Surviving Hurricane Helene With a German Shorthaired Pointer
This week we sat down with Rebecca, the amazing human behind the popular and soulful dog account, @life.with,pickles, which is an eponymous tribute to her German Shorthaired Pointer, Pickles. Rebecca was one of our first followers when we launched TOC, and we are so thankful that she and Pickles are okay following Hurricane Helene, which impacted their home in North Carolina. We sat down with her to discuss how Pickles helped her during and following the storm, and before that, in the aftermath of a big move to North Carolina, and a broken foot and subsequent surgery. Keep reading for how you can help their community recover as well.
How are you and Pickles doing following Hurricane Helene?
I truly appreciate all the TOC family members who checked in on us. The storm was intense and unnerving for both of us. We stayed close together throughout the storm and the weeks after. But if you know Pickles, she’s never very far away! ;)
Can you tell us more about what happened to your house? How about your community?
Rebecca (above with Pickles), wrote on Instagram following Hurricane Helene, “After nine days at home without power or water or cell coverage, I left to go stay with a great friend. She spoiled us and provided a loving space to decompress. At that point, I was able to get online and see the extent of the devastation, but also the recovery efforts and community efforts. I was also able to receive all of the loving messages from friends, family, coworkers. It meant the world, and I continue to deeply appreciate messages checking in.”
Hurricane Helene broke 34 flood records, causing catastrophic flooding, landslides, and immense damage in the Appalachians, with some areas receiving up to 30 inches of rain. Many lives were lost, homes and businesses were destroyed, and entire towns were flooded, with ongoing search efforts for missing people and pets.
Fortunately, my house sustained only minor damage. We went 12 days without power, water, or cell service. Large trees crashed down around us, but missed the house. The driveway took a hit but is fixable, and the road down the mountain was severely damaged until just yesterday. We cleared water from the house right away and treated it preventively for mold.
In the aftermath, communities came together to support rescue and recovery efforts. Neighbors shared food and supplies, while organizations and volunteers worked tirelessly to clear debris and help repair homes.
Did you notice anything about Pickles’ behavior during and following the storm?
We experienced intense storms the day before the hurricane, which heightened both our anxiety. Even going outside for her to relieve herself became unpleasant, and she tried to avoid it. The worst of it came overnight and in the early hours on Friday, when I worried about falling trees hitting the house. The cracking sounds, booming gusts, and debris hitting the metal roof were overwhelming. Pickles stayed very close to me, and I think we helped each other stay as calm as possible. She seemed a bit confused, but quickly adapted to life without lights at night. We skipped our usual walks and stayed close to home, spending our outside time fetching water from the creek for flushing, reading, cooking outside, and cleaning up debris. She did manage to expand her collection of sticks during this time!
You had an eventful year and moved to North Carolina relatively recently, took a new job and changed roles, and broke your foot and had surgery (with a long recovery), among many other twists and turns. How has Pickles been there for you through all of these changes?
I feel incredibly fortunate to have such a flexible, loving, and patient companion. I often apologized to Pickles, and she seemed to respond with a look that said, “We’re in this together. Would I like more fun? Yes. But I’ll be here to make you laugh and snuggle, too.”
How’s it been meeting Pickles’ needs during your recovery while prioritizing your own health?
It’s been a balancing act. During this time, especially during my recovery, I had to focus on a few things: 1. Ask for help. 2. Get creative. 3. Be forgiving to myself. 4. Try my best.
What’s your favorite thing about living with Pickles?
In another recent Instagram post that we absolutely adored, Rebecca wrote of Pickles, “The things she loves are exactly what my soul needs! Her happiness fills my heart, and I love her so much. When she’s happy, my spirit instantly lifts. Sometimes it’s hard to find the motivation to care for myself when I’m feeling low, but I can always rally for her. And every time I do, her joy brings me more happiness too. So here’s to catching sunsets together, squeezing in tug-of-war breaks between work calls, soaking up every moment of joy, and fully and unapologetically embracing fun whenever it appears!”
Pickles is a true delight, and the word that stands out most to me is “joy.” Her playful, goofy personality constantly makes me smile and laugh. She’s trusting and always up for anything—whether it’s a cozy snuggle, a fun brain game, or massive zoomies. She brings so much joy, gratitude, and energy into my life.
Tell us about one of the most interesting humans you’ve met through your dog account.
This is a tough question! Meeting Jess and Christie transformed my understanding of dog behavior. I was blown away by Alexis and baby Bunny in our first group course, and early friends like Leanne and Jude always made me smile with their stories about their large, picky eater. Learning from Amanda at Stone City Canine about compassionate care has been a highlight, and I even found a real-life close friend in Kristen and Kona. This community is amazing, and I’m so happy to be part of it.
What are you reading right now that’s not dog-related?
I always have several books on the go! Right now, I’m listening to Braiding Sweetgrass, which beautifully blends indigenous wisdom and scientific knowledge about the relationship between humans and nature. I just finished Circe by Madeline Miller, a fantastic reimagining of Greek mythology focusing on a strong woman’s journey. I’m also enjoying Funny Story, which is delightful with its witty humor and engaging characters.
If someone in our community wants to get involved to help in the aftermath of the storm, do you have any resources that you can help point them to?
Thank you for asking! Donating money, resources, or time can make a huge difference. Monetary donations can directly support local organizations like BeLoved Asheville, Brother Wolf Animal Rescue, and humane societies working on recovery efforts. There are also GoFundMe campaigns for local businesses and individuals facing serious challenges. Resource pages are available that outline organizations regularly sharing volunteer and donation needs. As winter approaches, many people still need basic essentials like generators, heaters, water filters, and propane stoves.
Behind the Scenes of Writing 'The Happiest Dog on the Block'
This week we sat down with Taylor Finton, the human behind the wildly popular dog enrichment community, @bindisbucketlist. Taylor is about to release her first book, The Happiest Dog on the Block: Canine Enrichment Activities to Keep Your Pet Young and Healthy. In our interview she told us all about the writing process, how she got so interested in enrichment, her favorite enrichment content in the book, how you can get started with enrichment for your dog and more!
Tell us about your new book.
My new book, The Happiest Dog on the Block, is a beginner's guide to canine enrichment. While the topic has gained some traction online, there’s still a significant number of dog owners who haven’t yet discovered the benefits of enrichment. I believe that more people should be aware of how much it enhances a dog’s physical, emotional, social, and cognitive well-being. That’s what inspired me to compile my knowledge from all of my platforms into one easy-to-access resource!
Taylor’s new book, The Happiest Dog on the Block, comes out November 12.
In the book, I explain the science behind enrichment in a way that’s approachable, even if you’re brand new to the concept. I also provide practical tips and strategies to implement enrichment activities at home, using items many people already have. If you’re an experienced enrichment enthusiast, you may know some of these tips and tricks already - nonetheless, I hope you’ll find fresh ideas or new perspectives!
If this book resonates with readers, I’m excited to dive deeper and create more advanced volumes for those who are ready to take their enrichment game to the next level.
What was the writing process like for you?
It was honestly a whirlwind! The opportunity to write this book came while I was in the middle of planning my wedding. Balancing a full-time job, wedding preparations, honeymoon planning, content creation, freelance work, and still trying to maintain time for family, friends, and my dogs — it was definitely a challenge! Despite the hectic schedule, writing has always been something I enjoy and find rewarding. I loved having the chance to put everything I’ve learned about enrichment over the years into a structured format.
It’s funny because as stressful as it was, it didn’t feel overwhelming in a negative way. It felt like something that just needed to happen—a culmination of all my efforts and experiences living with dogs and as a creator. I’ve poured my heart into these topics for years, and it feels great to finally share them in one comprehensive resource.
What’s your favorite enrichment game or recipe in the new book?
A snuffle mat (above) is an example of an enriching activity for your dog. Taylor tells TOC, “I believe that more people should be aware of how much [enrichment] enhances a dog’s physical, emotional, social, and cognitive well-being.”
It’s tough to pick just one! My dogs absolutely love the snuffle cinnamon buns—it’s a fun twist on a snuffle game using things that you likely already have at home. Aside from that, one of my favorite parts of the book is the chapter on creating a Sensory Yard. It’s surprisingly easy to set up, and it can have such a positive impact on a dog’s mental and emotional well-being (and our own!).
Tell us how you started BBL?
Bindi’s Bucket List originally started as a way to update the rescue organization about Bindi’s progress after I adopted her. What started out as a small, personal project, soon became much more than that when I started sharing some of my enrichment ideas and Kong stuffing recipes. It wasn’t long before the content began to resonate with others. People were engaging with my posts, trying out my ideas, and giving me feedback. It became a space where I could connect with like-minded dog owners, and it’s grown into something much bigger than I ever anticipated.
How did you get so into enrichment?
It all started when I noticed how much my dogs, Rosie and Bindi, enjoyed these simple enrichment games and activities. I began to realize that enrichment was more than just keeping them occupied; it was improving their quality of life. I loved seeing how these activities could reduce their stress, make them more confident, and even improve their problem-solving skills. The more I explored it, the more I realized that enrichment isn’t just an occasional activity—it’s a mindset. By always looking for ways to enhance our dogs' lives and environments, we’re actively contributing to their happiness and well-being.
Outside of BBL, do you have a separate job? Any non-dog related hobbies?!
Yes, I actually work a traditional 9-5 job that’s entirely unrelated to dogs! But I’m very thankful for it, as it gives me the stability to pursue my passion for canine enrichment in my spare time. When I’m not working or creating dog-related content, my husband and I love to cook together. We’re total foodies and enjoy exploring new recipes and trying different cuisines.
Is there a particular post that made you go viral? What was that like?
I’ll never forget my first viral moment - It happened after I posted a series of flatlay photos featuring Kong recipe ideas on Facebook. I wasn’t expecting much, but all of a sudden, my phone started blowing up with notifications. The post had struck a chord with people, and I had a flood of messages and comments practically overnight! It was surreal. That moment really opened up the floodgates for my platform and showed me that there’s a big appetite for accessible, practical enrichment ideas.
Taylor (above with Binidi) tells TOC, “Bindi’s Bucket List originally started as a way to update the rescue organization about Bindi’s progress after I adopted her. What started out as a small, personal project, soon became much more than that when I started sharing some of my enrichment ideas and Kong stuffing recipes. It wasn’t long before the content began to resonate with others.”
What have your dogs, Rosie and Bindi, taught you?
Where do I even begin? They’ve taught me so much without saying a word. From resilience to the confidence to try new things, they’ve inspired me in ways I never expected. These two little dogs have sparked a passion in me to learn, create, and grow—simply by being their wonderful, unique selves.
What’s your favorite thing about having a dog?
