DOG-EARED with LISA DAVIS EP #24: BOOK: "Forever Home: The Inspiring Tales of Rescue Dogs." AUTHOR: Traer Scott

Lisa is joined by Traer Scott to talk about her book, Forever Home: The Inspiring Tales of Rescue Dogs.  Traer Scott is an award winning photographer and author of ten books including Shelter Dogs, Street Dogs, Nocturne: Creatures of the Night (Princeton Architectural Press, 2014), Finding Home; Shelter Dogs and Their Stories (Princeton Architectural Press, Fall 2015) and the forthcoming City of Dogs (Penguin Random House 2018). Her work is exhibited around the world and has been featured in National Geographic, Life, Vogue, People, O, on the NY Times Lens Blog, Behold and dozens of other national and international print and online publications. She lives in Providence, Rhode Island with her husband, daughter and creatures.

While highlighting some of these beautiful rescue dogs, Traer also touches on the backyard breeders, not having shame about returning a dog, dogs with disabilities, specific breed legislation, dangers of puppy mills, and much more!

Forever Home: The Inspiring Tales of Rescue Dogs

The perfect gift for dog lovers, Forever Home will leave a pawprint on your heart with its series of full-color, close-up portraits of rescue dogs and their stories of adoption, from the photographer of Shelter Dogs and Finding Home.

Behind every dog in Forever Home is a touching tale of resilience and love. Packed with twenty-seven heartwarming and inspirational stories of rescue dogs of all ages, this photographic series showcases how the journey to forever isn't always a straight line.

Through their portraits and accompanying stories you will fall in love with the adorable canines who have traveled this path, learn of the steps along the way, and celebrate pet rescue and adoption in all its forms. Whether you're a new puppy parent or simply an animal lover, Forever Home is the ideal tribute to our favorite furry friends.

Transcript

43:24

Owner: Lisa Davis
SUMMARY KEYWORDS 
dog , puppy mills , backyard breeders , puppies , breed , shelter , book , love , animals , stories , people , pets , vivian , working , bobo , transports , wonderful , bailey , mix , give 

Lisa 
0:07
Does your dog do? Well today our fantastic guests will be answering this question. Her name is traer. Scott. Today we're talking about her book forever home the inspiring tales of rescue dogs. She has several books. She's fantastic. And I'm so thrilled to have her on. So Tara, tell us something that your dog does. It could be one thing, two things. 

Traer 
Well, first of all, thank you very much for having me. I'm very happy to be here. Let's see. One of my dogs is obsessed with seeking out and eating us tissues.

0:42
Always fun. And my daughter has allergy, so there are always plenty of those around.
0:49
Let's see another one. Yeah,
0:52
she also let's see, does does anybody else's dog, you know, bark and turn in circus dog circles when they want to eat. That's a cute one. You know what's funny, actually, is blue. Does that on the way when we're bringing his food to where he eats? Oh, he little spittle circles, because he's so excited. Yeah, cuz he's so excited.

Lisa 
1:14
salutely love that. The question that I begin the show with other than the Does your dog do is when did your love of dogs begin?

Traer 
 I can't remember not having a love of dogs. I you know, was one of those kids that was petitioning their, their parents for a puppy, you know, at a very young age. And I don't I don't think we were ever without a dog. But I think I got you know, my first my dog when I was six. And
1:41
I think the obsession really grew from that I've, but I don't think I ever thought that it would become a focus of my career. And that's really just been a wonderful journey. Yeah, well, before we jump into the book, talk to us a little bit about that, because your photography is is incredible. And it wasn't originally dogs. 

Traer
 I think when I when I was, you know, when I was training as a photographer, when I was coming up, you know, through college and everything. The

2:14
first of all, I didn't go to art school, which is an eternal regret of mine. But so I didn't have that art school experience. But I was sort of veering towards that world, as I was graduating from college with a with a degree in mass communication, which has actually been very helpful in my career. But, you know, back then we were really told that animals were not serious subjects that if you wanted to be a real artist, if you wanted to be taken seriously, you did not focus on animals.

2:43
Unless they're just symbols, you know, in the work. And so,
2:49
you know, I don't think I even ever considered having my photography focus on animals or dogs, because I just wanted to be immediately dismissed. And really, you know, the, the kind of things that existed, were just kittens in baskets. And so if you know, through through a whole series of, I guess, fortuitous events, you know, I, I started photographing shelter dogs
3:13
at a local, municipal shelter. And as time wore on, and I had hundreds and hundreds of these files, I started seeing wow, you know, what these are, these are portraits. These are real portraits of a living being with its own soul and its own character, and these need to be seen. And that was when I started putting together shelter dogs, which was my first book that came out in 2006. And that really launched, you know, the rest of my career, and I realized that it was
3:48
a bit of a passion of mine, to create portraits, true portraits of animals, to give them that respect, and dignity. And, and really, I mean, kind of humanity in a way that we give human subjects.

