April 12, 2024 • 39 mins
Host, Julie Marty-Pearson, often says our pets find us, and that isn't truer than for guest Tenny Minassian. Tenny's adopted canine companion, Lucy, inspired not only a profound personal transformation but also a children's book, "Lucy Goes to the Gentle Barn." Her tale is one of convincing traditional parents to open their home to a family pet, leading to an adventure of love and life lessons that resonate with any heart that has felt the warmth of a furry friend. Lucy’s tripe to real-world sanctuary The Gentle Barn, illustrates many important lessons we can all learn from animals.
What begins with the adoption of a pet often leads to unexpected personal revelations. For Tenny, it was the inspiration to embrace a vegan lifestyle. Walking through her transformation and the role of a vegan coach, she offers insights into the challenges and rewards of a plant-based life, from giving up cheese to navigating new ethical choices. Touching on mental health, societal pressures, and the readiness for change, the conversation underscores the profound impact of pet adoption on personal growth and the broader choice to rescue over breeding. Join us for an episode that promises laughter, inspiration, and an invitation to live more consciously with kindness at its heart.
Tenny Minassian is a vegan lifestyle coach and author based in Los Angeles. She's an Armenian-American and came to the U.S. as a refugee with her family from Iran. Her favorite role is being Lucy's dog-mom and going on adventures together! She's excited to share her debut children's book, Lucy Goes to The Gentle Barn. You can purchase Tenny’s book on Amazon or via her Website. Follow Tenny on Instagram and Facebook. Follow Lucy on Instagram.
Learn more about the Gentle Barn on their Website and follow on Instagram.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:05):
Hello, my friends and fellow animal lovers, welcome
to the Story of my Pet podcast.
I am Julie Marty Pearson, yourhost, proud fur mom, pet lover
and all-around animal advocate.
I'm so happy to have you hereto listen to the incredible pet
stories that I have collectedfrom around the world.
(00:27):
I hope you enjoy this episodeand I can't wait to share this
pet story with you.
Hello, my friends and fellowanimal lovers, I am happy to be
here with a new episode and tointroduce you all to my guest,
tenny Manassian.
Tenny, thank you so much forbeing here.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Hey Jolie, Really glad to be here.
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
Tenny and I connected because she wanted to share
with me her new book called LucyGoes to the Gentle Barn.
So I have it and I love it.
I was reading through it againlast night and it's really a
cute story and it's a greatstory for kids.
And so before we get into that,Tenny, I wanted to talk to you
a little bit about Lucy, yourdog, and you are a proud dog mom
(01:18):
, I have to say yes, very proud.
So how did the adoption of Lucyand you guys coming together?
How did that come about?
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Yeah, so Lucy is actually my first dog.
So first and only dog so far, Iadopted her in 2015.
I had just come back to LA fromthe Bay Area.
I was going to grad school upthere and I always wanted a dog
and my family always said no.
I told them before I moved backthat I for sure was getting a
(01:51):
dog, and so I think they feltbad for me at this point, going
through my whole life without adog.
So they reluctantly agreed.
I was already trying to searchfor dogs and I knew I wanted to
ideally get a puppy or just ayounger dog, so that we can just
have that experience that we'venever had.
And I found through a rescue, Ifound they had some puppies and
so I took my parents and wewent and we visited the puppies
(02:14):
and my mom actually ended uppicking Lucy out of all of them,
which is ironic because she'sshe was so scared of dogs.
So for her, this is like herfirst experience with a dog, so
it was really interesting.
She was so scared of dogs, sofor her, this was like her first
experience with a dog, so itwas really interesting.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
But that's great because for people that don't
have animals growing up, thatfirst one can be really scary.
So I think that's a great thingthat your parents were able to
go on this journey with you.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
Yeah, no, it's been really wonderful for my whole
family.
So my family's Armenian butwe're from Iran and so in Iran
growing up like my parentsdidn't really have pets, like it
wasn't normalized there.
It's a bit of a differentculture than what we have here
in the Western culture.
So for them it's been acomplete night and day like
change.
Now, like Lucy's theirgrandchild, like their
(02:59):
granddaughter, they're obsessedwith her, but, yeah, it's been
really amazing.
Speaker 1 (03:08):
That's so great, I love.
I love hearing that so many ofmy guests are like animal lovers
from the time they're born andall of that.
But it's great when we hearstories of people who haven't
and have ventured into rescueand adoption.
And then you find that dog thatyou're meant to have, which I
think is what happened with youand Lucy.
That's exactly what happened.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
I actually wanted a male dog and I was going to name
him Milo and I had this wholeplan.
And so when I saw the fourpuppies, I wanted the little
runt of the litter.
He was like this little black,like poodle mix boy, and I was
like I want this one.
And my mom said, no, I wantthis one.
And she pointed to Lucy and Iwas like, all right, well, since
they're compromising, they'regetting the dog.
(03:43):
So I went with what my momwanted and it was exactly what I
needed.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
That's so funny.
When I was little and I got toget a puppy it was a litter and
I picked out mine, champ, whichwas a boy my mom was like no,
we've only ever had girl dogs.
I'm like no, this is the one,and it was the one, yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
I always say our find us the way they're supposed to.
That's absolutely what happened.
Yeah, it was just so cute andas soon as she came to our house
, like we just all fell in lovewith her and it's been a very
nice journey.
So she's eight years old now.
Every time we meet peoplethey'll ask me how old she is.
I say eight and they're likeeight months.
I'm like no, she's eight yearsold.
She looks like a puppy, so shejust has so much energy and she
just is very friendly.
(04:25):
So we go on all theseadventures together.
I have her Instagram page wherewe post about that, and that's
what led me to wanting to shareour story of going to the Gentle
Barn.
I think a lot of kids canrelate to some of these same
lessons that we're learning,just even with dogs.
So, for example, even when Itake Lucy to the vet and she's
(04:46):
scared, I just think about kidsgoing to a doctor and being
scared.
So I just have so manydifferent ideas of books that I
want to share through Lucy'sperspective and through her
voice and her experience.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
But yeah, the Gentleman was the first one I
was going to say.
That's such an importantparallel to make because
obviously kids and pets aredifferent, but young dogs, or
even dogs you adopt that aren'tpuppies and they could be a few
years old or older.
You don't know what theirexperiences have been, so their
experiences with you are brandnew, just like with kids going,
like you said, to the doctor.
And it's the same thing in away, because when young kids you
(05:20):
can't, you know, explain theway that maybe when they're
older thing with pets, you don'tknow how much they're
understanding.
And it definitely.
As I was going through the bookI could see how you were
helping Lucy to understand thedifferent animals she was
meeting, just like for a childmeeting a cow for the first time
or something like what is this?
Why is it so big?
Is it going to be nice to me?
(05:40):
So I love that idea that you'reusing the lessons you've
learned with Lucy to make aparallel into the stories you're
telling yeah, exactly yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
And when we took Lucy to the Gentle Barn, it was 2017
.
So she was still pretty youngand we just had such a wonderful
time.
We met basically all theanimals that I named in the book
.
So Lucy the cow the same name,which is cute, and Hiroka, but
(06:11):
we call her Hiro the horse, andthey had a really cute moment
where they like almost kiss andI have the photo.
Yeah, it's very cute.
And then so the way sheillustrated in the book was
perfect.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
Obviously, before the book came to existence, you
actually went to the Gentle Barn.
How did you learn about themand what they do?
Speaker 2 (06:24):
Yeah, well, I've been on my vegan journey.
It's been almost seven years,yeah.
So I actually started thejourney because I adopted Lissy
and then after about a year Iwent vegetarian.
I started really questioninglike why I was eating some
animals and then having her inmy home, like opening my home up
to other animals.
(06:45):
So it just didn't make sense tome.
So I went vegetarian.
About almost a year later iswhen I went vegan and I learned
about the dairy industry, theegg industry, just horrible
things happening to animals.
So at some point during thisjourney I was following the
Gentle Barn on social media andthey're just a wonderful
organization very close by to me, about half an hour away, so we
(07:08):
went to visit and I got myfirst cow hug and it was so
healing Like I can't even putinto words like how amazing a
cow hug is.
So if you haven't experiencedit and you have the chance to go
to a sanctuary, it's the bestthing.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
It's funny because when I met you virtually and
learned about your book, I'mlike I know the Gentle Barn.
I follow them too and they'reabout, I think about an hour and
a half from where I live inBakersfield, so I've heard of
them.
I was like God, that would beso great to go there, because a
lot of sanctuaries like GentleBarn do have days where people
can come and meet the animalsand I've heard it's such a great
experience, so it sounds likethat was really transformative
(07:42):
for you.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
Yeah, and I think a lot of people have a similar
experience going there, which iswhy they're just so popular and
so well known.
Yeah, just a really friendlyplace to go, good for kids and
families.
Yeah, so when I took Lucy, Iwent with her and my dad and so
we were just holding her aroundand like showing her the animals
and, yeah, she had just awonderful time.
(08:05):
She just loves going out andmeeting people and other animals
.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
She's very it sounds like she's very social.
