Calling All Dog Moms! | Episode 156

Andy Honda, welcome to the Bookaholic Podcast. Thank you for having me. I'm excited to be here. Yes, yes, and you have brought me today three delightful stories that are read aloud approved about you and your adventures with your Rhodesian Ridgeback Koa. Yes, and before we talk about these delightful books, first of all, how did you and Koa meet? Sure, so I actually got Koa about seven years ago. I was looking for a running partner, and Rhodesian Ridgebacks are a top five long distance runners, and so that's why I chose Rhodesian Ridgeback. And so I originally got Koa because I wanted to go running. We run in Central Park every morning about anywhere from five to twelve miles a day, and that's originally why I got him. Oh, wow. Okay, so tell me about running with a dog. I don't run, and I don't have a dog, but I would like to have a dog. So what do you keep? You hold the leash, and he trots in rhythm with you? Yeah, so I have two different types of running. One, I did train Koa on leash to go running, and he would always be on my side. So originally, what I wanted to do was do marathons with him in New York City, and here he comes to say hi. Okay, let's see Koa. Hi Koa. Oh my gosh, he is totally cute. Look at his beautiful face. He always comes to say hi. He knows we're talking about him. I know. Hi Koa. Hi Koa, do you hear me over here calling your name? Go ahead. I love looking at dogs on YouTube. They do the most silliest things, right? They do great things. They're so smart and so adorable. I haven't found one that's not adorable and smart. Originally, I got him to do marathons together in New York City. They have events where you can actually run with your dogs for marathons, and then they have weigh stations that if they lose enough weight within the run that you have to stop, because if they lose that much weight, body weight, it's considered water weight, and it's unhealthy. It's going to be unhealthy or even fatal to the dog. So it's a specific type of running and event, and that's originally what I wanted to do with him. I guess, unfortunately, depends how you look at it. We ended up changing some priorities, and I ended up just running on a day-to-day with him. He loves running. So that's how, originally, that's how I had it that he was going to run next to me. But additionally, in Central Park before 9 a.m. is off-leash hours, so dogs can just run around just being free, and that's actually how we normally run. He has great recall. He has great listening skills. He usually comes back anytime. He's never too far for me, but it's a great place where we can run, yet he also gets socialization. Right. All right. Okay. Okay. Now, let me go back to you got him about, you said, seven years ago? Yes. Now, why did you select the Rhodesian Ridgeback? Was it because of the long distance running? So that was one of the reasons. Because I live in New York City, I needed a dog who could withstand some of the loud noises of the city, who could adapt to that. I wanted one who was... They're very intelligent dogs. They're also... As long as you exercise them well, they're really just... All they do is sleep all day, or at least mine does. So they're intelligent. They're lovable. The one thing that they do say about Rhodesian Ridgebacks is that they have strong opinions. So if they want to do something, more likely they're going to do it, no matter what you say. So that's one of the reasons why I had to have a great training with CAB. What I needed was, for the first year, I spent a year of training. So we had a shared language, so we could communicate. Because if he wanted to go somewhere, he would just take me with him. He's literally my size. When he stands on his legs, he's as tall as me. We weigh about the same weight. He's extremely lovable. Yeah, I can see that. But one of the great things about Koa, and this is just his personality, is that his superpower is empathy. About five years ago, I was chatting with a friend, and she had mentioned that Koa would be a great therapy dog. I actually made him a therapy dog. We actually volunteered together as well. That's just special about Koa and not necessarily Ridgebacks. Oh, wow. Okay, so he went to therapy school. Yes. Who does he provide therapy to? Is it children? Yeah, so he can provide it to everyone. He loves kids, and that's why we volunteer at a children's hospital and a school with kids with special needs. Oh, wow. That's wonderful. So what actually does Koa, as a therapy dog, do? I mean, does he just have to show up? Yes and no. So basically, wherever we go, he provides a comfort and love. A therapy dog has a certain temperament. They are calm and steady. They are unbothered by loud sounds and movements. They are empathetic. They sense people's emotions and adjust accordingly. They're tolerant to the touch and the unpredictability of people, and they're very friendly but not overexcitable. So they approach people softly rather than just jumping in. And so when he shows up somewhere, he comes and he almost evaluates the situation and changes his response accordingly. Where we volunteer for the school with kids with special needs, one of the times we went, a teacher had mentioned that the kids had a little bit more energy that morning, but when Koa showed up, he just changed the atmosphere immediately, and there was a shift. He brought this sense of calm that everyone could feel and the kids had needed. That visit really reminded me why we do this work. It's that small moment that really makes a difference. Yes, absolutely. That is a lovely thing, and it's making me think I need a therapy dog. Don't we all? I definitely probably need a therapy dog. Wow. That's amazing. I love that. Now, so I know you love your Koa. I know you do, as many pet parents do, but what made you want to write these children's books? Yeah, so I actually, this wasn't my intention. Initially, I was thinking of writing a children's book about medicine and diseases to use my background in medicine, topics that I wish I understood better when I was younger, but that story never quite came to life. And so when I let all my expectations go, and I just put pen to paper, this story came about, and I loved it for a few reasons. It was inspired by our daily adventures in New York City. You know, my passion is always to educate through everyday adventures, and this was a way to bring