May 6, 2024 • 36 mins
There's something magical about lacing up your sneakers, clipping on a leash, and hitting the pavement with your furry best friend by your side. This episode is not just about the pride of crossing a 5K finish line. It's about the profound shift that occurs within us when grief catalyzes a journey toward better mental and physical health for you and your pet. Our pets truly are our biggest and best supporters.
Joining your host, Julie Marty-Pearson, is guest Nita Sweeney, author and coach, who brings a treasure trove of tales about the dog companions who've trotted alongside her through life's thick and thin. Our conversation with Nita unravels the tapestry of her life, highlighting the pivotal role pets have played in her battle with chronic depression and her journey from using her dog as a decoy for exercise to running races in memory of loved ones. This episode is a celebration of those pets who offer undiluted support without asking for anything in return.
Nita Sweeney is the bestselling wellness author of the award-winning running and mental health memoir, Depression Hates a Moving Target: How Running with My Dog Brought Me Back from the Brink, and co-creator of the writing journal, You Should Be Writing: A Journal of Inspiration & Instruction to Keep Your Pen Moving. Her third book, Make Every Move a Meditation: Mindful Movement for Mental Health, Well-Being and Insight was featured in the Wall Street Journal. Her latest book, A Daily Dose of Now: 365 Mindfulness Meditation Practices for Living in the Moment, was released in fall of 2023. Nita lives in central Ohio with her husband, Ed, and their yellow Labrador retriever, Scarlet. To learn more about Nita, visit her Website, and follow her on social on Facebook and Instagram.
To learn more about the animal rescue organization we discussed in this episode, Pet Promise, please visit their Website.
Support the Podcast by buying cute merch! Check out the Your Story Matters Official Store with items supporting both The Story of My Pet Podcast. & Podcast Your Story Now.
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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.
(00:28):
I hope you enjoy this episodeand I can't wait to share this
pet story with you.
Hello, my friends and fellowanimal lovers, welcome to
another episode of the story ofmy pet.
I'm excited to welcome a newguest to the podcast.
I am going to be talking toNita Sweeney today.
(00:49):
Before we get started, I'mgoing to tell you a little bit
about her Mindfulness coach.
Nita Sweeney is the best-sellingwellness author of the
award-winning Running and MentalHealth memoir Depression Hates
a Moving Target I love that howRunning with my Dog Brought Me
Back from the Brink andco-creator of the writing
(01:10):
journal.
You Should Be Writing a journalof inspiration and instruction
to keep your pen moving.
Also love that.
Her third book, make Every Movea Meditation Mindful Movement
for Mental Health being an movea meditation, mindful movement
for mental health being aninsight, was featured in the
Wall Street Journal and herlatest book, a Daily Dose of Now
365 Mindfulness MeditationPractices for Living in the
(01:35):
Moment was released in the fallof 2023.
Nita lives in central Ohio withher husband, ed, and their
yellow Labrador retriever,scarlett.
We have lots to talk about,nita.
Thank you so much for beinghere.
Welcome to the podcast.
Thank you so much.
Yeah, love this topic.
I know I love talking to peopleespecially you know everyone.
(01:57):
But when someone really has astory, like you do, about how
their pet really got themthrough one of life's struggles,
I have such my own experiencelike that and I always love to
meet people who have beenthrough it and have been able to
use that to help other people.
But before we get into yourbooks and all of that, I always
(02:17):
like to ask were you always apet lover?
Did you grow up with pets?
Speaker 2 (02:21):
Oliver, did you grow up with pets?
I did.
The first dog I remember.
The first pet I remember wasour dog Tiny, who was a
Pomeranian cross of some kindand she was fierce.
I think we didn't have herspayed and so she accidentally
got pregnant by the neighbor'sgiant German shepherd.
(02:44):
And so this tiny little dog hadthis giant litter of these
giant puppies and I just that'swhat I remember from really
young having Tiny around.
And then we moved to a farmwhen I was four or five and then
we had a variety of differentdogs but a lot of terriers.
I think Tiny might have hadsome terrier in addition to her
(03:06):
Pomeranian.
She was very fluffy, she lookedlike a little fox.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
Oh, how cute.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
She was a very cute dog too, and we had rat terriers
and probably fox terriers.
There were just a lot of littleblack and white smooth-coated
dogs that we had for many years.
At one point I had a goldenretriever and I went through.
When you live in the country4-H is a big thing.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
I don't know if you know about 4-H.
Yeah, we have that.
We have.
Where I live in Californiathere's a lot of agriculture
around us, so we have a lot ofthat here.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
So the 4-H club that I ended up joining I tried
sewing and I did work with.
We had horses too and I workedwith my horse a little bit, but
I really loved treating dogs.
I loved to treat them, dotricks, obedience, and so I was
actually the Ohio State Fairchampion twice with my little
dog, tony, who's the most justthis little black and white rat
(03:59):
terrier and was very cute andsmart as a whip, easy to train,
and he was my buddy for a longtime.
And I didn't have any pets whenI was in college that's not
true we had a hamster acompletely illegal hamster at
(04:19):
the door, but then I don't think.
Then I went to law school andone of my roommates had a dog
and then another roommate had adog, but I didn't get my own
pets until actually I was out ofschool again.
But ever since then, reallysince I've been an adult, we've
always had a dog.
Mainly we're a dog family.
We've had a number of dogs.
Right now we have a yellowLabrador and that's the dog in
(04:40):
my first book, depression Aids,moving Target, which that book
people don't realize, I think,necessarily, even though there's
dates in it.
It was actually set.
Oh God, it's almost been 15years ago or 14 years ago when
that all started, and Morgan wasalready four or five, so he's
gone now.
But we have another yellow lab,scarlet, and they're just
lovely.
The Unconditional Love, that'sthe thing which I'm sure you
(05:02):
talk about all the time.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
Going back to your first book, depression Hates, a
Moving Target, which I love thattitle.
Prior to obviously writing it,you experienced what inspired
the book.
How did all of that happen?
What was the process where yourdog helped you get moving and
get you through a difficult time?
Speaker 2 (05:21):
I used him as a decoy .
So I was not a physicallyactive person never really was
and I had hit a real rough patchin my life.
I've had a few, I have chronicdepression, I've been
hospitalized, managed the wholething and a friend of mine
(05:42):
started running and I thoughtthat was ridiculous because
that's who I was at the time andshe was a high school friend,
so she was the same age and atthe time she was about the same
kind of size and ability.
That I was not the size thatmatters, but there was something
about that.
She looked like me and I knewher and she's running what.
(06:04):
And so when I eventually gotbrave enough to try that, I
leashed up the dog, not reallythinking about running with the
dog, but more that people wouldjust think I was going for a
walk with the dog, and not thatanybody was even home when this
was happening, but that's, Itend toward paranoia a little
bit also.
And so that's how it started.
(06:26):
And there's a plan that myfriend was following called
Couch to 5K, and so Morgan and Idid Couch to 5K together, where
we started with 60 seconds ofjogging you walk.
I think it was like a fiveminute walk and then 60 seconds
of jogging and two minutes ofwalking and then 60 more seconds
of jogging.
And so it was very doable forboth of us.
(06:53):
And she just became almost likemy coach, because if you have a
bond with a dog, you noticethey have there's like a look
that they'll give you.
Or and in the book I talk abouthow he would tilt his head, or
actually, the very first time wewent down to that ravine and I
had a digital kitchen timer withme because I didn't have a
sports watch at the time.
And I'm standing there.
I don't know what I thought wasgoing to happen, but I was
(07:16):
scared to start.
And at one point he's sittingthere waiting.
He looks up at me as if to saywhy are we down here?
At least let's walk, orsomething.
You took me down here, what arewe doing?
Because it's an area where wewalk a lot anyway.
