404 Sight Not Found for November 13, 2025 - In Memory of Jan

[00:00:08] Speaker A: Hello, and welcome to 404 sight not found for November 13, 2025. And we haven't been here in a while because there's been a lot going on or something. [00:00:21] Speaker B: Yeah, Not a lot of time to record. [00:00:24] Speaker A: No. [00:00:26] Speaker B: I think our last episode was Scary Pizza, Right? [00:00:29] Speaker A: Yeah, Scary Pizza. And that was before. [00:00:33] Speaker B: I think that was. [00:00:34] Speaker A: We went on our work trip. [00:00:36] Speaker B: Oh, was it? I don't remember now if that was before or after, but things have been absolutely crazy. We had the wedding in September, then we had a work trip in October. We're actually traveling again in about another week and a half for Thanksgiving, going back to see family in Illinois. [00:00:56] Speaker A: So, yeah, we're traveling again. [00:01:00] Speaker B: Sure are. And the last few weeks of that. [00:01:05] Speaker A: Yeah, the last few weeks have been kind of rough. And so that's kind of what this podcast is about today. So if you're looking at the title and you're going, who's Jan? [00:01:14] Speaker B: Let's talk about Jan. And also, if you are bothered by death, this may not be the thing you want to listen to. [00:01:24] Speaker A: Or death. Yeah, if death bothers you. Or death. Or. Or death. [00:01:30] Speaker B: Yeah. Because that's. That's what happened in the last few weeks. I'm actually. A week ago today. [00:01:37] Speaker A: Yeah. So it would have been a week ago today. So let's start with who or what is Jan? [00:01:44] Speaker B: So Jan is. Was a yellow Labrador retriever. She would have turned 10 on November 29th of this year, but she didn't make it to that point. We'll get there in a minute. Jan was my guide dog. I was matched with her on July 26th of 2017 at the seeing Eye in New Jersey. From the day that I met her, she was just a very happy, bubbly little dog. It's funny, because at first, I wasn't super sure about her. She was the type that, you know, if she didn't have something to do, she would invent something to do, especially as a younger pup. She was about 18 months old when I got her. And I remember, you know, we took all the dogs out to go to the bathroom. So one thing in guide dog class that happens, and hopefully anyone's reading transcripts, it's saying guide, G, U, I D, E, and not guy, not guy. [00:02:48] Speaker A: Guide dog. [00:02:50] Speaker B: As we see with dictation a lot when someone tries to dictate about their guide dog. [00:02:55] Speaker A: Yeah, I have this guide dog. [00:02:57] Speaker B: Yeah, guide dog. [00:02:58] Speaker A: His name is Liam. [00:03:02] Speaker B: Okay, well, that's all, folks. No. [00:03:05] Speaker A: Yeah. Woof. [00:03:08] Speaker B: So in class, all the dogs go out to, you know, do their duty To God in their country, at the. [00:03:16] Speaker A: Same time, they go park. [00:03:17] Speaker B: Yes, they go park. P A R K, not P A, R C. No. [00:03:22] Speaker A: A lot of people, A lot of people think that, yeah, park is something else backwards. [00:03:27] Speaker B: The reason it got this name is actually a lot less entertaining. It came from the Seeing Eye and in their. One of their original campuses, they took all the dogs across the street to a park to relieve. So it became park time. Yep. [00:03:44] Speaker A: Time to go to the park. Yeah, Stuck. And so they've kind of like, now you park your dog doesn't mean put your dog in neutral. It literally means let your dog rest. [00:03:54] Speaker B: Is put your dog in neutral. [00:03:56] Speaker A: Do its duty to God in this country. [00:03:58] Speaker B: Yeah, Take a PARC backwards. [00:04:03] Speaker A: Backwards. P A R C. [00:04:07] Speaker B: But anyway, you know, take her out. And this was like day one or two and there was a fence right behind us with I think some grass on the other side. And at one point my trainer comes over and goes, I think little Jan is done. She has lost interest in this. She is currently trying to find some stuff to eat through, through the fence. And I had a previous guide who had a scavenging problem. And scavenging is just a term for like diving after stuff on the ground that they really shouldn't be. And I got kind of scared and was like, I don't know, I don't know about this. And you know, the trainer was like, she's a lab. You keep that in mind. And I'm kind of in my mind going, well, why'd you give me a lab? You know, this is something I worry about. But, you know, sometimes they really do know better than we think they do. [00:05:01] Speaker A: Yeah. And the trainers or the labs? [00:05:05] Speaker B: Both. [00:05:05] Speaker A: Oh, okay. [00:05:08] Speaker B: But as time went on and we got to know each other better, learned one another, and that's really why you go to guide dog class. The first time is like you're learning all the things about caring for a dog. Anytime after that, it's really for you to get acclimated with the dog because you know how to take care of a dog. You've had one. And so usually your time is a little bit shorter. Although some schools now are doing short, like two week programs, regardless of whether it's your first or really. Yes. But what they do because of that is each instructor only has like two people. Whereas, you know, when I went to seeing, it was a little bit longer class time. Each instructor has, you know, three or four. [00:05:51] Speaker A: So now they got more time to spend so they can get it done faster. [00:05:55] Speaker B: Exactly. I'm not going to get too much into my opinions on that. I do have opinions on that. But, you know, everyone's got to do what works for them. And for some people, you know, two weeks is all they can take off of work. Totally understandable. Or, you know, to take away from their families. They might have young kids at home. [00:06:13] Speaker A: And I mean, it's hard. I'm not. Every workplace is going to just be like, oh, sure, no problem. Go get a dog and be gone for a month. That's no big deal. So, yeah, it's, it's a, it's a two sided coin. I mean, I think there's pros and cons. [00:06:27] Speaker B: I think, you know, trying to get to know a dog in two weeks is a lot, but when it's just you and maybe one other student per instructor, maybe you do have more time, you feel like that's. I was there for about two and a half weeks with her and by the end I was definitely, you know, ready to go home. It was like, this is my third dog now. I've got a pretty good handle on things. Let's just go home, live our life. [00:06:48] Speaker A: So Jan was eating grass. [00:06:49] Speaker B: She did eat some grass. [00:06:52] Speaker A: So one thing we learned about Chan is Jan likes to eat stuff. [00:06:56] Speaker B: She is very much an eater, which will be important a little bit later on. And we had about six years together. I think that's. Yeah, it was around. I'm like, it was either over six or just under six. [00:07:17] Speaker A: Well, you got her at 2017, right? 24, so about four. Just under seven. [00:07:24] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:07:25] Speaker A: Because really it was April of 24. [00:07:28] Speaker B: So it was about six and a half. [00:07:30] Speaker A: You got her in July of July, so almost seven. Really. It'd be like six and three quarters. [00:07:36] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:07:38] Speaker A: Which is not the train platform. [00:07:40] Speaker B: No. But in that time, Jan and I experienced a lot of life together. I was 22 when I got her and was still figuring out who I am in the world, what I want to do with my life. I moved around a lot. I was kind of, I kind of jokingly refer to it as my exploring the country phase. And it was kind of staying with various family and friends that would have me and trying to mentally get myself in order because I had things to work through and needed to get my head on straight. And this dog was there with me through all of that and saw me through assistive technology instructor school and into my first job following that. And I'd had a couple other kind of small jobs along the way. She actually, I think, you know, Jani kind of helped me get My role with on the Go Dog Gear, which was a business that a friend of mine ran. She's not doing that anymore. She's, you know, moved on in her own ventures. But it was a little shop that had equipment and accessories and things for guide and service dogs and some pet things, too. And Jen and I had that job together, went around to a couple of conventions and some fun things like that. But also then. Then we went off to school. She snored a lot during class. [00:09:22] Speaker A: Yes. It was always. Jan snores. [00:09:26] Speaker B: Yeah. Yes. It was always something hysterical. And she always knew when it was the end of class, especially the afternoon class. So at school in the mornings, we would teach students, and in the afternoon, we had, you know, our own instructor classes that we were learning. And Jan always knew when it was break time or end of daytime. I'd start to, you know, take my headphones off, get my stuff together, and she and I had a ritual that we would go around to my other fellow instructor students, and she would, you know, kind of nudge them with her head and, hey, hey, I just want to let you know it's break time. It's time to go. [00:10:07] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:10:07] Speaker B: And she would give the teacher a kiss goodbye on the way out. Then she'd start working and actually work. Go out, go potty, do all that. [00:10:17] Speaker A: But go park. [00:10:19] Speaker B: Yes. And I also, for a while, when I was in Missouri, I realized I'm, like, not being very good about chronicling this in order, and I do apologize. I've been very scattered. But in Missouri, so before Assistive Technology School, we also. We went to a church. I played keyboard in the band at the church. It was one of these kind of modern churches. And also got involved with, you know, volunteering with the youth group and some of the other ministries. They had, like, they had a Christmas gift shop every year. And I would take Jan's harness off, and we were greeters. So in saying all that, she met a lot of people when she wasn't on the job. [00:11:12] Speaker A: She sure did. [00:11:13] Speaker B: She was very happy. Her tail was always going a mile a minute. Up to the very end, she just wag, wag, wag. And she would get so into it, her entire body would just wag right along with the tail. And she loved to give kisses. And I guess, you know, one important thing that happened during school was I met Liam. [00:11:38] Speaker A: You did? [00:11:39] Speaker B: Yes. [00:11:40] Speaker A: Oh, okay. And who's Liam? [00:11:43] Speaker B: You are. [00:11:44] Speaker A: Oh, I forgot. [00:11:49] Speaker B: Jan was never real snuggly. She loved a wag and lick, and she had her ways of showing Affection. But she was just not a cuddler. It was not really her thing. [00:12:00] Speaker A: No. She was not someone that would get in your lap or lay on you really, or whatever. She might lay next to you, but she was not really, like, want to lay on you. [00:12:08] Speaker B: She might lay on your foot. And