My favorite thing about having a dog is how much they expand your world. They’re not just companions; they’re teachers, motivators, and loyal friends. My dogs have introduced me to new people, new ideas, and new passions that I wouldn’t have discovered otherwise. Plus, there’s nothing better than coming home to a wagging tail and knowing they’re just as happy to see you as you are to see them. And, of course, snuggling up with them after a long day is the best!
What are you reading right now that’s not dog related?
I recently finished Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner, and it was incredible! I love reading memoirs, especially ones that explore real-world emotions and experiences. Zauner’s writing was both raw and beautiful, and I couldn’t put it down.
What’s the one enrichment product you can’t live without?
Bindi and Rosie (above), pose in front of their trusty red Kongs.
Okay this one might not be super shocking, BUT… I’d have to say the Classic Kong and the West Paw Toppl. They’re my go-to enrichment tools, especially for days when I need a quick and easy setup. You can stuff them with all sorts of treats, and they’re durable enough to keep my dogs entertained for a while. Plus, they’re easy to clean, which is a bonus! Not only that, but they’re some of the only enrichment toys that I can’t replicate in terms of durability and design (for example: You can DIY lick mats with muffin tins or food safe silicone trivets, and you can DIY snuffle mats in your grass, but you can’t truly DIY the durability of a Kong and a Toppl!)
If someone in our community wants to get started with enrichment but feels overwhelmed, how can they easily kick things off?
My biggest piece of advice is not to stress! There’s a lot of pressure on social media to create elaborate, Instagram-worthy enrichment setups, but that’s not necessary at all. Often, the simplest activities are the most effective and enjoyable for our dogs. Start small with items you already have around the house, and build from there. The most important thing is to have fun and focus on what makes your dog happy—you don’t need to overcomplicate it. Also, never hesitate to reach out to me via email or direct message - I’m always happy to help!
What It’s Like Working With Shelter Dogs in Ukraine
This week we sat down with a member of our community named Gordon Price. Gordon is an American from Portland, Oregon. For the last ten years he’s lived in Europe, and most recently he has been working with shelter dogs in Ukraine. In our interview, Gordon told us about why he felt drawn to Ukraine, what it’s been like living there and helping dogs during the war, and how you can get involved to help.
Gordon (bottom left and surrounded by the dogs that he's helped in Ukraine) tells TOC, "I have been in Ukraine for about 20 months, but in the next month or two, once I get transport for me and two dogs sorted, I will be going back to Netherlands. I hope to find a way to keep supporting the shelters here, potentially facilitating adoptions to Netherlands, since I can come back and actually meet the dogs and maybe do a better job pairing dogs and people. And in a perfect world I would open my own shelter, focused on “problem” dogs that just suffer in a traditional shelter environment."
You were an architect and software developer? Why did you decide to transition to studying dog training? When and why did you decide to move to Ukraine?
At the beginning of the war I found myself very frustrated. Here was a country fighting for its very existence, and I wanted to DO something to help. I had been in the Army in the late 80’s, but my job was maintaining aircraft radios, not something useful in Ukraine like medic or EOD (Explosive Ordinance Disposal). Eventually I decided I would just come for a few weeks, and sort out what I would do upon arrival, so I made plans to come in the autumn of ‘22. I was unbelievably naive, and I told myself worst case I could wash dishes in a kitchen making food for other volunteers.
But I had also been a “dog person” all my life, growing up with dogs and always dog and house sitting for friends so they could vacation without kenneling their Rottweilers. Anyway, I had been following a YouTube channel called Love Furry Friends for some time. Olena had been documenting her rescue work in an around Odesa for some years before the war, but since the war, the channel had been more… intense. In any case, on the train from Poland, I managed to get in touch with Olena’s team, who got in touch with Oxana [another rescuer], who got in touch with the shelter she works with. Once I arrived in Kyiv, for the next 12 days I walked dogs twice a day for the shelter.
When I returned to Rotterdam I found myself realizing that I basically hated my job and had been done for some years. Two weeks of looking forward to “work” with the dogs every day had just made it impossible to deny that now. And then as the year ended, three “firm” customers ghosted me and New Years brought the realization that a business I no longer wanted to do was also basically failed.
At first I had no idea what I could do, but I decided I could just return to Ukraine and be “useful” at the shelter and sort the bigger picture out later. It took a few weeks to realize I could actually take an online dog training and behavior course, and use the time in Ukraine as intensive practical work experience.. In any case, by spring of 2023 I was driving in a donated ambulance convoy organized by Zeilen van Vrijheid with a bunch of clothes and dog gear in back.
What has the experience been like living there during the war?
The war itself is always in the back of your mind, but mostly at a distance, at least here in Kyiv. Many if not most of the Ukrainians I know have friends or family who are fighting or still living much closer to the war. Indeed, some of the Keepers I have worked with are not from Kyiv at all. Some have escaped places like Mariupol to Kharkiv, only to have to flee again. But most of the time it’s not something I think about, until I hear a Shahed or a cruise missile fly by, or worse yet, detonate almost overhead from AA fire. But then you have a scared dog to deal with and you push those concerns away to do what needs to be done. Ukrainians provide that inspiration every day, simply getting on doing what needs to be done, usually with a wicked sense of humor to make it a bit easier.
You work with shelter dogs in Ukraine. What’s it like for dogs living there during the ongoing conflict?
The conditions in the shelters can be pretty grim from a western standpoint. Chicken wire and plywood enclosures, outdoor enclosures, etc. And with the war, overcrowding is a massive problem. Way too many times I have seen dogs put together in a kennel without a proper evaluation, sometimes with bad results. But there just isn’t room, and I wouldn’t want to have to try to decide which dog gets sent away. The fact that there basically is no such thing as a kill shelter amazes me, but at the same time it does make the overcrowding issue even more acute. I do think the war has impacted the dogs themselves, in that I have seen a lot of injuries, dogs missing limbs for example. And just generally traumatized dogs. On the one hand it is often hard to see, but frequently the dogs show an amazing resilience that makes it easier to, again, do what needs to be done, and try to make their lives as full as possible.
At least at the shelters I worked at, most dogs got walked twice a day, in a park type setting. And the keepers and volunteers for the most part have their hearts very much in the right place. Many are professionals, Kinologs (basically a combination of trainer & behaviorist with education in breeding as well) with a background in force free and positive reinforcement based training. One of the shelters even did training for volunteers before they could walk dogs educating them about the importance of sniffing and how to walk a dog on a harness.
Tell us about a dog that you’ve met there that’s made a big impression on you.
There have been so many dogs that I call my Professor Dogs because they taught me something important, perhaps even something I couldn’t have learned from another dog. But I think a good example to mention here is Cindy. She came in one of the first trucks from Kherson, after the Kakhovka Dam was destroyed. I suspect she had been close to the dam since she arrived covered head to toe in light oil, perhaps turbine oil from the power station destroyed with the dam. She was also covered in hundreds of huge ticks. I had never thought about it before but in a flood the ticks are knocked off the foliage and a floating animal becomes their only refuge. It took hours to remove all the ticks, and again for multiple baths to wash as much of the oil off her as possible. Weeks later she still smelled of petroleum. It also looked to me like she had been nursing not very long prior, so I suspect she may have lost her litter in the floods. And finally, she had zero understanding of walking on a collar and leash, or indeed of paying any attention to the wants of people in general. And yet she wasn’t afraid of people, just shy, and traumatized. I think it’s very likely she was a “village dog,” not owned or controlled by anyone, but cared for by many, while still living free to make her own decisions in life. A common scenario in Ukraine, and if true, landing locked in a small cage in a shelter after surviving all that was a brutal experience.
She taught me to understand the value of a long leash, to let a timid dog find their own comfortable distance, and to notice the changes in that distance over time as a proxy for changing levels of trust, long before petting or even taking treats was an option.
If someone in our community wants to support people and dogs in Ukraine, how do you recommend they can help?
Nova Ukraine is a good charity here, as well as Greater Good, an international charity that has been in Ukraine since before the war. Both support shelters and other animal oriented causes, as well as many other efforts. And Shelter Khvostati, the largest shelter in Ukraine, comes highly recommended by some Kinologs I trust.
Sitting Down With Creative Director and Influencer, Alisha Cohen
When we launched TOC, Alisha Cohen, was one of our first followers. Over the past several years, we’ve become huge fans of her beautiful and cheerful content. In our interview, Alisha told us all about her agency, Lish Creative, life with her dog, Mona, and her human baby girl, how you can get started making stop motion content, and so much more.
Alisha (above with her husband and dog, Mona), is adjusting to life as a mom. She tells TOC, “If there’s a work project I want to take on, it now requires an entire village around me to make it happen.”
We are obsessed with the vibrant photo, video, and stop motion ads that you make for clients through your business Lish Creative. How did you come up with such a defined and recognizable aesthetic?
My whole aesthetic started with finding objects in my every day life that brought me joy! When I started the business, I was working for another agency for my “day job” and everything was very dark and moody. I was looking for a bright and colorful creative escape.
You’ve worked with a lot of big clients. Tell us about one of your all time favorite campaigns?
It’s always the most exciting to work with brands that I love and personally consume! I also love to travel for work, so traveling to Bermuda to shoot the Hamilton Princess Resort was one of my favorite projects!
How do you manage relationships with big clients so that you make them happy and stay true to your style and values?
This part of my job is tricky! I’m a creative, yes, but as a business owner, my main goal is always customer service. Happy clients come back with repeat business and happy clients refer you!
We love it when you turn household objects into props for your campaigns. Do you have any favorite props that you’ve DIY’ed?
We used plaster to create faked whipped cream once, that was pretty cool!
Tell us about your dog, Mona.
Mona is a five year old golden doodle with lots of energy and personality. We rescued her in 2019 when she was four months old and we’ve had to work through a lot of anxiety and have focused a lot on confidence building!
Mona [above on the bed] has moved around a lot for Alisha’s husband’s journey studying orthopedic surgery.
Does Mona ever participate in campaigns you’re working on?
Yes! She knows that cameras equal treats! She’s been part of campaigns for Purple Mattress and GNC, among others.
You’re also a new mom to a baby girl. How has motherhood changed you?
It’s just given me a whole new outlook on how I prioritize my time and where I’m spending my energy. If there’s a work project I want to take on, it now requires an entire village around me to make it happen.
How is Mona adjusting to life with the baby?
She’s slowly getting used to not being the center of attention, but we can tell she loves baby C and we try to include her as much as we can. She will lay on the bed next to us during feeding and diaper changes, and always enjoys a family walk.
Your husband is an orthopedic surgery sports medicine fellow and you’ve moved around a lot for his medical training. How has moving impacted Mona?
