WEBVTT 00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:03.359 Welcome to the Light Keepers podcast. I'm Clayton 00:00:03.359 --> 00:00:05.500 Vandiver, your Light Keeper, with a show dedicated 00:00:05.500 --> 00:00:08.519 to everyone who wants to get the most quality 00:00:08.519 --> 00:00:11.880 out of life that they can. My co -host as always, 00:00:12.080 --> 00:00:14.580 Charlene, our licensed clinical social worker 00:00:14.580 --> 00:00:17.300 certified in the state of Florida, joining the 00:00:17.300 --> 00:00:20.379 conversation this week about puppies, kittens, 00:00:20.660 --> 00:00:26.420 and pets. Oh my! And so much more, right here 00:00:26.420 --> 00:00:56.590 on the Light Keepers podcast. Well, before we 00:00:56.590 --> 00:00:58.630 start, please leave your questions or comments 00:00:58.630 --> 00:01:01.450 below. We always love to hear from you. Questions 00:01:01.450 --> 00:01:03.789 this week will be answered during our next show 00:01:03.789 --> 00:01:06.489 that appears online every Wednesday evening at 00:01:06.489 --> 00:01:09.489 7 p .m. Eastern. The Light Keepers podcast is 00:01:09.489 --> 00:01:12.650 an exclusive production of A Guiding Light, and 00:01:12.650 --> 00:01:14.390 we'll tell you more about A Guiding Light at 00:01:14.390 --> 00:01:16.750 the end of the podcast. But since we don't have 00:01:16.750 --> 00:01:19.170 much time, let's get right into this week's conversation 00:01:19.170 --> 00:01:25.590 about puppies and kittens. Oh, my. Tell me, Charlene, 00:01:25.590 --> 00:01:28.689 what do those have to do with the quality of 00:01:28.689 --> 00:01:32.090 life that we normally discuss on this show? Well, 00:01:32.170 --> 00:01:35.549 we talk about how to get the most out of life 00:01:35.549 --> 00:01:38.969 and how to get the best quality of life that 00:01:38.969 --> 00:01:42.209 we can. And for a lot of people, that includes 00:01:42.209 --> 00:01:45.409 a pet or pets, plural. Yeah, I know. And we've 00:01:45.409 --> 00:01:47.750 had one of our cats actually climb into this 00:01:47.750 --> 00:01:50.390 podcast before. Yep, she's been right in there 00:01:50.390 --> 00:01:55.730 in the middle. How does that benefit folks who 00:01:55.730 --> 00:01:59.530 might be having health challenges? So pet ownership, 00:01:59.709 --> 00:02:03.349 having a pet family member, I don't like to think 00:02:03.349 --> 00:02:05.290 of them as objects. They're a member of the family, 00:02:05.430 --> 00:02:10.409 be they furry, finned, or feathered. They're 00:02:10.409 --> 00:02:13.389 a family member. Right, absolutely. And they 00:02:13.389 --> 00:02:15.469 can benefit our health in a lot of different 00:02:15.469 --> 00:02:17.710 ways. And in fact, I actually went online and 00:02:17.710 --> 00:02:19.909 did some research just so that people didn't 00:02:19.909 --> 00:02:23.060 think I was making this stuff up. And you can 00:02:23.060 --> 00:02:27.080 look online and there's dozens, hundreds, thousands 00:02:27.080 --> 00:02:30.520 of references and resources out there that tell 00:02:30.520 --> 00:02:32.620 you about the benefits of pet ownership. But 00:02:32.620 --> 00:02:34.240 the one that I found particularly interesting 00:02:34.240 --> 00:02:37.699 was actually put up by the Health Direct website 00:02:37.699 --> 00:02:41.180 in Australia. It's a government -sponsored website. 00:02:41.699 --> 00:02:46.379 And based on their research, they came up with 00:02:46.379 --> 00:02:50.900 this list of benefits of pet ownership. And among 00:02:50.900 --> 00:02:55.819 those is stress reduction, which is true. It 00:02:55.819 --> 00:02:58.819 has actually been scientifically proven that 00:02:58.819 --> 00:03:01.360 spending time with a pet lowers your stress level. 