April 4, 2024 • 52 mins
Picture a dog, discarded and forgotten, now imagine it becoming a hero in a police uniform. This is the heart of our latest episode, where Carol Skaziak of the Throwaway Dogs Project takes us on a riveting journey from obscurity to glory for canines who prove to be much more than meets the eye. Carol, with roots that run deep in PR, marketing, and law enforcement, unveils the transformation of rescue dogs into indispensable assets for police departments, offering a narrative that intertwines second chances with societal impact.
Throughout the episode, we traverse the tales of breeds like pit bulls, shattering long-held stereotypes as they emerge as champions in scent detection and arson investigation. We spotlight a particular pit bull whose journey to becoming Law Enforcement Dog of the Year redefines the role these dogs can play in law enforcement. Carol and I engage in a rich discussion about the meticulous selection process, the victories of dogs finding their calling, and the invaluable training that prepares them and their handlers for the field's challenges.
As we wrap up our conversation, Carol's passion and sense of purpose shine through, revealing the tenacity it takes to spearhead a mission-driven nonprofit in a competitive industry. We touch upon the complexities and the fulfillment that come from uniting a community to back a cause that offers more than just a service—it provides a transformative experience for both the dogs and the departments they join. So join us for an intimate exploration of dedication, impact, and the indomitable bond between humans and their four-legged partners.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
To date, we have donated 57 trained police dogs
in the 10 years Over half amillion dollars.
That we have saved departmentsmoney on doing this, which is
amazing.
But those rescue dogs mainly theones that we pull from shelters
normally will just be a singlepurpose scent detection dog.
We don't make them into anysort of patrol dog because,
(00:22):
again, we also have a veryimportant job to fulfill to
train these dogs to protecttheir handler.
Absolutely.
We take our job very seriously.
What people don't see is theback office of how we are
constantly saying, nope, notthat dog, nope, not this dog.
They're only seeing the happystories.
So out of the 57, there'shundreds that unfortunately we
(00:44):
had to turn down in order tomake a good quality police dog.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
What is going on everybody?
Welcome back to the Big DogPodcast.
I'm your host, Josh Wilson.
Logan is in the background.
How you doing, son?
Good, Good, I got that, youknow.
Always riveting conversationwith Logan Wilson, it's big time
.
Well, look, we're continuing amini series that we're running
right now and this is new, youknow, for the big dog podcast.
(01:29):
We're getting heavy in the dogsand two years in and we've
never been dog topics, which iskind of funny because everyone's
like Josh, like you're the dogtrainer, Like what's going on?
But the show is definitelybusiness mindset, family driven.
What's going on?
But the show is definitelybusiness mindset, family driven.
But we're getting into dogshere these next couple of months
(01:51):
and we're trying to bring inthe best of the best and
influential people in the spaceand share their stories.
And today I couldn't be moreexcited to introduce you to
Carol Skasiak, and she is thefounder and CEO of the Throwaway
Dogs Project and Canine Law andOrder and incredible nonprofits
doing really big things here inthe US.
(02:12):
And, Carol, thank you so muchfor joining us today.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
Oh, thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
It's been a lot of fun.
We know a lot of the samepeople you know and I've heard a
ton about you and you know someof our friends that we share.
Some are super respectable,some are kind of suspect, but
that's kind of.
You know and I've heard a tonabout you and you know some of
our friends that we share.
Some are super respectable,some are kind of suspect, but
that's kind of.
You know the dog world in andof itself, but welcome, you know
, to the big dog podcast andtell us a little bit about you.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
Well, thanks again for having me and yes, you are
absolutely right, um it, the dogworld definitely is, is a small
world and and it's a pleasureto actually meet you and see you
.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
So yeah, I have.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
I have been in this industry now for 10 years.
We are going on 11 years.
And, to be honest with you, howthis started.
It really was never even on myradar.
So 10 years ago I was a PR andmarketing person for a luxury
boarding facility and one of myjobs was to write a newsletter
(03:14):
every month and it was reallyone of my arch nemesis.
I hated doing it.
It was hard to come up withtopics and it would go out to
the clients.
So what was happening over thepast few months prior to that,
we were having clients bringdogs in and they were leaving
the dogs.
(03:35):
They weren't coming to pick itup and we would try and rehome
the dog.
Lawyers had to get involved andit was happening over and over
again.
So I decided you know what, thismonth I'm going to write an
article on the throwaway societyof dogs.
And I wrote this great articleand I showed it to to the owner
and he said nah, we're not doingthis, it's too depressing.
He's like turn it around, makeit something positive and and
(03:58):
we'll go with that.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
So I did what everybody does I, I'm I was like
okay, we'll do a contest.
Tell me how your your yourrescue dog saved you and the the
12 great stories I will put ina calendar, we'll get a
photographer.
We'll have everybody in for amonth, but the best story is
going to go on the cover.
Yeah, so, um it it actuallyworked out.
(04:20):
Clients were responding and wewere getting all these great
stories and the 12 best ones,you know.
We hired a photographer, butthe one story that stood out was
who is now my partner?
Uh, jason Walters, who is acanine handler for step the
transit, and his partner was arescue dog that was moments away
(04:42):
from being euthanized.
And, um, who is now is was hispartner and he was an explosive
and patrol dog and I love thisstory.
Um, I put, you know, I put it inwords, and we, we, we, we
plastered Winchester on on thecover and and he is our, you
know, our, our cover dog now for10 years, he has his famous
(05:03):
jump over over the barrels.
But, being in PR and marketingnow, it was my job to promote
the heck out of this.
So I did, I promoted the heckout of this calendar and we were
.
It took off.
We were in every newspaper,every news station, we were even
in magazines at that point andafter the dust settled.
(05:26):
I'm like I was just so touchedby all of this.
I'm like I think I really wantto try and do something about it
.
Yeah, my husband is in lawenforcement in philadelphia so
I've been married for um for 25years he he has been serving 26
years uh with the philadelphiapolice department, so I am
definitely a part of the familyin blue.
Just never have really beeninvolved in the canine world.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
Yep.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
And I asked Jason, who you know, who is my partner,
you know, will you do this withme?
Will you help me?
I could, I could be, you know,the the mastermind, but I need
you to physically help me withthese dogs.
Yeah, we, we kicked it off.
The first couple years wasabsolutely atrocious.
We didn't know what we weredoing.
(06:11):
We tried our best and, you know, we would pull in a shelter dog
or two.
After like the third and fourthyear, we started to develop like
a reputation a good reputationand it just started to increase
and increase and then, as veryinfluential canine people in the
(06:33):
industry started to learn aboutus, they would call us and say
hey, you know what we thinkyou're doing a great thing.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
So we want to be a part of that.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
And believe me, being a woman in this industry when I
first started civilian woman.
Yeah, it was brutal Like it was.
It was brutal, but I definitelyearned the respect of the
people that I want to, you know,earn that respect from in this
industry, and I love it.
(07:02):
I love it.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
I love it.
I love it.
That's awesome.
And you know, specifically, thebig thing that you guys are
doing is you're you're findingthese throwaway dogs and
repurposing, training, rehabbing, with the hope of placing with
different agencies.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
Correct.
So when we did first start out,it was basically we were.
We were looking at ownersurrender dogs, shelter dogs and
rescue dogs and, to be honestwith you, I said we hit a lot of
brick walls at the beginningbecause we wanted to save them
all and, as you know, being inthe dog industry, you can't save
(07:41):
them all, and that was thehardest battle that I had to
overcome.
I can't save them all and thatwas the hardest battle that I
had to overcome.
I can't save them all.
So we started out that way andthen we realized, hey, you know
what we're?
We're pulling too many dogs,we're spending all this money
and time with training them andnow we don't have a place to put
them.
So we we kind of restructuredwhat we have done.
(08:04):
We built our reputation and now, when the applications come in,
we go out and find the dogsthat will specifically match for
that department.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
Then we'll start our training process.
So you're not, which makes a lotof sense too, right, because if
you're pulling every dog thatyou might be able to do
something with, but there isn'tnecessarily a need for that dog
and what its particular skillsand strengths are.
(08:34):
But if you're able to know, hey, this department has needs X, y
, z.
This department is short on,you know, detection.
Yes, this department is shorton you know detection.
Yes, you know it's a greatpatrol dogs, but they're not
doing great on drugs and youknow explosives, things like
that.
It's like, ok, you can go outnow with very intentional
purpose, look for some commontraits and now, ok, does this
(08:57):
dog have what it takes at abaseline to have the potential
to fill that slot?
So I mean, no, that makes awhole lot of sense and I can
definitely tell how, in thebeginning, where it's like, all
right, let's get this dog, let'sget that dog, let's, let's do
the next thing.
You know, you got 38 dogs atyour house.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
Right and in all reality.
I know that the name kind ofsays that we are a rescue and
we're really not a rescue right.
We don't hold onto these dogsand throughout the years,
because of we built up such astellar reputation, we also now
have reputable breeders andbrokers that say to us you know
(09:37):
what I love, what you're doing?
Here's a dog.
So we have like a genuineworking line dog, that now we
can also be able to pay itforward.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
Yeah, that's great.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
To date we have donated 57 trained police dogs.
In the 10 years it's over overa half a million dollars that we
have saved departments, youknow, money on doing this, which
is incredible.
But those rescue dogs mainly theones that we pull from shelters
normally will just be a singlepurpose scent detection dog.
(10:12):
We don't make them into anysort of patrol dog because,
again, we also have a veryimportant job to fulfill to
train these dogs, to protecttheir handler.
We take our job very seriously.
What people don't see is theback office of how we are
constantly saying no, not thatdog.
(10:37):
No, not this dog, that dog'swashed out.
They're only seeing the happystory.
So, out of the 57, there'shundreds that unfortunately, we
had to turn down in order tomake a good quality police dog.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
Yeah, but the point you make is so true.
I was having a conversationwith someone the other day and
you know, I know you've seen itI mean far more times than I
have but you know, when there'sa failure in the field of a
patrol dog in the field and theof of a patrol dog, and 90 plus
(11:09):
percent of the time when thatdog fails in a situation it's a
training, lack of training orthat dog was never going to be
that dog to begin with and maybeit's limited resources by the
department, maybe it's limitedresources and abilities by the
handler because of limitedresources from the department.
There's a lot of things thatcan go into it, but when that
(11:30):
dog is in a situation and it'snot able to execute at the
highest level needed it does,the handler is absolute and
anybody else around is also atrisk.