that was usually also her going, hey, I'm letting you know I'm here. I want you to give me a belly scratch. [00:12:14] Speaker A: Yep. [00:12:15] Speaker B: You know, I know you can't see me, so I'm letting you feel that I'm here so you can give me a belly scratch. So I told Liam when we first met, like, this is Jan. Don't be offended if she doesn't snuggle. That's. It's nothing personal. And within a minute, he's like, hey, check this out. That dog. We were, like, sitting together, and she was, like, almost in his lap. [00:12:40] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:12:40] Speaker B: I'd never seen anything like it. [00:12:43] Speaker A: Yeah. She was just like, I'm crawling. I'm laying on you. Like, that's it. Yeah. Mine, Mine, my human. [00:12:51] Speaker B: And that told me a lot. You know, she was a good judge of character. She loved everyone. [00:12:57] Speaker A: I mean, well, I had treats in my pocket. [00:12:58] Speaker B: No, you didn't. [00:12:59] Speaker A: Oh, no, I guess I didn't. [00:13:01] Speaker B: I rarely ever witnessed her act standoffish toward anyone. So if she did, it meant there was a very good reason for that and was just not something I really experienced. [00:13:10] Speaker A: No, you could tell. I mean, that she was a pretty good judge of character, for sure. [00:13:16] Speaker B: And she loved Liam. Not that I needed really more proof, but that was something that, you know, kind of sealed the deal on that, and. [00:13:25] Speaker A: Well, that's good. [00:13:26] Speaker B: Then. Then we had such fun highlights as Jan knocks Liam off the couch. Playing tug of war at my apartment. [00:13:36] Speaker A: Yeah. Dragged me across the floor. Jan got very excited once and jumped up and her front paws came down and. [00:13:46] Speaker B: In a very uncomfortable spot for Liam. [00:13:48] Speaker A: A very unfortunate place. Yeah. That was not super fun, but, yeah, me and Jen would, like, play with toys. We'd kind of wrestle around on the ground. [00:13:59] Speaker B: Yeah. She loved toys. And whenever somebody would come over, that was one of the things she would do was go get a toy, because she was just so excited. She had to put that energy into something. [00:14:08] Speaker A: Yep. [00:14:10] Speaker B: Until toward the end of her career, and I started to see her slow down in a lot of ways. [00:14:15] Speaker A: And this is something I think a lot of guide dog owners have seen. Um, you know, and I'll always tell you, like, your dog will tell you when they're tired and. And sometimes, like, depending on who you are. You also need to kind of tell the dog, hey, it's time to retire. Uh, I definitely have seen people, I think, work guide dogs longer than they should. Um, and, you know, something like we've talked about is that, like, a dog should have a chance to be a dog. And your dog has worked hard for you and definitely should be given that chance to relax and chill. And even if the dog is like, I want to go, I think you have a responsibility as, as a handler to be like, look, you deserve some time to go, like, play ball and stuff. [00:14:59] Speaker B: Do all the bad habits that you weren't allowed to do as a guide. [00:15:03] Speaker A: But yeah, in a lot of grass, a lot of cases, yeah, guides will, they'll let you know. And sometimes it's gradual, sometimes it's. They'll wake up one day and go, so I'm done. I'm not giving you my two weeks notice. This is it. [00:15:16] Speaker B: Yeah. Other times it's a health concern. [00:15:18] Speaker A: Take this job and shove it. [00:15:19] Speaker B: Yeah. There are many reasons a guy retires. She was kind of letting me know over time that she didn't really want to do this anymore. She was kind of making some decisions that, like, I knew she knew better. And also she was just acting more tired. She didn't really want to play with toys. She was wanting to sleep a lot and just, it didn't seem quite right to me. And, you know, in April of last year, I don't remember the day that she did retire, to be exact, but early, Early April. [00:15:53] Speaker A: I mean, early to mid. [00:15:55] Speaker B: Yeah, the decision was made for her to retire because, yeah, she made it very clear she didn't want to do this anymore. She didn't put my life in super bad danger or anything, but. But she was getting to the point where it was like, I'll do this for the food. [00:16:12] Speaker A: I think it was the 14th. [00:16:13] Speaker B: Don't really want to. [00:16:16] Speaker A: Actually, I think it was April 14th. [00:16:17] Speaker B: No, it can't have been because you were in on the 12th. [00:16:21] Speaker A: Was I in on the 12th? [00:16:22] Speaker B: I thought I was there the weekend for that graduation. [00:16:24] Speaker A: Oh, no, I'm talking about. Oh, yeah, I guess I was in 12th, so it would have been the 7th. [00:16:32] Speaker B: That sounds right. [00:16:34] Speaker A: That does, yeah. [00:16:34] Speaker B: In there. [00:16:35] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, it does, because that's right. And then the week after was. Yeah. And. But that was a week after I got back, I think. Right, yeah, Yep. So it was. Yeah, it had been the seventh. [00:16:46] Speaker B: But all that to say, you know, in the months kind of leading up to that, we had gone to Colorado to see Liam at Christmas. And there I definitely started noticing some issues and the flight back was really tough on her. And that was kind of when I went, okay, she's not flying anymore. She was trembly and definitely wanted to. [00:17:07] Speaker A: Get off that plane. [00:17:07] Speaker B: Yeah. Could not get off that plane fast enough. And it was like, okay. At that point, it was kind of semi retirement. She still went with me to work, which actually was a very good thing because I was able to, at my previous job, find her the perfect retirement home. One of my co workers. [00:17:28] Speaker A: Can we talk about retirement for a minute? Actually, just in general, like, what does that mean? What. Yeah, what. What does that actually mean? So you retire a guide dog. What. What happens to the, to the dog? And. And it probably goes. Because I think some people that are tuned in, like, probably don't know a lot about guide dogs. [00:17:46] Speaker B: Yeah. And there's the answer really, is it depends. Yeah, for some people. [00:17:51] Speaker A: But it also depends on the school. Right? [00:17:53] Speaker B: It does depend on the school. [00:17:54] Speaker A: Depend on. It depends on a couple factors. So let's start with, like, with the school. So it really depends what school you go to. [00:18:01] Speaker B: Yes. And what their view is on ownership of the dog. And even some that, you know, do not give ownership of the dog still allow you to keep the dog after retirement. There's. It really is all kind of situational and every person's situation, be it school, personal circumstances, is going to be different. [00:18:22] Speaker A: Yeah, I think one time. One thing, if you're listening to this, you'll notice that we are not trying to compare and contrast schools. I feel like that is something that you can and should do on your own and is not the point of the podcast. But yeah, every, every school has their own way of dealing with that. And so it is important to know. But in the case of Seeing Eye, because this is where you got Jan, they pretty much give you ownership of the dog, correct? [00:18:47] Speaker B: Yes. You kind of pay a title fee before you leave the school at that point, you know, that is your dog. Now if, obviously, if they hear of, like something egregious like you are doing terrible things to the dog, they can probably contact your local animal welfare and make things happen. But by and large, you know, you are not going to hear from them unless you contact them. And even if they, you know, you're having an issue, they send a trainer out to work with you. So they're not taking that dog back unless you make that directive. My previous dog to Jan, I did make that directive because she was having some health concerns. And when they came to work with us. You know, the trainer said, I'll be honest, I have concerns about Melody's weight and I made the decision to return her. But that instructor under no circumstances was going to say, you have to give us this document now. [00:19:48] Speaker A: Has that ever. I mean that's, that's probably has happened. I would, I would have to think that like maybe an instructor's come out and seen a situation that they deem. [00:19:57] Speaker B: Unsafe and they will tell you, you know, I am concerned about this, but in the situation of this particular school, you know, you work together to make that decision. [00:20:07] Speaker A: Gotcha. [00:20:07] Speaker B: I can't speak for anywhere else, nor is it really why we're here, but all that's to say retirement's going to look different depending on your situation. I lived in an apartment, a one bedroom apartment and I was on the second floor. This means I didn't have, you know, ready access to like a lot of space for her to run and play and do dog things. You know, it was about a 700, 750 square foot apartment, so not a lot of room to move around. And also I was possibly, I was very likely, we thought at that point going to be moving to Colorado and that was going to mean she had to fly again. I didn't want her to have to fly again though. [00:21:00] Speaker A: It was after the retirement, we ended up finding a place where we absolutely would not have been able to have a dog. There was no way it would have. [00:21:08] Speaker B: Definitely limited our prospect on places and where he was in Colorado the housing market was very, very competitive. And so that would have unfortunately added a layer of, you know, here is a non negotiable. We have to have a house that will allow a 50 pound dog. And some places are like, you know what, we're fine with a small dog, you know, 35 pounds or under. Others are like no dogs at all. There's. [00:21:38] Speaker A: In the place that we were going to sign on was no dogs at all. [00:21:41] Speaker B: Right. So like, which didn't, like he said, it didn't happen until after she retired. I think, you know, had she still been actively guiding, we would not have picked that house. [00:21:52] Speaker A: I, we would have worked it out. I think that, I think there would have been some discussions had I, I think there would have been probably some expectations as well on both sides and I, I think it could have worked. But yeah, it, it could have been tricky. [00:22:11] Speaker B: And so in my situation I made the case or made, made the case, made the decision to put Jan into a different home, one that could give her the space and you know, people that could spend lots of time with her. So at my former job I had a co worker that I was fairly close with and she taught, she did like art and enrichment stuff. Super fun lady. And I had told her of Jan's impending retirement and she had said, yeah, I don't know if you found her a place or anything yet, but my brother and his wife's dog is real sick. They're thinking that they're going to be know, possibly losing her soon. And once they've dealt with that, you know, they might be willing to add another dog