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Dog Gone
A dog lovers podcast devoted to honoring the lives & memories of man's best friend. Host: Jason Connell, award-winning documentary producer & dog lover.
Dog Gone
Kumo (Yorkshire Terrier) - w/Michelle Las
Dog Gone
Episode 02: Kumo (Yorkshire Terrier) - w/Michelle Las
Jason Connell and Michelle Las share the memorable life of Michelle's dog, Kumo.
Kumo (Yorkshire Terrier)
October 25, 2003 - July 6, 2020
(16 years, 8 months, 12 days)
Recorded: 02-17-23
Studio: Just Curious Media
https://www.JustCuriousMedia.com/
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Guest:
https://www.instagram.com/LasWellHealth/
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Whoa, just curious. Welcome to Just curious media. This is doggone. And I'm Jason Connell on the show. Today I'm joined by Michelle loss.
Michelle Las:Hi, Jason. Thanks for having me. Appreciate it.
Jason Connell:Absolutely. Well, this is our second episode of Dog on. So I'm really honored anytime someone wants to come on something new and also very personal like this. So thank you for coming on the show this journey. For those who don't know those who follow just curious media. And this is kind of a new show in our repertoire. This is a dog lovers podcast devoted to honoring the lives and memories of man's best friend. So the first episode was me sharing my personal story of my recent dog who passed away. And so it's not as easy to get guest other shows people are like, Yeah, I'll come on and talk about that movie or this. This is very different. So again, thank you. And we've never spoken, we've only been emailing so I know some of the story. But we'll just have a conversation about your dog. And your dog's name was Kuhmo, who was a York Shire terrier. And yes, I love the name. I love the breed. I'm going to bring up some photos here behind me that you just sent me which is adorable. By the way. These are so cute. Here's Kuhmo Look at this guy. A male on love this one. He's already for the car. Like the car, right? Yeah. And then this is like the showstopper right here. So good. The post grooming the book. Yeah, that was that was? Yeah. Well, before we get into Kuhmo, to know a little bit more about you, I looked at your website, which I guess is last well, health.com. And to find out that you're a national board certified health and wellness coach and functional medicine certified health coach. And I love that you wrote this as well, one of your Facebook's or social media, I help people finally find their own path to feeling good. Ageing well, and finding balance and confidence. Wow, yeah, incredible mission that you're on Michelle. And then to hear as I learn more, as I read more about you how this kind of came as a second career path, and maybe just more backstory on you, and then we can kind of get caught up on how Kuhmo came into your life.
Michelle Las:Yeah, no, Thanks for Thanks for having me. You know, it's it's interesting how we even got introduced right, from a former colleague of mine, and I used to I had a long career as a legal recruiting director are at a law firm in New York City. So very corporate, you know, a law firm, and a long career. And long story short, I was, you know, was married, with no children. And at 43, the day after my 43rd birthday, my husband passed away suddenly, the next morning, and, you know, obviously, that, you know, we're talking about loss and grieving and, and that obviously, was a big loss and a trauma for me at that time. And, you know, of course, you you go through the motions of trying to manage those emotions, trying to deal with the shock, you know, go you returned to work, and you have to do your job, and you go through, you know, the motions of dealing with that after the fact. But honestly, after about a year of going back to work, I realized that I didn't really enjoy what I was doing anymore. And I think because of the sudden loss of my husband, it made me realize that there were other things in life that I really wanted to pursue, that I wasn't getting a chance to do, because I was working in that job. So, you know, I think that, in that pursuit of finding something else, I decided to leave the law firm life, and then kind of almost find myself again, for lack of a better word, and then the pandemic hit. And so I have actually left my job in the middle of the first year of the pandemic. And then, you know, after that, I had nowhere to go, I was home alone, I had been meaning to travel, you know, I was going to do this, you know, Eat Pray Love trip, and, you know, visit friends go travel by myself. And obviously, we were all sort of stuck at home a bit scared to kind of go out there and do certain things. And we were prohibited to so it gave me the opportunity honestly, to focus on things that I was ignoring, focus on eating better, moving more, getting back to taking care of myself in a more thoughtful way. And in doing that, I realized that I wanted to pursue health coaching as a next career. So I use the pandemic honestly as an opportunity to pivot and go back to school, get my certification, and then I decided to launch a business last year. Wow. So you know it. It was a big transition. Definitely a big lifestyle change compared to what I used to do. You know, New York City Law Firm life is very different than being an entrepreneur and a health coach. So
Jason Connell:I'm That's incredible. Wow. Well, first, I'm sorry for your loss. I when I read that and heard it and our mutual friend who is my girlfriend, Sophia introduced us, and she told me a little bit and I was like, Oh my gosh, this is just a story of a dog loss. It's even greater than that. And but you use it as a transition, I think. Wasn't it even the day before your 11th wedding anniversary? Is that correct?