And then at one point he justwalked over and peed on a bush.
I said if you're not going towalk, then I'm just going to get
busy.
It was as if he was saying tome you can do this, come on,
(07:40):
let's do this.
And so I hit that button andoff we jogged for our 60 seconds
and he seemed very excited.
Oh, we're going fast.
Oh my gosh, we're going fast.
And he was such a well-behaveddog.
We rescued him from the HumaneSociety but he was very
well-treated.
I swear somebody's ugly cryingover him still that somebody
(08:01):
lost him because he was aboutsix months old and he was just.
Speaker 1 (08:04):
He was housebroken and he was everything yeah,
especially at that young of anage for him to be so well
trained.
Someone had spent the time andeffort with him.
But as a kid we I had somethingsimilar.
My dad adopted our goldenretriever, Goldie, from our
local shelter.
They thought she was probablyaround two give or take and she
(08:29):
was perfectly well-trained, themost well-behaved, loving dog
you've ever met.
And we always said somebodylost a great dog.
Well, things happen fordifferent reasons and it's
always great when you find thoseperfect matches for you at the
shelter.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
Yeah, it was really quite amazing because he was
just so good.
So that's how it started.
And then at some point I endedup joining a training group and
it was a pretty big group and soI didn't take him with me to
run there, but we would stillrun through the neighborhood as
I was training for differentraces and got more involved
Because it was a thing where Ididn't mean to do it.
(09:01):
And then I fell in love with itfor a number of reasons, and so
now I run with Scarlettsometimes, if I'm not with the
big group, but just having himbeside me, the companionship and
I would look down, he'd look upat me, and if we'd go on longer
runs I'd take a little snack, alittle bag of kibble for him or
some treats.
It's just little things andyour audience will probably
(09:28):
understand this, because it'snot some big showy thing with
pets.
They're just here and they justwant to be with you.
They want to be where thepeople are, but mostly they want
to be where you're at Right.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
And that's the thing.
No matter how social orfriendly your pets are with
other people, ultimately youspend a lot of your time with
them and they want to be whereyou are.
They want to be a part of whatyou're doing, and my cats are
like that with me, but also withdogs, especially when you've
got terrier mixes and labs andshepherds they have a lot of
energy and they just want a job.
(09:59):
They want to be involved andsometimes they wait all day for
that moment where you come homeand you get to spend time with
them and sometimes we forgetthat they're living their lives
for us in a way, and we justwant to keep them involved and
make them a part of things.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
Yeah, yesterday we had a situation.
Our neighbor we have greatneighbors and our neighbor had a
knee replaced and so I agreedto let their dog out and our
side yard we're on the secondhouse in there on the corner,
and so our side yard is theirbackyard.
And so yesterday, when I wentto let their dog out, ed had let
(10:37):
Scarlett out in our backyardand she got the most confused.
Look, she was very concerned.
Wait a minute, mom.
No, mom, no, you're in thewrong.
We have play dates with theirdog.
Their dog's name is Pippin.
We have play dates with theirdog sometime, but it just wasn't
working out to do thatyesterday.
But it was the funniest thing.
She just get this look on herface.
(10:59):
You're my person, what are youdoing?
No, get over here.
It just was very confounding toher.
Speaker 1 (11:08):
So you said that you guys did.
You started the from couch to5k.
So did you actually get to the5k?
Speaker 2 (11:14):
Yes, yes, we did so the first 5k, I didn't realize
that people brought their dogsand they and not all races allow
you to have dogs, because it itdepends on things, it's a
safety thing, and so the firstrace I did, I never intended to
do anything other than jog inthe neighborhood, but one of the
things that had happened thathad really just been a hard
(11:37):
thing was, a couple of yearsbefore I started running, a
number of people that I loveddied, including my 24-year-old
niece and my mother.
Wow, and so my sister, hermother, my niece's mother, my
niece died of cancer and thatwas her only child.
So it was really rough and shewas probably the.
I love all my nieces andnephews, but she lived the same
(12:00):
town I do and we had we just hadan opportunity to spend more
time together, so I was closestto her, and after I got brave
enough to tell anyone that I wasrunning with my dog, I told my
sister, and so there was a 5Kfor the type of cancer that for
research, to fight the type ofcancer that Jamie had died from,
(12:22):
and so my sister emails me heythere's this race, and I went.
I said I'm a private runner, Idon't run in public, but it took
me a little while to get overmyself and realize this was a
good cause and it would be okaymy sister would be there and it
was great.
I absolutely fell in love.
Then, later on, I found thatthere were races where you could
(12:42):
bring your dog, and often theywere dog themed.
But there's a number of runsthat have a pet themed.
There's a great one here intown called the Cat Caper here
I'm in Columbus Ohio, pet themed.
There's a great one here intown called the Cat Caper.
Here I'm in Columbus Ohio.
There's one of the shelters thathas rescue.
It's really a rescue for cats.
It's called Cat Welfare.
They have a lovely 5k calledCat Caper, but the Pet Promise
Rescue Run especially, peoplebring all their dogs, and so
(13:06):
Morgan and I did that a numberof years and he just really
loved it.
The biggest thing with racingwith a dog, though, when you're
as slow as I am, because I wasan older runner I was in my
fifties when I started.
I was like 49, I think when Istarted and is that you're slow.
So he the very first race thathe did really every race.
He was just really pissed at mebecause the gun would go off or
(13:30):
the horn or whatever.
Speaker 1 (13:32):
And he'd want to go.
Speaker 2 (13:33):
Yeah, he's like mom, they're getting away, Mom.
Come on and I'm going as fastas I can Come on so that was the
only thing.
But he usually, within the firstI don't know quarter of a mile,
he would calm down and then,and he was.
He always ran by my side.
He was just so good at justrunning right beside me and
again, we didn't train him atall, he just he knew how to heal
(13:55):
, he knew how to sit, stay, allthe things.
When we were in theneighborhood here he easily
would just stay right on my heeland walk beside me, run beside
me, but in a race he wasdragging me down the street for
about half a mile.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
I could just imagine that would always be my fear of
running with a dog.
I'm not a runner, I've neverbeen one but if I were to walk
or jog I'd definitely be theslow one, and I could just
imagine the dog come on, let'sgo.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
It was a little too slow for me way, mom, what's the
point here?
And then some of the raceswould have treats for the pets.
As you go around, they'd havelittle treats.
At one time he got a wholething of dog food and a bunch of
(14:42):
toys and they had all thesepresents.
We called it swag for theanimals and it was great.
Speaker 1 (14:47):
Oh, you talked about how he helped you get up and
moving, and it sounds like notonly had you dealt with
depression in your life, but youwere also grieving some pretty
big losses.
So what made you decide to takeyour experience and take that
loss and turn it into a book?
Speaker 2 (15:03):
I have been a writer for many years.
I was an attorney, for that wasthat's my training as well.
I was training as a journalistand as an attorney, but I mostly
wrote.
That's what I did.
In the work that I did.
I did a lot of briefs and memosand a lot, and pretty much they
figured out I could write andso everybody would give me all
(15:24):
the stuff to write, because noteverybody can write, not
everybody enjoys it.
I did so.
I have always been doing that,and then I ended up quitting the
practice of law.
I had a really major depressiveepisode and I started writing
magazine articles and thingslike that.
But I always have wanted tohave a book published.
(15:44):
I just always wanted that dreamand I think it was just
eventually the right book.
So it's funny, this questioncomes up a lot.
Speaker 1 (15:53):
There wasn't a moment that made you say this is what
I'm doing and why no, it was anevolution.
Speaker 2 (15:58):
I'm always writing.
It was more oh, there's a storyhere, oh wait, and what I
thought the story was?
And that's always happened.
I'm looking across my room andthere's a list of at least 12,
maybe 14.
