Soul Touched by Dogs

Welcome to the Soul Touched by Dogs
Podcast, the show for dog lovers who

see dogs not as toys or tools, but
wise souls worth our respect and care.

I'm an Herrmann, and I'm your host.

I talk to poor some humans, people who
do great work for dogs and their people.

So come and join us for
today's conversation.

Anke: Hello and welcome, Ellen.

I'm super happy to have you here today.

Ellen: Thank you, Anke.

It's really good to be here.

Anke: Awesome.

So, well, before we get started, I
would love you to tell people where

in this beautiful world you are based.

Ellen: So I'm located in Gold Hill,
North Carolina, that if you know North

Carolina, it's mostly the center of
the state, northeast of Charlotte,

and I live on 11 magical acres, and
I have, there's a labyrinth here,

there's a vortex here, hiking trails.

I have five Airbnbs on site, as well
as, I mean, when they're not rented for

retreats, they're rented for Airbnb.

And, um, it really is a magical place.

A lot of times storms go around
me and I'm just sitting here.

I didn't lose power
for the last hurricane.

So I feel like it's
blessed on many levels.

Anke: Wow, wow.

So basically, in short, you're
saying you're in paradise.

Ellen: Paradise, yes.

Anke: I love it.

So now we met, um, in the
most delightful circumstances

because we've just published.

Well, not just the two of us.

There were more people involved.

We're getting onto that.

But, um, My fur baby wrote this book
and you wrote the foreword to it.

So that's in the project, you
know, in the context of this

project, that's how we met.

And I would love to hear how
did you hear about the project?

How did you, you know, what
sparked you to get involved?

Ellen: Well, I tell you, I, I
have my, my LinkedIn picture has a

picture of me with Murphy on my lap.

And this woman who must have been
friends with Lonnie, Lonnie was

the brainchild behind creating
this book that we did together.

And she wrote to me and said
that she knew this woman, Sally

Good, who I've been working with.

on LinkedIn said, I know this woman
that's looking for authors to be a

part of this book that she's doing
about pets and it's called Pothers.

And I was just captivated from the
moment I heard the word Pothers.

I'm like, what?

And coming from a dog's point
of view and I'm always speaking.

I mean, Murphy, I usually am always
saying what he's saying, you know,

I just I'll have a voice for him.

I just am always talking.

Murphy is my dog.

So that's how I found out about it.

And I contacted Lonnie from there.

Anke: Oh, I love that.

See, I have a similar reaction
because, you know, I mean, you

would have seen it when you booked
yourself in for the podcast, like

they're, You know, I call them their
conversations with porcine humans, right?

So, you know, when I'm seeing
porthos, like it does have

my attention 100 percent for

Ellen: sure.

I know, and I love the, I love
the word possum too, you know.

Yeah,

Anke: and it's so, you
know, it's so spot on.

So, what was What was your experience?

Because your perspective is a little bit
different perhaps from, I don't know, from

the four of us writing, but you wrote a
story as well, so you wrote the foreword.

So how does one go about
writing a foreword?

Like, you know, that feels
kind of hard for me as well.

I don't know, I've never written one.

Ellen: It was my first time, so it was
just kind of like, I, you know, I was

given the number of words to use, you
know, and so, and I, I've told the story

about how Murphy arrived here, which is
really my belief that, um, that this woman

told me you can call your dog back in.

She told me she'd had three
dogs in this lifetime.

And so I put a call out to the
universe for one of my, I've always

had terriers, so I put out, put
out there for one of my past three

favorite terriers to come back to me.

And two months later Murphy showed
up on a porch in June of 2012.

And, um, it was literally
locking eyes with him and we've

been inseparable ever since.

I think he was about two when he arrived.

I remember we had a drum circle
that day and he just like

was just completely chill.

I have a yurt that we were doing
drum circles in and he just

like, He chilled out like he,
he was there only all the time.

Like he had always been there.

There was never like
getting used to anything.

And I did make an agreement
since he arrived off leash

that he could be off leash.