Michelle Las:Yeah, yes. Yes, it was. I mean, it's so now the end of July for me is very, it's a it's it can now I can now say it's bittersweet. So it's my my birthday. The day after is the the day Patrick passed away. And then the day after that was, is our, like our anniversary.
Jason Connell:Wow. Well, and it's interesting how just the pandemic changed things. I guess you were in New York and you left New York, I was in Los Angeles for nearly two decades. It gave me a chance to reevaluate, you meet someone on the other coast and your life's changed. So there are some silver linings out there for the pandemic definitely are. And in sometimes, yeah, it's good to try out a different life. I mean, you were throwing a complete curveball, and you'll never recover. But you've pivoted and helping others is just incredible. And during this time, please go ahead.
Michelle Las:Oh, no, no, I was just going to say I think sometimes it takes something big to kind of motivate you and inspire you to make a change whether you know whether or not it's a big or small. You know, if that didn't happen to me, I don't know if I might have still been there. For all I know.
Jason Connell:Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. So during this time, though, Kuhmo was in your life because lived a great life as far as numbers. Go, but maybe talk about how Kuhmo this beautiful Yorkshire Terrier came into your life. Let's go back to that. Yeah, stage.
Michelle Las:Yeah. So ironically, Kuhmo was gifted to me by my late husband, the within the first year of us dating, which is very funny, right? You don't expect someone here's a dog to give you here's a dog, right. And it's interesting, because, you know, there's no there was no previous conversation about it. We sort of just, and I was I'm a dog person. So my family had a dog who had passed away a few years before. So you know, he knew that. But giving someone a dog as a present without previous conversation is a big deal. So it was a Christmas gift. The second Christmas, we were dating but he had told me about it in October and that's sort of you know, we in a few weeks after he told me, we picked him up. So I met Kuhmo when he was about you know, we picked him up from a breeder. He was about eight to 10 weeks. So yeah, I had him since then. And I mean, he's such a very sweet dog. I think. You know, sometimes people have this impression of Yorkies they are Oh they're so yappy. They're not exactly they're very loud. They're they're yappy, and he was not your typical Yorkie was very calm and very sweet. very obedient, and he's just a quiet sweet dog. So, and he had a long life. I mean, he lived almost he was just shy of his 70th birthday, which is unbelievable wild Yeah,
Jason Connell:it's never enough though. It's never enough but right for dogs it's a really good was like a cat cat like Yeah, but I love the name because I owe you know when I get have a dog and I've had to as an adult, Brody and Nico Nico loss, but you know, you're gonna say a name a million times. So a better be fun and better be catchy, fun to say Kuhmo is great. But was it? Is it short for anything, but I also looked up it's a Japanese word, meaning both cloud and Spider was was that at play? Or?
Michelle Las:No, you know, so it's funny. My, I'm Filipino. My, my late husband was Chinese. And we, you know, I was thinking about food. Is there a Filipino food that I could name him after? And we thought of these different words and just nothing sounded right. Yeah. And I have no idea where como came from. And then we found out later that Kuhmo meant little cloud in Japanese. So I'm like, Okay, well, that's great. You know, like, that's his name, but for some reason, it's stuck. And we used it, but honestly, it didn't. We tried to have meaning. And you know, interspersed in his name, but it just didn't work out. But it
Jason Connell:was Kuhmo. You own it? Yeah, exactly. And it was 13 pounds. Here it is, again, fresh from the groomers right here so tiny. So this guy could travel not just in the car. Do you take him on airplanes and things like that?
