Nikolaus “Niko” Connell (White German Shepherd)

Dog Gone
Episode 01: Nikolaus “Niko” Connell (White German Shepherd)

Jason Connell and Sal Rodriguez share the memorable life of Jason's dog Niko.

Nikolaus “Niko” Connell
(White German Shepherd)
June 7, 2014 - May 11, 2022
(7 years, 11 months, 4 days)
https://www.instagram.com/NikoWhiteShepherd/

Recorded: 05-26-22
Studio: Just Curious Media
https://www.JustCuriousMedia.com/

Listen:
https://DogGone.buzzsprout.com/

Watch:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC79bCAKHdtgfu3Yl8TlLbEA/

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Host:
https://www.instagram.com/MrJasonConnell/

Guest:
https://www.instagram.com/SalvadorLosAngeles/

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Transcript

Jason Connell: 0:01

Whoa, just curious. Welcome to Just curious media. This is dog on. And I'm Jason Connell on the show today I'm joined by special guest Sal Rodriguez.

Sal Rodriguez: 0:14

Thank you, Jason.

Jason Connell: 0:15

Well, Sal, I always have you on. So it seems, launch a new show. Yes. And here we are.

Sal Rodriguez: 0:24

And I'm usually honored, and I'm even more honored for this one.

Jason Connell: 0:27

Well, thank you. Thank you this show the concept and the name of the show date back to when I was launching just curious media. Oh, yeah. I probably told you about it even before you were involved in just curious media. I was coming up with different show ideas and was like, you know, I'm very much a dog person. Yep. Have been for much of my life have raised two incredible dogs as an adult had dogs growing up family dogs, of course. But two that I named raised the whole bit and you knew one of them. Sure. Brody back in the day. Yeah. So this show was kind of just sitting there idling because what happened was we got busy doing let's talk Cobra Kai. And that led to now we're over 100 episodes. So kudos to us and the show. And we were involved in that show before Netflix got involved with Cobra Kai and it became even more popular

Sal Rodriguez: 1:24

now that you mentioned that Cobra Kai needs a dog. Dog on Cobra Kai.

Jason Connell: 1:28

Yeah, yes, indeed. And so we also launched that's a crime, a really fun crime show that we do. And there was always let's talk movies. So very pop culture, a lot of fun, great stuff, entertainment. But I was always gonna round out just curious media with more shows and just different offerings. And so one was this show called doggone. And the concept for the show is, or the synopsis is a dog lovers podcast devoted to honoring the lives and memories of man's best friend. And so you say that to some people, and they're like, oh my god, that could be incredible. And others are like, whoa, that's like watching the movie Marley and Me, they know, it could evoke emotions, and sadness. And so I nearly launched the show sell in 2019. I, you know, he doesn't know how things are gonna go. We were just doing Cobra Kai, each episode, you know, of the seasons. That's all we were gonna do. We now do special features. And we haven't gone as a weekly show. But there was moments where I was like, Okay, I was working on another show called pot finance. And you're just kind of trying to figure and navigate a new venture out. So I had a person that contacted me, we were still misses pre pandemic. And I was gonna have him on the show. But I didn't have episode two, three, I didn't have the format, timing didn't work out. And it just kind of got shelved. It happens. So I have been thinking about this show more and more over the last, I don't know, six, seven months. Now that we're kind of a well oiled machine. Maybe it's time to bring this show in. But then it's like, well, where do you get people? You know, it's not just easy. It's not like, hey, Sal, you and I can just talk about Cobra Kai or, or this crime or it's like, there's another layer involved, and then kind of out of nowhere. Real life happens. Right? Yeah. And my super healthy dog, Nicholas Nico Connell, this beautiful, a beautiful white German shepherd that I've raised since puppyhood. Passed away very recently, two weeks to the day of this recording. And so we're gonna get into his life. And that's the whole purpose of this show is to mourn and to share and to grieve and tell stories and the highs and lows and how we're still figuring this format out. But this is still new and fresh to me. And I wanted to honor him. And the moment in after I kind of realized what was happening because he got sick, and it all happened very quickly. But when I had a moment of clarity, I thought so this is I told Sophia, I have to do this show now. And now meaning like an honor Nico in the first episode, it will just be that spark that can help so many others.

Sal Rodriguez: 4:10

Oh, yeah. The operative word, I think is sharing. Like you said, yeah, yeah, we share you share in our grieving. They share in our grieving, we share in their grieving. We're all grieving together in a way.

Jason Connell: 4:23

Totally. And I was like, This is not an opportunity. It just felt like my calling to do this. Nico's calling. What would be a better point to say, hey, this happened to me. I'm going to go on this journey and share and maybe others would want to follow that like, well, he can do it and and I understand the framework of this, who knows this show could go so many episodes and just kind of fade away but hopefully it will help heal me. And maybe anybody else listening in some regard or at least reflect on their dog in their life current or past or from the childhood or something. I mean, I will say Been thinking? I'll do like nine episodes, and maybe I'll do one for Brody, Brody con on my chocolate Labrador Retriever that I lost in 2013. Now that's been a while, but I was thinking, Yeah, well, how could I honor him? So this was I was blindsided by these current events that took place. Most recently,

Sal Rodriguez: 5:18

you have been talking about this show for a long time. Who would have guessed that you would, in a sense, be the first guest? Yeah, it's a timing thing. And the timing is right, right now.

Jason Connell: 5:29

It is. And so here we are. And so anybody listening to this first episode, or wherever you are still navigating here. This first episode is also going to give the backstory of the show itself. Obviously, if we move forward and get more guest, it will be more streamlined. But Brody, my other dog, like I mentioned, did pass away in September 2013, at 12 years old. And he had a great run great life. And I always had this assumption, that Nikko would be in that family. Now they're bigger dogs, but it was over 100 pounds. Nico is a bigger dog, and I'll get into his stats and background. But I was always planning, you know, this guy, his grandparents were still alive. When I got him, his parents were alive. 12 1314. So he got taken to me much earlier than that. So again, just out of nowhere, and to say that I'm in the middle of grieving, I don't even know where I am in that scope. But there's much more to go much more grieving and loss. And it's like, Brody had gotten sick and lived a little bit longer. I wouldn't say it makes it easier sell. But at the same time, it's less shocking.

Sal Rodriguez: 6:34

So Brody had what a diagnosis and then until his final demise was how long

Jason Connell: 6:38

about a year I knew something was coming nine months, 12 months, and they're like, Yeah, this is only gonna get worse. But I'm thinking, you know, he's about to turn 12. And so you don't feel better. But at the same time, maybe it's to be expected at some point.

Sal Rodriguez: 6:53

It's a little more time to brace yourself, you know,

Jason Connell: 6:56

and I brace myself for that long. And then we'll get into the timeline here. And it's just like, huh, yeah, and then it's life, though. I mean, some dogs are hit by a car. Sure. Healthy is anything and then a real tragedy what I mean it just a sudden tragedy, there's zero. Time to brace for that. So I relishing and cherishing all the memories I have, but the sting and the pain and the loss all of that we're dealing with. So I really want this show to celebrate Nico's life, but also how I'm trying to deal with his loss. The show is called Dog on. And yeah, it's a play on words. And I think it's clever and touching and meaningful. And anyone who's had a dog has most likely lost a dog. And people can relate to

Sal Rodriguez: 7:42

Sure. There's so many talking points. When it comes to this topic, you know, you have Niko himself, right? You have you, you have your relationship. You have how you grieve. And then you get into how other people grieve, how maybe men are supposed to grieve versus how women are supposed to grieve and how your friends will comfort you or attempt to comfort you or things that they say or don't say. There's a lot to unravel here. So much is unspoken. So much.

Jason Connell: 8:12

I mean, I've told my friends, I've been making friends out here in the Boston area and sports friends mainly, it seems basketball friends, soccer friends. And yeah, I mean, they're like, Hey, man, and I'm just getting to know these guys. And I told them, because that's just who I am, when it happened, you know, and they said, Oh, you know, everyone, they've been there. And it was nice to hear, Oh, my gosh, I lost my dog six months ago, or a year ago, or it kind of bonds you more, but really, it doesn't go much deeper than that. No one wants to get into how they really feel or no one wants to get into. Especially a bunch of guys talking about to start crying and the wires are still raw, you know, they, but I'm not gonna go dump that on them. It's just it's kind of taboo, Sal.

Sal Rodriguez: 8:56

No. And you know, what I would like to do in grieving what I personally would like to do, when I grieve. I would just like to, like, go to some island and just totally just, like, shut down for a month or two, at least, you know, and then come back. And here I am now, you know, but yeah, so like, we need that. Instead, we gotta go about our lives. We got to conduct our business, and we got to go and we got a podcast, you know what I mean? We keep doing our thing. And I really feel like that's one of the things people do is you just go about your lives and you just hope that the pain diminishes over time. You know, but there are different practices and ideals that people have about this very topic.

Jason Connell: 9:33

Yeah. And I'm no expert. I'm not here to say I know anything other than I'm a podcaster I'm a dog lover, and I want to share his story and my story, you know, our story, essentially Nico and myself the best I can and that I'm going to attempt to do so. Let's go back. I lose a dog 2013 I purchased a home I was in another relationship is forever ago, purchased Home in spring of 2014, and that it started to, I wanted to scratch that itch of like, ah, you know, it's missing a dog, you know, had been nine months plus I thought I might you never know You just know it's time when you're ready. And then when I felt that, that urge to this new house, this new kind of passage in life, then the research began. And immediately I wanted to get another chocolate Labrador Retriever. I had one as a kid, Brody was my first adult dog, and he meant everything to me, he moved to LA with me. So he was like that part of my life. And was even contacting the breeder and just thought, Wait a second. This is a chance to not replicate Brody, maybe I get a different breed that I've also been intrigued by. And I happened to be watching the show Game of Thrones at the time. Around that time, you know, it was on for many years and, and there was these dogs or more wolves, and one was named ghost, and he was white. And it was gorgeous and huge. If you watch the show, like bigger than life, these aren't just normal dogs or wolves. But yeah, so I just kind of planted that seed like Well, I've always been interested in German Shepherds. They're just like a lab and the way that they're smart and trainable. And family dogs and all these things. They can learn lots of words, but they have that protection gene where the lab may or may not. Yeah, started looking online. And that led me to a breeder that special. I know people might get mad about this. I know but I did find a breeder that had white German Shepherds, also known as Alsatians, and it was in the middle of the country. It was in Missouri, this particular breeder but I talked to them it was a horse farm their ethical the way they did everything. And it wasn't it wasn't a mill. It wasn't a puppy mill factory. No, it was like they wouldn't even breed that much. And I just thought I wouldn't mind having good stock. Brody was AKC registered. I wanted to do the same for Nico. It's all I know, I've only had one at the time. One adult dog. So I was getting a second but I also wanted to raise him from puppyhood. I'm up for that. Can

Sal Rodriguez: 12:10

I just qualify real quick? My sister breeds dogs. Okay. My sister is a dog breeder. Believe me. I know. It's sort of a topic that some people. Yeah, I know. People talk about it. You know what I mean? Right. So no, I just want to say my sister's a dog breeder. I've been a dog shows I've been a birthing. So you know, I've been there.

