
Jason Connell (14:54):
Wow, I will talk about that. That's a question
that comes up a lot. As soon asI go through grief and losing a
dog people who like you He saiddon't know, like, they're not
dog people. That's the firstthing that asked me, Hey, when
you get a new dog and say, Man,I need some time, you know, it's
not just like replace a for B,you need time. It's a huge
responsibility. We travel infact, since I always have bigger
(15:15):
dogs road trips become he's partof the deal. So it's like, oh,
we're gonna, you know, we'regonna fly down to Florida. Well,
I'll just drive because asyou're either just bring him it
changes a lot of things in yourlife, you know? But which is all
worth it. It's all so very, veryworth it. So what were some more
traits that Kuhmo had, besidesbeing very comfortable at home
didn't overly socialize withdogs total homebody which cracks
(15:38):
me up to this guy run aroundruling the roost, but anything
else you said he never barked.
I've never met a YorkshireTerrier that didn't just wrap
its head off. At any noises.
Michelle Las (15:49):
It was so odd.
Because, you know, I think Iknew that part when we got him
like, Oh, your keys are, youknow, they're loud. They're
yappy. They bark at everything.
And, you know, honestly, unlessmaybe, I mean, not that he never
barked. But unless there waslike someone, you know, someone
at the door, but then he wouldalways be fine. They'd walk in
and, you know, he's fine. He'sover it. But nothing really
(16:11):
triggered him. You know, heactually, I have a five year old
nephew. And, you know, I feellike having a dog and a baby.
Watching that bond between thetwo, especially since he was
older is one of the sweetestthings. And he's still my, my
nephew still remembers him andstill kind of mourn him and sad
that he's gone because there wassuch a bond, he would help feed
(16:32):
him and very sweet just to kindof stick by a side you know, he
as a baby, I think they know,dogs know that. Okay, this is a
new person. I'm supposed to be alittle bit, you know, a little
bit protective, supposed to staygentle. Stay by their side.
Jason Connell (16:47):
Yeah. It's very endearing. You're absolutely
right. I love that. It reallyis. So then they had a bond. And
then well, your nephew also lostKuhmo. So that's its own thing.
You know, you're young and Idon't know how they dealt with
the loss. But I'm sure that youknow, it's tough for a kid to
even kind of rationalize we lostprobably don't even comprehend.
What were his Kuhmo? And I'msure thanks, tough. Yeah. How
(17:09):
did that go?
Michelle Las (17:11):
Um, you know what, it's, it's interesting, because,
you know, when it happened, hewas only three. Okay. You know,
and it's hard to explain to athree year old, what death is
like, you know, and when Kumarpassed away, it was early
morning as well. And, you know,I, I brought him over to say
goodbye to my to my brother, andI brought him his body to the
(17:33):
house. But I didn't, and theycame outside to the car to say
bye, but obviously, for a threeyear old, it's a little bit.
Yeah, you don't know, you don'tknow, you don't want to put that
on a three year olds plate. ButI think it's really just one of
these things you have to be, hewas very sad. Obviously, he
didn't and didn't understand whyhe wasn't coming back. But I
think later on his parent, mybrother and my sister in law
explained the you know, he died.
And unfortunately for this, mynephew, he has been exposed to
(17:57):
death. You know, my husband hadmy late husband had passed a
couple years before. I mean, hewas so young and didn't
remember, but he understandsthat someone who used to be here
is no longer here. So you know,in in that, you know, I think he
realizes that he's, he'ssomewhere better. He's not
coming back. But they still havethat bond. And I actually, I
(18:20):
have to find it. But I remember,several years ago, I had as a
gift to my late husband, I hadfound this site that makes and
you might, might be familiarwith it. It's a site that makes
replica like stuffed animals,but because of your dog, yes.
And I got one you did severalyears ago. And, you know, you
(18:41):
work with the designer, ifsomething's off. Like for
example, I had worked with thisperson. And I said, Oh, the eyes
are off. Can you tweak it alittle bit? And honestly, I
should send you a pictureseparately. They got it spot on.