In each new place we go, we try to get Mona out and about and familiar with the new neighborhood and surroundings. This time has been the easiest transition so far because we moved close to my parent's house, and she’s very comfortable there. She’s best buds with their dog, Holly (another rescue doodle mix) and they have an acre fenced in for them to run and play. We take her over there as much as we can and she just loves it so much.
Tell us about your online course.
Slaytheflatlay is the ultimate online resource for learning how to take your own product photos, videos and stop-motion animations. It has four hours of content, plus free downloads like my gear guide and a photoshoot planning guide. You can find out more at lishcreative.com/course.
If someone in our community wants to learn how to do basic stop motion, what are some resources that they should check out to get started?
I have a lot of blogposts and Instagram reels on this topic! You can find them at lishcreative.com/blog
[Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning TOC may get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through our links, at no cost to you.]
Sitting Down With Cookbook Author and Influencer, Serena Wolf
Pinch us: This week we are beyond excited to chat with Serena Wolf. A few months ago, Jess met Serena at her book party in DC, and she lit up when she told her about her dog, Taco. Since then, we’ve been beside ourselves whenever she likes one of our posts. So today’s Community Corner is pretty much a dream come true. We talked about her new book, the impact of puppy Taco on her anxiety, what she does with Taco during her famous dinner parties, and much more!
Tell us about your new cookbook! We’re so excited for you
Thank you so much! This cookbook has been a long time coming and is really a love letter to anyone who is looking to boost their creativity and confidence in the kitchen. Each recipe either incorporates a fundamental technique or has endless substitution options, and there will be plenty of sidebars throughout with the best cooking tips and tricks I’ve collected over the years. My goal is for this book to feel like a friendly culinary resource that helps cooks of all levels create delicious meals with what they have on hand. Ironically, my hope for this book is that it will help people go off book more often.
We heard that you’re looking for recipe testers for the new book. What’s involved and how can our community participate?
Unfortunately, I’m no longer accepting testers! I did an open call for recipe testers earlier this summer, and I was truly overwhelmed by how many people enthusiastically answered. I was only able to take the first 100 volunteers, and they are now cooking this book’s recipes in their own kitchens and sharing feedback on their experience (including timing, taste, likeability, and more). I have 3 people test each recipe, and the feedback is truly invaluable. It really helps me make sure that the recipes are as clear, delicious, and user-friendly as possible, and I’m so grateful that people are willing to help a crazed cookbook author out.
Tell us about your dog, Taco.
Oh my god, how much time do we have? Taco is a 2½ year old Whoodle (Wheaten Terrier and Poodle), and I truly don’t think I could love this floofy nugget more. Fun fact, I wasn’t a dog person growing up. I truly can’t explain it, but I simply woke up one day 5ish years ago and was suddenly…obsessed with dogs? I knew I would love my own dog, but I don’t think I was remotely prepared for how Taco would crack my heart wide open and bring such an outrageous amount of joy into my life. He is truly the sweetest, most gentle, absurdly cuddly dog, and he loves other dogs and people so much. He lives for a beach walk, all things chicken, a good zoomie sesh, and being smooshed between my husband and me in bed or on the couch. He also loves to bark and chew any and all makeup brushes and skincare items. (He is easily forgiven due to the aforementioned floofy nugget-ness.)
What do you cook for Taco and how is he involved in your content?
I’m embarrassed to admit that I don’t cook all that much for Taco! But I do love to make him little frozen treats with Greek yogurt, peanut butter, and applesauce, and he’s the lucky recipient of some good steak and chicken on a pretty regular basis. Taco is almost always in the background of any content that I create, but given that I have a lot of fellow dog obsessives in my community, I love to share some of his day-to-day adventures and cuddliness.
You’ve been open about your journey with anxiety and panic attacks. How has Taco impacted your anxiety?
To be completely honest, baby Taco sent my anxiety through the roof. I was constantly terrified that he was going to eat something toxic or injure himself (dear God, the number of times he clocked his head on various things doing zoomies), and I feel like I spent 6 months screaming, “WHAT’S IN YOUR MOUTH?!” But as he got a little bit older and better trained (“drop” remains a challenge…), I was able to relax. He’s now an incredibly calming presence in my life and, given his affinity for cuddling, regularly acts as a heated anxiety blanket. I also walk so much more thanks to Taco, and that has had such a positive impact on my general anxiety levels.
You host a lot of dinner parties. Does Taco get to attend? Why or why not?
Taco gets to attend *sometimes,* depending on the crowd. If it's a smaller party with people he's familiar with, he'll usually hang and get plenty of extra pets from his extended family and friends. But Taco gets very excited around new people, and he often has a little bit of trouble containing said excitement, which can result in a slightly more chaotic party than necessary. If he's having a hard time calming down (and/or restraining himself around the cheese board), he tends to be "given the opportunity" to hang out in the bedroom until dessert.
We read that you’ve had pizza almost every Sunday for three decades. How did you start this tradition and do you have an all time favorite slice?
I’m not sure if it was my mom or dad who instituted this tradition, but growing up my family always went to or got takeout from California Pizza Kitchen on Sundays. I’d always get the same pizza–pepperoni and mushroom with no sauce because I weirdly hated tomato sauce until my teens–and I have such happy memories of those Sunday Nights. (I’m giggling to myself thinking about how stressed my dad would get about making it home for 60 Minutes.) I think I’ve always just really loved traditions, so I committed to Sunday pizza whenever possible in my adulthood. My husband and I try to make it to Rubirosa in SoHo most Sundays for my all time favorite pizza, which is half Tie-Dye (vodka sauce with mozzarella and pesto) and half Supreme (marinara with mozzarella, pepperoni, meatballs, roasted garlic, and basil). It’s heavenly.
Tell us about your cooking classes.
I started teaching virtual classes during the early days of the pandemic. I figured I’d teach a couple to keep people entertained during lockdown, but 4½ years later Serena’s Cooking Club is still going strong! I teach a new 90-minute class on Zoom every week, and participants make a cocktail/mocktail and cook a full meal with me from start to finish. Everyone is sent the recipes and shopping list in advance so that they can gather ingredients, but zero prep needs to be done in advance. They’re accessible to cooks of all levels, people can ask as many questions as they like, and it’s just a really good time. People join from all over the country, some cook with friends and family, and the group energy is fantastic!
What book are you reading right now?
The Wedding People by Alison Espach. It wasn’t my favorite from the jump, but now I can’t put it down.
We know that you’re obsessed with skin care. What is your daily routine?
I’m a religious NuFace user, which is a little at-home microcurrent device that helps to tone the facial muscles! In the morning, I rinse my face with water and then use my NuFace to depuff and generally lift my morning face. After using the NuFace, I rinse off the conductive gel and wash my face. I apply some sort of calming/hydrating serum, followed by a vitamin C product (usually 3x a week), moisturizer, and a boatload of sunscreen. At night, I do a double cleanse, then some sort of hydrating OR exfoliating serum and a heavier moisturizer. When I’m feeling super ambitious, I’ll work my LED mask in the morning or evening!
Pay it forward: Can you recommend any cooking creators our community should follow right now.
I’m always inspired by @alexandracooks, @samanthaseneviratne, @thedefineddish, @phoebelapine, and @dianemorrisey!
Bonus: Do you have a recipe you could share with our community?!
This salad is one of my all-time favorites and will be on repeat in my kitchen through the fall and winter!
Serena tells TOC, "This salad is one of my all-time favorites and will be on repeat in my kitchen through the fall and winter!"
Kale, Brussels Sprout, and Apple Salad (Serves 8 as a side)
Ingredients:
1/3 cup pepitas
1 large bunch curly kale (Lacinato kale is also great), center ribs removed and very finely chopped (about 6 cups finely chopped kale)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Salt
4 cups shaved Brussels sprouts (about ¾ pound whole sprouts)
1 large apple, cut into matchsticks
1/3 cup golden raisins
For the dressing:
1 medium shallot, minced
1 large garlic clove, grated or finely minced
¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 1 large lemon)
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1½ tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
Salt to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions:
1. Heat a medium skillet over medium heat. (Do not add any fat to the pan!) When hot, add the pepitas and toast, shaking the pan occasionally, for about 3 minutes or until lightly browned and fragrant. Transfer to a plate or bowl to cool.
2. Add the kale to a large mixing bowl. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and season with a good pinch of salt. Massage the kale in handfuls—literally rub the leaves between your fingers—for a minute or two, until the leaves soften and darken in color. (Yes, I know giving your salad a rubdown is a little weird, but it’s worth it. DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP.)
3. In a medium bowl, whisk all of the ingredients for the dressing. Add the apple to the dressing and toss to coat. (The lemon juice in the dressing will help prevent the apples from browning in the salad.)
4. Add the apple, dressing, Brussels sprouts, raisins, and cooled pepitas to the bowl with the kale and toss to combine. Taste and season with a little extra salt, pepper, or lemon if needed. Serve at room temperature.
NOTES:
*You can absolutely use store-bought shaved/shredded Brussels sprouts to save time. You can also use a shredding attachment on a food processor to shave the sprouts if you’d like.
*If you don’t like raisins, dried cranberries, currants, or chopped pitted dates are also delicious!
*Sliced or slivered Almonds, or chopped walnuts or pecans are fantastic in place of pepitas. If you’re feeling extra fancy, candied walnuts or pecans are delightful.
*Don’t hesitate to add some cheese to this salad! I’m particularly fond of Pecorino Romano, Parmesan, ricotta salata, or goat cheese. (If using goat cheese, sprinkle it on top so that it doesn’t create a creamy film on the salad.)
*Want to bulk things up with a grain? 1-2 cups of cooked farro, quinoa, or barley is a great addition to this mix.
*If preparing this salad ahead, remove it from the fridge 20 minutes before serving to allow it to cool to room temperature. Leftovers can be freshened with a squeeze of lemon and/or an extra drizzle of olive oil if needed.
[Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning TOC may get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through our links, at no cost to you.]
Sitting Down With Entrepreneur and Mom, Alisha Ramos
Today we are so excited to chat with Alisha Ramos, the co-founder of Girls’ Night In and now her new newsletter, Downtime. In our chat, Alisha told us all about life with her dog Bowie and her baby, Lily, what it’s been like building her new newsletter, the best books she’s read this year, and more.
First of all we’ve been following you for a long time and were big fans of your brand, Girls’ Night In. Tell us about your newsletter, Downtime.
Thank you so much. Downtime is my new iteration of Girls’ Night In. I started the former when I was 26 years old and I am now in my thirties; the name no longer embodied what the newsletter had grown to become – it is a little less about literally “staying in” and more about the cozy feeling you get from the small joys in life, whether that’s a really good book or a wonderful piece of life advice you got from a friend. I felt it was time for a change and an evolution - Downtime is that.