Michelle Las:I did not know. i He was definitely a homebody. You know, it's like one of these things when you have a dog, right? They tell you all the things that you're supposed to do. Oh, sure. So crazy. Train them. You're supposed to socialize them. He was not he was definitely a homebody, he wasn't socialized. So he was definitely fearful of other dogs. Okay. And we didn't take him to travel and fortunately, my parents lived nearby. So he spent a lot of time and actually the grandparents, the grandparents, right. So, there was, you know, when when we had moved, they actually they My parents retired, but when when they retired, we actually had him stay with them for several years just because for us schedule, the thought behind it was, you know, they're always home, they have a big backyard, and then we are gone, you know, nine to 1011 hours of the day it, it felt more fair, although, you know, it's our dog we kind of, it's like you have the kids and you dump them at the parent.
Jason Connell:He's been there for a while. Yeah, we gotta get him back. Right? Oh, that's good to have though. He so he had the best of both worlds. He had the big yard and everything and extra love. Well, back to your point, I meant to say, I see this in movies and commercials where it's like, Hey, here's a dog. It's like our a pet. You don't just give someone that, you know, it comes with a ton of responsibility. And I just wanted to ask, were you living together at that point in time? Or did Patrick say, okay,
Michelle Las:that's, that was the other ironic part of it, right? Because at the time, we were I, there was a time and I think was my mid 20s. I was living with my parents, okay. And I, at that time, when he gifted me the dog, and we had started dating, I was living with my parents with this dog. They're like, Oh, okay, you don't just give it to the everybody just don't give it to the person. Everybody gets the dog. So, you know, in, in that, you know, sort of like now that became, you know, the family dog. But, you know, it's, it's interesting, because even though there's so much work that goes into raising a puppy, I almost don't remember that part. Because all these years that you have with your dog, you sort of forget about that. It's like when you have a baby or like sometimes I think I don't have children. But I imagine that when you have children, you think of all these things like, oh, he had sleepless nights, you know, all this stress. And then to some extent, you're like, Oh, it was worth it. Or not?
Jason Connell:Well, he lived almost be 17. So they grow up fast. Six months, you know, seven months, eight months. And so he was born just to be exact here to be precise. October 25 2003. Awesome. And you got him around the holidays, Christmas time. 2003. So he's just still, I don't have photos of that guy. But I'm sure Kuhmo was like tiny like a gremlin like really little. And
Michelle Las:yeah, I should have sent you some of those pictures, because I feel like when you see Yorkie puppies there, they almost all look the same. Yeah, but they're, they're really like a little furball. You can fit them. I remember having a picture of him. We put them in a food scale, and you fit perfectly. So gosh, that's
Jason Connell:so funny. Yeah. And we'll get into the more stories, but he passed away July 6 20 2016 years old, eight months, 12 days, but it's never enough. It's like I do anything to have my dog. You know, he lived half that time because things happen and they take over. But you had an incredible run, and you change a lot. And that almost 17 years, your relationship you were living with your parents when Kuhmo came into your life. And it's like, yeah, I
Michelle Las:was single. And then I was married. And then I was a widow, right? And
Jason Connell:then you're transitioning, and then you're in a pandemic. And then they're just, they're like, I moved cross country a couple of times, with my two different adult dogs at different times in my life. It's like, you think back, it's like, oh, my gosh, they were with me during the I was changed, you know, you're changing and they're there. They're like, the person you can count on your co pilot. So I just know how important they become in all facets of your life.
Michelle Las:Yeah, I mean, they are. So you know, I know, it's hard to sometimes explain to people who don't have dogs, especially, because there's this bond and this loyalty that you can't even describe. And, you know, they just, they are there with you, they they love you unconditionally. They hang out with you all the time, they follow you to the bathroom, they follow you and they are waiting for you when you get home and they're always happy to see you. There's no doubt about that. So it is true. You know, they're kind of went through through through all those things. And even though they don't speak, then they kind of know what's going on.
Jason Connell:They pick up on your tendencies like nobody's business. And then if you're not around them, maybe when Kuhmo was at your parents or when he passed away, you miss those things like I'm gonna get up No, I'm not stepping over the dog now. It's weird. You have to like retrain yourself. We're so conditioned to having them around. Yeah. And so I was asking you some we were just emailing but like, what were some of his great tricks. Could he do the classics? Is that was como good.
Michelle Las:He was um, you know, it's funny, some of these people and especially now online, they teach their dogs so many different tricks. But, you know, we start with the basics, like the set, you know, like the down the shake, you know, but he didn't go crazy with the tricks, honestly. I mean, he was so good. You just sort of almost didn't know he was there. He would just kind of walk, you know, walk around the apartment, walk around the house. Well, that was his domain Missy as you get older.