I lost our different books thatI have first drafts of that I'm
just always writing.
So I thought, hey, middle-agedwoman takes up running, dog
(16:24):
helps the mental health, the dog, the exercise, the middle age
all of that is a good topic.
And so that's what I thoughtthe story was about.
And so I continued writing andthen eventually you get other
people to read it and you havean editor.
It's really a teen sport.
Actually writing is, and morethan one person said to me I
(16:46):
don't think that the middle-agedrunning is the story.
I think it's the mental healthpiece, and so the timeline is
the running.
So that's the kind of story orthe situation.
But the thread of how thathelped me emotionally and how
being able to finish things thatI hadn't been able to finish,
(17:09):
that really became more of thestory.
But as the book concluded afterthe big race was over, what
happens then?
It's a Wednesday, it's a normalday in my neighborhood.
I leash up the dog and we gofor a run.
That's where it all started andthat was what really it was
built on.
Was these weekday runs, dayafter day, of just being with
(17:31):
Morgan built on?
Was these weekday runs, dayafter day of just being with
Morgan?
Leash up Morgan and off we go,and then he helps me make an
important decision at the end ofthe book too.
That is fun.
So, yeah, I think your questionwas why write the book and the
answer?
Speaker 1 (17:42):
is.
There is many reasons.
There is definitely a reasonwhy that story was something
that you wanted to tell and useit as your, because I think
there's big, two big pieces.
One is you found that group.
That was really your community,which is I talk about all the
time in podcasting.
You've got to find yourcommunity, because community is
what keeps you going, is thatsupport to do whatever you're
(18:05):
trying to do.
So you really needed that in away for the race part of it.
But Morgan was the one who gotyou out the first time and kept
you going.
Speaker 2 (18:14):
Yeah, I'm not sure.
If I hadn't had that kind of ohI'm going to walk, I'm just
going to walk my dog thing, I'mnot sure I would have started
Right.
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (18:24):
And that's why, even if it's not an official thing,
our pets really are ouremotional support animals and a
lot of times, like you said, itwas your shield, you had him
with you instead of going to doit alone.
And that's so much of what ourpets give us.
They give us that support, thatmotivation, that whether we're
having a hard day and we'resitting down and they're laying
(18:45):
with us, or we're trying to dosomething we don't want to do
and they help us get on theairplane and go on a trip
somewhere, they really are thatsupport that so many of us need.
Honestly, I couldn't imaginenot having a pet and my life
would be a lot harder if Ididn't have them to pet and
cuddle and talk to.
Speaker 2 (19:01):
Oh yeah, I'm constantly talking to Scarlett
and I did Morgan to all my dogs.
I've always had these ongoingconversations.
The other thing with him if Iwould accidentally I have it on
right now, but I have a sportwatch that I wear and if I would
accidentally hit that it makesa sound and he would just come
running and it was go, mom go,let's go, okay, we're going, and
(19:25):
yeah.
Or if you got, if you get closeto the closet where all the
stuff is the leash and thetreats and things that's.
Speaker 1 (19:32):
Yeah, that's the thing Pets know.
My cats, unfortunately, havebeen trained to the sound of the
ice machine, because they knowthey hear the ice machines.
Mom's getting her ice water andthat means she's in the kitchen
, that means we're going to gettreats and literally I'll turn
around and they're all sittingat their bowls.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
It's like how did you guys do that?
Right now Scarlett has gottenup and she's over by the door to
my office, because I'm prettysure I'm betting that Ed is in
the kitchen.
They're hearing dogs especially.
I think cats too they're.
Hearing is their most powerfulsense.
Yes, so she can hear.
Oh, it's amazing.
Speaker 1 (20:07):
Pets are incredible and dogs are amazing.
I follow someone who has achild with type 1 diabetes and
she has a dog who alerts them,before the technology alerts
them, that she's low or high orwhatever it is, and it's just
really amazing how in tuneanimals can be with us.
(20:27):
They pick up on all those signsand even when we don't feel
well and they don't know it,they know what we need they do.
So it sounds like for you andyour mental health journey that
your pets have played a reallybig role in supporting you
through, especially yourtoughest times.
Speaker 2 (20:45):
Yeah, yeah, that's absolutely true.
I have been so fortunate tojust have them, be able to spend
time with them.
Speaker 1 (20:52):
We love our pets.
As I said in the intro, youhave many other books now about
journaling and meditation.
Have those been importantpractices for you in your mental
health journey?
Speaker 2 (21:05):
Yes, the three things that I so, in addition to
therapy and medication, whichboth of those things for me are
musts.
They're not for everybody, butthey have been very important
for me.
But the more non-professional,if you will, things is movement.
So the running for me, but anykind of movement for other
(21:26):
people.
And then I've been meditatingfor over 30 years now and.
I decided to make it officialI'm now a certified meditation
teacher, and then writing andwriting for me can be writing
for publication or it can be away to process thoughts and
emotions.
I also like to record my life.
I don't know why.
(21:47):
I don't think that it's notlike I'm going to have some
library someplace or somethingto me, but I just have a thing,
because I like to look back andsay, oh, what day did that
happen and when was that andwhat was that really like.
And I think I do tend to writea lot of nonfiction.
I primarily write memoir,refresh my recollection, as we
(22:09):
would say.
That's just really helpful.
So those three things themovement, the meditation and
then the writing practice justreally keep me grounded.
And for me, the but themovement and the meditation
often involve dogs, because Irun with my dog and then we sit.
A lot of times we'll sit andwhatever dog we've had, we'll
come and sit.
My husband sits too, and we'llsit at one of our feet, and so
(22:33):
they're right there with us andup first they maybe scratch a
little bit and spin around incircles a little bit, but
eventually they and it's justlike your mind.
That is exactly what the minddoes.
We always think, oh, I can'tmeditate because my mind is too
busy.
If you are still enough and youare patient enough, the mind
will eventually go.
Oh, they want us to be quiet,let's see what happens, and just
(23:00):
like the dog.
So the dog will sit there withus and then become still too.
Yeah, eventually, sometimesthey fall asleep, sometimes not,
though you can just hear thembreathing and we'll slow, and so
that's been part of the processtoo.
And then I tend to write aboutdogs.
The two biggest articles I'veever had one was in Dog Fancy
Magazine and one was in DogWorld.
It was actually the coverarticle of Dog World, which I
think is so much fun.
Speaker 1 (23:19):
That's great.
I think you're giving so manygreat examples of people think I
need to do that.
But I can't Like with youwalking and starting to jog and
running, but also withmeditation, a lot of people my
brain is always going.
There's no way I could do that.
But until you try it, until youput yourself in that space, you
don't know.
And most of the time, if youput yourself in that space and
(23:42):
you follow a meditation oryou're listening to music,
whatever it is, your brain willgo there because your brain
needs it.
So if you stop and do it andthen if you have the support of
an animal with you, they'll calmyou too and it's such a great
way to connect with them butalso help you to find that quiet
space.
Speaker 2 (23:57):
Absolutely, absolutely.
I know that, I think, and mostpeople that I have talked to
that are hesitant aboutmeditation.
They don't realize that yourbrain is supposed to talk, and
it's so silly but you reallycan't to talk, and it's so silly
but you really can't quiet yourmind, even though people will
(24:17):
tell you quiet your mind.
You can focus your mind, butoften it will just get chatty.
So you have to createconditions that help the mind to
calm on its own.
And it's a bit like a muscle.
It's not used to being quiet,it's not used to being focused,
it's not used to staying in thesame place, and so it's a muscle
(24:38):
you can build where you and themuscle is returning.
The muscle is knowing, oh, Iwas going to meditate now, and
there I am thinking about what'sfor dinner or something at work
or what my dog is doing, thingslike that, and so that,
remembering oh, I was meditating, and very gently bringing the
mind back to whatever you'vechosen to focus on, whether it's
(24:59):
your breath.