Speaker 2 (08:10):
Yes, I joke that she's the extrovert to my
introvert.
We just love to be home andreading books.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
She's let's go out.
Let's go, mom.
We're not sitting here all day.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
Our pets are often the thing that we need in so
many different ways, and itsounds like she's taking you
along on her adventures.
Speaker 2 (08:29):
Yeah, absolutely Like she gets me out of that house
for sure.
She's also my emotional supportanimal.
So I went through a lot ofdepression, anxiety, was in a
really bad like emotionallyabusive relationship for a long
time.
So she actually got me througha lot and she literally saved my
life.
I had like suicidal ideationfor a period of time.
So when I tell people like shesaved my life, like she
(08:50):
literally saved my life, andstill like to this day, like
every day, it's like I get upand I'm just like so happy that
I can just be her mom.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
So that's so great.
We always talk about whorescued who.
You and your family did adopther and rescue her, but it was
meant to be for you.
It was that support you needed,and sometimes we don't even
realize it and it could be yearslater that they're the support
we needed and we would have hadno idea, but they're the reason
we get up and go through our dayfor them.
(09:19):
And so it's just really specialthat you guys have that bond
yeah absolutely.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
It's been wonderful, yeah, and we actually took her
to Armenia in 2019.
Oh wow.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
That's a big adventure.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
Very big adventure.
I have a few books in mind forthat, so hopefully we get to do
those.
But yeah, she's, she's justalways with me.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
No, that's a great book too, to teach kids about
Armenia through the eyes of adog.
Yeah, exactly, so you have allthese great stories and
adventures.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
How did you actually decide what the first book would
be, and what was that processfor you?
It was, I think last year I hadgone to the Gentle Bar and I
took a former co-worker.
She was going for the firsttime and I love taking people
for the first time.
It's so much fun.
No-transcript.
(10:29):
Yeah, just reach out to us.
And so I did.
And the new year I reached outto them and by the time we
started a meeting I had to get achance to talk.
It was April of this year andso I spoke to Ellie and she was
really excited about it and sheloved that.
It was a book about my dog andher perspective and her
adventure.
So they were really excited forme and after I got their
(10:50):
approval I just wanted to makesure they were okay with me
writing the book.
I went ahead and did my finaldraft and the process started
for me to try to find anillustrator, find an illustrator
, and so I found Agavni.
Agavni is a young Armenian womanhere also in the Los Angeles
area, and I really wanted tohire specifically an Armenian
woman because I wanted tosupport them, especially now
(11:13):
with the rise of AI and all ofthese things like artists are
not really being supported asmuch, and so I really wanted to
make sure that I was doing that,and so I was really lucky with
Agavni.
She's amazing.
She's done other children'sbooks and I just love her art
style.
We went back and forth aboutjust trying to get Lucy's
character right, making sure shelooked the way that I wanted,
(11:36):
and so once we crafted that andgot that perfect, then we went
through the whole book and justpage by page were collaborating
on it.
Yeah, I love I'm just lookingthrough the book, book and just
page by page.
Speaker 1 (11:45):
We're collaborating on it.
Yeah, I love.
I'm just looking through thebook as you're talking about it
and her illustrations are justthere.
There's like a softness to it,yeah, and playfulness, but all
of the animals just look sohappy.
They all look like they'resmiling and I just love that.
It's just like a very happybook to look through and lucy
just looks so happy throughoutthe whole thing.
(12:05):
I love that.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
Yeah, which is true.
It's based on true story,obviously but yeah, the animals
are so happy there, like everytime I go, I'm just like I just
hearing like how they care forthem and everything that they do
is just so amazing.
And also, the Gentle Barn is agreat place for people to visit
and it provides healing forhumans too.
So it's like they healedanimals Right and, in turn,
(12:29):
there's healing for people,which I feel like is similar to
Lucy and I's story.
It's like I rescued her, butshe also rescued me.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
Right, that's great.
So did she actually meet Lucyor visit the Gentle Barn, or did
she just go off of photos?
Speaker 2 (12:45):
meet Lucy or visit the Gentle Barn, or did she just
go off of photos?
No, I just gave her some photos.
She hasn't met Lucy yet, but Ido need to give her a copy of
the book so hopefully when we dothat, when we drop it off, we
can have her meet Lucy.
But she did a great job, justlike capturing Lucy's essence, I
think.
I think that can be hard to do,like you said, like she hasn't
met her, but just going off ofphotos, and I sent her a lot of
photos from the Gentle Bar, fromour visits, from the website,
(13:09):
just to make sure the characterslook exactly like what you're
doing.
She did a great job.
Speaker 1 (13:13):
So I love that you were purposeful about wanting to
support female artists andArmenian artists.
I think that's so important forall of us that are in whatever
type of creative world it may bewriting, podcasting, things
like that because there are somany and, like you said, AI is
taking over and we want the truehumans to be the ones creating
(13:35):
these things, so I think thatjust adds such another great
layer to how great your book is.
I really love that.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
Thank you so much.
Yeah, and I also want tomention we are donating a part
of the proceeds of the book tothe Gentle Barn, which I think
is also important for me tosupport them because they've
been so influential, not just inmy life, but, I think, in so
many people's lives.
Every time I mention the book,people are like, yeah, I follow
them on social media.
I'm like, oh, this is amazing.
You already know about theGentle Barn, so it's great, yeah
.
And amazing.
Speaker 1 (14:02):
You already know about the Chetford, so it's
great, yeah, and that's one ofthe ways I try to do it with the
podcast to get more people toknow about different rescues and
organizations.
But thank God for social mediathat we can all follow these
amazing things, but it's evenbetter when we can get a real
story behind it and the impactthat they're actually making
with their animals and withpeople.
Yeah, absolutely, and soeveryone listening, there'll be
(14:24):
a link in the show notes and I'malso going to post on social
media where you can purchase thebook.
It's a great gift.
I would say it's a great giftfor kids, but anybody's going to
enjoy reading through it.
I did myself so in terms of thebook, and you have all these
other ideas.
What's the one thing that yourexperience with Lucy is your
motivating factor to share herstory?
Speaker 2 (14:48):
I think really she just taught me to enjoy life.
She just enjoys everything.
Every time we go on a walk,every time we tell her we're
leaving the house and we'regoing out, she's so excited and
she's just so enthusiastic.
And she's also so friendly toeverybody.
She says hi to everyone.
She wants to say hi to all thedogs.
(15:08):
Sometimes they don't want tosay hi to her, but it's okay.
And she wants to say hi to allthe dogs.
Sometimes they don't want tosay hi to her, but it's okay.
So I think just her like zestfor life in a way, and just
getting me again through thosedark days, just having her and
like the responsibility of beingher mom and taking care of her,
was really important for me toget me through those days.
Speaker 1 (15:26):
That's great.
Yeah, I think that is so trueabout animals.
Even when we have animals thathave been through hard things or
they've been in shelters orwhatever they've gone through,
they just leave it behind themand they move for it and they're
so happy.
And when animals are sofriendly, it's like they have no
preconceived notions about whopeople are, about how they look.
They just want attention fromanyone they meet.
(15:48):
Animals can teach us a lot,that's for sure.
Absolutely yeah.
So you mentioned that afteradopting Lucy, you started this
journey yourself of vegetarianto vegan, and now you're
actually a vegan coach.
So can you talk a little bitabout that journey and how that
happened for you?
Speaker 2 (16:06):
Yeah, so obviously she had a big impact on my life
in that way too, and so I'vebeen vegan for about seven years
I think six or seven years.
And yeah, I, just a year and ahalf ago, I quit my job and I
said I'm going to be a veganlifestyle.
Wow.
I know, and obviously I'm alsowriting and so I'm doing things
like that, but I just wasn'tfeeling like I was living my
(16:30):
life's purpose, and I thinkduring the pandemic, a lot of
people had those questions ofre-evaluating their life.
What am I doing?
How am I spending my time?
Basically Right.
And so I did get to a point.
Even though I enjoyed my job Iloved the people that I met I
just felt it was time to take aleap, and helping other people
make this change is like reallyfulfilling for me.
(16:53):
And also I help businesses too,so I do consulting.
So if you have a business youwant to add some options and
you're not sure where to start,I can help you with that too.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
That's great.
I was born and raised inCalifornia, so we've always had
all those options.
It's more normal here, I guessyou could say, than even other
parts of the country, let alonethe world, but it's so true.
I've worked at differentorganizations.
I worked at a Jewish universityand they had a kosher kitchen
and I'd never had an experiencewith that.
So I can imagine there'scompanies that don't even know
what they should do to havevegetarian and vegan options for
(17:28):
their employees.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
Yeah, absolutely, and even, for example, a restaurant
or cafe or really any business,because veganism it's about
what you're consuming, rightHead to toe, not just what we're
eating.
So I think about people arereally into cruelty-free
cosmetics.
Now that's becoming a thingwhich I'm really happy about,
because animal testing ishorrific, and so just thinking
(17:51):
about everything that you'repurchasing, everything that
you're contributing to, and justreally doing your best, I think
that's really important to keepin mind.