Jason Connell: 12:25

Yeah. Okay. As my preference. So I was on a trip and Oklahoma visiting family, and was like, hey, maybe now's the time and found them and set this thing up. And when I was leaving, Oklahoma would basically drive it was going to be two hours, and they agreed to meet me, they will drive one hour and save my time because I'm gonna go pick him up and then just head on my way all the way back to

Sal Rodriguez: 12:49

shoot him. Fornia was like a bed and breakfast where you can go like, stay there. Now. That would

Jason Connell: 12:52

have been nice. Yeah. And they really were trying to pitch me or sell me on the other male. They only had two big males. I was like, oh, yeah, two would be cool for the siblings.

Sal Rodriguez: 13:01

But yeah, oh, yeah. Oh, wow. Yeah,

Jason Connell: 13:05

I really thought long and hard about it. But I was like, you know, I have always had the one. I know what that's like. And it's a lot of work because we would do training and Nico, and I would. And so I went with Nico. And I had no name for a little while and it on his name. To be clear. It's Nicolas, which is German. Yeah. The German Shepherd. My last name is on his paper. So I always went with Connell. Yeah. And then, but you can't say Nicolaas 1000 timesolv. And you have a dog. You got to have a name. It's like, you know, Brody was great Brody Brody. So it became Nico and I knew that right away. It wasn't just by happenstance, it was like, we may have come up with Nico first. And then Nicolaas later to kind of have the German roots. Because Nico is actually Japanese. And it means sunlight. And so it was kind of funny. If I say his name is Nico. someone's like, oh, well, you know, it's Japanese so that I tell the whole German story. But anyway, that's how he got his names. Of course, he was a male dog. I liked the bigger dogs. His father was 120 pounds. His mother was 100 pounds. So I was always like, come on, Nico. You know, I want you to be a big boy. And he did get to 120 pounds. So and then he would kind of fluctuate a little bit because he was super active. But it was born on June 7 2014. And I met him on August 27 2014. The day that I drove up to Missouri, and they met me at some gas station basically just said, here he is. And he's this big. I mean, this guy is huge, but he's still in a hand, you know, kind of an arm. Yeah. And so I got him and he'd only been in a car that day. And here he is on a three day trek, and it doesn't know me from anything. Yeah. And we're bonding right out.

Sal Rodriguez: 14:46

Have you had car rides before that just to get to me so the second car ride was with

Jason Connell: 14:51

you. The second car ride he handled it well, brilliantly. Some dogs, they get upset stomachs, they might vomit but he was like champ and something about that. German Shepherds also wanted to say I was I know this, but some of those traits that intrigued me which I pulled this online or offline, intelligent, curious, stubborn, alert, obedient, loyal, confident, protective, courageous and watchful, all true. And that might be true about a lot of dogs. But especially true with Nikko and German Shepherds. They want a job, they need to feel part of the family, they figure things out, and they do have that protective gene about them. anybody's gonna come up on the set, come in the house or whatever. They're not gonna bite first, but they're gonna bark and protect and once I know, it's all good. Hey, you're there, buddy. It's kind of amazing to see how breeds different breeds respond to different situations. But oh, yeah, the Missouri is the show me state which I always get a kick out of the seat on license. Oh, he's not those funny. So that's the beginning. You know, again, this is new ground for me. But like all dogs, I mean, yes, that puppy hood phase is fast. So I mean, they go, I was just taking photos and videos of him every day. It's like, oh my gosh, they're sleeping. They're growing. They're sleeping. They're growing. I mean, he had these huge years. And by the way, I'm gonna post photos of all dogs on dog on on the Instagram. So I'll share that at the end, which is really just going to be dog on podcast can find that on Instagram, Facebook, as well. But he's beautiful white Shepherd. When I first got to know he had these huge years and he kind of had to grow into them. I think the ears were full grown and you don't do anything. They stand up on their own for a shepherd some dogs. You have to cut them. Yeah. Yeah, these are this. And it was hilarious. It's like he kinda looks like a rabbit. So I have these photos of him riding shotgun tiny little guy, huge ears, and big pulse. So I knew he had some growing to do to say the least it was it was quite funny. You're using photos though? No, you

Sal Rodriguez: 16:53

know what though? I haven't seen any photos of Nico from puppyhood until today I saw a couple I think on Instagram. But before today I don't think that I've seen any puppyhood photos

Jason Connell: 17:02

all I encourage you to go to Nico white shepherd and I K O white Shepherd and you can see some of them so yeah, shot to

Sal Rodriguez: 17:10

there Can I just say very handsome dog Thank you very handsome

Jason Connell: 17:14

Yeah, we would get stopped by cars because he does look as very good looking and be it's unusual to see a white German Shepherd some people like that's not a husky that's what people do

Sal Rodriguez: 17:26

that's what I thought very different. Yeah,

Jason Connell: 17:28

well when you look at him knowing you know dogs you know that's not a husky with the shape and the body and the head it's just not like they have smaller ears that fluffier to there's there's a difference. And so I would a lot of times this happen. I mean, a ton I can't say every day but it happens a lot. Either a car pulls over or someone comes over it's like oh my god he's gorgeous. What is the or or they had a white Shepherd and they spotted him immediately and they want to bond I mean dogs are such bonding animals that people want to come over they will share their story

Sal Rodriguez: 17:59

only people in my neighborhood have a civil conversations in my neighborhood our dog walkers, total dog walkers commensurate with each other. You do if you're not walking down the street here with a dog. No one's gonna talk to you. Yeah, if you're without a dog, forget. Yeah.

Jason Connell: 18:13

Who are you? So on the intelligent thing? Well, we went to puppy kindergarten together. I did the same thing with Brody. Because it had been a while since I trained to Doc think about it. You know, I hadn't trained a dog since 2001. Here I am in 2014. It's like, I read three books about German Shepherds. And then I read. What's that famous dog whisperer. Cesar Millan TV show. I read one of his books because he deals with all different breeds. Yeah, of course it seasonable Ansari, but went to classes. He was like head of the class. It was really fun. They're really just training me.

Sal Rodriguez: 18:48

Sure What's happening? Well, that's what Cesar Milan says, You have to train. They're the owners. Yeah, this is

Jason Connell: 18:52

not one of those places that you've dropped your dog off and come back and they're training you know, we go through it together and, and he was really great. And he started doing of course, he could sit stay rollover shake with both pause, high five with both pause. He also did this pray thing, which was so good. I have videos of this, he would hop up and do his hands like this, and your hand and pray and then expect the treat after he ran the whole gamut of these things, which is hysterical. And then he could speak on command, which I really loved a lot of footage of that which I'll have to put some of those up on online. But you get through that and you've got to he understands different words. I didn't keep it going. Now. Bernie did have one claim to fame that Nico was not interested in. But Brody could go to the refrigerator, open it and get a beer that you saw him do. I'm sure at one of our parties or they heard me talk about it. It's true. He really could. Labradors a little different. They'll like oh, yeah, I'm uncomfortable. But I'm gonna do this. He would go in there, open it, bring a beer, canned beer and bring it to you. But Nikko never liked the fridge. He's like, Yeah, I don't want to open this. He said he was not interested in doing that trick, but he could do other things.

Sal Rodriguez: 19:58

Wait, hang on. Let me ask you, Jason, did you do it? years past I've seen people training German Shepherds. And they do I think they do with Dobermans, too, because I think Dobermans, German also, they do the German words the German commands. Did you do any of that? Yeah,

Jason Connell: 20:10

initially, I would do that I'd be like Octomom are different things and tell him but then we just got away from it. So I would just say things like go look and go look meant like run around the house and look at because our old house in LA you could like, oversee like the neighborhood below and across the street. So he would go to all the there's a lot of windows, he would go to all the windows and checkup. So that was his job. Like one and two. Yeah, but so I just kind of I kind of went American English, I should say, I got away from the German words, but I thought it was cool if I if I was gonna make him a full on guard dog, which I was not. I was making a family dog a Frisbee dog. But yeah, he easily could have picked that up. But he didn't know the English words. So yeah, go look. And he'd be like, oh, yeah, I'm gonna go check this out. It's hilarious to see him running around the house with a job to do. Couple of great things about him as well. Never once did he ever attempt to get on any furniture sale. I didn't have to stop him. Not warn him. He just didn't care for it. He kind of you know, German Shepherds. He's running kind of hot. He wants to be lower to the ground. We always had hardwood floors or some sort of stain concrete. So he just loved the floor. Never wanted to get on the bed. So I was like, this is easy, never destroyed anything that wasn't his.

Sal Rodriguez: 21:29

Well, Jason, this is where we kind of diverged, because when I have a pet, I'm like, get on the bed and sleep with me right now. That's why you're here. Come on, let's

Jason Connell: 21:37

go on the pound dog. It is a difficult thing. So you have to brush up a lot. Oh, yeah. He had two coats. I was brushing him daily. Definitely every other day or every third day, like different times of the year. Yeah. Oh, I was every day I was sweeping or running the vacuum. So he would have been. It was a routine. I mean, it wasn't. Yeah, there's that. Exactly. It wasn't terrible in the house because I had kept it up and I hit we play outside and we're super active when I was brushing him. But yeah, the bed would have been destroyed. Yeah. So I wasn't into that. He was a super athlete. And Nico was a champion frisbee ball catcher not being a retriever. I wasn't sure if he would take to it. But I play a ton of frisbee from my disc golf days ultimate days, and he has special frisbees that he inherited from Brody, which was nice. But Bernie would bring you the Frisbee back and want you to throw it again. Yeah, Niko, not so much. He has the one you better have one more. And then he dropped the one for the one in your hand and catch it. And then you just gotta walk over and take the other one away. So it was a different game. But it was like on his terms. Oh, and then when if he ever got to so come get me. He had leverage. He knew. So you'd have to have a third one. And then he'd way does one him throwing at me catching outweigh me having to you'd see him think about these things. It was hilarious.