00:03:02.039 --> 00:03:04.599 Okay, so what happens when your stress level 00:03:04.599 --> 00:03:09.099 goes down? Heart health. Lower blood pressure. 00:03:09.300 --> 00:03:11.979 Makes perfect sense. Lower heart rate. So now 00:03:11.979 --> 00:03:16.520 you have heart benefits. Okay. Okay, so mental 00:03:16.520 --> 00:03:19.430 health. Pet ownership, spending time with your 00:03:19.430 --> 00:03:23.469 pet, reduces loneliness, boosts mental health. 00:03:24.030 --> 00:03:30.270 So that's important. Sense of purpose, you know, 00:03:30.270 --> 00:03:33.150 having a sense of purpose in life because you 00:03:33.150 --> 00:03:35.849 have someone that you're responsible for that 00:03:35.849 --> 00:03:39.849 would die without you. I mean, they've got to 00:03:39.849 --> 00:03:41.590 be fed, they've got to be watered, they've got 00:03:41.590 --> 00:03:44.110 to be taken care of. So you have a sense of purpose 00:03:44.110 --> 00:03:48.870 in life when you have a pet. Pets can provide 00:03:48.870 --> 00:03:53.009 opportunities for social interactions. And I 00:03:53.009 --> 00:04:00.710 can 1 ,000 % verify this because, funny story, 00:04:00.870 --> 00:04:03.849 we actually have an outdoor cat in our neighborhood 00:04:03.849 --> 00:04:07.289 that our family has actually gotten quite fond 00:04:07.289 --> 00:04:12.289 of. And come to find out, he belongs to the house 00:04:12.289 --> 00:04:15.699 on the street behind us. And these are neighbors 00:04:15.699 --> 00:04:18.540 that we never would have met otherwise, but now 00:04:18.540 --> 00:04:20.759 we kind of have this shared custody of this cat. 00:04:21.079 --> 00:04:26.720 That is very true. And he's a very intelligent 00:04:26.720 --> 00:04:30.860 cat that has lived out of doors in a naturally 00:04:30.860 --> 00:04:34.319 long time. Yes. And I remember when we were doing 00:04:34.319 --> 00:04:36.740 the Animals at Heart television show back in 00:04:36.740 --> 00:04:40.279 the early 2000s for the Jacksonville Humane Society. 00:04:41.240 --> 00:04:46.160 In five years, we did 450 unique episodes, a 00:04:46.160 --> 00:04:49.639 30 -minute broadcast television show that we 00:04:49.639 --> 00:04:53.100 had over 8 ,000 animals find new homes during 00:04:53.100 --> 00:04:55.079 the course of that five years. We're very, very 00:04:55.079 --> 00:04:58.000 proud of those statistics. But I learned during 00:04:58.000 --> 00:05:00.439 that time a lot of things being the co -host 00:05:00.439 --> 00:05:02.899 of the show with Sonia White, the executive director 00:05:02.899 --> 00:05:05.180 of the shelter. Brilliant lady. Oh, my goodness. 00:05:05.600 --> 00:05:09.699 And I remember she told me that indoor cats can 00:05:09.699 --> 00:05:14.910 live. on average 18 to 20 years sometimes an 00:05:14.910 --> 00:05:18.389 outdoor cat on average lives five years yeah 00:05:18.389 --> 00:05:23.610 there are so many hazards so many threats so 00:05:23.610 --> 00:05:30.870 many dangers whether it's a car stray dogs raccoons 00:05:30.870 --> 00:05:34.009 other animals that can get into a fight with 00:05:34.009 --> 00:05:36.949 a cat over food that's been put out for it and 00:05:37.439 --> 00:05:40.540 There are just so many hazards that their average 00:05:40.540 --> 00:05:43.800 lifespan is five years. This cat that wanders 00:05:43.800 --> 00:05:45.860 through our neighborhood, generally just between 00:05:45.860 --> 00:05:50.209 our house and the one behind us, is... Has lived 00:05:50.209 --> 00:05:54.069 many, many, many years. He's 14. Yes, 14. But, 00:05:54.110 --> 00:05:58.029 you know, there again, though, normally we encourage 00:05:58.029 --> 00:06:02.149 people to always keep their cats indoors because 00:06:02.149 --> 00:06:05.449 they are safer. They're not just safer from environmental 00:06:05.449 --> 00:06:07.730 hazards, but you also have the health hazards. 