Special Episode: Expectations: People vs. Dogs

Today's episode is about Katherine Jensen's chapter in our upcoming book Animal Prints On My Soul.Pre order here: absolutelovepublishing.com/animal-prints-on-my-soul/

For more Divas That Care Network Episodes visit www.divasthatcare.com

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

It's Divas That Care Radio. Stories, strategies, and ideas to inspire positive change. Welcome to Divas That Care, a network of women committed to making our world a better place for everyone. This is a global movement for women, by women, engaged in a collaborative effort to create a better world for future generations. To find out more about the movement, visit DivasThatCare.com after the show. Right now, though, stay tuned for another jolt of inspiration.

SPEAKER_00 0:30

Well, good morning, everyone, and welcome back to The Divas That Care. My name is Candice Gish. We're doing some special episodes right now. We're going to be interviewing some amazing women that are part of an anthology that The Divas That Care has put together, Animal Prince on My Soul. The reason why we decided to do this episode Thank you so much. All right, as I said, let's get started today. Our special guest today is Catherine. Catherine, welcome to the Divas at Care. Good morning, Candice. How are you doing? I am beyond excited. Me too. It's going to be so much fun. Me too. This is really an amazing opportunity, and I'm very, very excited. Oh, thank you. Okay, so would you mind introducing yourself to our listeners today? Well, my name is Catherine. I've been an entrepreneur since I was about 21 years old, I think is when I started my first business. I went back to school when I was about 26 and became a life coach. And about 11 years after that private practice, I decided that I was going to train dogs for a living. So I did that for nine years. And now I'm kind of making my way back into the life coaching, sort of inspiring others. And even though dog training was a big left turn to life coaching. It really wasn't that much different because you were working with people through their pets and not just through their personal problems. So it's very interesting and a very dynamic way of inspiring and working with others through their dogs. And now I'm just looking at writing and doing some podcasting and blogging and getting my story out there and inviting others to share their stories with me as well and help others through tragedy and through, you know, hardships in life. And then also sharing like inspiring stories of good things too, not just all bad. I love that. You know, and a lot of people don't realize that when you do work with animals, you are actually working with the people as well. So I really love that you had shared that with us. It's very true. People do tend to put their emotions onto their pets, no matter what pet they have. And it's really an interesting dynamic, the little dance between human and animal, what you can see and what you can pick up. It's quite fascinating, really. And I just know this from personal experience, too. Exactly. So why did you decide to submit your story to this anthology? I thought it was just important. I really do feel like dogs, especially for me, because that's my area, they really do show you how you need to grow. And through so many life experiences and so many dogs that I've had, they've gone through these experiences with me. And even looking back at the dogs that I don't have anymore, they've showed me how I need to change or how I need to grow in my own life because their number one job is to take care of me and I see that especially now as I'm 49 years old and I've gone through so much in my life and I look at my dogs just even now and how incredibly important they've been to my growth and to my healing and I just wanted to help share a little bit about how they have affected my life and just being aware of their presence and being aware of their behaviors. And being able to share that particular story in your book just really resonates with me in a really positive and uplifting way. Yeah. Your story is quite impactful. It is very... heart-wrenching in some spots. And so how has the story impacted you? You've kind of mentioned a little bit about what the story is going to be like. I can tell why it's really important to you. But how has this impacted your life? Well, so many ways, really. So many ways, really. Sorry, I just had to clear my throat. Going through the loss of my husband of 23 years was tragic enough, but then having all of these peripheral opinions and ideas of how I should have handled things and how I should have done things throughout that whole process was pretty devastating just in itself because not only do you have the pressure of... That life event and going through something so tragic, having my dogs there to witness all of that for me as well, it really showed me how much pain I was holding inside because it was coming out in them in so many different ways. And it's funny how I didn't notice it at first. And as I continued to spiral down this rabbit hole, they continued to have little outbursts and little behavioral issues. And it wasn't until a friend of mine said to me, you're not doing well and we're really worried about you. Did I actually sit back and really notice how destructive my life had even come? And here we are two and a half years later and i'm still working through some stuff as we all are we still need to do the work um you know just having that um