Speaker 1: This is pet Life Radio. Let's talk pets.
Speaker 2: Hello, pet lovers, Welcome to Best Bets for Pets. I'm
your show host, Michelle Burn. And you know, if there's
anything that I love, you, guys know, I love dogs.
I greatly miss mister Zusie, just such a dog lover.
But I love doing puzzles, all kinds of puzzles. I
think it's a great way to stimulate your brain and
to learn things, and I just have such an affinity
for it. My guests today combine both, so I am
over the moon excited to talk with her and share
her book with you. So stay tuned, we'll be right back.
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Speaker 4: Let's talk pets on petlifradio dot com.
Speaker 2: Welcome back everyone. I'd like to welcome Debra Simon. She
is the author of Dog Lovers Activity Book. Welcome Debra,
him Michelle, thanks for inviting me. I'm very excited to
have you on. So before I ask what, well, I
want to know what inspired you to create the dog
Lover's Activity Buck, But can you share your background with us.
Speaker 5: In terms of dogs or in terms of profession both?
Speaker 6: Oh?
Speaker 5: Okay, Well, I am a dog person. Ever since I
was a little girl, I wanted to have a dog. Unfortunately,
there were no dogs allowed in my house. But when
I met my husband and he heard that I'd always
wanted a dog, he immediately said, well, then let's go
get one. To tell you the truth, I didn't even
know how you go about that, but he had grown
up with seven different dogs, so he took me to
the animal shelter in Durham, North Carolina, where we were living,
and that's where we found our first rescue dog tubs
and over the years we've had many dogs, as many
as three at a time.
Speaker 2: Well, I think that's a wonderful story. And you know,
you got to love a partner that hears you want
a dog and it's like, let's go do it. You
know That's that says a lot. What about you now?
You're an author? Have you written in the past or
is this the first time? Oh no.
Speaker 5: I have been working for national magazines and news services
since I was I guess eighteen years old. My work
has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Seventeen Magazine, Adweek,
Thompson Reuters, The Miami Herald, The Hartford Current, the Financial Times,
and I'm the founder, editor and publisher of Carolina Woman magazine,
which is now celebrating more than three decades. You can
find us at www dot Carolina Woman. That's Woman with
an a dot com.
Speaker 2: Well, thanks for sharing your background with us. So what
inspired you to create the Dog Lover's Activity Book?
Speaker 5: Well, my dogs and all the joy and fun they
bring to my life, and I thought that if I
could would come up with activities that people could do,
could enjoy, it'd perhaps even share with their dog with
their family, it would be great. So there are things
in the book newly shan life, Doggie Dreaming. Am I
a dog whisperer, dog o, lingo, baunappetite, nuts about MutS.
Speaker 6: So it's just.
Speaker 5: Lots and lots of fun.
Speaker 2: Well, we're gonna get more into the book. But you'd
mentioned that your dogs led you to write the book.
You'd mentioned Tubs. What are some of the other dogs
that have inspired you in your life to write The
Dog Lover's Activity Book.
Speaker 5: Oh, thanks for asking. I love saying great things about
all my dogs, you know, some of whom I have
gone over the Rainbow Bridge or My first dog, Tubs
was what we called a Snickerdoodle, a mix of Schnauzer,
Terrier and poodle all from the shelter. He was little,
about twenty three pounds. Then we had Lily, who was
a black, shaggy dog who looked like a Bouvier. She
was big Delancey, another big, black shaggy dog who looked
like a Portuguese water dog. And then we had Riving Tin,
also like a sixty pound Schnauzer Terrier mix. And finally
Samson was a one hundred pound Great Pyrenees. He passed
away two years ago at the ripe old age of fifteen,
which is really you know, old for one hundred pounds dog.
Speaker 2: Yes for a dog that big bat is a long
time Yeah.
Speaker 5: His last two years we called it Doggie assisted Living
and my husband, who I told you about, would buy
ninety pounds of chicken every month and make him chicken
and rice from scratch and that's that's what he ate
the last years of his life. That was on the
veterinarians recommendation. And now we fostered dogs through Pause New England.
Our guests have included Brownie, a chocolate lab who was
our dog when I wrote the book. In fact he
wrote the introduction and then we and Millie, a Great
Pyrenees mix, and both have found their forever homes.
Speaker 2: So Brownie was a foster.
Speaker 5: Yes, Brownie and Meally were both foster's and it's something
I love doing now ever since Samson passed, that's what
we have been doing, is fostering and it's just a
wonderful way to help animals.