It becomes such a hugeliability around is also at risk
.
It becomes such a hugeliability and I.
That's another reason why Ilove what you guys are doing.
You know, with the placementsand specific to the needs of the
(11:51):
department, not just peddlingdogs, you're filling specific
needs which is going to go andhelp that handler, help that
community and, you know, be astrong influence in that that
department in in region.
And the right dog is so, soparamount.
And people think I'm on the petside, right.
(12:13):
And so people are like hey,josh, I got this German shepherd
.
You know, let's go ahead andget started on protection,
training and and this and that.
And I just crack up laughing.
Or my favorite is whateverenunciation they want to put on
uh, malinois, that's always thebest.
You know malinois, you knowbohemian malinois?
Uh, whatever people want to sayall these crazy things, yeah,
(12:35):
it's like hey, I got one, let'steach it to do this like timeout
, you know, that's not thequalifier.
The qualifier isn't the breedof the dog.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
No, if you could only see how many emails, phone
calls and messages that come inon a daily basis, literally
hundreds of mainly ownersurrenders, and they have the
perfect dog and make a greatpolice dog.
He's only have five bites andhe bit my kid in the face and
(13:07):
it's like perfect, we, we,that's not what we're looking
for, and you know.
But the general public doesn'tunderstand that it does take a
special dog, a certain quality,yep, um.
So back in 2016, um, I actuallydabbled in doing pit bulls.
Okay, did not want to do thisand I have to admit it, like I
(13:31):
kicked and screamed.
We did get somebody emailed usand sent videos of this one pit
bull, and I'll be damned likethe videos showed everything
that this dog had, everything.
Right and I'm like, oh, do we dothis, do we not do this?
Well, we ended up taking her inand she kind of really made
(13:53):
this.
Is she kind of put us on themap, believe it or not?
Um, because we madeinternational news because of of
of her being a pit bull.
And we did.
We trained her up.
It was a hard job for me toplace her because I did not have
a placement for her, so I wentagainst my own rules.
(14:13):
We took her in, we, we, wetrained her for narcotic
detection and it took me a whileto find a department that would
actually want to try this outAgain.
They have a bad stigma andafter that we were featured in
People magazine in South Africa.
Wow, which I never knew evenexisted, yeah, but it started
(14:37):
the ball rolling.
And then, after her, there wasan internationally known dog
ring in Canada called Save the21.
And there was 21 pit bulls thatwere taken, seized from a dog
ring, a dog fighting ring and,long story short, these dogs
(14:59):
were in custody for about twoyears.
For about two years A gentlemanand his wife from Dog Tales
Rescue Sanctuary in Canadafought really hard to save these
21 dogs that were evaluatedinside and out all around.
They were cleared to be safe,which others were euthanized.
But these 21 dogs really hadsomething and a chance to live.
(15:23):
So after two years being incustody, they were, they were
saved.
But they were ordered out ofthe Providence of Ontario and
they were sent down to Floridaand Dogs Playing for Life took
them and we were called in andsaid you have to come and
evaluate some of these dogs.
And we took five of those dogsin after doing extensive
(15:48):
evaluations and five of thosedogs were really had what we
wanted in a police dog as far asscent detection.
Speaker 2 (15:56):
Sure.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
And we placed three of those in law enforcement and
the other two I ended upadopting one, and another one
went to sort of a companion dog.
But those three dogs put usagain on the map internationally
.
Cesar Milan called us.
We were on the Cesar showbecause of it.
(16:20):
My theory is, if they can dothe job and they are clear
headed and rock solid, why notgive them a purpose?
Speaker 2 (16:29):
Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
It changed my life.
I was never a pit bull lover.
I knew nothing about them.
It's not that I wasdiscriminative, but I just knew
nothing about them.
I have to tell you that the dogand he just passed a few months
ago from there was the best dogthat I've ever owned in my life
like and it was something itopened my eyes and I wanted to.
Speaker 2 (16:53):
I wanted other people to see that and they did make a
difference in their communityman, that's such an awesome
story too, because that's so outof the box, that's so out of
the norm, right, and it's one ofthose things where you know you
ask 50 people, they're like no,no, no, that's so out of the
box, that's so out of the norm,right, and it's one of those
things where you know you ask 50people, they're like no, no, no
, that's bullshit, that didn't,that's not going to happen,
that's not going to work right.
But again, the, the right dog,the right situation, the right
(17:16):
attention, the right care, the,the preparation, the setup, and
you have these dogs from anabsolute, atrocious, brutal
background where so many placesjust saying this is the
background, they're not gettingplaced, just euthanize all, and
you know the fact that that is21 were saved, but then those
(17:39):
five were on to go on to doother things, even three
particularly very special thingsthat that that's nowhere on the
map as far as their roadmap ofthose dogs, life and trajectory,
and so that's pretty dangincredible one of the dogs um we
actually sent to millville firedepartment and he is the first
(18:01):
arson detection pit bull everever he won law enforcement dog
of the year uh we did.
Speaker 1 (18:08):
I know this dog we yeah, we went to a gala in
florida with this like this wassuch a huge accomplishment, but
it's gonna, it's.
It doesn't always take just me.
I need that, that chief, thatthat commander to to give this a
and that's actually on ourapplication?
Are you open to you know, uh,different breeds?
Speaker 2 (18:30):
such as a bully breed .
Speaker 1 (18:31):
I will tell you, a lot of them will say yes.
And then when we have ourinterview, um, they're
backpedaling a little bit, butit's not only up to the chief.
Then we have to go to you knowthe town manager it's not only
up to the chief Then we have togo to you know the town manager.
The board of the town, Likeit's a big deal, Like I don't
think that everybody knows whena department gets a dog.
It's not the chief of police,that just says okay you know
(18:55):
it's the whole community kind of, is involved.
Is the budget approved?
You know, even though your dogis free, it's you still need a
budget Right and and so some ofthem are open, Some of them are
not open.
I have not placed any moresince then.
Um, it really is a tough sell.
I won't give up on it.
I'll tell you that.
I'll keep trying.
But, um, it was something thatchanged my life.
(19:19):
It changed, it opened my eyes,and it's just I'm, I'm, I'm
really proud of it.
Speaker 2 (19:25):
That's awesome.
They, um, you're talking aboutdealing with the different
departments and kind of, hey,it's not one person just saying,
hey, we need a dog.
Um, we have learned that overthe years, uh, my, my location
up in Detroit, with my team upthere, they did a therapy dog
for a department up there thatto to work with, you know,
(19:49):
officers in the department, orthat dog can be taken to a,
let's say, it's a domestic thing.
There's kids, you know, the dogcan can be there to kind of
distract or whatever.
And it's really incredible.
And so this was years ago.
You know we trained this dogfor the department.
There are dogs all over socialmedia.
They're having a ton of funwith this dog and implementing
(20:11):
the dog.
And then we get a call fromanother department in a township
you know nearby.
Then we get a call from anotherdepartment from a town nearby,
and so it's stacking up and wejust brought in um, a university
, their private policedepartment.
They are training five therapydogs, uh, for their department,
(20:35):
for um, uh, you know if there'sany incidents, but for students,
for whatever, yeah, but it is aprocess going through for these
agencies and departments to getthe dog, to fund the
acquisition of the dog, thetraining of the dog, whatever it
may be.
It is quite the process and Inever thought about it like that
(20:59):
.
I'm like well, if you want,just pay it, we'll get it set up
and gone.
No, no, no, no.
There's a lot of signaturesthat are in play.
But, I love seeing how thedepartments are putting dogs to
work outside of your typicalsingle, dual purpose,
traditional roles.
It's big, and when they firstapproached us about it and
(21:24):
telling us what they wanted todo and I started thinking about
for me, I was thinking about,you know, domestic incidents and
stuff where there's kids whoare super confused and not
necessarily knowing what's goingon and probably what they see
on a regular basis isn't great.
And knowing that a dog can helpa kid disconnect from what
other bullshit's happening infront of them because adults
(21:46):
don't know how to handlethemselves, yeah, um, it's, it's
amazing and I love seeing thedepartments apply the dogs for
and these are totally differenttype of dog right now.
We, you know, and and that'swhere it's like.
But the dog has a purpose forgenetics, for how it was bred,
(22:06):
and that's why people think oh,it's got pointy ears, let me go
do bite.
Well, no, maybe, but is this ashow line, pointy ear?
Is this a working line, pointyear?
How is it neutral?
Is it stable?
Like what are we looking atwith this dog?
Well, it loves to bite.
It bites everybody.
Well, timeout, that's probablynot the dog you want to throw in
(22:29):
a.
You know back of a, an SUV, witha couple officers on their way
to do a thing.
They're they're trying to prepfor, you know, a mission and now
you got a freaking dog tryingto eat everybody you know in
mission and now you got afreaking dog trying to eat
(22:49):
everybody you know in the back.
But finding the right dog forthat purpose and all the
different things that the dogscan do is just incredible.
Um, now talk to me about whendid so?
10, 11 years ago.
You start this journey and thefirst couple of years, like
anybody going out with something, I mean, it's just a cluster.
You're learning, you have thegreat idea and now you've got to
find out practically how wemake this work and relationships
(23:10):
are growing.
You know you're meeting people,you're dealing with different
types of dogs.
At what point does the caninelaw and order type trainings and
events?
When does that start to come into play?
Speaker 1 (23:24):
So that came into play right around when COVID hit
.
Speaker 2 (23:28):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (23:29):
And it actually started because you mentioned it
earlier.
What was happening was I was.
You spend a lot of time andmoney into training these dogs
and you try and vet thedepartments that the dog goes to
as best that you can, butthere's always, there's always
(23:49):
bad apples regardless whetherit's law enforcement or not, but
there's also budgets in thatcome into play, and for some
reason maintenance training onon canines is not always top
priority right especially withsome of the departments that I
was placing dogs with.
Okay because, there's no moneyright and what was happening was
(24:13):
they were breaking my dogs kindof, and the dogs were coming
back broken.
Uh handler was so inexperiencedso in an uh inexperience that
you know something happened.
So I'm like we're spending somuch money like this.
(24:37):
We need to fix this and this wasalso was right around the time,
like when George Floyd happenedand defund the police was
happening.
This was just.
It wasn't okay.
So I at this point I had a lotof great names in the canine
business that were starting toattach themselves and be a part
(24:59):
of my team and I'm like, howabout we start putting training
seminars together?