00:06:07.949 --> 00:06:10.810 You know, you have risk of being exposed to so 00:06:10.810 --> 00:06:14.889 many diseases, feline leukemia, rabies, all these 00:06:14.889 --> 00:06:18.569 things that your cat is not exposed to if you 00:06:18.569 --> 00:06:21.199 keep them indoors. inside. So normally that's 00:06:21.199 --> 00:06:23.379 what we would educate people to do. Keep your 00:06:23.379 --> 00:06:27.279 cat indoors. This cat cannot be contained indoors. 00:06:27.759 --> 00:06:32.240 I'd have to say that right up front. We brought 00:06:32.240 --> 00:06:35.680 him into the house when it was cold outside, 00:06:35.939 --> 00:06:39.639 tried to do the right thing by him. Oh my goodness. 00:06:41.519 --> 00:06:43.939 If he doesn't find any food sitting down, he'll 00:06:43.939 --> 00:06:45.959 sample the other cat's food. He'll just say, 00:06:46.019 --> 00:06:47.519 okay, it's time to go, and he'll go back to the 00:06:47.519 --> 00:06:49.259 front door. And he'll sit at the door, and he'll 00:06:49.259 --> 00:06:51.480 yowl and yowl and yowl, and then he'll start 00:06:51.480 --> 00:06:54.519 scratching at the door. He's a smart fellow, 00:06:54.600 --> 00:06:57.160 and he knows exactly how to get himself booted 00:06:57.160 --> 00:07:02.019 out. He knows what he wants. But even with him, 00:07:02.160 --> 00:07:05.500 he's a wonderful example of... why it's important 00:07:05.500 --> 00:07:08.000 to keep cats indoors. Because we had that horrific 00:07:08.000 --> 00:07:11.819 episode last December where in our own front 00:07:11.819 --> 00:07:15.079 yard, he was attacked by two roaming pit bulls 00:07:15.079 --> 00:07:19.220 that had broken out of their home. Quite regularly. 00:07:19.519 --> 00:07:21.800 Quite regularly, unfortunately. And that's a 00:07:21.800 --> 00:07:24.160 whole other episode talking about responsible 00:07:24.160 --> 00:07:28.500 pet ownership. But anyway, he was severely mauled, 00:07:28.579 --> 00:07:31.160 spent several weeks in the hospital, and almost 00:07:31.160 --> 00:07:34.500 died. Had a large portion of his large... It's 00:07:34.500 --> 00:07:38.620 a very round cat. And he had a very large portion 00:07:38.620 --> 00:07:42.360 of himself almost removed. Yeah. And even today, 00:07:42.459 --> 00:07:45.339 his pattern isn't even on one side where they 00:07:45.339 --> 00:07:47.540 had to stitch him back up. Yeah, he's a tabby, 00:07:47.540 --> 00:07:49.800 and his stripe down the back actually curves 00:07:49.800 --> 00:07:52.680 a little bit because of how the scar tissue came 00:07:52.680 --> 00:07:55.379 together. Yeah. Well, he lost a lot of flesh. 00:07:55.439 --> 00:07:57.779 He did. He was opened almost down to the bone. 00:07:57.860 --> 00:08:01.279 That is a sight I could... I would love to forget 00:08:01.279 --> 00:08:04.779 and unfortunately can't. And our ring cameras 00:08:04.779 --> 00:08:07.879 caught most of that. It caught the sound of the 00:08:07.879 --> 00:08:10.519 attack and it caught the dogs just a moment earlier 00:08:10.519 --> 00:08:14.680 actually threatening you. My wife went out the 00:08:14.680 --> 00:08:17.579 front door. The dogs came at her and followed 00:08:17.579 --> 00:08:19.579 her back to the front door and she simply turned 00:08:19.579 --> 00:08:22.459 and walked in and had her back to them when they 00:08:22.459 --> 00:08:25.709 literally lunged at her. It's all on camera. 