to the family. And I had kind of explored a couple other avenues as well. I had another coworker who knew somebody that might be looking that ultimately fell through. I contacted some friends of mine back in Missouri. Ultimately that fell through. But sometimes the world gives you a no for a bigger yes later. And Lee's brother and sister in law came through that was, you know, they were ready to add another dog to the house. So I took Jen out to visit with them. Shout outs to Craig and Linda. [00:23:41] Speaker A: Craig and Linda are awesome. Craig also big Cubs fan. So that's cool. We got to bond over that. [00:23:50] Speaker B: Absolutely. So. And there is a form was here. Liam was still in Colorado. [00:23:56] Speaker A: There is a thing about retirement that I want to talk about really quick because it is kind of one of those things. [00:24:01] Speaker B: This is gonna be a long podcast. Sorry. [00:24:04] Speaker A: There is kind of this belief by some people, and I'm not gonna even name names because it's not a naming thing, but there is a belief that by finding your dog a home, you're selfish. You're so. You're, you know, by not keeping the dog, you're being selfish. And I don't agree. I think it's the opposite. I think you're being selfless. And by saying, hey, you know, I want to make sure that this, this animal that has guided me for six years that has really like been with me. Rain, shine, sleet, snow, you know, all these things that has, you know, traveled non stop, is comfortable and can live its best life. Her best life. [00:24:45] Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely. And it's, it's very hard. And I know right now I'm kind of just, I sound kind of clinical about it. There were many tears shed and it was very hard for me, but I didn't think keeping her cooped in an apartment at the time was fair. [00:25:03] Speaker A: Well, and you wouldn't have been able to bring her work. I mean, she would have had to have stayed home all day and that's just not fun. For a dog, Jan probably would have just been like, I don't snooze, whatever. But I do think at some point she would have gotten bored because, you. [00:25:19] Speaker B: Know, and board dogs cause mischief. [00:25:23] Speaker A: Yes. [00:25:23] Speaker B: They chew things. [00:25:25] Speaker A: They choose to chew. [00:25:26] Speaker B: Yes. [00:25:28] Speaker A: And. And so, like, you know, Craig and Linda have a giant, big old house and a big yard and other dogs and their dog people, and they take. [00:25:36] Speaker B: Their dogs on trips with them. [00:25:38] Speaker A: They have a pool that their dogs can swim in, although Jan, for whatever reason, disliked water immensely. [00:25:45] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:25:45] Speaker A: So she went in the pool once. [00:25:48] Speaker B: Yeah. By accident. [00:25:53] Speaker A: So one thing about Jan we should point out. I want to go back to the. She likes to eat stuff. [00:25:59] Speaker B: She loves carrots. [00:26:00] Speaker A: She loves carrots. So one day, Linda threw her a carrot, and the carrot went in the pool. [00:26:07] Speaker B: And Jan was so hyper focused on getting that carrot that she didn't really think about. [00:26:11] Speaker A: She also went into the pool. Yeah. She was like, okay, carrots this way. And just like, was so hyper focused on getting it that she fell in the pool. Still got the carrot. [00:26:24] Speaker B: Yes. You know, that's, that's the important thing. [00:26:27] Speaker A: But then I think realized, oh, wait, I'm in the pool. I don't like this. [00:26:30] Speaker B: Yeah, I mean, she ultimately got out and everything was fine. That had nothing to do with what happened later. [00:26:36] Speaker A: No. [00:26:39] Speaker B: But she, you know, we went to meet them. Lee drove me to their house after work one day, and, you know, I just had this sense of like, this is right. They were so kind. They spoke very highly of their dogs and how much they love their dogs. And I could see that the dogs they had were very happy to be there. [00:27:05] Speaker A: And Jan was also happy to be there. [00:27:08] Speaker B: Yes. She didn't want to leave. She kept looking back. And we kind of made this arrangement that, you know, is it think. Our decision was all made pretty quickly. And I had scheduled her a vet visit for that weekend. And I said, you know, if you guys want to meet me there or come get her afterwards so you guys can have all the up to date records and everything that'll. We can do that. They're like, oh, yeah, we'll meet you there. So I took her to the vet and, you know, we kind of waited a minute to see if they were gonna get there, and when they did, boy, the tail was going. She was pulling. She was so happy to see them again. [00:27:47] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:27:48] Speaker B: And I was like, yeah, this is right, this is, this is the place for her. And that dog lived the best year and a half retirement ever. [00:28:00] Speaker A: I, I called it Doggy Club Med. I, I Really, I. I felt like. And we went to visit them and I think it was July. [00:28:07] Speaker B: Yes. [00:28:09] Speaker A: Because it really was the dog days of summer. Haha. And I mean, yes, after Liam had moved here, it was hot. I remember that it was a hot day. But I mean, you could tell she was just, she was happy. She was like, you know, she had a big. So one thing that they have is a doggy door. So the dogs could just come and go as they pleased. And I think at first she did not know what the heck a doggy door was. [00:28:33] Speaker B: No, she learned. Yeah. But yeah, very smart, you know, new. Knew how to learn new things, but just lived her best doggy life. And then after we got married, the place our honeymoon was at was just a mile up the road from them. [00:28:52] Speaker A: So we went and visited again. [00:28:53] Speaker B: Yeah. And you know, to those might be asking, well, why didn't you visit in between? We wanted to give them the space, you know, for her to have the chance to bond with them. We didn't know how they would feel about us like wanting to be around all the time since, you know, this is their dog now she's living here and you know, sometimes now I wish we had maybe gone to visit a few more times, but if wishes were fishes. [00:29:20] Speaker A: And I mean, we like, you know, like he said, we wanted to be respectful. We also had a lot going on too, with us moving, getting settled. You know, like, I started the new. [00:29:28] Speaker B: Job and I started. Well, I guess I'd been working. I had been working here by the time we moved. But getting settled into the new house and you know, then doing stuff for the wedding, we did have things going. [00:29:45] Speaker A: On, so there was a lot. But I mean, that is to say that like, you know, we did get to see her over the honeymoon and. [00:29:51] Speaker B: I checked on her once in a while, you know, I'd send a text out, how's she doing? Or yeah, I caught up with Lee, Craig's sister, you know, that I worked with a few times. And she would give me Jan updates as well. So I knew that she was doing well, she was happy. And when we went to see her in September, it was much the same. [00:30:12] Speaker A: But that's going to take us up to about two weeks ago. [00:30:15] Speaker B: Yeah, it was actually two weeks ago Tuesday. Two weeks ago today I got. [00:30:21] Speaker A: Oh yeah, it was today. But I mean it started. [00:30:23] Speaker B: It started two weeks ago Tuesday. [00:30:25] Speaker A: Right. [00:30:25] Speaker B: But two weeks ago. So the day before Halloween, I got a call. I got a call that changed everything. It was not like Linda to call. She's more of A texter. And so I knew immediately something must be wrong. And when I spoke to her, she was like, yeah, there's something up with Jan, I want to let you know. I said, you know, what's going on? And she told me that, you know, a couple days before, a couple evenings ago, Jan had gone outside, and when she came in, she just went. Wasn't acting right. She seemed very lost. She was bumping into everything. She was bumping into their other dogs. [00:31:12] Speaker A: It was almost like she was, like, sleepwalking in a way, just like, not her. [00:31:17] Speaker B: When the other dogs got too close to her, she was kind of, get away, get away. She just seemed really on edge, like. Like an itch inside her brain that she just couldn't scratch. [00:31:29] Speaker A: Yep. [00:31:30] Speaker B: And. But they didn't see what had happened, and they thought, you know, maybe she got bit by something outside. They, you know, gave her some Benadryl, went to sleep, got up the next morning. She still wasn't acting totally normal. And they took her to the vet because they're. Yeah, they're the type that, you know, they want to make sure their dogs are in tip top shape. So if anything seems any kind of off, you know, off to the vet. [00:32:00] Speaker A: Yep. [00:32:01] Speaker B: And that's good. It meant she was always well cared for. I, you know, and I never questioned that. When she got to the vet, they went to put her on the scale to get her weight, and she just, like, fell on her back and had this massive seizure right there in front of the vet. [00:32:19] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:32:21] Speaker B: And super scary for everyone involved. The good thing is the vet saw it. So they could immediately get her on some medic, you know, try to see if they could kind of keep her stabilized over the next few days. Unfortunately, the soonest they could get her in for an mri, you know, keep in mind this is Wednesday before Halloween. The soonest they could get her for the MRI was Monday after Halloween. So, you know, these. These poor folks are trying to manage her over the weekend. She's still continuing to have seizures. They're less severe, but they're more frequent. She's having them several times a day. [00:33:01] Speaker A: Yep. [00:33:03] Speaker B: And originally she was gonna. They were gonna bring her over here because she seemed like for a day or two. [00:33:10] Speaker A: Yeah, they said, like, for there, she was good. She was pretty solid. [00:33:14] Speaker B: Okay. Saturday she had one, but they're like, okay, maybe it's gonna be all right. And then Sunday she had two. And so we went out to see her instead. And while we were there, she didn't act really much different. [00:33:28] Speaker A: No, she was Running around. We had a couple extra people over visiting, so a lot more people for her to go check out. She was definitely wagging a mile a minute and was like, hey, how are you guys? And I had told Alyssa, I'm like, if you. If you told me this dog had a bunch of seizures, I wouldn't believe you. She was a little. I felt like. I don't want to say overcompensating, but she was a little more, like, hyper. [00:33:48] Speaker B: Just a little bit restless, but, I. [00:33:51] Speaker A: Mean, was like, you know, letting herself get padded. I don't think she was drinking. She got any. I don't think she got any belly rubs, but, I mean, she was definitely like, no. [00:34:00] Speaker B: And she. Well, she didn't lay down at any point. And of course, I think we were all kind of like, oh, don't