Lisa 
 Yeah, it seems so odd to me that idea in that world of like, oh, no, no, not animals. No, 

Traer 
they were always
4:11
viewed as you know, silly, silly, cute subjects. And I think that's changed a lot. I'd like to think that I've been part of that change. But I think it's I think that I think that
4:25
diminutive view has definitely lightened up a bit. 

Lisa 
Oh, good because you capture the animal's souls. I mean, these photos are incredible. And again, we're today we're focusing on forever home, the inspiring tales of rescue dogs. And I love in the introduction, you tell us a little bit about your dog Rosie, and you talk about how she was born on a local farm and she has a bed and she's loved it every day of her life. And then we write quote, most dogs aren't so lucky. And this book focuses on some of those dogs. And you go on to say, why do we love to tell these stories of heartbreak and second chances? I
5:00
believe that it's because they continue to remind us of resilience of dogs of their ability to love despite abuse, abandonment and betrayal. In short, these stories educate and inspire us to do better.

Traer
 I am very proud of that introduction, actually, and it was written was written in a very impassioned moment, I think of being
5:20
completely immersed in all of these stories, and, and just, you know, my just deep, deep love for dogs. So they are remarkably resilient and forgiving. And we don't deserve them to be honest. They are, they're way too good for us. 

Lisa 
I love this too. In the introduction, you write, quote, I want this to be a Book of Truth, but also of contradictions, because I believe that is the only way we might glimpse the whole truth. Can you expand on that for us? 

Traer 
I think that in the animal welfare world, the animal rescue world, there are a lot of things that are very taboo.
5:59
I was hoping in a small way to sort of talk about some of those things.
6:05
And I think things are changing, opinions are changing. But
6:10
you know, there's been so I mean, since I've been involved in this role for 1520 years, most of my life,
6:16
you know, breeders have really been vilified. responsible breeders have really been vilified. All breeders have been vilified. I don't think that's what we should do. I don't think it's helpful. I think if we love dogs, I think if we want the continued future of of dogs, we have to acknowledge and make room for responsible breeders. But that's key right there. This is not backyard breeders, this is not puppy mills, this is these are not commercial breeders these are, you know, and that's a tough thing. I think for a lot of people, including myself, that was really hard for me to come to terms with, for people who are dealing with just the numbers in shelters, you know, just the overflow, the constant overflow of unwanted animals, it's really hard, I think, to begin to reconcile that responsible breeders are needed, but they are because not everybody is going to adopt a dog. And the vast majority of the dogs in shelters are not coming from responsible breeders, they are coming from backyard breeders and they're coming from, you know, all kinds of other sources. So, that's a tough one. I think it really sticks. You know, it's tough for people to make that leap. But I did. Over the years of making these books and working with breeders and realizing
7:28
that they are necessary, I think it's also been something that a lot of us have struggled with is behavioral euthanasia, you know, the fact that sometimes you just can't save a dog, and it and it and it's horribly sad, and everybody is devastated by it. But it happens, you know.
7:47
And there's just a lot of things like that, that I think,
7:53
are hard for people to accept and hard to talk about. And I get it, I totally get it. Because I've been in this world for a long time. But things like like really vilifying anyone who surrenders an animal, we've got to stop doing that. Because there are so many situations, where I mean, they really aren't doing the right thing, or the best that they can do for that dog, you know, and they're just sometimes it's not, okay, sometimes people really suck, but it doesn't do any good to vilify them, you know, doesn't help the dog. It doesn't help anything. And it also doesn't, it makes people feel, I think that they can't use that as an option. And I mean, to be honest with you, in many cases, and certainly not all, but in many cases, it is safer and better for a dog to be brought to a shelter than you know. I mean, I've seen so many things, you know, dogs tied out in the woods, dogs just dropped off and abandoned dogs given to people who are abusive or don't take care of them. Those things are worse, you know.
8:52
So, yeah, but those are hard. I think those are hard truths for us to,
8:58
to accept because we just we see the immense fallout of this, you know, and it it's heartbreaking.

Lisa 
 It is you know, on the last episode, I won't retell the story, you'll have to go and listen, it was with the Anne Marie Whalen-Maag.  A dog like me, I shared a story of getting two dog brothers and realizing they weren't good for each other, and it just wasn't working. And so we re homed one. And I had so much shame around that. Even though three different trainers said you got to separate these two there. It's not there like one eight legged dog, but I had this embarrassment like I can't believe I did. 