All the time.

I'm on, I'm in gravel road,
middle of nowhere, you know,

as long as he came home.

And so he has always been, cause I think
that freedom of being able to come and go.

So he just, He's usually like my shadow.

So it's like, if he's not arms
distance from me, where is he?

And that's him thing to
always be following me.

So

Anke: that's, I mean, you know, you
think if somebody has, has trouble, you

know, it's almost like that whole idea
of, of training a recall seems to be

like totally ridiculous in that context.

Right.

So it's like, that's not something
you've ever had to worry about.

Ellen: Right now.

I mean, he arrived.

You know, at two, you know, potty trained,
everything trained, just like it was,

it was like, it was so delightful.

It was such a magical connection.

And I, I really feel he has the
temperament of a dog named Rasta that

used to work with me every day when I sold
flour, I had a flour cart for four and a

half years on a street corner in Portland,
Oregon, across the country from here.

And then, um, and he went to work
with me every day and his temperament

is very much like Murphy's.

So is it him?

I don't know, but I love that story
about the woman that told me this.

She said the dog, she's had
the same dog three times.

Every time she saw him that he would play
in his water bowl with his front paws

to confirm to her that it was him again.

And, but she said she always recognized
him by looking in his eyes anyway,

but that was the confirmation.

So I was blown away.

I've never seen a dog play in
its water bowl with its paws, so.

Anke: That's incredible.

That's incredible.

She reminds me of a book I read.

I can't remember, like, yeah, I don't
know, it's a long time ago, but it was

basically, you know, several stories of
a dog, of different dogs, you know, in

different, you know, like one grows up
with a family of little kids, the other

one is, is just abandoned in the dirt
somewhere, you know, the next one has

this, this, um, um, asshole of an owner
who was kind of really harsh with him and

and so it's almost and you know you go
all these and it's almost like one ends

and then it's like and it's almost like
the same like you're kind of a little

bit irritated while you're reading it
because you're a little bit like oh so

he just got dropped off school and now
it's like something you know and then

throughout the book it becomes apparent
that it's actually always the same soul

it's always the same dog Having like
these different, different lives in

different kind of circumstances, that
like really reminds me of what, you

know, just popped to mind when you were
saying that it's so, so yeah, there's,

I don't know, it's an interesting one.

We'll never know for sure,
but I think we'll know enough.

To kind of really feel it.

Ellen: So whatever, he's the most
awesome possum dog I've ever had.

So that's like, I'm blessed and great.

He's 14 and healthy.

Still can walk three miles a
day without, without any effort.

So I'm good

Anke: with that.

I mean, I guess having this, you know,
you think when I'm picturing, you know,

and I've seen just photos of your space
there and, and I'm like, well, okay.

If you're a dog off leash, they're
coming, you know, with that agency,

with that, like, yeah, you get.

to do whatever the heck you want to do.

It was like, well, yeah, you
know, not hard to see why

So it's a, seems to be like a heavenly
life for a dog, but for people as well.

Right?

Tell, tell me a little bit more about
what kind of retreats you run there, like

who comes there, what do, what are people
looking for when they come to your place?

Ellen: I would say a lot of the
people, you know, they put on yoga

retreats, meditation retreats.

Also, we do plant medicine retreats.

Um, there's a person that comes
all the time for that as well.

And, you know, a lot of times it
can be like family get togethers.

There's a lot of wedding venues around
here, so a lot of times the, the bridal

party and the groom's parties will stay in
two different houses and, or, yeah, it's

a, it's a great place, especially for kids
because Literally, I'm on a gravel road,

so they can really run around and play
without any, you don't have to have fear

about, are they going to be okay outside?

Anke: I love that.

And you were sharing something during the
writing weekend we had that, that you've

had kind of dogs who came all sort of
anxious from the, from, from city life.

And, you know, yeah, tell me how they

Ellen: experience it.

You know, I think we're
so much like our animals.

And so if we are In a state of stress,
if we live in the city and we're

stressed out and our dogs pick up
on that and they just, they really

mirror, I think, our emotions so much.