One of my books, the Make EveryMove of Meditation, is about
how to meditate while you're,and I also write about how it's
very much like training a dog,training a puppy, especially
because the puppy doesn't knowwhat you want, right, you have
to show it.
Of course, with dogs you can'ttell it either, and the mind's
like that.
You can't tell it, and so youshow it this is what I want.
(25:23):
And then it doesn't do it andyou go no, and you very gently
bring it back to what you wantit to do.
Speaker 1 (25:33):
And so it's very similar to training dogs.
I love that connection.
But I also think what's reallyimportant, what you said.
For you, it was natural becauseyou've always been a writer.
But people don't realize thepower in telling their story,
and for me it's throughpodcasting, but also writing.
Sometimes writing throughthings like grief or mental
health issues can help releaseit from your mind because you've
put it somewhere else and youcan write it, you can speak it,
(25:54):
whatever works for you, and it'sreally a great way to process
things.
But it's also, like you said, agreat way to have stories of
your life, thinking back onexperiences, good or bad, and
it's a great way to process thatfor yourself.
Speaker 2 (26:09):
Yes, definitely.
I know when I'm in anemotionally charged situation.
I did teach writing for anumber of years too, and anybody
who's in an emotionally chargedsituation the mind gets extra
busy.
Hello there.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
Did you hear that?
Yeah, I've heard him a coupleof times.
Yeah, she's over there gurgling.
That's a dog noise their way ofsaying hey, are you done yet?
Speaker 2 (26:30):
Anyway.
So when your mind getsemotionally charged, it gets, or
when your body does, your mindcan get a little busy and for me
, having all that stuff rattlingaround in my head can be very
distracting.
If there's other things I wantto do, writing it down helps to
nail it down.
It downloads.
We sometimes talk about a braindoing a brain dump, where I'm
(26:52):
just downloading it onto thepage and somehow in that process
it just helps clear the mind orcalm the mind.
I also think that it wants tobe heard, that there's parts of
me that want to be heard thataren't always feeling heard.
Speaker 1 (27:09):
This is so true, so important.
This is such, so true, soimportant.
It's actually one of thereasons I'm starting my second
podcast Podcast your Story Nowis because I want more women to
share their story, andpodcasting is a great way.
It's a super fast way to get itout to a lot of people.
It's a great companion if youare writing a book or want to
write a book.
And all of that because I thinksometimes we, in isolation,
(27:32):
I've dealt with depression andanxiety, not to the extent,
maybe, that you have, but we allhave an experience and all have
a level of it that we think noone wants to hear my story.
This doesn't matter, it's justwhat happened to me, but when
it's like you've said, it's sonot the case, especially with
women.
We've all dealt with so manythings that others have dealt
(27:52):
with and we're not alone.
And by sharing your story youmay not realize it, but you
could be reaching someone thatreally needed to know that
they're not alone.
Speaker 2 (28:01):
Yeah, that has been what I'm finding out it's been
so.
The book came out in 2019 andit still continues to sell not
at the level it did at first,but usually have a pretty short
shelf life, and so the publisherhas been very happy, and I
think it's because it's sadly, auniversal story of people who
(28:23):
have that system and the grieftoo.
I know that I don't think Irealized just how big of a thing
.
I knew how much it was for methe grief.
But how many people are dealingwith grief of all kinds of
things, all kinds of things, andfor me the movement was part of
processing all that too, andpeople resonate with that.
Speaker 1 (28:44):
Yeah, and I think it's so important because we're
all grieving something, whetherit's a person or a place or a
time in your life or a house.
Or a place or a time in yourlife or a house, or a divorce,
or even a change in profession,a health change, a health battle
, can be grief, and I have somany friends that have spoken
about that kind of thing ontheir podcasts and also here.
(29:05):
We've spoken a lot about griefaround pet loss, because that's
a huge grief that we deal with.
They're a part of our everydaylives.
We're so connected to them andyou don't know by looking at
someone.
We're all dealing withsomething and grief is pretty
much that thorough line for allof us, no matter what it is, and
so it's a great way that you'vebeen able for you to process
(29:27):
your own but then help otherpeople do the same, it does feel
as if I'm turning myself insideout To be seen.
Speaker 2 (29:35):
I'll be honest, to be seen, but it's the fact that it
has helped so many other peoplehas been great, and I know the
grief was a baseline when Istarted running.
I just didn't ever think it wasgoing to end, and it doesn't.
It just changes, it doesn't.
You don't get over people.
You don't get over.
But I know what I was going tosay though.
The pandemic, oh my gosh.
(29:57):
I think everybody is grievingthe life that was.
Yeah, the days of not havinglived through a pandemic.
It just everybody is differentin some way.
Speaker 1 (30:08):
Absolutely.
Before we end our chat, Iwanted to make sure to highlight
the rescue organization youmentioned to me, which is Pet
Promise.
Can you tell the listeners?
Speaker 2 (30:19):
a little about that organization.
Yes, they have.
I know that they have.
They have a facility here incentral Ohio, the biggest.
The way that I know them bestis through the race, that they
do A lot of other things too.
They have charity, but they'rea rescue and they're trying to
find homes for dogs that mightbe difficult or dogs that I mean
they're just a little bitdifferent rescue and they're
(30:42):
just the best.
Not that any rescue isn't thebest people, but they're just
the best people.
But they have the Pet Promiseand Rescue Run and they have
some other events through theyear.
But that's the thing that Ihave connected with them most
often is through the Rescue Runand they they're just.
It seems like they're at a lotof events and I love they always
bring their dogs and cats withthem so that you can really see
(31:06):
them, and that helps socializethe animals too.
Speaker 1 (31:08):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (31:09):
Because that's part of the problem with with rescues
being returned is because thepets aren't socialized or the
people aren't prepared enoughand they have a whole system for
that, and I wish I am in my ownlittle lane with writing the
books, but that's one of thethings that I want to get a
little more involved in is tofind out is there something?
Do they need food?
(31:30):
What do they need?
Speaker 1 (31:30):
I can say most rescues I know need volunteers,
they need fosters, they needhelp.
What do they need?
I can say most rescues I knowneed volunteers, they need
fosters, they need help withsocial media.
They you can pretty much anykind of job you could think of.
They will say, yes, we wouldneed your help.
And it sounds like a greatorganization because, like you
said so many times, if pets havebeen in shelters or different
situations, their behavior haschanged.
(31:52):
They've gone through their owntrauma and change and you have
to give them time to adjust andadapt and if they haven't been
trained, you have to put thework in.
So it sounds like a greatorganization that helps with
that process for their animals.
Yeah, they do, and I will putthe link to their website in the
show notes so anybody who'sinterested can learn more about
(32:13):
them.
Nita, thank you so much forbeing here.
I've really enjoyed thisconversation, learning more
about you and your journey,especially your amazing dogs who
have helped you through thatjourney, and I will have all the
links to Nita in the show notesso you can learn more about her
, check out her books and maybeeven take up running with your
(32:37):
dog if she's inspired you.
Speaker 2 (32:41):
Most dogs love it.
I even saw the last trainingseason we had.
We train on the trail manytrails but one of them is called
the Ollantaynta Trail andwhenever we were on that trail I
would see this woman runningwith her Yorkie and that dog was
so happy.
I don't know how long, how farthey went, they were moving out
and that was just that.
I don't think I've ever seen anunhappy running dog.
Speaker 1 (33:05):
I think that is so true.
I think sometimes we assumedifferent dogs oh they don't
want that, they don't need it.
But you know what, Just likepeople, dogs need to move.
Animals need to move.
They need to move to stayhealthy and active.
And I have done a lot of dogsitting and I had a little
Yorkie client that she had towalk twice a day.