Traer
Absolutely. And so many people feel that way like really wonderful, responsible loving people who are truly doing the best thing for the dogs so much shame around it not working out. Acknowledging that it's not going to work out and finding like the best situation for that dog is I think fulfilling your responsibility to that animal so Oh, yeah. But I know plenty of people with so many similar stories, you know, and I
10:00
I have similar stories from when I was younger, and I feel same about them. So it's really common. 

Lisa 
Yeah, we have to forgive ourselves and know that we did the right thing. I mean, Milo is our max is thriving. And so is Benji, right? So it's really good. One of the things you did so beautifully in the book is not only the way you told the stories of these fantastic dogs, that you connected it to the larger issues that are a problem. For example, when we learn about Talulah, you write, quote, backyard breeders are damaging for many reasons, one of which is that they tend to sell puppies at very young ages, in order to maximize profits expand a little more on the backyard breeding. 

Traer 
Well, I mean, from from where I sit, which I mean, I'm I'm no longer really on the front lines, like I used to be, I'm not volunteering every week, I'm not in charge of, you know, 200 dogs like I used to be. But
10:49
what I what I see is so much damn, I see shelters, almost full of dogs from backyard breeders, and backyard breeders are essentially people who have no
11:03
legitimate experience or knowledge of how to breed a dog, they're doing it solely for profit.
11:09
They and these are not commercial scale breeding operations like puppy mills, but these are people who really, they just, they want to make a quick buck, and they're going to breed their female, and they're going to sell these puppies as quickly as they can get her pregnant again. So puppies, and these the problem, there are a lot of problems with this. I mean, the puppies go way too young, they're often unhealthy.
11:30
But the bigger problem is that I mean, genetically, a lot of these dogs are a total mess. Because these people don't care about the health of the dogs, they're just looking for the money. And an experienced responsible breeder would put health first above everything else. And these people aren't doing that. So I mean, you're getting dogs that are a genetic mess. And that can be behavioral, that can be physical that can be, you know, so many different things. And there's, there's, there's actually examples of all of those things in this book.
12:07
There's a lot of examples of backyard breeding going gone horribly wrong. And the other thing that they will do is they'll, they'll go, oh, you know what, I'm gonna make this new dog, I'm gonna make this new dog. And so I'm going to take my two, and I'm going to breed them, and I'm gonna see what we get. And I mean, that's just really bad, irresponsible, arrogant idea. And the dogs suffer. And I mean, we've seen some unbelievable, dogs come out of backyard breeding situations that were so genetically flawed and damaged, that they could barely live, you know, and, and nobody, you know, and so what happens to those dogs, those dogs get taken in by rescues by people who want to save them, who in many cases can save them, but there's just always other people cleaning up the messes of these backyard breeders. And the problem is, it's so difficult to regulate, or stop, you know, really the only time something like that ever gets shut down is if there's complaints from neighbors because of noise or because they're, you know, in one case, I remember there was
13:14
a house that was trying to breed French bulldogs, I think, and, and all of the dogs were living outside, you know, even in the winter, and so complaints were made, and humanely you know, law enforcement came and things like that, we'll put it on the radar. But, you know, most in most cases, it's almost impossible to regulate.
13:32
so terribly you do say in the book, what with firm, but patient training and lots of love, they can usually learn to be normal, well behaved dogs, but that's once I don't have so many health issues, that's ones that don't have so many health issues. And, and again, I mean, you know, I think one of the things about almost every dog in forever home is that there was a village, there was a village of people who were dedicated to helping and saving that dog. And there were enormous resources, you know, time money love, that went into saving each one of these dogs. And for every one of them, there's who knows how many hundreds or 1000s that don't have those resources, and that don't make it you know, and I think that's what's so heartbreaking because they're just, there aren't enough resources to go around. To, to help and to save all of the dogs that need it or, and so there's going to be you know, Tallulah was she was a she was a tough little puppy. And she's far as I know, she's fine and happy. But you know, she was with the right people who gave her so much and continue to give her so much because behaviorally, she was from a young age, she was a bit of a mess, you know.
14:43
And governor who's,
14:46
who's in the book, he's doing great, but I mean, he isn't genetic disaster, you know, and, and he needed surgeries and he and these are sponsors that step in and pay for these things, you know, and just the generosity is immense. But for every
15:00
One, like I said, there's probably you know, 5000 that don't get that. So heartbreaking. But again, we have to be happy for the one that does. Would you write in the back of the book about the starfish, which I'll get to towards the end of the show? I thought that was so beautiful. Now, of course, not just because he's a pitbull, but major Walther von Berger, I mean, the name itself, but this is what I find so ridiculous. This flippin breed specific legislation, major Walter von burger was picked up as a stray in Mississippi a part where they had this ban, but somebody snuck them out and he ended up going on a transport. And he went got to an animal behaviorist who lost her beloved Pitbull, this story I read to my husband, he goes, Oh, my God, that's you. And she got so depressed. All she did was sit on the couch, he stopped working. And he looks over at me and blue and blue is like all wrapped up in me. And he's like, Oh, my gosh, but they didn't think they were ready. But anyway, they eventually adopted major Walther von Berger. And they did change his name to that I don't remember the original name. But thank goodness for those transports. 