And I literally have seen dogs come
here and they're like all hyped up

and they're on a leash and they're
pulling and they're la la la la la.

And, um, I used to have two other dogs on
the property who were also extremely chill

like Murphy is, and I think the dogs would
look at them and they were, you know, just

wandering, none of them on leashes ever.

And the dogs, I think,
would just go, what?

Like, there's another way I can be in
the world, because they didn't know that.

You know, they're in the city, they're
on their leash, they're walking,

they're passing other dogs on leashes.

There's no freedom just to play
and to be, and that they don't

have to be all anxious and stuff.

And I literally have seen dogs
completely chill out and mellow.

And I have four dogs on the property right
now, and I've told them to go and sit over

there, two of them are German Shepherds,
and the other one I'm rescuing them from

the, there's huge devastation up in the
Asheville area from the hurricane, and

they're from Black Mountain and they still
don't have electricity or water and stuff.

So they've been here a couple of weeks
now, and they have four dogs with them so

I want them to take them and just sit, I
told her to sit by the vortex with them

and just see if they energetically just
start mellowing out a little bit more.

Anke: Yeah.

I mean, it's, it's I think, I don't
know, I started off like when I was

living in, when I had the first couple
of dogs, I was living in the historic

part of Granada, in this little town
here, and it was, you know, and you

know what it's like, it's beautiful.

And, you know, Mr.

Hypersensitive, uh, Kai, wasn't doing
well, you know, and it took me a while

to catch on because he was just like,
it's you saying like, Like, you know,

like a wire up his butt, the whole time.

He was like, you know, and so
never, he could never, and he didn't

really, and that was the thing.

Like, I didn't even, uh, and
it's funny, actually, like I

talk about that in the book.

It's like, I couldn't even.

I didn't even realize, I didn't realize
and certainly he didn't realize that

there was a different way of being
until we went on a holiday where we had

this house with a garden, you know, and
there's a room and there were, there was

plants, it wasn't just like cobblestones
and walls and, and it made just such a

massive difference that, I mean, that's
the thing, it works for us, it works

for dogs, right, to kind of have that.

time and space to take in the
environment and be able to move freely.

It's just life changing.

And it's almost like, you know, now
I go back and that's the thing, like

I'm living somewhere where it's like
super chill, super laid back and,

and, you know, nature and ocean.

And, and so I go back to Granada
now and I'm like, well, I'm

feeling kind of all tense.

Like I, I like literally, I
never felt it when I was there.

You know, if I go back to Granada or,
like, bigger places, it's like Okay,

this is all right for a day or two,
but I could not live here anymore

because I think you just sort of get
used to a different energy and around.

So you, you do, do you do like retreats
that are specifically for, you know,

people like stressed out dogs or stressed
out people with dogs or something?

I mean, you could.

Ellen: I think that would be
something that I should look into.

You know, I'm doing a
woman's empowerment retreat.

That's a treat that I personally and
a friend and I put on twice a year.

And so I have that going on, but I've,
you know, I think of a dog one, a dog and

owner, you know, are you totally stressed?

Like come for the weekend and just,
and just watch because, um, labyrinths

also are used for dog training.

And if you walk a labyrinth with
the dog, it balances the, the

both hemispheres of the brain.

Cause you're going left
to right and winding.

And that a lot of times they use,
I've heard they use labyrinths

for dog training to help them
calm and balance out their brains.

So that could be a, we could do a
labyrinth walk with the dogs, you know.

So thank you for that
idea, Anke, because I

Anke: think, I think, you know, I mean,
there's, I think there's several kind of

things you can risk because one of it is
this like, yeah, if your dog's stressed,

chances are you're not chilled out either,
you know, so there's that, you know,

and the other part is, if you, you know,
if, if I'm now going and thinking, oh,

yeah, that retreat, that would be lovely.

Yeah.

But now I have to find
somewhere for the dogs.