Speaker 1 (17:59):
Yeah, I know myself I'm from health issues and I've
never really been a big meateater.
I've just once I was a kid andrealized where that came from.
I had a hard time eating it andI have health issues that I
actually my body doesn't reallyprocess meat, so I've never been
big on it.
But when I thought about liketrue vegetarianism or veganism,
(18:20):
it can be overwhelming.
So that's a really importantservice you're providing,
because someone could say youwant that, but then the whole
world is OK.
Well, where do I start?
Yeah, if someone's listeningand they're like OK, this is the
time I'm going to do it, I'mgoing to try to be vegan or
vegetarian.
What are some of the firststeps you would give them as
good ways to start?
Speaker 2 (18:40):
I also have a vegan one-on-one course that I sell
and it basically gives you abreakdown of.
I call it a five-week kickstart, but you have the course for
life so you can take your timewith it.
And I think that's importantbecause my number one tip is
really just to take your timeand slowly make those changes,
because you want it to be asustainable lifestyle change,
(19:03):
and that can take a while.
You look in your cabinet rightnow you might already have a
bunch of vegan things that youdon't even realize that we're
vegan.
You're already eating them.
You don't have to just swapeverything out, right, but you
do have to take those recipesthat you're familiar with, make
a few changes, get comfortablewith it and also your body needs
to process.
Like if you're eating a lotmore lentils and beans and
(19:25):
things like that, your bodyneeds to take some time to
process and get used to that.
So I just recommend doingthings a little bit slower.
Speaker 1 (19:36):
That's such a good point I haven't even thought
about that when you've beeneating a certain way for a long
time and you're like, oh, I'mgoing to change.
If you go drastic andcompletely change, that's a big
shift for your body and yourinternal systems.
Speaker 2 (19:44):
Yeah absolutely and, of course, like for most people,
it's a very positive shift.
You will feel good.
But again, if you're not reallysure about how to prepare meals
or like, how do you even readlabels, things like that it
might take a while for you toget used to.
So that's the whole point ofthe course and the coaching to
help people.
Speaker 1 (20:03):
No, that's important.
I've noticed more things nowsay vegan or cruelty free,
things like that, but you alsohave to know what those mean,
because something could saydairy free or whatever, but I'm
sure there's levels of all of itand what it really means in
terms of the actual ingredients.
Speaker 2 (20:21):
Absolutely yeah.
So I go over definitions firstthing in the course, because
that's very important.
You might go see something inthe grocery store.
It says plant protein orsomething and then you see, oh,
it has some eggs in there or ithas like dairy cheese or
something.
And so a lot of companies Ithink they want to.
Obviously they want to makemoney.
So it's if something is popularthey're going to get on the
(20:43):
bandwagon.
But just because it sayssomething like plant protein
doesn't mean it's all vegan.
So you have to like, really becareful with those things.
Speaker 1 (20:54):
That's so true I'm thinking about.
I'm going through my head evenfor me, like I don't drink, I
haven't ever drank milk, I'venever liked it and it doesn't
agree with me.
But even like creamer, there'sso many different kinds and now
you can get there's all thesekinds that say they're gluten
free, but now you can get plantbased and all of that.
So I sounds like your courseswould be a really great starting
point for a lot of people.
Speaker 2 (21:13):
Yeah, absolutely, it's a great starting point.
Or, if you've tried this and ithasn't worked out for you, I
think it could be a goodresource and tool.
And, yeah, I think, just havefun with it too, because there's
so many options now and just somany resources to help you.
I don't want people to thinklike, oh, I'm taking things away
from my life and my diet andthings like that, so really
(21:35):
you're just adding better thingsfor your health, obviously
great for the environment, forthe animals as well.
Speaker 1 (21:42):
Absolutely, and one of the things you mentioned
earlier in your journey with itwas learning more about the
dairy industry.
That's something I've learnedmore about over the years, even
since doing the podcast.
I think people just have noidea what the animals go through
in that industry, yeah, and sothat's a big thing for me to
want to try to get the dairymore out, because I love cheese,
(22:05):
unfortunately, but so that's ahard one for people.
I think that's probably a bigobstacle for a lot of people.
Speaker 2 (22:18):
Yeah, I think for most people that I hear from it,
it's really cheese and thereason is it's actually
addictive.
It's like as addictive asheroin, like what's happening in
your brain.
It's the same process.
Speaker 1 (22:24):
So it's okay, we don't have to feel bad.
Speaker 2 (22:26):
Don't feel bad.
I think most people are justthey have that addiction.
They don't even realize bad.
I think most people are justthey have that addiction, they
don't even realize.
But when I talk to them aboutwhat do you hesitant about?
What's your hesitancy aboutgoing vegan?
It's usually the cheese.
And so when you do also likeslowly replace things, it helps.
For some people it helps.
If you do like just just cut itout for three to four weeks,
(22:49):
they say it takes.
Some people say it takes 21days to make a change, right.
So if you cut it out for threeto four weeks, they say it takes
.
Some people say it takes 21days to make a change, right.
So if you cut it out for threeto four weeks, what happens is
your taste buds are going tochange as well.
So once you start let's say youlike accidentally had something
or you want to taste it just tosee you're going to have a
different reaction.
So it's really different foreveryone too, and so that's why
I say just go at your own pace,figure out what you need to do,
(23:13):
and if you can do everything butthat, start there, right, and
then you can go on and try tochip away at the cheese problem.
Speaker 1 (23:22):
The cheese problem.
It's like it's the same thingwhen I've tried to go off soda
or caffeine.
We don't realize, sometimes weblame ourselves, but it's all
the chemicals in our body andthe way our brain is wired and
we can't get mad at ourselves.
And weight issues are on top ofthat.
A lot of us are predisposed tocertain things that are
(23:42):
genetically what we're born with.
We can only do so much, but itsounds like your model is really
slow and steady.
Try it a little at a time anddon't overwhelm yourself.
Speaker 2 (23:52):
Yeah, especially because it can be overwhelming,
like you said, like with all theoptions and you don't really
know what to do, what's vegan,what's not vegan.
So just like on your body, butalso like mentally, like you
want to make sure you take itslow.
And yeah, now, thankfully,there's actually a lot of good
vegan cheeses that are coming upon the market, so that's good,
that helps.
Speaker 1 (24:13):
And then so we talked a lot about the food part of it
.
But, like you said, there's ain terms of being a vegan.
There's a lot of layers, andone of that is all of the
especially for us women all ofour cosmetics and skin care and
all of that.
That can be anotheroverwhelming thing.
So is there maybe some brandsyou suggest for people or
certain items that you say?
(24:35):
Try to change this first.
Speaker 2 (24:37):
Yeah, I think, again, like a lot of the beauty brands
are going in that direction,which is good.
So I would say, start withlooking at what you're already
comfortable using.
Make sure, just double check itvegan.
Is it cruelty free?
If it's not, you put that tothe side and then you'll start
slowly shifting things out.
Right you're, you got yourmascara.
(24:59):
Let's say, use that up untilyou can, until it's done, and
then start researching slowlywhat's a better mascara for me
to use, because, again, peoplecan be really particular with
things, especially like hair toopeople, different types of hair
.
You want a good product foryour hair.
So, in terms of like brands, Ithink it's going to be very
personal.
So I would say, just one by one, just go through.
(25:21):
Again, it's going to be slowand steady, but you might find
that a lot of the things you'reusing are already vegan and
cruelty free, so that's great.
Speaker 1 (25:28):
Yeah, I think there is more than not, but so that's
right.
Yeah, I think there is morethan not.
But there's also some bigbrands that aren't, that people
don't realize.
Or they may say they're free ofsomething, but that doesn't
mean they are vegan, and or itdoesn't mean they don't test on
animals, and that's somethingthat's really important to me.
I follow several organizationslike Beagle Freedom Project, who
are saving the animals from thelabs, and I think people just
(25:51):
don't think that happens anymore.
We're so progressive in someways they think, oh, that
doesn't happen.
Actually, it does all over.
Speaker 2 (25:57):
Oh, yeah, it does happen.
There's a lot of documentarieson that too.
There was one, I think itfeatures the Beagle Free Project
, but yeah, that's.
It's just brutal to see theanimal testing videos.
It's just yeah.
Every time I buy something ithas to be cruelty free.
And I think, again, like yousaid, most people don't realize.
So it's that education part,because once you do see what's
(26:20):
happening and then you realize,oh OK, so now I understand that
avoiding these products andsupporting these products is
actually going to help and makea difference, right.
Speaker 1 (26:29):
No, I think that is education is a big piece, I
think.
For one, people think thatdoesn't happen in the US and it
does.
Animals are set free from USlabs all the time, but also a
lot of times, companies areexporting or importing and the
other countries where theproducts being made don't have a
lot of the laws we have, soit's even worse.
So, yeah, it's a lot ofeducation.
(26:51):
I think you're a good resourcefor people they want to try to
start down this journey, but Ialso think the message you're
saying is don't overwhelmyourself.
You don't have to go completely1000% the first day.
It's a process, and we alsodon't want to waste.
Like you said.
We don't want to waste the foodor the things, because that's
also a part of the environment.