Jason Connell:Right. He's a homebody that's his place. He got comfortable there is happy.
Michelle Las:He was happy in his yard and his apartment and his house. It was nice. And he
Jason Connell:could roll over to it was he was a good at the classic rollover.
Michelle Las:He didn't do a rollover Yep, he did. Rollovers actually have a dog now and haven't gotten the rollover done down yet. See?
Jason Connell:Wow, I will talk about that. That's a question that comes up a lot. As soon as I go through grief and losing a dog people who like you He said don't know, like, they're not dog people. That's the first thing that asked me, Hey, when you get a new dog and say, Man, I need some time, you know, it's not just like replace a for B, you need time. It's a huge responsibility. We travel in fact, since I always have bigger dogs road trips become he's part of the deal. So it's like, oh, we're gonna, you know, we're gonna fly down to Florida. Well, I'll just drive because as you're either just bring him it changes a lot of things in your life, you know? But which is all worth it. It's all so very, very worth it. So what were some more traits that Kuhmo had, besides being very comfortable at home didn't overly socialize with dogs total homebody which cracks me up to this guy run around ruling the roost, but anything else you said he never barked. I've never met a Yorkshire Terrier that didn't just wrap its head off. At any noises.
Michelle Las:It was so odd. Because, you know, I think I knew that part when we got him like, Oh, your keys are, you know, they're loud. They're yappy. They bark at everything. And, you know, honestly, unless maybe, I mean, not that he never barked. But unless there was like someone, you know, someone at the door, but then he would always be fine. They'd walk in and, you know, he's fine. He's over it. But nothing really triggered him. You know, he actually, I have a five year old nephew. And, you know, I feel like having a dog and a baby. Watching that bond between the two, especially since he was older is one of the sweetest things. And he's still my, my nephew still remembers him and still kind of mourn him and sad that he's gone because there was such a bond, he would help feed him and very sweet just to kind of stick by a side you know, he as a baby, I think they know, dogs know that. Okay, this is a new person. I'm supposed to be a little bit, you know, a little bit protective, supposed to stay gentle. Stay by their side.
Jason Connell:Yeah. It's very endearing. You're absolutely right. I love that. It really is. So then they had a bond. And then well, your nephew also lost Kuhmo. So that's its own thing. You know, you're young and I don't know how they dealt with the loss. But I'm sure that you know, it's tough for a kid to even kind of rationalize we lost probably don't even comprehend. What were his Kuhmo? And I'm sure thanks, tough. Yeah. How did that go?
Michelle Las:Um, you know what, it's, it's interesting, because, you know, when it happened, he was only three. Okay. You know, and it's hard to explain to a three year old, what death is like, you know, and when Kumar passed away, it was early morning as well. And, you know, I, I brought him over to say goodbye to my to my brother, and I brought him his body to the house. But I didn't, and they came outside to the car to say bye, but obviously, for a three year old, it's a little bit. Yeah, you don't know, you don't know, you don't want to put that on a three year olds plate. But I think it's really just one of these things you have to be, he was very sad. Obviously, he didn't and didn't understand why he wasn't coming back. But I think later on his parent, my brother and my sister in law explained the you know, he died. And unfortunately for this, my nephew, he has been exposed to death. You know, my husband had my late husband had passed a couple years before. I mean, he was so young and didn't remember, but he understands that someone who used to be here is no longer here. So you know, in in that, you know, I think he realizes that he's, he's somewhere better. He's not coming back. But they still have that bond. And I actually, I have to find it. But I remember, several years ago, I had as a gift to my late husband, I had found this site that makes and you might, might be familiar with it. It's a site that makes replica like stuffed animals, but because of your dog, yes. And I got one you did several years ago. And, you know, you work with the designer, if something's off. Like for example, I had worked with this person. And I said, Oh, the eyes are off. Can you tweak it a little bit? And honestly, I should send you a picture separately. They got it spot on. And now I gave that little stuffed animal to my nephew in his bedroom on the shelf and it's the cutest thing. That's amazing. And he calls him baby Kuhmo
Jason Connell:baby cool. Yeah, that's an incredible thing. I've seen like other things like they memorialize like a 3d kind of thing now that they have out there but that's great and great for a kid at that to have you know what a great way to honor the memory. Also, you just said he was such an use all caps are I like that such a good pup and he just looks like yeah, you know, and that's great. It didn't really like a pain. He was always there. And then I asked for a couple of stories and I love this one that how he loved napping next to the both of you, which was great. He was he was a Napper a cuddler. I'm assuming 13 pound dog probably sleeps in your bed. I don't know. I don't know how that works.