And now I gave that littlestuffed animal to my nephew in
his bedroom on the shelf andit's the cutest thing. That's
(19:02):
amazing. And he calls him babyKuhmo
Jason Connell (19:06):
baby cool. Yeah, that's an incredible thing. I've
seen like other things like theymemorialize like a 3d kind of
thing now that they have outthere but that's great and great
for a kid at that to have youknow what a great way to honor
the memory. Also, you just saidhe was such an use all caps are
I like that such a good pup andhe just looks like yeah, you
(19:27):
know, and that's great. Itdidn't really like a pain. He
was always there. And then Iasked for a couple of stories
and I love this one that how heloved napping next to the both
of you, which was great. He washe was a Napper a cuddler. I'm
assuming 13 pound dog probablysleeps in your bed. I don't
know. I don't know how thatworks.
Michelle Las (19:44):
Yeah, he was a bed sleeper up until, you know, the
very like the last couple yearshe actually tore his fur like I
don't think dogs have ACLs but adog ACL he tore it. Honestly, a
month before my husband my latehusband had passed out My gosh.
And so, you know, dogs areresilient as you know this when
(20:06):
they get hurt and things happen.
Okay, they bounce back through.
Yeah, like they he went throughPT, hydro, it was actually, to
be honest, a good distractionfor me to kind of helping to
take care of him and helping himrehab after. And he you know, he
was actually he was able to runafter the fact. I mean,
obviously it took time, but Butyeah, he after that incident he
(20:29):
was sleeping by the foot of thebed on the floor. No more
jumping up and the bed. Yeah,I'm not. I'm not sleeping. I'm
not getting up there anymore.
Yeah.
Jason Connell (20:38):
Well, and you had mentioned he was relatively
healthy until minus the ACLtear. But until the last month,
right loves this great life.
He's nearing 17. But then whatdoes something started? What
rapid weight loss? Was that?
What it was or what you notice?
Yeah. So
Michelle Las (20:54):
you know, we he started having some bouts of
incontinence. So you know, like,he couldn't hold his urine. So
we got, there's not a picture,but we got one of those doggie
diapers, you notice that she washaving more accidents. So And
honestly, his demeanor was fine,his appetite was fine. It was
just having these accidents. Andthat was happening probably,
(21:14):
like several months before. Butyou know, the doctor, you know,
the vet said he was probably itsold age, it could have been a
pancreatic issue. But there wasnothing, there were no other
major symptoms to you know, youdon't want to necessarily just
go in and operate on a dog atthat age, if you don't have to,
right. So then, but startedrealizing a couple months, and
(21:35):
maybe my hopefully my memory isbetter than I'm giving it but a
couple of months. Towards theend, we notice he really started
losing weight quickly. And Ihave a picture actually that I
looked at him like, wow, I tookit from the top and his profile,
you know, you looked at thisthird profile, and it was very
thin. And then honestly, youknow, my, my, like I said, my
dog was living with my parentsfor a while. And I had spent the
(21:59):
weekend with family. And it wasthe middle of the summer. And we
had a great weekend. You know,he was in the kiddie pool with
my nephew probably hated it.
Because dogs eat water. Well,being some dogs. Yeah, some
dogs. True. Very true. Somedogs, like water, some dogs
hated it. But he was sittingthere. And then I got a call
from my dad. I think it was aMonday morning. And he said
(22:22):
Kuhmo come on died. Like he. Sobasically what he said is, you
know, as usual, you open theback door to let him out. And he
just sat and then he just laydown and that was it. And you
know, I think it was two yearsto the month that my husband had
passed away. So by the to yourdeath anniversary would have
(22:46):
been later that month. And tosome extent, I actually felt
okay with that. Like, obviouslyI was you know, I was really
sad. You know, it was It wassudden because it came out of
nowhere. Also, you know, we Youmean he was he was definitely
showing his age those lastcouple months. But just having,
you know, no signs of anythingelse. And just, you know,
(23:06):
passing away that morning. Ifeel like, to me, it was his way
of saying, Okay, I had my longlife. I'm done. I'm going to
join my dad, you know?
