There Is A Method to the Madness
This is a podcast where I will be discussing all aspects of physical fitness. I am an exercise physiologist and personal trainer and owner of Maxwell's Fitness Programs for the last 25 years. My passion is health and fitness and I am excited to share my views, some stories, interviews and much more with you.
There Is A Method to the Madness
Sophie's Circle: How One Dog Changed Everything
Welcome to the Fit, Healthy and Happy Podcast hosted by Josh and Kyle from Colossus...
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Welcome to there is a Method to the Madness. My name is Rob Maxwell and I'm an exercise physiologist and personal trainer. I am the owner of Maxwell's Fitness Programs and I've been in business since 1994. The purpose of this podcast is to get to the real deal of what really works and, most importantly, why things work. Hence the name there is a method to the madness. Before I get to today's show, I want to thank Jonathan and Lynn Gildan of the Gildan Group at Realty Pros. They are committed to providing the highest level of customer service in home sales. Why don't you give them a shout and figure out what your home is worth? 386-451-2412. All right, we have a special guest again today. I've been talking a little bit about this. Kathy Blackman is going to talk about her desire to help with animals, and I think it's really, really cool. And she came out to our MaxFit Games and was a beneficiary of a little bit of money to help. So welcome, kathy. I'll let you introduce yourself and introduce everything that you do.
Speaker 2:Okay, Thank you, Rob. This is really nice of you to do this. Yeah, my name is Kathy Blackman and I started a dog rescue and pet food pantry almost 20 years ago and Pet Food Pantry almost 20 years ago, and the Pet Food Pantry was what I was primarily doing back then in 2008. I'm sure you remember when the housing crisis and people were losing their homes.
Speaker 2:So I was trying to help the people keep their pets at home and giving them dog food, cat food, and, recognizing that the shelters were just overwhelmed and there was just not enough space, they were euthanizing in pretty high numbers and so I still do that to this day I'm still giving pet food. But I started rescuing dogs a couple years into. It started getting dogs. People were asking me for help rehoming them and that just took over everything and that is really my primary focus now. I have a lot of dogs that I'm juggling. I have a lot of dogs getting adopted. I average 500 a year and I've exceeded 4,500 that I've rehomed since I started getting involved in it and I really do enjoy the process of matching good people up. I would say I match good people up with good dogs.
Speaker 1:That's pretty awesome. So one thing that jumped out at me right away that I guess I really didn't know about and it's interesting because you were talking about the housing crisis and how you wanted the owners to hold on to their dogs and they needed to be able to feed them issue now, like, even though the housing crisis is, maybe I don't know if we can say it's resolved there's still issues, but is that still an issue? Like, are people still having a hard?
Speaker 2:time being able to afford their dogs. They are it really settled down for the longest time and I continued doing the pet food pantry just out of sheer momentum or you know, just apathy or I'm not sure what the word, because I had dwindled it down to people that I felt like I was more of an enabler than doing an actual benefit and seriously considered stopping, because the point was to the pet food pantry was to give people help until they could get back on their feet. And when you've got people that you know they had been coming for years, faithfully, every single week, they're not going to get back on their feet. They have no interest of even trying. So that's where the you know, the enabling seemed to come in and I wasn't sure what I wanted to do about it. And the next thing it's just got. It got bad again. You know, just quickly and almost like overnight it got bad and I'm just, my phone is just ringing constantly. I'm getting emails, people needing food. They are. I try when I'm rehoming a dog, when I get the phone calls which are constant because there's dogs being surrendered in epic, epic numbers right now and it is truly a crisis and the shelters are full and everybody's panicking and there's nowhere to go with these dogs. And so and by the way, I just do dogs, I love cats and I always give food at the pet food pantry for cats, but I am a dog rescue, just to be clear on that. And so the people call and my question to them is what can we do to save this dog's home In a lot of cases multiple dogs, you know like what can we do?