Michelle Las:Yeah, he was a bed sleeper up until, you know, the very like the last couple years he actually tore his fur like I don't think dogs have ACLs but a dog ACL he tore it. Honestly, a month before my husband my late husband had passed out My gosh. And so, you know, dogs are resilient as you know this when they get hurt and things happen. Okay, they bounce back through. Yeah, like they he went through PT, hydro, it was actually, to be honest, a good distraction for me to kind of helping to take care of him and helping him rehab after. And he you know, he was actually he was able to run after the fact. I mean, obviously it took time, but But yeah, he after that incident he was sleeping by the foot of the bed on the floor. No more jumping up and the bed. Yeah, I'm not. I'm not sleeping. I'm not getting up there anymore. Yeah.
Jason Connell:Well, and you had mentioned he was relatively healthy until minus the ACL tear. But until the last month, right loves this great life. He's nearing 17. But then what does something started? What rapid weight loss? Was that? What it was or what you notice? Yeah. So
Michelle Las:you know, we he started having some bouts of incontinence. So you know, like, he couldn't hold his urine. So we got, there's not a picture, but we got one of those doggie diapers, you notice that she was having more accidents. So And honestly, his demeanor was fine, his appetite was fine. It was just having these accidents. And that was happening probably, like several months before. But you know, the doctor, you know, the vet said he was probably its old age, it could have been a pancreatic issue. But there was nothing, there were no other major symptoms to you know, you don't want to necessarily just go in and operate on a dog at that age, if you don't have to, right. So then, but started realizing a couple months, and maybe my hopefully my memory is better than I'm giving it but a couple of months. Towards the end, we notice he really started losing weight quickly. And I have a picture actually that I looked at him like, wow, I took it from the top and his profile, you know, you looked at this third profile, and it was very thin. And then honestly, you know, my, my, like I said, my dog was living with my parents for a while. And I had spent the weekend with family. And it was the middle of the summer. And we had a great weekend. You know, he was in the kiddie pool with my nephew probably hated it. Because dogs eat water. Well, being some dogs. Yeah, some dogs. True. Very true. Some dogs, like water, some dogs hated it. But he was sitting there. And then I got a call from my dad. I think it was a Monday morning. And he said Kuhmo come on died. Like he. So basically what he said is, you know, as usual, you open the back door to let him out. And he just sat and then he just lay down and that was it. And you know, I think it was two years to the month that my husband had passed away. So by the to your death anniversary would have been later that month. And to some extent, I actually felt okay with that. Like, obviously I was you know, I was really sad. You know, it was It was sudden because it came out of nowhere. Also, you know, we You mean he was he was definitely showing his age those last couple months. But just having, you know, no signs of anything else. And just, you know, passing away that morning. I feel like, to me, it was his way of saying, Okay, I had my long life. I'm done. I'm going to join my dad, you know?
Jason Connell:Yeah, you would share that. And I thought about that. Like, it's hard. It's always hard. Yeah. And it leads to some knowing around two years. Yes. He's gonna go be with Patrick, who will help bring him into your life. So yeah, it's very symbiotic. And a beautiful way to to look at that. And it's interesting how he passed away. My last dog wanted to go outside. We couldn't find him. Sometimes they just No, and they go off and they want to save you the trouble because I was at that point, like, he's deteriorating. Do you make that call to you know, to put him down, which would bring extra guilt for me? And he's he's like, No, I'm tapping out. I'm really not good. And it's horrible. But it's interesting that Kumo did that to like, hey, yeah, this is the best of me, and they go off, you know, with dignity. And they say goodbye. And it's, it's I'm like, honored that dogs can think that way. I know they are. They're very intuitive. They're very bright. They know us, and they know themselves better than we even can fathom. So you saw him last the day before? Is that right? Is that?
Michelle Las:Yeah, the day before I'm wild was looking when before this podcast, I was looking back at pictures and we had a family day. My parents, my brother, you know, his family at his house. And it was, you know, like, beginning of July. So as hot and humid as you know, northeast weather can be and then have another picture. So I definitely saw him again that weekend, either the next day or the day after, and it happened. So it's almost like he had his time with people. His family and
Jason Connell:celebration.