00:08:25.829 --> 00:08:29.829 Yeah. People, please keep your dogs in your yard 00:08:29.829 --> 00:08:31.170 if you're not going to keep them in the house. 00:08:31.350 --> 00:08:35.129 Yes. But we digress. I know there's going to 00:08:35.129 --> 00:08:38.230 be comments. There always are. We're not picking 00:08:38.230 --> 00:08:41.730 on pit bulls specifically. Any dog breed can 00:08:41.730 --> 00:08:44.230 be dangerous. Because one was a pit mix. The 00:08:44.230 --> 00:08:47.710 other was pure pit. But they are particularly. 00:08:49.540 --> 00:08:52.679 dangerous animals, and they do tend to like to 00:08:52.679 --> 00:08:56.419 hunt in packs. Any dog, any breed, when it gets 00:08:56.419 --> 00:09:00.799 into that pack mentality, if there's an instigator 00:09:00.799 --> 00:09:03.639 in the bunch, then they're all dangerous in that 00:09:03.639 --> 00:09:06.039 group because of the pack mentality. That's absolutely 00:09:06.039 --> 00:09:10.870 true. And I learned so much during the course 00:09:10.870 --> 00:09:15.649 of doing those 450 episodes over five years that 00:09:15.649 --> 00:09:18.889 many of the statistics from the American Humane 00:09:18.889 --> 00:09:22.789 Association, they listed, now this was in around 00:09:22.789 --> 00:09:27.409 2000, between 2000 and 2005, they listed the 00:09:27.409 --> 00:09:32.870 most dangerous breeds by attacks on adults, attacks 00:09:32.870 --> 00:09:38.990 on people under the age of 10. The most dangerous 00:09:38.990 --> 00:09:42.529 animal across the board on all of their lists 00:09:42.529 --> 00:09:46.830 was always the pit bull. Yeah. Mostly because, 00:09:46.909 --> 00:09:51.210 and we actually started a program called, what 00:09:51.210 --> 00:09:55.110 was the Pets and Children? PACT. The Pets and 00:09:55.110 --> 00:09:58.029 Children Together Program. Yep. The PACT program 00:09:58.029 --> 00:10:02.039 was an educational curriculum. To take into schools 00:10:02.039 --> 00:10:04.820 and to teach children that all of those friendly, 00:10:04.919 --> 00:10:07.919 fluffy, wonderful dogs that they see and think 00:10:07.919 --> 00:10:12.419 they're just a very animated stuffed toy that 00:10:12.419 --> 00:10:16.120 they walk up to isn't necessarily. And oftentimes 00:10:16.120 --> 00:10:19.519 the dog can see that approach as a threat and 00:10:19.519 --> 00:10:21.860 it does what comes natural. It defends itself 00:10:21.860 --> 00:10:25.720 or it defends its food dish that has food in 00:10:25.720 --> 00:10:27.960 it, thinks another animal is coming up to take 00:10:27.960 --> 00:10:32.139 it, and it does what comes natural. And unfortunately, 00:10:32.340 --> 00:10:36.220 many, many times that situation adds to the statistics 00:10:36.220 --> 00:10:42.019 and two wonderful innocent lives are lost along 00:10:42.019 --> 00:10:45.240 with a whole lot of anguish. The child that gets 00:10:45.240 --> 00:10:48.139 mauled and the dog that gets put down because 00:10:48.139 --> 00:10:51.580 of it. And the program was really a wonderful 00:10:51.580 --> 00:10:55.460 program that we did not... teach children to 00:10:55.460 --> 00:10:58.000 be afraid of dogs. What we taught them was how 00:10:58.000 --> 00:11:00.860 to read the body language that would indicate 00:11:00.860 --> 00:11:03.059 that they needed to give the dog some space. 