Lisa 
Tell us a little bit about those transports are amazing. And I just want to say that that behavior is actually a very good friend of mine.
16:07
And so I've I have known I've known Walter personally. And he's an amazing doctor just doing he's doing very well. And yeah, obviously, BSL is
16:22
beyond ridiculous. I mean, and it's crazy that people have to sneak dogs, you know, like, like, you know, gets war time or something.
16:31
It's still happening. And obviously, I'm very anti anti BSL. You know, what we're seeing here in the Northeast. At this point, so many of our local shelters are pretty much empty.
16:44
Not all of them by any means. But the numbers are way, way, way down here.
16:50
At least they were for a while. And so I mean, we see so many transport dogs coming up from the south and from Texas, and areas that are just completely overcrowded everywhere. And, and it's, it's spectacular, because
17:06
I remember when, you know, 10 years ago or so everybody was really grumbling about transport, like why you bring in me these dogs, you know, we've got dogs here and, and I get that, but now we kind of don't have dogs here, you know, and these are these dogs need, they need somewhere to go. They need help. The shelters are so overcrowded. And it's wonderful. I mean, they're just the people. The network's the time that they put into transferring dogs all over the country. So we get transports up here daily constantly, you know, that fill our shelters here with adoptable, highly adoptable dogs that would not have necessarily gotten a chance in the south and people are aching to adopt dogs up here. And there just aren't that many naturally available. So I mean, I just think it's spectacular. And to the people who who devote so much time to running these transports are absolute angels. Oh yeah, completely. Now this I thought was interesting. It brought up another good point you talk about Milo he's a five year old male Husky staffordshire terrier malt Malamute cattle dog mystery dog. And this was such a good point you brought up quote, having worked in a shelter for more than 10 years, I can remember countless times when people came in or emailed all excited to meet a particular dog they had fallen in love with online, or who looked like the dog they had as a kid only to realize during the meet and greet that this dog was not a good fit for them. Yes, absolutely. And
18:30
I'm sure it still happens. It may be even more so with the proliferation of, of social media and different ways to see dogs online. You know, now you can see a dog in California that you, you know, desperately fall in love with and try to get it to you. And and I know that there are
18:49
people who adopt dogs that they've never met, and it works out fine. But I gotta tell you,
18:55
I'm not an advocate of that at all.
18:58
But yeah, I used to, because I was I was taking the photographs at the shelter. And I was also running the volunteer program and, you know, doing everything like volunteers do and taking care of the dogs and doing adoption, meet and greets and everything. And so many people would come in and they were just, I mean, they had seen this dog's picture on pet finder, and
19:17
it was their soulmate. They were 100% sure that that dog was their soulmate. And to some extent that was on me because I had photographed that dog in a particular way to make it appealing, you know? Yeah. And that's great. They're there and they're excited, and that's a wonderful thing. And then I would bring out this dog and they were chalk and cheese and you could just see it, you know, and, and I could also see like how crestfallen these people were because they knew they didn't want to admit it, but they knew that this wasn't the right dog for them, but they, their hopes had been so high. So that was a great opportunity. And I think, you know, a lot of shelter workers have so much more training now than than we did then. But like, that was a great opportunity to say you know, it's a
20:00
Okay, this dog isn't a fit for you. But let's introduce you to so and so. And, and nine times out of 10. I mean, we could get, we could find a match. So it's still, you know, it still works out to get people in the door. But I think, and I've had plenty of friends that they still fall in love, you know, with a photo online and
20:21
it, it's just, yeah, it's a way it's a way to meet the dog. But hopefully you end up leaving with with the right dog because you don't want to ever force
20:32
a situation. And I've done that too. I mean, I see photos of dogs, and I'm sure that we're absolutely destined to be together forever. And then in person is a different thing. So what you're seeing in that photograph is, you know, hopefully, a lot of that dog's personality, but you're also seeing the skill of the photographer, you're also seeing what they were able to capture at that moment. And the real live thing might be very different.