Sal Rodriguez: 23:01

That's very intelligent. That's the Stanford marshmallow game that they would do with the kids or Stanford marshmallow test, where they would get the kids in the lab, they would say here's a marshmallow. If you leave the marshmallow alone, in 20 minutes, I come back with two marshmallows, or you could have the marshmallow and then they leave and they you see the kid like that? Do and they say it's a sign of delayed gratification and delayed gratification is supposedly a sign of intelligence. They say,

Jason Connell: 23:26

yeah, well he knew. Then I have to really entice him to catch it in the air. Like check this out. You love this. And he loved doing that so much. He would give up the goods for the unless he was done for the day. And then he just he would finally just drop them and go inside. So he was just it was incredible at it. So I have so much footage of him catching Frisbees. I have a GoPro, some funny shots, I put it all over the yard, or my iPhone, so more fun things to view. He was a Cross Country Road Trip warrior. You couldn't have a better co pilot never asked to go to the restroom. I mean, we stopped I was worried about him. Yeah, he will say a peep. We went from California to Minnesota, not in one swoop, we'd stop and stay in like, like have a zoo Santa Fe, I have a Colorado we would stop along the way and enjoy ourselves, meet people or meet friends. But it was amazing. That whole road trip and back from California to Oklahoma when I moved there during the pandemic just to check on family and do things here he is my co pilot and a u haul that time. Never one complaint. Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, where I live now. And then most recently, his last big road trip was Massachusetts to Florida and back. Loved it. The guy was amazing on roadshow.

Sal Rodriguez: 24:47

Jason Nico has seen more of us than I have. Yeah, exactly.

Jason Connell: 24:50

I've been everywhere, man. He he's just like he's spotting license plates.

Sal Rodriguez: 24:55

Yeah. Playing the buggy game. Yeah, he's

Jason Connell: 24:58

doing all that. Now. He was always my dogs. I had several cars with Nico but he was always in the very back I dedicated the back of an SUV to him for him patted it out plenty of height. These are always bigger SUVs, FJ Cruiser and I now have a really great Grand Cherokee. So he had plenty of room to move around. I put nothing back there with him besides his beds and his comfort zone. So when you're traveling across country, you're taking the back seat. And that's it, you know, you don't get the very bag which is designed for cargo, but he was the precious cargo.

Sal Rodriguez: 25:31

So he didn't like the passenger seat. He's so

Jason Connell: 25:34

big. I wanted to give him that he could turn around. And so no, I didn't put dogs in the second seat. probably safer back there, too. I'm thinking much safer, I would think Yeah. And I keep the window down. But if he needs air, I just put the back windows down. Quiet as can be so never a complaint. Not one. I'm even saying hey, do you want to stop and we'll go potty soon and you see it pop up. Just gonna throw him a bone there. And then we would get out of restaurants and whatnot. Also, so this is something that I'm still dealing with. Because if I left the house for five hours or five minutes, I'm going to get greeted by him running down the stairs like I hadn't seen me in forever. And that's something that you just can never get enough of.

Sal Rodriguez: 26:22

And one of the primary differences between dogs and cats.

Jason Connell: 26:25

Yeah, cats are like, Oh, it's you again.

Sal Rodriguez: 26:27

Yeah, you again.

Jason Connell: 26:29

So soon? Yeah, there is a difference in the two. Yeah, the dogs probably unfortunately, they run a little bit on the anxiety side. You know, they have that fear. You're never coming home. Separation anxiety. But it's so cute. Hey,

Sal Rodriguez: 26:47

audition that goes a little both ways. Because I think I always have a fear that what if I don't come back home? What if I don't come back home? You know? Well, there's that. Let me put a little a little extra water out. Let me let me make sure that dry foods filled. You know, let me make sure that if I didn't come back, they'd be okay for a few days.

Jason Connell: 27:03

I think about that, too. I would always have them go to the restroom. Again, before I left. I would always make sure he had enough. He was so good though. So he wouldn't eat or drink. The minute we left unless he was finishing dinner. And I was like, I'll see you later. You'd come home and he'd see you. He go potty come in, and he'd drink for a whole minute. He knew if he drank and ate. He didn't really know what I'm popping back in. So he figured it out. And then it was in a holding pattern. Yeah, very smart. Now in one house in LA, which is really cool, because the climate and the access to this big backyard, and I could leave this door open through the garage. He had access. And I love that when you get to other parts of the country. And the climate is not as just stable. I couldn't do that here. But I don't leave him for long stunts or I did not do that. So very smart. Figured it out. Oh, you're gonna go I'm gonna hold off on drinking. He doesn't even take the risk. Here's questions. He loved Sal questions. He loved these things. Do you want to go outside? It's like he could be in a deep sleep. And just that was like he do a spin. He's up. Oh my gosh, it was hilarious. Or very similar. You want to go for a walk? Or maybe the biggest of a mall is do you want to go for a ride? He could be in the backyard with three frisbees holding him back from me. You know, keeping them away. I could say you want to go for a ride. He's dropping them and he's running to go get in the back of the SUV. So cute. So predictable. Yeah, right. So predictably,

Sal Rodriguez: 28:35

amazed, like how we can distinguish between the phrases. Yeah, he knew the difference.

Jason Connell: 28:40

A ride well, he loves going around town. It could be a five minute ride. Or we can go cross country.

Sal Rodriguez: 28:46

Did you ever take him for a walk? Could you get that a new electric bike? It did. Was he ever alongside any of your rides when you bike? I didn't

Jason Connell: 28:52

introduce that. Too complicated. Yeah. I mean, I would just go for long walks. He saw the bike or he would see back in the day would see my scooter, but I never never incorporated them. He's just so big sound. Yeah. I mean, a little fufu dog, you know, maybe you could carry them and he's just like a person. Yeah. So no, I

Sal Rodriguez: 29:13

think I weighed about 120 and Middle School. Exactly.

Jason Connell: 29:16

Or he would also like questions like, do you want to eat? Do you want to treat or do you want a bone those also triggered him big time. The bones he would go to a certain spot if it was outside the big huge cow bones with all the stuff that meat still on there in the bone marrow he'd work on it for days but that guy could knock him out man strong jaw strong teeth.

Sal Rodriguez: 29:39

Would you special order those if you were to go to the butcher? I would

Jason Connell: 29:42

get him at well let the pet stores or order the Archein Okay, and yeah, he thought they were amazing.

Sal Rodriguez: 29:49

I hadn't thought of a pet store because I think when I was growing up my mother would go to the butcher and say hey, well, they would like it was from the butcher little the leftovers. Right. Sam the butcher from Yeah, exactly. Yeah, we would get them but now I guess Yeah, pet stores eventually would have But yeah, they're

Jason Connell: 30:01

more they're not as media as the ones from the butcher, probably. But these bones are safe and not going to splinter. So I just was like, well, we'll go with that. He also knew when the night was over, because I would say, Let's go to bed. And he would, in this house, he would come upstairs, and then sleep on the floor, on his bed, on the floor in the master bedroom. But he knew what that meant. And when I'm like getting ready and brushing teeth, and maybe showering, if I hadn't showered, he'll just lay there by the bed and look up and wait for me to pet him some more and then get into the bed. So it was incredibly cute. And you just count on that? Yeah, yeah, just part of the thing. It's reliable.

Sal Rodriguez: 30:43

He knew

Jason Connell: 30:43

what I was recording, he'd seen me kind of getting ready to go in the room to record and I would say, I'll be right, you know, I'm gonna go on here. I'm gonna record I'll be done on while and he'd be waiting outside that door right there. When I got done, when you and I mostly it's you and I would walk outside areas. And he's he knows I'm gonna take him outside. So that's what you get used to? Yeah, so. And that's just part of what you start missing. Sure. And like, wait a second, this doesn't make sense. Conversely, here are some phrases he disliked. I would say to him, not a fan of this, I've got to go immediately was just head down. He knows I'm leaving our I'll be right back. Both means that I'm going to be gone for a while. Again, to him five minutes could be 30 hours. Their concept of time is not very good. So the dogs don't really get it. But he also knew the drill when he saw me get my sports gear out. Or if you saw suitcases, or duffel bags that caused him great anxiety. So if he saw that happening, and it was a trip that he was going on, I had to hurry up and tell him Hey, hey, don't worry, you're coming. You're coming with us. It's all good. But then he get fired up and want to go to the SUV like early. I'm still packing. So you have to kind of be wary when you introduce those phrases. Sure, he could not stop his enthusiasm, even you know, when he was almost eight, it was almost like he was still a little puppy. They get so excited. And they're just like, locked in on it. But I'd put him outside and let him run around for a while I'm getting like the suitcases and the trips of the car. Because he's so big. So hit us getting away. Sure. So sometimes I would just give it and put him in the car early and have all the windows down and just keep loading the car. But he's like I'm in let's do this. So those are really cute times indeed. So I'm sure people can relate to some of these things, if not all of them. And then just a few stories and then I'll kind of get into when things pivoted and obviously it became about losing my best friend. Just a few things came into mind the day we met. I've talked about the first car ride it was incredible to meet a dog and to it's a weird way to bond it's like you're literally going to hotels or Airbnb. I suppose he didn't have all of his shots because he they do them in stages. Yeah, so I couldn't even let him run free. So I'm literally like carrying this dog around learning him. He's learning me dropping him to go pee and you know, do his business

Sal Rodriguez: 33:17

or not potty trained yet right now I

Jason Connell: 33:19

didn't quite know I had a little tiny crate not potty trained, just dealing with all these new sensations. You know, he's whining all night. So I'm trying to keep fans going and while I that was an interesting time, but it was amazing. But it was like having like a little infant with me on this road trip.

Sal Rodriguez: 33:37

You went from Missouri to back to California. Yeah, we drove

Jason Connell: 33:40

we stopped three nights. Yeah, I think it was in Norman, Oklahoma. Albuquerque, New Mexico. We actually drove by the Breaking Bad set house with Nico this young. I've had him for the second day.