Alisha calls her dog, Bowie, “her first baby.” Now she says that he and Lily (above) “are just the cutest together.”
What’s it like launching a new newsletter after the success of Girls’ Night In? We’d imagine it must be daunting.
The most difficult part of this all has been going from working with an incredibly talented team to now running the newsletter solo (aside from my part-time collaborators who help me with partnerships, editing, and design). I am trying to be realistic about my expectations for myself as anyone who has run their own business knows, it’s not easy. Especially as a new mom, I’ve learned to take things day by day and not try to overdo it.
You also have a beautiful one-year old daughter, Lily. What’s motherhood been like so far?
Motherhood has been surprising, beautiful, and challenging all at once. It sounds cheesy to say, but I didn’t know I had the capacity to love someone so much.
Motherhood has also taught me what having *hard* boundaries around work looks like. I consult with consumer brands on the side, and I had a “come to Jesus” moment recently where I was like, “Wait, I don’t have twenty hours a week to devote to this client. It actually looks more like five.” It’s a hard conversation to have with yourself and with others, but I think you’ll be happier once you accept your new reality.
All of this is to say that motherhood has been a revolutionary shake-up of my life. I used to define myself solely by my job, my career, my title. Now it’s something much more expansive. Of course, I don’t believe everyone needs to become a parent to experience this type of expansion. But it’s been a welcome “forcing factor” for me to wake up and build harder boundaries between work and life.
On a lighter note, currently motherhood looks like searching our community for the coolest parks and indoor activities so we can get all of her energy out on the weekends! It’s been a fun way to explore our area with fresh eyes and meet new people. Building supportive community is so important at this stage and something that I am constantly working on.
You’ve been very open about your journey with IVF and preeclampsia on Instagram. How have those experiences and now motherhood changed you?
Before I experienced infertility and IVF I just didn’t think twice about what the journey to having kids might look like. I just assumed, “Okay we want kids now, let’s do it, boom, it’s going to happen.” Of course it did not unfold that way and it took us a little longer than we expected to have a baby.
I’m now much more empathetic to every parent who has had their own unique journey to having their child. I am much more aware of the pain, sacrifices, and time it takes some to conceive whether that is on your own or through a surrogate.
As for my experience with preeclampsia - it was scary. I am more focused now on raising awareness about it on social media and within my own IRL circles. I’m grateful to the person who shared a story about preeclampsia on their Instagram Story a few years ago; this is how I learned about it and how I felt confident in advocating for myself and my body while at the hospital. It saved my life. You never know whose life you will impact by sharing important information and personal stories like this.
How is your dog, Bowie, adjusting to life with a toddler?
Bowie was a little unsure at first of what was going on – he kept his distance, understandably! But now, Lily and Bowie are just the cutest together. They love each other. Lily gets very excited when Bowie runs into the room she is in. She’s even learned how to “throw” his toys for him to play fetch with. Bowie loves to give her all the kisses. And he loves hanging out under her high-chair. :) We’re so happy that they get along. Bowie was our first baby, after all.
These days Bowie loves hanging out under Lily’s high chair.
We love your passion for fiction. Have you ever considered writing your own novel?
I would love to write my own novel one day! I’ve brainstormed a few ideas but I haven’t landed on an idea I love just yet. I love historical fiction (like Maggie O’Farrell’s books), fantasy (I love A Court of Thorns and Roses), and I’ve recently gotten into mysteries (I loved The Sicilian Inheritance). A combination of these would be my dream novel to write. I have so much admiration and respect for authors. Finding the motivation to write is one of the hardest things!
What are the top five books you’ve read this year?
If someone in our community wants to build their own small business, how can they get started?
I am a big fan of talking about it with others as a way to test out your idea. Gather as much feedback as possible. Take baby steps and create small experiments to “validate” your ideas before pouring a ton of time, energy, and money into it.
Once you have conviction in your idea, and hopefully some initial paying customers, one practical step you can take is legal: create an LLC or a C-corp. (There are other types, too, like an S-Corp.) Investing in a lawyer who can help you navigate these - setting up your business, setting up basic contracts, and so on - will pay dividends in the long run.
One thing I regret not doing in starting my first business was not having a business partner alongside me. It is *so* much work to build your own business – it’s worth identifying your strengths and weaknesses, and finding a partner who can truly complement you and be along for the ride for many, many years to come.
[Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning TOC may get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through our links, at no cost to you.]
Sitting Down With Emily Conley, Co-Founder of Grit N Glory and New York City Pet Parent
Today we are thrilled to chat with Emily Conley, a longtime member of our TOC Family, the co-founder of the badass clothing boutique and tattoo studio in New York City, “Grit N Glory,” and her dog, Boss’s, human. In our chat, Emily told us all about life with a dog in Manhattan, what it’s like working with her business partner, the tattoo artist and star, Megan Massacre, and how you should prep if you want to get a tattoo.
Tell us about your dog, Boss.
Boss is 4 years old. My husband and I adopted him a little over 3 years ago from Arkansas. He is a smart, sweet, sensitive, and engaged dog. He loves to learn new things and train together, he really lights up. He has taught me so much over our few years together.
Boss, above, is allowed to come to Grit N Glory, which is located near Washington Square Park in New York City.
What’s it like having a dog in NYC?
Having a dog in NYC has lots of big challenges and so many benefits. As a sensitive guy, Boss can get overwhelmed and a bit shut down in the city. He's come so far in working through his urban anxiety but we still let him guide us as far as what he's comfortable with. We're lucky to be surrounded by a lot of parks, both large and small, and dog friendly businesses that create big rewarding checkpoints for Boss.
Tell us about your store, Grit N Glory?
Grit N Glory is a rock-n-roll-inspired online clothing boutique and tattoo studio in Greenwich Village, New York City. We've been open for 13 years. We feature tattoo artists from all around the world, of all different styles, that are the best at what they do. One of the biggest draws to our shop is pet portrait tattoos. Clients travel from all over the world to seek out our artists to tattoo their cats, dogs, gerbils, snakes, you name it!
What is it like working with tattoo artist and tv star, Megan Massacre?
My favorite tattoo is a portrait of my previous dog, Candy, done by Megan Massacre my business partner and one of the co-founders of Grit N Glory. Working with Megan is great, not just for my own pet portrait tattoos, but getting to hear so many people's stories about the impact a pet has had on their lives.
Does Boss ever come to the store?
Boss does come to work and is a great shop dog! We're located near Washington Square Park so he gets lots of work breaks to go sniff and roll in the grass. He may greet clients but mostly loves to hang out in the office away from the tattoo areas.
Emily shared this photo of the tattoo of Candy done by Megan Massacre.
You are so cool. How did you find out about our community?
I've been following the TOC community for a while, Boss and I had a blast partaking in the camp series both last summer and this summer. He loved practicing recall and retrieving!
If someone in our community wants to get a tattoo, how do you suggest they get started with the process?
If someone were interested in getting a tattoo I would recommend starting by getting a good idea of what they want, including style, size, and placement. From there, taking the time to look into which artist they may like to work with.
Sitting Down With Mom, Teacher, and Design Influencer, Nicole Yosick
This week we are so excited to chat with Nicole Yosick, a longtime friend and member of our community who is a mom, ESL teacher, and has a passion for design and baking. (PS: Her dog, Lionel, met and played with Otis when he was just a puppy.) In our chat, Nicole told us all about launching her new micro bakery, why she’s homeschooling her daughters this year, how you can make your home cozy for the fall, and SO much more.
You recently had a second baby, Joelene. Congratulations! How are you feeling?
I am thankful to be feeling really good. The recovery from a C-section was honestly quicker than I had anticipated. I like to fully rest and take the days slow and easy postpartum, although I quickly found this time looked very different with a toddler! I was happy to be out on small outings since Joelene was born in the spring and pretty quickly got back into our routine so that we felt a sense of normalcy during a big life change. Having a second child really has filled my heart in a way I couldn’t imagine or understand. I find so much beauty in seeing my oldest love on her younger sister and it just melts me when Joelene smiles directly at Ophelia. It’s been hard for me to balance two kids and there are times when I notice how much independence Ophelia immediately gained. It makes me so proud, but breaks my heart at the same time. I am certainly still learning how to balance everything, but it’s been a wonderful journey.
Ophelia (3) baths her sister, Joelene (5 months) in their farmhouse kitchen sink.
How is your older daughter, Ophelia, doing with life as a big sister?.
Ophelia is honestly just as sweet as a big sister as we’d expected! She has loved playing with dolls for so long and sees Joelene as her real life baby doll! We intentionally offer ways for Ophelia to help with Joelene and she thrives on those opportunities. The initial adjustment was tough for her, specifically in not receiving my attention in all the same ways anymore. However, over time she’s learned ways to help out and is also starting to include Joelene in on her own activities. She tells everyone about her baby sister and loves her endlessly!
What’s it been like for your dog, Lionel, adjusting to life with a newborn and a toddler?
Lionel and Ophelia have started to become the best playmates. They’re frequently chasing each other around or play fighting over a toy. We felt like Lionel ignored Ophelia for the most part as a baby, and he’s been the same way with Joelene. He comes up and gives her the occasional face lick and he’s always very gentle with her, but he doesn’t acknowledge her too much. He absolutely loves it when Ophelia gets silly and playful with him.
How does your cat do with the babies and Lionel? We imagine life is not chaotic at all lol.
Our cat, Prada, has very sadly disappeared. I had her for 14 years, and we think she was 15 or 16 years old. Prada thrived as an outdoor cat here in the country. She had actually never been friendly towards any people except me, but once she was outdoors she grew friendly towards strangers. It seemed she was finally happy, as she always tried to (and once did!) escape my home in DC. Ophelia called Prada her best friend and loved to hold her every day. We have so many happy memories with Prada and do hope she makes her way back home to us, but also understand her time may have come and we are grieving the loss of our sweet cat.
Lionel (above), is five now and loves relaxing on the balcony at home.
You are a teacher but you recently decided to homeschool your girls at home. How did you come to that decision?
For 14 years, I taught elementary school as a classroom teacher, a reading interventionist, and an ESL teacher. I had tough years, but I loved it overall. However, after we’d moved out of DC, my commute was unbearable. I knew I couldn’t do it forever, but I loved my job so much that I didn’t know how to leave it. Once I finally made the decision not to return last school year, we decided I should take some time just to be home with Ophelia and take what would’ve been my maternity leave. In that time, I loved being home with her so much that it became hard to envision going back to any full time job. Since all of my experience is in teaching, I have loved teaching Ophelia unofficially. We stay super busy with play dates and outings, and I know how much she loves our current situation. I do believe wholeheartedly that I am her best teacher, so it just felt like the natural next step. She isn’t legally required to do any schooling yet at 3, but she is so eager to learn that I just had to start! I purchased a subscription to Child of the Redwoods, a Montessori curriculum, and we have both enjoyed it. The number one reason I want to homeschool her is so that she can spend the majority of her days outdoors in nature and getting experiential, hands on learning. There are programs out there that I would be interested in enrolling her in, but they are expensive. I am already here with her and feel capable, so we’ve chosen to do it ourselves for now!