Jason Connell (23:18):
Yeah, you would share that. And I thought about
that. Like, it's hard. It'salways hard. Yeah. And it leads
to some knowing around twoyears. Yes. He's gonna go be
with Patrick, who will helpbring him into your life. So
yeah, it's very symbiotic. And abeautiful way to to look at
that. And it's interesting howhe passed away. My last dog
wanted to go outside. Wecouldn't find him. Sometimes
(23:40):
they just No, and they go offand they want to save you the
trouble because I was at thatpoint, like, he's deteriorating.
Do you make that call to youknow, to put him down, which
would bring extra guilt for me?
And he's he's like, No, I'mtapping out. I'm really not
good. And it's horrible. Butit's interesting that Kumo did
that to like, hey, yeah, this isthe best of me, and they go off,
you know, with dignity. And theysay goodbye. And it's, it's I'm
(24:03):
like, honored that dogs canthink that way. I know they are.
They're very intuitive. They'revery bright. They know us, and
they know themselves better thanwe even can fathom. So you saw
him last the day before? Is thatright? Is that?
Michelle Las (24:17):
Yeah, the day before I'm wild was looking when
before this podcast, I waslooking back at pictures and we
had a family day. My parents, mybrother, you know, his family at
his house. And it was, you know,like, beginning of July. So as
hot and humid as you know,northeast weather can be and
then have another picture. So Idefinitely saw him again that
(24:40):
weekend, either the next day orthe day after, and it happened.
So it's almost like he had histime with people. His family and
Jason Connell (24:48):
celebration.
Michelle Las (24:49):
I'm tired.
Jason Connell (24:50):
What was the July 4 celebration, I assume? Yeah.
Michelle Las (24:53):
I mean, it wasn't actually on July 4, but it was a
July 4, you know, weekend long,you guys. Yeah, we had a lot of
family time, right. So it'salmost like he waited Good to
see everyone and then I saw himright before. And you know,
honestly, I think it's hard formy parents, especially my dad,
my dad was sort of his I mean,I'm not gonna not gonna lie. I
think my dad was probably hisfavorite person towards the end
(25:14):
because they spent a lot ofquality time together. Yeah,
like he would watch Jeopardy onthe couch or by his feet, he
would feed him his like handfeed and his apples at nine
o'clock at night. So definitelya love dog. That's so
Jason Connell (25:27):
cute. So yeah, he really bonded with your parents.
Did they have another dog aswell? Was it just Kuhmo run in
the house when he was overthere?
Michelle Las (25:34):
Yeah, no, just them I think, you know, it's one
of those things when, you know,this was a little bit before my
brother had his children. Sothey had time just with
themselves and the dog and itwas the grandchild when was the
grandchild? Right, the first thefirst grandchild. And then when,
you know, my nephew, and nowniece came along, you know, my
parents started helping to takecare of them. So then the dog,
(25:57):
you know, Kumar get moreexposure to little kids, which
was nice, because sometimes, youknow, introducing dogs to
children isn't always theeasiest thing. And the
transition isn't always thebest.
Jason Connell (26:08):
Absolutely. Well, would you like to? You don't
have to don't feel any need. Butwould you like to say something
to Kuhmo here on this podcast?
Michelle Las (26:16):
Oh, yes. I mean, I didn't necessarily think about
something. But I just want himto know, I'm sure he does that
he was the best dog very loved.
I hope he's happy with his dad,because I just picture them kind
of hanging out. Yeah, hangingout in the backyard by the pool
he came was not in the pool, butjust hanging out in like, nice
weather all the time. Nothinghappening, honestly, to some
(26:37):
extent, I feel like they, theyknew what was going to what was
going on in the world right now.
And they said, You know what,I'm gonna go somewhere better.
Let's just get out of here.
Jason Connell (26:48):
That's a great God. And so time has passed,
your life continues to evolve.
And obviously, the memories likeI'm still waking up, I lost my
dog. You know, it was May of2022, may 11. And he left too
early, he'll still pretty fresh.
And I tell you, and I've lost anadult dog years prior. It's been
so long, though. But I'll dreamsometimes. And he's there very
(27:10):
vividly, I wake up. And so it'slike, well, those memories are
there. And now I live in a newplace a beautiful home a
different part of the country.
