October 18, 2023 • 39 mins
Don't miss this sweet story of love and rescue times three leading to a perfect Party of Four!
Check out the rescues Kelly worked with and show them some love!
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Episode Transcript
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Julie Jackson (00:00):
Hey. Hey, welcome to Happy Tales of Happy Tails,
(00:05):
the podcast where you'll hearstories of the way pups have
touched our hearts and ourlives. So for the next few
minutes, let everything else goand just listen and smile. I'm
your host, Julie Jackson.
Hi, friends and welcome back. Ihave always said that dog people
(00:25):
are some of the best people. Andthis week is a perfect example
of that. I'm joined today byKelly Reynolds. She heard about
the podcast through a mutualfriend, and was adventurous and
kind and generous enough tovolunteer her time and sit down
and chat with me. And I just hadsuch a wonderful conversation
(00:49):
with her it was so heartwarming,I love her stories of rescue and
fostering and just the thepatience and love she she has
invested in her pups to givethem the most amazing lives. It
just will make your day and I'mso glad you're here to listen
(01:10):
and I appreciate Kelly and soplease just sit back and enjoy.
Kelly (01:16):
So it needs a little one.
He's only like 11 pounds. Soit's so cute.
Julie Jackson (01:21):
Oh my gosh, they're
Kelly (01:22):
all rescues. Yeah, there's little Chonky. They're
all rescues.
Julie Jackson (01:29):
How sweet. Okay, so do you have any idea like
what they're kind of mixes of orwhat you do favor?
Kelly (01:37):
Yep, yep. So yeah, Tucker is a mountain picker. He was
rescued from a puppy mill in NewMexico, I think and he was
rescued out of there fromNational Mill Dog Rescue. And
then from there, he was broughtto Arizona Animal Welfare
League. And from there he wasadopted twice and brought back
(01:57):
twice before me. And and I methim at like 11 months old. So
that was like a whole ordealfrom it for him than his first
like bit of life. And Toby is ablue color cattle dog mix. Yeah.
And so he's he's quite thecharacter. He has quite a
character. And he has someGerman Shepherd and stuff in
them too. But he's mostly cattledog. And then chunky is a little
(02:20):
like terrier mix. He isChihuahua. Yorkie Doxon. Little
bit of miniature miniaturepoodle, like it just he's Yeah,
the cutest little thing.
Julie Jackson (02:32):
Oh, that's so fun. So are you on the ACD page?
Is that part of the catalogpage?
Kelly (02:39):
Oh, yeah. Yeah, that Phedre's on? Yes. Yes. Yes.
Yeah. Yeah, sorry. I have fur
Julie Jackson (02:43):
flying around.
Yeah. Well, we we lost ourlittlest little size wise, not
age wise heeler in November. Butbefore that, we had three
heelers. Oh, we Yes. And so
Kelly (03:00):
I that's how I met Phedre. Actually, that page. Me
too. Yeah. So Dr. What color areyours?
Julie Jackson (03:09):
Well, so one is definitely blue. And they're
littermates. They're different.
They're twins. And one isdefinitely blue. That's Eleanor.
Lilly next to Eleanor looks red.
But next to her red healer. Shelooks blue. If that makes sense.
She
Kelly (03:28):
has like that blue in that blue and black dress. Like
what color do you see right now?
Julie Jackson (03:33):
Yeah, exactly.
Exactly. So she has a lot ofbrown in her. So I think that's
kind of what makes her look alittle more red compared to that
because Eleanor is very black.
Got Oh, yeah. And then Roscoe.
Our little guy that we lost. Hewas he was also very blue. And
how old was Roscoe? He was hewas only nine. Yeah, it happened
really very suddenly. And wethink that maybe he had a brain
(03:57):
tumor. Because it just happenedreally fast. But he was such a
character. I mean, they're allespecially heelers.
Kelly (04:05):
Oh my gosh. It's the characters. Characters biggest
personalities.
Julie Jackson (04:10):
Yes. Yeah. We used to last because Roscoe is
small for a heeler and we packedso much personality in that tiny
little body.
Kelly (04:19):
Yes, they do. Again, Toby is big for a heeler. He's 65 ish
pounds. And so his like GermanShepherd is and that's why I got
him DNA tested. He has someGerman Shepherd in him and some
Australian Shepherd, but and hehas the hip problems of a German
Shepherd. So not the dysplasiabut just some like pretty good
arthritis going on at his age.
So but yeah, he's a he's a bigboy for for a heeler.
Julie Jackson (04:44):
He is well, Roscoe. Right when he was young,
he was a stray, and they had toamputate one of his hind legs.
And so he was a tripod, and Idon't know if I like this is
based On nothing scientific, butI almost wondered if that
somehow impacted his growth.
Because he didn't get over. Hemost of his life. He was at 29
(05:07):
pounds. Oh, wow. That's yeah, Imean, he was tiny. And I used to
teach him. I mean, he wastotally healer. Everything about
Yeah, but oh yeah, I used totease him because I was like,
Don't worry, buddy. If you hadif you still had that leg, you'd
be overthrown. You'd be tippingthe scales if you've heard that.
It would definitely add a poundor three. Yes, yes. So you're
(05:29):
good. You're good. But yeah, andthe girls are a lot more.
They're still low riders.
They're not like real tall, butthey're a lot thicker. And then
you'll probably see our twoyoungest or two year old Husky
Shepherd, Malamute wolf mixes.
Oh, hang on there. Yes. Andthey're very active. And so
(05:52):
there's a good chance you mightsay, big white tails fly by some
point.
Kelly (05:59):
Perfect. I love it. I love that. That's all you got.
Quite so you have for right now.
Julie Jackson (06:05):
Well, we have a little one. That okay. Yeah, I
have a daughter in college. Shelives here at home with us. And
so she has a little one that isa little terrier. terrier
gargoyle bat. We're not surewhat she does. She's. And she's
funny, because she's very muchmy daughter's and we joke that
(06:29):
she considers my daughter's roomher apartment. And when my
daughter's at work or school or,you know, stuffs going on, Molly
prefers to retreat to theapartment. And the apartment.
Yeah,
Kelly (06:41):
there you go.
Julie Jackson (06:42):
So it's not as
Kelly (06:43):
they're so loyal, are they? Oh, gosh, it's crazy.
Yeah, I love it a little bit.
Julie Jackson (06:49):
So how did you have you always been a dog
person?
Kelly (06:54):
Yeah, yeah, I've always been a dog person. So I grew up.
My dad was he bred labs andgolden retrievers. And so we
grew up just having puppiesaround all the time, and having
dogs around all the time. And itwas wonderful. And so not not
rescue dogs in the traditionalsense, but then kind of when I
(07:17):
moved out on my own, I knew thatI definitely wanted to do
rescue. And but yeah, I grew uparound around labs and Goldens
and Dalmatians as well. Butyeah, I have I've always had a
dog around, always, always. Andnow I have three and it's pure
chaos. So it's a
Julie Jackson (07:38):
lot of fun. But kind of it's funny, because it's
such chaos. But then it's like,I wouldn't have it any other
way.
Kelly (07:45):
Exactly, exactly. Yeah, I had the two big boys before
chunk and they're, you know,starting to slow down, they're
both about 10. And so the chaoswas subsiding a little bit. And
I also have chickens here too. Ihave about 20 chickens. And so I
you know, every year I would getmore chickens to compensate for
the chaos and I just realizedlike I thrive in this like chaos
(08:07):
busy. Lots of animals around meall the time. And then and then
when chunk, his when he wasborn, his mom rejected their
litter. And so I ended up bottlefeeding his litter from two days
old. With another foster wetraded on and off every like
(08:27):
four days so we could get somesleep. But we ended up I ended
up fostering his litter and thenended up adopting him and got
that puppy energy back in thehouse. And and it's just been
it's been so wonderful. Youknow, I think I you know, as
your dogs get older is you startyou kind of mature with them.
But then you when you are aroundpuppies, and you remember what
(08:50):
it's like to have a younger dogand it's just this infectious.
Amazing, like happiness.
Julie Jackson (08:58):
Yeah, it's just pure. It's so pure.
Kelly (09:00):
It really is. It really is. It's just amazing. And you
can't have a bad day aroundthem. And his his little butt
wiggles are just, he just getsto be so happy. And oh my gosh,
just you can't have a bad day.
You could just gonna have a badday with with, with puppies
around.
Julie Jackson (09:17):
So do you foster like with a group or anything?
Or just just fellow dog loversthat you?