Speaker 2:So we get. I just got one today. The owner was arrested, he's in jail. You don't really talk to those people, you know. You just try to get the dog help and move on. Maybe they're moving and they have no interest in trying to figure out where they're going to go, that they can take their dog. Those people are checked out and you don't try with those either. You just take the dog and do the best you can for the dog. But if somebody is down on their luck, if somebody is really struggling, and if I can help them, if I can say, like what do I need to do so that this dog can stay in his home? And sometimes it might be it needs some kind of medical attention and they just don't have the money. And when I'm talking to people I get a feel for the person and if I'm feeling good about that person, I'll do even go that route to say, all right, let's get this dog treated, let's get this dog the surgery it needs or whatever. And then at the the end you keep your dog. You know, because most of the time the vets want the dog surrendered if the owner's not going to pay and um, now surrender to to me, okay, or to a rescue, you know so they make like a bargain almost
Speaker 2:exactly. You know they can't afford it. So the say, well, then you have to surrender the dog to rescue. And then they'll call me or another rescue and then I'll say, okay, I just did that, in fact, with an Airedale. It had chewed up something. They don't even know what the heck they pulled out of it. It was the second time it did it. The dog was only one year old and that is very expensive surgery. And the guy you know he did not want the dog back. If somebody really wants their dog back, I'm going to work it out with them, but in this case he did not want the dog.
Speaker 1:And that's the second time you said.
Speaker 2:Second time and dog's only a year old. Yeah, and the surgery was tough because there was so much scar tissue from the first surgery.
Speaker 1:They don't know what it was.
Speaker 2:They pulled something leathery out of them, something big Like a toy. Yeah, they couldn't tell at that point what it was, but those things happen. I know I'm kind of all over the place here.
Speaker 1:No, you're good.
Speaker 2:It's so convoluted really. I mean, every day is a game changer. You never know what you're going to get when you answer the phone.
Speaker 1:So how do you know? Is it a gut feeling when it's time to cut somebody, not the animal, not the dog, but the person? Like, is it a gut feeling when it's time to say, okay, I'm enabling them, yes, yeah?
Speaker 2:Yes, very much so. And then I just I just stop helping because I want that person to to really try to help themselves and try to meet me halfway and um, and I'll help anybody anytime. I really don't have a problem. If I have it, I'm going to share it, I'm going to help and I really and truly want the dogs to stay home. I don't, I don't want these dogs and I don. But if I have to take the dog, I'm going to do right by the dog and I'm going to find this dog the best home I possibly can. And in most cases, a lot of times they're not current on their vaccines. Maybe they never spay or neutered them, maybe they're heartworm positive. Oh my gosh, gosh. There's so many scenarios. So you take care of all that, you pay for all that and that's.
Speaker 1:You have to pay for that, or do you yeah? I do wow, yeah, so so are you um a 501 3c where you you get some help somehow I am, I am, yeah, uh-huh and um, you know, we do fundraisers, people invite me me.
Speaker 2:You know the one you did.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:Those help so much.
Speaker 1:But that's still going to be expensive for you, though. I mean, if you've got to take care of the vaccines, do some of the veterinarians help you out with that at least.
Speaker 2:I have my network, I do. I have the vets that I deal with and they're not doing a lot Rescue. The future of rescue is on shaky ground because the vets don't want to be discounting. A lot of the veterinarian offices are being bought out and they're going corporate and once they go corporate. They're not helping a rescue, they don't care.
Speaker 1:That's just not what their mission is, not even local anymore.
Speaker 2:Right, no, and you can tell the ones that were bought out because they changed their whole practice. They, you know, they really do Less personal.
Speaker 2:Oh, much less personal, yeah, you know. So there's vets, though that the ones that so for the most part vets aren't taking on rescue. If somebody says today, like I'm going to be a rescue and I'm going to start calling vets, well the vets are like no, no, no. I would have a hard time right now getting a new vet to say, yes, I'll give a discount, because for the most part they're very adamant, like no, I don't discount for anybody. So I'm happy with who I have. Thankfully, I have great vets and I've got them all over the place. I have them up in Jacksonville, orlando. I have the local ones, of course, and so, depending on where the dog goes, if they get, you know, or where my foster is, I can just call the vet that's close to them. I try to keep it convenient for everybody.
Speaker 1:You do an excellent job with that. So when you said it's gotten bad again, like, is it like the affordability thing? And then people, the first thing they go are the pets. Maybe Is that what's happening.
Speaker 2:The pets are the first to go. They are hanging on that bottom rail of the ladder, they're just hanging on for dear life and they're the first to go because it's like I can't afford this. And you know that's. That's why I said you know that's when I talked to them, like what can't you afford specifically, is it a food issue? Is it, you know, like what is the issue? And let me, let me help Is help? Is it the monthly flea medicine and all that? How can I help you? Because I can get my hands on all that stuff and help them with whatever it takes to keep the dog in their home. You know that's the most desirable outcome, is that you save the relationship.