00:11:03.259 --> 00:11:05.960 Exactly. And also bite prevention. Basic bite 00:11:05.960 --> 00:11:09.179 prevention. Don't approach with these five yummy 00:11:09.179 --> 00:11:12.220 little things sticking out. Approach like this. 00:11:12.480 --> 00:11:15.179 Do a little fist bump. Not a fist bump, but hold 00:11:15.179 --> 00:11:17.480 your fist out because a dog understands this 00:11:17.480 --> 00:11:19.639 shape. Back of the hand. It looks like a paw. 00:11:20.419 --> 00:11:25.279 This looks like five yummy little You know, Oscar 00:11:25.279 --> 00:11:30.220 Myers they're going to snack on. So there are 00:11:30.220 --> 00:11:34.360 little tips like that. And also I remember a 00:11:34.360 --> 00:11:38.379 tragic, tragic story that I edited one day at 00:11:38.379 --> 00:11:40.600 the local television station. It was a national 00:11:40.600 --> 00:11:45.820 story that came in about a family. The grandparents 00:11:45.820 --> 00:11:52.160 were babysitting their brand new grandbaby. And 00:11:52.160 --> 00:11:54.799 their little bitty, and I think it was like a... 00:11:54.799 --> 00:11:57.080 It was a Pomeranian. Pomeranian. Pomeranian and 00:11:57.080 --> 00:11:59.779 a Corgi. It was a Pomeranian. Pomeranian. Was 00:11:59.779 --> 00:12:02.620 elderly. It was a six -week -old infant. And 00:12:02.620 --> 00:12:05.820 it was a very young child, very old dog. They 00:12:05.820 --> 00:12:07.620 didn't think anything of it. The dog had never 00:12:07.620 --> 00:12:10.559 been aggressive in its life. Yeah. But they were 00:12:10.559 --> 00:12:12.580 going to babysit for the day. They laid the baby 00:12:12.580 --> 00:12:15.240 down in the bed. They stepped outside of the 00:12:15.240 --> 00:12:17.639 house to say goodbye to the children who were 00:12:17.639 --> 00:12:19.740 going off to spend their day away from the child. 00:12:20.480 --> 00:12:22.539 And in that time, the dog did something that 00:12:22.539 --> 00:12:25.480 was very, very natural. Natural dog behavior. 00:12:26.899 --> 00:12:33.080 It walked up, said, hmm, there's a new animal 00:12:33.080 --> 00:12:36.159 in the house. I have to show it who's dominant. 00:12:37.860 --> 00:12:40.820 Took it by the neck, gave the infant a little 00:12:40.820 --> 00:12:45.320 shake, which is a natural dog behavior to establish, 00:12:45.539 --> 00:12:49.600 I'm the top in this dominance. You're going to 00:12:49.600 --> 00:12:53.179 be subsidiary to me. Well, it broke the child's 00:12:53.179 --> 00:12:56.340 neck and killed the infant. The dog was put down. 00:12:57.700 --> 00:13:01.139 The children and the grandparents may have never 00:13:01.139 --> 00:13:03.779 spoken. I don't know how that was resolved. But 00:13:03.779 --> 00:13:08.379 I know that the story in the news was tragic. 00:13:09.139 --> 00:13:11.840 And a little bit of education, a little bit of 00:13:11.840 --> 00:13:14.559 pets and children together, education could have 00:13:14.559 --> 00:13:18.000 prevented that, saved that child's life. When 00:13:18.000 --> 00:13:21.960 a dog has never met a child, a person, an infant 00:13:21.960 --> 00:13:26.340 before, you do not leave them unsupervised. You 00:13:26.340 --> 00:13:30.500 just don't. And that was a terribly, horribly 00:13:30.500 --> 00:13:34.080 tragic situation. It broke my heart. And it was 00:13:34.080 --> 00:13:37.539 one of the things that caused us to create the 00:13:37.539 --> 00:13:39.840 Pets and Children Together program. That's all 00:13:39.840 --> 00:13:42.620 part of Animals at Heart. The name of the television 00:13:42.620 --> 00:13:45.830 show, the name of the educational program. And 