In this photo that Nicole (above) shared with TOC, she celebrated Mother's Day with Ophelia and Joel in 2023.
How has motherhood changed you?
When Ophelia was a newborn, I have this distinct memory of pushing her down our driveway amidst the autumn leaves and thinking to myself, “My life has just begun.” This may change over time, but currently l feel a strong change in my identity before and after becoming a mother. Many things that used to matter to me don’t anymore and have been replaced with things I never knew I’d care so much about. We moved from the city to the country when we found out we were expecting, so some changes in myself happened naturally with that relocation. However, I’ve felt a huge shift in my focus in life, no longer to build a career but to build character in my children. I have felt my priorities shift, my friendships change, and have gotten closer than ever with family. It would feel nearly impossible for me to name one way motherhood hasn’t changed me.
This past year you tragically lost your brother, Joel. Our hearts ache for your family. How are you coping with grief?
Thank you so much. I am still in shock, honestly. I’ve wondered for a long time when that will wear off, but I’ve accepted that I may feel this disbelief for the first year or two. Some days, I cope by journaling and reflecting. Other days, I cope by baking and walking in nature. I view every waking moment as coping because it just hasn’t gotten any easier and I’m still in survival mode. The saying that grief comes in waves couldn’t be more accurate, so I try to let those waves wash over me and succumb to it. Trying to swim against them and fight them is a battle I’ll never win, but the feeling of drowning in grief is real. In those times where I’m drowning, I cope by getting out of the house, by talking and visiting with friends, and by staying in close communication with family. Finding a friend who is on a similar grief journey has helped me a lot, as well as a paid grief partnership I’ve joined. I attended a grief group locally, but it was almost too much for me. I could hardly even speak when I first joined because the emotions overcame me. The work of Megan Devine has comforted me a lot and her words guided me through my toughest days. I’ve learned the ways that our society minimizes grief and expects us to move swiftly through a certain set of stages, when that isn’t reality for a griever at all. Part of my coping is taking comfort in the knowledge that society’s way of handling grief is often unintentionally harmful, so it’s not uncommon to feel alone. However, to know many grievers are indeed on this journey with me, it can feel less isolating. Then I can allow grief in because it isn’t going anywhere.
How have you explained sadness to Ophelia?
I’m very thankful Ophelia has been very understanding and hasn’t needed me to explain a lot to her. When she sees me cry, she knows why I’m sad, to the extent she can understand. She frequently tells me, “Your brother Joel died and now you’re sad. We won’t ever see him again”. She is just processing it in the way she knows how, by talking about it. When I do explain it to her, I just tell her that I’m sad because I won’t see him again here on earth. However, I teach her to look for him in the butterflies and the cardinals and everywhere in nature.
This cabin on Nicole’s property was established in 1915 and will be used for her sourdough porch pickups for her micro bakery business.
You also have a passion for home design. Do you have any tips for making your house feel cozy this fall?
Of course! Fall is when the weather just starts to get cooler, so everyone wants to feel cozy! Pumpkins and mums lining stairs on the porch give that immediate Hallmark movie feel. I like to place sweet scented candles and soaps throughout the house, a basket of extra blankets near the couch, and logs by the fireplace. Fall themed mugs on the coffee bar are inviting as well. I keep one large photo above the mantel and swap it out for a cozy fall photo of our family or home from the prior year. I highly suggest displaying baked goods in a beautiful glass cake dish- you’d be surprised how much beautiful baked goods can make the kitchen feel cozy!
Tell us about your micro bakery. That is so exciting!
I had started baking sourdough bread around the time of Joel’s death, and it really was like a form of therapy. It became this hobby that I couldn’t get enough of. I found that everyone in my own family was enjoying my bread and baked goods so much that I was inspired to make more and more. Eventually, I kept scaling up until we couldn’t keep up eating it all, so I was giving it to friends just to practice more. Fast forward only 6 months later, I decided I wanted to start selling it! I spent one month planning, researching, investing in tools, and marketing. In the end of August, I launched my first porch pickup day and had 14 orders placed! I am preparing for my first vendor market this week as well.
Our property has a historical cabin on it, which is over 100 years old. I knew the cabin porch would be the perfect place for sourdough pickups, so I thrifted some cottage bakery style decor, added some shelving, and began advertising the pickups. Our home is very unique in its character and charm, and I love to share it with others. I also love to share my baking with others, so it’s the perfect combination which allows me to do both! The biggest thing the micro bakery will do, however, is allow me to stay at home with my girls long term.
Nicole is launching a micro bakery called Chesapeake Sourdough.
If someone in our community wants to start baking, can you share some favorite resources to get started?
Instagram provides me with so much inspiration! I would never have even known porch pickups were a thing otherwise. Just search for any sourdough or baking accounts, and so much learning can be done there. Otherwise, join Facebook groups because they provide such strong community when you’re learning something new. Social media has been my number one learning tool. I recommend the book The Perfect Loaf by Maurizio Leo as well.
[Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning TOC may get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through our links, at no cost to you.]
Sitting Down With Michelin Star Chef, Andy Clark
This week we are honored to sit down with Andy Clark, a Michelin Star chef and chef instructor for the Metropolitan Culinary Arts Institute. In our chat, Andy told us all about cooking for famous politicians and athletes, life with his dog, Gibson, who has a huge appetite, and why he loves teaching people to be professional chefs these days.
We heard that you are now an instructor at the Metropolitan Culinary Arts Institute. Can you tell us more about that?
Andy (above with his dog Gibson) tells TOC, “Gibson is a big love bug. He loves people and belly rubs. I think he loves attention from random strangers more than he loves food, which he loves a lot.”
Yes, I've kind of transitioned from working in kitchens to now teaching mainly at Metropolitan Culinary Arts Institute, which is the professional program that they run. And then there's Cookology, which is the more casual date nights and camps for kids and stuff like that. So it's a great little setup for the professional program. The ages span a large range, anywhere from 18 to I think we had somebody that was 63 a couple classes ago. So it really ranges from anybody, from people just looking to have a good time and learn how to actually cook professionally to people that want to go and do this for a living. And that's really what we focus on, is people who want to do this for a living. So that's a really cool part of what we do there. It's a great course. I love teaching the Cookology classes, the team building events, and we do mystery baskets. So I do a little bit of both, which I thoroughly enjoy.
What’s the best part of teaching other chefs?
Really what I loved doing as an executive chef is teaching my line cooks, my sous chefs, how to cook [and] how I want things. And it was so rewarding watching them grow and learn and even teaching me things and me growing and learning. I learned from everybody, from the dishwasher to a server, to front house manager to the sous chefs, the cooks, whatever. But being focused on just cooking or just working with people who really want to do this for a living is pretty spectacular. You can see their eyes light up when they finally figure something out. So that's probably the best part about teaching other cooks and other chefs is them being there for the sole purpose of learning and being dedicated to it.
As a Michelin star chef in the DC area, we imagine that you’ve cooked for some very interesting people. Can you tell us about any famous guests you’ve cooked for?
I've been very lucky. I started out at the Four Seasons when I first moved to DC and that was Obama's inauguration - the first one. So everybody stayed at the Four Seasons. I cooked for Tom Hanks, Larry David, Oprah, Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, and numerous basketball players. So that was a really great place to kind of get my feet wet and really understand the luxury side of things. And Tom Hanks basically told me to cook him a pasta, whatever I wanted. So I was 19 years old and I was cooking Tom Hanks a pasta dish … I cooked for some athletes, Yao Ming, and like I said, a lot of basketball players, a lot of football players. I've cooked for Michelle and Barack Obama. I've cooked for their daughters. I've cooked for the current chief of staff for Joe Biden, and some senators and congressmen. I've really done it all in the gamut of DC and I feel really privileged that I've been able to actually do that and experience all those people and meeting them and taking pictures with some of them. So it's been very awesome.
Do you have any kitchen horror stories?
I’m not going to go into detail, but I've worked for some really rough chefs and I worked for them because they were the best and I learned a ton from them. But at the same time, it was basically a mild form of torture to severe form of torture. I've had to cut eight quarts of some really hot peppers because I did something wrong the day before. So after my 13 hour shift, I had to stay an extra two hours to cut these really hot peppers. My eyes were burning, my face was burning, the gloves were not working. I've had plates thrown at me, pans thrown at me. I've been told that I wasn't worth anything and I should never cook again and all these things. And I really just kind of took it and let it kind of roll off my back because I knew they never meant any of these things they said, but it kind of made me the chef I am today. And I for one, would never treat anyone like that just because I've been treated like that. So I always try to do the you catch more flies with honey, then vinegar kind of thing. Having the respect of everybody and not just fear is a much more effective way to run a kitchen these days versus 20 years ago.
Taking care of Gibson and working restaurant hours has definitely been a balancing act for Andy and his partner, Christina. He tells TOC, “When Gibson was a puppy, we set up his schedule so that I took care of his morning routine and Christina handled the evening routine. This means that Gibson sleeps in until about 9am every day, which means that we all get to enjoy sleeping in a little bit on the weekends..”
Tell us about your dog, Gibson.
Gibson is a big love bug. He loves people and belly rubs. I think he loves attention from random strangers more than he loves food, which he loves a lot.
When Gibson was a puppy, we introduced him to communication buttons. He currently has 25 buttons. A button story: We taught Gibson the phrase "all done" when he was a puppy at the suggestion of a dog trainer. Her recommendation was that when we finish training, we say "all done" and then put away the treats. We continued to apply this concept to other things. When we introduced the "all done" button to the board, Gibson started using it to tell the Humans that he had enough of whatever we were doing. It is not uncommon for Gibson to tell [Andy’s partner] Christina "all done" at 4 pm on Friday to communicate that he thinks she should be done working from home because he wants belly rubs or a big walk.
Last year, we enrolled Gibson in agility training classes and have continued to take classes with him. Christina thought it would be a fun thing to try out since we often joke that Gibson is a dog version of a billy goat. Being a billy goat seems to also mean that he is pretty good at agility too. He loves the dog walk, the teeter, and the jumps. We are working at getting better with the weaves.
Do you ever cook special things for Gibson? What does he like to eat?