So then all of a sudden, like, I probably
won't go to the retreat because if that

means now I have to find like a kennel
or a doggy hotel or somebody I trust.

And I'm like, yeah,
I'm not easy with that.

So it's like, if, if there
was a retreat where it says,

well, okay, you can come here.

To ground yourself, to do whatever
the thing but like bring your dog

and and reconnect to nature and and
kind of calm the whole nervousness

like I feel in that car so fast you
can't you couldn't look twice you

know because it does It does give me

space to be with the dogs, not just to
have the dogs around, but to actually

be with them and be with them in nature.

It like, it sounds like
most delightful to me.

And I would guess that
probably would be other people.

Ellen: I love it.

Well, I'm going to put that idea out
there because I love that, you know, I

think that that I hadn't even thought
of that, but I have witnessed it.

And I know people love to be able
to go on vacation with their dog.

I mean, I love being dog friendly, because
that's, I've always been a dog person.

I never had kids.

And I really, I just always, most
people that travel, I'd say almost

everyone that travels with their
dog, the dog is well behaved.

You know, you're not going to be
traveling with the dog that you have

to worry about only all the time.

I mean, some people do, but
it's like majority of people

traveling with their pets.

The pets are, they're well maintained,
they're well kept, they're, you know, so

I've had no issues for, I've been here 18
years and I've always been pet friendly.

Anke: But I think like really
having that focus on, you know,

so what's, what's an offer.

It's not the yoga, the, the, the,
you, it's almost like what you

come here for is quality time with
your dog, you know, in nature.

Yeah, I think it's a good idea.

I love it.

I guess you can always tack on a
yoga class or like a meditation.

Like you can do these things, but, but
almost like bring the, you know, the,

the, the objective, the whole, the whole
thing, the reason people come is to

spend quality time with their dogs, you
know, and that's like, if you're busy,

you know, busy city person, you know,

Ellen: I love that, Anke.

Thank you for that idea.

I mean, there's, you know, I keep
looking at this because it really,

this collaboration with this book
of meeting I mean, and I love the

intimacy of it being basically, is
it five or six, six of us, right?

Yeah, with Lonnie,

Anke: Lonnie, you and,
and, and our school.

Yeah, it was just six of us,
which I thought was beautiful.

Ellen: I did too.

You know, at first I was like,
Oh, we need to have more writers.

And I was like, no, we don't.

It's like perfect.

It's divinely perfect.

And, and everybody to me, everybody's
energy just matched so beautifully

that it was just, it just wove this
beautiful picture of creativity.

And every time I was on, you
know, just tapping into the zoom

where everybody was, I just felt.

enlightened and, and just energized
from just the magic that was

created by the energy of everyone,

Anke: um,

Ellen: that chose We felt that

Anke: too, totally, totally.

And it was almost like, you know, what
I found really amazing was when, when

we met last on, on Saturday, right?

So it was like, I can't even, I looked
back on my calendar and I'm thinking, I

had that first call with Lonnie like two
weeks earlier, you know, it almost felt

like as if we'd been in this tight knit
group for a long, long time, you know,

like it didn't feel like we were Yeah, it
was that from stranger to family in this

like instantly condensed kind of space.

Yeah.

And

Ellen: I love when that happens.

And what was beautiful about it was like,
we all felt the same energy of that.

It was like, it's like, okay, here we are.

Strangers, but not strangers.

We're family now.

We've been together five
minutes and we're family.

Anke: Yeah.

I mean, you know, animals do that.

Like dogs and cats really help with that.

You know, I think that they have a
lot, they have a lot to do with that.

I remember when I first got Leo, it was
like within two weeks, I met more of my

neighbors than in the six months before.

Like nobody was interested in meeting me.

But when I had cute little puppy there,
You know, boom, conversation, you

know, I think the connection where we
had that golden thread of, you know,

love and lessons and, you know, loss
sometimes, sometimes not, but we've

all had experiences of, of loss.

in some form.