Kelly (09:24):
Yeah. Yeah, so I was, um, I was volunteering with
cherryland Meat society up herein northern Michigan. And so I
was volunteering up there justdoing enrichment and things like
that with them. And then theysent out an email to all
volunteer saying that theyneeded a foster and just
something I never consideredfostering before, but it must
(09:45):
have just been, you know, whatwas meant to be? And I was like,
oh, yeah, that sounds like fun.
And so I ended up fosteringthrough them too. But yeah, I've
been volunteering with them fora while.
Julie Jackson (09:55):
Oh, that's fantastic. That's fantastic.
Yeah, and
Kelly (09:59):
both of the The big boys are from a rescue in Arizona.
And then Chonk is from his momis from a rescue the same rescue
up here the cherryland HumaneSociety. And his mom was part of
a hoarding case, which isabsolutely heartbreaking. They
rescued 164 dogs, oh, thispretty small, pretty small
(10:21):
place. And some of them werethree to four dogs per crate.
And there were some that wereoutside in the winter that
didn't have access to freshwater that wasn't frozen and it
was just an absolutelyabsolutely heartbreaking case.
And so his mom was part of thatrescue and and I'm just I'm so
(10:42):
grateful that he never knew thatyou know, he never knew that bad
That bad man he never knew thatbad situation and he just has
the best disposition and I youknow, even these even these dogs
that were rescued out of there,they're some of the most
resilient sweetest dogs thatyou've ever met and you would
(11:03):
you have no I mean, I mean I'vehad you know, I've had you know,
met different hoarding dogs youknow, different dogs from
different hoarding cases andthese these dogs are just so
special and so I think that'skind of what made me want to
foster his litter is justknowing how special that that
whole group of dogs were. Andbut yeah, he he's pretty
(11:23):
special. Thank you chewing andchewing on my blanket over
Julie Jackson (11:32):
because he knows he's talking
Kelly (11:34):
about me. You're distracted? I can get into
whatever I want.
Julie Jackson (11:40):
Nothing to see here mom. Yeah, exactly.
Kelly (11:43):
Exactly. Well, I
Julie Jackson (11:45):
thank you for fostering because that's such a
selfless just that's such aselfless act and I personally i
I've never fostered I would Ithink I would just keep them all
I know that so that's a really
Kelly (12:02):
yeah, this is my first time doing it actually. And so I
probably shouldn't do it again.
Because I think I think I wouldkeep another one but uh, I
thought you know, because I havethe two big boys I thought oh,
they're their Yorkie mixes theirmom was looked very very very
Yorkie and um and I said oh youknow they're they're Yorkie
mixes I'm in no danger ofwanting to adopt them. I don't
(12:24):
like little dogs, you know,anything like that. And but no,
I just absolutely fell in lovewith them and a whole litter to
they're just they're soadorable.
Julie Jackson (12:35):
Oh, that's so sweet. So, do you kind of know
where they went? Are you able tokeep up with any of them or no
Kelly (12:43):
litter? Yes. Yeah, we're actually all friends. All of us
that adopted them are allfriends. We just had their first
birthday party. They all gottogether all four of them. We
all got together for their firstbirthday party and invited some
people from the shelter. Andsome of our friends that had
been there kind of along theirjourney. And we had this big
(13:03):
birthday party for them lastweekend. It was so stinking
cute.
Julie Jackson (13:07):
I love that.
Hopefully you got lots ofpictures.
Kelly (13:10):
Oh my gosh, so many. So you have no idea how many
pictures?
Julie Jackson (13:14):
You okay? If you if you are if you're okay with
sharing some I would love foryou to share them because love
to be able to absolutely that'sso much fun. So when they
reunite do they recognize eachother?
Kelly (13:28):
Oh yes absolutely chunk is still like best friends with
his brother fit. So they gettogether like once a week him in
him in hit fits his mom and meare very good friends. And so we
get together we go to the parkor you know, to our houses, they
they play nonstop. And then whenthey get together with the girls
(13:48):
because there was two boys andtwo girls, when they get
together with the girls. Theyjust they play just like they
they they've known each othertheir whole lives, which they
have. They just yeah, they pickup right where they left off. We
probably see another one of thegirls probably once a month,
which is really nice. And thenthe other one lives on the other
side of town. But we gettogether for the big stuff like
(14:09):
this, like the first birthdayparties and stuff and they get
along so well.
Julie Jackson (14:13):
That's amazing.
Okay, so did the big boys go tothe party too? Or do they stay
back?
Kelly (14:19):
The big boys stay back at home they're a little grouchy in
their old age. Especially withall the puppy energy. They're
just especially the healer, youknow, they gets very particular
Toby He is Mr. Boundaries hedoesn't like dogs jumping up on
him. He has give me thispersonal face all of that and so
(14:42):
so yeah, the big boys stayed athome for that but they when
chunks brother when bits is overthey love Fitz Mel do they hang
out with Fitz all the time theylove that but a whole party with
with a lot of puppies just notthey're not their gig.
Julie Jackson (14:58):
I could see that art Are our healer girls. There?
They will be 13 in October.
Yeah. And you know, so yes. AndEleanor. We joke that we call
her the office manager. She'sthe one that like established.
She's the one that enforces theboundary ups and Lily Hobi I'm
sorry, go ahead. Oh, no, you goahead. Go ahead.
Kelly (15:20):
I was gonna say Toby is black and white. He's a, you
know, Blue Heeler. He's blackand white and I he barks at them
when they're playing all thetime. So Toby, it's a good thing
that you're black and white,because you already have your
referee jersey.
Julie Jackson (15:34):
I should use that with Eleanor because she's our
black. Exactly right. Like youalready dressed for the job.
Yes, you came in uniform. Inever even thought of that.
That's perfect. Because she willshe will. So Lily her sister is
completely blind now. And alwayshappy always smiling. You know,
(15:55):
you talked about resilience andhow they just amaze me. But it's
funny, because Eleanor is justalways super serious. And I
don't know if you've everwatched the cartoon Phineas and
Ferb. I haven't No. Oh, okay.
It, there's a character inthere. That's Perry the
Platypus. And he has a littlebit of a lazy eye. And he's
always super serious. And that'sher like she has and is always
(16:17):
super serious. And every now andthen she'll bust out a big
smile. But we laugh because withthe two we call the the Husky
mixes the flu Fs. And of course,you know, they're rambunctious
and it's funny because they'llget going and she'll just be
there and then all of a suddenwhen she's had enough, she shuts
it down.
Kelly (16:37):
Yeah, really? Yeah. It's the referee. Taylor. Yes. Yep.
It's a good thing. You'rewearing black and white.
Julie Jackson (16:44):
I love that. I'm gonna I'm gonna start using that
with
Kelly (16:49):
these heelers are so funny. I swear.
Julie Jackson (16:51):
My goodness. Now it was Was he your first heeler?
Kelly (16:55):
Yes. Yes. My first heeler. And I so I had Tucker
first. And then I went to therescue, looking for a smaller
girl dog for Tucker to befriends with right. And. And
somebody told me about Toby, hisname was Rory at the time in the
(17:15):
rescue. And somebody told meabout them. And I had these
girls picked out that I reallywanted to meet. And they just
didn't end up working out in themeet and greets. And I said, you
know, somebody told me aboutRory, let me see Rory, and he
comes down, you know, into theend of the kennel. And he just
absolutely he picked Tucker tobe his brother. And he was just
like, you're my brother now.
Okay, you have to be my mom.
(17:36):
Okay, that's fine. You can be mymom. But this is my brother.
And, you know, there was nolooking back. He just he
absolutely fit in. And I had todo so much research on heelers
and figure out how to, you know,deal with their energy, you
know, to stimulate them, youknow, and get their energy out.
But also when they have lowenergy, like the biggest
(18:00):
challenge, I mean, I can get hisenergy out just fine. But the
biggest challenge with him hasbeen when he needs to take a
nap. He's like a toddler. Andyou know, every afternoon he
gets cranky, and it's like, Ihave to put him down for his
nap. And if I don't put him downfor his nap, he starts getting
cranky. He starts nipping atpeople he starts Do you know do
and heeler things. It's like youjust need to lay down for a
(18:23):
little while and take a nap andso it's a managing the highs and
the lows, which I never thoughtwas the thing with dogs but
managing all of the energy withhealers has been has been a
challenge. I don't think I canimagine myself now though
without a heeler. Toby isgetting older and I think even
(18:44):
you know after you know Toby, Ijust can't imagine my life
without that. That energyaround. They're just so special.