(27:11):
We don't want to throw a bunchof stuff away then and not use
it.
Speaker 2 (27:14):
Yeah, exactly yeah, and there are options for that.
I've seen people like either ifit's new and obviously sealed,
you can donate it to a food bankor someone who's in need, you
can give to family and friends,or you can use it up and then
slowly make your change.
Speaker 1 (27:27):
So whatever works for you, your change, so whatever
works for you, so for yourjourney, since it's something
you've been going through in thelast seven years, what has what
have you seen yourselfpersonally, physically or
mentally have been the biggestgain?
So someone's thinking about it.
Is this really going to make adifference?
Speaker 2 (27:44):
Yeah, no, you just feel better.
It's hard to describe thatbecause it's like for me.
I fortunately my health was,was okay.
I didn't have like major healthissues.
But depending on how I'm eatingtoo, I can see like in my lab
results every year I can see mycholesterol go down.
I can see things like that.
My back has not been hurting.
(28:05):
I used to have like really badback pain.
I think it was also like mentalhealth related for me.
When my mental health is reallybad, it manifests physically, I
think, just like taking allthat out, really not having the
inflammatory things in your bodylike meat and dairy,
specifically cheese, thosethings.
(28:25):
That's really helpful becausenow the inflammatory stuff is
out and you're getting moreanti-inflammatory things like
fruits and veggies and goodstuff, and so it just helps you
feel good overall and I just Ithink for me because I'm doing
it for the animals is my heartfeels good.
That just helps you overall aswell.
Speaker 1 (28:38):
Right, it's so true.
And the inflammatory.
I don't think people realizehow much of what we eat causes
that, and I know I haveautoimmune disease issues, so I
already have the inflammationproblem and then I'm just eating
stuff that's making it worse,right, yeah, that's a huge.
I know it's a huge piece of it,but, like you said, sometimes
when we're struggling with ourmental health, food is our
(28:59):
crutch, yep, and we either don'teat as much as we should or we
eat too much, and so that's likeanother layer to it.
So that sounds like for you.
It's been a good processoverall, physically and mentally
, and I'm sure it could help alot of people yeah, I actually.
Speaker 2 (29:14):
I was definitely emotionally eating for many
years without really realizing.
You don't really realize whatyou're doing.
It's so interesting how thatworks.
I was just going through mylife and people around me were
commenting things which is notvery nice, but what happens and
you just don't?
And then one day I woke up andI realized, wow, okay, I
(29:35):
couldn't breathe well when I waswalking and, mind you, I was
already at this point, I hadalready switched to being vegan,
so it wasn't about that.
It was for me, unfortunately,like it was just that excess
weight for me and I felt like Ihad to lose some weight.
So I ended up losing 40 poundsand, of course, again, I was
(29:55):
already vegan.
So it's not because of veganism,but it's just that coming to
that relationship with your bodyand your health and just like
getting more in tune with whatI'm consuming.
I think that process has beenhelpful for me because again,
you could go eat Oreos.
Those are vegan, right, right.
It's about like really thinkingabout your health.
(30:16):
If you're doing this for yourhealth, it's going to look very
different from people who arejust like no, I just want to do
this for animals and I'm notthinking about my health maybe
as much Right?
So for me, I got to a pointwhere it was like full circle,
like I needed to get to a placewhere I felt good, and so that's
what happened for me, and so Idefinitely feel a lot better.
(30:38):
Again, it's not the answer foreveryone, right?
Speaker 1 (30:41):
No, I think I've heard it my whole life and it's
always more irritating when it'sa man oh, you need to lose some
weight, that's right.
Oh really, oh my gosh, you'rethe first person to ever you
know it's.
Yeah, the health care system iswhat it is and no matter what,
how healthy or not we are, weall know what our normal body
weight is and if we feel like weneed and for us females over 40
(31:05):
, for me, after a hysterectomythings change that I didn't know
were going to change and it'smuch harder to lose weight and I
know I do feel better when Ihave less weight on.
That's just just.
That's how I've always been.
But, like you said, veganismisn't necessarily the thing
that's going to do that for you.
Obviously, it's going to help,it is going to make your body
healthier, but there's stilllifestyle aspects of it in terms
(31:28):
of how active you are and howmuch you're eating and when
you're eating and all of thatthat play into it too.
You can never tell someone elseto do it.
They have to find that forthemselves.
Speaker 2 (31:39):
Absolutely yeah, same with like making any change in
your life.
And that's why when I talk topeople about vegan, vegan
lifestyle change or plant-baseddiet or whatever it is that they
want, it has to come from them,and so all I can do is provide
some information, some stats,some anecdotes, things like that
and kind of plant seeds inpeople's minds.
But I'm not out here likespecifically just trying to
(32:02):
change someone like that.
Right, they have to be ready,they have to be in the right
mindset and at the point intheir life to make a change.
And especially for people whohave families like I know, it's
okay.
Well, I want to go vegan, butwhat about husband?
Or what about my kids?
There's just all these otherpeople to think about.
It starts slow in thosesituations.
Speaker 1 (32:23):
Yeah, Give yourself a break.
It doesn't have to all happenat once.
Speaker 2 (32:26):
Yeah exactly, I just have to show this to you.
So it's called TheraPets, soit's like different pets every
day, like different animals, andlike different pets every day,
like different animals.
And so today's was.
Sometimes it feels like thehorrible feeling will never end.
It's important to hold on andwait it out, because it never
lasts, which is like great cardfor me, but yeah, I love that
(32:47):
yeah, and one other way you canchange your life is by adopting
a pet.
Yes, oh my God, I talk aboutthat all the time with people
because I see so many peoplestill continuing to buy from
breeders or to like really justnot understand rescue animals
and how amazing they are, and sothat that upsets me, so I just
(33:07):
want to promote that.
We promote that a lot on Lucy'sInstagram too.
Speaker 1 (33:13):
Well, and I think some people don't realize the
domino effect of purchasing apet.
And well, well, they're not abad breeder, it doesn't matter.
But it's the effect of you'resupporting the breeders and the
breeders are going to keepbreeding because they know they
can keep making money.
And then when they get I see itall the time at the shelters
I've volunteered in and stuff Ifthey get a litter of animals
(33:33):
that have health issues, theyjust dump them and people don't
realize how much that plays intothe overcrowded shelter system
we have right now.
Speaker 2 (33:42):
That's true.
Yeah, it's a systemic issue,like most things are, and I
think for me too.
Just the perspective I have onanimals has changed so much,
obviously since adopting Lucy,but also just by going vegan too
.
Like I don't view them assomething that you own or
purchase.
I don't view them as property,even though in the eyes of the
(34:02):
law they're viewing them asproperty.
So I think that's also a bigshift that has to happen in
people's minds.
Speaker 1 (34:09):
Yeah, I think that's definitely something.
And also I think it's the samething when people have a pet and
they think of it as like anobject they own, and that's the
time when things get hard or oh,I'm moving, I can't take it
with me, and that's when theyget put in the shelter.
It's a part of that thinkingtoo no, my pets are my family.
Yeah, they come before I'mworrying about other things.
(34:31):
So there's a lot of educationand also just the way people
view animals, and so it soundslike Lucy has been definitely a
huge impact for you in all ofthose areas, and so it was
(34:55):
always just in my mind, likethis fantasy of oh, it'd be
great to have a dog.
Speaker 2 (34:56):
But once you actually adopt a dog and have them in
your life and in your heart,like you just can't describe how
amazing that is that connection.
Speaker 1 (35:03):
Yeah, yeah.
Well, Lucy sounds like anamazing little dog and she has
really inspired a lot of thingsin your life and hopefully
she'll inspire more for otherpeople with everyone reading her
book.
So everyone listening, makesure to go.
Look at.
Lucy Goes to the Gentle Barn.
You can learn about Lucy andyou can learn about the Gentle
(35:25):
Barn and all the amazing animalsthey have.
And it's great because in theback of the book you hear a
little more about Tenny and herstory and getting Lucy.
So I think it's a greateducational piece, but it's also
fun for people just to read andsee all the adorable animals.
Speaker 2 (35:41):
Yeah, thank you so much.
We're really excited about thebook.
With the book, I just want toteach kids that even if you're
different or if you're in a newenvironment, you're nervous,
scared, you can still makefriends.
And that's the whole point ofthe book is that she's a little
different from the other animals, but she ends up making friends
with them.
Speaker 1 (35:59):
Yeah, it's really sweet and it's also, I think,
great, because then you alsoshow how you support her.
They're good, I'm here for youand it's there's a lot of layers
to it.
I think that kids will respondto, but adults too, and so I
really appreciate you tending tobeing here and sharing your
story, sharing Lucy with us, andI look forward to seeing more
(36:20):
books from you in the future,and I hope everyone follows you
on Instagram.
I'll put all of your links inthe show notes and checks out
your book to learn more aboutLucy in the Gentle Barn.
Speaker 2 (36:31):
Thank you so much, Julie.
It's been so great talking withyou today.
Speaker 1 (36:34):
You, too.
Thank you so much, julie.
It's been so great talking withyou today.
