Annie

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Episode Transcript

(00:14):
So Patty, tell me about yoursoul dog.
What was her name?
Her name is Annie Because she'sstill in my life, but different.
Hmm, love that.
And you said her nickname wasAnnie Banana.
Yeah, she was goofy, so, youknow, I could be goofy together

(00:35):
with her.
And how did you, how did Anniecome into your life?
Oh my goodness.
Well, I had two goldfish forlike 10 years.
One was called Bugeye and theother one was swivel hips.
And then they died.
And, you know, I really, reallywanted a dog, so I went, I just
stopped.
And the spur of the moment I sawher, I instantly fell in love

(00:56):
with her.
And um, yeah, it was thebeginning of a real true love.
Aw.
Yeah.
You know what?
Sometimes those are the bestmoments in life, right?
the ones that you don'toverthink.
You just know that this is thepath you're supposed to go and
'cause taking on a dog andbringing a dog into your life is
a huge responsibility but it'salso such a beautiful, beautiful

(01:20):
adventure and relationship aswell.
Um, yeah.
You mentioned that she's goofy.
If there were three words, howwould you describe her?
Goofy, loving and authentic.
Hmm, authentic.

(01:41):
Would you say that's one of, um,the lessons that she taught you,
or is there a particular lessonthat stands out to you the, the
value of authenticity is sopowerful.
Which of course, you know, youuse in your day-to-day work all
the time, um, as a griefcounselor.
But what else would you say thatyou learned from her?

(02:04):
Well, you know, John Donahuehas, he has this amazing book
about the Celtic Wisdom, andit's called Anum Cara Ra.
And what that means is SoulFriend and many of the people
that I work with that have had apet loss.
They have a hard time describingthat sense of being a soul

(02:24):
friend.
Somebody that you can just bewho you are without any kind of
hiding.
Right?
Right.
And so Annie was that for me,she taught me what it's like to
not be judgmental, to, you know,have no expectations.
I mean, when she was hungry,that was about it.
Right?
When she had to go out to gopotty.
But yeah, you know, it was abeautiful thing to be able to

(02:47):
just be loved for who I was.
Right.
Right.
If you could describe yourperfect day with her.
What, what was that like?
We used to walk in Quiet WatersPark for like 15 years.
And Where's that?
Quiet Waters Park in Annapolis,Maryland.
Okay.
That's where I am.
Um, and actually the day beforeI had scheduled to have her

(03:11):
euthanized lap of love came toeuthanize her at home and I was
able to actually record thatwith their permission because I
didn't know really what toexpect.
And so the very last day thatshe was alive, I, I documented
our day walking at Quiet WatersPark, and part of the time I had
to carry her.
But, yeah, it was a beautifulday and she would go frog

(03:34):
hunting in the streams.
Oh, how cute.
And yeah, totally muddy, youknow, but it was so much fun to
watch her like chase the frogs,you know?
Didn't ever get one.
But yeah, it was a beautiful,beautiful time of my life.
Would you, recommend in-homeeuthanasia?
I've, I've heard a lot aboutlack of love and I've also have
seen the, um.

(03:55):
The growth of that, of thatmarket.
Where a lot of people arestarting to have the
veterinarians come to theirhomes?
Well, I can only speak for meand some of my clients, but, for
me, it, she was home.
Mm-hmm.
She was going home to anotherrealm.
Right.
But she was home with me.
And you know, one of the thingsI've heard quite often,

(04:18):
especially from vets, is that,you know.
The most that, that, that theanimal wants is to have you
there so that they see you asthe last, last thing they see on
earth.
Mm-hmm.
And I know how difficult it is,truly.
I do.
Yeah.
Um, but I also know thatsometimes, I mean, look at all
we sacrifice for our fur babies,you know?

(04:39):
Right, right.
Um, is there, would you, isthere a song that reminds you of
her.
Well, probably John Denver'sAnnie, uh, yes.
That's a great song.
Yes.
Yes.
That's a good, that's a goodanswer.
What would you say was like hergreatest, um, lesson to you?

(05:00):
Ooh, the Greatest Lesson, well,let's see.
Well, you know, they love us nomatter what is going on.
And I was in a very abusivemarriage.
Mm-hmm.
And Annie actually saved my lifebecause she taught me what it
physically and emotionally andspiritually felt like to be

(05:21):
loved, to be deeply loved.
And that was my saving grace.
Yes.
Wow.
That's such an incrediblyincredible legacy to leave
behind, is that sense of loveand like pure unconditional
love, which, um, really likeyour soul, your soul dogs, your

(05:43):
soul animals can, can reallyprovide for you.
Is there anything else that youwould want people to know about
Annie or your relationship withAnnie?
Oh my goodness.
Well, you know, Annie was myinspiration, so she launched me.
I have a company, Tobias andCompany, and we create silk
pillows for, for childrenespecially that are critically

(06:06):
ill and grieving, and so wehave.
Amber's, uh, embrace the Angels.
So Amber's Angels.
And then we have Grace's Angels.
A little 9-year-old girlcollected 164 angel drawings
from kids around the world.
Wow.
And now on Animal Angels.
And that's Grace's project.
So Grace is, she was nine whenshe got involved.

(06:27):
Okay.
Uh, with Grace, the Angel, andnow she's 16, so she's been with
us for some time and she is suchan inspiration to so many other
young people.
About the power that youngpeople have to elevate and
inspire other people, otherchildren around the world.
That's beautiful.
That's such a great legacy andsuch an inspiration for sure.

(06:51):
Annie was in your life for 15years and, something that I like
to ask people is how do youstill remember her today?
Any advice that you have forsomeone who may be recently
going through that loss of theirpet and their, their soul dog.
Well, you know, I, I believe thecircle of life and death is the
same for every life, including,you know.

(07:12):
Ones that have roots and pawsand feet.
So life itself is a circle.
And one of the things I did, andI'm so blessed that I was able
to do this, I, so I pass outthese little guardian angel
coins.
I'll show you briefly.
So these are my pebbles that Ipass out to people as I go
through life.
And on the back of the littleguardian angel card, there's a

(07:35):
little pewter guardian AngelPebble.
Oh wow.
And it has one of five words.
So there's peace, hope, love,courage, and faith, which is
believing.
So I asked Lap of Love, would itbe okay after Annie passed, if I
could take a card, peel off theback, see her word, and then put

(07:55):
it in her mouth because she wasgonna be cremated and they said,
no problem.
So, uh, Dr.
Rachel took Annie after she diedand two weeks later.
I got, um, and Annie's word waslove, which was so beautiful.
Mm-hmm.
Definitely two weeks later I gotashes and there was a big bag of
her ashes.
And then I looked inside andthere was a little tiny bag with

(08:16):
the, with a silver ball.
And so it was the ball of love.
And so I was able to make anecklace outta that.
Oh my gosh.
And so because of that beautifulclosing of that circle mm-hmm.
My grief was truly lessened.
Yeah.
Love that.

(08:37):
Love that.
That was perfect ending for theCircle of Life.