Lisa 
 Oh, yeah. I mean, I've mentioned this before, but our first dog Bailey, and I didn't get dogs. So I was an adult because my mom was afraid and she wouldn't let us so I got my first dog at 33 with my husband, he grew up with tons of dogs and cats and the whole thing. And when we got Bailey, he was a pit Max. We got about six months. He was amazing. And around one I thought he needs a friend. So we let him pick out the front they brought out a couple different dogs and Bailey liked everyone so he was happy. But then when he saw Bobo who was our became our Irish setter, German Shepherd mix me down. He went insane. Like so happy. Like whoa, body wag and we're talking like 2025 feet away. He was already out. So he and then Bobo came in. And it was a love fest. They wrestled that night. That was like 12 Noon. They wrestled that night till midnight. That's when you're never gonna stop. That's fabulous. 

Traer 
Unfortunately, I mean, I think so many shelters, you can't actually bring your dog to meet with you guys. Really? Today. They're like you can't take a dog if you have one you have they have to meet. I agree. It's I think it's just a matter of resources and liability, you know, and but it is so important to how to have your dog meet a prospective dog before you just bring them home surprise, you know exactly. Yeah, absolutely.

YUMWOOF! SPOT 
 Once you've had a wonderful dog a life without one is a life diminished. That's a quote by author Dean Koontz, and I couldn't agree more. I want my wonderful dogs to live as long as possible and what they eat plays a huge role in their health and longevity. kibble is full of seed oils that wreak havoc on our dog's health. They damage their microbiome which affects digestion, oral health, their skin and coat and more. And that's why I feed my dog Benji yam with their air dried food is GMO free and has an inflammation reducing recipe with Omega three and coconut oil. It's all the benefits of fresh food without the fridge carbs, filler seed oils and other inflammatory ingredients you see in other brands. Young look obsessively crafted a healthy low carb food with humanely raised USDA Meat eggs and other non GMO superfoods that my dog loves. Try the number one air dried dog food forget health for 50% off a trial of yum what that's 50% off a trial of yum woof go to www dot yum woof.com that's www while you MW o f.com You and your dog will be so glad you did.

DR. JUDY MORGAN SPOT 
23:28
Does your family include a dog or a cat? Would you like to be better educated on how to advocate for their health naturally? Then why not check out all of the amazing resources on naturally healthy pets.com Dr. Judy Morgan is a trusted advisor and a regular guest here on the dog eared podcast. She has over 38 years experience as an integrative veterinarian, acupuncturist chiropractor, food therapist, author, speaker, podcast host and owner of Dr. Judy Morgan's naturally healthy pets. Dr. Judy's goal is to change the lives of pets by educating and empowering pet parents just like you in the use of natural healing therapies and minimizing the use of chemicals, vaccinations and poor quality processed foods. Head on over to naturally healthy pets.com where you'll discover healthy product recommendations, comprehensive courses, the naturally healthy pets podcast, informative blogs, upcoming events and so much more. Again, that's naturally healthy pets.com The place to learn how to give your pet the vibrant life that they deserve. 

Lisa 
Now, this really pissed me off so sesame is beautiful. I love sesame Aja known male Pitbull
25:00
All I was in this dog fighting situation and this, this kills me, quote in a dogfighting case, the civil case determines custody of the dogs who are considered property. This is outrageous. So you're busted for dog fighting. And then you get to decide if the dogs can get care or not. You have to sign off what?

Traer 
25:20
Yeah, that's really, really messed up. And it happens pretty much every time with dog baiting cases. And so many of them sit, they sit.

25:31
And yeah, and I've been, I guess, fortunate to meet a lot of dogfighting survivors. And I mean, you know, these dogs are, most of them are so broken, and they're, and they're so damaged. And, and the last thing that they need is, you know, to be sitting and waiting, and yeah, the person, the criminal, is the one that ultimately can, can release them and save them. And it's just and in a lot of cases, I mean, there will actually be a bargain made like, okay, you know, what, if you just release these dogs, we will lessen your sentence, or we will, and that's messed up. You know, that's so messed up, really? And that's, I mean, we just have to start moving away from animals being property. Yes. Yeah, that just broke my heart. But I'm glad to know that sesame did find a happy home. 