00:13:45.830 --> 00:13:49.250 it was all inspired by the real world. And there 00:13:49.250 --> 00:13:51.450 it is. It's on the backside of our marvelous 00:13:51.450 --> 00:13:54.169 coffee mugs, by the way. I'll let you see that. 00:13:54.269 --> 00:13:56.629 It's the Animals at Heart logo that opened every 00:13:56.629 --> 00:13:59.950 show. And it says below it, because pets are 00:13:59.950 --> 00:14:04.090 family too. And by the way, these great coffee 00:14:04.090 --> 00:14:07.070 mugs that have the Guiding Light logo on one 00:14:07.070 --> 00:14:09.250 side and the Animals at Heart logo on the other, 00:14:09.309 --> 00:14:12.110 they are available. And we'll tell you more about 00:14:12.110 --> 00:14:15.070 those in a future episode. We may do a merch. 00:14:15.549 --> 00:14:18.769 show but but if you care for one send us a message 00:14:18.769 --> 00:14:21.090 we'll make sure we can get one to you they're 00:14:21.090 --> 00:14:23.330 they're not astronomical but getting back to 00:14:23.330 --> 00:14:25.269 the getting back to the topic of the show so 00:14:25.269 --> 00:14:28.149 um talking about how we have to wrap it up too 00:14:28.149 --> 00:14:30.190 we're running out of time talking about how pets 00:14:30.190 --> 00:14:33.509 can increase social interactions you know our 00:14:33.509 --> 00:14:35.830 neighborhood cat has definitely introduced us 00:14:35.830 --> 00:14:37.649 to neighbors that we never would have met otherwise 00:14:37.649 --> 00:14:41.309 and they're lovely people and And we actually 00:14:41.309 --> 00:14:44.789 text regularly now to make sure he makes it from 00:14:44.789 --> 00:14:47.490 one house to the other safely, which I find just 00:14:47.490 --> 00:14:51.070 absolutely hilarious. But pets also increase 00:14:51.070 --> 00:14:53.429 fitness, because especially if you have a dog, 00:14:53.490 --> 00:14:55.169 you have to take it for a walk. Yes, of course. 00:14:55.230 --> 00:14:57.870 You're out several times a day, every day. Yeah. 00:14:58.169 --> 00:15:03.029 Cats, not so much. And there are a really distinct 00:15:03.029 --> 00:15:05.769 division between pet ownership. There are cat 00:15:05.769 --> 00:15:11.649 lovers. There are dog lovers. And we've had both 00:15:11.649 --> 00:15:15.809 in our household, in our family. Cats can help 00:15:15.809 --> 00:15:18.250 get your exercise too. Cats can help you get 00:15:18.250 --> 00:15:20.129 your exercise. Well, this is true. All you need 00:15:20.129 --> 00:15:21.710 is a laser pointer and you're going to be all 00:15:21.710 --> 00:15:23.169 over the house. Well, that wasn't what I was 00:15:23.169 --> 00:15:25.870 thinking, but that would work too. Have you seen 00:15:25.870 --> 00:15:28.429 how fast somebody moves when you hear the sound 00:15:28.429 --> 00:15:32.440 of a cat about to throw up? You want to get it 00:15:32.440 --> 00:15:35.340 off that special rug and put it on the tile floor. 00:15:35.460 --> 00:15:38.039 Off the furniture. Yes. All right. A little bit 00:15:38.039 --> 00:15:40.940 of cat humor. Well, that's true. But heart health. 00:15:41.080 --> 00:15:45.320 But here's something I bet you didn't know. There 00:15:45.320 --> 00:15:47.820 are many things I don't know. Did you know that 00:15:47.820 --> 00:15:55.940 introducing a child to a pet at a young age lowers 00:15:55.940 --> 00:16:00.320 their risk of developing allergies? Yes, I had 00:16:00.320 --> 00:16:03.039 heard that. Because they're introduced to that 00:16:03.039 --> 00:16:05.039 dander. It exposes them to more danders. Exactly. 