And the first training seminarwas 30 handlers and I'll never
forget it and I was so happy.
And this one in April we areright at 100 handlers from all
(25:20):
over the country and we are nowwelcoming we have federal level
handlers coming in.
So which is blows my mind blowsmy mind.
But my thing is I have to put atwist on it, right, Because I
don't want them to have to payfor it, so it's at no cost.
But then they come and I wantedto have this atmosphere where
(25:45):
it's almost like a retreat forthem.
So for three days, you know, Iwant to be able to have them
feel like they're at home.
So you know, we're providingthree meals a day, which is
elaborate buffets, all thebeverages, goodie bags, like
gift bags we select and puttogether for them so they can go
home with just some littlespecial tokens for them as well
(26:06):
as their canine yeah we havemotivational speakers and so
after training, the networkingthat happens, I wanted to just
create like a safe place forthem.
Yeah, like-minded people yeahyou know, my husband is
extremely supportive of what Ido and I travel yeah, I love it.
So they can talk about trainingand we have successfully.
Speaker 2 (26:29):
This is our our sixth seminar.
Speaker 1 (26:30):
Third big one in Maryland, so we always have one,
really, really big one, and itis.
It is so important because thisseminar potentially could save
(26:55):
their lives.
Speaker 2 (26:56):
A hundred percent, a hundred percent, and that's why
we followed along, cause we've,we've and I want people to
understand, you know what youjust said.
When these teams are coming tothese trainings, guys, what she
just said was she wants to be atno cost to them.
There's no, there's no reasonwhy a team shouldn't be able to
(27:18):
come out Right.
A team shouldn't be able tocome out right.
It's a free training for them.
So they do look for sponsorsfor stuff, and we're going to
drop links on the show and wherepeople can go to donate or
sponsor a team or whatnot.
But you know, we've done it inthe past, we've done it again
this year, you know, sponsoringa couple teams and it's a big
(27:42):
deal.
Guys.
Deal, guys like, let's removeall the barriers for people to
get the training that they need.
And that's one thing I so manythings I love about what you're
doing.
But it's not just talking aboutit, it's it's actually doing it
and removing those roadblocksfor people to be able to do it,
because, cause when you say, hey, this could save a life, that
(28:11):
is probably the biggestunderstatement you know ever.
I mean that these, these menand women and their partners, I
mean they are in it, they're inthe thick of it and to be able
to create scenarios and pictures, you know, for these dogs and
for the handlers and for thattraining and repetition and the
decoys that you guys have.
Oh, my gosh, I mean you.
You just have some of the bestof the best in the decoy world
(28:33):
who are helping to train anddevelop these dogs and build
that confidence up with theseanimals to where they just feel,
you know, just, they'resuperhuman.
Right, it's how these dogs areand with that confidence is like
that with that dog.
That confidence is also therewith the handler, who can stay
clear headed and focused in themoments.
(28:54):
And it's a beautiful thing, itreally is.
Speaker 1 (28:57):
And it's important because we're not just that type
of seminar that is just sendthe dog, let's do a bite.
We are doing aggression for man.
You know, equipment fixationlike building clearing you know,
stuff that's important.
You know vehicle stops withextractions, you know stuff is
(29:19):
being done not only with thecanine, but this is also going
to save the officer's life,potentially, because it will
happen just one time and andthat's all.
It takes is one time, and wehave done several scenarios
where it has opened the eyes ofofficers and when they would
come back to the second, thesecond seminar seminar, they
(29:41):
would say to us that scenariolast year changed the way I did
things.
Speaker 2 (29:47):
That's all we wanted to hear that's it, that's what
we want.
That's huge.
And so you do the one inMaryland, which is the biggest,
and then you do a second one,and where's that one at?
Speaker 1 (29:58):
We do.
So we have been doing a smallerone in North Carolina, up
outside of New Bern, northCarolina.
We've been doing a smaller one.
We are going to start we areputting things into production
now of possibly starting up amobile training unit where we
(30:18):
will do smaller ones andactually go to the departments
and focus on just thatdepartment.
It won't be all the bells andwhistles where we have elaborate
buffets or anything, but it isthis, it will just be a training
event.
Some of these departments can'tget to us so we are hoping, you
(30:39):
know, to have sponsors thatwill, that will help us sponsor
this fund to the canine law andorder fund.
So I can, you know, send mytrainers to, you know, texas, to
California, to Florida, ohio,detroit, you know, just to focus
(31:00):
on the department itself andwhat their needs are.
Speaker 2 (31:03):
Yeah, that's huge and I love that you're still 10
years in the game, still lookingat ways to increase impact.
Speaker 1 (31:13):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (31:14):
You know you've had tremendous success, you know, in
these first 10 years, and youknow a third of which you're
trying to figure it out, yeah.
Right, and that's the thing Ialways joke about when I'm
talking to, to CEOs and foundersand stuff, is that I'm like man
, how much time in the beginningwere we just figuring it out?
(31:34):
And now this is where we're at,10 years Cause I I started with
off leash canine training.
I opened my first location inJanuary of 2014.
So we're right at that 10 yearmark also.
And you know, in the beginningit was just go, go, go, go go,
with no, I would like to say Iwas strategic, but I was also
(31:55):
working like 60 hour a week,other job and you know and
starting this business.
And it wasn't strategic, it wasI'm awake, I need to be working
and this is what I did and wedid that for years.
And I do think about the impactwe've been able to have over
the years and how many familieswe've been able to touch and
dogs we've been able to help.
And I'm like man and we wastedso much time in the beginning
(32:19):
trying to figure it out.
Now I'm like we shouldexponentially be able to have
more impact in the next 10 yearsbecause we're better right,
we're more educated, we are moremature, we're better at our
craft, we're able to developpeople.
It's not just you anymore.
You have an amazing team oftrainers and decoys and support
(32:44):
staff and things you didn't havein the beginning and now you do
.
And now it's like what is thatimpact the next 10 years can
have?
So the fact you're talkingabout this mobile unit is really
I think it's brilliant.
Speaker 1 (32:58):
Yeah, and it's just.
It was a lot of growing painsin the beginning, a lot of tears
on my part.
Speaker 2 (33:06):
Again.
Speaker 1 (33:06):
I work with all men Like you know, you guys don't
have emotions.
I do and they used to tell me.
They said stop crying.
All you do is cry.
Well, leave me alone.
It's my passion coming out, butI'll figure this out, and I did
over the 10 years.
I did, we figured it out.
I still cry and I, and it'sokay but because that's it's.
(33:33):
I wear my heart on my sleeve.
I'm so passionate about what Ido this is.
This is about not only aboutthe dogs, but it's also about
the, the officer, but in the end, we're serving the community.
(33:54):
I never would have imagined in10 years that I would be doing
this Never, you know, 100% Likethis wasn't even in my
wheelhouse and I don't know howit became.
But that's what I call a truecalling, and it's agreed.
Sometimes you cannot explain itand you just do it, and I was
meant to do this and I I want tomake a difference.
Speaker 2 (34:17):
Yeah, yeah, I love that so much.
Talk about for the listeners.
Or you know our viewers onYouTube and stuff about for the
listeners, or you know ourviewers on YouTube and stuff.
Talk about the training groundsin Maryland.
I want people to understand,kind of, when you talk about
room clearing and vehicleextractions and very realistic
(34:38):
scenarios.
Can you talk a little bit aboutthe setup that you have there?
I don't want people thinkingyou're doing this thing in a
Lowe's parking lot.
You know it's.
You know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (34:47):
Yes.
So, first off, my vision um,there was really nowhere that
could hold all of us.
And what?
Because I wanted to create thatretreat like atmosphere.
I I wanted everybody to trainto eat and sleep, you know, in
the same location.
So we did with with help,because it takes a village we
(35:09):
found frontier campground whichis right outside ocean city,
maryland, and that was like mydream because now we have the
cabins there, there is a Westerntown there that we utilize.
It backs off to the bay.
So we have water, we're able todo water work there also, and
(35:30):
there is tons and tons of woodsand forests for us to do, you
know, tracking and scenario workthere.
But with that Western town weare able to recreate some
realistic situation scenariotrainings.
But we do leave the propertyalso and we have there's a
(35:50):
school that's close by that willdo some building clearing there
, and also a warehouse.
So we're not always on thatproperty.
We do utilize that property, butit's we.
We utilize the surrounding areathere in order for it to really
be realistic and real life andhave you been making use of that
(36:12):
property since you started in2020 with it?
no, no, so that the first yearwe were on a small farm in
virginia okay, that nobodystayed on, you know, um.
And then then we moved up tothis will be our third year at
this campground and there's nomore cabins left.
We sell the cabins out, it'sjust we take up the whole
(36:35):
campground, which is prettyawesome.
There are civilians there,there's some civilians on
property and they love it.
They, you know they're able towatch at a safe distance and see
what we do and and it's it'spretty exciting.
Speaker 2 (36:50):
The one who's just clueless, wondering what the
hell is going on.
They're thinking somethingreally bad's going down, you
know, and everybody startsrolling in, and then all the
dogs, oh my gosh.
So you, you made a commentabout how passionate you are
about the impact it has on thecommunity, and a hundred teams
(37:11):
are coming out this year fromacross the country.
People are coming out and Imean it's not community, it is
communities.
I mean it is communities thatyou're impacting and what an
incredible, what an incrediblething.
And you know, and and I thinkthat speaks volumes to you as a
person and like I can just tell,it is our first time
(37:35):
interacting, you and I, you know, face to face, but like you're
a force right, and I alwaysbelieve when people, when they
get their passion in alignmentRight With with their purpose,
it people are unstoppable.
Like doesn't mean everything'ssimple and goes smooth, but like
(37:58):
failure isn't even an option.
Right, because you're inperfect alignment with passion
and purpose.
And so, yeah, the headaches,the roadblocks, the stumbles,
the lessons learned, there's nofailures, it's all lessons and
you keep falling forward becauseit's in perfect alignment.
Speaker 1 (38:19):
I actually like that saying there's no failures,
there are lessons.
That's actually a great saying,that saying there's no failures
, there are lessons.
Speaker 2 (38:26):
That's actually a great saying.
Yeah, I mean, I get them everyday, and so you know.
I had to stop telling myself,josh, you're kind of dumb.
No, I'm not dumb, my failuresare lessons.
My failures are lessons and so.