Michelle Las:I'm tired.
Jason Connell:What was the July 4 celebration, I assume? Yeah.
Michelle Las:I mean, it wasn't actually on July 4, but it was a July 4, you know, weekend long, you guys. Yeah, we had a lot of family time, right. So it's almost like he waited Good to see everyone and then I saw him right before. And you know, honestly, I think it's hard for my parents, especially my dad, my dad was sort of his I mean, I'm not gonna not gonna lie. I think my dad was probably his favorite person towards the end because they spent a lot of quality time together. Yeah, like he would watch Jeopardy on the couch or by his feet, he would feed him his like hand feed and his apples at nine o'clock at night. So definitely a love dog. That's so
Jason Connell:cute. So yeah, he really bonded with your parents. Did they have another dog as well? Was it just Kuhmo run in the house when he was over there?
Michelle Las:Yeah, no, just them I think, you know, it's one of those things when, you know, this was a little bit before my brother had his children. So they had time just with themselves and the dog and it was the grandchild when was the grandchild? Right, the first the first grandchild. And then when, you know, my nephew, and now niece came along, you know, my parents started helping to take care of them. So then the dog, you know, Kumar get more exposure to little kids, which was nice, because sometimes, you know, introducing dogs to children isn't always the easiest thing. And the transition isn't always the best.
Jason Connell:Absolutely. Well, would you like to? You don't have to don't feel any need. But would you like to say something to Kuhmo here on this podcast?
Michelle Las:Oh, yes. I mean, I didn't necessarily think about something. But I just want him to know, I'm sure he does that he was the best dog very loved. I hope he's happy with his dad, because I just picture them kind of hanging out. Yeah, hanging out in the backyard by the pool he came was not in the pool, but just hanging out in like, nice weather all the time. Nothing happening, honestly, to some extent, I feel like they, they knew what was going to what was going on in the world right now. And they said, You know what, I'm gonna go somewhere better. Let's just get out of here.
Jason Connell:That's a great God. And so time has passed, your life continues to evolve. And obviously, the memories like I'm still waking up, I lost my dog. You know, it was May of 2022, may 11. And he left too early, he'll still pretty fresh. And I tell you, and I've lost an adult dog years prior. It's been so long, though. But I'll dream sometimes. And he's there very vividly, I wake up. And so it's like, well, those memories are there. And now I live in a new place a beautiful home a different part of the country. It's like, you can't help but think, oh, he'd love it here. He'd love these acres that we have in the oceans right there. And I'm still going through that I'm still grieving that it hasn't been long enough for me to think about next dog. But you mentioned earlier, you do have another dog. So at some point in time, it went right away, I assume you are open to the idea of having another dog in your life and maybe talk about that a little bit.
Michelle Las:Yeah, I mean, you know, it's, it's interesting, right? Because I was married for I was with Patrick for almost, you know, it was like 1516 years. So, in we were married for almost 11. So he was obviously a big part of my adult life. And Kuhmo was a big part of my adult life. And there's a lot of love and memories there. And, you know, interestingly enough, during the beginning of the pandemic, I ended up meeting someone. And you know, we before this call, we were talking about how the pandemic had some silver linings, I ended up meeting someone, we started dating, we're still together, and things are going well, and you know, you move forward in your life, thank you, you move forward in your life. And it doesn't mean that you forget about your past or your memories, or you just stop talking about it. It's part of you. And so, you know, it's interesting, too, because Michael is the man I'm with now my partner, and he never got to meet Kuhmo. But when we were talking, it was when he died, actually, when Kuhmo died, it was around the time we started talking. So it was and I had sent him a picture of him with his little doggie diaper and, and everything. Which is, you know, and I said, I was like, Oh, I'd like you to meet him someday. And, you know, now that I think about it, I wonder if it's like one of these like, you know, it's almost like, okay, he knew that there was like a new transition or a new chapter in my life coming along. Yeah, in a way. And you know, something, I like something I never really thought of that way before. But I think that in this new relationship, you know, we are open to different things. We he had a dog prior to meeting me as well. He's divorced, and he, I guess, gave up the dog and when he got divorced, and then you know, he knew about and I said, I said, Oh my gosh, like that must have been one of the
Jason Connell:heartbreaking part. I know. That's even worse than a breakup.