She knew the route and shewould take off and I'd be like
(33:27):
slow down girl.
So I think that is an importantmoment that your pets need to
exercise just as much as you do,and so it's a great activity to
do together.
Speaker 2 (33:37):
Thank you so much and thank you for this podcast,
because it's just you'rehighlighting rescues and the
relationship with pets.
That's just.
It's such an important.
Speaker 1 (33:52):
Thank you, my friend, for being here and listening to
this episode of the Story of myPet podcast.
I hope you were inspired andtouched by this amazing pet
story and I hope you come backto listen to more episodes soon.
Make sure you don't miss anynew episodes by clicking
subscribe wherever you arelistening to this podcast right
(34:14):
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
more people to rescue, fosterand adopt animals in need today.
(34:35):
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.
(00:28):
I hope you enjoy this episodeand I can't wait to share this
pet story with you.
Hello, my friends and fellowanimal lovers, welcome to
another episode of the story ofmy pet.
I'm excited to welcome a newguest to the podcast.
I am going to be talking toNita Sweeney today.
(00:49):
Before we get started, I'mgoing to tell you a little bit
about her Mindfulness coach.
Nita Sweeney is the best-sellingwellness author of the
award-winning Running and MentalHealth memoir Depression Hates
a Moving Target I love that howRunning with my Dog Brought Me
Back from the Brink andco-creator of the writing
(01:10):
journal.
You Should Be Writing a journalof inspiration and instruction
to keep your pen moving.
Also love that.
Her third book, make Every Movea Meditation Mindful Movement
for Mental Health being an movea meditation, mindful movement
for mental health being aninsight, was featured in the
Wall Street Journal and herlatest book, a Daily Dose of Now
365 Mindfulness MeditationPractices for Living in the
(01:35):
Moment was released in the fallof 2023.
Nita lives in central Ohio withher husband, ed, and their
yellow Labrador retriever,scarlett.
We have lots to talk about,nita.
Thank you so much for beinghere.
Welcome to the podcast.
Thank you so much.
Yeah, love this topic.
I know I love talking to peopleespecially you know everyone.
(01:57):
But when someone really has astory, like you do, about how
their pet really got themthrough one of life's struggles,
I have such my own experiencelike that and I always love to
meet people who have beenthrough it and have been able to
use that to help other people.
But before we get into yourbooks and all of that, I always
(02:17):
like to ask were you always apet lover?
Did you grow up with pets?
Speaker 2 (02:21):
Oliver, did you grow up with pets?
I did.
The first dog I remember.
The first pet I remember wasour dog Tiny, who was a
Pomeranian cross of some kindand she was fierce.
I think we didn't have herspayed and so she accidentally
got pregnant by the neighbor'sgiant German shepherd.
(02:44):
And so this tiny little dog hadthis giant litter of these
giant puppies and I just that'swhat I remember from really
young having Tiny around.
And then we moved to a farmwhen I was four or five and then
we had a variety of differentdogs but a lot of terriers.
I think Tiny might have hadsome terrier in addition to her
(03:06):
Pomeranian.
She was very fluffy, she lookedlike a little fox.
Speaker 1 (03:10):
Oh, how cute.
Speaker 2 (03:11):
She was a very cute dog too, and we had rat terriers
and probably fox terriers.
There were just a lot of littleblack and white smooth-coated
dogs that we had for many years.
At one point I had a goldenretriever and I went through.
When you live in the country4-H is a big thing.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
I don't know if you know about 4-H.
Yeah, we have that.
We have.
Where I live in Californiathere's a lot of agriculture
around us, so we have a lot ofthat here.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
So the 4-H club that I ended up joining I tried
sewing and I did work with.
We had horses too and I workedwith my horse a little bit, but
I really loved treating dogs.
I loved to treat them, dotricks, obedience, and so I was
actually the Ohio State Fairchampion twice with my little
dog, tony, who's the most justthis little black and white rat
(03:59):
terrier and was very cute andsmart as a whip, easy to train,
and he was my buddy for a longtime.
And I didn't have any pets whenI was in college that's not
true we had a hamster acompletely illegal hamster at
(04:19):
the door, but then I don't think.
Then I went to law school andone of my roommates had a dog
and then another roommate had adog, but I didn't get my own
pets until actually I was out ofschool again.
But ever since then, reallysince I've been an adult, we've
always had a dog.
Mainly we're a dog family.
We've had a number of dogs.
Right now we have a yellowLabrador and that's the dog in
(04:40):
my first book, depression Aids,moving Target, which that book
people don't realize, I think,necessarily, even though there's
dates in it.
It was actually set.
Oh God, it's almost been 15years ago or 14 years ago when
that all started, and Morgan wasalready four or five, so he's
gone now.
But we have another yellow lab,scarlet, and they're just
lovely.
The Unconditional Love, that'sthe thing which I'm sure you
(05:02):
talk about all the time.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
Going back to your first book, depression Hates, a
Moving Target, which I love thattitle.
Prior to obviously writing it,you experienced what inspired
the book.
How did all of that happen?
What was the process where yourdog helped you get moving and
get you through a difficult time?
Speaker 2 (05:21):
I used him as a decoy .
So I was not a physicallyactive person never really was
and I had hit a real rough patchin my life.
I've had a few, I have chronicdepression, I've been
hospitalized, managed the wholething and a friend of mine
(05:42):
started running and I thoughtthat was ridiculous because
that's who I was at the time andshe was a high school friend,
so she was the same age and atthe time she was about the same
kind of size and ability.
That I was not the size thatmatters, but there was something
about that.
She looked like me and I knewher and she's running what.
(06:04):
And so when I eventually gotbrave enough to try that, I
leashed up the dog, not reallythinking about running with the
dog, but more that people wouldjust think I was going for a
walk with the dog, and not thatanybody was even home when this
was happening, but that's, Itend toward paranoia a little
bit also.
And so that's how it started.
(06:26):
And there's a plan that myfriend was following called
Couch to 5K, and so Morgan and Idid Couch to 5K together, where
we started with 60 seconds ofjogging you walk.
I think it was like a fiveminute walk and then 60 seconds
of jogging and two minutes ofwalking and then 60 more seconds
of jogging.
And so it was very doable forboth of us.
(06:53):
And she just became almost likemy coach, because if you have a
bond with a dog, you noticethey have there's like a look
that they'll give you.
Or and in the book I talk abouthow he would tilt his head, or
actually, the very first time wewent down to that ravine and I
had a digital kitchen timer withme because I didn't have a
sports watch at the time.
And I'm standing there.
I don't know what I thought wasgoing to happen, but I was
(07:16):
scared to start.
And at one point he's sittingthere waiting.
He looks up at me as if to saywhy are we down here?
At least let's walk, orsomething.
You took me down here, what arewe doing?
Because it's an area where wewalk a lot anyway.
And then at one point he justwalked over and peed on a bush.
I said if you're not going towalk, then I'm just going to get
busy.
It was as if he was saying tome you can do this, come on,
(07:40):
let's do this.
And so I hit that button andoff we jogged for our 60 seconds
and he seemed very excited.
Oh, we're going fast.
Oh my gosh, we're going fast.
And he was such a well-behaveddog.
We rescued him from the HumaneSociety but he was very
well-treated.
I swear somebody's ugly cryingover him still that somebody
(08:01):
lost him because he was aboutsix months old and he was just.
Speaker 1 (08:04):
He was housebroken and he was everything yeah,
especially at that young of anage for him to be so well
trained.
Someone had spent the time andeffort with him.
But as a kid we I had somethingsimilar.
My dad adopted our goldenretriever, Goldie, from our
local shelter.
They thought she was probablyaround two give or take and she
(08:29):
was perfectly well-trained, themost well-behaved, loving dog
you've ever met.
And we always said somebodylost a great dog.