They're so unique. They'rethey're so amazing. I absolutely
fell in love with the breed withToby.
Julie Jackson (19:00):
I love that you say that because another dear
friend of mine is she's the onewho introduced me to the page
the cattle dog page and she'llevery now and then she'll text
me and she'll say something likeOh, oh hey buddy
Kelly (19:14):
there's a there is
Julie Jackson (19:17):
I see your Bentley I see your family Oh
Kelly (19:31):
you think you are good boy, thank you. Thank you for
saying hi buddy.
Julie Jackson (19:37):
She'll text and she'll be like, oh, there's
someone on the page that saysthey're new to the breed any
tips? Oh, okay, cool your seatbelts Yeah. But they are I mean
it then once you experience it,they're not for the faint of
heart like you know they willtry you but then what man once
(19:58):
you once you have been rescuedby a heeler.
Kelly (20:02):
Yes, I always say Toby is has been, by far in my entire
life. My biggest challenge, butmy biggest reward, and he I
think he was abused before me.
He has. He is absolutelyterrified of feet, and of
baseball bats. And it is justabsolutely tariff, it is
(20:28):
absolutely heartbreaking. He isso terrified of them. And you
know, to be his person and to bethe only person who will fall
asleep next to to be the youknow, the person he the only
person he trusts to build thattrust to learn and grow with
that dog. And to help them buildthat trust has been like, has
(20:50):
been absolutely my biggestreward in life. My biggest
challenge. Absolutely, but mybiggest reward Absolutely.
Julie Jackson (20:58):
Oh, that's so sweet.
Kelly (21:01):
He's a special way.
Julie Jackson (21:02):
Yeah, they really are. I said,
Kelly (21:06):
No, they're not for the faint of heart. Yeah, you kind
Julie Jackson (21:09):
of and I really didn't know what I was getting
into. But I've always been a dogperson. And fortunately, I've at
least when it comes to dogs havealways been able to kind of like
we expect our dogs to havemanners. So I don't want to make
it sound like I let them runamok, but like if they tear
something up, I can see that I'mnot my dogs bring me joy. My
(21:31):
stuff doesn't. So while I don'twant them destroying anything,
like if they tear something up,I've always been where I can
kind of look back and go, Okay,well, I didn't really need that
then you know, versus like itreally wearing on me or
something. So I didn't reallyknow exactly what I was getting
into with the healers. But Isaid I got a little easier when
(21:52):
I finally came to terms with thefact that I probably wasn't the
smartest person in the houseanymore.
Kelly (22:00):
Yes, 1,000%. Yes, Toby outsmarts. me every single day.
It is absurd. It's absurd. It'scrazy. Yes. Oh, I know. You got
a lot to say, huh? Yes, heoutsmarts me every single day.
They are so smart. It's crazy.
Yeah.
Julie Jackson (22:18):
And just so intuitive. How they Yeah, it's
amazing. They really are. Imean, I love all dogs and they
all have their gifts and evenwithin breeds or whatever. It's
crazy how different you know,they're different personalities
and you see the different rolesthey play, I guess in your world
(22:40):
that
Kelly (22:40):
really? Yeah. Are yours talkative. You're healers
because I call him talkie Toby.
He is just, he is mouthy andvocal and he you can tell
exactly what he's thinking atany given point of time.
Julie Jackson (22:54):
Well, so Lilly and Eleanor are not really
there. They're not very butRoscoe was Roscoe was a lot more
a lot more vocal. And he we hadto disable the glass break
detector on our home securitysystem. Because when going it
(23:15):
was just the right whatever theright wavelength or APS to
trigger it. And so, but welaughed because once we got
Chuck and Barney are the Huskymixes the flute, okay, and what
and of course, Huskies they'revery
Kelly (23:32):
Oh, yes,
Julie Jackson (23:33):
they have a lot to say. And we would laugh
because almost every day, Roscoewould get them fired up singing
the song of their people. And sowe started laughing that we were
like you think you're the littleyou think you're the tiniest
Husky now like he was so excitedto have I guess brothers that
(23:54):
would talk with him. And hewould whip them up into a frenzy
and I'd have to go in and then Ihave a really funny video clip
where they're all in our bedroomand I hear him get them going
and I could never get him onvideo because as soon as they
see the phone come out they'reall like so I'm walking through
(24:14):
the house to catch it and youcan hear them all over the house
and just as like oh there it'sall junk.
Kelly (24:21):
No yeah there's little Chonk
Julie Jackson (24:25):
as I get right outside the bedroom door where
they are you hear Roscoe givelike a warning bark.
Kelly (24:31):
She's gonna make
Julie Jackson (24:32):
Yes, exactly what happened. And they all
immediately get quiet. Oh, myGod is around the corner. All
three of them are just lookingat me. Like what what you know,
and they all have like, youknow, areas just the big, you
know, and they're kind of movinglike, hey, what do you do? What
Yeah, I have nothing to say.
Yeah, exactly. So yeah, Lillyand Eleanor. Eleanor will talk
(24:53):
when she needs to shut everybodydown when everyone needs to
settle down. Oh, yes, yep. AndLilly, I have actually noticed,
since she has completely lostall of her vision. She is more
verbal. And I think what it is,is when she's not sure, like
who's still in the room with me,or what's happening, if she
(25:17):
feels a little uncertain, thensometimes she'll just stand in
the room and bark. And I thinkit's just so that we are like,
It's okay. We're right here. Andyeah.
Kelly (25:30):
So yeah, she gets a response and notices around
Julie Jackson (25:32):
yeah, yes. So I think that's so once again, it's
very simple, right? Is she isyeah, just very intentional. But
we're Roscoe would just do itjust because he had something to
say. Sure.
Kelly (25:45):
Yeah. Same with Toby.
Same with Toby. He's the exactsame way.
Julie Jackson (25:50):
Yeah, just okay.
So are any of the others or dothey just let him do all the
talking?
Kelly (25:56):
They pretty much let him do the talking chunk. is pretty
yappy because he has thatChihuahua in him. But he'll you
know he'll see something blowoutside, you know, leaf blow
outside or someone you know,drive past that he doesn't like
and he'll start yapping but andit's so funny because I'll open
the back door. Let him go outback. You know, go potty and
(26:17):
he'll just go out. And there'snothing out there. He just needs
to like flex his golden pipes.
That's what I tell him like, hedislikes your pipes. All right.
There's nothing out there thathe's not looking. And he'll just
run around the entire perimeterlike just barking not looking at
anything in particular orbarking. You just needed to go
out and bark. It's like alright.
(26:38):
I'm sorry, neighbors. But thisis what this is our life now.
This is what we do. This is ourYep, this is life with a park
Chihuahua. So and then Tucker.
He's my oldest he's in this.
He's my heart. This Tucker is myheart. And we talked a whole lot
about him just because he's sohe's so just like strong and
(27:00):
steady and perfect. But hedoesn't bark a whole lot unless,
unless he's playing with alittle boy and him and him and
John Kim and the littlest oneare best friends. Which is just
so wonderful to see becauseTucker's Tucker turned 10 in
January. And just so to see himgetting older and see his energy
(27:21):
come out with the puppy and hisprotectiveness, too. And then
cuddling and all that. It's justlike it absolutely warms my
heart.
Julie Jackson (27:30):
It's It's so amazing to see those dynamics.
So how did you how did you andTucker come to be? How did you
Kelly (27:37):
find that? I knew I wanted to rescue dog. It was
just it was just me. I wassingle and on my own as an adult
for the first time. And I knew Ineeded a dog. And so I went to
an Arizona Animal WelfareLeague. And I was like, Okay,
I'm going to see all these dogsand you know, meet all these
(27:58):
dogs. And he literally was thefirst dog in the first kennel.