Michelle Las:Oh, it made me sad because I you know, like to think about how close we are bonded we are to our dogs. You know, not that not to put any, you know, price tag or like emphasis on like, a relationship or a marriage ending but it's it's different. Um, So then we know we started dating. And now obviously, it's more than two years later, last year, we had been talking about a dog. And, you know, we said, well, maybe we should just pull the trigger. And, you know, we decided to get a dog together and we got the dog about 10 weeks, 10 weeks old or so. And now he's going to be a year next next week, actually,
Jason Connell:wow, what kind of dog?
Michelle Las:No, it's a Doxon ah, and, and, you know, we we did not do. Personally speaking, we said we both we both like dogs. And honestly, ironically, my late husband grew up with a Doxon. So it's interesting. But, you know, I never had a toxin. Michael never had a toxin and we just we'd like them and we were throwing around breed ideas. And we were in for a surprise, you know, you hear about all the stereotypical dachshund traits Yeah, he has them. Yeah, he's got them all. He's stubborn. He follows us very needy. Very loyal, very sweet but really only likes us and our dog walker. Breeds he barks a lot
Jason Connell:all breeds are different dogs have different personalities tendencies. What's the dog's name? I just gotta know. Just so Oh, his his name is Otto Otto. Love it another great name. Save a lot. Well, it lastly on on Michael's previous dog. I also feel for the dog losing Michael like that bond is that hurts. But I get it. Where
Michelle Las:did he go?
Jason Connell:Yeah. Where'd that guy go? Our lives. It's interesting how parallel they are. When Sophia, my partner came into my life, I brought my great dog and to see that that was like a deal breaker, are they going to bond and I think I hit it off. And they have their own, like love for each other. And it meant the world to me. And then now we're at that everything is a deal breaker. If it's like I can handle that dog. Well, that dog is not going anywhere. Well, we're in our infant stage of talking. But it was magical. And then down the road. At some point down the road. I see another dog in our lives. And we've even got like a book from the library. Like all the breeds just trying to do on your homework what you're comfortable with, like probably like what you guys did and right on your Datsun. So yeah. Wow, that's wonderful. And maybe there wouldn't be an auto if there wasn't a Kuhmo. Right? Like, they kind of just come into your life change you rewire you and now you know, the next phase of your life.
Michelle Las:Yeah, I mean, I definitely feel that you know, the circumstances and sort of situations and experiences you have shape you and change you. Also just with loss and trauma, generally you either learn from it and grow or you can let it kind of hold you back. And I think it's a learning lesson. And there's always room for more, right? There's always room for more, you know, love more relationships, more dogs, whatever that may be?
Jason Connell:Absolutely. Do you encounter this? You just kind of hit me to ask you being a life coach, do you run into people that are dealing with this specific thing? Losing a dog?
Michelle Las:Yeah, I mean, so with what I what I usually manage. As a health coach, my most of my clients actually are women, mostly women, honestly, kind of further along in their career, and they are at the top of their career, and they've sort of ignored their health and just wellness generally, in you know, you kind of sometimes you know, and you probably know this, you sacrifice a lot of things to kind of get to the top and where you want to be. And sometimes even if when people have children, you know, you're always prioritizing other people, your partner, your career, your children, and then you know, that's the time when people feel like, okay, now is the time for me, I need to start, I want to feel better in my own skin, I want to, you know, start moving or eating better. And all these habits like stress less. All these things, I think, especially with a pandemic led us to realize that we need to focus on and I think we always knew that, but I think there was more of an emphasis on it. The last few years,
Jason Connell:I actually checked out your website, I said it earlier, do you want to go ahead and plug it because some of the foods you have on there? So I was like, wow, there's a lot going on here. It's wonderful. So congratulations, but please,
Michelle Las:thank you. Yeah, no, I think, you know, from based on when Patrick passed away, it really just woke me up into thinking, you know, do I want to what do I want to do with the next kind of half of my life? Right? And, you know, I think we make jokes about over getting old, you know, I was in my early my mid 40s. And that's not all, you know, it's not, there's so much more life to live and, and I said if I don't make a change now, and I don't start taking care of myself, like what's going to happen and where I'm going to be. So I think in focusing so much on my health and kind of taking care of my mind and my body. I really saw what it could do how I could feel and I also just wanted to start helping other people. So you know, Last Mile Health. I use my last name and health and wellness is so important and it's in there two different things. So I wanted to integrate that into the name. I think it's really just helping people who are focused on it and who are who are motivated to finally change and kind of start focusing on themselves and feeling better. I just want to help them get there. Because sometimes what happens is it's very overwhelming. Oh, yeah. To kind of say, oh my gosh, there's so many areas of my life I want to work on, I just don't know where to start. And then they just throw their hands up and just say, forget it. I'm just going to do what I, what I'm doing.