You, too, thank you.
Thank you, my friend, for beinghere and listening to this
episode of the Story of my Petpodcast.
I hope you were inspired andtouched by this amazing pet
story and I hope you come backto listen to more episodes soon.
(36:58):
Make sure you don't miss anynew episodes by clicking
subscribe wherever you arelistening to this podcast right
now.
Want to help the podcast grow?
Then hit rating and reviewwherever you are listening to
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Every review helps get thepodcast in front of more people
and heard by more listeners, sothat the podcast can inspire
(37:20):
more people to rescue, fosterand adopt animals in need today.
Thank you so much for beinghere and much love to you and
your pets.
Hello, my friends and fellow animal lovers, welcome
to the Story of my Pet podcast.
I am Julie Marty Pearson, yourhost, proud fur mom, pet lover
and all-around animal advocate.
I'm so happy to have you hereto listen to the incredible pet
stories that I have collectedfrom around the world.
(00:27):
I hope you enjoy this episodeand I can't wait to share this
pet story with you.
Hello, my friends and fellowanimal lovers, I am happy to be
here with a new episode and tointroduce you all to my guest,
tenny Manassian.
Tenny, thank you so much forbeing here.
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Hey Jolie, Really glad to be here.
Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
Tenny and I connected because she wanted to share
with me her new book called LucyGoes to the Gentle Barn.
So I have it and I love it.
I was reading through it againlast night and it's really a
cute story and it's a greatstory for kids.
And so before we get into that,Tenny, I wanted to talk to you
a little bit about Lucy, yourdog, and you are a proud dog mom
(01:18):
, I have to say yes, very proud.
So how did the adoption of Lucyand you guys coming together?
How did that come about?
Speaker 2 (01:28):
Yeah, so Lucy is actually my first dog.
So first and only dog so far, Iadopted her in 2015.
I had just come back to LA fromthe Bay Area.
I was going to grad school upthere and I always wanted a dog
and my family always said no.
I told them before I moved backthat I for sure was getting a
(01:51):
dog, and so I think they feltbad for me at this point, going
through my whole life without adog.
So they reluctantly agreed.
I was already trying to searchfor dogs and I knew I wanted to
ideally get a puppy or just ayounger dog, so that we can just
have that experience that we'venever had.
And I found through a rescue, Ifound they had some puppies and
so I took my parents and wewent and we visited the puppies
(02:14):
and my mom actually ended uppicking Lucy out of all of them,
which is ironic because she'sshe was so scared of dogs.
So for her, this is like herfirst experience with a dog, so
it was really interesting.
She was so scared of dogs, sofor her, this was like her first
experience with a dog, so itwas really interesting.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
But that's great because for people that don't
have animals growing up, thatfirst one can be really scary.
So I think that's a great thingthat your parents were able to
go on this journey with you.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
Yeah, no, it's been really wonderful for my whole
family.
So my family's Armenian butwe're from Iran and so in Iran
growing up like my parentsdidn't really have pets, like it
wasn't normalized there.
It's a bit of a differentculture than what we have here
in the Western culture.
So for them it's been acomplete night and day like
change.
Now, like Lucy's theirgrandchild, like their
(02:59):
granddaughter, they're obsessedwith her, but, yeah, it's been
really amazing.
Speaker 1 (03:08):
That's so great, I love.
I love hearing that so many ofmy guests are like animal lovers
from the time they're born andall of that.
But it's great when we hearstories of people who haven't
and have ventured into rescueand adoption.
And then you find that dog thatyou're meant to have, which I
think is what happened with youand Lucy.
That's exactly what happened.
Speaker 2 (03:21):
I actually wanted a male dog and I was going to name
him Milo and I had this wholeplan.
And so when I saw the fourpuppies, I wanted the little
runt of the litter.
He was like this little black,like poodle mix boy, and I was
like I want this one.
And my mom said, no, I wantthis one.
And she pointed to Lucy and Iwas like, all right, well, since
they're compromising, they'regetting the dog.
(03:43):
So I went with what my momwanted and it was exactly what I
needed.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
That's so funny.
When I was little and I got toget a puppy it was a litter and
I picked out mine, champ, whichwas a boy my mom was like no,
we've only ever had girl dogs.
I'm like no, this is the one,and it was the one, yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:05):
I always say our find us the way they're supposed to.
That's absolutely what happened.
Yeah, it was just so cute andas soon as she came to our house
, like we just all fell in lovewith her and it's been a very
nice journey.
So she's eight years old now.
Every time we meet peoplethey'll ask me how old she is.
I say eight and they're likeeight months.
I'm like no, she's eight yearsold.
She looks like a puppy, so shejust has so much energy and she
just is very friendly.
(04:25):
So we go on all theseadventures together.
I have her Instagram page wherewe post about that, and that's
what led me to wanting to shareour story of going to the Gentle
Barn.
I think a lot of kids canrelate to some of these same
lessons that we're learning,just even with dogs.
So, for example, even when Itake Lucy to the vet and she's
(04:46):
scared, I just think about kidsgoing to a doctor and being
scared.
So I just have so manydifferent ideas of books that I
want to share through Lucy'sperspective and through her
voice and her experience.
Speaker 1 (04:57):
But yeah, the Gentleman was the first one I
was going to say.
That's such an importantparallel to make because
obviously kids and pets aredifferent, but young dogs, or
even dogs you adopt that aren'tpuppies and they could be a few
years old or older.
You don't know what theirexperiences have been, so their
experiences with you are brandnew, just like with kids going,
like you said, to the doctor.
And it's the same thing in away, because when young kids you
(05:20):
can't, you know, explain theway that maybe when they're
older thing with pets, you don'tknow how much they're
understanding.
And it definitely.
As I was going through the bookI could see how you were
helping Lucy to understand thedifferent animals she was
meeting, just like for a childmeeting a cow for the first time
or something like what is this?
Why is it so big?
Is it going to be nice to me?
(05:40):
So I love that idea that you'reusing the lessons you've
learned with Lucy to make aparallel into the stories you're
telling yeah, exactly yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
And when we took Lucy to the Gentle Barn, it was 2017
.
So she was still pretty youngand we just had such a wonderful
time.
We met basically all theanimals that I named in the book
.
So Lucy the cow the same name,which is cute, and Hiroka, but
(06:11):
we call her Hiro the horse, andthey had a really cute moment
where they like almost kiss andI have the photo.
Yeah, it's very cute.
And then so the way sheillustrated in the book was
perfect.
Speaker 1 (06:17):
Obviously, before the book came to existence, you
actually went to the Gentle Barn.
How did you learn about themand what they do?
Speaker 2 (06:24):
Yeah, well, I've been on my vegan journey.
It's been almost seven years,yeah.
So I actually started thejourney because I adopted Lissy
and then after about a year Iwent vegetarian.
I started really questioninglike why I was eating some
animals and then having her inmy home, like opening my home up
to other animals.
(06:45):
So it just didn't make sense tome.
So I went vegetarian.
About almost a year later iswhen I went vegan and I learned
about the dairy industry, theegg industry, just horrible
things happening to animals.
So at some point during thisjourney I was following the
Gentle Barn on social media andthey're just a wonderful
organization very close by to me, about half an hour away, so we
(07:08):
went to visit and I got myfirst cow hug and it was so
healing Like I can't even putinto words like how amazing a
cow hug is.
So if you haven't experiencedit and you have the chance to go
to a sanctuary, it's the bestthing.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
It's funny because when I met you virtually and
learned about your book, I'mlike I know the Gentle Barn.
I follow them too and they'reabout, I think about an hour and
a half from where I live inBakersfield, so I've heard of
them.
I was like God, that would beso great to go there, because a
lot of sanctuaries like GentleBarn do have days where people
can come and meet the animalsand I've heard it's such a great
experience, so it sounds likethat was really transformative
(07:42):
for you.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
Yeah, and I think a lot of people have a similar
experience going there, which iswhy they're just so popular and
so well known.
Yeah, just a really friendlyplace to go, good for kids and
families.
Yeah, so when I took Lucy, Iwent with her and my dad and so
we were just holding her aroundand like showing her the animals
and, yeah, she had just awonderful time.
(08:05):
She just loves going out andmeeting people and other animals
.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
She's very it sounds like she's very social.
Speaker 2 (08:10):
Yes, I joke that she's the extrovert to my
introvert.
We just love to be home andreading books.
Speaker 1 (08:16):
She's let's go out.
Let's go, mom.
We're not sitting here all day.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
Yeah, exactly.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
Our pets are often the thing that we need in so
many different ways, and itsounds like she's taking you
along on her adventures.
Speaker 2 (08:29):
Yeah, absolutely Like she gets me out of that house
for sure.
She's also my emotional supportanimal.
So I went through a lot ofdepression, anxiety, was in a
really bad like emotionallyabusive relationship for a long
time.
So she actually got me througha lot and she literally saved my
life.
I had like suicidal ideationfor a period of time.
So when I tell people like shesaved my life, like she
(08:50):
literally saved my life, andstill like to this day, like
every day, it's like I get upand I'm just like so happy that
I can just be her mom.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
So that's so great.