It's like, you can't help butthink, oh, he'd love it here.
He'd love these acres that wehave in the oceans right there.
And I'm still going through thatI'm still grieving that it
hasn't been long enough for meto think about next dog. But you
mentioned earlier, you do haveanother dog. So at some point in
(27:30):
time, it went right away, Iassume you are open to the idea
of having another dog in yourlife and maybe talk about that a
little bit.
Michelle Las (27:41):
Yeah, I mean, you know, it's, it's interesting,
right? Because I was married forI was with Patrick for almost,
you know, it was like 1516years. So, in we were married
for almost 11. So he wasobviously a big part of my adult
life. And Kuhmo was a big partof my adult life. And there's a
lot of love and memories there.
And, you know, interestinglyenough, during the beginning of
(28:04):
the pandemic, I ended up meetingsomeone. And you know, we before
this call, we were talking abouthow the pandemic had some silver
linings, I ended up meetingsomeone, we started dating,
we're still together, and thingsare going well, and you know,
you move forward in your life,thank you, you move forward in
your life. And it doesn't meanthat you forget about your past
(28:27):
or your memories, or you juststop talking about it. It's part
of you. And so, you know, it'sinteresting, too, because
Michael is the man I'm with nowmy partner, and he never got to
meet Kuhmo. But when we weretalking, it was when he died,
actually, when Kuhmo died, itwas around the time we started
talking. So it was and I hadsent him a picture of him with
(28:50):
his little doggie diaper and,and everything. Which is, you
know, and I said, I was like,Oh, I'd like you to meet him
someday. And, you know, now thatI think about it, I wonder if
it's like one of these like, youknow, it's almost like, okay, he
knew that there was like a newtransition or a new chapter in
my life coming along. Yeah, in away. And you know, something, I
(29:11):
like something I never reallythought of that way before. But
I think that in this newrelationship, you know, we are
open to different things. We hehad a dog prior to meeting me as
well. He's divorced, and he, Iguess, gave up the dog and when
he got divorced, and then youknow, he knew about and I said,
(29:32):
I said, Oh my gosh, like thatmust have been one of the
Jason Connell (29:36):
heartbreaking part. I know. That's even worse
than a breakup.
Michelle Las (29:45):
Oh, it made me sad because I you know, like to
think about how close we arebonded we are to our dogs. You
know, not that not to put any,you know, price tag or like
emphasis on like, a relationshipor a marriage ending but it's
it's different. Um, So then weknow we started dating. And now
obviously, it's more than twoyears later, last year, we had
(30:07):
been talking about a dog. And,you know, we said, well, maybe
we should just pull the trigger.
And, you know, we decided to geta dog together and we got the
dog about 10 weeks, 10 weeks oldor so. And now he's going to be
a year next next week, actually,
Jason Connell (30:22):
wow, what kind of dog?
Michelle Las (30:25):
No, it's a Doxon ah, and, and, you know, we we
did not do. Personally speaking,we said we both we both like
dogs. And honestly, ironically,my late husband grew up with a
Doxon. So it's interesting. But,you know, I never had a toxin.
Michael never had a toxin and wejust we'd like them and we were
(30:46):
throwing around breed ideas. Andwe were in for a surprise, you
know, you hear about all thestereotypical dachshund traits
Yeah, he has them. Yeah, he'sgot them all. He's stubborn. He
follows us very needy. Veryloyal, very sweet but really
only likes us and our dogwalker. Breeds he barks a lot
Jason Connell (31:08):
all breeds are different dogs have different
personalities tendencies. What'sthe dog's name? I just gotta
know. Just so Oh, his his nameis Otto Otto. Love it another
great name. Save a lot. Well, itlastly on on Michael's previous
dog. I also feel for the doglosing Michael like that bond is
that hurts. But I get it. Where
Michelle Las (31:28):
did he go?
Jason Connell (31:28):
Yeah. Where'd that guy go? Our lives. It's
interesting how parallel theyare. When Sophia, my partner
came into my life, I brought mygreat dog and to see that that
was like a deal breaker, arethey going to bond and I think I
hit it off. And they have theirown, like love for each other.
And it meant the world to me.
