Episode 53. How a Dog Afraid of Everything Taught Meredith May to Be Brave

Meredith couldn’t wait to add Edie, the Golden Retriever puppy, to her family. She knew it would be just like raising her first two dogs.

She was wrong.

From the first puppy class to trying to take a walk around the block – nothing about Edie was easy. Edie was anxious and terrified of the world around her. And that was not what Meredith expected. So now what was she going to do about it?

I can’t wait for you to meet Meredith May, author of Loving Edie: How a Dog Afraid of Everything Taught Me to Be Brave.

Both the book and my conversation with Meredith are honest admissions about the mistakes made along the way but ultimately about how the love of a dog can change the way we see the world and ourselves.

(And yes, the dog lives and there’s a happy ending!)

Meredith & I discuss:

Her unconventional childhood and the animals who shaped her early life;
Rescuing Layla, Meredith’s first Golden Retriever;
Life with Stella, the world’s easiest, most outgoing Golden Retriever – and how this experience created Meredith’s expectations about life with dogs;
The somewhat impulsive way that Meredith & Jenn brought Edie into their life;
When Meredith & Jenn realized that Edie wasn’t like other puppies;
All the things that scared Edie from cars to plastic bags;
Erin’s experiences with her fearful dog, Neno;
How Meredith has evolved as a person from having Edie in her life;
Experiences with an Animal Communicator;
What we love about our shy & fearful dogs;
How Meredith learned Edie’s body language cues that Edie was becoming uncomfortable;
Living through The Carmel Wildfire during the summer of 2020; and
Meredith’s experiences with beekeeping