We always talk about whorescued who.
You and your family did adopther and rescue her, but it was
meant to be for you.
It was that support you needed,and sometimes we don't even
realize it and it could be yearslater that they're the support
we needed and we would have hadno idea, but they're the reason
we get up and go through our dayfor them.
(09:19):
And so it's just really specialthat you guys have that bond
yeah absolutely.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
It's been wonderful, yeah, and we actually took her
to Armenia in 2019.
Oh wow.
Speaker 1 (09:30):
That's a big adventure.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
Very big adventure.
I have a few books in mind forthat, so hopefully we get to do
those.
But yeah, she's, she's justalways with me.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
No, that's a great book too, to teach kids about
Armenia through the eyes of adog.
Yeah, exactly, so you have allthese great stories and
adventures.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
How did you actually decide what the first book would
be, and what was that processfor you?
It was, I think last year I hadgone to the Gentle Bar and I
took a former co-worker.
She was going for the firsttime and I love taking people
for the first time.
It's so much fun.
No-transcript.
(10:29):
Yeah, just reach out to us.
And so I did.
And the new year I reached outto them and by the time we
started a meeting I had to get achance to talk.
It was April of this year andso I spoke to Ellie and she was
really excited about it and sheloved that.
It was a book about my dog andher perspective and her
adventure.
So they were really excited forme and after I got their
(10:50):
approval I just wanted to makesure they were okay with me
writing the book.
I went ahead and did my finaldraft and the process started
for me to try to find anillustrator, find an illustrator
, and so I found Agavni.
Agavni is a young Armenian womanhere also in the Los Angeles
area, and I really wanted tohire specifically an Armenian
woman because I wanted tosupport them, especially now
(11:13):
with the rise of AI and all ofthese things like artists are
not really being supported asmuch, and so I really wanted to
make sure that I was doing that,and so I was really lucky with
Agavni.
She's amazing.
She's done other children'sbooks and I just love her art
style.
We went back and forth aboutjust trying to get Lucy's
character right, making sure shelooked the way that I wanted,
(11:36):
and so once we crafted that andgot that perfect, then we went
through the whole book and justpage by page were collaborating
on it.
Yeah, I love I'm just lookingthrough the book, book and just
page by page.
Speaker 1 (11:45):
We're collaborating on it.
Yeah, I love.
I'm just looking through thebook as you're talking about it
and her illustrations are justthere.
There's like a softness to it,yeah, and playfulness, but all
of the animals just look sohappy.
They all look like they'resmiling and I just love that.
It's just like a very happybook to look through and lucy
just looks so happy throughoutthe whole thing.
(12:05):
I love that.
Speaker 2 (12:06):
Yeah, which is true.
It's based on true story,obviously but yeah, the animals
are so happy there, like everytime I go, I'm just like I just
hearing like how they care forthem and everything that they do
is just so amazing.
And also, the Gentle Barn is agreat place for people to visit
and it provides healing forhumans too.
So it's like they healedanimals Right and, in turn,
(12:29):
there's healing for people,which I feel like is similar to
Lucy and I's story.
It's like I rescued her, butshe also rescued me.
Speaker 1 (12:35):
Right, that's great.
So did she actually meet Lucyor visit the Gentle Barn, or did
she just go off of photos?
Speaker 2 (12:45):
meet Lucy or visit the Gentle Barn, or did she just
go off of photos?
No, I just gave her some photos.
She hasn't met Lucy yet, but Ido need to give her a copy of
the book so hopefully when we dothat, when we drop it off, we
can have her meet Lucy.
But she did a great job, justlike capturing Lucy's essence, I
think.
I think that can be hard to do,like you said, like she hasn't
met her, but just going off ofphotos, and I sent her a lot of
photos from the Gentle Bar, fromour visits, from the website,
(13:09):
just to make sure the characterslook exactly like what you're
doing.
She did a great job.
Speaker 1 (13:13):
So I love that you were purposeful about wanting to
support female artists andArmenian artists.
I think that's so important forall of us that are in whatever
type of creative world it may bewriting, podcasting, things
like that because there are somany and, like you said, AI is
taking over and we want the truehumans to be the ones creating
(13:35):
these things, so I think thatjust adds such another great
layer to how great your book is.
I really love that.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
Thank you so much.
Yeah, and I also want tomention we are donating a part
of the proceeds of the book tothe Gentle Barn, which I think
is also important for me tosupport them because they've
been so influential, not just inmy life, but, I think, in so
many people's lives.
Every time I mention the book,people are like, yeah, I follow
them on social media.
I'm like, oh, this is amazing.
You already know about theGentle Barn, so it's great, yeah
.
And amazing.
Speaker 1 (14:02):
You already know about the Chetford, so it's
great, yeah, and that's one ofthe ways I try to do it with the
podcast to get more people toknow about different rescues and
organizations.
But thank God for social mediathat we can all follow these
amazing things, but it's evenbetter when we can get a real
story behind it and the impactthat they're actually making
with their animals and withpeople.
Yeah, absolutely, and soeveryone listening, there'll be
(14:24):
a link in the show notes and I'malso going to post on social
media where you can purchase thebook.
It's a great gift.
I would say it's a great giftfor kids, but anybody's going to
enjoy reading through it.
I did myself so in terms of thebook, and you have all these
other ideas.
What's the one thing that yourexperience with Lucy is your
motivating factor to share herstory?
Speaker 2 (14:48):
I think really she just taught me to enjoy life.
She just enjoys everything.
Every time we go on a walk,every time we tell her we're
leaving the house and we'regoing out, she's so excited and
she's just so enthusiastic.
And she's also so friendly toeverybody.
She says hi to everyone.
She wants to say hi to all thedogs.
(15:08):
Sometimes they don't want tosay hi to her, but it's okay.
And she wants to say hi to allthe dogs.
Sometimes they don't want tosay hi to her, but it's okay.
So I think just her like zestfor life in a way, and just
getting me again through thosedark days, just having her and
like the responsibility of beingher mom and taking care of her,
was really important for me toget me through those days.
Speaker 1 (15:26):
That's great.
Yeah, I think that is so trueabout animals.
Even when we have animals thathave been through hard things or
they've been in shelters orwhatever they've gone through,
they just leave it behind themand they move for it and they're
so happy.
And when animals are sofriendly, it's like they have no
preconceived notions about whopeople are, about how they look.
They just want attention fromanyone they meet.
(15:48):
Animals can teach us a lot,that's for sure.
Absolutely yeah.
So you mentioned that afteradopting Lucy, you started this
journey yourself of vegetarianto vegan, and now you're
actually a vegan coach.
So can you talk a little bitabout that journey and how that
happened for you?
Speaker 2 (16:06):
Yeah, so obviously she had a big impact on my life
in that way too, and so I'vebeen vegan for about seven years
I think six or seven years.
And yeah, I, just a year and ahalf ago, I quit my job and I
said I'm going to be a veganlifestyle.
Wow.
I know, and obviously I'm alsowriting and so I'm doing things
like that, but I just wasn'tfeeling like I was living my
(16:30):
life's purpose, and I thinkduring the pandemic, a lot of
people had those questions ofre-evaluating their life.
What am I doing?
How am I spending my time?
Basically Right.
And so I did get to a point.
Even though I enjoyed my job Iloved the people that I met I
just felt it was time to take aleap, and helping other people
make this change is like reallyfulfilling for me.
(16:53):
And also I help businesses too,so I do consulting.
So if you have a business youwant to add some options and
you're not sure where to start,I can help you with that too.
Speaker 1 (17:05):
That's great.
I was born and raised inCalifornia, so we've always had
all those options.
It's more normal here, I guessyou could say, than even other
parts of the country, let alonethe world, but it's so true.
I've worked at differentorganizations.
I worked at a Jewish universityand they had a kosher kitchen
and I'd never had an experiencewith that.
So I can imagine there'scompanies that don't even know
what they should do to havevegetarian and vegan options for
(17:28):
their employees.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
Yeah, absolutely, and even, for example, a restaurant
or cafe or really any business,because veganism it's about
what you're consuming, rightHead to toe, not just what we're
eating.
So I think about people arereally into cruelty-free
cosmetics.
Now that's becoming a thingwhich I'm really happy about,
because animal testing ishorrific, and so just thinking
(17:51):
about everything that you'repurchasing, everything that
you're contributing to, and justreally doing your best, I think
that's really important to keepin mind.
Speaker 1 (17:59):
Yeah, I know myself I'm from health issues and I've
never really been a big meateater.
I've just once I was a kid andrealized where that came from.
I had a hard time eating it andI have health issues that I
actually my body doesn't reallyprocess meat, so I've never been
big on it.
But when I thought about liketrue vegetarianism or veganism,
(18:20):
it can be overwhelming.
So that's a really importantservice you're providing,
because someone could say youwant that, but then the whole
world is OK.
Well, where do I start?
Yeah, if someone's listeningand they're like OK, this is the
time I'm going to do it, I'mgoing to try to be vegan or
vegetarian.
What are some of the firststeps you would give them as
good ways to start?