So I think there was this really, that
the stories were different, like we're

like extremely different when you think
about it, you know, like the way we're all

different places, like really different
types of personality as well, different

writing styles, which I like too, you
know, and also the book's not that big.

If it's just, you know, you think you
don't have to go through like 500 pages of

people waffling on about the thing, right?

So it's these short,
yeah, it's like not this.

It's drawn out.

It's a really quick read and you can
kind of get the tissues out really fast.

Ellen: It's a quick read and I think,
you know, basically any dog lover,

any dog lover, animal lover, will be
inspired and it will, it opens your

heart and you, it doesn't matter the
length of it, it's just like, oh my god,

these are fantastic stories and I feel
inspired and I love this book and I want

to share and give it to my best friends
because any dog lover would love it.

I mean, just.

In my eyes.

Anke: Yeah, in mine too.

And my hope really is that, that
people read through this and think,

oh, almost like I'll never look at my
dog the same again, you know, because

that sense of, yeah, yeah, yeah.

You know, like they get a lot more
than we give them credit for, you know.

So I think, yeah, if I had one wish for
the book, it's like, yeah, I would want

people to look at their animals with.

With more,

Ellen: you know, a little

Anke: more respect, more, more, you know,

Ellen: more

Anke: admiration, perhaps.

Ellen: You said at one point, Anke,
was that, um, that, you know, the

whole thing about that we, as humans,
think that dogs should strictly learn

our language, but really looking
at it is like, they're our teacher.

We get to learn their
language and learn their cues.

And just because we're humans doesn't
mean we're the most evolved race.

And they have a lot to teach us.

I mean, they are the epitome
of what unconditional love

and forgiveness looks like.

And those are two absolute spiritual
practices to me that is just

like, alright, you've got It's
like, they're the great example.

Anke: Yeah, I couldn't agree

Ellen: more.

That in English, you know, dog
is God spelled backwards, hello.

Yeah, no,

Anke: no coincidence there.

Yeah.

I mean, and that's like, look, this, this
very blatant that, hey, they've got way

more to teach us than to learn from us.

That's at the heart, that's,
that's, to spread that message.

That's why I created Soul Touched by Dogs.

That's where that, that's
what that's all about really.

And I've never heard

Ellen: that and I love that.

I think that is just brilliant.

I do.

I just love it.

So,

Anke: well, thank you so much.

Where can people go and find out more
about you and get in touch and, you

know, come to your doggy retreat.

Ellen: Um, you can look at my
website, sacredgroveretreat.

com, but I can send you, if you
want me to send you, I mean my, you

can send me a message on there says
contact or send a message or whatever.

Or I can also, I'm on LinkedIn,
Ellen Whiteside on LinkedIn.

And um, that's how people
can get in touch with me.

And I'd love to have anyone come with
their pet because I am pet friendly

and I'm having a special right now.

So if you, complimentary,
whoop, complimentary night stay.

If you stay three nights, you
get the fourth night free.

And on the back, which is
hard to see, is the list.

It has a picture of all the
different places to stay.

Anke: Oh, awesome.

Awesome.

Do you have a, do you have like
this in a, in a, in an electronic

format or do I have that?

Well, can you send it to me?

Then I can include it in the shout outs.

Ellen: Okay.

I will send, I'll take a
picture and send it to you.

Anke: That, that would be awesome.

Because then it's like, because I
don't know how it's going to come

out on the, on the video, whether
that's going to be clear and big

enough for people to scan in.

So if you have it, then we'll, you know,
obviously the, the links, everything,

if you watch it on YouTube, it's going
to be below and on the podcast, it's

going to be in the show notes, of course.

So we're going to make it easy,
get in touch with Ellen and, uh,

you know, like take your time out
in this magical, magical place.

Thank you so much for coming.

And I can't wait to
connect with you again.

Ellen: Thank you so much.

It was such a pleasure to be here.

Thanks so much for listening.

If you enjoyed the episode, don't forget
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And if you know a pawsome human
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I'd love an introduction.

Email me at Anke.

That's A N k E at Soul
touched by dogs.com.