end up on your back again and have another issue. But, yeah, she seemed okay since she had had two on Sunday. They took her to the vet while we were there and then brought her back. And at that point, she was tired and kind of laid down. [00:34:22] Speaker A: Yeah. But seemed like pretty good. [00:34:25] Speaker B: Yeah, seemed okay. They did the MRI Monday, and I guess, you know, all h e double hockey sticks kind of started to break loose at this point. Yeah, they had to put her under anesthesia that didn't go. [00:34:41] Speaker A: She had a really hard time with just sounds like it was just. [00:34:45] Speaker B: They had put her on some different meds, some stronger meds, with the thought that, you know, maybe that would work, that would do something for her. Didn't really seem to help. And By Wednesday the 5th, you know, we get a call and, you know, they explained that what they. What had been found on the MRI and a lot of research by the vet. And, you know, the vet contacted colleagues, and a lot of things were happening. And she'd had a. What they called an infarction, which is basically a stroke. [00:35:23] Speaker A: Yeah. So. And what we didn't know was, did she have a seizure before or after the stroke? Did the stroke cause the seizure? Did she have it outside? There's just a lot of questions that we don't have answers to. Yeah. [00:35:36] Speaker B: But at that point, you know, they said that they had, you know, kind of come to the consensus that, though there was more testing that could be done, it would mean having to put her under anesthesia again. And, you know, they. Nor did we think she was up for that. [00:35:52] Speaker A: They also felt too. And I. I think, you know, one big thing was that on Wednesday that they felt that she was not doing great anyways. She had more little Strokes. She had definitely had more strokes, and the strokes were continuing. [00:36:06] Speaker B: Seizures. [00:36:07] Speaker A: Oh, yeah, the seizure. Sorry. She had more seizures. [00:36:11] Speaker B: She was starting to have a little bit more trouble staying coordinated. And so at that point, the decision had been made to put her to sleep on Friday the 7th. And they had found an in home vet that specialized in animal hospice and euthanasia that was going to come out and do that on Friday. And so we'd both taken off work and done all the things in preparation for that. And then at 11:30 on Thursday morning, we get another call. [00:36:46] Speaker A: Yep. And the call was that Jan had become very listless. And so again, we're gonna go back to something we said. Jan likes to eat stuff. Jan loved carrots and blueberries. Bananas and bananas. [00:37:02] Speaker B: And food. [00:37:02] Speaker A: And food. Yeah. If it was food, she was gonna eat it. Jen was passing up everything she ate. Maybe a cup of food, which not even. [00:37:09] Speaker B: It was like half a cup. [00:37:10] Speaker A: Half cup. Like, barely really wanted to eat that. Didn't want a carrot, didn't want a. [00:37:15] Speaker B: Banana, Wouldn't drink water. [00:37:17] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:37:17] Speaker B: Well, they took her out to go potty, and she just kind of stood there like. [00:37:22] Speaker A: Like, what am I doing? Yeah. Why am I out here? [00:37:25] Speaker B: And she couldn't. [00:37:26] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:37:26] Speaker B: Really hold herself up really well. And so at that point, you know, the decision was made, okay, we need to move this up. This is happening on her time. She is. Her body is saying, I'm done fighting. Can't do this anymore. So. [00:37:44] Speaker A: So we went over there. We took the rest of the day off work, as you can no doubt imagine. And like Alyssa said, we went over and. [00:37:53] Speaker B: And I got to see, you know, kind of the condition that she was. [00:37:56] Speaker A: In, and it was nothing like Sunday. I mean, it was. [00:37:59] Speaker B: It was a completely different dog. [00:38:01] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:38:02] Speaker B: She seemed to recognize people. I. I think she knew who we were. She was kind of leaning on me. And whether that was to hold herself up or to, you know, tell me that she knew who I was is anyone's guess. I like to think, for my own peace of mind, that it was some of both. [00:38:21] Speaker A: Yeah, definitely had kind of. They. They said she had kind of a droopy lip going on, still wagging her tail. The way I described it to Alyssa is like when you go to the dentist and they numb the side of your face and, like, when they're going to clean your teeth and you've just half of your face is numb and your lip is drooping and you can't pull your lip up. [00:38:40] Speaker B: Yeah, she was drooly. [00:38:41] Speaker A: Yeah, very drooly. [00:38:43] Speaker B: Just still gave some kisses. And her tail just never stopped. [00:38:46] Speaker A: Tail wouldn't stop. [00:38:48] Speaker B: She was very happy with the tail. And she finally, like, looked at the water bowl, like, hey, I would like a little bit of water, please. And they gave her some water, and they were kind of doing, oh, of course, now she's starting to perk up a little bit. But she was really wobbly. It was like she was just walking around in a daze, you know, not the same dog that I had seen four days ago. [00:39:12] Speaker A: Yeah, I mean, they. They described it. Like, I've had. I've heard people describe it as doggy dementia pretty much, you know, and it just. [00:39:18] Speaker B: It happened very fast, and it wasn't certain at first whether or not they were going to be able to get the home vet to come out just because it was such a change in schedule. But because of the work that this gentleman does, because I found his website recently and read a little bit more about him. He is very well aware that these things cannot always be timed. And so he makes every effort to be flexible. [00:39:44] Speaker A: Yep. And he was very flexible. [00:39:46] Speaker B: Yep. So, you know, also shout out to Dr. Reeves. [00:39:51] Speaker A: Not Kevin Reeves, right? No. Okay. [00:39:53] Speaker B: No different. [00:39:54] Speaker A: I just want to make that clear. Kevin is not a vet now. [00:39:59] Speaker B: No. This guy's name, for those that. [00:40:00] Speaker A: For those that know Kevin, like, this. [00:40:02] Speaker B: Guy'S name is Jeffrey. Don't think there's any relation. [00:40:05] Speaker A: I wouldn't think so. [00:40:07] Speaker B: And he is one of the kindest souls I think I've ever met. [00:40:13] Speaker A: Oh, he's amazing. I think having to do a job. [00:40:21] Speaker B: That is so emotionally invested. [00:40:23] Speaker A: Well, when. When you. You're not. You're not making people's day, right? No, like, it's very hard. And also, you're doing something that kind of goes against everything that, you know, I would think, as long as you're not a psychopath, that you would believe in. [00:40:38] Speaker B: And it goes against the Hippocratic oath, right? [00:40:41] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:40:43] Speaker B: And you are dealing with people having big emotions, and, you know, you hope that everyone's going to be kind. In this case, absolutely everyone was kind of. We got to be there with her retirement family. Know, he showed up, he met her, I think recognized pretty clearly right away what the situation was. You know, had to go through some paperwork stuff. And then when he started to explain the procedure and what was going to happen, it got very real and really tough to watch. [00:41:22] Speaker A: I think anyone that's been through that, like, can. Can empathize with. With that. I think it doesn't hit home until it happens. And then until someone lays it out for you. But. [00:41:34] Speaker B: And it's like, okay, this is what's happening in the next 15 minutes. [00:41:37] Speaker A: But the thing is, like, where I think it was so much better than going to like a vet is it was in home. I felt like. And people that may have more experience with this can comment and be like, no, my vet was like this too. But I felt like he gave more time than a vet would give. And I felt like he explained things more. I felt like he focused a lot on comfort more. And feel free to tell me that I'm wrong, because I'm not here to say that, like, vets don't care, but I think you also run a business and so you don't have always have the same amount of time to do things the way that this was done. [00:42:14] Speaker B: Yes. [00:42:14] Speaker A: And it was. [00:42:15] Speaker B: It was just this guy's specialty. He's a one man show. He does pet hospice, which can sometimes include palliative, you know, just comfort care. So he does other responsibilities besides the end of life. But, you know, it's. That's a big part of what he does. He was very kind in his explanation. You know, you could tell his heart was in the right place. [00:42:39] Speaker A: Yep. [00:42:39] Speaker B: And, you know, he gave Jan some stuff just to make her comfortable, to make her drowsy. And she, like, flopped out and started. [00:42:49] Speaker A: Snoring, which they said she had not done. Like, she had not slept good. [00:42:55] Speaker B: So she finally got to relax. I sang her part of a song when I, you know, traveling back in time to when I got her at the Seeing Eye. I was playing music in the room. They had gotten Amazon branded smart speakers, which I didn't have one at the time. I didn't know how they operate. I was like, oh, cool, I get to learn about this new thing while I'm here. And I just had like the top 40 radio playing. And shortly after, Jan was handed off to me at my room. Count on Me by Bruno Mars was playing. And that's a song all about friendship and, you know, being there for each other. And that day I was like, yep, this is it. This is my song. This is our Jan song. And so I managed to, like, mumble, stumble my way through the refrain while simultaneously sobbing and, you know, had my hand on her. She was. She was snoring. [00:43:58] Speaker A: Sorry. [00:43:59] Speaker B: It's hard even now to, you know, get through that and remember it without choking up a little bit. [00:44:06] Speaker A: And of course, you know, me trying to make light of the whole thing. I'm like, well, at least you didn't Sing her the lazy song. [00:44:11] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:44:16] Speaker A: That. [00:44:16] Speaker B: That came later. [00:44:17] Speaker A: I did. Okay. Because I was. I was thinking it. I just didn't say it till later. [00:44:21] Speaker B: I think that was after we got back home or maybe even the next day. You said that. I don't think you said that in front of them. [00:44:27] Speaker A: No, I mean, I was thinking it because I had to get myself together somehow. But, yeah, I, you know, I mean, it was. It was peaceful. [00:44:37] Speaker B: Yeah. It was quick. [00:44:39] Speaker A: It was very quick. And. And that was good. [00:44:41] Speaker B: It was anti climactic. She, you know, just. She was snoring and. [00:44:47] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:44:47] Speaker B: Then she wasn't. [00:44:49] Speaker A: But I mean, and. And that's, you know, and. And I, you know, one