Speaker 2 (18:40):
I also have a vegan one-on-one course that I sell
and it basically gives you abreakdown of.
I call it a five-week kickstart, but you have the course for
life so you can take your timewith it.
And I think that's importantbecause my number one tip is
really just to take your timeand slowly make those changes,
because you want it to be asustainable lifestyle change,
(19:03):
and that can take a while.
You look in your cabinet rightnow you might already have a
bunch of vegan things that youdon't even realize that we're
vegan.
You're already eating them.
You don't have to just swapeverything out, right, but you
do have to take those recipesthat you're familiar with, make
a few changes, get comfortablewith it and also your body needs
to process.
Like if you're eating a lotmore lentils and beans and
(19:25):
things like that, your bodyneeds to take some time to
process and get used to that.
So I just recommend doingthings a little bit slower.
Speaker 1 (19:36):
That's such a good point I haven't even thought
about that when you've beeneating a certain way for a long
time and you're like, oh, I'mgoing to change.
If you go drastic andcompletely change, that's a big
shift for your body and yourinternal systems.
Speaker 2 (19:44):
Yeah absolutely and, of course, like for most people,
it's a very positive shift.
You will feel good.
But again, if you're not reallysure about how to prepare meals
or like, how do you even readlabels, things like that it
might take a while for you toget used to.
So that's the whole point ofthe course and the coaching to
help people.
Speaker 1 (20:03):
No, that's important.
I've noticed more things nowsay vegan or cruelty free,
things like that, but you alsohave to know what those mean,
because something could saydairy free or whatever, but I'm
sure there's levels of all of itand what it really means in
terms of the actual ingredients.
Speaker 2 (20:21):
Absolutely yeah.
So I go over definitions firstthing in the course, because
that's very important.
You might go see something inthe grocery store.
It says plant protein orsomething and then you see, oh,
it has some eggs in there or ithas like dairy cheese or
something.
And so a lot of companies Ithink they want to.
Obviously they want to makemoney.
So it's if something is popularthey're going to get on the
(20:43):
bandwagon.
But just because it sayssomething like plant protein
doesn't mean it's all vegan.
So you have to like, really becareful with those things.
Speaker 1 (20:54):
That's so true I'm thinking about.
I'm going through my head evenfor me, like I don't drink, I
haven't ever drank milk, I'venever liked it and it doesn't
agree with me.
But even like creamer, there'sso many different kinds and now
you can get there's all thesekinds that say they're gluten
free, but now you can get plantbased and all of that.
So I sounds like your courseswould be a really great starting
point for a lot of people.
Speaker 2 (21:13):
Yeah, absolutely, it's a great starting point.
Or, if you've tried this and ithasn't worked out for you, I
think it could be a goodresource and tool.
And, yeah, I think, just havefun with it too, because there's
so many options now and just somany resources to help you.
I don't want people to thinklike, oh, I'm taking things away
from my life and my diet andthings like that, so really
(21:35):
you're just adding better thingsfor your health, obviously
great for the environment, forthe animals as well.
Speaker 1 (21:42):
Absolutely, and one of the things you mentioned
earlier in your journey with itwas learning more about the
dairy industry.
That's something I've learnedmore about over the years, even
since doing the podcast.
I think people just have noidea what the animals go through
in that industry, yeah, and sothat's a big thing for me to
want to try to get the dairymore out, because I love cheese,
(22:05):
unfortunately, but so that's ahard one for people.
I think that's probably a bigobstacle for a lot of people.
Speaker 2 (22:18):
Yeah, I think for most people that I hear from it,
it's really cheese and thereason is it's actually
addictive.
It's like as addictive asheroin, like what's happening in
your brain.
It's the same process.
Speaker 1 (22:24):
So it's okay, we don't have to feel bad.
Speaker 2 (22:26):
Don't feel bad.
I think most people are justthey have that addiction.
They don't even realize bad.
I think most people are justthey have that addiction, they
don't even realize.
But when I talk to them aboutwhat do you hesitant about?
What's your hesitancy aboutgoing vegan?
It's usually the cheese.
And so when you do also likeslowly replace things, it helps.
For some people it helps.
If you do like just just cut itout for three to four weeks,
(22:49):
they say it takes.
Some people say it takes 21days to make a change, right.
So if you cut it out for threeto four weeks, they say it takes
.
Some people say it takes 21days to make a change, right.
So if you cut it out for threeto four weeks, what happens is
your taste buds are going tochange as well.
So once you start let's say youlike accidentally had something
or you want to taste it just tosee you're going to have a
different reaction.
So it's really different foreveryone too, and so that's why
I say just go at your own pace,figure out what you need to do,
(23:13):
and if you can do everything butthat, start there, right, and
then you can go on and try tochip away at the cheese problem.
Speaker 1 (23:22):
The cheese problem.
It's like it's the same thingwhen I've tried to go off soda
or caffeine.
We don't realize, sometimes weblame ourselves, but it's all
the chemicals in our body andthe way our brain is wired and
we can't get mad at ourselves.
And weight issues are on top ofthat.
A lot of us are predisposed tocertain things that are
(23:42):
genetically what we're born with.
We can only do so much, but itsounds like your model is really
slow and steady.
Try it a little at a time anddon't overwhelm yourself.
Speaker 2 (23:52):
Yeah, especially because it can be overwhelming,
like you said, like with all theoptions and you don't really
know what to do, what's vegan,what's not vegan.
So just like on your body, butalso like mentally, like you
want to make sure you take itslow.
And yeah, now, thankfully,there's actually a lot of good
vegan cheeses that are coming upon the market, so that's good,
that helps.
Speaker 1 (24:13):
And then so we talked a lot about the food part of it
.
But, like you said, there's ain terms of being a vegan.
There's a lot of layers, andone of that is all of the
especially for us women all ofour cosmetics and skin care and
all of that.
That can be anotheroverwhelming thing.
So is there maybe some brandsyou suggest for people or
certain items that you say?
(24:35):
Try to change this first.
Speaker 2 (24:37):
Yeah, I think, again, like a lot of the beauty brands
are going in that direction,which is good.
So I would say, start withlooking at what you're already
comfortable using.
Make sure, just double check itvegan.
Is it cruelty free?
If it's not, you put that tothe side and then you'll start
slowly shifting things out.
Right you're, you got yourmascara.
(24:59):
Let's say, use that up untilyou can, until it's done, and
then start researching slowlywhat's a better mascara for me
to use, because, again, peoplecan be really particular with
things, especially like hair toopeople, different types of hair
.
You want a good product foryour hair.
So, in terms of like brands, Ithink it's going to be very
personal.
So I would say, just one by one, just go through.
(25:21):
Again, it's going to be slowand steady, but you might find
that a lot of the things you'reusing are already vegan and
cruelty free, so that's great.
Speaker 1 (25:28):
Yeah, I think there is more than not, but so that's
right.
Yeah, I think there is morethan not.
But there's also some bigbrands that aren't, that people
don't realize.
Or they may say they're free ofsomething, but that doesn't
mean they are vegan, and or itdoesn't mean they don't test on
animals, and that's somethingthat's really important to me.
I follow several organizationslike Beagle Freedom Project, who
are saving the animals from thelabs, and I think people just
(25:51):
don't think that happens anymore.
We're so progressive in someways they think, oh, that
doesn't happen.
Actually, it does all over.
Speaker 2 (25:57):
Oh, yeah, it does happen.
There's a lot of documentarieson that too.
There was one, I think itfeatures the Beagle Free Project
, but yeah, that's.
It's just brutal to see theanimal testing videos.
It's just yeah.
Every time I buy something ithas to be cruelty free.
And I think, again, like yousaid, most people don't realize.
So it's that education part,because once you do see what's
(26:20):
happening and then you realize,oh OK, so now I understand that
avoiding these products andsupporting these products is
actually going to help and makea difference, right.
Speaker 1 (26:29):
No, I think that is education is a big piece, I
think.
For one, people think thatdoesn't happen in the US and it
does.
Animals are set free from USlabs all the time, but also a
lot of times, companies areexporting or importing and the
other countries where theproducts being made don't have a
lot of the laws we have, soit's even worse.
So, yeah, it's a lot ofeducation.
(26:51):
I think you're a good resourcefor people they want to try to
start down this journey, but Ialso think the message you're
saying is don't overwhelmyourself.
You don't have to go completely1000% the first day.
It's a process, and we alsodon't want to waste.
Like you said.
We don't want to waste the foodor the things, because that's
also a part of the environment.
(27:11):
We don't want to throw a bunchof stuff away then and not use
it.
Speaker 2 (27:14):
Yeah, exactly yeah, and there are options for that.
I've seen people like either ifit's new and obviously sealed,
you can donate it to a food bankor someone who's in need, you
can give to family and friends,or you can use it up and then
slowly make your change.
Speaker 1 (27:27):
So whatever works for you, your change, so whatever
works for you, so for yourjourney, since it's something
you've been going through in thelast seven years, what has what
have you seen yourselfpersonally, physically or
mentally have been the biggestgain?
So someone's thinking about it.
Is this really going to make adifference?