But the thing is, you know when, as hard as it was and probably
still is for a female in thearea that you chosen to to run
with this thing, that youlegitimately are a force and
(38:51):
that's why it's having theimpact, that it is, because the
universe cannot deny alignment.
And I believe that so much youknow, because you're the one to
do it, nobody else you, you'rethe one who had to do it, you're
the one who had to have thevision, the thought, the idea.
(39:12):
You're the one who had to runthat, that newsletter, which you
hated doing, which turned intoa calendar, which sparked the
huh there's actually a lot ofdogs here and it wasn't one of
(39:33):
those things that necessarilymade a whole lot of sense as to
why this was nagging at you.
But you're like I think we canhelp here and it's that, that,
that place where you're comingat it from an area of serve and
and to serve others notnecessarily not yourself and
it's like, okay, this is kind ofa rough concept of where I am
and what we're doing, and nowwhere it's at, 10 years later,
the clarity of it.
Meanwhile, every step and hiccupand trip along the way was 100%
(39:55):
necessary to get to where youare now.
And people stop with thehiccups.
They try to get their purposeand passion and alignment with
the hiccups.
They try to get their purposeand passion and alignment.
But that first sign of trouble,that first sign of failure,
that first sign of oh, this isgoing to be harder than I could
have ever imagined.
People stop and you kept going.
(40:16):
And can you talk a little bitabout that, like what?
What ultimately keeps you going, even on the hardest of days?
Speaker 1 (40:24):
keeps you going, even on the hardest of days, so I
think that my passion allows meto inspire others.
I have to scream this on thetop of my lungs because I
certainly could not have donethis without the team that I
have in place right.
It definitely takes a villageand I have an amazing team right
(40:45):
now in place who I believe thatmy passion inspired them.
Not that they weren't, theydidn't have the passion that I
do, but I I feel I'm inspiringto them, so that gives them the
oomph to want to, to help.
Also, you know, do this andmake you know and have a purpose
.
Yeah to help.
(41:07):
Also, you know, do this andmake you know and have a purpose
.
Yeah, but this also brings outevery vampire that possibly
could exist in this industry.
Yes, and not everybody is hasthat same end goal and what I
try to tell my team is um,because I again very emotional.
I will, I will cry at the dropof a dime.
(41:28):
Someone hurts my feelings, butI get up and I and I I brushed
myself off and I'm like, allright, we could do this.
But some people aren't in forit for the end result.
They're in for it for selfprofit and I have created
something that is extremelymarketable.
(41:49):
And it wasn't intentional right, because my passion, my passion
, developed this.
It became this extremelymarketable project.
So we have some people withgood intentions, but some people
also with not good intentions,and it's it's hard for me
(42:09):
sometimes to determine who'swho's actually the vampire.
And we have come across somereally, really like, not nice
people.
But we're still here and we'restill going, stay focused and
and and just concentrate on themission and not worry about you
(42:30):
know those people.
But I know that the people thatare intended to be with us will
continue to stick with us.
Sure, and that's what'srewarding.
Speaker 2 (42:40):
So what?
Um, I know you talked a littlebit about the mobile unit trying
to put that team to be mobileand go visit departments
one-on-one and conduct trainingsfor them, specifically to the
areas maybe they're strugglingwith and having problems.
You know what do you see?
The next, you know, five yearslooking like for Throwaway Dog
(43:03):
Project and Canine Law and Order.
Speaker 1 (43:06):
I definitely see us expanding, for sure.
I feel that that one sponsor,that one backer is finally going
to get wind of us and believein the same mission that we are
and in for it for goodintentions, not for them looking
(43:28):
good or them, you know, makingmoney off of this, because it
certainly is not about makingmoney.
I have worked 10 years.
Um, basically, just, I have nofamily time, I have no friend
time, I have nothing, becauseeverything was put into this.
So I believe in five years, weare going to run into that that
(43:50):
one sponsor that is going to saythis is freaking amazing and
help us fund this, and thatwe're able to hire these
trainers to to be on our, our,our mobile unit and go and make
a difference all over thecountry, and that that's that is
(44:11):
my goal.
And, of course, again, never,never to charge the department,
never.
And this does rub people thewrong way in this industry.
Some people, because this istheir living right, this is
their living, this is how theymake money, they go and they do
seminars and they do training,and we're not focused on the big
(44:34):
departments that can affordtraining.
Speaker 2 (44:36):
Right Sure.
Speaker 1 (44:36):
Focused on the departments that could never
afford them at all you know,that's, that's our.
Our mission is for thedepartments that can't really
afford it.
Speaker 2 (44:47):
And.
Speaker 1 (44:48):
I don't want to take anybody's job away.
That was never our intention,you know, to take jobs away from
hardworking people.
Speaker 2 (44:55):
This is for departments that really don't
have the funds to do this.
Speaker 1 (45:00):
And even with dogs, you know you know, donating dogs
for free dogs you know, youknow donating dogs for free.
You know you would think thatyou know there are some, some
brokers that are get their theirpanties twisted over this, but
it's the brokers that areconfident and know that I'm not
going to touch their business.
Right, it's just I'm going tofocus on departments that that
(45:22):
really can't even touch yourproducts.
Speaker 2 (45:29):
Well, it comes back to you know mindset.
Also, right, are peopleapproaching life, their
businesses, their passions,projects, whatever, from a place
of scarcity or a place ofabundance?
Right, and that's the thing Italk about all the time.
People are like well, josh,so-and-so left your team,
they're going to start their owndog training business.
Ok, like and like it, there's alot of dogs out here for people
(45:57):
to train, right?
Like, do I think it's a goodidea?
No, because I know them and Iknow their character and I know
their.
But that's not my problem now.
Right, certain people I make itmy problem If I know how they.
They don't work for me becausetheir treatment of animals and
things like that, you know, isso off base with with our, you
(46:19):
know, expectations.
I will absolutely try to burythat person so they never touch
a dog again.
But you know, in general, like,like, yeah, they want to do it
a different way.
They want to do their own thing.
I did my own thing.
Like, who am I to stop somebodyfrom doing their own?
I don't wish to stop anybody,but I also believe in the market
and if they're negativelyimpacting me by doing their
(46:42):
thing and that's negativelyimpacting my business.
Well, what changes do I need tomake with my business in order
to not be impacted by them doingtheir business?
And you know the market issaying that's a better value,
that's a better result, that's abetter experience.
Maybe I need to step up my game,you know, with what you're
(47:02):
doing from the, the non-profitside and giving that training
away.
We're talking about three daysof training.
You know you're talking aboutthe dogs you've placed.
You said a number of 57 dogs, Ithink in the 10 years.
You know half a million dollarsin saved money and resources
for departments over those years.
(47:23):
That's huge.
If you're a brokerprofessionally in the industry
and that's all you do and focuson and you're worried about 57
dogs over 10 years, man, getyour head out of your ass Like
that.
That shouldn't even be athought.
Yeah, if anything, they shouldbe, they should.
If they had an abundant mindset, they're thinking, hey, you
know what I love what you'redoing.
(47:44):
It's incredible what you'redoing.
I'm actually going to give youtwo dogs a year.
Speaker 1 (47:48):
Well, that has happened and, like I said, our
own trainers that now volunteertheir time.
Speaker 2 (47:56):
they do handler courses, they sell police dogs
but they're like hey, we want tobe a part of this we're not
threatened by you.
Speaker 1 (48:03):
We want to do this with you, and that's how I have
been so lucky to have someamazing trainers and some really
, really good dogs donated to usthat we just pay it forward and
give those dogs Clarity andmission, and clarity and vision.
Speaker 2 (48:17):
It's easy for people to get on board with If people
are truly.
You said my people are going tobe with me, people are supposed
to be a part of this, are goingto be a part of this, and when
that's the case you know it isyou don't worry about everybody
else, someone's.
There's somebody out therewho's going to find a problem
with anything.
Speaker 1 (48:34):
You know those coattail riders um definitely,
um you know, have have shownthemselves and they're not.
You know, have have shownthemselves and they're not.
They're not successful becausethe mission and the passion is
not there.
And that's okay, you know,that's okay.
(48:55):
We're going to move forward andand continue to make a
difference, with or without them.
Speaker 2 (49:00):
Yeah, you stay focused on what you're doing.
Yeah, it's funny how that playsout and works out.
So what are the?
I want to honor your time andwhatnot, but what are?
Before I let you go, what doyou want people to know about
your group, your team, yourorganization that I maybe
(49:21):
haven't asked or we haven'ttalked about?
And then part two is what arethe best ways for people to
connect with your organization,learn more about and you know if
they felt led, you know, donateand help, support what you're
doing?
Speaker 1 (49:37):
Our team I mean our team is is is extremely
dedicated and passionate and I Iwould hope that the public
would see that, just followingus on social media, um, going to
our website, um, just see theimpact that we, we do Um, it is
so important and then ultimatelydonate.
(50:01):
Help us do this, because wecannot do it without, without
the support of our followers,without those donations.
That's super, super important.
It's so expensive, you know, towe're not just like doing like
rescuing a dog from a shelterand it goes into a home.
I mean, it is so tedious andtime consuming to train these
(50:24):
dogs.
Our trainers are.
Their time is very precious andnot everything is for free.
So you know our trainers thatwe, you know they can only
donate so much of their time,but at some point they have to
be paid, and so we need the helpof our followers to make
(50:46):
donations and help us continuethis, this mission.
Speaker 2 (50:49):
That's awesome.
That's awesome.
Well, carol, I can't thank youenough for taking time this
morning to jump on and shareyour story.
It's super inspiring andmotivating.
I want to go run through a wallright now and like what do I
need to do better?
Who else can we help?
Speaker 1 (51:06):
You should come to Law order and check it out.
I would love for you to see ityeah, I do.
Speaker 2 (51:10):
I actually I'll check the calendar and see if I'm, if
I'm not traveling, because I'vegot a couple buddies who are
going to be up there and um, andso there's several good reasons
to to pop in, but I'll look atit and I'll let you know for
sure.
If not not, you still know.
You know we're supporting youand we're going to be, um, uh,
promoting your stuff and I'mactually, with your permission,
(51:32):
I'm going to tie a link toy'all's sites and donate pages,
um, to our sites um crosspromoting and we'll get you guys
in our next newsletters thatyou love so much Um yeah.
I love them.
I haven't written one in awhile, so I love them.
Now I really do.
(51:54):
But we're going to doeverything we can to to spread
the word to you know.