thing that I had said too, is obviously, you know, I talked earlier about doing things that aren't selfish, that are selfless. Right. And I think the hardest thing you can do is sometimes the right thing. Yeah. But it's. It's hard to put an animal to sleep, and it's never easy. But, you know, I watch people that have animals and they're just like, I can't do this, I can't do this. And their animal deteriorates so bad that it's like, well, what quality of life do they have? [00:45:27] Speaker B: At some point you have to do this. [00:45:28] Speaker A: I think, you know, I thank her retirement family for not being like that and for being like, hey, we have to be realistic. And. And we. We all were on the same page, and it was wonderful that we could have that discussion and all be on the same page. [00:45:42] Speaker B: And I didn't have a lot of asks of them because I was not about to micromanage how their relationship with that dog was. But I did ask, you know, if anything medically is going on or if you feel like, you know, she's reaching end of life, please let me know. [00:46:00] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:46:01] Speaker B: And. [00:46:01] Speaker A: And they did. [00:46:02] Speaker B: They not only did that, but they drove us back and forth. [00:46:05] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:46:06] Speaker B: To be there to visit with her on Sunday and then to, you know, euthanize on Thursday. [00:46:13] Speaker A: Yeah. And they were wonderful. And. And they are wonderful. And yes, you know, we still hope to keep a relationship with them because they're absolutely, really great people. [00:46:23] Speaker B: And it's like, we should be getting. I know it can take a couple weeks, I think, for all the things to happen, but we'll be getting like a paw print and I'm getting a locket with a little bit of ashes. They. They wanted to cremate. They actually offered to give us all of the ashes, but we said no, take her to the lake house. [00:46:43] Speaker A: They Have a big old lake house and they. [00:46:45] Speaker B: That's where they put a couple of their other dogs. [00:46:47] Speaker A: They bring the dogs up there. And so, like, Jan liked it and that's, you know, hey, yeah. [00:46:51] Speaker B: And that's who she spent that time with when she was sick. And so, you know, I felt like they should have the majority of that. [00:47:00] Speaker A: No, I agree. [00:47:02] Speaker B: And, yeah, I, you know, actually, I haven't heard back, but I did text them today just to see how they're doing and see how they're holding up and, you know, see if I can get a read on kind of where that's at, try to let them know I'm thinking of them. And it's been a tough week. That next morning, it took a lot of me, a lot of my energy just to get out of bed. It was tough. And part of me is going, get a grip on yourself. This dog hasn't lived with you for a year and a half. But at the end of the day, you know, she's still my girl. And we had almost seven years of partnership. And, you know, that's not something that you can just like, look over and say, well, it doesn't matter. She doesn't live here anymore. It's not just something you can gloss over and have it not matter. You know, I still, I miss her every day. I don't question for a moment that the right decision was made, because, you know, this was a dog that. There's actually a couple pictures of us, like, across from Times Square. You can see it in the background. So, like, this is a dog that was very active and needed to use her brain and her body. And so to see her, like, unable to hold herself up and so confused and just on edge about the fact that she didn't understand what was going on. [00:48:43] Speaker A: Nobody wants that. [00:48:44] Speaker B: No. [00:48:45] Speaker A: And, you know, it's like we said, like, sometimes the thing they have to do is the hard thing. But I. I think, you know, it's the right thing. And. [00:48:54] Speaker B: And that's why there really hasn't been a lot of, like, chatting with viewers and, you know, some of the co created content lately, because we've been dealing. [00:49:05] Speaker A: With this and just had a lot going on. [00:49:06] Speaker B: And I think, you know, we've both had a lot of feelings about this. You know, I know you knew her for a short time, but in that short time, you loved her. You were very attached to her. [00:49:18] Speaker A: Yeah, well. And, you know, I considered her like a stepdaughter, you know, and when me and Alyssa started dating, one of the things that I said was, you know, y' all are a package deal. I have you, and I have my stepdog. [00:49:32] Speaker B: Yeah, it was those are my girls. [00:49:34] Speaker A: And. Yep, those are my girls. And I, you know, I remember the Christmas when you came up and bought her. I almost bought her a 300 dog bed. [00:49:43] Speaker B: I was like, no, you can buy her a $30 bed. She'll use it just the same. It's okay. [00:49:48] Speaker A: Well, I will tell you, I spent a lot more than 30 bucks on that bed. [00:49:52] Speaker B: I know you did. I know you did. It was very nice. It had the memory foam. [00:49:57] Speaker A: Oh, it was. It was a great bed. I wanted the flight flopping it. [00:50:01] Speaker B: Yes. It found a good home after she retired. With your o. M. Instructor's dog. [00:50:07] Speaker A: Yeah. I don't know if they still have it. I don't think that dog can fit in anymore. But she. Apparently she tries. She would like, squish herself down into a ball to flop into it. [00:50:15] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:50:15] Speaker A: She liked it that much? [00:50:19] Speaker B: Yep, sure did. And, you know, Jan's legacy is remembered by many. I've had so many people just outpouring love and saying, you know, how sorry they are to see her go and that they had so much love for her. And this was the kind of dog that, in her mind, there was no such thing as, I don't like dogs or I'm scared of dogs. That just. It wasn't allowed. It's not a thing. And I knew people that weren't really crazy about dogs in general, but they had so much love for her. In fact, one of the instructors at school was like, you know, I don't. I don't really hang with dogs. And, you know, she taught the independent living classes and such, and she was like, you know, I don't. I don't want dogs in here. It's a kitchen. It's. Which, you know, I respected that and I honored that. And she really didn't give a hoot about any of the other campus dogs because I kind of watched her just go on by them. But when she saw this one, Jan, that's my puppy. Oh, my gosh. Here, I got some leftovers. Jan, you want some scraps? [00:51:41] Speaker A: Oh, yeah, yeah. Everybody loved Jan. I never, you know, I don't think I. I knew anybody did not like Jen. [00:51:48] Speaker B: No. I never really met anybody was like, I don't like that dog. Everyone just. [00:51:52] Speaker A: And I never met. I never met a dog that was just beloved by so many people, universally loved. Like, I don't even think, like, she, like, Lassie doesn't even hold A candle to her. Honestly. Like, I just. Everybody that met Jan loved Jan because that was just Jan's personality. You just loved Jan. [00:52:11] Speaker B: Yes. Like I said, there was no, I don't like dogs. And she was like, you are going to like this one. [00:52:18] Speaker A: Yep. [00:52:19] Speaker B: Because I will just be so happy that it's contagious and you can't help but to love me. [00:52:23] Speaker A: Yeah. And I've. I've met a lot of guide dogs, and I've honestly, I've met some guide dogs, and I'm just like, man, whatever. [00:52:31] Speaker B: I love dogs. But even I've met some. They're just like, oh, okay, you know, you really don't care about me, and that's okay. [00:52:39] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:52:39] Speaker B: This one just. She was magnetic. [00:52:41] Speaker A: Oh, yeah. No, I would. I would say that that's a very good adjective. A very magnetic personality. You. You wanted to be. You wanted to be around her. You wanted to hang out with her. [00:52:55] Speaker B: And I don't just say that because she's gone. Even in life, I often marveled at the amount of people that just. [00:53:01] Speaker A: Oh, me too. [00:53:02] Speaker B: Adored her. [00:53:03] Speaker A: Me too. [00:53:04] Speaker B: And if you want to ever look back on, you know, some of Jan's mini adventures or some of the things that I'm still doing in light of all this, Jan has a Facebook page. It is called Jan the Seeing Eye Dog. It can also be found by searching Jan Seeing Eye, all one word with capitals. [00:53:23] Speaker A: And I believe you can go to facebook.com jansee I might be at Jansen, or it's just slash Jansee. But there is a nice easy way to get to it, and you can definitely check the page out. [00:53:35] Speaker B: Yeah, I've had many pictures of her over the years and, you know, used to. It was a. From Jan's Point of view page. You know, Jen would write her story about, you know, what she was doing, but also, you know, she would share some things, maybe from other dogs or, you know, things relating to service dogs education and, you know, rights of service dogs and their handlers. Now, I've taken a little bit of a different approach with it, and I don't know how long this will go. Probably just until I run out of ideas. But I have a life lessons with Jan kind of unofficial post series. [00:54:16] Speaker A: I'll put a Facebook. I'll put a link in the podcast description for that. If you're like, I want to check this out. It'll be linked in the show notes. So I would. [00:54:27] Speaker B: She was a cool dog. She's got. She's got more friends than I do. She's Got like a thousand followers. [00:54:32] Speaker A: I don't. Oh, well, yeah, I do. I was gonna say I don't have that many followers. Yeah, I do. My YouTube. If you're watching this on YouTube, you're one of my 2.8 thousand. What am I? 28. 