As soon as I walked in, and Isaw him and he looks so much
like my friend's dog that Iabsolutely liked. absolutely
adored. I loved him. brindle,beautiful, big. And I was just
(28:20):
like, Okay, I'll meet him. Andit was there was just something
I didn't know it was it was sofunny, because it wasn't
necessarily like, we instantlyformed this bond or any it
wasn't anything like that. Itwas just like, okay, he seems
like a great dog. You know,like, yeah, okay, okay, I'll
take him you know, he seemsgreat. And we just formed this
connection from there. That wascrazy. And he's, he's absolutely
(28:45):
my entire heart. This dog he, heyou know, you hear that term
heart dog and you know, you loveall of your dogs. Obviously love
them all. And there's justsomething in your soul that
connects there's something in mysoul that connects with his
soul. And you know, I wastalking to a friend earlier
(29:06):
about you know, hiking with dogsand he, he you know, is in tune
with me in a way that none of myother dogs ever have been if I'm
nervous on a steep you know,incline or decline. He senses
that and slows down and he's soin tune and he's watching my
footsteps and he's, you know, heand I would absolutely 1,000%
(29:28):
and trust him with my life. Andhe is just he's always next to
me. He is always he's just he's,we're completely inseparable and
I'm going to be absolutelydestroyed when it says time to
go. But he has completelychanged my life and completely
(29:49):
changed who I am as a person andtaught me so much about love and
compassion and patience. He hasreally severe separation
anxiety. I'm so You know, Ispent 1000s of dollars trying to
train him to be in a crate or,you know, use essential oils for
him to try to calm him down orthunder shirts or whatever,
(30:11):
whatever, you know all thethings that you can do for
separation anxiety, but it wasjust true. True. One 100%
Extreme separation anxiety andless than a year after I adopted
him, I ended up working fromhome and I've been working
remotely ever since. So it'sbeen it's been really perfect
(30:32):
for him. And for me, too. Andthere's extreme there's an
extreme amount of codependencegoing on Yeah, he's just he's my
strong silence daddy. CalmPerfect, perfect. Boy. There's
no other way to describe him.
He's just perfect.
Julie Jackson (30:53):
That's beautiful.
Beautiful. I mean, it's funnywhen you say that like the
codependence and everything andI repeat myself. I've said this
with other people too. But likewith my daughter, I want to
raise her to be a productivecontributing member of society.
And I want her to go out intothe world and work to make it
(31:14):
better than it was before shegot there. I'm not raising my
dogs to do that. I mean, my dogsneed to have manners. But if my
dog if if a dog needs to becodependent, it's fine for them
to be codependent. They're notgoing to move out at some point
(31:35):
need
Kelly (31:37):
to bring your own.
Exactly. Exactly. You know,
Julie Jackson (31:41):
obviously not destructive. Obviously, manners
and and and you know, notaggressive or I don't mean that
anything's you know, fair game,but I always laugh because I'm
like, okay, so. So what if theydon't like that or so? What if,
okay, what if they want to sleepin the bed with me? i Okay. I'm
(32:03):
not gonna send that like
Kelly (32:04):
sometime they're gonna get married and they're gonna
have to like learn how to sleepwithout you like sleeping for
the rest of their life. It'sfine.
Julie Jackson (32:12):
Yeah, it's not like one day I'm gonna be like,
Okay, it's time for you to moveout now. So Exactly, yeah. So I
don't think you know, I don'tthink that's a bad I don't think
what the dog is really IS code.
codependence is
Kelly (32:25):
fully embrace that codependence. Yeah.
Julie Jackson (32:29):
Because a bad thing you know?
Kelly (32:31):
Yes, absolutely. I agree.
I agree. Yep. They're prettyspecial.
Julie Jackson (32:36):
So do any of them. Do you have any stories
with them where they have donestuff where you're just like,
like with healers, you know, alot of times there's just
shenanigans. Yeah. Do they everpull that stuff on? You are
mostly they pretty predictable.
Kelly (32:54):
I would say for the most part, they're pretty
predictable. I am a very routineoriented type a person and you
know, for the most part we theyare too they follow their
routines. And Toby he doesthough he does outsmart me. And
there's been times you know,he's a drama queen. You know, he
(33:15):
thinks, you know, he stubbed histoe and he just he feels like
he's dying. You know, and he'soh my gosh, I look at my palm
gonna die. And, you know, I goto, you know, get a bag of
treats or something to calm himdown. He runs right over to me,
you know, and it's like yourpaws fine, dude, you know? So
(33:36):
he, you know, he does that sortof stuff all the time. He when
we first moved up here toMichigan, because like I said,
we're we lived in Arizona for along time. That's where they're
from. When we first moved uphere in Michigan, he got
porcupines and so he got themouthful of quills and all of
that so he that was a lot of funand a lot of money later but so
(34:02):
he's just been constantly theone to you know, give me a run
for my money out try to arts tryto outsmart me try to, you know,
get attention in any waypossible. You know, Tucker, like
I said, He's the absoluteperfect one. And so it's funny
when he does something wrong,and I yell at him like Tucker,
you can't do that. You know, helooks at me like, What just
(34:25):
happened? Are you yelling at me?
Like, that never happens. That'sweird. You know, so he's, he's
pretty funny. But for the mostpart, I think, you know, I was
thinking about that earlier.
They are pretty. They are prettypredictable and routine
oriented. Having the puppyaround has been you know,
definitely a change and awelcome change and he's just
(34:47):
hilarious. He is just so like,He's so kind and compassionate
and loving and and fun. andenergetic and all of the best
parts of my dogs. Yeah, of bothof the big boys combined, you
know, and he brings out the bestin them and brings out the best
(35:10):
in me. And, you know, I alwayslike to say, you know, the four
of us, you know, it was beforeit was the three of us, but the
four of us now, you know, we'renot perfect, none of us are
perfect, right? And they havetheir issues, you know, they're
not extremely dog friendly, youknow, with other big dogs,
things like that. We all haveour issues. We're not perfect,
but, you know, the four of uswere really perfect together.
(35:32):
You know, there were justabsolutely perfect together,
couldn't ask for a better,better companions to get through
this life with and it's just me,you know, I'm single, and I
don't have kids. And it's justme and I couldn't ask for better
companions to live the life livethis life with their absolutely
perfect.
Julie Jackson (35:52):
Kelly, that is so beautiful. Thank you so much for
sharing. I just I reallyappreciate you being here. It's
been such a pleasure to meetyou.
Kelly (36:00):
Yes, absolutely. I've loved chatting with you and
sharing healer tales.
Julie Jackson (36:05):
Yes. Yes. Which not everyone can understand.
Kelly (36:12):
Definitely not. No, but they are. They are a wonderful
breed. And I've enjoyed talkingto you about them.
Julie Jackson (36:19):
Yes. Well, if you ever I mean ever want to share
anything again. Message me, youknow where to find me now.
Kelly (36:27):
Together. You know, there were just absolutely perfect
together, couldn't ask for abetter, better companions to get
through this life with and it'sjust me, you know, I'm single
and I don't have kids. And it'sjust me and I couldn't ask for
better companions to live thelife live this life with are
absolutely perfect.
Julie Jackson (36:46):
Oh, Kelly, that is so beautiful. Thank you so
much for sharing. I just Ireally appreciate you being
here. It's been such a pleasureto meet you.
Kelly (36:55):
Yes, absolutely. I've loved chatting with you and
sharing heeler tales.
Julie Jackson (37:01):
Yes, yes. which not everyone can understand.
Kelly (37:07):
Definitely not no, but they are they are wonderful
breed. And I've enjoyed talkingto you about them.
Julie Jackson (37:15):
Yes. Well, if you ever I mean ever want to share
anything again, message me, youknow where to find me now. Thank
you so much for joining metoday. I know that you are busy.
And I really appreciate that youchose to spend some of your time
with me. So let's do a littlebit of bookkeeping before we
head out. If you enjoy this andyou would like to receive the
(37:38):
episodes automatically withouthaving to seek them out, then in
your pod catcher, follow orsubscribe. And that way every
time an episode drops, it'llshow up for you. And you'll know
that it's there makes it supereasy. You don't have to think
about it. Please go visit thewebsite. It's really cute. It's
got puppy pictures. Also, I'vegot a free gift for you over
(37:58):
there if you will go check itout. And if you would like to
message me if you have anysuggestions specific pup stories
you want to hear. Or evenbetter. If you want to share a
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the best way to get to me forthat. Check us out on all the
different socials, Facebook,Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn,
(38:21):
all of them. That's where you'llsee pictures of the pups that we
talk about each week. Also, justother fun pup things. I'm going
to put episodes on YouTube aswell. Sometimes the episodes are
recorded via zoom. And sothere's video, a lot of times
it's just us talking, but everynow and then there are some fun
cameos from puppies or theirshenanigans in the background.
(38:44):
And you can catch all that onYouTube. If you want to help me
out if you would leave apositive review and share the
podcast that would be fantastic.
I would be really grateful. Andonce again, if you want to help
me out, I would love to shareyour story. So please hit me up
and let's schedule the time thatwe can talk. Some people have
shared their stories in writing.
(39:06):
Some people have gotten on thephone and done a chat with me so
we can do whatever you are mostcomfortable with. Finally, do
not forget that you are as greatas your dog thinks you are and
go smooth chipping. Thanks,y'all.