Jason Connell:I'm comfortable on this changes, correct? Yeah, correct. Change
Michelle Las:is tough. And it's really just habit, changing habits, finding out in, you know, using like, little steps, and how do I do that? And how do I keep someone accountable? And that's where I come along, I kind of helped with education and resources and accountability.
Jason Connell:And dogs help Michelle and this they help something after they help people and people with dogs or pets in general. live longer. It's a comfort. Yes. So
Michelle Las:yeah, it's definitely there. I mean, there's research behind that, you know, it's, it's part of it's part of almost this idea of just community and relationships and positive connections. And that's what pets give you, you know, they give you this unconditional love. And yeah, you know, there's something to be said about, like, oh, there's less sleep in your bed. And doesn't that, you know, bother you sleep. I said, Well, you know, like, they make you happy. You know, frustrated as hell sometimes but really heavy
Jason Connell:and a lot of sacrifice. I don't know, I've had 100 Plus pound dogs. So they sleep on the floor, but by the bed. That's when I draw the line. But no, all the time, energy training money doesn't matter. It made my life better. It enriched my life. It's priceless. So
Michelle Las:honestly, I think that having a dog in my life just made it so much more. You know, I want to say richer, but that's such a broad word. I think you just the love you feel for a dog or just a pet is just it's indescribable. Honestly, like, and I think I've heard some people say, you know, oh, it's so painful because they don't live long lives and you lose them. It's so painful to lose them. I don't think I could do that over and over again. And I'm gonna say I said, I say I would just because the quality time you have with them is so much better while you have them. So I mean, I would, you know, I joke around sometimes I'm like, should we get another one just to keep them? Like, is it? But then I'm like, I don't know. Well, that drives me crazy. But honestly, I think dogs are one of the best things God ever created. Yes, not to get religious but the universe ever created. Absolutely. But I just I think yeah, I just think they're, you know, they're such a great way to kind of make your life better. Yeah, even if you have children. I think sometimes also just watching I honestly one of my favorite things is watching babies and dogs grew up together. I could watch those videos online all the time.
Jason Connell:Yeah, they are so cute. And you said it great. Yeah. And the members. I mean, coming on here. I want to thank you, Michelle, for coming on and sharing Kumo story. The Yorkshire Terrier, a beautiful dog forever has changed your life and paved the way for what's to come. But thank you again, Michelle, I greatly appreciate you coming on and sharing your story. It's not easy to do. Hopefully you enjoyed it as well. And others, you know, when they hear it and see it. And any final words before I give a shout out to guests to come on the show and our usual outro. Anything else you want to add?
Michelle Las:Yeah, no, I just wanted to say thank you. I mean, I think it's interesting, because when I heard the topic of the podcast, so that's interesting. I've never heard of a podcast like that before. But you know, for people who, who really appreciate dogs and understand and just go through the loss and losses that they have, I think it's a it's a great way to just put stories out there because they do they make you grow in different ways. And I think it's just a blessing.
Jason Connell:Thank you. What I launched just curious media dog on popped in my head, and I still had a dog. I had lost the dog years prior. And I was like, you know what's funny, it's almost like taboo to like, Hey, here's how I'm feeling. You don't just overly share those things. Maybe you're close enough. You're super tight circle. I was like, it shouldn't be that way. We should celebrate the lives of our dogs because they're not just like, replaceable. Even if I get another in my life. I'll never replace what I've had. So it's like, I wanted to create a form and we're still figuring it out. But I think it's already working. I'm able to talk to people now. Oh, thank you again, Michelle. Thank you, and any other guests that wants to come on and share your story. Please contact us we definitely need more guests to keep the show running. Thank you so much for listening and please be sure to subscribe to the dog on podcast and the dog on YouTube Live Channel. You can also really help us by giving the show a five star rating on Apple podcast. And for all your 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 dog on social media platform. We also highly recommend checking out our other podcasts and visiting just curious media.com