Sal Rodriguez: 33:51

Already seen my he's already said to me, okay, he's he's like, this is my

Jason Connell: 33:54

life. I'm gonna see movie sets. And then the third day I think we stayed at needles. Yes. And then we made it was like, well, let's just sleep here and then we'll get in at a good time the next day. So yeah, it was like bang, bang, bang. Very nice. When he was a puppy, he'd pee just a little bit when he got excited. He was potty trained, but if he was outside and someone came over, you didn't see like, he doesn't have control of everything just yet. When he was little, but it was it was so funny. This one kid came over. And Nico peed on his band system a little bit nice. He's potty training. But this is a level of excitement. He can't control himself. But he took it well, he loved his crate crate train them. I bought the biggest crate you could get but they give you a divider. So you can slowly move the divider out and then take it away, rather than keep buying a new crate for a dog that's going to keep growing rapidly. Oh, that was really smart. So I even got in the crate. I mean, I could fit in there myself and he was in there. So if it's too big, they'll just find a corner to go pie in. Yes. But if you shrink that to a manageable state and then I just made it bigger and then you so funny how he took to that credit sale, I'd make him also sleep in it. I didn't want him wandering around the house those that first year, and he loved it. I would say that's gonna be great. And he'd go right in and close it and get a good night's sleep. So they find comfort in that.

Sal Rodriguez: 35:14

Yeah, it's like a den. Like a den. Yeah,

Jason Connell: 35:17

I took it away after a year. He was done with it. It takes up a lot of space, a big dog Crusher. But that was really cool. And in that first house, I mean, I think he lived in four houses all said and done stay in another for a little while. But his first house, the one you visited, we had movie screenings outside. That's where he really came into this world. And the neighbor had a cat named Charlie. And he didn't really have anything against cats, but he's very territorial. Nico was sure. Sometimes the cat would love to just come over on our side of the wall or the front yard. And he more than see him he would just hear the owners call for him. It would always be like this, Charlie. And if they did that, Nico went nuts because he knows Charlie's on the loose. He might be in the backyard. And he might not be something I would tease him. I'd be like, Charlie and copy them and he'd be like, what? And he'd run around the house. Look at it every window looking for that darn Charlie. That's funny. was so funny. And when when Nico got bigger, and Charlie was sometimes in the front yard what the front yard wasn't fenced in. So Nico didn't play out there without me. But there were many times were bigger. Nico would see Charlie and Charlie go up a tree. Sure. And then I felt that I had to help the neighbor put Nico away help the neighbor get Charlie out of century. But it was a good cat dog game they had I guess?

Sal Rodriguez: 36:44

Well, because I don't know what it's like in other counties or states. But I do know that in this city in the county of Los Angeles, a cat does not have to legally be on a leash whereas a dog does. Yeah. So yeah, cats can run around all over the place. But dogs have to be on a leash.

Jason Connell: 36:59

Yeah. And it's cool. But Charlie drove us a little crazy sometimes. Almost like he's teasing Nico. Yeah, he pushed his luck a few times. Yeah. I don't think Nico had done anything. But he's gonna get really close and scare Charlie to death. Sure. Then there was a time that Nico where there was a park right there in Mount Washington. This is in Los Angeles, real close to downtown Highland Park, great area. But really, we could walk five minutes and be at this park, Heidelberg Park. And one day we're off leash training him. And all of a sudden he gets spooked another dog a bigger dog than Nico at the time. Scared him and I was like, I saw a dog run by me. And I thought what and I saw Nico, fly through the park. And this isn't like a park park. This is like, you know, lots of elevation and trees. So it's not like I can see everything. And he disappeared. So I was Yeah. Oh my gosh, that was a terrifying few moments or 15 minutes. I'm running nonstop through the park yelling his name going through the neighborhood. I don't know where he is. And there is a couple of roads. And I'm running all over the place roads with cars, couple cars, FedEx trucks. Yes. But not a main road, but a windy road in the mountains. And I thought oh my gosh. And I'm running and screaming and these two girls walk in said, Oh, we just saw a dog in the house down the street. And I was like, thank you. And I ran all the way home. And if it wasn't Nico on the front porch just sitting there. He ran home. He shouldn't laugh me. Yeah, but at least he went home. Wow. Nice. So there's that it's safe. He still got grounded by me scared me to death. The I'm ever forget the FedEx guy. Because he would see me go a lot. He saw me running frantically. It was like Jason is it Nico. I was like, I don't know where he is. And then later he sent me on the front porch Petit Nico. And he was like, Oh, it's okay. Great. They get to know each other people see you walking your dog. Sure. All the time. Right? Yeah. And that same house, we would encounter a lot of coyotes up in Mount Washington. Yeah. If see one there, Ron and Nico, learn that they were predators. I didn't ever teach him that he just knew like, these are bad things. And one night, we rounded a corner and we encountered six of them. And I was like, Hey, this is a little hairy here. Sure. And they broke out though. There was an old man up the street. This is crazy Sal. And he would open up a bag of cat food and dump it on the sidewalk for all these stray cats to come in. And I didn't know the guy I just moved in. I was like, What's this guy doing when I saw him? Do this with my own eyes? Yeah. Well, guess what, bro? You're bringing skunks and opossums and coyotes and not cats can eat all this food. Someone finally stopped him from doing it. Like that's a bit much. You don't need all these feral cats. That's just too much food. And that's one of the nights that we encountered is Cody. So they're there for easy food but they got freaked out by us but I wouldn't leave dogs outside that area. Right, even Niko six coyotes if they came in our backyard. Yeah, it's not a good situation. But he learned to scare them away, man. And he was bigger than them. But they're clever in their own in their own right. Yeah.

Sal Rodriguez: 40:14

And when it comes to packs, it's a different story than if it's one on one, you know? Yeah,

Jason Connell: 40:18

yeah. Yeah, I was like, are we gonna go back to back kung fu fighting here, and then those things did shot out and they can go, you know, 100 miles an hour? Sure. So then we moved the goal, and I moved, and he was part of that big time. If life happens, you know, a new relationship, or, I should say, a relationship ending. I moved. Of course, he was my dog. It wasn't about who's gonna get custody. And it was never a question. Never an argument. Nico and I were a bonded pair. Yeah. So he moved with me. And we moved to the valley and a really cool spot. That little gated community like a duplex, but huge backyard bigger than we had in Mount Washington. And he loved that backyard. So I mean, it was massive. It's like a park. It's like a little park, if you want to be clear, and it's private. And so during the private Oh, yeah. All the way around privacy fence all the way around us rose bushes and palm trees and plenty of room for Frisbees, and a big water feature. I mean, I work out there a lot. It was a big patio. So it was a shared backyard. But the person on the other side was rarely there. They weren't even in the same state half the time. So during the pandemic, man, it was him and I just on lockdown. Remember how crazy LA was like we were literally on curfew locked down. And at least we had that sanctuary. Sure he loved it. Yeah. And he loved chasing those squirrels out of that backyard. Like he would literally chase a squirrel out of the backyard and go up the privacy fence and he'd go up and hit the privacy fence with his paws to maybe knock that squirrel off the fence. It was pretty funny. The new Charlie? Yeah, exactly. There's no Charlie, but there's Charlie's everywhere meanwhile, so it was so funny. And then during lockdown, I started doing my martial arts training in the garage because not much was going on. I had my mats and, and he was so cute. I get my GI on go through the whole class. And he'd lay there and watch me and if I was stretching, I may be patting him. There's even photos of I had to take some photos. Sometimes it was just too darn cute.

Sal Rodriguez: 42:18

There's a great photo when I was looking through the Instagram today. You're laying there on the mat in your karate gi Yeah. And then you're reaching over. I think he has his paws on your hand.

Jason Connell: 42:26

Yeah, yeah, we're touching hands. I did. Like I said, I'm

Sal Rodriguez: 42:28

watching that like something in my eye. You know, something?

Jason Connell: 42:32

I know looking at that now is is extra touching. Yeah. Yeah. So he was good like that a few more. That particular area was called Candy Cane Lane. Because of how big they take Christmas. Now we were just adjacent to that. But we could just walk right over and enjoy candy cane like Yes. And I would take Nico I mean, this is before the pandemic right before I think it was 2019 is Christmas. Right? So it was like, festive and hundreds of people. So we would walk over there. He was getting so much attention. Almost like he's Christmas dog. Yeah. And they have a step and repeat in this White House. And so we're doing the step and repeat like background. I'm taking photos, but then people who don't even know him are taking photos of him up on this thing. It was I loved living there. It was very festive that time of year. And he was always a hit. You know, people I've got to do just like that are everyone's got a story. So yeah, if I had a penny or a nickel, this is called a nickel for every story I'd have. Well, I have a lot of nickels. So then we moved cross country like I talked about, we'd go to Oklahoma for a few months to deal with family stuff and fix up a house that I have there for I rented it out. So you could I live there. Well, I'm doing this cleaning it out. He's Hey, he's not complaining. This is great, whatever. And it's a great house. It was really a great house. I loved it, and also kind of remote and no back fence though. It was like kind of a natural fence with these big rocks. Right? Well, there was creatures out in these parts. I saw foxes and gophers and all sorts of things. So one night around midnight, I only moved in there a few weeks. I was assembling something in the house. Like a really cool tripod. I have an easel I should say an easel for a television. It's really cool, very classic, elegant and modern. And I've just finished it get the TV on it. And I was like once you go potty and then we'll go to bed. He goes out there and I hear him chase something. It's I can't see a thing. He does hear his body moving fast. Like Nico, don't whatever that is. You don't chase it. Well, he comes running back and he starts like sliding on the ground. Because he's got something in his eye and I'm like, What's going on here? He's doing his dives, and he's getting closer to me. And when he got next to me south the stench was horrendous. I nearly vomited. Smelling he got skunked in the face. He He chases Scout through this like Bush. Yeah. And the scout guide him and oh my god never faced that before. Yeah.

Sal Rodriguez: 45:08

What do you do so?

Jason Connell: 45:09

Well, it's midnight. I'm already tired. I'm like, Dude, you're not coming in the house. I went and got the dog shampoo. We had washed him three times, move my car out of the garage, put fans in the garage. He slept in the garage. It's a night it was attached garage. Nice, but his smell was so bad. And the next day I went and got the actual disc gunking shampoo, put it on him and then wash him three more times. And by the next day, he could finally come in. But that was a nightmare. And you think you would learn his lesson. But it happened one more time.

Sal Rodriguez: 45:43

You were more bothered than he was? Well,

Jason Connell: 45:45

he got I was worried about his eye. The next time it was more faint. I think he saw this guy. He's like, Oh, and the skunk maybe was the same guy. It was months later. Yeah. And kind of got his coat a little bit and I washed him off. We knew what to do. But if anyone has had their dogs, they also say tomato juice is good. Yeah, no tomato juice. And everything's closed at midnight. In this particular town. I was like,

Sal Rodriguez: 46:09

Oh, my things like that usually happen at the most inconvenient times.