Well, things happen fordifferent reasons and it's
always great when you find thoseperfect matches for you at the
shelter.
Speaker 2 (08:40):
Yeah, it was really quite amazing because he was
just so good.
So that's how it started.
And then at some point I endedup joining a training group and
it was a pretty big group and soI didn't take him with me to
run there, but we would stillrun through the neighborhood as
I was training for differentraces and got more involved
Because it was a thing where Ididn't mean to do it.
(09:01):
And then I fell in love with itfor a number of reasons, and so
now I run with Scarlettsometimes, if I'm not with the
big group, but just having himbeside me, the companionship and
I would look down, he'd look upat me, and if we'd go on longer
runs I'd take a little snack, alittle bag of kibble for him or
some treats.
It's just little things andyour audience will probably
(09:28):
understand this, because it'snot some big showy thing with
pets.
They're just here and they justwant to be with you.
They want to be where thepeople are, but mostly they want
to be where you're at Right.
Speaker 1 (09:39):
And that's the thing.
No matter how social orfriendly your pets are with
other people, ultimately youspend a lot of your time with
them and they want to be whereyou are.
They want to be a part of whatyou're doing, and my cats are
like that with me, but also withdogs, especially when you've
got terrier mixes and labs andshepherds they have a lot of
energy and they just want a job.
(09:59):
They want to be involved andsometimes they wait all day for
that moment where you come homeand you get to spend time with
them and sometimes we forgetthat they're living their lives
for us in a way, and we justwant to keep them involved and
make them a part of things.
Speaker 2 (10:14):
Yeah, yesterday we had a situation.
Our neighbor we have greatneighbors and our neighbor had a
knee replaced and so I agreedto let their dog out and our
side yard we're on the secondhouse in there on the corner,
and so our side yard is theirbackyard.
And so yesterday, when I wentto let their dog out, ed had let
(10:37):
Scarlett out in our backyardand she got the most confused.
Look, she was very concerned.
Wait a minute, mom.
No, mom, no, you're in thewrong.
We have play dates with theirdog.
Their dog's name is Pippin.
We have play dates with theirdog sometime, but it just wasn't
working out to do thatyesterday.
But it was the funniest thing.
She just get this look on herface.
(10:59):
You're my person, what are youdoing?
No, get over here.
It just was very confounding toher.
Speaker 1 (11:08):
So you said that you guys did.
You started the from couch to5k.
So did you actually get to the5k?
Speaker 2 (11:14):
Yes, yes, we did so the first 5k, I didn't realize
that people brought their dogsand they and not all races allow
you to have dogs, because it itdepends on things, it's a
safety thing, and so the firstrace I did, I never intended to
do anything other than jog inthe neighborhood, but one of the
things that had happened thathad really just been a hard
(11:37):
thing was, a couple of yearsbefore I started running, a
number of people that I loveddied, including my 24-year-old
niece and my mother.
Wow, and so my sister, hermother, my niece's mother, my
niece died of cancer and thatwas her only child.
So it was really rough and shewas probably the.
I love all my nieces andnephews, but she lived the same
(12:00):
town I do and we had we just hadan opportunity to spend more
time together, so I was closestto her, and after I got brave
enough to tell anyone that I wasrunning with my dog, I told my
sister, and so there was a 5Kfor the type of cancer that for
research, to fight the type ofcancer that Jamie had died from,
(12:22):
and so my sister emails me heythere's this race, and I went.
I said I'm a private runner, Idon't run in public, but it took
me a little while to get overmyself and realize this was a
good cause and it would be okaymy sister would be there and it
was great.
I absolutely fell in love.
Then, later on, I found thatthere were races where you could
(12:42):
bring your dog, and often theywere dog themed.
But there's a number of runsthat have a pet themed.
There's a great one here intown called the Cat Caper here
I'm in Columbus Ohio, pet themed.
There's a great one here intown called the Cat Caper.
Here I'm in Columbus Ohio.
There's one of the shelters thathas rescue.
It's really a rescue for cats.
It's called Cat Welfare.
They have a lovely 5k calledCat Caper, but the Pet Promise
Rescue Run especially, peoplebring all their dogs, and so
(13:06):
Morgan and I did that a numberof years and he just really
loved it.
The biggest thing with racingwith a dog, though, when you're
as slow as I am, because I wasan older runner I was in my
fifties when I started.
I was like 49, I think when Istarted and is that you're slow.
So he the very first race thathe did really every race.
He was just really pissed at mebecause the gun would go off or
(13:30):
the horn or whatever.
Speaker 1 (13:32):
And he'd want to go.
Speaker 2 (13:33):
Yeah, he's like mom, they're getting away, Mom.
Come on and I'm going as fastas I can Come on so that was the
only thing.
But he usually, within the firstI don't know quarter of a mile,
he would calm down and then,and he was.
He always ran by my side.
He was just so good at justrunning right beside me and
again, we didn't train him atall, he just he knew how to heal
(13:55):
, he knew how to sit, stay, allthe things.
When we were in theneighborhood here he easily
would just stay right on my heeland walk beside me, run beside
me, but in a race he wasdragging me down the street for
about half a mile.
Speaker 1 (14:08):
I could just imagine that would always be my fear of
running with a dog.
I'm not a runner, I've neverbeen one but if I were to walk
or jog I'd definitely be theslow one, and I could just
imagine the dog come on, let'sgo.
Speaker 2 (14:21):
It was a little too slow for me way, mom, what's the
point here?
And then some of the raceswould have treats for the pets.
As you go around, they'd havelittle treats.
At one time he got a wholething of dog food and a bunch of
(14:42):
toys and they had all thesepresents.
We called it swag for theanimals and it was great.
Speaker 1 (14:47):
Oh, you talked about how he helped you get up and
moving, and it sounds like notonly had you dealt with
depression in your life, but youwere also grieving some pretty
big losses.
So what made you decide to takeyour experience and take that
loss and turn it into a book?
Speaker 2 (15:03):
I have been a writer for many years.
I was an attorney, for that wasthat's my training as well.
I was training as a journalistand as an attorney, but I mostly
wrote.
That's what I did.
In the work that I did.
I did a lot of briefs and memosand a lot, and pretty much they
figured out I could write andso everybody would give me all
(15:24):
the stuff to write, because noteverybody can write, not
everybody enjoys it.
I did so.
I have always been doing that,and then I ended up quitting the
practice of law.
I had a really major depressiveepisode and I started writing
magazine articles and thingslike that.
But I always have wanted tohave a book published.
(15:44):
I just always wanted that dreamand I think it was just
eventually the right book.
So it's funny, this questioncomes up a lot.
Speaker 1 (15:53):
There wasn't a moment that made you say this is what
I'm doing and why no, it was anevolution.
Speaker 2 (15:58):
I'm always writing.
It was more oh, there's a storyhere, oh wait, and what I
thought the story was?
And that's always happened.
I'm looking across my room andthere's a list of at least 12,
maybe 14.
I lost our different books thatI have first drafts of that I'm
just always writing.
So I thought, hey, middle-agedwoman takes up running, dog
(16:24):
helps the mental health, the dog, the exercise, the middle age
all of that is a good topic.
And so that's what I thoughtthe story was about.
And so I continued writing andthen eventually you get other
people to read it and you havean editor.
It's really a teen sport.
Actually writing is, and morethan one person said to me I
(16:46):
don't think that the middle-agedrunning is the story.
I think it's the mental healthpiece, and so the timeline is
the running.
So that's the kind of story orthe situation.
But the thread of how thathelped me emotionally and how
being able to finish things thatI hadn't been able to finish,
(17:09):
that really became more of thestory.
But as the book concluded afterthe big race was over, what
happens then?
It's a Wednesday, it's a normalday in my neighborhood.