And then now we're at thateverything is a deal breaker. If
it's like I can handle that dog.
(31:51):
Well, that dog is not goinganywhere. Well, we're in our
infant stage of talking. But itwas magical. And then down the
road. At some point down theroad. I see another dog in our
lives. And we've even got like abook from the library. Like all
the breeds just trying to do onyour homework what you're
comfortable with, like probablylike what you guys did and right
on your Datsun. So yeah. Wow,that's wonderful. And maybe
(32:14):
there wouldn't be an auto ifthere wasn't a Kuhmo. Right?
Like, they kind of just comeinto your life change you rewire
you and now you know, the nextphase of your life.
Michelle Las (32:23):
Yeah, I mean, I definitely feel that you know,
the circumstances and sort ofsituations and experiences you
have shape you and change you.
Also just with loss and trauma,generally you either learn from
it and grow or you can let itkind of hold you back. And I
think it's a learning lesson.
And there's always room formore, right? There's always room
(32:45):
for more, you know, love morerelationships, more dogs,
whatever that may be?
Jason Connell (32:51):
Absolutely. Do you encounter this? You just
kind of hit me to ask you beinga life coach, do you run into
people that are dealing withthis specific thing? Losing a
dog?
Michelle Las (32:59):
Yeah, I mean, so with what I what I usually
manage. As a health coach, mymost of my clients actually are
women, mostly women, honestly,kind of further along in their
career, and they are at the topof their career, and they've
sort of ignored their health andjust wellness generally, in you
know, you kind of sometimes youknow, and you probably know
(33:21):
this, you sacrifice a lot ofthings to kind of get to the top
and where you want to be. Andsometimes even if when people
have children, you know, you'realways prioritizing other
people, your partner, yourcareer, your children, and then
you know, that's the time whenpeople feel like, okay, now is
the time for me, I need tostart, I want to feel better in
my own skin, I want to, youknow, start moving or eating
(33:44):
better. And all these habitslike stress less. All these
things, I think, especially witha pandemic led us to realize
that we need to focus on and Ithink we always knew that, but I
think there was more of anemphasis on it. The last few
years,
Jason Connell (33:57):
I actually checked out your website, I said
it earlier, do you want to goahead and plug it because some
of the foods you have on there?
So I was like, wow, there's alot going on here. It's
wonderful. So congratulations,but please,
Michelle Las (34:07):
thank you. Yeah, no, I think, you know, from
based on when Patrick passedaway, it really just woke me up
into thinking, you know, do Iwant to what do I want to do
with the next kind of half of mylife? Right? And, you know, I
think we make jokes about overgetting old, you know, I was in
my early my mid 40s. And that'snot all, you know, it's not,
(34:28):
there's so much more life tolive and, and I said if I don't
make a change now, and I don'tstart taking care of myself,
like what's going to happen andwhere I'm going to be. So I
think in focusing so much on myhealth and kind of taking care
of my mind and my body. I reallysaw what it could do how I could
feel and I also just wanted tostart helping other people. So
(34:49):
you know, Last Mile Health. Iuse my last name and health and
wellness is so important andit's in there two different
things. So I wanted to integratethat into the name. I think it's
really just helping people whoare focused on it and who are
who are motivated to finallychange and kind of start
focusing on themselves andfeeling better. I just want to
help them get there. Becausesometimes what happens is it's
(35:09):
very overwhelming. Oh, yeah. Tokind of say, oh my gosh, there's
so many areas of my life I wantto work on, I just don't know
where to start. And then theyjust throw their hands up and
just say, forget it. I'm justgoing to do what I, what I'm
doing.
Jason Connell (35:21):
I'm comfortable on this changes, correct? Yeah,
correct. Change
Michelle Las (35:24):
is tough. And it's really just habit, changing
habits, finding out in, youknow, using like, little steps,
and how do I do that? And how doI keep someone accountable? And
that's where I come along, Ikind of helped with education
and resources andaccountability.