Hey. Hey, welcome to Happy Tales of Happy Tails,
(00:05):
the podcast where you'll hearstories of the way pups have
touched our hearts and ourlives. So for the next few
minutes, let everything else goand just listen and smile. I'm
your host, Julie Jackson.
Hi, friends and welcome back. Ihave always said that dog people
(00:25):
are some of the best people. Andthis week is a perfect example
of that. I'm joined today byKelly Reynolds. She heard about
the podcast through a mutualfriend, and was adventurous and
kind and generous enough tovolunteer her time and sit down
and chat with me. And I just hadsuch a wonderful conversation
(00:49):
with her it was so heartwarming,I love her stories of rescue and
fostering and just the thepatience and love she she has
invested in her pups to givethem the most amazing lives. It
just will make your day and I'mso glad you're here to listen
(01:10):
and I appreciate Kelly and soplease just sit back and enjoy.
Kelly (01:16):
So it needs a little one.
He's only like 11 pounds. Soit's so cute.
Julie Jackson (01:21):
Oh my gosh, they're
Kelly (01:22):
all rescues. Yeah, there's little Chonky. They're
all rescues.
Julie Jackson (01:29):
How sweet. Okay, so do you have any idea like
what they're kind of mixes of orwhat you do favor?
Kelly (01:37):
Yep, yep. So yeah, Tucker is a mountain picker. He was
rescued from a puppy mill in NewMexico, I think and he was
rescued out of there fromNational Mill Dog Rescue. And
then from there, he was broughtto Arizona Animal Welfare
League. And from there he wasadopted twice and brought back
(01:57):
twice before me. And and I methim at like 11 months old. So
that was like a whole ordealfrom it for him than his first
like bit of life. And Toby is ablue color cattle dog mix. Yeah.
And so he's he's quite thecharacter. He has quite a
character. And he has someGerman Shepherd and stuff in
them too. But he's mostly cattledog. And then chunky is a little
(02:20):
like terrier mix. He isChihuahua. Yorkie Doxon. Little
bit of miniature miniaturepoodle, like it just he's Yeah,
the cutest little thing.
Julie Jackson (02:32):
Oh, that's so fun. So are you on the ACD page?
Is that part of the catalogpage?
Kelly (02:39):
Oh, yeah. Yeah, that Phedre's on? Yes. Yes. Yes.
Yeah. Yeah, sorry. I have fur
Julie Jackson (02:43):
flying around.
Yeah. Well, we we lost ourlittlest little size wise, not
age wise heeler in November. Butbefore that, we had three
heelers. Oh, we Yes. And so
Kelly (03:00):
I that's how I met Phedre. Actually, that page. Me
too. Yeah. So Dr. What color areyours?
Julie Jackson (03:09):
Well, so one is definitely blue. And they're
littermates. They're different.
They're twins. And one isdefinitely blue. That's Eleanor.
Lilly next to Eleanor looks red.
But next to her red healer. Shelooks blue. If that makes sense.
She
Kelly (03:28):
has like that blue in that blue and black dress. Like
what color do you see right now?
Julie Jackson (03:33):
Yeah, exactly.
Exactly. So she has a lot ofbrown in her. So I think that's
kind of what makes her look alittle more red compared to that
because Eleanor is very black.
Got Oh, yeah. And then Roscoe.
Our little guy that we lost. Hewas he was also very blue. And
how old was Roscoe? He was hewas only nine. Yeah, it happened
really very suddenly. And wethink that maybe he had a brain
(03:57):
tumor. Because it just happenedreally fast. But he was such a
character. I mean, they're allespecially heelers.
Kelly (04:05):
Oh my gosh. It's the characters. Characters biggest
personalities.
Julie Jackson (04:10):
Yes. Yeah. We used to last because Roscoe is
small for a heeler and we packedso much personality in that tiny
little body.
Kelly (04:19):
Yes, they do. Again, Toby is big for a heeler. He's 65 ish
pounds. And so his like GermanShepherd is and that's why I got
him DNA tested. He has someGerman Shepherd in him and some
Australian Shepherd, but and hehas the hip problems of a German
Shepherd. So not the dysplasiabut just some like pretty good
arthritis going on at his age.
So but yeah, he's a he's a bigboy for for a heeler.
Julie Jackson (04:44):
He is well, Roscoe. Right when he was young,
he was a stray, and they had toamputate one of his hind legs.
And so he was a tripod, and Idon't know if I like this is
based On nothing scientific, butI almost wondered if that
somehow impacted his growth.
Because he didn't get over. Hemost of his life. He was at 29
(05:07):
pounds. Oh, wow. That's yeah, Imean, he was tiny. And I used to
teach him. I mean, he wastotally healer. Everything about
Yeah, but oh yeah, I used totease him because I was like,
Don't worry, buddy. If you hadif you still had that leg, you'd
be overthrown. You'd be tippingthe scales if you've heard that.
It would definitely add a poundor three. Yes, yes. So you're
(05:29):
good. You're good. But yeah, andthe girls are a lot more.
They're still low riders.
They're not like real tall, butthey're a lot thicker. And then
you'll probably see our twoyoungest or two year old Husky
Shepherd, Malamute wolf mixes.
Oh, hang on there. Yes. Andthey're very active. And so
(05:52):
there's a good chance you mightsay, big white tails fly by some
point.
Kelly (05:59):
Perfect. I love it. I love that. That's all you got.
Quite so you have for right now.
Julie Jackson (06:05):
Well, we have a little one. That okay. Yeah, I
have a daughter in college. Shelives here at home with us. And
so she has a little one that isa little terrier. terrier
gargoyle bat. We're not surewhat she does. She's. And she's
funny, because she's very muchmy daughter's and we joke that
(06:29):
she considers my daughter's roomher apartment. And when my
daughter's at work or school or,you know, stuffs going on, Molly
prefers to retreat to theapartment. And the apartment.
Yeah,
Kelly (06:41):
there you go.
Julie Jackson (06:42):
So it's not as
Kelly (06:43):
they're so loyal, are they? Oh, gosh, it's crazy.
Yeah, I love it a little bit.
Julie Jackson (06:49):
So how did you have you always been a dog
person?
Kelly (06:54):
Yeah, yeah, I've always been a dog person. So I grew up.
My dad was he bred labs andgolden retrievers. And so we
grew up just having puppiesaround all the time, and having
dogs around all the time. And itwas wonderful. And so not not
rescue dogs in the traditionalsense, but then kind of when I
(07:17):
moved out on my own, I knew thatI definitely wanted to do
rescue. And but yeah, I grew uparound around labs and Goldens
and Dalmatians as well. Butyeah, I have I've always had a
dog around, always, always. Andnow I have three and it's pure
chaos. So it's a
Julie Jackson (07:38):
lot of fun. But kind of it's funny, because it's
such chaos. But then it's like,I wouldn't have it any other
way.
Kelly (07:45):
Exactly, exactly. Yeah, I had the two big boys before
chunk and they're, you know,starting to slow down, they're
both about 10. And so the chaoswas subsiding a little bit. And
I also have chickens here too. Ihave about 20 chickens. And so I
you know, every year I would getmore chickens to compensate for
the chaos and I just realizedlike I thrive in this like chaos
(08:07):
busy. Lots of animals around meall the time. And then and then
when chunk, his when he wasborn, his mom rejected their
litter. And so I ended up bottlefeeding his litter from two days
old. With another foster wetraded on and off every like
(08:27):
four days so we could get somesleep. But we ended up I ended
up fostering his litter and thenended up adopting him and got
that puppy energy back in thehouse. And and it's just been
it's been so wonderful. Youknow, I think I you know, as
your dogs get older is you startyou kind of mature with them.
But then you when you are aroundpuppies, and you remember what
(08:50):
it's like to have a younger dogand it's just this infectious.
Amazing, like happiness.
Julie Jackson (08:58):
Yeah, it's just pure. It's so pure.
Kelly (09:00):
It really is. It really is. It's just amazing. And you
can't have a bad day aroundthem. And his his little butt
wiggles are just, he just getsto be so happy. And oh my gosh,
just you can't have a bad day.
You could just gonna have a badday with with, with puppies
around.
Julie Jackson (09:17):
So do you foster like with a group or anything?
Or just just fellow dog loversthat you?