Gibson LOVES food. There is no such thing as a bad snack, unless you count zucchini. He hates zucchini. He actually pretends to like it, he will take it from you and then walk over to his dog bed, chew on it for a minute, and then spit it out before finally coming back over to find or ask for a better treat.
Gibson's love for food means that special snacks are things like fresh fruit and vegetables. His favorite vegetable is romaine lettuce. Every once in a while we will make him scrambled eggs. If we are feeling really adventurous, Gibson will get "special ice cubes," which is essentially a dog friendly smoothie made with whatever we have in the kitchen and frozen into an ice cube tray. Some examples of things that we have added to the "special ice cubes" are peanut butter, water, yogurt, watermelon, blueberries, carrots, apples, chicken broth, strawberries.
How did you balance having a dog and having to work at a restaurant at night?
Teamwork. One benefit of working restaurant hours is that my day started much later than Christina's work day. This means that we can usually do without a dog walker during the day because I would leave for work around 11am and Christina would get home around 6pm. When Christina has to work late or my schedule changes for a special event, we tend to rely on a dog walker for help.
When Gibson was a puppy, we set up his schedule so that I took care of his morning routine and Christina handled the evening routine. This means that Gibson sleeps in until about 9am every day, which means that we all get to enjoy sleeping in a little bit on the weekends.
If someone in our community wants to learn to be a better cook do you have any resources you can recommend?
And then if somebody wants to learn about cooking, feel free to contact me here. I do private lessons. Read, read, read, read, read as much as you can. I collect cookbooks, just read them. And then just really practice. Cook at home, watch YouTube, watch Jacques Pepin and … Julia Child. They really taught you how to cook and give you [a] good solid foundation. If not, come see us at Cookology and we'll guarantee you that you will learn how to cook at least one meal and you can kind of just build from there. But really just practice, [and] cook at home. Don't be afraid to mess up and really just try to explore cooking methods and cooking styles. A lot of people don't cook because they're afraid. And when I was a kid, luckily I started cooking when I was a very young age. I've made some inedible meals when I was 13 or 14, but I learned and you get better every day. And that's really the main focus on how to get better with cooking- you have to actually do it. It's one of the muscle memories. And I'd say when all the young chefs, I say young as in new to the industry, come through Cookology and Metropolitan Culinary Arts Institute, I always say you need to train your tongue. Your tongue is a muscle. So I'm teaching you how to taste. Does it need salt? Does it need acid? Does it need fat? And all these things. And as you work and work and work, you'll get better at it.
[Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning TOC may get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through our links, at no cost to you.]
Sitting Down With Artist, Instagram Star, and New Author, Riley Sheehey
This week we are honored to sit down with Riley Sheehey, a watercolor and multimedia artist based in Falls Church, Virginia. Riley just announced that her first book, “Modern Motherhood” will be published on March 25, 2025, and is available for preorder now. In our chat Riley told us all about her transition from being an elementary school art teacher to being a full time professional artist, life at home with her dog, Stevie and her daughter, Bryn, and of course the process of writing her new book.
Tell us about your new book. We’re so excited for you!
According to her publisher, Riley’s book is “Originally inspired by Delft tiles, the 400+-year-old blue and white pottery from the Netherlands.”
Thank you so much! I am really excited about it, too! Modern Motherhood is a series of 100 blue and white watercolor illustrations, inspired by antique Delft tiles, depicting scenes of caretaking. I started the series in early 2023, and realized quickly that the idea resonated with people, so it’s been a great experience to be able to continue it through working on the book! It will be published by Abrams March 25, 2025, but just went up for preorder.
How has motherhood changed your life?
In every way! With work, I feel more creative, but have less time to work, and so it has helped me set better boundaries so that I can protect the time I have at work and to spend with my daughter.
What was the writing journey like for you?
The book doesn’t have too much writing aside from an intro and short captions, but those were the hardest parts for me, because I’m used to painting a lot, but not writing as much. My editor and literary agent were so helpful with providing guidance for this part.
Before you were an artist full time, you were an elementary school art teacher. How did you transition careers?
Very slowly! It’s a boring answer, but once I felt that I had more work than I had time to complete, I spoke with my principal, who kindly helped me scale back my teaching schedule so that I had a sort of “trial” period for about six months to see what one full day each week as a professional artist would look like. Once I was able to save up some money and make it work financially, I finished out the school year, and transitioned to full-time art.
You’ve done some exciting collaborations with some big clothing and retail brands. Do you have a favorite collab so far?
Thank you so much! Honestly, I feel so lucky to have been able to work on each one, so I genuinely don’t have a favorite, but I would say that for me, the most fulfilling partnerships have been ones where the expectations have been really clear from the get-go, so I’ve been able to ensure that I can provide what the other brand is looking for!
Tell us your card painting project. How did that come about?
I think I painted my first couple in 2021, when I was going through a tough pregnancy with my daughter and in a creative rut- I couldn’t come up with ideas for something new to watercolor, so I looked around the room for a new surface to paint on, and landed on some playing cards. In the years since, I’ve painted a card or two (they are a really great painting surface because of the texture!) each year, but this is the first year I’ve painted one per week. I painted one right before the new year- my daughter was on winter break and I had limited time to make something during her nap!- and I will always be very grateful to the stranger on IG who messaged me that 52 weeks = 52 cards, and so it would be fun to paint one per week.
Riley, above with her dog, Stevie, tells TOC, “We got Stevie when she was 8 weeks old, in early 2018, so in so many ways, I feel like we have grown up together (she has been through a new home, a wedding, a baby, etc. with us). She makes me laugh every day- she has a lot of cat-like mannerisms, which we always get a kick out of.” (Photo Credit: @abbygracephotography)
Tell us about your dog, Stevie.
We got Stevie when she was 8 weeks old, in early 2018, so in so many ways, I feel like we have grown up together (she has been through a new home, a wedding, a baby, etc. with us). She makes me laugh every day- she has a lot of cat-like mannerisms, which we always get a kick out of. She absolutely ADORES my husband- even though I was the one who made the initial decision to get a dog, she is definitely Dylan’s dog- when he is home, she is within a few feet of him.
Did life with Stevie shift after having your daughter? What felt challenging? What felt beautiful?
Honestly, we’ve been really lucky, in that the shift was pretty seamless- at the beginning stages especially, we made sure that we took time (well, usually Dylan, haha) to take Stevie on walks or play ball with her so that she never felt left out. Because Stevie is so small (she is about 7lb last we checked) we do have to monitor to make sure Bryn is gentle with her- Bryn just sometimes gets so excited that she forgets! Bryn really loves Stevie, and Stevie loves and wants to protect Bryn (but sometimes she acts like she only tolerates her, ha!).
If someone in our community wants to get started with painting do you have recs for how they can learn?!
I feel like there are so many great online resources for this- I have a few materials lists/tutorials in the Journal section of my website, but I also love good old-fashioned hard-copy books. I would just say not to worry about having the right materials at the start- just get started!
[Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning TOC may get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through our links, at no cost to you.]
Behind the Scenes of Writing a New Dog Training Book
This week we are honored to sit down with Juliana DeWillems, the owner of JW Dog Training & Behavior Consulting, star of our e-course, Attention Unlocked, and the author of the new book, “Manage It! Hacks for Improving Your Dog’s Behavior.” Juliana told us all about the process of publishing her first book, why the topic of management is so important in life with dogs and how it could help your dog, and how you can get started writing your own book if that’s your dream.
Congrats on your new book! How did you decide you wanted to write this book about management?
Juliana’s new book is currently the number one new release in the “Dog Training” category on Amazon.
Thank you! Over the past decade of working with training clients 1-on-1 it became clear to me that management is one of the most valuable tools for providing guardians with immediate relief from many challenging behavior issues. Despite the effectiveness of management, it’s not mainstream or, in my opinion, talked about enough! So I wrote this book to get information about management to the masses.
A lot of people (though likely not our wonderful readers) still think of management as “cheating” or “not a real solution.” Tell us a bit about how you think about management and the role it can play in our lives with our animals.
Society has dumped a lot of baggage on dog guardians about how dogs should and shouldn’t behave, and what a “well trained” dog looks like. The problem is, these standards rarely match up with the wonderful, personality-filled, normally-behaving dogs we have in our homes, and a lot of times we feel shame around our dog’s behavior or how much training we think we should do with them. The great news is that management can solve problems and dramatically improve the lives of people and dogs. I don’t see any downside to that! I dive deeper into this in the book, but my favorite saying is: management is good enough if it’s good enough for you.
We know that you have a dog and cats at home now. How do you use management to help them thrive?
Physical separation using gates and closed doors has helped us the most. Having such an easy way to separate my dog from the cats gives everyone the opportunity to take a break, relax, and recharge for more coexisting time.
Christie had some BTS access to your writing journey, but tell us a bit about what the process was like for writing this book?
Above is a preview of a page in Juliana’s new book.
It was a two year process from pitch to publish. Over those two years it was so crazy watching my idea come to life! It felt great to have the space to really expand on topics I feel passionate about (normally I am stuck to an Instagram-length caption), but I still felt surprised when the words sort of fell out of me as I wrote it. What I learned through the process is that writing the book is only half the work. Editing it and taking the 80+ photos took just as much time, though I’m grateful for all the back-and-forth with my publisher because it turned it into a really strong resource for anyone with a dog.
If someone in our community wants to publish a book, how would you recommend they get started?
Start writing! Most publishers require at least a detailed outline and plan, if not a full manuscript, before offering you a contract. Then research publishers and learn about their submission process.
What is one of your other favorite dog training books and why?
I think Kathy Sdao’s Plenty in Life is Free did a lot for how we look at our relationship with dogs. When it came out in 2012 it offered a really impactful reframe from the old, yet pervasive, idea that dogs need to work for everything we give them (“Nothing In Life is Free” was a popular training protocol at the time, even among positive reinforcement trainers).
When you’re not reading or writing about dog training, what else do you like to read (or watch)?
Anything totally unrelated to dogs, lol. I love all the trendy romance books these days—Colleen Hoover, Emily Henry, Taylor Jenkins Reid, etc. It’s so nice to get lost in a story that takes me out of my work brain!
[Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning TOC may get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through our links, at no cost to you.]
Sitting Down With President Obama’s Former Senior Speechwriter
This week we are honored to chat with David Litt, a former senior speechwriter for President Barack Obama, a New York Times best selling author, and the former head writer/producer for Funny Or Die D.C. David told us all about his dog, Emily, and what it was like to meet President Obama’s dogs when he worked in the White House. He also shared what he thinks is going to happen in the presidential election this fall, and how you can get involved.
You’ve worked in politics for years. What do you think is going to happen in the presidential election?