Speaker 2: You know what we're going to talk about your book,
But if you were to share something to our listening audience,
you know their pet lovers, you know, furbabe lovers about
fostering too. If someone has thought, well, I don't know
if it's for me, whatever, what would you tell them.
Speaker 5: Well, I've heard a lot of people say that, like,
I can't imagine falling in love with the dog and
then giving the dog up. But when you realize that
you could do this for a succession of dogs, basically
saved their lives and help them find their forever homes,
it just it, I don't know, it just grabs you somehow.
And when you see each time I've delivered my foster
dog to their new home and their new pet parents,
and it's just been wonderful and heartwarming. It's always been
to just lovely people, and it's just great to see
how the foster dog who I love is now going
to be in this very loving home with wonderful people.
Speaker 2: Oh, thank you for sharing that. Okay, let's talk about
your book. So you told us a little bit about
the activities, but let me ask this, why did you
decide to have like a lot of different activities in
their book? Are you a puzzle person?
Speaker 5: Well, I just thought it's a great way for anybody
from you know, technically it's in the adult category of books,
but it's fun for the whole family. So I imagine
little kids enjoying the book with their parents I imagine
adults having great time doing the noises, the word finds,
the puzzles, really everything, and there's lots of information there.
But it's not a dry book. It's a book that
it embraces the love and the joy and the fun
we have with our dogs, and it's just all part
of that.
Speaker 2: Well, one thing I loved is that there are so
many types of activities. Like you said, there's word search,
there's mazes, there's fella in, there's tips about there's not
tips but celebrities and their dogs pairing them. What am
I forgetting because it's it's not my book, it's yours.
I perused it. But the puzzles in their book are
just so much fun.
Speaker 5: Oh, it's just great. There's let's see the puzzles like
you said, there are fill ins like fill in the blanks,
there are quizzes, there are match games, there's mad libs,
word finds, the mazes. Like you said, there's even pages
where you can color things in. There are pages where
it's a can you tell the difference between these two pictures?
And it's really funny because it's when the puppy first
came to the house and the house is just destroyed,
and then the puppy is an older dog, and of
course by then everything's well organized and lovely. So I
love those plus just so much more.
Speaker 2: Well, thank you for sharing that. So let's talk again
about something you brought up. Your book is educational as
well as entertaining, So I mean, that's a hard thing
to do to make something educational but also entertaining, and
it's educational besides one past the fact that the puzzles
are educational. You know, doing puzzles are great for your mind,
for adult minds, for young all minds, children's minds. But
what made you to decide to make it so educational?
Speaker 5: Because I'm a journalist and I bind my two loves,
which is information and providing you know, information to people
that's you know, valid and authentic and things that's actionable
and they could really use with their dogs. And making
that information fun is also kind of who I am
as a personality, because I like to have a good
sense of humor and have lots of fun. That's what
we joke. That's why I keep my husband around because
he's you know, good for a good time and you know,
so this was a way to put it all together.
My abilities as a reporter and a writer, as well
as my love of dogs and sons. So fun.
Speaker 2: Okay, we're going to take a short break and we
will be right back. Real people, real stories.
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Speaker 2: Welcome back, everyone. We're talking to dever Simon. She is
the author of dog Lover's Activity Book. So we talked
about your book in the first half and about yourself. Now,
let me ask this. There's people that are usually crossword
or word search, usually one or the other. Which one
are you?
Speaker 5: Oh? I love well, I'm a scrabble person, so I
guess you would say I guess you would say puzzles.
I also play words with friends and really just about
anything you can do with words. I'm a writer, so
that's the way it is.
Speaker 2: I agree. I have affinity for reading and I have
a thing for words writing. When I retire, I plan
to write a book. That's my goal. Let's also one
other thing that I thought of when I was as
I was going through the puzzles, I thought, you know,
this could really inspire people to maybe foster or adopt dogs.
What do you think?
Speaker 5: Well so much? And you know people who are dog people,
whether they have pure bred dogs or whether they adopt
dogs or dog people. So this book I think works
for either set of people. I do have to say,
because all of our dogs have come from rescues, a
lot of this really does have a lot to do with,
you know, adopting a dog from a shelter. But we
do have some things about I think we have one
called Breed all about It where it talks about the
different breeds. But besides that, much of this has to
do with with just you know, everyday dogs and your
own dog and how you love them no matter where
they came from.