Lisa 
Don't I have to bring up this just for the name T T. Bananas? Female, typical agent, no. Vivian, who is on the cover of and we melted my heart. And I love what you said about Vivian, you wrote quote, Vivian is an example of a dog who was previously neglected, but also very loved. She was not abused, but lack of funds or knowledge, or both led to her having a host of untreated life threatening conditions that care is prohibitively expensive for many animal owners. I thought that was so interesting. And I can't imagine I mean, blue needed both of his back knees done that cost $8,000. 

Traer 
Yeah, I wanted to include that. Because I think that's a new concept. For some people, not everything is black and white, you know, you can love a dog, you can care for a dog, and maybe you're not caring for it all the way, you know, maybe you're not providing everything. I mean, I'm sure, you know, I'm around so many different dogs. And I mean, my dogs live a pretty basic life. As far as you know, they don't get a ton of treats and pretty basic treats, they get basic vet care, you know, there. But they get what they need. But I guess my interpretation of what they need may be different than somebody else's interpretation of what their dogs might need with gourmet treats and all of this, but this woman, Vivian was Vivian was fostered and cared for by a very, very good friend of mine. And


27:42
it, you know, I think it was important to mention this dog was cared for this dog was loved, but they could not afford the vet care for this dog. No matter I mean, as broken as our healthcare system is in this country, for humans.


27:59
If you know, ultimately, if you have a life threatening condition, you can go to a hospital and you can be treated doesn't mean they're not going to be billed for it. But you cannot do that for a dog, you cannot do that. And unless you have great credit and can then go in debt for 1000s and 1000s of dollars. You can't just take your dog in and have it treated. And so I mean, what are you going to do? What are you going to do when you have a dog with a life threatening condition and you have no money, there aren't a lot of options. And so thankfully, Vivian was brought and thankfully, my friend was called who was the right person to call. And, you know, Viv passed away several months ago, which was sad, but she, I think, I mean, she kind of was, it was a miracle that she made it that long, and she was such a happy, happy dog. And she lived out the last Gosh, I don't know, a year of her life, you know, being so loved and so comfortable. And so living inside with my friend, Trisha, who is just
29:03
an angel doesn't even begin to describe her as far as saving animals, but she has the spectacular foster facility at her house. But Vivian was I think the only dog that ever made it out of there and moved into the house with her and all of our cats and was you know, sleeping on the sofa with her and just she was allowed to be, you know, fully in their home with them because she was just such a remarkable dog. So, wow. It ended well for her but I certainly wish she was still around. Well, what do you recommend for people who really love their dogs but can't pay for any, not any but pay for like a major medical issue? I wish I had an answer. I mean, you know, I know that. You know, Petco and other places offer low cost shots and routine maintenance and things like that. And there's lots of spay neuter clinics, but I don't I don't know I wouldn't. I don't know what to do if one of mine suddenly needs a $5,000 surgery.
30:00
No, it's it. I know a lot of a lot more people are getting pet insurance these days. But that's expensive, too. And so, you know, it's ideally, everybody who owns a dog is gonna have $5,000 in an account just in case they need it. But but that's not realistic. No.

Lisa 
30:19
I don't have that.

Traer 
30:22
So, you know, it's,
30:24
I don't, you know, I don't know what the solution is. So I just wish there was I wish there was more. I wish there were more flexibility, you know, options at at veterinarians, and I know that they're running a business and they have high costs, and I don't, in any way vilify them.


30:40
My vet is the most amazing human on the planet. And I adore her, but I don't know. 

Lisa 
Yeah. Yeah. You know, it's interesting, because with blue, like, we're making choices that are making his life more expensive, meaning we're not buying fancy toys, don't worry, he has really bad skin. Allergies, like he will chew on his paws all day, it'd be uncomfortable, and we were doing the medication route. But then I find out all this stuff during the show, and it suppresses his immune system, and it's not so great. And kibble is really not that great. And you know, he should be on real food. And I'm like, Okay, so I'm spending, you know, like, 100 bucks a week on Turkey or Israel. He's very, he's like the most expensive dog. But I want him to live as long as possible. And because we can afford it, we don't go on vacations, and I buy secondhand clothes. I mean, I'm not joking. Like, we live really simply, this dog is everything to me. But I wouldn't blame someone if they're like, I can't do the other thing. So I know that I'm privileged, you know what I mean? I don't want to act like Well, everyone should be feeding, you know, real food. It's like, well, what can you do? What can you afford? And then make, you know, decisions? Right? 