Speaker 1:But if you have to move forward, then and that's tough right now too, because adoptions are slow- so like I mean I know it's a little bit off the beaten path, but I mean part of the issue might seem that veterinarian care, I mean it's gotten so expensive. It has 10, maybe 15 years ago it not being bad you had your yearly and you're like, oh you know, a couple hundred bucks maybe. Now it's like when I go it's like 500. Yes and I don't know how some people do it.
Speaker 2:I don't either. I know it's gotten crazy and I know that you know different procedures, like a torn ACL, what it used to be compared to. You know, because everything repeats Right. There's only so many things that can go wrong, and so you've pretty much done it all. You know I've done more than my share of blockages. I've done more than my share of fractures, Paid for more than you know, more dentals than I can count.
Speaker 1:That's expensive.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and then the range. That's the other thing. The range of what a spay surgery costs, like you'll go to one. I mean it's insane. There's vets that are charging between $1,000 and $1,500 for a spay.
Speaker 1:That's crazy.
Speaker 2:It's insane, and it's the same surgery that you get in another vet for $200, $300.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and I found I just had a my dog Hazel. She had to have a lump removed and you know I do trust the vet and like the vet, you know, and they do tend to be a little bit on the high end. But I found that like where she went before for this they were, you know, quoting something different and I'm like I'm going to stick with the one, but it was expensive. So I imagine that's like really a big part of why maybe people feel like they have to surrender their and I would guess that, more than food maybe I mean food's expensive now too.
Speaker 2:Food's very expensive. Well, look at how much the um the hard guard next card crazy money. Well, look at how much the hard card next card it's crazy money.
Speaker 1:Five. I think I just paid 300, I don't know, it was 300 and something plus. They gave me the 50%, not 50%, 50 bucks off thing. You usually have like a rebate or something. Yeah, yeah, and that's for six months, and that's on top of everything else I know. So I don't know what we can do about that, but I know what you're doing is awesome with that, so all right. So then, getting back to what you're actually doing and trying to help with fostering and everything, so do you take the animals yourself?
Speaker 2:I have fosters, I have a foster network, so I don't have a facility.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:So, um, everybody is an approved foster and their home is checked out, they're checked out, and so I've got my list and, um, you know, and then sometimes they'll say, okay, I need to take a break. Others are just like, okay, I'm ready for the next, ready for the next. They're just. Others are just like, okay, I'm ready for the next, ready for the next. There's some only want small dogs. Some of them have a lot of them have cats, and that really narrows down the prospective dogs that can go to them. And I deal with a lot of big dogs and big dogs and cats typically are not, unless they grew up with the cat.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's tough to introduce and it's a short-term relationship. You're just putting them in the home until you can get them a home, and I'll put more time and effort into if the adopter has a cat you know, since that's going to be the dog's permanent home, whereas I'm not going to risk a foster's cap on a dog.
Speaker 2:That is just, I just don't know, you know, and a lot of times you just you don't know and, um, you just can't, you cannot take that chance. But, like I said, with the adoption, you're doing everything you can to make sure that this is going to be successful. So I'll send a trainer in. We have tons of tips and advice and help and we're very hands-on, we're relationship people by the time the dog's actually adopted and in the home we're relationship people.
Speaker 2:By the time the dog's actually adopted and in the home, we're best friends. And it's great because then they're sending me pictures of the dog. I'm getting these on Christmas. I'm getting Merry Christmases from half of Volusia County.
Speaker 1:Right, I mean your reputation, I mean, is phenomenal.
Speaker 2:Oh, thank you.
Speaker 1:I knew of it long before we contacted you about the games. So, Sophie Circle, how did you come up with that name? I mean, it's kind of I could guess, but how did you come up with?
Speaker 2:that. So Sophie was the dog that changed my perspective. You know she was going to be euthanized and I sort of stumbled on her and, like everything that changes the direction you're going in your life, if you look back on pretty much anything, it was something that happened unexpectedly. For the most part, I think everyone has that same story that I did not go to get a dog that day, but I left with a dog and I could not wrap my brain around the fact that they were going to euthanize this dog. I thought she was beautiful and she had issues. She had so many health issues, poor Sophie. Sophie was a train wreck, but she was so beautiful and she was so sweet and I thought, oh, my God, they're going to kill this dog. How is this possible? And so then you start to dig a little deeper and realize that this isn't a good situation. These dogs are being euthanized right and left and there's a lot and it's bad and I need to help.