Jason Connell: 46:12

Yeah, exactly. Like I was exhausted. And it's like, okay, and I'm on a new timezone. But we made it through. We made it through. And then more recently, before we moved to Massachusetts, he knocked over my aunt and uncle's chiminea. I was playing frisbee in the backyard. He rounded the corner, put on the brakes, but barely touched it. And we all just watch it like, Oh, that's not good. It was like, whoa, whoa, whoa, boom. And then it just exploded. Yes. And I was like, oh, and their child died. No, I already had a crack in it. And so, Nick going on, I went to a place a pottery store chiminea store, found them gave them a gift certificate and they replaced it. They didn't even want it. But I felt like it's the least I could do. I couldn't believe that happened. It wasn't on video. That was it. I would have paid anything for that. His his reaction to our reaction like it was going that Gemini was going to also fire as though it was okay. But it was just like, slow. It was hilarious. And then on that trip to Pennsylvania, before moving to Massachusetts, we went canoeing on the Delaware Water Gap. It's the Pocono Mountains. We show up and Nicholas just the best is they have to drive you there. So he's like, all cuddled up with Sophia and I in the van that they drive you to the spot. And when we're getting out, I see the canoe and I'm like, yeah, it's kind of narrow. The guy's like, yeah, you know, most people that tip over, it's always the dog to the kids. And I'm like, No one told me this before we got here. Yeah. Right. Well, he was on a short leash that day. And I just kept giving him water. It was a really hot day. Thank goodness. We did not tip over once but I just was thinking this is going to be the worst. I'm gonna have Sofia going down. I got Nico are trying to tip this. So I just kept them on a short leash. He enjoyed it. But I was stressed out and I'm also doing all the canoeing. Yeah, yeah. Cuz you're right, the minute he got up there, or the guy was right, if he took one step over too far with his weight, and

Sal Rodriguez: 48:22

we all went away, so he'd never been on a canoe prior to that. He'd been on one big

Jason Connell: 48:26

boat like a pontoon boat. he'd ever been on a canoe before. So he was just like, whoa. So I just made him lay down.

Sal Rodriguez: 48:33

And had he been in the water before? Yeah, but he's not

Jason Connell: 48:36

a water dog like Brody, Labrador. Yeah. And that probably was a good thing for us at pi bode well, because he didn't want to jump out and go swimming. Yeah, he was like, I'll just stay here. I'll take some water. Sure. And I just petted him the whole day, canoed, but then we took a break at one point in time, halfway, and there's all this mud. And what's he do? Well, he just gets all up in the mother's photos on his Instagram. He's just a muddy mess. And I'm like, eventually, you're gonna have to get in that water. Dude. He had a great day, but I gotta say, I was a little stressed out if I could do it again. It was not going to be with Nico and that size of boat. I just was so scared. We were gonna go tumbling over. But we made it through.

Sal Rodriguez: 49:16

How do you keep a white German Shepherd clean?

Jason Connell: 49:18

Surprisingly enough with two coats and brushing, it gets clean. You don't have to pay them that much. Nor should you bathe big dogs that bark Yeah, once a month or when he got skunked or maybe once every few months, but really that code the oils protect him. And if you brush him, he can get I mean muds. One thing, sure. But if he gets dirt, you can brush it off. It's amazing how resilient that code is nice. So and he sheds enough to kind of keep replenishing Sure. So last couple I put on here we made a Halloween ghost and put it on the front porch for the last Halloween he was at and this is a very Halloweeny area, the New England right. And so everyone was like oh the neighbors are doing some cool other things, let's at least make a ghost and have some candy on the front so the kids can just come up and get the candy out of this big fake ghost. Yeah, but I have a video of this. Sophia opens the door and Nico sees me in the yard and he's like, Hey, and he sees this girl she's like, so here's like, this big brave dog just got like so scared. He liked ducks. And he tends to hide back. It's like Scooby Doo live. Yeah, it's like what? I've never I don't even how to process this. And this thing has no scent. Yeah, he went back at the peak back. Oh, my gosh, hilarious. And then on our trip to Florida, we kind of avoided Massachusetts in January and half of February, which was great because the weather in Florida was divine. And we had two different pools that the two different Airbnbs were at. Well, again, he's not a pool dog like Brody. Yeah, right. So he was like, Oh, you guys are swimming. Okay, there's a step here. Maybe I'll just step right here on this one step. So he was always like, kind of putting his Paul in and, and then one pool had this big weight area. Like I guess it's for kids. It's a lot longer. Yeah, real shallow. And one day I went and did like a cannonball on the deep end. So he got brave and ran and jumped in the kiddie side about this deep, but he felt real brave over there. So I was like, that's him being a water dog. And that's the extent of it. He doesn't want to be submerged and swimming, but I have some footage of that as well. It's hysterical. So you could tell his inner Labrador was trying to come out? Yeah, not so much. Not so much.

Sal Rodriguez: 51:35

Have you bonded with any other white German Shepherd owners either in the area or online or anything

Jason Connell: 51:41

funny you mentioned that so that first house that he was at the one in Mount Washington up the street, so it's about a mile walk up to the elementary there, Mount Washington Elementary. So we would do these walks it's what you do when you have a dog you explore the Ayrshire give you access to everything people are nice to you. People are nice. We still want to do another white German Shepherd longer hair. Nico's was medium this was longer hair got the same size. That dog's name was ghost from Game of Thrones. They went there, they went on the nose. And so we met and this is amigos by like, two ish, right to range. And so Ghosts was around the same age. And we would go on walks close together, the owners were talking having a great time talking about our dogs about life. As they got a little bit older and didn't see each other for a few months. Then it became an issue. Oh, ghost was very protective of the owner. Yeah. And so we would get close and he would like bark, Nico, and then Nico would retaliate. So then we tried on the other sides of the streets. And then pretty soon it was like, hey, it just wasn't gonna be a union anymore. So it's interesting. But yeah, that was another one. I ran into an Eagle Rock, a little bit older, and I took a photo as well, white shepherd, and it was just funny seeing them together. So I've had those two experiences.

Sal Rodriguez: 53:05

Nice. When Nico will see his own kind. Yeah, like, Hey, I know you sure you look familiar?

Jason Connell: 53:12

And it's true when you see someone or someone sees us with a white Shepherd. They feel like they know you, right? Oh my gosh, what the heck are black? There's a black sheep. In fact,

Sal Rodriguez: 53:20

I haven't even seen a black Shepherd I've seen

Jason Connell: 53:22

a little more menacing. There's the black and tan like the red tinted. Yes. But we were driving I want to say back either to Florida are from Florida. No, we had to be going to Florida. And it's a rest stop. Typical restaurant, lots of grass. I like those areas. You feel safe and, and there was a state trooper. I forget what state he was from it was on that drive. And he comes roaring up and they look pretty tough. You know, they get the hats on. And they're like, no nonsense. You know, he sees Nico and he pulls over. He's like, That's a good looking dog. And he was sharing about how they have a black Shepherd and how the two would look great together so he could just win over anybody Nice.

Sal Rodriguez: 54:02

Making Friends with the popo, you're so

Jason Connell: 54:04

proud of them those moments because like, hey, ya know, he's great dog. And they could just tell by his demeanor, you know, he's so distinguished and it was like, oh, yeah, and you just you bond for a moment. It's very pleasant. I gotta say, I'm not gonna have that conversation. Otherwise, no, you know, it's really special. No,

Sal Rodriguez: 54:20

most likely not. So,

Jason Connell: 54:22

those are some fun stories. Some interesting things about Nico the dog and funny things and everyone can relate to probably. But then how things pivoted. I would say, yeah, well hang up before I get to that. His health was always top notch. You didn't have to worry about much. He'd sprain a Paul sometimes one time he was catching a Frisbee in the yard and that valley with a huge backyard had a couple of ceramic deers off on the side. Well, one time he caught a Frisbee really high. I was like, Oh, that's a little too close. And he like his paw hit the ceramic beer. And he had like a light spring and a day later he's fine or he would cut in the yard because he's no strong he could like cut jump. And it's like equivalent to like spraining a paw. Yeah, there was a few times he hurt one. And like three months later, he's hurt the same one. And so he was always in shape. But I had to get a few pounds off because he was 120. He could handle it. Yeah. But for that type of mobility and jumping, that was like, get him closer to 100. He might be less stress on a couple of these joints. Sure. So we did. I did that. And it was fine. So really beyond that. It was like this guy's like Brody cruising along. Just the littlest thing, get your shots. On the one time we were in the valley. I had coffee and we're going to a park. And all sudden, he yelled really loud. I was like, What the heck, really loud and stopped and he was fine. But he got shocked. There was like this sign and it had an open wire. And he must have touched it. Yeah, I could not believe this out. He walked up next to it. All of a sudden he did that. He's shocked for a second. He was fine. I called security. They came over and said, Oh my gosh, this was never patched up. We went to the vet. They're like he's fine. It was just probably a shock. And they covered the fee. But that could have been worse. Had he been a little dog a little like accessory dog or both? Well, I don't know how charged that was. Yeah. And those guys are like, they were so afraid to touch it. Like I'm not touching that man. He He's a tough dog. And he you know, he barked for a few seconds and squealed. I was like, oh so mad, but he was fine. So he's a tough guy. Now cut two are coming home from Florida. So that's this year, we get back mid Feb. And I'm looking at him because I'm always looking at him, you know, petting him caring for him and he's laying on the floor in the bedroom and I'll never forget, man his stomach because I also got a few pounds off him so he could be more mobile not get hurt. And I was like, why he's been eating really good. He's not even a big eater. He eats his food, he doesn't overeat. But his stomach started pushing on his stomach, his abdomen more. And I just felt something and he's big and he's slim. So we'd always go to the vet for appointments and everything it just kind of went undetected but there was something in there and I was like, Okay, we've got to and he's kind of breathing heavy. Like maybe this is bothering him or maybe he's running hotter went to the vet and they told me I found out that it was some sort of tumor or says it was something in there yeah foreign and we had gone to same vet not that long and goes undetected you're not looking and you can't it's if he moves it kind of does pivots you know, but he was laying a certain way and I found it then they went in and so that recommended I go to a surgeon I'm thinking oh my gosh this is like becoming complicated and we don't have we have the normal pet insurance not like the if this happens like he's a super healthy dog he doesn't have anything maybe an accident I have an accident policy or had an accident policy so we get this diagnosis that he is this tumor that's good size attached to some Oregon's and it's a pretty extensive and expensive very expensive surgery and it's like but doing nothing that clock is just he's finally now starting to feel issues from it right? Yeah. And they don't know how long it's been there. I'm just like, what's going on detected so it could have been several months it could have been one year we don't know. But enough to grow like the size of a volleyball Yeah, are close to it. That's big. So he goes in these people at this clinic or that Darien hospital are amazing. They they brace you they give you how much it's gonna cost when you're talking like $10,000 to do this and there's no guarantee he's gonna walk out of there. Sure, like, let's do it.