awareness is huge for me specifically and being able to use my dogs i guess for lack of better words you know not just as a healing tool but to nurture them and take care of them in the ways that they need so that they can heal through this process with me. Well, we're so excited that you've shared this amazing story with all of our, I would say, tribe out there. So thank you so much for doing that. Thank you. I really appreciate the opportunity and accepting my story as one that will be in the book. It's very exciting to me to be able to share resonate with others in ways that we don't really have the chance to right now because of the pandemic and the way the world is right now. We need to lift each other up and support each other and not tear each other down and be angry. I completely agree with that. And, you know, that's exactly why we wanted your story in this particular anthology because of what you're saying. One of the things I really liked about your story, too, you have a dog named Odin. And I have a dog named Odin. And I'm like, what are the chances on us having the same name for our dogs? It's true. Both of them have such personalities. And I thought, this is so funny. He just, he, you know, I always try to name my dogs, you know, with powerful names because energy resonates. every time you think and every time you speak. And so saying that name and having that power behind it was really important to me, especially with this dog, because he reminded me so much of my previous dog and the power that that dog had, you know, in his life. Odin just really protrudes that. You know, he's so sensitive and he's so sweet, but yet he's got this power about him that's just amazing. Oh, I love it. Having an animal anthology I thought was really important, as you were mentioning, is that it's a way to uplift a lot of individuals. So tell me a little bit about some of the other animals you have. So I have Little Storm, and he's a mini Australian Shepherd. He's a Merle. Funny story, when we went to pick him out, I had a totally different dog in mind when I went to this particular litter. And I took Odin with me and the little dog that I had chosen was really submissive and really wasn't going to be a good fit for us. But him and Storm started playing and they played for like an hour and they just bonded immediately. And I was like, okay, this is the, I guess I'm taking the Merle. And he's just, he's so emotional and he's so sweet and he's so kind and And there isn't anything that this dog won't do for you. When my husband was sick with cancer, Storm was the one out of the two that was the most concerned. And he would lay at my husband's feet all day, every day, and just wait, you know. And John would always get so ticked off because of the dog hair on his blanket, you know. And... But every morning I would get John out of bed and Storm would be standing there with his ears pinned back, just watching with such concern. And, you know, it's almost like if he was human, he could be like, what can I do to help? What can I do to help? And he did that throughout the entire process. He was just such a sweet little boy. And the day that my husband passed away, he jumped up on his lap and licked his face and jumped down and went and laid on his bed. So... He just exudes this really outgoing and caring personality, and he's not without giving you crap if you do something that ticks him off. He's quite the little dude, and I just love him so much. The two of them are just so different in their power and their dynamic and the way that they... They converse in the way that they talk to me. They're the yin and the yang. Storm just has this presence about him that is just amazing. I just love him so, so much. Oh my gosh. Animals are so important. I couldn't live my life without my animals. I know that animals have been really important in your life. Catherine, I'm so excited that you took the time today to chat with me. I want to So I would love to hear some stories from people that are that are listening or if the story gets shared, I started a new blog called That's In A Nutshell.com and some of my stories are posted there. And I'm also wanting to submit other stories and they can be submitted anonymously or whatever. And then my podcast is That's In A Nutshell on SoundCloud. I think it is. And just reach out to me. That's in a nutshell at gmail.com and ask any questions that you might have. I'd be so happy to hear your story and how brave women are out there. We really do need to continue to lift each other up instead of tearing each other down. And I would love to be that sounding board. I love that. Thank you so much. Thank you, Candice, so much for having me on your show. Well, I had a blast. And for all of our listeners, make sure that you check out Animal Prince on My Soul. Catherine's story is expectations, people versus dogs, and you don't want to miss that. Again, thank you so much. I can't wait to have you back on the program for another show later on. That would be great. That would be really great. Well, I'm excited. And for all of our listeners, you know, make sure that you check out all the other podcasts in regards to The Animal Prince of My Soul. We have a bunch of amazing hosts on the Divas at Care Network that are interviewing these amazing women. So you don't want to miss those shows. So thank you again, Catherine. Thank you to all of our listeners. Make sure that you do something kind today.

SPEAKER_01 13:05

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