Speaker 2 (27:44):
Yeah, no, you just feel better.
It's hard to describe thatbecause it's like for me.
I fortunately my health was,was okay.
I didn't have like major healthissues.
But depending on how I'm eatingtoo, I can see like in my lab
results every year I can see mycholesterol go down.
I can see things like that.
My back has not been hurting.
(28:05):
I used to have like really badback pain.
I think it was also like mentalhealth related for me.
When my mental health is reallybad, it manifests physically, I
think, just like taking allthat out, really not having the
inflammatory things in your bodylike meat and dairy,
specifically cheese, thosethings.
(28:25):
That's really helpful becausenow the inflammatory stuff is
out and you're getting moreanti-inflammatory things like
fruits and veggies and goodstuff, and so it just helps you
feel good overall and I just Ithink for me because I'm doing
it for the animals is my heartfeels good.
That just helps you overall aswell.
Speaker 1 (28:38):
Right, it's so true.
And the inflammatory.
I don't think people realizehow much of what we eat causes
that, and I know I haveautoimmune disease issues, so I
already have the inflammationproblem and then I'm just eating
stuff that's making it worse,right, yeah, that's a huge.
I know it's a huge piece of it,but, like you said, sometimes
when we're struggling with ourmental health, food is our
(28:59):
crutch, yep, and we either don'teat as much as we should or we
eat too much, and so that's likeanother layer to it.
So that sounds like for you.
It's been a good processoverall, physically and mentally
, and I'm sure it could help alot of people yeah, I actually.
Speaker 2 (29:14):
I was definitely emotionally eating for many
years without really realizing.
You don't really realize whatyou're doing.
It's so interesting how thatworks.
I was just going through mylife and people around me were
commenting things which is notvery nice, but what happens and
you just don't?
And then one day I woke up andI realized, wow, okay, I
(29:35):
couldn't breathe well when I waswalking and, mind you, I was
already at this point, I hadalready switched to being vegan,
so it wasn't about that.
It was for me, unfortunately,like it was just that excess
weight for me and I felt like Ihad to lose some weight.
So I ended up losing 40 poundsand, of course, again, I was
(29:55):
already vegan.
So it's not because of veganism,but it's just that coming to
that relationship with your bodyand your health and just like
getting more in tune with whatI'm consuming.
I think that process has beenhelpful for me because again,
you could go eat Oreos.
Those are vegan, right, right.
It's about like really thinkingabout your health.
(30:16):
If you're doing this for yourhealth, it's going to look very
different from people who arejust like no, I just want to do
this for animals and I'm notthinking about my health maybe
as much Right?
So for me, I got to a pointwhere it was like full circle,
like I needed to get to a placewhere I felt good, and so that's
what happened for me, and so Idefinitely feel a lot better.
(30:38):
Again, it's not the answer foreveryone, right?
Speaker 1 (30:41):
No, I think I've heard it my whole life and it's
always more irritating when it'sa man oh, you need to lose some
weight, that's right.
Oh really, oh my gosh, you'rethe first person to ever you
know it's.
Yeah, the health care system iswhat it is and no matter what,
how healthy or not we are, weall know what our normal body
weight is and if we feel like weneed and for us females over 40
(31:05):
, for me, after a hysterectomythings change that I didn't know
were going to change and it'smuch harder to lose weight and I
know I do feel better when Ihave less weight on.
That's just just.
That's how I've always been.
But, like you said, veganismisn't necessarily the thing
that's going to do that for you.
Obviously, it's going to help,it is going to make your body
healthier, but there's stilllifestyle aspects of it in terms
(31:28):
of how active you are and howmuch you're eating and when
you're eating and all of thatthat play into it too.
You can never tell someone elseto do it.
They have to find that forthemselves.
Speaker 2 (31:39):
Absolutely yeah, same with like making any change in
your life.
And that's why when I talk topeople about vegan, vegan
lifestyle change or plant-baseddiet or whatever it is that they
want, it has to come from them,and so all I can do is provide
some information, some stats,some anecdotes, things like that
and kind of plant seeds inpeople's minds.
But I'm not out here likespecifically just trying to
(32:02):
change someone like that.
Right, they have to be ready,they have to be in the right
mindset and at the point intheir life to make a change.
And especially for people whohave families like I know, it's
okay.
Well, I want to go vegan, butwhat about husband?
Or what about my kids?
There's just all these otherpeople to think about.
It starts slow in thosesituations.
Speaker 1 (32:23):
Yeah, Give yourself a break.
It doesn't have to all happenat once.
Speaker 2 (32:26):
Yeah exactly, I just have to show this to you.
So it's called TheraPets, soit's like different pets every
day, like different animals, andlike different pets every day,
like different animals.
And so today's was.
Sometimes it feels like thehorrible feeling will never end.
It's important to hold on andwait it out, because it never
lasts, which is like great cardfor me, but yeah, I love that
(32:47):
yeah, and one other way you canchange your life is by adopting
a pet.
Yes, oh my God, I talk aboutthat all the time with people
because I see so many peoplestill continuing to buy from
breeders or to like really justnot understand rescue animals
and how amazing they are, and sothat that upsets me, so I just
(33:07):
want to promote that.
We promote that a lot on Lucy'sInstagram too.
Speaker 1 (33:13):
Well, and I think some people don't realize the
domino effect of purchasing apet.
And well, well, they're not abad breeder, it doesn't matter.
But it's the effect of you'resupporting the breeders and the
breeders are going to keepbreeding because they know they
can keep making money.
And then when they get I see itall the time at the shelters
I've volunteered in and stuff Ifthey get a litter of animals
(33:33):
that have health issues, theyjust dump them and people don't
realize how much that plays intothe overcrowded shelter system
we have right now.
Speaker 2 (33:42):
That's true.
Yeah, it's a systemic issue,like most things are, and I
think for me too.
Just the perspective I have onanimals has changed so much,
obviously since adopting Lucy,but also just by going vegan too
.
Like I don't view them assomething that you own or
purchase.
I don't view them as property,even though in the eyes of the
(34:02):
law they're viewing them asproperty.
So I think that's also a bigshift that has to happen in
people's minds.
Speaker 1 (34:09):
Yeah, I think that's definitely something.
And also I think it's the samething when people have a pet and
they think of it as like anobject they own, and that's the
time when things get hard or oh,I'm moving, I can't take it
with me, and that's when theyget put in the shelter.
It's a part of that thinkingtoo no, my pets are my family.
Yeah, they come before I'mworrying about other things.
(34:31):
So there's a lot of educationand also just the way people
view animals, and so it soundslike Lucy has been definitely a
huge impact for you in all ofthose areas, and so it was
(34:55):
always just in my mind, likethis fantasy of oh, it'd be
great to have a dog.
Speaker 2 (34:56):
But once you actually adopt a dog and have them in
your life and in your heart,like you just can't describe how
amazing that is that connection.
Speaker 1 (35:03):
Yeah, yeah.
Well, Lucy sounds like anamazing little dog and she has
really inspired a lot of thingsin your life and hopefully
she'll inspire more for otherpeople with everyone reading her
book.
So everyone listening, makesure to go.
Look at.
Lucy Goes to the Gentle Barn.
You can learn about Lucy andyou can learn about the Gentle
(35:25):
Barn and all the amazing animalsthey have.
And it's great because in theback of the book you hear a
little more about Tenny and herstory and getting Lucy.
So I think it's a greateducational piece, but it's also
fun for people just to read andsee all the adorable animals.
Speaker 2 (35:41):
Yeah, thank you so much.
We're really excited about thebook.
With the book, I just want toteach kids that even if you're
different or if you're in a newenvironment, you're nervous,
scared, you can still makefriends.
And that's the whole point ofthe book is that she's a little
different from the other animals, but she ends up making friends
with them.
Speaker 1 (35:59):
Yeah, it's really sweet and it's also, I think,
great, because then you alsoshow how you support her.
They're good, I'm here for youand it's there's a lot of layers
to it.
I think that kids will respondto, but adults too, and so I
really appreciate you tending tobeing here and sharing your
story, sharing Lucy with us, andI look forward to seeing more
(36:20):
books from you in the future,and I hope everyone follows you
on Instagram.
I'll put all of your links inthe show notes and checks out
your book to learn more aboutLucy in the Gentle Barn.
Speaker 2 (36:31):
Thank you so much, Julie.
It's been so great talking withyou today.
Speaker 1 (36:34):
You, too.
Thank you so much, julie.
It's been so great talking withyou today.
You, too, thank you.
Thank you, my friend, for beinghere and listening to this
episode of the Story of my Petpodcast.
I hope you were inspired andtouched by this amazing pet
story and I hope you come backto listen to more episodes soon.
(36:58):
Make sure you don't miss anynew episodes by clicking
subscribe wherever you arelistening to this podcast right
now.
Want to help the podcast grow?
Then hit rating and reviewwherever you are listening to
this podcast.
Every review helps get thepodcast in front of more people
and heard by more listeners, sothat the podcast can inspire
(37:20):
more people to rescue, fosterand adopt animals in need today.
Thank you so much for beinghere and much love to you and
your pets.
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