Speaker 2: I love it. And the thing is too, when you
when you think about shelters, I mean a lot of
people that are not maybe not familiar with shelters don't
understand that there's all kinds of dogs, and there's also
rescues that are that are breed specific. There's greyhound rescues,
there's there's all kinds of rescues and you never know
what breed or mix. I like Mutt, that's my favorite.
Speaker 5: Mutt is my favorite breed too. But I'll tell you
my dog, sam'son. My last dog, who was not a foster.
We got him from the Great Pyrenees Rescue. And the
reason we did was very interesting. We lived out in
the country in North Carolina and the coyotes were attacking
are two big dogs, and there was really nothing we
could do to stop it. And I looked up, like,
who or what are the enemies of of the coyote
And I realized that the Great Pyrenees as a breed
is the enemy of the coyotes. So we found a
Great Pyrenees and we adopted one. And from the second
we had Samson, we could hear the coyotes howling in
the woods, but they never again came back to our house.
Speaker 2: Oh that is a great story. Wow.
Speaker 5: Yeah. And then also, like I said, I mean, Delancey
very much looked like a Portuguese water dog, even though
we got her from the DRM Animal Shelter. When I
would take her to, say, you know, a pet smart
type of place, people who were breeders of Portuguese water
dogs would stop me and start talking to me about
my Portuguese water dog. And when I would say, oh, well,
she's really a mutt, they would say no, no, no,
no no, that is definitely a Portuguese water dog. So
she again was adopted from the animal shelter. So you
really never know what you'll find at the animal shelter
and from the rescues. You clearly know that you're getting
one of those dogs.
Speaker 2: You know you're so right because when my first dog passed,
it was right before a hurricane, and I was so
I was living alone. I was just so lonely, and
I was looking for I like border collies, but mixes.
So my goal was a border calling mix that's okay,
but border calling mix. When I found mister Zeus, He's
named Zeus because I got him right before Hurricane Wilman.
I didn't want to name him Fred, so I picked
him up Sunday morning, right before the shelter closed down
for the duration of the storm, and that night we
went through the hurricane together. I thought he was a
border calling mix. Turns out he was flat hair retriever,
maybe some border collie and who knows what else. Best
dog ever he's gone, you know, another Rainbow Bridge hooch.
But you know, they here are such intense love in
our lives that even though it's so difficult, so so
difficult to lose them, it's all worth it, and adopting
out of shelters and rescues is definitely the way to go. Okay,
so let's get back to your book. Were there any
activities while you were creating your book that you just
decided this one's not going to work that did not
make the cut? Can you share that with us?
Speaker 5: Yeah? And actually it's kind of funny. It was something
I never considered. This book is going to be released
not just in the United States, but in the United Kingdom.
So British English is sometimes different than American English. Right,
So this book originally was supposed to be called Color
Me a Dog Person, But Color in the United States
is spelled colr. Color in England is spelled colo. You are,
So the entire title of the book had to be
changed so that it could be released in both countries.
Speaker 2: Wow, So it wasn't quite an activity, but it was
the entire title how to be changed?
Speaker 5: Yes? And thank goodness, Ay this such great editors at
Quardo Publishing, which is publishing the book. They managed to
change everything that had to be changed and I didn't
have to do anything.
Speaker 6: Yay.
Speaker 2: That's Oh. The editors out there are amazing. So let's
talk about Brownie. If Brownie could try the activity book,
what do you think would be his favorite?
Speaker 5: Well, I've got to let you know a funny story
about Brownie. When Brownie came to us, he was one
hundred and thirty pounds and he was apposed to weigh
seventy five.
Speaker 2: Wow.
Speaker 5: Yes, So whatever his situation was before he got to
us through cos New England, he apparently had been fed
a lot of hot dogs, so I'll never forget. I
asked the woman in charge of the fostering what exactly
what was his goal weight? She said, well, we just
like to see a little definition around the hips.
Speaker 2: So hush, I'm sorry. I'm trying to imagine from seventy
pounds to one hundred and thirty that's a lot of
extra weight on a dog.
Speaker 5: Yeah, you know, we laughed, but still not funny.
Speaker 2: And I'm just trying to picture, like when you said
a lot of hot dogs. He might look like one
of my cats that looks like an armadillo.
Speaker 5: Yeah, we were concerned he couldn't walk the five steps
up to our house. Oh but he made it, and
we fed him exactly what we were supposed to feed
him according to the bag, nothing more. If he wanted snacks,
they were carrots. And we walked him and we took
him out, and we took him to the dog park
and we did everything, and he lost thirty pounds while
he was with us for the first I think two months.