Kelly (09:24):
Yeah. Yeah, so I was, um, I was volunteering with
cherryland Meat society up herein northern Michigan. And so I
was volunteering up there justdoing enrichment and things like
that with them. And then theysent out an email to all
volunteer saying that theyneeded a foster and just
something I never consideredfostering before, but it must
(09:45):
have just been, you know, whatwas meant to be? And I was like,
oh, yeah, that sounds like fun.
And so I ended up fosteringthrough them too. But yeah, I've
been volunteering with them fora while.
Julie Jackson (09:55):
Oh, that's fantastic. That's fantastic.
Yeah, and
Kelly (09:59):
both of the The big boys are from a rescue in Arizona.
And then Chonk is from his momis from a rescue the same rescue
up here the cherryland HumaneSociety. And his mom was part of
a hoarding case, which isabsolutely heartbreaking. They
rescued 164 dogs, oh, thispretty small, pretty small
(10:21):
place. And some of them werethree to four dogs per crate.
And there were some that wereoutside in the winter that
didn't have access to freshwater that wasn't frozen and it
was just an absolutelyabsolutely heartbreaking case.
And so his mom was part of thatrescue and and I'm just I'm so
(10:42):
grateful that he never knew thatyou know, he never knew that bad
That bad man he never knew thatbad situation and he just has
the best disposition and I youknow, even these even these dogs
that were rescued out of there,they're some of the most
resilient sweetest dogs thatyou've ever met and you would
(11:03):
you have no I mean, I mean I'vehad you know, I've had you know,
met different hoarding dogs youknow, different dogs from
different hoarding cases andthese these dogs are just so
special and so I think that'skind of what made me want to
foster his litter is justknowing how special that that
whole group of dogs were. Andbut yeah, he he's pretty
(11:23):
special. Thank you chewing andchewing on my blanket over
Julie Jackson (11:32):
because he knows he's talking
Kelly (11:34):
about me. You're distracted? I can get into
whatever I want.
Julie Jackson (11:40):
Nothing to see here mom. Yeah, exactly.
Kelly (11:43):
Exactly. Well, I
Julie Jackson (11:45):
thank you for fostering because that's such a
selfless just that's such aselfless act and I personally i
I've never fostered I would Ithink I would just keep them all
I know that so that's a really
Kelly (12:02):
yeah, this is my first time doing it actually. And so I
probably shouldn't do it again.
Because I think I think I wouldkeep another one but uh, I
thought you know, because I havethe two big boys I thought oh,
they're their Yorkie mixes theirmom was looked very very very
Yorkie and um and I said oh youknow they're they're Yorkie
mixes I'm in no danger ofwanting to adopt them. I don't
(12:24):
like little dogs, you know,anything like that. And but no,
I just absolutely fell in lovewith them and a whole litter to
they're just they're soadorable.
Julie Jackson (12:35):
Oh, that's so sweet. So, do you kind of know
where they went? Are you able tokeep up with any of them or no
Kelly (12:43):
litter? Yes. Yeah, we're actually all friends. All of us
that adopted them are allfriends. We just had their first
birthday party. They all gottogether all four of them. We
all got together for their firstbirthday party and invited some
people from the shelter. Andsome of our friends that had
been there kind of along theirjourney. And we had this big
(13:03):
birthday party for them lastweekend. It was so stinking
cute.
Julie Jackson (13:07):
I love that.
Hopefully you got lots ofpictures.
Kelly (13:10):
Oh my gosh, so many. So you have no idea how many
pictures?
Julie Jackson (13:14):
You okay? If you if you are if you're okay with
sharing some I would love foryou to share them because love
to be able to absolutely that'sso much fun. So when they
reunite do they recognize eachother?
Kelly (13:28):
Oh yes absolutely chunk is still like best friends with
his brother fit. So they gettogether like once a week him in
him in hit fits his mom and meare very good friends. And so we
get together we go to the parkor you know, to our houses, they
they play nonstop. And then whenthey get together with the girls
(13:48):
because there was two boys andtwo girls, when they get
together with the girls. Theyjust they play just like they
they they've known each othertheir whole lives, which they
have. They just yeah, they pickup right where they left off. We
probably see another one of thegirls probably once a month,
which is really nice. And thenthe other one lives on the other
side of town. But we gettogether for the big stuff like
(14:09):
this, like the first birthdayparties and stuff and they get
along so well.
Julie Jackson (14:13):
That's amazing.
Okay, so did the big boys go tothe party too? Or do they stay
back?
Kelly (14:19):
The big boys stay back at home they're a little grouchy in
their old age. Especially withall the puppy energy. They're
just especially the healer, youknow, they gets very particular
Toby He is Mr. Boundaries hedoesn't like dogs jumping up on
him. He has give me thispersonal face all of that and so
(14:42):
so yeah, the big boys stayed athome for that but they when
chunks brother when bits is overthey love Fitz Mel do they hang
out with Fitz all the time theylove that but a whole party with
with a lot of puppies just notthey're not their gig.
Julie Jackson (14:58):
I could see that art Are our healer girls. There?
They will be 13 in October.
Yeah. And you know, so yes. AndEleanor. We joke that we call
her the office manager. She'sthe one that like established.
She's the one that enforces theboundary ups and Lily Hobi I'm
sorry, go ahead. Oh, no, you goahead. Go ahead.
Kelly (15:20):
I was gonna say Toby is black and white. He's a, you
know, Blue Heeler. He's blackand white and I he barks at them
when they're playing all thetime. So Toby, it's a good thing
that you're black and white,because you already have your
referee jersey.
Julie Jackson (15:34):
I should use that with Eleanor because she's our
black. Exactly right. Like youalready dressed for the job.
Yes, you came in uniform. Inever even thought of that.
That's perfect. Because she willshe will. So Lily her sister is
completely blind now. And alwayshappy always smiling. You know,
(15:55):
you talked about resilience andhow they just amaze me. But it's
funny, because Eleanor is justalways super serious. And I
don't know if you've everwatched the cartoon Phineas and
Ferb. I haven't No. Oh, okay.
It, there's a character inthere. That's Perry the
Platypus. And he has a littlebit of a lazy eye. And he's
always super serious. And that'sher like she has and is always
(16:17):
super serious. And every now andthen she'll bust out a big
smile. But we laugh because withthe two we call the the Husky
mixes the flu Fs. And of course,you know, they're rambunctious
and it's funny because they'llget going and she'll just be
there and then all of a suddenwhen she's had enough, she shuts
it down.
Kelly (16:37):
Yeah, really? Yeah. It's the referee. Taylor. Yes. Yep.
It's a good thing. You'rewearing black and white.
Julie Jackson (16:44):
I love that. I'm gonna I'm gonna start using that
with
Kelly (16:49):
these heelers are so funny. I swear.
Julie Jackson (16:51):
My goodness. Now it was Was he your first heeler?
Kelly (16:55):
Yes. Yes. My first heeler. And I so I had Tucker
first. And then I went to therescue, looking for a smaller
girl dog for Tucker to befriends with right. And. And
somebody told me about Toby, hisname was Rory at the time in the
(17:15):
rescue. And somebody told meabout them. And I had these
girls picked out that I reallywanted to meet. And they just
didn't end up working out in themeet and greets. And I said, you
know, somebody told me aboutRory, let me see Rory, and he
comes down, you know, into theend of the kennel. And he just
absolutely he picked Tucker tobe his brother. And he was just
like, you're my brother now.
Okay, you have to be my mom.
(17:36):
Okay, that's fine. You can be mymom. But this is my brother.
And, you know, there was nolooking back. He just he
absolutely fit in. And I had todo so much research on heelers
and figure out how to, you know,deal with their energy, you
know, to stimulate them, youknow, and get their energy out.
But also when they have lowenergy, like the biggest
(18:00):
challenge, I mean, I can get hisenergy out just fine. But the
biggest challenge with him hasbeen when he needs to take a
nap. He's like a toddler. Andyou know, every afternoon he
gets cranky, and it's like, Ihave to put him down for his
nap. And if I don't put him downfor his nap, he starts getting
cranky. He starts nipping atpeople he starts Do you know do
and heeler things. It's like youjust need to lay down for a
(18:23):
little while and take a nap andso it's a managing the highs and
the lows, which I never thoughtwas the thing with dogs but
managing all of the energy withhealers has been has been a
challenge. I don't think I canimagine myself now though
without a heeler. Toby isgetting older and I think even
(18:44):
you know after you know Toby, Ijust can't imagine my life
without that. That energyaround. They're just so special.
They're so unique. They'rethey're so amazing. I absolutely
fell in love with the breed withToby.