that learning to life that could spark curiosity by blending those fun facts and storytelling. I wanted to really capture those small moments, and so because of that, that's kind of sort of how these stories came to be. Yes, absolutely. Well, I will tell you. So I read Koa's Bryant Park Scavenger Hunt, and this is a lovely story. Bryant Park, and I thought about this this morning. I was like, Bryant Park is actually my favorite spot in New York. I love it. I love it, and I fell in love with it because at first, I encountered it during the holiday season. When my sons, who are now grown men, were younger, we would go pretty much, when they were younger, we would go to New York City for Christmas every year. My husband is from New York, and so we'd see the tree, and you know, we'd get on trains, and we'd walk up the street. I think this is up the street from Grand Central Station, correct? You walk straight up the street, and then you see the library, and then you go behind the library. Bryant Park, right? Okay, yeah, and I love that little walk. I Right. It's not far. And Grand Central itself, right? And so, but they had Bryant Park set up as like a holiday festival spot, and it was always so wonderful and unique. All the, you know, vendors there, you know, the artisans there, they've had skating rinks there, and it's just lovely. It's just lovely. So, I was really into Coa's Bryant Park Scavenger Hunt. Totally into that, and it's just a lovely, lovely book, and I also love the illustrations. The illustrator is Mel Schroeder, I think you said? Yes, yes. And they're just lovely. I mean, it makes you love you and Coa even more, and you look like a little girl. You look like a little girl here, but it's just adorable, and I mean, I've seen this scene a million times. Now, you go on to explain that, you know, you show all these iconic New York spots, you know, you talk about the Christmas tree, you talk about the Wildcats. So, why, you know, this is your world, Central Park Zoo also here, this is your world and Coa's world, but how do you think this will affect children that maybe don't live in New York and maybe not see these iconic places? Yeah, so this series is really my love letter to New York City. It celebrates its energy, its history, and it's real, it's really its heart, and this is a way of sharing that wonder and magic of the city to children everywhere. If you don't live in New York City, maybe it's telling your parents, hey, let's go visit, but sharing that history with everyone and getting people curious. Yes, yes, absolutely, and you know, I know a lot of different fears for whatever reason, they still have like fears of New York if they've never gone there, but New York definitely is a magical place in some spots, it definitely is, I agree with you 100%. Now, what else are you doing? Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't hear you, you said what? I was just gonna say, if people who are kids who haven't actually visited New York City at all, this is a great way to start learning about New York City. Research has shown that kids can learn through that curiosity and that connection through real-life adventures, through those fun facts that spark that curiosity. Absolutely, and so where are you and COA headed next? Oh, that is the question of the day. I haven't started writing the next book yet, but I mean, New York City has endless stories to tell, and we haven't even gone to even Brooklyn, or we could go almost, we haven't even done the big things like Times Square or the Statue of Liberty, so there's so many places we could go. In our books, there's really a lot of fun facts, and so a fun fact that I continuously see almost every year on the date of the Brooklyn Bridge, when it was made, it was made in like, built, I should say built, in 1883, they had built the Brooklyn Bridge, and to prove that it was safe enough for cars and humans to walk across, they had 22 elephants walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. Now, I have a lot of questions on that, so, you know, how do you get 22 elephants here? Why was there metrics elephants back then? I have a lot of questions, and I've never actually stopped to research the reasons why, so I almost want to put the Brooklyn Bridge into my next story, so I can have time to research. Yes, I love that, I love that, and I will say, and I think this is right, the Brooklyn Bridge, it was also profiled in the Gilded Age, I believe a woman engineered the Brooklyn Bridge, she and her husband, and yeah, check that out, make sure, yes, she and her husband, I think were both engineers or something like that, he fell ill and could not continue, and his wife had to take over. The reason why I'm saying all that is because at that time, women were not taken over building of bridges. Right. So, that's a little known fact for women and women's history that maybe you can also tie in with the elephants crossing the bridge, but check that out. I will. And I do look it up myself, so yes, check that out. All right. Yes, absolutely, yeah, it's confirmed, we're going to confirm it. We don't know where we're going, but Brooklyn Bridge is part of it. Right, that's right. Well, you know, like I said, my husband's from New York, and he's from the Bronx, and so I can't get to Brooklyn because of the beef between Bronx and Brooklyn. I can't get there. I can't visit Brooklyn. Leave your husband at home and visit Brooklyn. Brooklyn has a meal, you know. I've got to visit Brooklyn, I mean, because there's a lot of people, there's a lot of neighborhoods that I see, you know, hear about and read about, and you know, there's the Junior's Cheesecake is in Brooklyn, and so, you know, I'm like, come on now, but you know, you know. There's got to be like 20 pizza spots that are famous in Brooklyn. There's too much not to go. Leave your husband at home. You're right, I'll do that next, and I'll just hang out with you and Koa, and we'll just go around. Well, Andy, thank you so much for bringing your delightful books to us today, and they're called Koa's, the overview is Koa's Rough Life, which really is not, he does not have a rough life. He has an excellent life, but he has a rough R-U-F-F life. That is true. Andy, thank you so much for joining the Bookaholic podcast today, and whenever you have another adventure story, please let us know. Thank you for having me. It's been a pleasure. Yes, thank you.