Daivd’s dog, Emily (above), is “about half husky (the other half is a combo of chow-chow, german shepard, pitbull, and about a dozen other breeds).”
I’ve worked in politics long enough to know that no one knows. (And after the century we lived through in July, that’s truer than ever.) That said, I got my start in politics as a field organizer on Obama’s 08 campaign, and I haven’t seen that kind of energy until Kamala Harris became the Democratic nominee.
Tell us about your dog, Emily.
Our friends Sam and Lauren fostered Emily’s mom while she was pregnant - and literally delivered the puppies like Roger and Anita in 101 Dalmatians. So we first met Emily when we she was about four weeks old - basically a potato with fur. I was explaining to Sam that this was the wrong time to get a puppy, and then I looked over and Emily had crawled into Jacqui’s lap, and now we have a dog. That was about 18 months ago, so Emily still has tons of energy, zero chill, and no sense of personal space - and she’s also the best dog in the history of dogs.
We heard you have two cats. How does Emily do living with them?
We were really worried about how she’d do with our cats, Harry and Maisie. Emily’s about half husky (the other half is a combo of chow-chow, german shepard, pitbull, and about a dozen other breeds), so before we adopted her we called husky breeders all over the country to see how she’d do. They all had cats, and they said that if you get the dog as a puppy everything will be fine.
Which turned out be true. It was touch and go and first, and we didn’t leave them unsupervised, but now Emily knows the cats are part of the family. The main problem is that she wants to be their best friends, and she thinks the way to become someone’s best friend is by sniffing their butt, and the cats don’t agree with that. But when Jacqui and I aren’t home, we’re 99% sure Emily and Harry hang out together. They’re like the toys in Toy Story.
Emily lives at home with two cats, Harry and Maisie.
When you worked in the White House, did you spend any time with President Obama’s dogs?
When I got to the White House, Bo was the only dog in the first family. He was a total celebrity, and sometimes we’d see him being walked through the residence. I think presidential pets are the closest thing America has to royalty, and I think Bo agreed. I always got the sense he knew he was the White House dog. A few years later the Obamas got Sunny, who was also a great dog but way more chaotic - kind of like Prince Harry before he settled down.
Have you ever met any other presidential pets?
I haven’t! Our cats starred in a 2020 “Cats for Biden” video, though, and I was very happy that the Bidens kept their word and brought a cat into the White House. Promises made, promises kept.
David was described as "the comic muse for the president" for his work on the White House Correspondents' Dinner.
What’s one of your favorite memories from working in the White House?
The amazing thing about working in the White House is that you can have a dozen once-in-a-lifetime experiences a week. To pick a favorite at random, I always loved the Medal of Freedom Award ceremonies. Once, I chaperoned an awardee, so I’m standing in this room with, like, Gloria Steinem and Ernie Banks and former Republican Senator Dick Lugar and civil rights icon CT Vivian and Oprah. In the Obama White House those moments weren’t political - they really were celebrations of this country, and of the people who have shaped it.
David (above) started surfing in 2022 following the pandemic.
We’ve seen that you like to surf. Tell us more.
I picked up surfing in 2022 to try to get out of a post-pandemic rut. I got hooked, and set a goal of surfing Hawaii’s North Shore - home to some of the best and most dangerous waves in the world - in 18 months. With the help of my brother-in-law, Matt, I did it, but more than that I learned a ton about harnessing the power of fear and finding courage in a very scary world. And then because I’m an author, I thought, “This should be a book.” So It’s Only Drowning is coming out next June.
If someone in our community wants to get involved in the election, what’s the best way for them to make a difference?
Volunteer! If you live or near a swing state, knocking on doors and talking with voters is the best way to use your time on behalf of your favorite candidate. And if you don’t live in a swing state, making phone calls has gotten way better - and easier - since I started in politics. They usually have you call voters who are likely to already support the candidate, but just need information about when to register, what kinds of ID to bring to the polls, and stuff like that. So you don’t need to understand all the issues in order to make a difference.
Social Impact PR and How You Can Help Make a Difference
This week we had the privilege of sitting down with Silvie Snow-Thomas, President of Elle Communications. Silvie was part of the Elle Communications team that was just acquired last week, and she tells us all about that, life in Los Angeles with her dog, Joni, her partner, Matt, and her toddler, Didion, and how you can get involved to help support the social issues her clients champion.
Last week was huge for you! Congrats on the sale of your PR firm, Elle Communications. What does the sale mean for you and the future of the company?
Silvie (above with Joni on her lap) tells TOC, “Once, on a flight from Los Angeles to New York, [Joni] helped a woman who was having a panic attack during takeoff by sitting in her lap and allowing the woman to pet her while J licked her arm.”
Thank you! I’m incredibly excited for all that lies ahead. Our acquisition by Dolphin Entertainment gives our current team new resources, access points, and opportunities to better serve and deepen the impact we make for each of our clients. Across the parent company and the eight agencies they acquired before us, Dolphin is making and shaping culture every day. The big audacious visions our clients have for the future of our country and the world can be further realized through the integration of our team with these experts and their clients who are defining the current zeitgeist.
Your firm specializes in social and environmental impact for mission-centered brands, nonprofits and foundations, activists and leaders. Can you tell us about one of your favorite clients and how you’ve helped them?
This is a bit like being asked to pick your favorite child (or dog!). I continued to be honored every single day to elevate the work and voices and leadership of our country’s most incredible activists and advocates as they fight for policy change and narrative change and culture change around the issues I care most about: the climate crisis, sustainability, saving democracy, equal pay, equality for women and girls, safe working conditions for all, immigration reform, paid family leave, care for all, criminal justice reform, Latinx representation, Black liberation, destigmatizing mental health…the list goes on.
Tell us about your dog, Joni.
I am of course biased – as I believe all dog parents should be – but I think Joni is truly one-of-a-kind. She is sweet, kind, loving, playful, smart, and also super chill. She travels with us on planes, trains, and in automobiles. Once, on a flight from Los Angeles to New York, she helped a woman who was having a panic attack during takeoff by sitting in her lap and allowing the woman to pet her while J licked her arm. The flight attendant was so impressed that she gave Joni her wings. Also, she has arguably the greatest tongue in the world. See her Instagram for proof.
Joni is Silvie’s first dog.
How does Joni get along with your toddler, Didion?
Didion, who will be three in August, has spent this summer saying to us “Joni is my best friend.” It makes my heart melt in the very best way. They play together, they snuggle together, Didion has to give Joni kisses and hugs before naptime and bedtime, and the only time they seem to ever get frustrated at each other is when one wants to play keep away and the other wants the ball.
What’s your favorite thing about having a dog?
Joni is the first dog I’ve ever had, thanks to my partner Matt. He adopted her when she was just six weeks old – which also happened to be the day of Matt and my first date. We consider that day, September 24, to be all of our anniversary together. I love that she gives us so much incredible, unabashed, unwavering love. I also love that she (like our daughter now, too) reminds us to get outside and walk and run and play and go to the beach as much as we possibly can.
You grew up on the east coast and lived in Cambridge, MA, but have been in Los Angeles for the last several years. What do you like about living in LA?
I like the beach, the mountains, the farmers markets, and the Venice, CA vibe. I also like that my good buddy who I grew up with in Cambridge now lives out here too and has an epic cheese and provisions shop, Canyon Grocer, that everyone should visit and then we can have a picnic.
Silvie, her partner, Matt (above), and their daughter, Didion, live with Joni in Los Angeles.
A lot of your work intersects with American politics. What do you think is going to happen with the election?
Yes, we do a lot of work in what I think is an incredibly important place, at the intersection of political and cultural change. Since Election 2016, we’ve worked on so many diverse, national GOTV (Get Out the Vote) and pro-democracy efforts. For Election 2024, I am desperately hopeful that voters will turn out en masse to save our democracy and in turn elect not only a president but also local election officials around the country who will protect women, families, LGBTQIA+ communities, BIPOC communities, immigrants, small businesses, and our environment. And I cannot wait to campaign for and vote for the first-ever Black woman president of the United States of America.
If someone in our community wants to get involved in the issues your clients champion, what’s the best way for them to make a difference?
I love this question! First, I would say start to research and get educated about the issues in which you’re most interested. Knowledge really is power and then it can help you take the next step towards engagement and real action. There is no one superior way to make a difference, and I really do believe that every little bit counts. Maybe you don’t consider yourself an activist or advocate with a capital “A” just yet, but you can start your journey by listening, learning, standing up for the things you really believe in, and never forgetting to pass the mic to give voice to others with lived experience or whose stories also deserve to be told.
How a Vet Behaviorist May Be Able To Help Your Dog
This week we had the privilege of sitting down with Dr. Meaghan Ropski, DVM, DACVB. Dr. Ropski is a veterinary behaviorist in Washington D.C. at Friendship Animal Hospital. She spoke to us about how she can help dogs and their pet parents, options for people who can’t afford to see a vet behaviorist or aren’t able to get into one, what to say to people who think there’s a stigma with medicating dogs, and much more. Fun fact: Jess’s dog, Stanley, is lucky enough to be one of her patients, and she just saw him for his annual recheck.
For people who are unfamiliar with what a vet behaviorist does, can you tell us a little bit about your job and how you help dogs and humans?
Dr. Ropski calls this picture a “family photo.” She’s kneeling beside her husband and her dog, Sadie, who she says is “her reason for getting into behavior.”
A veterinary behaviorist, is first a veterinarian. We have the same knowledge base as your primary care vet or another specialist, but we have additional training in animal behavior, learning theory, psychotropic medications, and forming treatment plans for behavior concerns. We have 3 additional years of learning in behavior, on top of our vet school learning, before we sit for a 2 day national board exam. A veterinary behaviorist works with families to manage challenging behaviors, typically anxiety, fear, and aggression. They work with your primary care vet to rule out medical concerns and with your trainer to form a treatment plan that suits the needs of the family. A treatment plan involves a safety plan, environmental modification, training and behavior modification and commonly medication to reduce stress and anxiety.
How do you respond if someone asks you how to determine if they should bring their dog to a vet behaviorist?
If you and your dog are struggling with any fear, anxiety, stress, aggression OR have reached a plateau in training / behavior modification, it's a good time to start that conversation. I will always say - it's never too early to start talking (especially when most of us are booked out months in advance). We can make more changes for the better when we start early.
How do you work with trainers to support dogs and their families?
If a family is already working with a trusted trainer (meaning non aversive / punishment based training), I send them right back! Training and behavior modification is essential to a treatment plan. If they are not working with a trainer already, we make recommendations for one in that family’s area that meets their needs once they are ready and good learning can take place.
Dr. Ropski calls Sadie “the most perfect princess.”
What’s your favorite thing about what you do?