However, however, we can to thebest of our ability and and
hopefully that helps get someadditional support over your way
.
But thank you for everythingthat you do and thank you for
being a bad badass person, agreat human being, and I can't
wait to connect with you again.
Guys, I appreciate you alltuning in.
Share the show, share Carol'sstory, share their websites,
(52:18):
their social media, follow themon there.
If you've got questions forCarol, hit us up and we'll send
them her way.
If you want to learn more aboutthe Throwaway Dogs project and
we're going to catch you nexttime on the Big Dog Podcast-
To date, we have donated 57 trained police dogs
in the 10 years Over half amillion dollars.
That we have saved departmentsmoney on doing this, which is
amazing.
But those rescue dogs mainly theones that we pull from shelters
normally will just be a singlepurpose scent detection dog.
We don't make them into anysort of patrol dog because,
(00:22):
again, we also have a veryimportant job to fulfill to
train these dogs to protecttheir handler.
Absolutely.
We take our job very seriously.
What people don't see is theback office of how we are
constantly saying, nope, notthat dog, nope, not this dog.
They're only seeing the happystories.
So out of the 57, there'shundreds that unfortunately we
(00:44):
had to turn down in order tomake a good quality police dog.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
What is going on everybody?
Welcome back to the Big DogPodcast.
I'm your host, Josh Wilson.
Logan is in the background.
How you doing, son?
Good, Good, I got that, youknow.
Always riveting conversationwith Logan Wilson, it's big time
.
Well, look, we're continuing amini series that we're running
right now and this is new, youknow, for the big dog podcast.
(01:29):
We're getting heavy in the dogsand two years in and we've
never been dog topics, which iskind of funny because everyone's
like Josh, like you're the dogtrainer, Like what's going on?
But the show is definitelybusiness mindset, family driven.
What's going on?
But the show is definitelybusiness mindset, family driven.
But we're getting into dogshere these next couple of months
(01:51):
and we're trying to bring inthe best of the best and
influential people in the spaceand share their stories.
And today I couldn't be moreexcited to introduce you to
Carol Skasiak, and she is thefounder and CEO of the Throwaway
Dogs Project and Canine Law andOrder and incredible nonprofits
doing really big things here inthe US.
(02:12):
And, Carol, thank you so muchfor joining us today.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
Oh, thanks for having me.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
It's been a lot of fun.
We know a lot of the samepeople you know and I've heard a
ton about you and you know someof our friends that we share.
Some are super respectable,some are kind of suspect, but
that's kind of.
You know and I've heard a tonabout you and you know some of
our friends that we share.
Some are super respectable,some are kind of suspect, but
that's kind of.
You know the dog world in andof itself, but welcome, you know
, to the big dog podcast andtell us a little bit about you.
Speaker 1 (02:36):
Well, thanks again for having me and yes, you are
absolutely right, um it, the dogworld definitely is, is a small
world and and it's a pleasureto actually meet you and see you
.
Speaker 2 (02:50):
So yeah, I have.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
I have been in this industry now for 10 years.
We are going on 11 years.
And, to be honest with you, howthis started.
It really was never even on myradar.
So 10 years ago I was a PR andmarketing person for a luxury
boarding facility and one of myjobs was to write a newsletter
(03:14):
every month and it was reallyone of my arch nemesis.
I hated doing it.
It was hard to come up withtopics and it would go out to
the clients.
So what was happening over thepast few months prior to that,
we were having clients bringdogs in and they were leaving
the dogs.
(03:35):
They weren't coming to pick itup and we would try and rehome
the dog.
Lawyers had to get involved andit was happening over and over
again.
So I decided you know what, thismonth I'm going to write an
article on the throwaway societyof dogs.
And I wrote this great articleand I showed it to to the owner
and he said nah, we're not doingthis, it's too depressing.
He's like turn it around, makeit something positive and and
(03:58):
we'll go with that.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
So I did what everybody does I, I'm I was like
okay, we'll do a contest.
Tell me how your your yourrescue dog saved you and the the
12 great stories I will put ina calendar, we'll get a
photographer.
We'll have everybody in for amonth, but the best story is
going to go on the cover.
Yeah, so, um it it actuallyworked out.
(04:20):
Clients were responding and wewere getting all these great
stories and the 12 best ones,you know.
We hired a photographer, butthe one story that stood out was
who is now my partner?
Uh, jason Walters, who is acanine handler for step the
transit, and his partner was arescue dog that was moments away
(04:42):
from being euthanized.
And, um, who is now is was hispartner and he was an explosive
and patrol dog and I love thisstory.
Um, I put, you know, I put it inwords, and we, we, we, we
plastered Winchester on on thecover and and he is our, you
know, our, our cover dog now for10 years, he has his famous
(05:03):
jump over over the barrels.
But, being in PR and marketingnow, it was my job to promote
the heck out of this.
So I did, I promoted the heckout of this calendar and we were
.
It took off.
We were in every newspaper,every news station, we were even
in magazines at that point andafter the dust settled.
(05:26):
I'm like I was just so touchedby all of this.
I'm like I think I really wantto try and do something about it
.
Yeah, my husband is in lawenforcement in philadelphia so
I've been married for um for 25years he he has been serving 26
years uh with the philadelphiapolice department, so I am
definitely a part of the familyin blue.
Just never have really beeninvolved in the canine world.
Speaker 2 (05:49):
Yep.
Speaker 1 (05:49):
And I asked Jason, who you know, who is my partner,
you know, will you do this withme?
Will you help me?
I could, I could be, you know,the the mastermind, but I need
you to physically help me withthese dogs.
Yeah, we, we kicked it off.
The first couple years wasabsolutely atrocious.
We didn't know what we weredoing.
(06:11):
We tried our best and, you know, we would pull in a shelter dog
or two.
After like the third and fourthyear, we started to develop like
a reputation a good reputationand it just started to increase
and increase and then, as veryinfluential canine people in the
(06:33):
industry started to learn aboutus, they would call us and say
hey, you know what we thinkyou're doing a great thing.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
So we want to be a part of that.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
And believe me, being a woman in this industry when I
first started civilian woman.
Yeah, it was brutal Like it was.
It was brutal, but I definitelyearned the respect of the
people that I want to, you know,earn that respect from in this
industry, and I love it.
(07:02):
I love it.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
I love it.
I love it.
That's awesome.
And you know, specifically, thebig thing that you guys are
doing is you're you're findingthese throwaway dogs and
repurposing, training, rehabbing, with the hope of placing with
different agencies.
Speaker 1 (07:20):
Correct.
So when we did first start out,it was basically we were.
We were looking at ownersurrender dogs, shelter dogs and
rescue dogs and, to be honestwith you, I said we hit a lot of
brick walls at the beginningbecause we wanted to save them
all and, as you know, being inthe dog industry, you can't save
(07:41):
them all, and that was thehardest battle that I had to
overcome.
I can't save them all and thatwas the hardest battle that I
had to overcome.
I can't save them all.
So we started out that way andthen we realized, hey, you know
what we're?
We're pulling too many dogs,we're spending all this money
and time with training them andnow we don't have a place to put
them.
So we we kind of restructuredwhat we have done.
(08:04):
We built our reputation and now, when the applications come in,
we go out and find the dogsthat will specifically match for
that department.
Speaker 2 (08:14):
Then we'll start our training process.
So you're not, which makes a lotof sense too, right, because if
you're pulling every dog thatyou might be able to do
something with, but there isn'tnecessarily a need for that dog
and what its particular skillsand strengths are.
(08:34):
But if you're able to know, hey, this department has needs X, y
, z.
This department is short on,you know, detection.
Yes, this department is shorton you know detection.
Yes, you know it's a greatpatrol dogs, but they're not
doing great on drugs and youknow explosives, things like
that.
It's like, ok, you can go outnow with very intentional
purpose, look for some commontraits and now, ok, does this
(08:57):
dog have what it takes at abaseline to have the potential
to fill that slot?
So I mean, no, that makes awhole lot of sense and I can
definitely tell how, in thebeginning, where it's like, all
right, let's get this dog, let'sget that dog, let's, let's do
the next thing.
You know, you got 38 dogs atyour house.
Speaker 1 (09:14):
Right and in all reality.
I know that the name kind ofsays that we are a rescue and
we're really not a rescue right.
We don't hold onto these dogsand throughout the years,
because of we built up such astellar reputation, we also now
have reputable breeders andbrokers that say to us you know
(09:37):
what I love, what you're doing?
Here's a dog.
So we have like a genuineworking line dog, that now we
can also be able to pay itforward.
Speaker 2 (09:47):
Yeah, that's great.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
To date we have donated 57 trained police dogs.
In the 10 years it's over overa half a million dollars that we
have saved departments, youknow, money on doing this, which
is incredible.
But those rescue dogs mainly theones that we pull from shelters
normally will just be a singlepurpose scent detection dog.
(10:12):
We don't make them into anysort of patrol dog because,
again, we also have a veryimportant job to fulfill to
train these dogs, to protecttheir handler.
We take our job very seriously.
What people don't see is theback office of how we are
constantly saying no, not thatdog.
(10:37):
No, not this dog, that dog'swashed out.
They're only seeing the happystory.
So, out of the 57, there'shundreds that unfortunately, we
had to turn down in order tomake a good quality police dog.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
Yeah, but the point you make is so true.
I was having a conversationwith someone the other day and
you know, I know you've seen itI mean far more times than I
have but you know, when there'sa failure in the field of a
patrol dog in the field and theof of a patrol dog, and 90 plus
(11:09):
percent of the time when thatdog fails in a situation it's a
training, lack of training orthat dog was never going to be
that dog to begin with and maybeit's limited resources by the
department, maybe it's limitedresources and abilities by the
handler because of limitedresources from the department.
There's a lot of things thatcan go into it, but when that
(11:30):
dog is in a situation and it'snot able to execute at the
highest level needed it does,the handler is absolute and
anybody else around is also atrisk.
It becomes such a hugeliability around is also at risk
.
It becomes such a hugeliability and I.
That's another reason why Ilove what you guys are doing.
You know, with the placementsand specific to the needs of the
(11:51):
department, not just peddlingdogs, you're filling specific
needs which is going to go andhelp that handler, help that
community and, you know, be astrong influence in that that
department in in region.
And the right dog is so, soparamount.
And people think I'm on the petside, right.
(12:13):
And so people are like hey,josh, I got this German shepherd
.
You know, let's go ahead andget started on protection,
training and and this and that.