00:16:05.080 --> 00:16:07.720 And therefore they develop the antibodies. Antibodies. 00:16:07.879 --> 00:16:10.799 So they don't develop those allergies. So it's 00:16:10.799 --> 00:16:13.019 a good thing. Well, there you go. So there is 00:16:13.019 --> 00:16:16.759 a benefit at every stage of life, including, 00:16:16.919 --> 00:16:18.759 and we haven't talked about this yet. We've run 00:16:18.759 --> 00:16:21.940 way out of time. But I wanted to talk about pet 00:16:21.940 --> 00:16:24.539 therapy animals. And, of course, the animals, 00:16:24.659 --> 00:16:27.320 not just guide dogs, but those who go into hospitals, 00:16:27.620 --> 00:16:31.059 hospice units, that give people a little bit 00:16:31.059 --> 00:16:33.620 of love and comfort. Oh, pet therapy animals, 00:16:33.779 --> 00:16:36.820 they need their own show. We'll do that. Let's 00:16:36.820 --> 00:16:38.679 do another show about animals then. Let's just 00:16:38.679 --> 00:16:42.919 do a back -to -back. All right. So, of course, 00:16:42.960 --> 00:16:45.840 all of this is a highly personal choice. No conversation 00:16:45.840 --> 00:16:48.879 that we have on the Light Keepers podcast should 00:16:48.879 --> 00:16:50.759 ever take the place of your own medical care 00:16:50.759 --> 00:16:54.299 team, your own pet therapy animal, or other professional 00:16:54.299 --> 00:16:57.080 advisor who should always be consulted by you 00:16:57.080 --> 00:17:00.139 on your specific situational needs. And it's 00:17:00.139 --> 00:17:01.980 always good to be willing to talk about quality 00:17:01.980 --> 00:17:05.500 of life and about your pets, because every single 00:17:05.500 --> 00:17:08.339 one of us faces some of these issues someday, 00:17:08.640 --> 00:17:12.069 either not prepared at all, or really very well 00:17:12.069 --> 00:17:14.869 prepared indeed, from joining us here on the 00:17:14.869 --> 00:17:18.089 Light Keepers podcast. This is an exclusive production 00:17:18.089 --> 00:17:20.529 of Vanimation Studios. It's brought to you by 00:17:20.529 --> 00:17:24.130 A Guiding Light, a 501c3 nonprofit organization 00:17:24.130 --> 00:17:29.190 dedicated to education, information, and informing 00:17:29.190 --> 00:17:33.210 everyone to be prepared to live the very best 00:17:33.210 --> 00:17:37.230 life possible. So if you'd like to support that 00:17:37.230 --> 00:17:41.539 nonprofit charity, please, you can actually give 00:17:41.539 --> 00:17:44.500 to the, yeah, the address is right here below 00:17:44.500 --> 00:17:48.880 me, or you can contact the guidinglight .org 00:17:48.880 --> 00:17:52.079 website, where you'll find lots of information 00:17:52.079 --> 00:17:55.160 about options to meet your planning needs that 00:17:55.160 --> 00:17:57.279 are available in your area, so you can be aware 00:17:57.279 --> 00:18:00.539 of choices, confident in your decisions, and 00:18:00.539 --> 00:18:03.359 at peace that you've made the very best decisions 00:18:03.359 --> 00:18:06.880 to live life on your own terms. Visit a guidinglight 00:18:06.880 --> 00:18:10.329 .org. And we are so grateful for your support. 00:18:10.470 --> 00:18:12.650 Sincerely hope you'll join the conversation in 00:18:12.650 --> 00:18:15.150 coming weeks. Add your questions and comments 00:18:15.150 --> 00:18:17.970 below. Hit the like and subscribe buttons. And 00:18:17.970 --> 00:18:20.390 turn on that notify bell so you'll know next 00:18:20.390 --> 00:18:23.710 Wednesday evening at 7 p .m. there's a new episode 00:18:23.710 --> 00:18:26.549 waiting for you. I'm Clayton Vandiver, your Light 00:18:26.549 --> 00:18:28.710 Keeper. We'll see you next time.