Seeing the change and improvement from year to year in my families is the absolute best. Some families I’ve known for 5+ years and we get to a point where we’re no longer making big changes to treatment plans but can focus on smaller items (because the big things have already been accomplished).
What’s the most challenging part of your job?
Discussing difficult decisions with a family, whether that is rehoming, relinquishing or even euthanizing a dog. We focus a lot on quality of life, human and animal suffering and if we are doing everything possible and are still not seeing success - this may not be the best home / environment for that dog. It is heartbreaking to reach this point, but having someone to talk about the options with can be very helpful for these families facing tough decisions.
How do you respond to people who are against medicating their dogs because of the stigma in our society?
I think about our dogs’ brains being very similar to a human brain. If a human / child / family member was suffering from anxiety or other mental health concerns and a medication could help them to be successful and live comfortably / free from suffering then we would want to give them every possible chance we could to reach that success. Our dogs are no different.
Dr. Ropski tells TOC that this photo is “a celebration" because Sadie was “NOT reacting to a dog on a walk.”
Tell us about your dog.
Our perfect princess Sadie? She is a 70 pound lab / husky mix. She is the reason I got into behavior. She had horrible separation anxiety when we adopted her and through a medication and behavior modification plan she is happy and comfortable to be alone at home for a whole work day. She is getting older (she’ll be 10 in September) and we are seeing some noise / storm anxiety start to develop. She LOVES snacks, sleeping in her bed, and spending time in her yard.
There aren’t that many vet behaviorists in the US. If someone doesn’t have a vet behaviorist near them, what options do they have?
Their primary care vet is a great place to start! Some vets are comfortable providing behavior assistance and some are not. It doesn’t hurt to have that conversation. If a DACVB is not near you (and you need one), there may be a veterinary behavior resident that is closer. There are also some DACVBs that will do virtual consults - either with you or with your primary care vet.
If someone can’t afford to work with a vet behaviorist, are there other ways they can help their dog?
Their primary care vet may be an option, especially if a medication is needed to be successful. A positive reinforcement trainer is always a good place to start - they can help to modify the environment as well as providing training options. Options as simple as - avoiding triggers, increasing mental enrichment, and reinforcing desired behaviors – can be helpful to avoid practicing a behavior, meeting their needs and cultivating your relationship. With any of these options - they don’t “replace” a veterinary behaviorist, but they can be helpful should one not be in a family’s budget.
Community Corner: What Does Positive Animal Welfare Mean for Your Dog?
Editor’s note: This week we are thrilled to sit down with Lisa Dickel (whom you probably know as @calm.mindsandcanines on Instagram). Lisa tells us, “I am initially from Germany, but have been moving around for the past 10 years for various studies and research projects. I wanted to become a dog trainer after finishing school, but did not find any education I really liked, so I studied ecology instead. I have worked with a whole range of species, including plants, spiders, cattle, birds - and currently bees. I finally learned about dog behavior at the Nordic Education Centre for Ethical dog training some years ago, where I am currently teaching ecology, ethics and learning theory; and am running a journal club about dog behavior and welfare.” We hope that you enjoy our chat about animal welfare and how it relates to her research with dogs and bees, how her background as a scientist helps her with dog training, and much more!
We heard you just finished your PhD defense - congrats! Can you tell us a bit about what you got your PhD in?
The photo above is of “fieldwork for my PhD on a tiny island in British Columbia to ring birds and observe their behavior and follow their breeding activity,” Lisa tells TOC.
Thank you so much! My PhD was in evolutionary ecology - so evolution on small time scales and in relationship to ecological conditions. I followed the fate of birds on a tiny island in British Columbia, Canada, with different ancestors - some of them local, some of them immigrated, and found out how their survival and reproduction went. This gave some clues about what the underlying genetic effects of both inbreeding and outbreeding depression are. Also quite important and fascinating topics for dogs!
We understand you are doing post-doc work in animal welfare science (COOL!). Can you tell us a bit about how you got interested in that topic?
I think I was always interested in animal welfare- but it was only quite recently that I understood this was actually a scientific field, and: dogs brought me here! 3 years ago I started a journal club project (it's called the “Tiny science chat”) centered on dog behavior and welfare. In the journal club we read and discuss scientific articles together with other animal professionals biweekly. This led me to discover a lot of welfare literature and put me on my current path.
And because you are extra cool, we know you are also working on a proposal about dog welfare and ecology (“on the side” as you put it). What can you tell us about this?
This is the eternal fate of working in research - I only just started my post-doc project, but I am already thinking about which research grants I want to apply for next. Even though I am working with bees at the moment, my post-doc project aligns well with my interests regarding dogs: The “degrees' ' of captivity they are kept in and how their welfare might be affected (both positively and negatively) through captivity. It's not so frequent that we look at captive animals through the lens of ecology - but it would be very interesting to see what we can find if we do!
In your mind, what is animal welfare broadly speaking?
“I followed and observed free ranging cows in the Norwegian forest for a summer to record their behavior and identify the plants they were eating,” Lisa tells TOC.
Defining animal welfare is not an easy job! But I would say: the subjective emotional experience of an individual, which is impacted by a lot of different factors, including health, opportunity for species-specific behaviors, social relationships, and choice and control about all of these aspects to modify one's own welfare. What exactly good welfare looks like depends on who you are- which species, which individual, and in which state you are currently in. I am especially interested in positive animal welfare, a quite new development in welfare science - so going beyond just minimizing suffering.
Can you tell us a bit more about “positive animal welfare” and what questions we might ask ourselves related to it when it comes to our dogs?
Positive animal welfare is a relatively new development in animal welfare focusing on positive experiences of animals - so going far beyond just trying to avoid or alleviating suffering and disease. An amazing refined definition of positive animal welfare is about to be published soon, which was developed within a European collaboration project (“COST LIFT: Lifting Farm Animal Lives - laying the foundations for positive animal welfare”). This new perspective also brings a lot more focus on choice, agency, and competence building of animals.
The aim is to bring the individual animal and their experience in the center of attention, rather than viewing humans as the ones “doing things to animals”. We start to acknowledge that the same opportunity or situation might be totally different for different individuals. This is possible, because it has become much more feasible to measure emotional responses in many species rather than just expecting every individual of a population to have a similar interpretation.
I think despite being so close to our dogs, there is still a lot to do in terms of understanding their expressions better - especially also positive emotional states and maybe most importantly the ones at low arousal levels. Unfortunately it's quite easy to “read” arousal, and quite difficult to read how positive or negative an emotional state is (the “valence”). For many dogs (depending where we look), the level of human control is really high, which brings a lot of potential welfare concerns. I think the expansion to positive welfare will highlight some of the challenges that dogs are exposed to through these high levels of control more clearly (and humans too really), and will hopefully offer some solutions as well - that might have the power to improve the shared welfare of human and canine animals?!
You’re currently researching insect welfare with bees. We think this is so fascinating. How are y’all defining welfare with bees?
This photo is of “the first day at my new bee job (already becoming more daring and going without all the protective gear) :D,” Lisa tells TOC.
I just started this project on bee welfare at the Swedish University of Agricultural sciences where I am part of a research group working mostly on bee health and diseases. Insect welfare as a field is just emerging and so far there is very little written about bee welfare - what it is, if we need to think about it, and how we could measure it. I am going to try to extend the current frameworks we use for measuring animal welfare in other animals (mostly mammals and birds) to bees and other insects. So far I am just getting to know my new study species and am finding out amazing things about them every day!
Why is it so important to think about the welfare of animals in captivity (like our dogs)? Are there any hallmarks of welfare you can share?
Generally we view captivity very differently for different animals. For 'wild' animals (and for our own species) we tend to view captivity as more problematic for their lives and welfare, while we view captivity as a natural and normal state for domestic animals.
But now we see that some aspects of captivity can also be really problematic for the welfare of domesticated species, who have evolved to share, but not necessarily be captive in, a human niche. Yet, opinions that all domesticated animals require strict captivity for their own good are quite abundant.
But slowly this picture is shifting: as we find out more about the importance of choice and agency in welfare science we see how important these are for animals, and this includes dogs and other domesticated species. It might be a frequent trap to assume we know domesticated animals so well, as they live alongside us, so we know what they want and what is good for them. But do we, really?
Has thinking about bee welfare made you think a bit more about the welfare of the dogs that live with us?
I wanted to answer similar questions for dogs as I do get to explore now for bees. I have been living with dogs since I was born and they have always been a part of my life. So when the opportunity came up to explore similar questions with a species I had absolutely no preconceptions about, I thought this was an amazing opportunity. I often ask people to try to learn about their dog as if they were an alien species which they had never seen before. This is a little bit what bees are for me now. I hope to take off yet another pair of “coloured glasses of bias” when exploring welfare, and then hopefully bring a more systematic and open mind to the dogs who I work with and study. Welfare is something very universal: What do you experience and what do you want, as an individual? It can be difficult for our human brain to ask that question again and again for every individual without making assumptions.
Above: Lisa and her dog, Nyoko, walk around in the snow. She is in rubber boots (and spikes) which is something she tells us she does all winter.
Tell us a bit about your dog, Nyako.
Nyako came to me when she was 7 years old while I was right in the middle of my dog behavior training. I was feeling like I could deal with quite a lot of things (probably right on top of the Dunning-Kruger curve!). Then, living together with Nyako was total chaos for quite a while and brought me on the roller-coaster ride that rapidly brought me far down from “I know what I am doing” to “I am really overwhelmed”. In the three years since then, Nyako has been a really important teacher for me. Especially, she taught me to let go of assumptions about dogs and to ask questions to her as an individual. She has put a few brightly colored sticky notes in my mind: That all behavior has function and reason; that pain is so incredibly important and can be very hard to detect. This was definitely no easy journey for both of us, and I am so grateful for the relationship we have today, and the generally positive welfare which we share in our little ecosystem.
Since you have mentioned that you are now a dog trainer as well as a teacher teaching future dog trainers, how do you use your science background in this context?
Becoming a dog trainer has made it much more obvious to me how much science is actually needed in practice. And it is the best both for my work as a scientist and as a dog trainer to move fluently between these two spheres. I really started to love science communication by bringing the scientific evidence into practical application, but also making scientific research more accessible to everyone. But equally practical work reveals scientific knowledge gaps all the time, and I have learned so much from all the discussions with non-academics about science! Further, I think in dog training, my science background really helps me when things do not work as expected. Then, I am familiar with the process of being confused, starting a broader literature search, asking people for guidance, wondering where my blind spot might be located (the “unknown unknowns”). Like that, it's possible to find out how I got to an incomplete answer, or whether I was possibly asking the wrong question, and to constantly broaden and shift my perspective as needed.