2828, last I checked. Yeah, we're getting on towards 3,000 2.8 K. That's crazy. Isn't that crazy? [00:54:56] Speaker B: Sure is. [00:54:57] Speaker A: I remember when I had like 2.8, it was like me and like one other person and like 4/5 of a person or something. I don't know. [00:55:06] Speaker B: There you go. Yeah. I know this has been a lot longer than our usual podcasts. I know we usually try to keep them under 30 minutes. I'm certain this has gone over, but I feel like this was really worth talking about. And also just to be. To be real. Because so often we want to share when we're happy and when we're dealing with all the good things in life. And a lot of people do this, you know, we want to present our best. [00:55:35] Speaker A: I don't think that French fried pizza was the good thing in life. [00:55:39] Speaker B: You know, it's funny because really it was after the recording stopped that we kind of went, I can't eat more of this. [00:55:45] Speaker A: And then I ate more of it and just realized it sucked. [00:55:48] Speaker B: Like, the first few bites it was like, okay. After that it was like, wait, there's really not a lot of flavor going on here. This needs. [00:55:55] Speaker A: I don't know if we're going to do it, but they apparently have Kraft Apple Pie. Mac and cheese. [00:56:00] Speaker B: You can do that. I'm not touching it. [00:56:03] Speaker A: You don't want any? [00:56:04] Speaker B: Absolutely not. [00:56:04] Speaker A: But it sounds so delicious. [00:56:06] Speaker B: I already don't like regular Kraft Mac and Cheese. Just for some background. Here, here. So I am not even touching this travesty with a 10 foot pole. That is all you, babe. [00:56:18] Speaker A: But it's apples. [00:56:19] Speaker B: I don't care. [00:56:20] Speaker A: Oh, okay. [00:56:22] Speaker B: I will get apples another way. I'll just like get apples. Oh, you know, you can do that. [00:56:27] Speaker A: But it won't be apple pie. [00:56:28] Speaker B: Buy them at the store. You can get a Marie Callender frozen apple pie and put it in the oven. That's the thing. [00:56:34] Speaker A: You can. [00:56:35] Speaker B: Absolutely. You can. [00:56:37] Speaker A: I've been doing life wrong. [00:56:39] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:56:40] Speaker A: All these years. [00:56:42] Speaker B: Yeah. You can get frozen pies. [00:56:45] Speaker A: I thought you could only get like apple pie if someone baked it for you. [00:56:48] Speaker B: No. [00:56:49] Speaker A: Hey, speaking of having stuff made for us, Aunt Marie. Yeah? [00:56:56] Speaker B: Fudge. [00:56:57] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:56:58] Speaker B: Oh, my goodness. We have fudge. We have Fudge. We have fudge. [00:57:02] Speaker A: I don't know how much longer we're gonna have it, but one of our. [00:57:06] Speaker B: One of our good friends who I actually met pretty much as soon as I moved to Oklahoma City. [00:57:12] Speaker A: Big ups to Wanda. [00:57:13] Speaker B: Yes. [00:57:13] Speaker A: Wanda needs to get like a page or something. [00:57:17] Speaker B: Yes. I. I totally tagged her in a Facebook post just going on about how good the fudge is. So I hope she'll get some sales. [00:57:26] Speaker A: Well, she needs like a little landing page that says buy my fudge or something with like a price list and a way to order cuz I'm. She'd sell. [00:57:36] Speaker B: Yes, she is. She makes very good quality fudge and other delicious stuff. When I first moved to Oklahoma, I actually she and her husband Steve were moving out of town. I bought their couch. So I met them. [00:57:50] Speaker A: We still sit on the couch. Yes. [00:57:53] Speaker B: It is in our living room to this day. [00:57:55] Speaker A: It. It is in front of our new soundbar. [00:57:57] Speaker B: Yes. Which is awesome. [00:58:00] Speaker A: So we got. I don't ask me for the model number because I can't remember. It's like cuz I'm awful with that. It's some Samsung, it's a Q Elementop or something. But we ended up getting a killer deal on it. Like it was supposed to be like 150 bucks more I think. But it's an amazing soundbar. It sounds really good, let me tell you. AI music sounds amazing through it. [00:58:21] Speaker B: Yeah, it's like what else do you do with all the wedding money? [00:58:24] Speaker A: Yeah. That's so to everyone that sent us Amazon gift cards. [00:58:30] Speaker B: Thank you. Your money is well spent. [00:58:32] Speaker A: Now we can enjoy TV and shake the house. [00:58:36] Speaker B: Pretty much. Yeah. All this to say we got their couch and so I kind of got to know them right away. [00:58:41] Speaker A: And didn't she bake some other stuff? [00:58:44] Speaker B: Oh yeah. I know I missed out on other things. So like my first day of work. So before I got paratransit set up, I was riding in with a co worker. You know, we kind of had a. I was like his guest. But the catch was I had to go to his apartment every day. He was in the same complex. But yeah, Wanda and sometimes Steve would come with. Came over to walk me to it because it was not the easiest thing to get to. No. And you know, same was true. Coming home. And so I get home that first day and you know, Wanda's there to greet me and we get back to my apartment and she was like, yeah, I. I made you some spaghetti for your first day of work so that you wouldn't have to make Food. And I had it for a couple days. I got to take some for lunch and then go hide somewhere and eat it so that nobody could watch me eat spaghetti because it's a horrifying sight. [00:59:39] Speaker A: But, yeah, her baked goods. I know, are out of this world. [00:59:41] Speaker B: Yes. Well, she made these. Good. Was it like pulled pork sliders when you were there? [00:59:47] Speaker A: Yeah, those were good. [00:59:48] Speaker B: And yeah, she made some other. I think she made some. [00:59:52] Speaker A: I know there's some dessert things. She. What was the thing she brought when we had pizza with Wanda and Steve? [01:00:01] Speaker B: The cheesecake cups. [01:00:02] Speaker A: Oh, that was it. The cheesecake cups. I destroyed those. [01:00:08] Speaker B: Those were amazing. [01:00:10] Speaker A: Didn't she make us really good mixed drinks, too? [01:00:12] Speaker B: Yes. [01:00:13] Speaker A: Oh, my God. She made the punch. [01:00:15] Speaker B: Yes. And then it wasn't her, but I had a next door neighbor that made monkey bread. [01:00:20] Speaker A: Yeah, it was Jonathan. [01:00:21] Speaker B: Yes. He was cool too, but yeah, it was. Yeah, she was always making stuff. And sometimes after work she'd just, hey, I made some of this. Steve can come run it by. And so I. I got spoiled while they were in town. But she also, I knew she made and sold fudge. And recently she reached out to say, congrats on the wedding. And I said, hey, are you still doing fudge? And do you ship? Yes and yes. [01:00:47] Speaker A: And she did. And it's really good. We got butterscotch and mint chocolate. Mint chocolate and peanut butter. [01:00:52] Speaker B: Yes. [01:00:54] Speaker A: And that's so good. [01:00:56] Speaker B: Yeah. Reasonable prices. You get. You definitely are getting what you pay for. And then some. [01:01:02] Speaker A: Oh, yeah, it was good. [01:01:05] Speaker B: And she calls it a big Texas pound. I think it's more than an actual pound. [01:01:09] Speaker A: A big Texas sized pound of fudge. [01:01:11] Speaker B: Yes. I think it's more like a pound and a half. [01:01:15] Speaker A: Might be like a pound and a quarter or something. I think like Texas side pounds. Like a Baker's Dozen is 13. [01:01:20] Speaker B: Something like that. Yeah. [01:01:21] Speaker A: So you got a little more than a pound. It's not rigidly measured on the kitchen scale, but getting a big old Texas size pound. Because everything is bigger in Texas. [01:01:31] Speaker B: Yeah, something like that. [01:01:34] Speaker A: So I hear. [01:01:36] Speaker B: Yeah. I don't know. I. [01:01:39] Speaker A: Am not a Texasologist. [01:01:41] Speaker B: My grandparents lived there. But, you know, I. I don't think that they live by that model. Although, I don't know, sometimes they could serve a heaping plate of food. Oh, yeah, that was, you know, I gained weight in Texas. I went to see my grandparents one summer and they found a recipe for these Reese's bars and. [01:02:03] Speaker A: What? [01:02:04] Speaker B: Gosh. [01:02:05] Speaker A: Reese's bars. [01:02:07] Speaker B: Yeah, they're no bake. You do have to mix Some stuff up, but. [01:02:12] Speaker A: Oh, yeah. [01:02:12] Speaker B: Oh, my gosh. And you have to let them set in the fridge for a couple hours. [01:02:16] Speaker A: Well, I make the monster cookie balls. [01:02:19] Speaker B: Yeah, it's true. Dig that recipe back out. [01:02:22] Speaker A: I have to make those again. [01:02:23] Speaker B: But, yeah, it's like graham cracker crumbs. [01:02:25] Speaker A: Mary Mozzarella is supposed to come over at some point. I wonder what I gotta make. [01:02:29] Speaker B: That's right. And she. She wants to sample some of the fudge. [01:02:34] Speaker A: I mean, we'll see. We'll try if there's any left. No promises. But. [01:02:42] Speaker B: Yeah, there. There was no fudge for Jan. That was one thing, you know, had to keep her away from the chocolate. [01:02:47] Speaker A: Yeah, you can't. Yeah, it's not. Chocolate's not good for dogs. [01:02:50] Speaker B: She loved peanut butter. [01:02:52] Speaker A: Yeah. But. So we just wanted to keep you all updated because I know, like, it's probably, like, where are the things? Where's chatting? What's going on? You guys have been, like, not around. [01:03:04] Speaker B: I've been very, you know, weepy off and on the last couple weeks. And so the last thing I wanted to do was sit in front of a camera and end up crying. Crying on YouTube. [01:03:13] Speaker A: And honestly, like, I, like, work's been busy. We. We were in Louisville for a week. [01:03:18] Speaker B: We were. We had our annual meeting. [01:03:21] Speaker A: It was so much fun. Not that any of you listening to this, like, met us there, but if you did, it was nice to meet you. [01:03:31] Speaker B: Yeah. [01:03:32] Speaker A: No one from works listen to this. Jim's not listening to this, I'm sure. [01:03:36] Speaker B: No, but, you know, had a lot of fun networking, meeting some people. Oh, you mean that gym? I had a moment. I'm like. Wait, you mean like, big boss gym? No, you're talking about other people. [01:03:47] Speaker A: Yeah, I don't think he. That would be really funny. I'm just waiting for the comment. I'm listening to this, you guys. [01:03:53] Speaker B: It's funny because he pops up out of nowhere. Wait, you know this person? [01:03:56] Speaker A: You know Wanda? [01:03:57] Speaker B: Yeah. You know Wanda? [01:04:00] Speaker A: Yeah. Big, big shout out to Jim Portillo. Not like he's listening, but he's a cool dude. But we met him, like, our first kind of day. [01:04:07] Speaker B: Yeah. In Starbucks, of all things. [01:04:09] Speaker A: And I just. We. Yeah, we heard someone, like, walking around with a cane, and I'm like, who's going to be the one that goes, are you in the blind person, too? And so he kind of did that. Oh, is someone here? And we're like, hi. You know, and he introduced himself, and I'd heard a lot about Jim. I'd heard good stuff. I Remember telling I've heard a lot about you. He was like, oh no. Heard good stuff. [01:04:33] Speaker B: Yeah. This is basically a shout out to a bunch of people in canines sort of episode, I guess you'd say. And it has gone way longer than. [01:04:42] Speaker A: But I would love to know. So here's our. Because we always want to do podcast questions, right? If you're someone who's listened that actually met Jan, tell a Jan story. A lot of people I think that I hope that are listening because we found out your family listens. [01:04:58] Speaker B: Yeah. [01:04:58] Speaker A: Shout out to. Who are we shouting out to? [01:05:01] Speaker B: So Brianna, Joe, Jake, Bridget. [01:05:05] Speaker A: Bridget listens. [01:05:07] Speaker B: I'm pretty sure she does. Yes. My aunt was like, yeah, the kids listen to your podcast like they do. [01:05:14] Speaker A: Why would you listen to this when you could like listen to something cool. [01:05:18] Speaker B: Or like watch a video, go watch. [01:05:20] Speaker A: Something on Tick Tock? Yeah, I think that would be like a million times. Because that's what all the cool kids do now, right? Is Tik Tok. [01:05:27] Speaker B: I guess so. [01:05:28] Speaker A: Do you know I have never installed Tik