Julie Jackson (19:00):
I love that you say that because another dear
friend of mine is she's the onewho introduced me to the page
the cattle dog page and she'llevery now and then she'll text
me and she'll say something likeOh, oh hey buddy
Kelly (19:14):
there's a there is
Julie Jackson (19:17):
I see your Bentley I see your family Oh
Kelly (19:31):
you think you are good boy, thank you. Thank you for
saying hi buddy.
Julie Jackson (19:37):
She'll text and she'll be like, oh, there's
someone on the page that saysthey're new to the breed any
tips? Oh, okay, cool your seatbelts Yeah. But they are I mean
it then once you experience it,they're not for the faint of
heart like you know they willtry you but then what man once
(19:58):
you once you have been rescuedby a heeler.
Kelly (20:02):
Yes, I always say Toby is has been, by far in my entire
life. My biggest challenge, butmy biggest reward, and he I
think he was abused before me.
He has. He is absolutelyterrified of feet, and of
baseball bats. And it is justabsolutely tariff, it is
(20:28):
absolutely heartbreaking. He isso terrified of them. And you
know, to be his person and to bethe only person who will fall
asleep next to to be the youknow, the person he the only
person he trusts to build thattrust to learn and grow with
that dog. And to help them buildthat trust has been like, has
(20:50):
been absolutely my biggestreward in life. My biggest
challenge. Absolutely, but mybiggest reward Absolutely.
Julie Jackson (20:58):
Oh, that's so sweet.
Kelly (21:01):
He's a special way.
Julie Jackson (21:02):
Yeah, they really are. I said,
Kelly (21:06):
No, they're not for the faint of heart. Yeah, you kind
Julie Jackson (21:09):
of and I really didn't know what I was getting
into. But I've always been a dogperson. And fortunately, I've at
least when it comes to dogs havealways been able to kind of like
we expect our dogs to havemanners. So I don't want to make
it sound like I let them runamok, but like if they tear
something up, I can see that I'mnot my dogs bring me joy. My
(21:31):
stuff doesn't. So while I don'twant them destroying anything,
like if they tear something up,I've always been where I can
kind of look back and go, Okay,well, I didn't really need that
then you know, versus like itreally wearing on me or
something. So I didn't reallyknow exactly what I was getting
into with the healers. But Isaid I got a little easier when
(21:52):
I finally came to terms with thefact that I probably wasn't the
smartest person in the houseanymore.
Kelly (22:00):
Yes, 1,000%. Yes, Toby outsmarts. me every single day.
It is absurd. It's absurd. It'scrazy. Yes. Oh, I know. You got
a lot to say, huh? Yes, heoutsmarts me every single day.
They are so smart. It's crazy.
Yeah.
Julie Jackson (22:18):
And just so intuitive. How they Yeah, it's
amazing. They really are. Imean, I love all dogs and they
all have their gifts and evenwithin breeds or whatever. It's
crazy how different you know,they're different personalities
and you see the different rolesthey play, I guess in your world
(22:40):
that
Kelly (22:40):
really? Yeah. Are yours talkative. You're healers
because I call him talkie Toby.
He is just, he is mouthy andvocal and he you can tell
exactly what he's thinking atany given point of time.
Julie Jackson (22:54):
Well, so Lilly and Eleanor are not really
there. They're not very butRoscoe was Roscoe was a lot more
a lot more vocal. And he we hadto disable the glass break
detector on our home securitysystem. Because when going it
(23:15):
was just the right whatever theright wavelength or APS to
trigger it. And so, but welaughed because once we got
Chuck and Barney are the Huskymixes the flute, okay, and what
and of course, Huskies they'revery
Kelly (23:32):
Oh, yes,
Julie Jackson (23:33):
they have a lot to say. And we would laugh
because almost every day, Roscoewould get them fired up singing
the song of their people. And sowe started laughing that we were
like you think you're the littleyou think you're the tiniest
Husky now like he was so excitedto have I guess brothers that
(23:54):
would talk with him. And hewould whip them up into a frenzy
and I'd have to go in and then Ihave a really funny video clip
where they're all in our bedroomand I hear him get them going
and I could never get him onvideo because as soon as they
see the phone come out they'reall like so I'm walking through
(24:14):
the house to catch it and youcan hear them all over the house
and just as like oh there it'sall junk.
Kelly (24:21):
No yeah there's little Chonk
Julie Jackson (24:25):
as I get right outside the bedroom door where
they are you hear Roscoe givelike a warning bark.
Kelly (24:31):
She's gonna make
Julie Jackson (24:32):
Yes, exactly what happened. And they all
immediately get quiet. Oh, myGod is around the corner. All
three of them are just lookingat me. Like what what you know,
and they all have like, youknow, areas just the big, you
know, and they're kind of movinglike, hey, what do you do? What
Yeah, I have nothing to say.
Yeah, exactly. So yeah, Lillyand Eleanor. Eleanor will talk
(24:53):
when she needs to shut everybodydown when everyone needs to
settle down. Oh, yes, yep. AndLilly, I have actually noticed,
since she has completely lostall of her vision. She is more
verbal. And I think what it is,is when she's not sure, like
who's still in the room with me,or what's happening, if she
(25:17):
feels a little uncertain, thensometimes she'll just stand in
the room and bark. And I thinkit's just so that we are like,
It's okay. We're right here. Andyeah.
Kelly (25:30):
So yeah, she gets a response and notices around
Julie Jackson (25:32):
yeah, yes. So I think that's so once again, it's
very simple, right? Is she isyeah, just very intentional. But
we're Roscoe would just do itjust because he had something to
say. Sure.
Kelly (25:45):
Yeah. Same with Toby.
Same with Toby. He's the exactsame way.
Julie Jackson (25:50):
Yeah, just okay.
So are any of the others or dothey just let him do all the
talking?
Kelly (25:56):
They pretty much let him do the talking chunk. is pretty
yappy because he has thatChihuahua in him. But he'll you
know he'll see something blowoutside, you know, leaf blow
outside or someone you know,drive past that he doesn't like
and he'll start yapping but andit's so funny because I'll open
the back door. Let him go outback. You know, go potty and
(26:17):
he'll just go out. And there'snothing out there. He just needs
to like flex his golden pipes.
That's what I tell him like, hedislikes your pipes. All right.
There's nothing out there thathe's not looking. And he'll just
run around the entire perimeterlike just barking not looking at
anything in particular orbarking. You just needed to go
out and bark. It's like alright.
(26:38):
I'm sorry, neighbors. But thisis what this is our life now.
This is what we do. This is ourYep, this is life with a park
Chihuahua. So and then Tucker.
He's my oldest he's in this.
He's my heart. This Tucker is myheart. And we talked a whole lot
about him just because he's sohe's so just like strong and
(27:00):
steady and perfect. But hedoesn't bark a whole lot unless,
unless he's playing with alittle boy and him and him and
John Kim and the littlest oneare best friends. Which is just
so wonderful to see becauseTucker's Tucker turned 10 in
January. And just so to see himgetting older and see his energy
(27:21):
come out with the puppy and hisprotectiveness, too. And then
cuddling and all that. It's justlike it absolutely warms my
heart.
Julie Jackson (27:30):
It's It's so amazing to see those dynamics.
So how did you how did you andTucker come to be? How did you
Kelly (27:37):
find that? I knew I wanted to rescue dog. It was
just it was just me. I wassingle and on my own as an adult
for the first time. And I knew Ineeded a dog. And so I went to
an Arizona Animal WelfareLeague. And I was like, Okay,
I'm going to see all these dogsand you know, meet all these
(27:58):
dogs. And he literally was thefirst dog in the first kennel.