And I just crack up laughing.
Or my favorite is whateverenunciation they want to put on
uh, malinois, that's always thebest.
You know malinois, you knowbohemian malinois?
Uh, whatever people want to sayall these crazy things, yeah,
(12:35):
it's like hey, I got one, let'steach it to do this like timeout
, you know, that's not thequalifier.
The qualifier isn't the breedof the dog.
Speaker 1 (12:44):
No, if you could only see how many emails, phone
calls and messages that come inon a daily basis, literally
hundreds of mainly ownersurrenders, and they have the
perfect dog and make a greatpolice dog.
He's only have five bites andhe bit my kid in the face and
(13:07):
it's like perfect, we, we,that's not what we're looking
for, and you know.
But the general public doesn'tunderstand that it does take a
special dog, a certain quality,yep, um.
So back in 2016, um, I actuallydabbled in doing pit bulls.
Okay, did not want to do thisand I have to admit it, like I
(13:31):
kicked and screamed.
We did get somebody emailed usand sent videos of this one pit
bull, and I'll be damned likethe videos showed everything
that this dog had, everything.
Right and I'm like, oh, do we dothis, do we not do this?
Well, we ended up taking her inand she kind of really made
(13:53):
this.
Is she kind of put us on themap, believe it or not?
Um, because we madeinternational news because of of
of her being a pit bull.
And we did.
We trained her up.
It was a hard job for me toplace her because I did not have
a placement for her, so I wentagainst my own rules.
(14:13):
We took her in, we, we, wetrained her for narcotic
detection and it took me a whileto find a department that would
actually want to try this outAgain.
They have a bad stigma andafter that we were featured in
People magazine in South Africa.
Wow, which I never knew evenexisted, yeah, but it started
(14:37):
the ball rolling.
And then, after her, there wasan internationally known dog
ring in Canada called Save the21.
And there was 21 pit bulls thatwere taken, seized from a dog
ring, a dog fighting ring and,long story short, these dogs
(14:59):
were in custody for about twoyears.
For about two years A gentlemanand his wife from Dog Tales
Rescue Sanctuary in Canadafought really hard to save these
21 dogs that were evaluatedinside and out all around.
They were cleared to be safe,which others were euthanized.
But these 21 dogs really hadsomething and a chance to live.
(15:23):
So after two years being incustody, they were, they were
saved.
But they were ordered out ofthe Providence of Ontario and
they were sent down to Floridaand Dogs Playing for Life took
them and we were called in andsaid you have to come and
evaluate some of these dogs.
And we took five of those dogsin after doing extensive
(15:48):
evaluations and five of thosedogs were really had what we
wanted in a police dog as far asscent detection.
Speaker 2 (15:56):
Sure.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
And we placed three of those in law enforcement and
the other two I ended upadopting one, and another one
went to sort of a companion dog.
But those three dogs put usagain on the map internationally
.
Cesar Milan called us.
We were on the Cesar showbecause of it.
(16:20):
My theory is, if they can dothe job and they are clear
headed and rock solid, why notgive them a purpose?
Speaker 2 (16:29):
Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (16:30):
It changed my life.
I was never a pit bull lover.
I knew nothing about them.
It's not that I wasdiscriminative, but I just knew
nothing about them.
I have to tell you that the dogand he just passed a few months
ago from there was the best dogthat I've ever owned in my life
like and it was something itopened my eyes and I wanted to.
Speaker 2 (16:53):
I wanted other people to see that and they did make a
difference in their communityman, that's such an awesome
story too, because that's so outof the box, that's so out of
the norm, right, and it's one ofthose things where you know you
ask 50 people, they're like no,no, no, that's so out of the
box, that's so out of the norm,right, and it's one of those
things where you know you ask 50people, they're like no, no, no
, that's bullshit, that didn't,that's not going to happen,
that's not going to work right.
But again, the, the right dog,the right situation, the right
(17:16):
attention, the right care, the,the preparation, the setup, and
you have these dogs from anabsolute, atrocious, brutal
background where so many placesjust saying this is the
background, they're not gettingplaced, just euthanize all, and
you know the fact that that is21 were saved, but then those
(17:39):
five were on to go on to doother things, even three
particularly very special thingsthat that that's nowhere on the
map as far as their roadmap ofthose dogs, life and trajectory,
and so that's pretty dangincredible one of the dogs um we
actually sent to millville firedepartment and he is the first
(18:01):
arson detection pit bull everever he won law enforcement dog
of the year uh we did.
Speaker 1 (18:08):
I know this dog we yeah, we went to a gala in
florida with this like this wassuch a huge accomplishment, but
it's gonna, it's.
It doesn't always take just me.
I need that, that chief, thatthat commander to to give this a
and that's actually on ourapplication?
Are you open to you know, uh,different breeds?
Speaker 2 (18:30):
such as a bully breed .
Speaker 1 (18:31):
I will tell you, a lot of them will say yes.
And then when we have ourinterview, um, they're
backpedaling a little bit, butit's not only up to the chief.
Then we have to go to you knowthe town manager it's not only
up to the chief Then we have togo to you know the town manager.
The board of the town, Likeit's a big deal, Like I don't
think that everybody knows whena department gets a dog.
It's not the chief of police,that just says okay you know
(18:55):
it's the whole community kind of, is involved.
Is the budget approved?
You know, even though your dogis free, it's you still need a
budget Right and and so some ofthem are open, Some of them are
not open.
I have not placed any moresince then.
Um, it really is a tough sell.
I won't give up on it.
I'll tell you that.
I'll keep trying.
But, um, it was something thatchanged my life.
(19:19):
It changed, it opened my eyes,and it's just I'm, I'm, I'm
really proud of it.
Speaker 2 (19:25):
That's awesome.
They, um, you're talking aboutdealing with the different
departments and kind of, hey,it's not one person just saying,
hey, we need a dog.
Um, we have learned that overthe years, uh, my, my location
up in Detroit, with my team upthere, they did a therapy dog
for a department up there thatto to work with, you know,
(19:49):
officers in the department, orthat dog can be taken to a,
let's say, it's a domestic thing.
There's kids, you know, the dogcan can be there to kind of
distract or whatever.
And it's really incredible.
And so this was years ago.
You know we trained this dogfor the department.
There are dogs all over socialmedia.
They're having a ton of funwith this dog and implementing
(20:11):
the dog.
And then we get a call fromanother department in a township
you know nearby.
Then we get a call from anotherdepartment from a town nearby,
and so it's stacking up and wejust brought in um, a university
, their private policedepartment.
They are training five therapydogs, uh, for their department,
(20:35):
for um, uh, you know if there'sany incidents, but for students,
for whatever, yeah, but it is aprocess going through for these
agencies and departments to getthe dog, to fund the
acquisition of the dog, thetraining of the dog, whatever it
may be.
It is quite the process and Inever thought about it like that
(20:59):
.
I'm like well, if you want,just pay it, we'll get it set up
and gone.
No, no, no, no.
There's a lot of signaturesthat are in play.
But, I love seeing how thedepartments are putting dogs to
work outside of your typicalsingle, dual purpose,
traditional roles.
It's big, and when they firstapproached us about it and
(21:24):
telling us what they wanted todo and I started thinking about
for me, I was thinking about,you know, domestic incidents and
stuff where there's kids whoare super confused and not
necessarily knowing what's goingon and probably what they see
on a regular basis isn't great.
And knowing that a dog can helpa kid disconnect from what
other bullshit's happening infront of them because adults
(21:46):
don't know how to handlethemselves, yeah, um, it's, it's
amazing and I love seeing thedepartments apply the dogs for
and these are totally differenttype of dog right now.
We, you know, and and that'swhere it's like.
But the dog has a purpose forgenetics, for how it was bred,
(22:06):
and that's why people think oh,it's got pointy ears, let me go
do bite.
Well, no, maybe, but is this ashow line, pointy ear?
Is this a working line, pointyear?
How is it neutral?
Is it stable?
Like what are we looking atwith this dog?
Well, it loves to bite.
It bites everybody.
Well, timeout, that's probablynot the dog you want to throw in
(22:29):
a.
You know back of a, an SUV, witha couple officers on their way
to do a thing.
They're they're trying to prepfor, you know, a mission and now
you got a freaking dog tryingto eat everybody you know in
mission and now you got afreaking dog trying to eat
(22:49):
everybody you know in the back.
But finding the right dog forthat purpose and all the
different things that the dogscan do is just incredible.
Um, now talk to me about whendid so?
10, 11 years ago.
You start this journey and thefirst couple of years, like
anybody going out with something, I mean, it's just a cluster.
You're learning, you have thegreat idea and now you've got to
find out practically how wemake this work and relationships
(23:10):
are growing.
You know you're meeting people,you're dealing with different
types of dogs.
At what point does the caninelaw and order type trainings and
events?
When does that start to come into play?
Speaker 1 (23:24):
So that came into play right around when COVID hit
.
Speaker 2 (23:28):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (23:29):
And it actually started because you mentioned it
earlier.
What was happening was I was.
You spend a lot of time andmoney into training these dogs
and you try and vet thedepartments that the dog goes to
as best that you can, butthere's always, there's always
(23:49):
bad apples regardless whetherit's law enforcement or not, but
there's also budgets in thatcome into play, and for some
reason maintenance training onon canines is not always top
priority right especially withsome of the departments that I
was placing dogs with.
Okay because, there's no moneyright and what was happening was
(24:13):
they were breaking my dogs kindof, and the dogs were coming
back broken.
Uh handler was so inexperiencedso in an uh inexperience that
you know something happened.
So I'm like we're spending somuch money like this.
(24:37):
We need to fix this and this wasalso was right around the time,
like when George Floyd happenedand defund the police was
happening.
This was just.
It wasn't okay.
So I at this point I had a lotof great names in the canine
business that were starting toattach themselves and be a part
(24:59):
of my team and I'm like, howabout we start putting training
seminars together?
And the first training seminarwas 30 handlers and I'll never
forget it and I was so happy.
And this one in April we areright at 100 handlers from all
(25:20):
over the country and we are nowwelcoming we have federal level
handlers coming in.
So which is blows my mind blowsmy mind.
But my thing is I have to put atwist on it, right, Because I
don't want them to have to payfor it, so it's at no cost.
But then they come and I wantedto have this atmosphere where
(25:45):
it's almost like a retreat forthem.
So for three days, you know, Iwant to be able to have them
feel like they're at home.