Tok? [01:05:32] Speaker B: I did years ago and then got rid of it just because I couldn't make it work. [01:05:36] Speaker A: I never installed it and I never will. [01:05:39] Speaker B: There were a few funnies on there. [01:05:41] Speaker A: But I just, I don't know what it is. I just don't want to touch it. Cuz even my mom, my like technically impaired mom afraid of Siri. Yeah, I call my mom out. My mom is afraid of Siri. We'll be in the car. Cancel. Oh no, wait, those home pods are disconnected now. Never mind. Siri, Siri, Siri, Siri, Siri. Hahaha. But my mom would be like, can you get the address? And I'm like, you can ask Siri. And she's like, no, no, you could do it. And I'm like, are you afraid of Siri? And she was like, yeah, like it's. [01:06:20] Speaker B: Not gonna jump out of your phone and eat you. [01:06:22] Speaker A: My grandma was petrified of the Amazon smart speakers and the Roomba and No, the Roomba was cool. She thought it was neat, actually. She kept asking me who was driving it. Now keep in mind, just for, for a point of reference, my grandma, who was born in 1929 in, you know, the Republic of Ireland, who lived on a farm for 19 years, never had electricity. I. I don't think they had running water. I'm pretty sure they had a. Well, like the only lights were in town. They didn't have like electric lights or anything. So like this, this poor, like, I think she was like 90 or something when I had gotten it. Yeah, she was 90, because I got it in 2019. So, like, this Roomba is running around the living room vacuuming, and my grandma's just like, how's it doing that? Who's driving it? [01:07:15] Speaker B: Are you driving it? [01:07:17] Speaker A: Yeah. She was just like, so who drives it? So it knows where to go. And I'm like, it drives itself. And then it parked itself when it was done. And I don't mean like, you know, Seeing Eye parked itself. I mean, like, it actually. It went to its little dock. And my grandma's like, how does it do that? How does it know? It was, like, the craziest thing. And. And when we had gotten the Roomba originally, I. They were on sale on Amazon prime, and so I talked my grandma into buying it. I'm like, hey, let's buy a Roomba. And my grandma's like, I don't even know what that is. I'm like, it's a robotic vacuum. And she's like, well, what do we want that for? And I'm like, because I don't like to vacuum, and you don't. You can't vacuum anymore. And who's gonna vacuum the floor? I'm like, I'll tell you what. I'll make you a deal. I'm like, if you don't like it, I will pay you for it. I'll pay you back the money. Because I knew, like, I. I was that confident, you know? So you get this thing home, and anyone that's seen a robotic vacuum, you know it's a small disc, right? [01:08:18] Speaker B: Yeah. So it can go under couch. [01:08:19] Speaker A: It's a giant hockey puck with wheels. [01:08:21] Speaker B: Yeah, pretty much. And Jan. Oh, my gosh. Jan hated my room. [01:08:28] Speaker A: Yeah. Jan did not like Tony Shark very much. [01:08:31] Speaker B: No. She was. Would find a place and hunker down, and one time is laying in her bed, and the vacuum is chasing her into her bed. [01:08:42] Speaker A: So the vacuum tried to climb over the dog bed and got into the bed, and Jan was just done. [01:08:48] Speaker B: She was not happy. [01:08:49] Speaker A: She took off, ran in your room, and jumped on the bed. [01:08:52] Speaker B: Yep. She hated that vacuum. [01:08:56] Speaker A: But she loved that bed. The best, I still think, was we were getting ready to go to bed. You had gone up to take a shower. You came back. I am burritoed up in a blanket. Jan is laying, like, right next to me on the leftover blanket. And you're just like, this is adorable. Hey, wait a moment. Where am I going to sleep? And that was the thing. Me and Jan snuggled like she. [01:09:20] Speaker B: Yeah, but, like, he said, if you're watching this on YouTube or I think a couple of the Mastodon folks may have met her. You know, I don't know how much I know Rocks has followed along with the podcast some. [01:09:34] Speaker A: Well, we have transcripts and, and this is going to be a long transcript to read though. [01:09:39] Speaker B: Yeah. So. [01:09:40] Speaker A: But yeah, if you, if you have met Jan, I mean, I would love to hear your thoughts. Also, if you have a guide dog, tell us a guide dog story maybe. Where did you get your guide dog from? From. What's your guide dog's name? How old is your guide dog? Is this your first guide dog? I'd love to hear about guide dogs. I will never get a guide dog. That is something I have said since I was a weak arson, but I. [01:10:05] Speaker B: Would maybe a lot of things would have to change, both personally and just in the world right now. You do still have the problems of, you know, people going and buying a vest and saying, saying that pet Fluffy is a service dog and it's, you know, wreaking havoc for real service animals. Because Fluffy doesn't know how to act in public. [01:10:26] Speaker A: No. [01:10:27] Speaker B: Fluffy is parking in the aisles. Fluffy is going after the real service animal in the next aisle. [01:10:35] Speaker A: Yep. [01:10:36] Speaker B: And it has also unfortunately wreaked some havoc for air travel. You have to fill out all these forms now, which was new. Know not a thing you used to have to do. And there are some accessibility barriers to some of them. Some of them are really particular about. Some airlines are really particular about the things they want and in what time frame they get them to approve it. So there's not even a universal process. [01:11:00] Speaker A: No. [01:11:01] Speaker B: And Uber and Lyft is a whole other thing. Would love to see some changes in that. Also right now I work from home and I don't live in a place where I'm traveling to a lot of, like, even to the grocery store, the restaurant and buy food. [01:11:17] Speaker A: And you're in a very dog heavy neighborhood. So you can't even take her to the park. [01:11:23] Speaker B: No. [01:11:23] Speaker A: And, or him or whatever. [01:11:25] Speaker B: We have so many dogs that get loose over here. We're seeing it all the time on Facebook. And the last thing I'd want is for an altercation. [01:11:33] Speaker A: Yep. [01:11:34] Speaker B: And so there are a lot of things that would have to change before I would ever get another one. At this point, the answer is no. But I'm not gonna say the answer is never. [01:11:48] Speaker A: For me. I, I just don't want a guide dog. I just don't. I, I have no interest. And it's, it's Just. It's that simple. [01:11:54] Speaker B: If I had to cross streets every day. Absolutely. I don't cross them. Great. Without a dog. I've always had a veer and just have never been able to shake it. And the one, you know, success tool for me in that regard is a dog. [01:12:12] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:12:15] Speaker B: And I just. I feel like people are kinder to me in public. I feel if I'm trying to find a door or a staircase or a counter, a dog is a little more equipped to do that. Like, there are a lot of things I love about it, but just right now, it's not in the cards. [01:12:32] Speaker A: No. It just doesn't really make sense. [01:12:36] Speaker B: Plus, you know, it's not just me in the house anymore. That's something that I would want to go over with Liam. I'm not just gonna wake up one morning and spring it on him. Surprise. I'm getting a dog. [01:12:44] Speaker A: Oh, okay. [01:12:45] Speaker B: You know, that's. That's something that, you know, he has to live with, too. And so we would need to talk about it and make sure that that's okay for the both of us. [01:12:56] Speaker A: Yeah. I mean, yeah. I want a cat. Can we just get a cat? [01:13:02] Speaker B: If we move to a place that will let us get a cat, they're. [01:13:05] Speaker A: Gonna have kittens at petsmart on Saturday. [01:13:08] Speaker B: Oh, my gosh. [01:13:09] Speaker A: Don't tell me on Garth Brooks. Yeah. Yeah. So you want to know how Oklahoma we are? I just want to point out we live in Yukon, Oklahoma. The main, like, the. I forget what street it is because it's not the whole street, but, like, five blocks of this one highway are named Garth Brooks Boulevard. [01:13:28] Speaker B: I don't know if it's 152. [01:13:30] Speaker A: I cannot remember now. I'd have to look it up, and I don't care all that much, but. [01:13:36] Speaker B: Yes, there is a Garth Brooks Boulevard. Oh, they're gonna have kittens. Do you have to make appointments? [01:13:42] Speaker A: No, but I think they're like, please, you know, have a form filled out because they assume you're gonna take one. [01:13:48] Speaker B: Oh, see, it's not just, like, go visit the kittens for an hour. [01:13:51] Speaker A: I mean, we probably could and just be like, you know what? Our mind's not made up yet. We might have to come back a few dozen more times. [01:13:58] Speaker B: We just decide if this is the best decision for our family. [01:14:02] Speaker A: We have to decide. Yeah. [01:14:05] Speaker B: Yeah. And I love cats, too. I love animals. [01:14:08] Speaker A: I'm safe Haven's bringing them, too. [01:14:10] Speaker B: A. Yeah, like, I'm definitely more of a dog person, but I. But it doesn't make me like cats any less, I'd be absolutely down with having a cat or. [01:14:21] Speaker A: The thing about a cat is that we travel a bit more, and so it's easier to get someone to watch the kitty. [01:14:27] Speaker B: It's like, I don't travel enough to warrant a dog. But we do sometimes go out of town to see family, and I love the occasional work trip. [01:14:34] Speaker A: I love dogs. I love dogs a lot. And so the next. Well, the thing that's about to come out of my mouth is going to make me sound like I don't like dogs, but I really don't want something that is, like, constantly begging for attention and that cannot handle itself on its own. [01:14:50] Speaker B: Yeah, you do have to. I cannot let them out all the time. Feed them. I mean, you have to feed a cat, too, but you can get an automatic cat feeder. [01:15:00] Speaker A: Well, my thing about, like, a dog is like, a dog cannot handle itself unless you're around it. [01:15:05] Speaker B: Like, I have seen very overnight. [01:15:08] Speaker A: Well, but I mean, just, I feel like, in general, like, the dog's gotta be like, what are you doing? What are you doing? Can I do it, too? And I. I've never really been around a dog that's just like, you know what? I'm gonna go lay in the sun. [01:15:22] Speaker B: Jan did. [01:15:23] Speaker A: Really? [01:15:25] Speaker B: Unless you're in the kitchen. [01:15:26] Speaker A: Oh, no. Well, remember, I was always in the kitchen. [01:15:29] Speaker B: Well, because I was always gonna leave you alone. [01:15:31] Speaker A: I was always cooking. [01:15:32] Speaker B: Are you kidding? There were times I wouldn't see her for hours because she would just go lay in front of the front window or go to bed and. But when there's food, then, yeah, she's. [01:15:43] Speaker A: Oh, she was. When I was in the kitchen, I had to, like, be like, get out of here. [01:15:48] Speaker B: But even at the. Like at your apartment, there were plenty of times where, you know, she would just lay on the floor. She