Traer 
And yeah, and those decisions are really hard. And I think that also, I mean, as far as food goes, I think there's so much, you know, misinformation out there. And it's hard for me to even know exactly what is the right thing to do for my dogs, you know, and one of mine is on super special diet,


32:06
which and it's kibble but it's really pricey. So, you know, not $100 a week, thankfully, but it's it's really tough to have to make decisions like that about a family member.

32:19
And, but

32:22
you know, just what you can afford what is manageable is just so different for everyone.

Lisa 
 Exactly, exactly. The other thing that stood out to me as well was that in the book, you know, I don't want people to think it's just all pit bulls and pit mixes.

Traer 
 Of course that's fine with me but there's a lot of other types of dogs and they're all seem to be from puppy mills. Right? So talk to us about this dichotomy of you've got like every other breed is seems to be from a puppy mill and then you've got these pities that are found in fighting race, which is so sad because that's not where they want to be. No, no, certainly not. No dog wants to be a fought I mean
32:59
Yeah, so one thing about about the about the dichotomy I mean, certainly up here in the northeast, I know it's different in the south are very different. You know, when you're in North Carolina, or Texas and North Carolina is where I'm from, and one of my dogs is from there, but and they've got tons of hounds and beagles and labs and such such variety up here. Primarily, we have pets in the shelters, not counting the transports.
33:24


And so that's what have you know, a lot of the subjects in the book are pets also, because there are so many in shelters and so many without homes. They ended up being I think, there are so many stories and there's so many so many good and bad stories, because there are so many that need homes, the puppy mills, which so that that group that I worked with is in Pennsylvania, where so many of the puppy mills are Amish puppy mills, and I was in the heart of Amish country, you know, buggies everywhere and the whole the whole thing and,

34:02
and I mean they're you know, they do breed some larger dogs, but primarily, you know, they are breeding small dogs for a number of reasons. They take up less space. People want them you can get you can fit, you know six puppies in a cage with a small breed, whereas with a husky you can't and there is actually a husky in the book that was a puppy mill dogs, so they do breed larger dogs. But the bulk of what I see personally is smaller dogs and all kinds of, you know, mixing this with that just so long as it's small and fluffy, you know, we'll be able to unload it. And then the Cavalier the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel that's in the book weenie who's one of my absolute favorites because I have a Cavalier but they are super popular in puppy mills because they are super popular dog right now. So whatever people want, whatever people are buying, I imagined Frenchies, who are the number one I guess breed and seeing that females are overrun breeding Frenchies right now um
35:00
And obviously those for anyone out there who does not know about puppy mills, they are pure evil. And
35:09
the best way to ever avoid buying a puppy mill dog is to never buy a dog from a pet store to never buy a dog online to never buy a dog that you can't go and meet that person and meet the dog's parents and see the property and be part of the family. It's, excuse me,
35:29
you know, these people just just kind of like the dairy industry, they put up beautiful pictures online of this bucolic farm, you know, where these dogs come from. And maybe that is their farm. But that's not how the dogs live. And the really bizarre. I don't know, the bizarre, horrible thing about puppy mills is that they're really, for the most part protected by law right now.
35:48
Which is something that, you know, we're all working to change as well, commercial breeding facilities are still largely protected by law. And with the Amish farms, it's really tough, you know, to get into those properties, and regulate them in any way. And just the suffering is so immense. So, you know, the best way for puppy mills to go away is for people to stop buying the dogs. 

Lisa 
Exactly. You know, I have to thank my husband because this was 23 years ago, and we were finally living in a place where we could get a dog and I'd never had when I was just so excited. We were not mall people. But we just happened to be we had just moved here we're in New England, and we needed some stuff. And we went to the mall and we passed a pet store and I see this little Beagle puppies the cutest thing ever seen. And I hold it. I'm like, Oh, honey, and he goes, nope, put the puppy down. Tomorrow, we'll go to the shelter. Right. And we got Bailey, our pit mix with that.

Traer 
 He was like, totally normal. I mean, that's the thing. That's what, that's what these stores count on. And I mean, as we move along, fewer and fewer, you know, dogs are fewer and fewer stores are selling dogs, which is what we want. I mean, we all petitioned the local store here who was selling dogs to stop at the did.
37:01
And but I can't pass pass by a puppy in a window. Okay, sorry, you're hearing some bark. On dog eared.
37:10
You're gonna see a puppy in the window, and you're gonna hold it and you're going to also think this dog needs me. This dog needs me to say, and in a way it kind of does. But then you're just you're perpetuating the entire industry. Exactly. So it's, it's but it's so hard to think well, no, I'm just going to leave this dog and I you know, making a sacrifice. Basically, this dog is going to be a sacrifice to to help in this industry. That's a tough thing to think. And I've met so many people who've told me that they quote rescued their dog from a pet store. And
37:45
I get it, but you're not you're just now making a space for more puppies. 