Sal Rodriguez: 58:51

You got to do a DNR and everything got to sign a DNR Yeah, he

Jason Connell: 58:53

had to sign all that stuff. And so they're not liable. So the surgery was set brought a man. Well, hang

Sal Rodriguez: 59:00

on. I'm sorry. Just to be clear, they asked if you want to sign a DNR because when an animal goes for surgery, they're like, well, if anything happens, should we attempt to revive or not revive?

Jason Connell: 59:10

They would call me and so I put on there like, within reason. Yeah, right. Within reason. If they get in there and realize this tumor is opened up, it's causing issues, and it's going south call me and let me know we'll do all we can so it was that type of thing. They're very commutative. I have to say that. In the surgery, they took breaks and called me on speakerphone so we both could hear it. And it was like, Hey, he's, he's doing good. It's gonna be tough to cut out claim, but we could do it. Do you want us to proceed? Or we could just stop now. So I'm up and you can have a few days with him. But I was like, no, go get this thing out of him because I'm thinking Brody dealt with something similar and he was older and it was really in an area that they couldn't remove it and it was a slowly took him but 12 years old He goes not even eight is closely like seven years and 11 months. So they go in, they get it out, they call back. He's doing great. You know, we have him at the hospital, he's given to stay for a few days and to reattach something so he can pee properly. They were using a catheter for a few days. So like a day goes by two days go by and and it was so stressful. So just to know your dog's cross tag, you can't see him, but he made it through the surgery. So they let us do a visit. We went and visited him. And yeah, he just looked wiped out. But he was so happy to see us and he was freaking out. And they were to come back and take him on a walk a day later, or two days later, if he could pee, he could go home. That was the thing because he was on that catheter. They don't want to send us home with that. And he did a little bit and then he came home. And it was like, like don't play any frisbee give him three weeks just was real light. But this guy's tough bed is run up the stairs like I slow down Tiger, slow down Nico, you know no Frisbees. And after three weeks, it was like the hair starts to grow back in. He wants to play we're on walks every day. This was in the rear view. I thought we made it this incredible. They got it out. Thank you, Doc, the great team, he's back are all good. And then I noticed this two months later. So I'm not even thinking about the surgery. It's like, man, thank God, we had that behind us. And I started noticing when I come home, he comes running downstairs and he starts like a little bit of cough like symptoms. And then it would pass when he's excited it would happen. So I call the vet. And they're like, well, it could be the cancer coming back. I'm thinking what? Or I'm thinking it could have been ammonia, like something's going on? Well, we go in to our normal vet, because the clinics like, you know, they're booked and they can't see him for a week or something. So I go into the vet that we know pretty well. And I'll never forget this is May 5, and we do X rays. And I'm just thinking, okay, great. It's pneumonia, you're gonna give me some pills? Route here, right? No problem. I'm a little concerned because you know, it's a big surgery, but we find out he has stage four cancer in the lungs. And he's got a few days, maybe a week left. And so if he could make it that day, and I'm just like, I get was a lot to hear. And you know, in that moment, all that cough is much more severe. And they show me the X rays. And not that I know what I'm really looking at, but they explain it. Here's normal lungs, and here's what this is going on. And it had just spread everywhere. So maybe taking out that foreign body was great. But it had metastasized. And it was a cancerous cell and it just

Sal Rodriguez: 1:02:54

spread. That's what I was gonna say. So the tumor was connected. It wasn't just coincidental.

Jason Connell: 1:02:59

No, not coincidental. And I knew that they told us that it had cancer, but it's like, you know, I didn't want to introduce chemo. And they're like, yeah, that can be a mixed thing. And even the vet was like, Hey, we got this thing out of him. He lived with it for what maybe six months, nine months, 12 months. We don't know. He's strong. We got it out. We bought him some time. And that's what we're all just buying them some time. I had no idea in two months, they could come back in that form. And just, I was just numb. I remember walking out of the vet to see him and I just think in and so it's like, that guy that I saw post surgery never came back. He was there but not the energy. He'd have in little bursts like not like him. He'd run one lap in the yard. And then just kind of be like, it's it's taken its toll. And he's fighting it, but it was I just never have seen that Brody. It was a slow decline. As he got older, Neko, it's like night and day. Oh, here's this thing. And it's gone crazy in a system. And he fought it and fought it and fought it. And then it just started to get the best of him. So it's almost like getting that diagnosis for me. That was May fifth. Okay, so cut to his last night. May 10. Okay, May 10, the night before we lose him. I'm petting him. And literally while I'm petting him, he's kind of he's really has a hard time breathing now. It's like, it is here. And he started to kind of make these whimpering noises a little bit. It's like, oh my gosh, it's like 11 at night and I have my other hand is looking up places for dog euthanasia services. I'd never even done that before. Yeah, because Brody I didn't mention this. Died in the middle of the night. At the foot of the bed. I was on a trip. He was with me in Minnesota and passed away very gracefully. I heard him breathing really heavy and I petted him. And then he passed So it was there. I didn't have to call anybody. Right. So Miko, I'm thinking he's younger, he can fight this thing. But this is a fight that he can't win. So I'm struggling with like, who do I call? How do you I was a little distraught. So I went to bed, and I was gonna call, or I did get a hold of the vet. And he told me a wonderful place that he had used before. So my plan, May 11, the next day was, which is a Wednesday was to do this work I had to do. I had to go record two episodes of just curious media's podcast, one of Let's Talk movies. And one let's talk Cobra guy, you didn't make that one. It was with Daryl Madol. So I go to the remote studio because I had to record it during the day, not at night. And the plan was to come home after these two early recordings, pick Nikko uptaken with a grocery store to get him a cooked rotisserie chicken breasts, which he loved. And by now we're just giving him even better food. Sure, you know, he always had like the highest end dog food. But now it's like, Hey, this is a lot more human food. And the planet was taken to do that. And check him like watch him, see where he's at and then plan this service, which I was struggling with. And so he was like, Wait, that soon. He can't make his birthday. And I was like, I know this guy. I watch him every day. This is not good. Yeah, this is gonna have to be today, or Thursday or Friday, if we're lucky. So then I patted him, he's outside because that sounds a little cooler. I said goodbye. I gotten the jeep. I looked up. He'd already gone to the back fence to see me get in the jeep. Right. And I was like, I'll be right back. I love you. And that's the last time I ever saw him alive.

Sal Rodriguez: 1:06:53

But I mean, I'm sorry. Specifically, how did it happen? Well,

Jason Connell: 1:06:56

I leave Yes. Okay. Yes. And I'm off doing that for about two and a half hours. Yes. During that time, Sophia was still she was working from home that day and and she went outside because it was a nice day, played ball with him. And he's barely moving filmed. It happened to film their playtime, which I'm very thankful for. Yeah. Also, I have my own guilt, which I'll talk about. But they're playing in the backyard that she goes back inside for a meeting like a Zoom meeting. And then she calls me cuz she's like, Hey, I just peeked outside to the window didn't see Nico, did you come get him to take him to go to the grocery store? And I like No, no, no. The recording just ended. I'm literally packing the gear and I'm coming home now to get him. And she's like, Okay, on the phone with me. She then walks down goes outside. She's like, I don't see him. Oh, here he is. And then she's quiet for a second. And then she says he's gone. And I'm thinking while she's looking at him, and then of course it hits you in a second like, and you can hear her the vibrations. And so she discovered him he had actually passed away in a spot in the backyard, little very distinguished out of the way. After they had played he probably hung out for a while and then just he just passed away, gracefully. Yeah, I'm on the phone with her getting this in town. This thinking. I'll never forget. I'm packing up the studio. I'm alone, thank God. But it's that same feeling I had when I lost Brody. Yeah, it was just like overwhelming. You know, it's coming. You know, it's coming. And no, it's coming. But then it's just gone. Yeah. Emotional and I'm crying. I can't even pack my gear up. And I go tell them at the studio. Like, hey, this just happened. My dog just passed away off to come back and pack my gear up. And they're like, Oh, my, of course, you know, whatever. We'll be waiting for you. And I go outside and I I get my car and I I can't even drive. I'm really just not in a good place. And I tried to call Sophia back but her phone was dead. So so I just know it's like she's there. She is only like a mile away. So but my mom was happier wasn't driving in the moment. Yeah. So I kind of like sat there for a minute or two. And said, I better just go get my stuff. Now. Take me five minutes. I don't want to come back here. So I went in, thank them, got the staff drove home safely. And went in the backyard and she was with him and sitting there. It was very emotional to see him in that state. Yeah, they look peaceful, at least very much. It was so shocking. He was laying the same direction that Brody was almost is eerie, how peaceful. He looked. And it was still very warm. And I mean it was it was a lot and I laid there and held him and she took Some photos of me and him together. Yeah. And it's as much as you know, it's coming. And as much as I was about to make that call, here it is, he's gone. And it's the way to that is something that you you can never really planned for. It was intense. And I felt guilt.

Sal Rodriguez: 1:10:22

That's why I was gonna say you mentioned the guilt, is it but you felt guilt for leaving and going to the studio?

Jason Connell: 1:10:26

Yeah, of course. Because most days I'm there and I would have paid anything to have him. Or if he's gonna go, I wish I was there in that moment. It would have been tougher. But yeah, I feel like he probably wanted me there. Maybe he didn't, I'm projecting. But I had guilt with that.

Sal Rodriguez: 1:10:43

I believe that traditionally, you know, without human intervention, animals, especially dogs, and we have this happen when I was growing up, especially because we had a backyard, the dogs would go off. And that's what they do. They don't necessarily want the pomp and circumstance that we want. That's right, they go off and they and I've even seen them dig, dig a little bit, dig a little bit, lay down and go off.