I leash up the dog and we gofor a run.
That's where it all started andthat was what really it was
built on.
Was these weekday runs, dayafter day, of just being with
(17:31):
Morgan built on?
Was these weekday runs, dayafter day of just being with
Morgan?
Leash up Morgan and off we go,and then he helps me make an
important decision at the end ofthe book too.
That is fun.
So, yeah, I think your questionwas why write the book and the
answer?
Speaker 1 (17:42):
is.
There is many reasons.
There is definitely a reasonwhy that story was something
that you wanted to tell and useit as your, because I think
there's big, two big pieces.
One is you found that group.
That was really your community,which is I talk about all the
time in podcasting.
You've got to find yourcommunity, because community is
what keeps you going, is thatsupport to do whatever you're
(18:05):
trying to do.
So you really needed that in away for the race part of it.
But Morgan was the one who gotyou out the first time and kept
you going.
Speaker 2 (18:14):
Yeah, I'm not sure.
If I hadn't had that kind of ohI'm going to walk, I'm just
going to walk my dog thing, I'mnot sure I would have started
Right.
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (18:24):
And that's why, even if it's not an official thing,
our pets really are ouremotional support animals and a
lot of times, like you said, itwas your shield, you had him
with you instead of going to doit alone.
And that's so much of what ourpets give us.
They give us that support, thatmotivation, that whether we're
having a hard day and we'resitting down and they're laying
(18:45):
with us, or we're trying to dosomething we don't want to do
and they help us get on theairplane and go on a trip
somewhere, they really are thatsupport that so many of us need.
Honestly, I couldn't imaginenot having a pet and my life
would be a lot harder if Ididn't have them to pet and
cuddle and talk to.
Speaker 2 (19:01):
Oh yeah, I'm constantly talking to Scarlett
and I did Morgan to all my dogs.
I've always had these ongoingconversations.
The other thing with him if Iwould accidentally I have it on
right now, but I have a sportwatch that I wear and if I would
accidentally hit that it makesa sound and he would just come
running and it was go, mom go,let's go, okay, we're going, and
(19:25):
yeah.
Or if you got, if you get closeto the closet where all the
stuff is the leash and thetreats and things that's.
Speaker 1 (19:32):
Yeah, that's the thing Pets know.
My cats, unfortunately, havebeen trained to the sound of the
ice machine, because they knowthey hear the ice machines.
Mom's getting her ice water andthat means she's in the kitchen
, that means we're going to gettreats and literally I'll turn
around and they're all sittingat their bowls.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
It's like how did you guys do that?
Right now Scarlett has gottenup and she's over by the door to
my office, because I'm prettysure I'm betting that Ed is in
the kitchen.
They're hearing dogs especially.
I think cats too they're.
Hearing is their most powerfulsense.
Yes, so she can hear.
Oh, it's amazing.
Speaker 1 (20:07):
Pets are incredible and dogs are amazing.
I follow someone who has achild with type 1 diabetes and
she has a dog who alerts them,before the technology alerts
them, that she's low or high orwhatever it is, and it's just
really amazing how in tuneanimals can be with us.
(20:27):
They pick up on all those signsand even when we don't feel
well and they don't know it,they know what we need they do.
So it sounds like for you andyour mental health journey that
your pets have played a reallybig role in supporting you
through, especially yourtoughest times.
Speaker 2 (20:45):
Yeah, yeah, that's absolutely true.
I have been so fortunate tojust have them, be able to spend
time with them.
Speaker 1 (20:52):
We love our pets.
As I said in the intro, youhave many other books now about
journaling and meditation.
Have those been importantpractices for you in your mental
health journey?
Speaker 2 (21:05):
Yes, the three things that I so, in addition to
therapy and medication, whichboth of those things for me are
musts.
They're not for everybody, butthey have been very important
for me.
But the more non-professional,if you will, things is movement.
So the running for me, but anykind of movement for other
(21:26):
people.
And then I've been meditatingfor over 30 years now and.
I decided to make it officialI'm now a certified meditation
teacher, and then writing andwriting for me can be writing
for publication or it can be away to process thoughts and
emotions.
I also like to record my life.
I don't know why.
(21:47):
I don't think that it's notlike I'm going to have some
library someplace or somethingto me, but I just have a thing,
because I like to look back andsay, oh, what day did that
happen and when was that andwhat was that really like.
And I think I do tend to writea lot of nonfiction.
I primarily write memoir,refresh my recollection, as we
(22:09):
would say.
That's just really helpful.
So those three things themovement, the meditation and
then the writing practice justreally keep me grounded.
And for me, the but themovement and the meditation
often involve dogs, because Irun with my dog and then we sit.
A lot of times we'll sit andwhatever dog we've had, we'll
come and sit.
My husband sits too, and we'llsit at one of our feet, and so
(22:33):
they're right there with us andup first they maybe scratch a
little bit and spin around incircles a little bit, but
eventually they and it's justlike your mind.
That is exactly what the minddoes.
We always think, oh, I can'tmeditate because my mind is too
busy.
If you are still enough and youare patient enough, the mind
will eventually go.
Oh, they want us to be quiet,let's see what happens, and just
(23:00):
like the dog.
So the dog will sit there withus and then become still too.
Yeah, eventually, sometimesthey fall asleep, sometimes not,
though you can just hear thembreathing and we'll slow, and so
that's been part of the processtoo.
And then I tend to write aboutdogs.
The two biggest articles I'veever had one was in Dog Fancy
Magazine and one was in DogWorld.
It was actually the coverarticle of Dog World, which I
think is so much fun.
Speaker 1 (23:19):
That's great.
I think you're giving so manygreat examples of people think I
need to do that.
But I can't Like with youwalking and starting to jog and
running, but also withmeditation, a lot of people my
brain is always going.
There's no way I could do that.
But until you try it, until youput yourself in that space, you
don't know.
And most of the time, if youput yourself in that space and
(23:42):
you follow a meditation oryou're listening to music,
whatever it is, your brain willgo there because your brain
needs it.
So if you stop and do it andthen if you have the support of
an animal with you, they'll calmyou too and it's such a great
way to connect with them butalso help you to find that quiet
space.
Speaker 2 (23:57):
Absolutely, absolutely.
I know that, I think, and mostpeople that I have talked to
that are hesitant aboutmeditation.
They don't realize that yourbrain is supposed to talk, and
it's so silly but you reallycan't to talk, and it's so silly
but you really can't quiet yourmind, even though people will
(24:17):
tell you quiet your mind.
You can focus your mind, butoften it will just get chatty.
So you have to createconditions that help the mind to
calm on its own.
And it's a bit like a muscle.
It's not used to being quiet,it's not used to being focused,
it's not used to staying in thesame place, and so it's a muscle
(24:38):
you can build where you and themuscle is returning.
The muscle is knowing, oh, Iwas going to meditate now, and
there I am thinking about what'sfor dinner or something at work
or what my dog is doing, thingslike that, and so that,
remembering oh, I was meditating, and very gently bringing the
mind back to whatever you'vechosen to focus on, whether it's
(24:59):
your breath.
One of my books, the Make EveryMove of Meditation, is about
how to meditate while you're,and I also write about how it's
very much like training a dog,training a puppy, especially
because the puppy doesn't knowwhat you want, right, you have
to show it.
Of course, with dogs you can'ttell it either, and the mind's
like that.
You can't tell it, and so youshow it this is what I want.
(25:23):
And then it doesn't do it andyou go no, and you very gently
bring it back to what you wantit to do.
Speaker 1 (25:33):
And so it's very similar to training dogs.
I love that connection.
But I also think what's reallyimportant, what you said.
For you, it was natural becauseyou've always been a writer.
But people don't realize thepower in telling their story,
and for me it's throughpodcasting, but also writing.