Speaker 2:And so I started the. I started to help and I teamed up with. I started meeting people that were involved in animal welfare in the area, made some really good friends that are still, you know, extremely close friends, and we all share the same frustrations and you know, but it's after 20 years. I mean I just have some strong, strong relationships from that time of meeting up with these people and met a lot of people. I mean really just, and it doesn't take long to get deep in it. I mean it just there's so much need. But as far as circle, you know the, the universe, just everything is pretty much a circle in life. You know, everything sort of circles back and I just like the concept of just being a circle of good that we're putting out there.
Speaker 1:So what was it 2008? You started that.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:Around, then Right around, the housing crisis the first yes.
Speaker 2:And how many around? The housing crisis the first yes.
Speaker 1:And how many? You said 4,500?.
Speaker 2:More than 4,500,.
Speaker 1:yes, Now that's pretty awesome. So what can people do to help you? Like, do you do this by yourself? I mean, I know you have your people that help you foster, but like do you do this by yourself? Wow, that can't be easy.
Speaker 2:I have people I have. I have people that there's like for instance, I have somebody who is invaluable to me and I'll say to her I'll give you the. For instance, I have a girl in Miami. She messaged me I get a lot of dogs out of Miami, believe it or not.
Speaker 1:They're in such prices.
Speaker 2:So the girl called me, messaged me yesterday Please, please help. You're my last hope. This dog just wandered up into my yard. It's been raining. I don't know what to do. I'm out of options. I've asked everybody. Everybody's telling me to call you. So I said, well, I'm going to do what I can to help you.
Speaker 2:And so I've been working with her and I'm getting the dog. I mean, it's happening. I can just send her a message saying we're getting this dog from Miami. I need a ride for her. She's coming on whatever day and here's where she's going. She likes me to send her a picture of the dog and I can walk on, I can move on with my day, I can walk on, I can move on with my day. And the next thing, you know, it's all set, the dog has a ride, she can get a pilot to fly the dog. You wouldn't believe what she does. That's awesome. Anywhere, everywhere. I'll say even sometimes like well, like, I need to get a crate up to Ormond by the sea. Right, she'll put something on Facebook. You know, we need a crate picked up at Kathy's and taken to Ormond by the sea. And then you know, she just tags everybody and then the people start, you know.
Speaker 1:I can Facebook.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I can do it if. If it's this time or I can do this or I can do that, and then somebody will say, yeah, I'll do it. And then she'll just message me So-and-so is going to be there at 3 o'clock to pick the crate up. Okay, done. Something is. You can't believe all those little details, and this is all day long, and she is masterful at this. I mean really. And so there's that. And then the Fosters. You know that whole network.
Speaker 1:How many Ds?
Speaker 2:50 plus, and but then there's all. You have the promotions and the events. You know you've got to get all that stuff arranged. We're working right now on one that we do in February, because these are a lot of work.
Speaker 1:And you're talking about a mutual friend of ours I think said she was helping you put it on a 5K. Maybe Is that.
Speaker 2:Oh, Joanne.
Speaker 1:Yes, yes, yes, so that'll be. Is that a good way to help you as well? Oh, an amazing way, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yes, her husband was, was one who had the idea. He approached me about it. And joanne, I love joanne. Yeah, yeah, she fostered, but then she had to stop because her dog said no she's got a lot of cats now too, yeah so how else can, um, what's the best way listeners could help, like, do you take donations?
Speaker 1:yes, uh, so, as we wrap up, maybe give your address, or however you want to do that, to contact you, um, and then any other way that people can assist you, like maybe volunteer to be more fosters, volunteer to be drivers, I mean you know, whatever you think, and then kind of tell everybody how to reach you. That would be great.
Speaker 2:Okay, so our website is sophiecircleorg.
Speaker 1:And I will put that in the notes, by the way. Oh, thank you, thank you.
Speaker 2:Okay, and then our website. I mean our Facebook page is Sophie Circle Dog Rescue and when you go to our website you can go right into Pet Finder, where the dogs are. And when you go to our website, that's where our foster applications are, our adoption applications, our surrender forms are there. If you're surrendering your dog, a lot of people just go ahead and fill out a surrender form without calling or saying anything. That doesn't really do them much good. If you're not going to fight for my attention, you're not going to get my attention because I'm too inundated, I'm too swamped, you know, right, um, so that you have to Call me and, you know, wave your arms around and tell me how desperate you are for me to go into that file and start taking it around and finding your surrender form. But the surrender forms are on there and in there, and so that's a pretty good workhorse. The website.