As soon as I walked in, and Isaw him and he looks so much
like my friend's dog that Iabsolutely liked. absolutely
adored. I loved him. brindle,beautiful, big. And I was just
(28:20):
like, Okay, I'll meet him. Andit was there was just something
I didn't know it was it was sofunny, because it wasn't
necessarily like, we instantlyformed this bond or any it
wasn't anything like that. Itwas just like, okay, he seems
like a great dog. You know,like, yeah, okay, okay, I'll
take him you know, he seemsgreat. And we just formed this
connection from there. That wascrazy. And he's, he's absolutely
(28:45):
my entire heart. This dog he, heyou know, you hear that term
heart dog and you know, you loveall of your dogs. Obviously love
them all. And there's justsomething in your soul that
connects there's something in mysoul that connects with his
soul. And you know, I wastalking to a friend earlier
(29:06):
about you know, hiking with dogsand he, he you know, is in tune
with me in a way that none of myother dogs ever have been if I'm
nervous on a steep you know,incline or decline. He senses
that and slows down and he's soin tune and he's watching my
footsteps and he's, you know, heand I would absolutely 1,000%
(29:28):
and trust him with my life. Andhe is just he's always next to
me. He is always he's just he's,we're completely inseparable and
I'm going to be absolutelydestroyed when it says time to
go. But he has completelychanged my life and completely
(29:49):
changed who I am as a person andtaught me so much about love and
compassion and patience. He hasreally severe separation
anxiety. I'm so You know, Ispent 1000s of dollars trying to
train him to be in a crate or,you know, use essential oils for
him to try to calm him down orthunder shirts or whatever,
(30:11):
whatever, you know all thethings that you can do for
separation anxiety, but it wasjust true. True. One 100%
Extreme separation anxiety andless than a year after I adopted
him, I ended up working fromhome and I've been working
remotely ever since. So it'sbeen it's been really perfect
(30:32):
for him. And for me, too. Andthere's extreme there's an
extreme amount of codependencegoing on Yeah, he's just he's my
strong silence daddy. CalmPerfect, perfect. Boy. There's
no other way to describe him.
He's just perfect.
Julie Jackson (30:53):
That's beautiful.
Beautiful. I mean, it's funnywhen you say that like the
codependence and everything andI repeat myself. I've said this
with other people too. But likewith my daughter, I want to
raise her to be a productivecontributing member of society.
And I want her to go out intothe world and work to make it
(31:14):
better than it was before shegot there. I'm not raising my
dogs to do that. I mean, my dogsneed to have manners. But if my
dog if if a dog needs to becodependent, it's fine for them
to be codependent. They're notgoing to move out at some point
(31:35):
need
Kelly (31:37):
to bring your own.
Exactly. Exactly. You know,
Julie Jackson (31:41):
obviously not destructive. Obviously, manners
and and and you know, notaggressive or I don't mean that
anything's you know, fair game,but I always laugh because I'm
like, okay, so. So what if theydon't like that or so? What if,
okay, what if they want to sleepin the bed with me? i Okay. I'm
(32:03):
not gonna send that like
Kelly (32:04):
sometime they're gonna get married and they're gonna
have to like learn how to sleepwithout you like sleeping for
the rest of their life. It'sfine.
Julie Jackson (32:12):
Yeah, it's not like one day I'm gonna be like,
Okay, it's time for you to moveout now. So Exactly, yeah. So I
don't think you know, I don'tthink that's a bad I don't think
what the dog is really IS code.
codependence is
Kelly (32:25):
fully embrace that codependence. Yeah.
Julie Jackson (32:29):
Because a bad thing you know?
Kelly (32:31):
Yes, absolutely. I agree.
I agree. Yep. They're prettyspecial.
Julie Jackson (32:36):
So do any of them. Do you have any stories
with them where they have donestuff where you're just like,
like with healers, you know, alot of times there's just
shenanigans. Yeah. Do they everpull that stuff on? You are
mostly they pretty predictable.
Kelly (32:54):
I would say for the most part, they're pretty
predictable. I am a very routineoriented type a person and you
know, for the most part we theyare too they follow their
routines. And Toby he doesthough he does outsmart me. And
there's been times you know,he's a drama queen. You know, he
(33:15):
thinks, you know, he stubbed histoe and he just he feels like
he's dying. You know, and he'soh my gosh, I look at my palm
gonna die. And, you know, I goto, you know, get a bag of
treats or something to calm himdown. He runs right over to me,
you know, and it's like yourpaws fine, dude, you know? So
(33:36):
he, you know, he does that sortof stuff all the time. He when
we first moved up here toMichigan, because like I said,
we're we lived in Arizona for along time. That's where they're
from. When we first moved uphere in Michigan, he got
porcupines and so he got themouthful of quills and all of
that so he that was a lot of funand a lot of money later but so
(34:02):
he's just been constantly theone to you know, give me a run
for my money out try to arts tryto outsmart me try to, you know,
get attention in any waypossible. You know, Tucker, like
I said, He's the absoluteperfect one. And so it's funny
when he does something wrong,and I yell at him like Tucker,
you can't do that. You know, helooks at me like, What just
(34:25):
happened? Are you yelling at me?
Like, that never happens. That'sweird. You know, so he's, he's
pretty funny. But for the mostpart, I think, you know, I was
thinking about that earlier.
They are pretty. They are prettypredictable and routine
oriented. Having the puppyaround has been you know,
definitely a change and awelcome change and he's just
(34:47):
hilarious. He is just so like,He's so kind and compassionate
and loving and and fun. andenergetic and all of the best
parts of my dogs. Yeah, of bothof the big boys combined, you
know, and he brings out the bestin them and brings out the best
(35:10):
in me. And, you know, I alwayslike to say, you know, the four
of us, you know, it was beforeit was the three of us, but the
four of us now, you know, we'renot perfect, none of us are
perfect, right? And they havetheir issues, you know, they're
not extremely dog friendly, youknow, with other big dogs,
things like that. We all haveour issues. We're not perfect,
but, you know, the four of uswere really perfect together.
(35:32):
You know, there were justabsolutely perfect together,
couldn't ask for a better,better companions to get through
this life with and it's just me,you know, I'm single, and I
don't have kids. And it's justme and I couldn't ask for better
companions to live the life livethis life with their absolutely
perfect.
Julie Jackson (35:52):
Kelly, that is so beautiful. Thank you so much for
sharing. I just I reallyappreciate you being here. It's
been such a pleasure to meetyou.
Kelly (36:00):
Yes, absolutely. I've loved chatting with you and
sharing healer tales.
Julie Jackson (36:05):
Yes. Yes. Which not everyone can understand.
Kelly (36:12):
Definitely not. No, but they are. They are a wonderful
breed. And I've enjoyed talkingto you about them.
Julie Jackson (36:19):
Yes. Well, if you ever I mean ever want to share
anything again. Message me, youknow where to find me now.
Kelly (36:27):
Together. You know, there were just absolutely perfect
together, couldn't ask for abetter, better companions to get
through this life with and it'sjust me, you know, I'm single
and I don't have kids. And it'sjust me and I couldn't ask for
better companions to live thelife live this life with are
absolutely perfect.
Julie Jackson (36:46):
Oh, Kelly, that is so beautiful. Thank you so
much for sharing. I just Ireally appreciate you being
here. It's been such a pleasureto meet you.
Kelly (36:55):
Yes, absolutely. I've loved chatting with you and
sharing heeler tales.
Julie Jackson (37:01):
Yes, yes. which not everyone can understand.
Kelly (37:07):
Definitely not no, but they are they are wonderful
breed. And I've enjoyed talkingto you about them.
Julie Jackson (37:15):
Yes. Well, if you ever I mean ever want to share
anything again, message me, youknow where to find me now. Thank
you so much for joining metoday. I know that you are busy.
And I really appreciate that youchose to spend some of your time
with me. So let's do a littlebit of bookkeeping before we
head out. If you enjoy this andyou would like to receive the
(37:38):
episodes automatically withouthaving to seek them out, then in
your pod catcher, follow orsubscribe. And that way every
time an episode drops, it'llshow up for you. And you'll know
that it's there makes it supereasy. You don't have to think
about it. Please go visit thewebsite. It's really cute. It's
got puppy pictures. Also, I'vegot a free gift for you over
(37:58):
there if you will go check itout. And if you would like to
message me if you have anysuggestions specific pup stories
you want to hear. Or evenbetter. If you want to share a
story, you can message me rightthere from the website. That's
the best way to get to me forthat. Check us out on all the
different socials, Facebook,Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn,
(38:21):
all of them. That's where you'llsee pictures of the pups that we
talk about each week. Also, justother fun pup things. I'm going
to put episodes on YouTube aswell. Sometimes the episodes are
recorded via zoom. And sothere's video, a lot of times
it's just us talking, but everynow and then there are some fun
cameos from puppies or theirshenanigans in the background.
(38:44):
And you can catch all that onYouTube. If you want to help me
out if you would leave apositive review and share the
podcast that would be fantastic.
I would be really grateful. Andonce again, if you want to help
me out, I would love to shareyour story. So please hit me up
and let's schedule the time thatwe can talk. Some people have
shared their stories in writing.
(39:06):
Some people have gotten on thephone and done a chat with me so
we can do whatever you are mostcomfortable with. Finally, do
not forget that you are as greatas your dog thinks you are and
go smooth chipping. Thanks,y'all.
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