Sometimes writing throughthings like grief or mental
health issues can help releaseit from your mind because you've
put it somewhere else and youcan write it, you can speak it,
(25:54):
whatever works for you, and it'sreally a great way to process
things.
But it's also, like you said, agreat way to have stories of
your life, thinking back onexperiences, good or bad, and
it's a great way to process thatfor yourself.
Speaker 2 (26:09):
Yes, definitely.
I know when I'm in anemotionally charged situation.
I did teach writing for anumber of years too, and anybody
who's in an emotionally chargedsituation the mind gets extra
busy.
Hello there.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
Did you hear that?
Yeah, I've heard him a coupleof times.
Yeah, she's over there gurgling.
That's a dog noise their way ofsaying hey, are you done yet?
Speaker 2 (26:30):
Anyway.
So when your mind getsemotionally charged, it gets, or
when your body does, your mindcan get a little busy and for me
, having all that stuff rattlingaround in my head can be very
distracting.
If there's other things I wantto do, writing it down helps to
nail it down.
It downloads.
We sometimes talk about a braindoing a brain dump, where I'm
(26:52):
just downloading it onto thepage and somehow in that process
it just helps clear the mind orcalm the mind.
I also think that it wants tobe heard, that there's parts of
me that want to be heard thataren't always feeling heard.
Speaker 1 (27:09):
This is so true, so important.
This is such, so true, soimportant.
It's actually one of thereasons I'm starting my second
podcast Podcast your Story Nowis because I want more women to
share their story, andpodcasting is a great way.
It's a super fast way to get itout to a lot of people.
It's a great companion if youare writing a book or want to
write a book.
And all of that because I thinksometimes we, in isolation,
(27:32):
I've dealt with depression andanxiety, not to the extent,
maybe, that you have, but we allhave an experience and all have
a level of it that we think noone wants to hear my story.
This doesn't matter, it's justwhat happened to me, but when
it's like you've said, it's sonot the case, especially with
women.
We've all dealt with so manythings that others have dealt
(27:52):
with and we're not alone.
And by sharing your story youmay not realize it, but you
could be reaching someone thatreally needed to know that
they're not alone.
Speaker 2 (28:01):
Yeah, that has been what I'm finding out it's been
so.
The book came out in 2019 andit still continues to sell not
at the level it did at first,but usually have a pretty short
shelf life, and so the publisherhas been very happy, and I
think it's because it's sadly, auniversal story of people who
(28:23):
have that system and the grieftoo.
I know that I don't think Irealized just how big of a thing
.
I knew how much it was for methe grief.
But how many people are dealingwith grief of all kinds of
things, all kinds of things, andfor me the movement was part of
processing all that too, andpeople resonate with that.
Speaker 1 (28:44):
Yeah, and I think it's so important because we're
all grieving something, whetherit's a person or a place or a
time in your life or a house.
Or a place or a time in yourlife or a house, or a divorce,
or even a change in profession,a health change, a health battle
, can be grief, and I have somany friends that have spoken
about that kind of thing ontheir podcasts and also here.
(29:05):
We've spoken a lot about griefaround pet loss, because that's
a huge grief that we deal with.
They're a part of our everydaylives.
We're so connected to them andyou don't know by looking at
someone.
We're all dealing withsomething and grief is pretty
much that thorough line for allof us, no matter what it is, and
so it's a great way that you'vebeen able for you to process
(29:27):
your own but then help otherpeople do the same, it does feel
as if I'm turning myself insideout To be seen.
Speaker 2 (29:35):
I'll be honest, to be seen, but it's the fact that it
has helped so many other peoplehas been great, and I know the
grief was a baseline when Istarted running.
I just didn't ever think it wasgoing to end, and it doesn't.
It just changes, it doesn't.
You don't get over people.
You don't get over.
But I know what I was going tosay though.
The pandemic, oh my gosh.
(29:57):
I think everybody is grievingthe life that was.
Yeah, the days of not havinglived through a pandemic.
It just everybody is differentin some way.
Speaker 1 (30:08):
Absolutely.
Before we end our chat, Iwanted to make sure to highlight
the rescue organization youmentioned to me, which is Pet
Promise.
Can you tell the listeners?
Speaker 2 (30:19):
a little about that organization.
Yes, they have.
I know that they have.
They have a facility here incentral Ohio, the biggest.
The way that I know them bestis through the race, that they
do A lot of other things too.
They have charity, but they'rea rescue and they're trying to
find homes for dogs that mightbe difficult or dogs that I mean
they're just a little bitdifferent rescue and they're
(30:42):
just the best.
Not that any rescue isn't thebest people, but they're just
the best people.
But they have the Pet Promiseand Rescue Run and they have
some other events through theyear.
But that's the thing that Ihave connected with them most
often is through the Rescue Runand they they're just.
It seems like they're at a lotof events and I love they always
bring their dogs and cats withthem so that you can really see
(31:06):
them, and that helps socializethe animals too.
Speaker 1 (31:08):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (31:09):
Because that's part of the problem with with rescues
being returned is because thepets aren't socialized or the
people aren't prepared enoughand they have a whole system for
that, and I wish I am in my ownlittle lane with writing the
books, but that's one of thethings that I want to get a
little more involved in is tofind out is there something?
Do they need food?
(31:30):
What do they need?
Speaker 1 (31:30):
I can say most rescues I know need volunteers,
they need fosters, they needhelp.
What do they need?
I can say most rescues I knowneed volunteers, they need
fosters, they need help withsocial media.
They you can pretty much anykind of job you could think of.
They will say, yes, we wouldneed your help.
And it sounds like a greatorganization because, like you
said so many times, if pets havebeen in shelters or different
situations, their behavior haschanged.
(31:52):
They've gone through their owntrauma and change and you have
to give them time to adjust andadapt and if they haven't been
trained, you have to put thework in.
So it sounds like a greatorganization that helps with
that process for their animals.
Yeah, they do, and I will putthe link to their website in the
show notes so anybody who'sinterested can learn more about
(32:13):
them.
Nita, thank you so much forbeing here.
I've really enjoyed thisconversation, learning more
about you and your journey,especially your amazing dogs who
have helped you through thatjourney, and I will have all the
links to Nita in the show notesso you can learn more about her
, check out her books and maybeeven take up running with your
(32:37):
dog if she's inspired you.
Speaker 2 (32:41):
Most dogs love it.
I even saw the last trainingseason we had.
We train on the trail manytrails but one of them is called
the Ollantaynta Trail andwhenever we were on that trail I
would see this woman runningwith her Yorkie and that dog was
so happy.
I don't know how long, how farthey went, they were moving out
and that was just that.
I don't think I've ever seen anunhappy running dog.
Speaker 1 (33:05):
I think that is so true.
I think sometimes we assumedifferent dogs oh they don't
want that, they don't need it.
But you know what, Just likepeople, dogs need to move.
Animals need to move.
They need to move to stayhealthy and active.
And I have done a lot of dogsitting and I had a little
Yorkie client that she had towalk twice a day.
She knew the route and shewould take off and I'd be like
(33:27):
slow down girl.
So I think that is an importantmoment that your pets need to
exercise just as much as you do,and so it's a great activity to
do together.
Speaker 2 (33:37):
Thank you so much and thank you for this podcast,
because it's just you'rehighlighting rescues and the
relationship with pets.
That's just.
It's such an important.
Speaker 1 (33:52):
Thank you, my friend, for being here and listening to
this episode of the Story of myPet podcast.
I hope you were inspired andtouched by this amazing pet
story and I hope you come backto listen to more episodes soon.
Make sure you don't miss anynew episodes by clicking
subscribe wherever you arelistening to this podcast right
(34:14):
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
more people to rescue, fosterand adopt animals in need today.
(34:35):
Thank you so much for beinghere and much love to you and
your pets.
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