Jason Connell: 1:11:09

He went behind the garage to it. I don't think I've ever seen him lay there. Which is shocking to me. So out of sight from the windows, never a spot where you would see because he was always watching us from the backyard. Yeah, he went to a spot or so I'm playing in my head and birdie was actually inside. So we didn't have an option. You know, he just expired. So I did have guilt. And I had a lot of sadness from that. And I'm sure it'll dissipate and all the good memories. I have, like, I just went through some of them. But there's so many more will replace that. And I feel even less guilty today than I did for the first week. It's been two weeks now. But every once a while it hits you hard, like oh my god, just one more Walker. Yeah, or that ride. I was gonna take him on McChicken one more ride. I'm thinking like, wow, the last ride we went on was that, I guess it was Friday night or Saturday night. We went for a ride around town because I could just tell he wasn't feeling very well. And I thought it was going to pass away on Saturday night. He actually made it, you know, the Wednesday but yeah, it was really tough. And then it's like, oh, now what did we do? I don't have a vet that's nearby, the closest vet we never got into they have a long waiting list. It's already like, Wednesday, 430 things are closing. I'm calling some cremation places. And I'm not even I don't have my wits about me. It was really tricky. But then it's like, like all things, it opens up this vet down the street, which is great. They're like, Oh my god, we're so sorry. You weren't even our patient, but we want to help you because we were going to be on the waiting list. And so they they said if you can bring Nico here, we can put him in this facility. And then we call it the cremation place who are fantastic. And they said, we'll pick him up there. And then we'll do everything and get you his ashes. And that was really beautiful. And it was also nice that I although I was a little worried about this, but I much like Brody. I with the help of this person from the crematorium at the time helped me load Brody up and I drove him to the place and then they took Brody and they so it was almost the same thing. It was myself and Sophia helped a little. But I picked Nico up and put him in the back of the Jeep for that one last ride. And it was a that was kind of special actually,

Sal Rodriguez: 1:13:40

how long from the house

Jason Connell: 1:13:42

to the crib. It's only like a five minute drive. No, he just went to the vet. And the vet would take him to the they know they would put him in their facilities by like a morgue. Yeah, people. It's built for that. And then they came by and picked him up the way they do with them, the protocols and such. But that ride was really special for Sophia. And I know we got out and stood over in the back of the Jeep until they finally came out and took him away. And that was it was beautiful. How it went down. Yeah, it's tough is it is it was like that couldn't have been any more beautiful. And in fact, the crematorium was fantastic. And he's usually on the mantel. But right here to my right is the beautiful bamboo box that Nikko ashes are in and at some point I will sprinkle some about in places that he loved. And backyard all the walks we drive across the country. I'm sure Sophie and I will do trips and places he's been and maybe some beautiful places and then just keep some of the ashes as well like I've done with Brody. And in fact a beautiful thing is when you're subscribing to different dog places this that and the other I'm I've been with chewy for a while and chewy because I just gotten some medicine that showed up literally the De he passed away and I called them and said, I haven't even opened the box. But this happened. So can you take it back and then don't worry, this gift it to someone veterinarian or some sort of shelter. And they gave me the refund, which is beautiful. And then a few days later those flowers showed up, which was incredibly touching. Sunflowers are nice, beautiful arrangement.

Sal Rodriguez: 1:15:22

And by the way, we are not endorsed by chewy. So this is an extra special shout out to a company like this that goes above and beyond.

Jason Connell: 1:15:29

They do they really do. And they said, We're so sorry to hear of your loss of Nico and our hearts go out to you. We know this time is tough. And we're always here if you need anything love Stephanie from chewy. So thank you, Stephanie. Very touching, very switched in my eyes. And it was you couldn't ask for anything better. And it does help with the grieving and making things just a little bit easier. Sure. Right and thoughtful. And so in the ashes also helped to because there was a couple of days that were waiting for the ashes and I wasn't like waiting, but when I got them so we went out of town and I've done this to kind of help cope as you talked about earlier. We went on a trip. The first weekend, we went to Vermont and just tried to get away because it's just you know, this is the house that he was in last year and and then we went to Maine this last weekend and saw friends and just tried to get away. But when we came back from Vermont, literally driving back into town on Monday, the vet called and had the ashes ready. So we've lost dry by now pick them up, and it brought some closure, not closure with all the healing. The fact that he's back home with us. Yeah, it's a finality. Yeah, it was really beautiful. I felt the same way with Brody. Brody passed away in Minnesota, the crematorium got back to me gave me the ashes. And then I had to drive across the country back to California. And he you know what, I left the back of his little bed back there. And I put Brody is ash as well like this. And it's a little container, big container on the bed. And he made that trek back home. And that was really special. So that helped. The deep sadness. Is there so sure, the holes in my heart, I mean, the constant reminders. So I have been home during the week, the work weeks gone on the weekends. But I will get up from my chair, turn my computer off or do something and just anticipate him coming in here. I mean, they learn your routines, oh, he's doing this now or that or if I open a door, all the chimes go off from the security that notifications. He's down there you go outside, you go on the front yard backyard, I keep opening the door thinking where's his footsteps? It's crazy how your mind can play these tricks on you. If I bang something, any noise out of the ordinary would stir him up. So I'm still getting used to that. It's only been two weeks, I'm sure that will remain for a while

Sal Rodriguez: 1:18:00

getting used to the silence. Absolutely. Right. I mean, I like I like silence, but not that type of silence when there's something missing.

Jason Connell: 1:18:08

Exactly. I found myself staring in the backyard. He's an indoor dog. But he loved the outdoor for playing. And that represented him more when the weather was good or was snowing. He loved it. But he was always inside. But he loved playing out there. And I find myself just looking out there hoping he'll the merge. You know, deep down, hoping he will and it's really interesting that the backyards also kind of become an animal sanctuary in the last two weeks. It's crazy. Like now the grass is growing again, because I have footage of after surgery. It was always Brown and like starting to grow. And now we're getting grass because Massachusetts is a little behind what I'm used to. But I've seen these two rabbits play back they're constantly living back there some chipmunks and birds. Now I know he's not back there chasing everybody off, but he really had the problem with the squirrels. But it's almost as if they sense something, I don't know. But I'll go out there and I move slow and I'm not really in the backyard that much if I take the trash out, and I just don't even disrupt the rabbits. I must think like it's just like, it's okay, now, let them just kind of partake in this and, and Nico's a part of that. The backyard as long as we live here is gonna be that now. I'll let them just kind of live there and a lot of rabbits in these parts, but it's kind of special. I don't know. I feel something connected to him when I see them.

Sal Rodriguez: 1:19:31

Yeah. Becomes enchanted. That's it. Yeah. I love looking at Little Rabbits scurry about. They're adorable. It

Jason Connell: 1:19:38

really is. I saw these two chipmunks a day that I had never seen running around by the trash can on the side of the garage. Like there's something there. That's really special and I am embracing his spirit and the memories. Of course I'm constantly looking at photos, thinking of him knowing this episode was coming. And I gotta tell you, it's helpful just talk about Sure. Right? It just is I've talked to Some people this last week in in Maine who are dog lovers, and they heard what happened. And I just tell them a little bit and share a couple of photos. And that helps. But I've been really nervous about this episode too, because it's like, I don't know how this show's gonna take. This might be too long, or it might be too emotional, but it's healing and it's helping and I hope other people can get something from it. And maybe, hopefully, we get more people on and they share their stories, and it helps them.

Sal Rodriguez: 1:20:27

Yeah, the word I'm hearing is help. Yeah, because it's not just Just curious meat is other shows that are entertainment in nature, even though they're listed as after shows. Let's talk Cobra Kai, listen as an after show. We're chatting about a show. So it's fun and entertaining. Inherently, this is something different. And you have something different now.

Jason Connell: 1:20:47

Yeah. And we're still figuring out what it is. And not every episode we do talk about the origins of the show Sure, get more streamlined. But getting through such a thing is not an easy task. It's been easier to talk about than I realized, though, because it's helpful. But

Sal Rodriguez: 1:21:02

I would imagine all the listeners from just curious media, on any show, and every show has been along in the journey. Every show had its beginnings, and then morphs and becomes what it is. And this will be no different. This is where it starts. This is true. This is genuine, this is real. And then where it goes from here. Well, it takes on a life of its own is what starts to happen.

Jason Connell: 1:21:24

Absolutely. Absolutely. Well, a lot of places like the crematorium. And the vet vet also sent me emails because he went to various events over the years, and I let them know. And they're very kind. So there's always that, you know, they've been down this road. Sure. They're very gracious about it. But I received and I'm not going to read this, but most people are familiar with the Rainbow Bridge. Oh, yes, poem. And so I encourage anyone to go online, Google it, read it, if you will. But people do like to pass that along. I noticed it when I posted, you know, Nikko past or even Brody before that someone will post on that social media, the Rainbow Bridge, and people find comfort in that show about maybe being reunited with your last dog, our pet, whatever it might be. Down the road. Yeah, I don't really subscribe to some of that. But it's a beautiful sentiment. Sure. And it's all like good memories, and they're in a good place. And I do agree with that. They're in a good place, whatever that is, and no longer suffering. Yeah, that's the key. Yeah. So rather than read that, because you can find that online. And before we wrap up, I was just trying to maybe, in my own words, to Nikko, and I could probably write this 10 times and it will come out 10 different ways. And I was trying to compress it. But I read this and part of this grieving package that I was sent from this place. They're really professionals. I gotta say, I read this pamphlet, I was like, wow, I am kind of doing this. I'm actually going to do a podcast. So I was checking the boxes approaching my aggrievement. But it did say some people write their dog, a letter, their pet a letter. I was like, wow, yeah, I haven't done that. I've do a podcast, I made a video for Brody that I posted years ago. So this is real short and sweet. I would say I'll try to read this. And maybe it's a nice way to end these episodes. Again, we're still figuring this show out. And then we'll wrap it up and want to do a call out for other future guests which you can help me with but here goes nothing. Nico, I loved you with all my heart. You are a fixture in my life for nearly eight amazing years. And in that time, we shared some of my fondest memories. You gave me strength when I needed it to handle some major life changes, a breakup, a pandemic moving cross country twice, and the whole time never complaining for a moment. I would do absolutely anything to hold you one more minute to kiss your face. And to take you on one more walk. You were the best dog I could have ever hoped for. And I promise you that your legacy will live on through me forever. Thank you for coming into my life and making it so much better. I love you, Nico. So short and sweet.

Sal Rodriguez: 1:24:20

Jason I've never seen the Sadio I never seen the Sadio

Jason Connell: 1:24:27

nor have many people.

Sal Rodriguez: 1:24:30

Well, thank you. Thank you.