Speaker 1:Okay.
Speaker 2:Because you know also the donations are. It's set up for donations on there also.
Speaker 1:Is there a link, like for a Venmo or like just okay?
Speaker 2:Yeah, Venmo Zelle, there's one of those. They have it set up with Linktree.
Speaker 1:Okay, yeah.
Speaker 2:And so that's good. And then, yeah, and my phone number is pretty much everywhere. I don't hide my number. I'm not one of those rescues where there's it's impossible to find out how to get a hold of me. I am pretty much. I figure, if you're going to do it, you may as well be accessible to the people, because I talk to desperate people and I don't want them becoming more frustrated and desperate trying to track somebody down who will actually talk to them, because sometimes it's just a matter of talking to them.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:And you know setting, helping them, giving them some good advice or some other options.
Speaker 1:So, as I did want to ask one more thing I know I'm running out of time here, but I was thinking about it and, as you just said that I just you know we're coming up on hurricane season.
Speaker 2:Yes.
Speaker 1:What is your advice? Because I just see sometimes dogs get abandoned. Yeah, what's the best thing people can do here in Central Florida or wherever so this doesn't happen?
Speaker 2:Well, I always tell people make sure your dog is crate trained. Even if you don't use a crate, make sure your dog is actually crate trained, Because the last place in the whole world you want to be trying to get your dog acclimated to a crate is at a brand new shelter, with people panicked and swarming around because the shelters will not let you in if your dog is not in a crate.
Speaker 1:Do they have to have their own crate? Yes, Okay so everybody should have a crate.
Speaker 2:They should, because it's Florida, I mean, we're a natural disaster state, so have a crate, have it at the ready, and people call me I loan them out. I'm happy to loan out crates, you know. You just call me up and tell me hey, I'm as panicked for everybody as the next one, believe me.
Speaker 1:See, I'm so glad I asked, because I don't think people know that.
Speaker 2:I don't think they think about it until and then there's like yeah but you need that dog needs to go into that crate quietly and calm down and not be hysterical. And any single dog I don't know of a dog that's not going to be hysterical if it's never been in a crate before. They'll chew their way out, they will yes yeah.
Speaker 1:Well, that's awesome. Do you have any final words for the listeners out there? I want to encourage everybody to go to the website.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Donate where you can See if there's any information on there to volunteer, if you're able Get a crate for the dogs, for the hurricanes or any other natural disasters.
Speaker 2:Get them used to it, acclimate them to it and then fold it up and put it somewhere where it's handy and spay and neuter your pets. There's an overpopulation problem and it's a serious, serious problem.
Speaker 1:I noticed that at the MaxFit Games. When afterwards that's what everybody yelled, that seems to be the big thing, spay and neuter gangs. When afterwards that's what everybody yelled.
Speaker 2:That seems to be the big thing Spray and neuter Spray, and neuter yeah, it seems Is that.
Speaker 1:Can people do that for free anywhere, or is that something they?
Speaker 2:have to pay. But there's clinics where you can get it for less money. You know there are they stopped doing it for free. But there are there's options. There's low-cost options out there. But you know the vets are, it's pricey, it is a pricey procedure. But we do not need more animals, we need a break.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean, and you see these abandoned animals and it's just so sad. It is sad I mean nobody wants to see? At least I don't see life suffering. No, I don't see life suffering.
Speaker 2:No.
Speaker 1:All right. Well, I thank you so much for coming on. We've been planning this for a little bit and I just got behind, but now we got it in and I really appreciate you taking your time to come out and educating my listeners on good animal welfare.
Speaker 2:Well, I appreciate you, rob. Thank you so much, all right.
Speaker 1:Bye-bye. Thank you for listening to today's program. I ask you to please follow the show wherever you get your podcasts and please select automatic download, because that really helps the show. Now I want to thank Overhead Door of Daytona Beach, the area's premier garage door company. They have the best product. They have the best service. I personally vouch for Jeff and Zach Hawk, the owners. They are great people with a great company. If you have any garage door needs, please give them a shout at 386-222-3165.