So you know, we're providingthree meals a day, which is
elaborate buffets, all thebeverages, goodie bags, like
gift bags we select and puttogether for them so they can go
home with just some littlespecial tokens for them as well
(26:06):
as their canine yeah we havemotivational speakers and so
after training, the networkingthat happens, I wanted to just
create like a safe place forthem.
Yeah, like-minded people yeahyou know, my husband is
extremely supportive of what Ido and I travel yeah, I love it.
So they can talk about trainingand we have successfully.
Speaker 2 (26:29):
This is our our sixth seminar.
Speaker 1 (26:30):
Third big one in Maryland, so we always have one,
really, really big one, and itis.
It is so important because thisseminar potentially could save
(26:55):
their lives.
Speaker 2 (26:56):
A hundred percent, a hundred percent, and that's why
we followed along, cause we've,we've and I want people to
understand, you know what youjust said.
When these teams are coming tothese trainings, guys, what she
just said was she wants to be atno cost to them.
There's no, there's no reasonwhy a team shouldn't be able to
(27:18):
come out Right.
A team shouldn't be able tocome out right.
It's a free training for them.
So they do look for sponsorsfor stuff, and we're going to
drop links on the show and wherepeople can go to donate or
sponsor a team or whatnot.
But you know, we've done it inthe past, we've done it again
this year, you know, sponsoringa couple teams and it's a big
(27:42):
deal.
Guys.
Deal, guys like, let's removeall the barriers for people to
get the training that they need.
And that's one thing I so manythings I love about what you're
doing.
But it's not just talking aboutit, it's it's actually doing it
and removing those roadblocksfor people to be able to do it,
because, cause when you say, hey, this could save a life, that
(28:11):
is probably the biggestunderstatement you know ever.
I mean that these, these menand women and their partners, I
mean they are in it, they're inthe thick of it and to be able
to create scenarios and pictures, you know, for these dogs and
for the handlers and for thattraining and repetition and the
decoys that you guys have.
Oh, my gosh, I mean you.
You just have some of the bestof the best in the decoy world
(28:33):
who are helping to train anddevelop these dogs and build
that confidence up with theseanimals to where they just feel,
you know, just, they'resuperhuman.
Right, it's how these dogs areand with that confidence is like
that with that dog.
That confidence is also therewith the handler, who can stay
clear headed and focused in themoments.
(28:54):
And it's a beautiful thing, itreally is.
Speaker 1 (28:57):
And it's important because we're not just that type
of seminar that is just sendthe dog, let's do a bite.
We are doing aggression for man.
You know, equipment fixationlike building clearing you know,
stuff that's important.
You know vehicle stops withextractions, you know stuff is
(29:19):
being done not only with thecanine, but this is also going
to save the officer's life,potentially, because it will
happen just one time and andthat's all.
It takes is one time, and wehave done several scenarios
where it has opened the eyes ofofficers and when they would
come back to the second, thesecond seminar seminar, they
(29:41):
would say to us that scenariolast year changed the way I did
things.
Speaker 2 (29:47):
That's all we wanted to hear that's it, that's what
we want.
That's huge.
And so you do the one inMaryland, which is the biggest,
and then you do a second one,and where's that one at?
Speaker 1 (29:58):
We do.
So we have been doing a smallerone in North Carolina, up
outside of New Bern, northCarolina.
We've been doing a smaller one.
We are going to start we areputting things into production
now of possibly starting up amobile training unit where we
(30:18):
will do smaller ones andactually go to the departments
and focus on just thatdepartment.
It won't be all the bells andwhistles where we have elaborate
buffets or anything, but it isthis, it will just be a training
event.
Some of these departments can'tget to us so we are hoping, you
(30:39):
know, to have sponsors thatwill, that will help us sponsor
this fund to the canine law andorder fund.
So I can, you know, send mytrainers to, you know, texas, to
California, to Florida, ohio,detroit, you know, just to focus
(31:00):
on the department itself andwhat their needs are.
Speaker 2 (31:03):
Yeah, that's huge and I love that you're still 10
years in the game, still lookingat ways to increase impact.
Speaker 1 (31:13):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (31:14):
You know you've had tremendous success, you know, in
these first 10 years, and youknow a third of which you're
trying to figure it out, yeah.
Right, and that's the thing Ialways joke about when I'm
talking to, to CEOs and foundersand stuff, is that I'm like man
, how much time in the beginningwere we just figuring it out?
(31:34):
And now this is where we're at,10 years Cause I I started with
off leash canine training.
I opened my first location inJanuary of 2014.
So we're right at that 10 yearmark also.
And you know, in the beginningit was just go, go, go, go go,
with no, I would like to say Iwas strategic, but I was also
(31:55):
working like 60 hour a week,other job and you know and
starting this business.
And it wasn't strategic, it wasI'm awake, I need to be working
and this is what I did and wedid that for years.
And I do think about the impactwe've been able to have over
the years and how many familieswe've been able to touch and
dogs we've been able to help.
And I'm like man and we wastedso much time in the beginning
(32:19):
trying to figure it out.
Now I'm like we shouldexponentially be able to have
more impact in the next 10 yearsbecause we're better right,
we're more educated, we are moremature, we're better at our
craft, we're able to developpeople.
It's not just you anymore.
You have an amazing team oftrainers and decoys and support
(32:44):
staff and things you didn't havein the beginning and now you do
.
And now it's like what is thatimpact the next 10 years can
have?
So the fact you're talkingabout this mobile unit is really
I think it's brilliant.
Speaker 1 (32:58):
Yeah, and it's just.
It was a lot of growing painsin the beginning, a lot of tears
on my part.
Speaker 2 (33:06):
Again.
Speaker 1 (33:06):
I work with all men Like you know, you guys don't
have emotions.
I do and they used to tell me.
They said stop crying.
All you do is cry.
Well, leave me alone.
It's my passion coming out, butI'll figure this out, and I did
over the 10 years.
I did, we figured it out.
I still cry and I, and it'sokay but because that's it's.
(33:33):
I wear my heart on my sleeve.
I'm so passionate about what Ido this is.
This is about not only aboutthe dogs, but it's also about
the, the officer, but in the end, we're serving the community.
(33:54):
I never would have imagined in10 years that I would be doing
this Never, you know, 100% Likethis wasn't even in my
wheelhouse and I don't know howit became.
But that's what I call a truecalling, and it's agreed.
Sometimes you cannot explain itand you just do it, and I was
meant to do this and I I want tomake a difference.
Speaker 2 (34:17):
Yeah, yeah, I love that so much.
Talk about for the listeners.
Or you know our viewers onYouTube and stuff about for the
listeners, or you know ourviewers on YouTube and stuff.
Talk about the training groundsin Maryland.
I want people to understand,kind of, when you talk about
room clearing and vehicleextractions and very realistic
(34:38):
scenarios.
Can you talk a little bit aboutthe setup that you have there?
I don't want people thinkingyou're doing this thing in a
Lowe's parking lot.
You know it's.
You know what I mean.
Speaker 1 (34:47):
Yes.
So, first off, my vision um,there was really nowhere that
could hold all of us.
And what?
Because I wanted to create thatretreat like atmosphere.
I I wanted everybody to trainto eat and sleep, you know, in
the same location.
So we did with with help,because it takes a village we
(35:09):
found frontier campground whichis right outside ocean city,
maryland, and that was like mydream because now we have the
cabins there, there is a Westerntown there that we utilize.
It backs off to the bay.
So we have water, we're able todo water work there also, and
(35:30):
there is tons and tons of woodsand forests for us to do, you
know, tracking and scenario workthere.
But with that Western town weare able to recreate some
realistic situation scenariotrainings.
But we do leave the propertyalso and we have there's a
(35:50):
school that's close by that willdo some building clearing there
, and also a warehouse.
So we're not always on thatproperty.
We do utilize that property, butit's we.
We utilize the surrounding areathere in order for it to really
be realistic and real life andhave you been making use of that
(36:12):
property since you started in2020 with it?
no, no, so that the first yearwe were on a small farm in
virginia okay, that nobodystayed on, you know, um.
And then then we moved up tothis will be our third year at
this campground and there's nomore cabins left.
We sell the cabins out, it'sjust we take up the whole
(36:35):
campground, which is prettyawesome.
There are civilians there,there's some civilians on
property and they love it.
They, you know they're able towatch at a safe distance and see
what we do and and it's it'spretty exciting.
Speaker 2 (36:50):
The one who's just clueless, wondering what the
hell is going on.
They're thinking somethingreally bad's going down, you
know, and everybody startsrolling in, and then all the
dogs, oh my gosh.
So you, you made a commentabout how passionate you are
about the impact it has on thecommunity, and a hundred teams
(37:11):
are coming out this year fromacross the country.
People are coming out and Imean it's not community, it is
communities.
I mean it is communities thatyou're impacting and what an
incredible, what an incrediblething.
And you know, and and I thinkthat speaks volumes to you as a
person and like I can just tell,it is our first time
(37:35):
interacting, you and I, you know, face to face, but like you're
a force right, and I alwaysbelieve when people, when they
get their passion in alignmentRight With with their purpose,
it people are unstoppable.
Like doesn't mean everything'ssimple and goes smooth, but like
(37:58):
failure isn't even an option.
Right, because you're inperfect alignment with passion
and purpose.
And so, yeah, the headaches,the roadblocks, the stumbles,
the lessons learned, there's nofailures, it's all lessons and
you keep falling forward becauseit's in perfect alignment.
Speaker 1 (38:19):
I actually like that saying there's no failures,
there are lessons.
That's actually a great saying,that saying there's no failures
, there are lessons.
Speaker 2 (38:26):
That's actually a great saying.
Yeah, I mean, I get them everyday, and so you know.
I had to stop telling myself,josh, you're kind of dumb.
No, I'm not dumb, my failuresare lessons.
My failures are lessons and so.
But the thing is, you know when, as hard as it was and probably
still is for a female in thearea that you chosen to to run
with this thing, that youlegitimately are a force and
(38:51):
that's why it's having theimpact, that it is, because the
universe cannot deny alignment.
And I believe that so much youknow, because you're the one to
do it, nobody else you, you'rethe one who had to do it, you're
the one who had to have thevision, the thought, the idea.
(39:12):
You're the one who had to runthat, that newsletter, which you
hated doing, which turned intoa calendar, which sparked the
huh there's actually a lot ofdogs here and it wasn't one of
(39:33):
those things that necessarilymade a whole lot of sense as to
why this was nagging at you.