wasn't trying to be up in our business. [01:15:59] Speaker A: Yeah. Well, I think part of that she was older. I don't know, like, what that would have been like if she'd been like, two or three. But they're also. I. And I guess, too, you know, they are trained. Like, that is. [01:16:10] Speaker B: Your rescue is probably more likely to be. [01:16:12] Speaker A: Hi. Hi. [01:16:13] Speaker B: Hi. What are you doing? What are you doing? What are you doing? I don't want you to leave me. I need to be around all the. [01:16:17] Speaker A: Time, and I can't. I can't deal with that. [01:16:20] Speaker B: Yeah. Guide dogs are actually trained to be left alone. And I know that's going to sound really counterintuitive, but there are times where they have to be. Let's say you're going to a dream theater concert. Probably not the place to take your guide dog. [01:16:34] Speaker A: Probably not. [01:16:35] Speaker B: So guess what? Dog's got to stay home for a few hours and needs to be okay with that. [01:16:39] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:16:40] Speaker B: Or you're going to. [01:16:42] Speaker A: Why would you take a dog to a dream theater concert? Why would you torture them like that? Having to hear James Labri's voice. [01:16:49] Speaker B: That's true. [01:16:50] Speaker A: Like, I wouldn't take another human to that. Like, you know, just get a different. [01:17:00] Speaker B: Singer or go instrumental, I guess. A liquid tension. [01:17:03] Speaker A: Yeah. Can I go to a liquid tension experience? Yeah, that's what I'd rather go to. [01:17:08] Speaker B: Or, you know, maybe you're going to a family member's house that's allergic to dogs for a couple hours. [01:17:15] Speaker A: Oh, I definitely. Okay, I bring the dog then. [01:17:19] Speaker B: Well, it depends on if you like that family member. [01:17:21] Speaker A: Oh, I don't care. I just bring it anyway. [01:17:23] Speaker B: I should be careful. You know, I do have family listening personal. [01:17:25] Speaker A: Probably, but are they allergic to dogs? [01:17:27] Speaker B: No. [01:17:28] Speaker A: Oh, okay, then they're fine. They don't have to worry. [01:17:30] Speaker B: What point is, there are going to be times where, like, if you have to go have surgery, there are going to be times. [01:17:35] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:17:35] Speaker B: Dog has to be left alone. So guide dogs do have to learn. And that was one of the problems with my dog prior to Jan. She could not be without me without just losing her ever loving. [01:17:47] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:17:48] Speaker B: But that's why I'd like to put up with again. [01:17:50] Speaker A: That's why I'd like a cat. Now I say this, and we're gonna get a cat one day and the cat is not going to leave me alone. [01:17:56] Speaker B: Well, if it's Luna, definitely not. [01:17:58] Speaker A: The cat is just going to be like, I need to be by you all the time. I need to help you quality test this. [01:18:05] Speaker B: Yeah, well, we were. We went to see cats the day after Jan passed just to get out of the house, do something, get to hang out with some animals. And yeah, there was one cat that just wanted out the door. [01:18:16] Speaker A: Wait, that's right. For. I'm helping you quality test the Monarch. [01:18:19] Speaker B: By sitting on it? [01:18:20] Speaker A: Yeah, by sitting on it. [01:18:23] Speaker B: Well, Joe's cat likes to help him work. Joe's cat gets mad when he's working. Not paying attention to him. Okay. [01:18:30] Speaker A: Yeah. Shout out to Kenzie, by the way, who I'm just. Again, I'm sure Joe's not listening, but Joe has the coolest cat. [01:18:38] Speaker B: He's like an orange tabby named Kenzie and he just. [01:18:42] Speaker A: He's a trip. [01:18:43] Speaker B: He's a sass master. [01:18:44] Speaker A: Yeah, he is. He's a trip. [01:18:46] Speaker B: Yeah. Joe's at his computer working. [01:18:48] Speaker A: Did you see Joe got him a new. Joe got him a new toy. [01:18:51] Speaker B: Yes. [01:18:51] Speaker A: And I don't know what the toy is, but, like, Kenzie constantly wants him to turn it on. Yeah. So you can play with it. First of all, why would you get your cat anything that has like that you have to activate, like. [01:19:04] Speaker B: Yeah. Propel it themselves. [01:19:06] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:19:07] Speaker B: Because you know they're gonna bother you constantly. [01:19:09] Speaker A: I saw a great video of a dog, and someone had built. I forget what kind of dog it was. Like a small, small dog, but someone had built him a machine that he could drop the tennis ball in it and would throw the tennis ball across the room. And there's this great video of this dog playing fetch with himself. He goes and drops the ball in it, shoots the ball across the room. He goes and chases it, brings it back, and, like, literally, he can play fetch with himself. [01:19:30] Speaker B: Jan didn't even need the tennis ball machine. She figured out how to, like, get the ball in her mouth, throw it on the floor, and make it do a bounce and roll. And then she'd run after it, and she'd just do this over and over again. [01:19:42] Speaker A: It's nice when the dogs can play fetch for themselves so you don't have to fly, sling it. [01:19:46] Speaker B: She could entertain. She didn't want you to have toys. No. Show you that. She come up to you, like, and kind of bop you, like, hey, look, I have a toy. But the minute you went for it, it's like, oh, no, I'm playing keepaway. You can't have it. I just wanted you to know that I have it. I'm going to tease you with it. [01:20:03] Speaker A: Yeah. And then you just be like, whatever, fine. I don't care. [01:20:07] Speaker B: And then she'd get mad because you weren't paying attention to her anymore. [01:20:10] Speaker A: Pretty much start nudging. Yeah. It's like, why you're not gonna let me see it anyways. What do I care? [01:20:18] Speaker B: Yeah. [01:20:19] Speaker A: But. [01:20:19] Speaker B: But I just need you to know that I have it and how great it is and that I'm not gonna let you have it. [01:20:26] Speaker A: Well, that's no fun tease. [01:20:31] Speaker B: She. She really was. I'm sure she is taunting all the doggies and guinea pigs and kitties and. And everyone y. Over the rainbow Bridge, so. [01:20:41] Speaker A: But yeah. So there is a. [01:20:44] Speaker B: Here's, like, your quadruple dose of podcast. [01:20:47] Speaker A: Jan Retrospective and Roombas and. [01:20:52] Speaker B: Little bit. [01:20:52] Speaker A: Of fudge sprinkled in. And Jim Portillo and Kenzie and Dream Theater and Liquid Tension Experiment. I want to see, I want to see. AI, summarize this podcast. Oh, I know YouTube has this thing now and it actually works pretty well. I was using on my crazy party videos where like you could be like, summarize this video. And it was like at 2 o', clock, Liam started playing the coconut speech game. He got 20 points. Then he moved on to the underwater cave and got 20 points on that as well. Then he played this game but didn't do well and blamed it on his poor right ear. Oh, and I was like, it roasted you. Well, I mean it was true though. I was like, yeah, I'm not good at this game because my right ears. Yeah. Because I was like, oh yeah, they're going to be in the ear that I can't hear out of. That's real fair. [01:21:40] Speaker B: So that was a Jan ism too. She loved if you were on the ground. She would go after ears she would lick and sometimes she'd get a little too excited and she didn't try to bite. She just. Sometimes you'd feel a tooth hit your ear. But she never did that to him. [01:21:53] Speaker A: Not me. She licked my ear a couple times. But like was like really gentle about it. Cuz that dog loved me. [01:22:02] Speaker B: Yes, she did. When we went to see her to visit her the first time, it was like, hi, Alyssa, I think I remember you. It's good to see you again. You brought Liam. Oh my God. [01:22:16] Speaker A: Yeah. Then she got excited. It was like leaning on me and panting and licking me and like, you're here. [01:22:24] Speaker B: At that point I made the joke like, we should make a video and just call it Guide Dog reunites with Blind Handler. And people would have commented on that and gone, ah, you know, what a great partnership. He must have loved that dog so much. [01:22:41] Speaker A: Yeah. It should be like guide dog reunites with blind handler after a year apart or something like that. And like that would have just been. [01:22:50] Speaker B: And everyone would have thought that was his. [01:22:52] Speaker A: I, I wish we had done it. We didn't know, but I wish we had done it because like she was just. And then that the last time she like at one point tried to get in my lap. [01:23:03] Speaker B: Yes. The, the time she was healthy. [01:23:07] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:23:07] Speaker B: And even a little bit on Thursday when they were trying to corral her to her blanket to, you know, kind of be her final resting spot. They asked her, where's Liam? And she seemed to have kind of. [01:23:19] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:23:19] Speaker B: So you got trying to find him. [01:23:21] Speaker A: We trained sort of because it wouldn't always work. But you could go, where's Liam? And she'd usually do something. Usually that. Something mean going to the door. [01:23:31] Speaker B: Yeah. If you weren't there, it was go to the door when you were there. Sometimes she found you. Sometimes she still went to the door. And then. Yeah. The one time we were at their house and asked, where's Liam? She did it perfectly. [01:23:46] Speaker A: Oh, she came right over to me. Well, I had a student that had guide dogs, and she trained them. [01:23:52] Speaker B: Liam's here. [01:23:53] Speaker A: Liam's here. And they would run downstairs and wait for me at the door. And then I would get there and they'd, like, lead me up the stairs. [01:24:01] Speaker B: Yeah, dogs love Liam. That's the point of all this. [01:24:04] Speaker A: Animals love Liam. Like, I don't know what it is. [01:24:07] Speaker B: Sure do. [01:24:08] Speaker A: I'm just like, awesome. Maybe I speak their language or something. [01:24:12] Speaker B: Well, you do not make the noises. [01:24:14] Speaker A: Or maybe I smell like them. That could just be it, too. [01:24:16] Speaker B: I don't think so. So you do know how to make the noises of their kind? [01:24:19] Speaker A: I sure do. [01:24:22] Speaker B: I walk in one day, and he's going. [01:24:27] Speaker A: And Jan's just. [01:24:29] Speaker B: I was like, oh, Jan's teaching you how to talk, huh? [01:24:32] Speaker A: Yep. [01:24:34] Speaker B: She was a noise maker. [01:24:35] Speaker A: We were going back and forth. It was fun. [01:24:38] Speaker B: Anyway, how many times have we tried to conclude this now and just keep talking? [01:24:41] Speaker A: I don't know. So thank you for listening to our podcast. We will be back again soon. Thanksgiving is coming up, and so we probably will not see you all again until December. [01:24:53] Speaker B: Yeah. Thanks for being here. And we will see you when we. [01:24:56] Speaker A: See you here on 404. Site not found.