Jason Connell (35:39):
And dogs help Michelle and this they help
something after they help peopleand people with dogs or pets in
general. live longer. It's acomfort. Yes. So
Michelle Las (35:49):
yeah, it's definitely there. I mean,
there's research behind that,you know, it's, it's part of
it's part of almost this idea ofjust community and relationships
and positive connections. Andthat's what pets give you, you
know, they give you thisunconditional love. And yeah,
you know, there's something tobe said about, like, oh, there's
less sleep in your bed. Anddoesn't that, you know, bother
you sleep. I said, Well, youknow, like, they make you happy.
(36:11):
You know, frustrated as hellsometimes but really heavy
Jason Connell (36:15):
and a lot of sacrifice. I don't know, I've
had 100 Plus pound dogs. So theysleep on the floor, but by the
bed. That's when I draw theline. But no, all the time,
energy training money doesn'tmatter. It made my life better.
It enriched my life. It'spriceless. So
Michelle Las (36:31):
honestly, I think that having a dog in my life
just made it so much more. Youknow, I want to say richer, but
that's such a broad word. Ithink you just the love you feel
for a dog or just a pet is justit's indescribable. Honestly,
like, and I think I've heardsome people say, you know, oh,
it's so painful because theydon't live long lives and you
(36:54):
lose them. It's so painful tolose them. I don't think I could
do that over and over again. AndI'm gonna say I said, I say I
would just because the qualitytime you have with them is so
much better while you have them.
So I mean, I would, you know, Ijoke around sometimes I'm like,
should we get another one justto keep them? Like, is it? But
then I'm like, I don't know.
(37:16):
Well, that drives me crazy. Buthonestly, I think dogs are one
of the best things God evercreated. Yes, not to get
religious but the universe evercreated. Absolutely. But I just
I think yeah, I just thinkthey're, you know, they're such
a great way to kind of make yourlife better. Yeah, even if you
have children. I think sometimesalso just watching I honestly
(37:37):
one of my favorite things iswatching babies and dogs grew up
together. I could watch thosevideos online all the time.
Jason Connell (37:45):
Yeah, they are so cute. And you said it great.
Yeah. And the members. I mean,coming on here. I want to thank
you, Michelle, for coming on andsharing Kumo story. The
Yorkshire Terrier, a beautifuldog forever has changed your
life and paved the way forwhat's to come. But thank you
again, Michelle, I greatlyappreciate you coming on and
sharing your story. It's noteasy to do. Hopefully you
(38:07):
enjoyed it as well. And others,you know, when they hear it and
see it. And any final wordsbefore I give a shout out to
guests to come on the show andour usual outro. Anything else
you want to add?
Michelle Las (38:19):
Yeah, no, I just wanted to say thank you. I mean,
I think it's interesting,because when I heard the topic
of the podcast, so that'sinteresting. I've never heard of
a podcast like that before. Butyou know, for people who, who
really appreciate dogs andunderstand and just go through
the loss and losses that theyhave, I think it's a it's a
great way to just put storiesout there because they do they
make you grow in different ways.
And I think it's just ablessing.
Jason Connell (38:43):
Thank you. What I launched just curious media dog
on popped in my head, and Istill had a dog. I had lost the
dog years prior. And I was like,you know what's funny, it's
almost like taboo to like, Hey,here's how I'm feeling. You
don't just overly share thosethings. Maybe you're close
enough. You're super tightcircle. I was like, it shouldn't
be that way. We should celebratethe lives of our dogs because
(39:04):
they're not just like,replaceable. Even if I get
another in my life. I'll neverreplace what I've had. So it's
like, I wanted to create a formand we're still figuring it out.
But I think it's alreadyworking. I'm able to talk to
people now. Oh, thank you again,Michelle. Thank you, and any
other guests that wants to comeon and share your story. Please
(39:25):
contact us we definitely needmore guests to keep the show
running. Thank you so much forlistening and please be sure to
subscribe to the dog on podcastand the dog on YouTube Live
Channel. You can also reallyhelp us by giving the show a
five star rating on Applepodcast. And for all your
listeners that enjoy sharingyour thoughts. You can leave us
a review on Apple podcast sendus a direct message or post a
(39:46):
comment on any dog on socialmedia platform. We also highly
recommend checking out our otherpodcasts and visiting just
curious media.com
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