Lisa 
Exactly. Loud. You know, when we went to the shelter and I every dog was barking and Bailey had just he had been hit by a car and he was in the back and had a cone on his head and they said this dog is might need an expensive surgery. Well, we were leaving for free because my in laws had I mean, yeah, my in laws had an in law apartment that we were living so we had no rent. I'm like, Well, I'm taking this dog. Like I fell in love with him. The second I didn't know anything about him. I didn't know what breed he was. I didn't know that much. And he was a Border Terrier pit mix. So he looked like something very but big. But he's just the most lovable. I miss him so much. Great mix. Yeah, he's he was gorgeous. He died in 2013. People should follow me on my tic tock Instagram and Twitter because I've been posting pictures of Bailey and Bobo who I mentioned my senator Shepherd mix, at least Davis mph. I also wanted to mention that, you know, I didn't I know puppy mills are horrific. But you wrote right in the book that many had no idea what beds, toys or grass were? 

Traer 
Yes, I don't think people know how deprived they are. They are so deprived. These are dogs who live their entire life in a wire cage, usually stacked on top of other wire cages. So every time they poop, or pee, it's just going to fall down onto the other dogs below them. Their puppies are going to be born in that, you know, the mothers particularly are going to live their whole lives in that cage producing litter after litter after litter after litter having their puppies taken away at a young age being sold, the process going on and on until they are no longer producing. And then to be quite honest, they're either killed or in case of the lucky ones when the farmer is compassionate enough to dump them. You know, sometimes they get dumped at a vet or just dropped off at a rescue and that's the best possible scenario when a lot of these rescues are really trying to forge relationships with these farmers so that they will give them their dogs rather than shooting them, you know, but these dogs don't touch grass. They don't have any human contact that they
40:00
Have no comforts. So when you meet a dog that has just come from a mill, they are totally shut down. They're virtually catatonic
40:11
and it takes a long time, you know, for them to, to come around. I mean, I just talked to whinnies mom, so sorry about the barking. I just talked to weenies mom a couple of weeks ago, and she was telling me how wonderful she's doing.
40:28
But it you know, it took about a year for her to even
40:33
start doing normal things, right. Oh, I bet and I grabbed her. I'd like to see her actually.

Traer
40:40
Let me see your baby.

Lisa 
 Oh, you're so cute. This is Rose. My other one I can't pick up because he's huge. Always wanted to King Charles are so beautiful. Oh my god. They're wonderful. They're wonderful. You're gonna offer gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous for most loving creatures. Oh, I'm sure every dog in this book is precious. Every story is fantastic.

41:08
Anyway, before we go to things, I want people to get the book so they can read about sisu that's all I'm gonna say I'm not up here. That story. So fantastic. And then at the end of the book, I love this, this wonderful story about a starfish. And there's a girl and she's picking up the starfish. And there's a man who's like, why are you doing that there's miles miles of beach, it's so many starfish. And
41:35
you can't you cannot put you can't possibly make a difference. And she basically goes on to say, well, it made a difference for that one.
41:42
So the work you've done is phenomenal. You're going to be back many many more times. I hope I could have conversations for hours and I got me to

Lisa 
41:52
I've so enjoyed this. Is there anything we didn't touch on? chair that you were hoping we did in this interview? And again, you'll be back? 

Traer 
No, this was wonderful. Thank you. I mean, I
42:03
forever home was I think my two wealth books. So
42:08
and there there are more. There are more in the works. So I would definitely Oh, come back. Oh, yeah, we should you know, we should do? Because I've been wanting to do a second show a week's
42:20
treasure spot. No, really. It's not much but anyway, 

Lisa 
we'll talk but you're fantastic. Tell us all the ways we can find you and all your wonderful work.

Traer 
 Yes, definitely. trescott.com is my website. Please follow me on Instagram at Trader Scott. And those are my two primary I guess. channels of communication. And yeah,

Lisa 
42:42
now I'm going to spell your name it's T R A E R and then Scott S C O TT. I don't usually give my handle the middle of the show. But I was so excited about Bobo and Bailey. I missed them so much. Bobo passed in 2016.
42:58
Yeah, they were we call them the good boys. The original voice and these guys are the second set of Good boys. We'd love them all. Anyway, do follow me so you can see all the good boys at Lisa Davis mph Twitter Tiktok and Instagram also I started Facebook page for dog eared with Lisa Davis. And just keep coming back and while you're here check out help our our everybody keep coming back to dog eared