But you're like I think we canhelp here and it's that, that,
that place where you're comingat it from an area of serve and
and to serve others notnecessarily not yourself and
it's like, okay, this is kind ofa rough concept of where I am
and what we're doing, and nowwhere it's at, 10 years later,
the clarity of it.
Meanwhile, every step and hiccupand trip along the way was 100%
(39:55):
necessary to get to where youare now.
And people stop with thehiccups.
They try to get their purposeand passion and alignment with
the hiccups.
They try to get their purposeand passion and alignment.
But that first sign of trouble,that first sign of failure,
that first sign of oh, this isgoing to be harder than I could
have ever imagined.
People stop and you kept going.
(40:16):
And can you talk a little bitabout that, like what?
What ultimately keeps you going, even on the hardest of days?
Speaker 1 (40:24):
keeps you going, even on the hardest of days, so I
think that my passion allows meto inspire others.
I have to scream this on thetop of my lungs because I
certainly could not have donethis without the team that I
have in place right.
It definitely takes a villageand I have an amazing team right
(40:45):
now in place who I believe thatmy passion inspired them.
Not that they weren't, theydidn't have the passion that I
do, but I I feel I'm inspiringto them, so that gives them the
oomph to want to, to help.
Also, you know, do this andmake you know and have a purpose
.
Yeah to help.
(41:07):
Also, you know, do this andmake you know and have a purpose
.
Yeah, but this also brings outevery vampire that possibly
could exist in this industry.
Yes, and not everybody is hasthat same end goal and what I
try to tell my team is um,because I again very emotional.
I will, I will cry at the dropof a dime.
(41:28):
Someone hurts my feelings, butI get up and I and I I brushed
myself off and I'm like, allright, we could do this.
But some people aren't in forit for the end result.
They're in for it for selfprofit and I have created
something that is extremelymarketable.
(41:49):
And it wasn't intentional right, because my passion, my passion
, developed this.
It became this extremelymarketable project.
So we have some people withgood intentions, but some people
also with not good intentions,and it's it's hard for me
(42:09):
sometimes to determine who'swho's actually the vampire.
And we have come across somereally, really like, not nice
people.
But we're still here and we'restill going, stay focused and
and and just concentrate on themission and not worry about you
(42:30):
know those people.
But I know that the people thatare intended to be with us will
continue to stick with us.
Sure, and that's what'srewarding.
Speaker 2 (42:40):
So what?
Um, I know you talked a littlebit about the mobile unit trying
to put that team to be mobileand go visit departments
one-on-one and conduct trainingsfor them, specifically to the
areas maybe they're strugglingwith and having problems.
You know what do you see?
The next, you know, five yearslooking like for Throwaway Dog
(43:03):
Project and Canine Law and Order.
Speaker 1 (43:06):
I definitely see us expanding, for sure.
I feel that that one sponsor,that one backer is finally going
to get wind of us and believein the same mission that we are
and in for it for goodintentions, not for them looking
(43:28):
good or them, you know, makingmoney off of this, because it
certainly is not about makingmoney.
I have worked 10 years.
Um, basically, just, I have nofamily time, I have no friend
time, I have nothing, becauseeverything was put into this.
So I believe in five years, weare going to run into that that
(43:50):
one sponsor that is going to saythis is freaking amazing and
help us fund this, and thatwe're able to hire these
trainers to to be on our, our,our mobile unit and go and make
a difference all over thecountry, and that that's that is
(44:11):
my goal.
And, of course, again, never,never to charge the department,
never.
And this does rub people thewrong way in this industry.
Some people, because this istheir living right, this is
their living, this is how theymake money, they go and they do
seminars and they do training,and we're not focused on the big
(44:34):
departments that can affordtraining.
Speaker 2 (44:36):
Right Sure.
Speaker 1 (44:36):
Focused on the departments that could never
afford them at all you know,that's, that's our.
Our mission is for thedepartments that can't really
afford it.
Speaker 2 (44:47):
And.
Speaker 1 (44:48):
I don't want to take anybody's job away.
That was never our intention,you know, to take jobs away from
hardworking people.
Speaker 2 (44:55):
This is for departments that really don't
have the funds to do this.
Speaker 1 (45:00):
And even with dogs, you know you know, donating dogs
for free dogs you know, youknow donating dogs for free.
You know you would think thatyou know there are some, some
brokers that are get their theirpanties twisted over this, but
it's the brokers that areconfident and know that I'm not
going to touch their business.
Right, it's just I'm going tofocus on departments that that
(45:22):
really can't even touch yourproducts.
Speaker 2 (45:29):
Well, it comes back to you know mindset.
Also, right, are peopleapproaching life, their
businesses, their passions,projects, whatever, from a place
of scarcity or a place ofabundance?
Right, and that's the thing Italk about all the time.
People are like well, josh,so-and-so left your team,
they're going to start their owndog training business.
Ok, like and like it, there's alot of dogs out here for people
(45:57):
to train, right?
Like, do I think it's a goodidea?
No, because I know them and Iknow their character and I know
their.
But that's not my problem now.
Right, certain people I make itmy problem If I know how they.
They don't work for me becausetheir treatment of animals and
things like that, you know, isso off base with with our, you
(46:19):
know, expectations.
I will absolutely try to burythat person so they never touch
a dog again.
But you know, in general, like,like, yeah, they want to do it
a different way.
They want to do their own thing.
I did my own thing.
Like, who am I to stop somebodyfrom doing their own?
I don't wish to stop anybody,but I also believe in the market
and if they're negativelyimpacting me by doing their
(46:42):
thing and that's negativelyimpacting my business.
Well, what changes do I need tomake with my business in order
to not be impacted by them doingtheir business?
And you know the market issaying that's a better value,
that's a better result, that's abetter experience.
Maybe I need to step up my game,you know, with what you're
(47:02):
doing from the, the non-profitside and giving that training
away.
We're talking about three daysof training.
You know you're talking aboutthe dogs you've placed.
You said a number of 57 dogs, Ithink in the 10 years.
You know half a million dollarsin saved money and resources
for departments over those years.
(47:23):
That's huge.
If you're a brokerprofessionally in the industry
and that's all you do and focuson and you're worried about 57
dogs over 10 years, man, getyour head out of your ass Like
that.
That shouldn't even be athought.
Yeah, if anything, they shouldbe, they should.
If they had an abundant mindset, they're thinking, hey, you
know what I love what you'redoing.
(47:44):
It's incredible what you'redoing.
I'm actually going to give youtwo dogs a year.
Speaker 1 (47:48):
Well, that has happened and, like I said, our
own trainers that now volunteertheir time.
Speaker 2 (47:56):
they do handler courses, they sell police dogs
but they're like hey, we want tobe a part of this we're not
threatened by you.
Speaker 1 (48:03):
We want to do this with you, and that's how I have
been so lucky to have someamazing trainers and some really
, really good dogs donated to usthat we just pay it forward and
give those dogs Clarity andmission, and clarity and vision.
Speaker 2 (48:17):
It's easy for people to get on board with If people
are truly.
You said my people are going tobe with me, people are supposed
to be a part of this, are goingto be a part of this, and when
that's the case you know it isyou don't worry about everybody
else, someone's.
There's somebody out therewho's going to find a problem
with anything.
Speaker 1 (48:34):
You know those coattail riders um definitely,
um you know, have have shownthemselves and they're not.
You know, have have shownthemselves and they're not.
They're not successful becausethe mission and the passion is
not there.
And that's okay, you know,that's okay.
(48:55):
We're going to move forward andand continue to make a
difference, with or without them.
Speaker 2 (49:00):
Yeah, you stay focused on what you're doing.
Yeah, it's funny how that playsout and works out.
So what are the?
I want to honor your time andwhatnot, but what are?
Before I let you go, what doyou want people to know about
your group, your team, yourorganization that I maybe
(49:21):
haven't asked or we haven'ttalked about?
And then part two is what arethe best ways for people to
connect with your organization,learn more about and you know if
they felt led, you know, donateand help, support what you're
doing?
Speaker 1 (49:37):
Our team I mean our team is is is extremely
dedicated and passionate and I Iwould hope that the public
would see that, just followingus on social media, um, going to
our website, um, just see theimpact that we, we do Um, it is
so important and then ultimatelydonate.
(50:01):
Help us do this, because wecannot do it without, without
the support of our followers,without those donations.
That's super, super important.
It's so expensive, you know, towe're not just like doing like
rescuing a dog from a shelterand it goes into a home.
I mean, it is so tedious andtime consuming to train these
(50:24):
dogs.
Our trainers are.
Their time is very precious andnot everything is for free.
So you know our trainers thatwe, you know they can only
donate so much of their time,but at some point they have to
be paid, and so we need the helpof our followers to make
(50:46):
donations and help us continuethis, this mission.
Speaker 2 (50:49):
That's awesome.
That's awesome.
Well, carol, I can't thank youenough for taking time this
morning to jump on and shareyour story.
It's super inspiring andmotivating.
I want to go run through a wallright now and like what do I
need to do better?
Who else can we help?
Speaker 1 (51:06):
You should come to Law order and check it out.
I would love for you to see ityeah, I do.
Speaker 2 (51:10):
I actually I'll check the calendar and see if I'm, if
I'm not traveling, because I'vegot a couple buddies who are
going to be up there and um, andso there's several good reasons
to to pop in, but I'll look atit and I'll let you know for
sure.
If not not, you still know.
You know we're supporting youand we're going to be, um, uh,
promoting your stuff and I'mactually, with your permission,
(51:32):
I'm going to tie a link toy'all's sites and donate pages,
um, to our sites um crosspromoting and we'll get you guys
in our next newsletters thatyou love so much Um yeah.
I love them.
I haven't written one in awhile, so I love them.
Now I really do.
(51:54):
But we're going to doeverything we can to to spread
the word to you know.
However, however, we can to thebest of our ability and and
hopefully that helps get someadditional support over your way
.
But thank you for everythingthat you do and thank you for
being a bad badass person, agreat human being, and I can't
wait to connect with you again.
Guys, I appreciate you alltuning in.
Share the show, share Carol'sstory, share their websites,
(52:18):
their social media, follow themon there.
If you've got questions forCarol, hit us up and we'll send
them her way.
If you want to learn more aboutthe Throwaway Dogs project and
we're going to catch you nexttime on the Big Dog Podcast-
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