Jason Connell: 1:24:32

Thank you for helping me get through this. I think alone I would have went down a rabbit hole and never come out. So our professionalism, our history, our friendship. helped me kind of go through this not unattached but more like I need to do this. This is bigger than me. It helped me It helped ground me that's for sure. Yeah, I would have done 50 takes sell. Okay, starting stopping. Okay, let's go back to one. Yeah. I know it because I was prepping this last couple of days. And just of course, tears are going to be shed, you're going to just sit and reflect. And that's not going to translate that well. Yep. Here I am setting Cannatonic and missing. Now I wanted to share this guy, Nico meant so much to me. I was also telling a friend the other day, I think that one of his greatest gifts potentially, and it's kind of happening now. was helping me connect with the new love of my life not replacing him but my new and female my life. And had she not take the Nico well, that wouldn't work. And I almost needed his strength to help me do something. It's so uncomfortable to not only move my plan was to go to Oklahoma and then go back to Los Angeles. That's where I've built a home for 17 years. Yeah, the pandemic opened up the world and you meet someone on a different coast. And you're like, Well, I mean, things are different now, but I'm telling you his strength and just that bond and not really being alone when you're alone sounds Yeah, you know, it helped me and to see them bond and connect, it was almost like, I'm going to be okay. That wasn't his goal in my life. But it's something he definitely helped facilitate. Yeah. And I could see us even just getting more and more, we're super connected. But that connects you even more. Our bond is even stronger now. Just going through the surgeries with Nico, I wasn't alone through that. She was an incredible partner, to me through that and for him. And yeah, I really think this whole thing has a beautiful tail. But sometimes life is tough man, you know, and it doesn't always last as long as they want it to.

Sal Rodriguez: 1:26:42

No, no, no, you know, if I would ever have you know, one of those like, what would you ask God, like, if I would ever have a face to face with God? Why are we so fragile? Why can we live? You know, give us 1000 years or something? I mean, if you look at the timeline of the Earth, I mean, we live we you and I humans animals together. It's just such a tiny part of that. God, why couldn't we have had more time? Why wouldn't you make our bodies more durable? Right? Why that will be what I would love the aging

Jason Connell: 1:27:10

down? You're absolutely right. And think about dogs think of their accelerated timeline. Yes. What's that all

Sal Rodriguez: 1:27:16

one year for us? And what seven years for them? Yes, is peel that back a little. Yeah, give us more time.

Jason Connell: 1:27:22

There is a company in the Bay Area. I looked them up early on when I was looking at doggone and potential partners or partnerships. And I looked them up and they're and they're gonna start up and they're trying to slow down the genes and the timeline or the longevity of dogs. It's like, good luck. That's amazing.

Sal Rodriguez: 1:27:40

I don't want to go into the Sci Fi here, but some people I feel that they have grieving is so difficult or loss is so difficult. They're getting their dog's DNA and trying to replicate. They're trying to regrow their love again. I mean, I think that's strange. And listen, if you do it, more power to you. I think that's odd, though.

Jason Connell: 1:28:00

I can't fault someone for doing it.

Sal Rodriguez: 1:28:01

They don't want to let go.

Jason Connell: 1:28:03

You know, if someone could say, Hey, here's a magic pill and Nico can be back tomorrow. I'm not saying I wouldn't be interested.

Sal Rodriguez: 1:28:09

But no, I would say in that instance, it's gonna be Nick. It's not Nico. It's Nico's genes and DNA, but it's not Nico.

Jason Connell: 1:28:17

It's not him. It's like Pet Cemetery. He comes back. I mean, no, you don't know. And I don't I wouldn't risk that the memories are amazing. This pain, it comes in waves. That's what I've noticed. Yeah. I find myself finishing something like I'm gonna work on this. And it's like, hang on, I go into a trance. And it's a wave, and it's emotions. And it has helped me being gone the last couple of weeks. Not that I'm trying to avoid it. But I'm also just trying to heal. Yeah. And this was the plan. Anyway, when the weather gets better, we explore more of New England. Nikko was part of the package. If we were going to Vermont and Maine. He was coming with me. So I'm just trying to continue our journey. But I've been down this road before, but it's a tough road. Right? Especially when they go early. It's just I was thinking, Oh, Nico will meet my future kids and he won't, but he will always be such a big part of my life. Yeah, such an important part of my life forever. Forever. I mean, Brody represented a certain time and you can't change that. It's history. It's amazing. And now Nico's that time and maybe just to talk about this for a second. I am not in a hurry to try to replace Nico and get a dog to fill a void. I am going to be waiting until that time is right. Yeah. I'm not gonna put a time on it, but it's gonna be a while. And the time will happen when it's right. Yep. And that's different for everybody. Absolutely. So I know that this was my story, I should say Nico story our story and a story of my wonderful best friend Nicholas Nico Connell white German Shepherd who recently passed away but forever left his mark and my life and so Sal I know we're gonna want or I'm gonna want but I know you affiliated with Just curious media want to see this show, continue and prosper. But we're gonna need more people's stories. Yeah, I

Sal Rodriguez: 1:30:06

was gonna ask you about that because I think it's not just that I like it. Oh, I liked this show. And I liked the topic, I think it's important. I think this is an important thing for people to look into within themselves and to share with each other. As I said earlier, you know, we share with you you share with us you share, you qualify as host of the show after today, right? This is your story. And then Episode Two is someone else's story, and we hear their relationship. But this is your qualification. It's no different than you walk into an AAA meeting and say, My name is Sal. I'm an alcoholic. I'm qualifying here today. You're qualified here today. The timing the way this happened? You've been talking about the show for a long time. This is the time and I think what you're doing is good. And I think it's important.

Jason Connell: 1:30:48

Thanks for saying that. And that was never the plan. I think that may have been one thing that was I don't know if it was holding me back. But it was a concern. It was a hurdle. Like, I'm going to ask you who I don't know, it'd be on a show to be super vulnerable. But I'm a dog lover. Yeah, right. This wasn't my design. But that's what it felt like this is that time, if I can do this, and I can get through this actually, this whole conversation with you and sharing? Oh, it has been helping. And I know it, I can feel it. So I want to help others now. We'll need more stories. So if you're hearing this podcast or seeing the social media, and you find out about dog on the dog on podcast, please send us a message you potentially could be a good fit. Are the tiny might be write messages on Instagram and Facebook. We'll talk about that in a minute and the outro. You know, ideally, we're looking for people that have experienced the passing of a dog. More recently, there's no special timeline. Right. Mine's two weeks ago. That may be too soon. For some I get it. I felt like I had to do it now. But we're probably not going to go out and try to book guests that have lost a dog 10 years ago right now. Yeah. That memories just a little fresher, a little more relatable for others who are going through it at that stage. I think that's kind of the plan. There always could be more I could do an episode abroad. And you could do one on your first dog or the dog before Sure. But right now, I think that's what I'm focused. Yeah. And we'll see where that goes. Yeah.

Sal Rodriguez: 1:32:18

And right now, you know, this is what I think about to someone listens to it. Who is going through the same thing? Totally. They know exactly how you feel because they're in it along with you.

Jason Connell: 1:32:29

Yeah. And I know, we didn't talk about one thing earlier and just add it here that I didn't have to go through with the euthanasia service I was going to, and I've read that. Had I done that. There's a whole other level of guilt that comes with Oh, yeah, sure. People are dealing with that now. And I'm here to say that my plan was to do that. Yeah. Because if your dog is facing just, they're struggling, they're suffering. You see it, you know them. Yeah. You know, your creatures. Yeah. Very well, very intimately. I was going to ease that pain. He just made it easier on me in some respects. Sure. And just expired without me doing that, but I could see how that would be another grieving point. And we'll probably have some people on who are struggling with that. And again, I don't have the answers, but talking and sharing can help in that. Yeah, there's that I meant to say that earlier. So I at least wanted to add

Sal Rodriguez: 1:33:26

that No, you're right though. And that's one of the facets of this whole thing is like you say the name of the show dog gone we've talked about the dog now let's talk about the God and the God is how are you dealing with that? How are we dealing with that? The things you have to deal with? Like having guilt? Yeah, what if you have to euthanize your dog and yeah, that may affect people differently. That's not an easy choice to make. It's not an easy thing to do. And it's not an easy thing to recover from it's it's almost like a secondary recovery needs to take place with that alone, so yeah, there's a lot to unpack here and this is only the beginning. So I don't think you should feel pressured. Jason did not cover everything on the first episode. Believe me, there's gonna be all kinds of stuff, which we probably haven't even thought of yet.

Jason Connell: 1:34:04

I don't have the answers I hope to learn on this journey. And listen, you and I are weren't the world's best podcasters for let's talk Cobra Kai episode one not that we're the world's best now but we improve we learned it I thought we were pretty good out of the gate Yeah, but we learned what it was how to do episodes how to structure it how to come back every week with the same energy and so all that's important right? Well I want to learn from myself and others and one thing I'm gonna do I was thinking about this the other day I'm probably going to keep his Instagram account going sure and share I was so many photos I never got around to posting and not like daily but having just some things come out and continue to share Nico kind of being the spokesperson but a participant an honor re on doggone and I do want to keep that presence going at least in the interim, at least for now. So I think I can honor him that

Sal Rodriguez: 1:34:58

way. No, no, I like keeping the memory alive. I have loved ones, whether two legged or four legged. I love the movie Coco. And the movie Coco talks about when we forget our ancestors is when they're really gone. As long as you remember them. You keep their memory alive. They are alive. You know. So think about Nico, remember him look at his pictures. I'm a big fan of that keep his memory life.

Jason Connell: 1:35:22

Well, that's all I have. So I can't thank you enough for going on this journey with me. First episode of doggone. Couldn't have done this without you.

Sal Rodriguez: 1:35:32

Thank you, Jason. It's been a pleasure and an honor and, um, besides myself that you would even have me on here, you know, I didn't need quote unquote, need to be here. So thank you for thinking of me. And believe me, hey, people that are grieving animals, dogs, any animal, I can relate. Believe me, I've been there. I've been there. So my hearts go out to all of you. Rest in peace, Nico, and my condolences Jason to you and Sophia.

Jason Connell: 1:35:55

Thank you. And I was about to say rest in peace. Nikka. Throw that in there. So thank you for doing that. So thank you so much for listening. And please be sure to subscribe to the dog on podcast as well as the doggone YouTube Live Channel. You can also really help us by giving the show a five star rating on Apple podcast. And for all you listeners that enjoy sharing your thoughts. You can leave us a review on Apple podcast, send us a direct message or post a comment on any doggone social media platform. We also highly recommend checking out our other podcast and visiting just curious media.com