Speaker 2: Ah, that's great.
Speaker 6: Yeah, And then it was really great because friends of
mine would say, I'm going to move into your house
because then I'll lose weight, and I explained to them
this does not work for people.
Speaker 5: It only works for dogs.
Speaker 2: Well, people reduce their calories and exercise a lot.
Speaker 5: Yeah, but in my house only works only works for
the dogs. Yeah.
Speaker 2: So would Brownie's favorite activity be one that featured desserts
in your book.
Speaker 5: Well, he liked the one called Leading Dogs, where you
match the celebrity with his or her dog. For example,
we learn about the dogs of Chloe Kardashian and The
Rock plus many more. I think Brownie would have liked
that a lot.
Speaker 2: That's always fun, and it's always kind of surprising sometimes
because some of these celebrities that you would think, you know, oh,
they would like a little fluffy kind of a dog
and they have a you know, just a dog, that's
the exact opposite. I have a lot of respect for that.
I actually there's a lot of celebrities too that do
a lot for rescues and so forth, so good for them. Okay,
in your book, what is your favorite activity? So if
there was one activity on your book that you could
do over and over, what would it be.
Speaker 5: Well, again, because I'm a writer, I have to tell
you the mad libs. I love that the best because
you get to fill in the story and really, as
you're filling it in, you're creating your story. So I
like that a lot.
Speaker 2: Okay, that's a lot of fun. This is a really
entertaining book, and like we talked about in the first half,
it's educational as well. I mean, it's really informative. I
thought I knew a lot about dogs, but I learned
a few things. So I did know a few things,
but I learned a few things too. And I always
really appreciate that when books can educate me, because I
think learning is something that's never should end in your life.
But what do you hope that readers of The Dog
Lover's Activity Book gain from the book?
Speaker 5: I hope that they just have a lot of fun
with the book and actually do the activities while in
the presence of their dog, petting their dog, rolling around
with their dog, just sort of taking the dog for
a walk, sitting down on a bench, and doing the
activities so that it really includes the dog, because that's
what this is all about.
Speaker 2: Well, I love your book. Now, do you think that
you might have a second one out about cats?
Speaker 5: Well, I would love to write it because I love
cats too, and I have had cats in the past.
My favorite cat was the cat who had no name,
and that stayed his name. So I guess it's all
up to Quarter Publishing and they know where to find me.
Speaker 2: Well, let's hope for that. So, Deborah, what is the
best way for listeners to use the book?
Speaker 5: Well, while the book is tons of fun and humorous
at its heart, I think it's an opportunity to reflect
on the joy that pets bring into our lives. So
it's great for you to just pick up on the
way to the beach or a vacation, or just have
a fun thing to do on a Sunday or Saturday afternoon.
The book is also great for gifts, and it's coming
out November eleventh, so that's a great time for holiday gifts,
So I think people can use it in that way.
Speaker 2: Well, I agree with you absolutely. So where can people
find The Dog Lover's Activity Book.
Speaker 5: Well, luckily, it's available at all major book retailers including
Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Bookshop, Dot Org and more that
you usually would buy a book from online. Also, I
always encourage folks to shop at their local independent bookstores,
and a bookstore can always order the book if they
don't happen to already have it in stock.
Speaker 2: Well, I want to thank you so much for coming
on Best Bets for Pets and telling us all about
the dog Lovers Activity Book. Search for it by author name,
It's Deborah Simon and it's dog Lovers Activity Book. Deborah. Again,
thank you so much for coming on Best Bets for Pets.
Speaker 5: Thank you, Michelle, it was a pleasure.
Speaker 2: Well, pet levers, this is definitely a great book to get.
It's by Deborah Simon. It's called Dog Lovers Activity Book,
and there's just so many fun activities. Great for adults,
great for adults to do, but children as well. Great book.
I want to thank my guest Deborah Simon for coming
on Best Bets for Pets. Thanks to everyone listening to
Best Bets for Pets. I appreciate your listenership and loyalty.
Thank you so much, and of course thank you to
my dogs in heaven, mister Zusy and my other Babes
for Babes and mister Nicki. And thanks to my cats
who sometimes remind me of dogs, which will help when
I do the activities and the Dog Activity Book. So
thank you, Dennis, Charlotte Molly, and of course a huge
thank you to my producer, Mark Winter for working his
magic and making our show sound amazing. Now keep listening
because you never know what we'll have next on Best
Bets for Pets.
Speaker 4: Let's talk Bets every week on demand only on petlight
Radio dot com