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, welcome Ivy.

I can't tell you how much I look
forward to this conversation.

Ivy: Me too.

Anke: So yeah, a little Asia is our
start today, but before we talk about

Asia, let's talk about Ivy for a second.

So where are you based?

What's The day job, you know, give
people like the two minute, but it's

Ivy: Ivey.

Sure, um, well, I'm Ivey Wolf Turk, uh,
I'm a certified professional coach, uh,

workshop facilitator, uh, inspirational
speaker, and a champion of freedom.

And, um, I live in New York,
specifically in Long Island City,

right across the river from the
UN in the Empire State Building.

And, um, I'm multifaceted in that I
have many buckets, uh, that I coach in

both for individuals and for groups.

And I work with people to really support
them in moving from the life or career

that they have to the one that maybe
they haven't yet even dared to dream.

And that's done, um, in an individual
coaching way and in a group format, and,

um, I have two very specific audiences.

Um, I've developed, um, an organization
called Project Liberation, which for

the last 10 years has served women who
are coming home from prison and taught

them emotional literacy, really fostered
emotional intelligence and self worth,

and over the years it occurred to me
it shouldn't take, um, cement walls and

bars to for a person to find their worth.

And so I'm in the process of
creating a liberated life for people

who feel stuck or in transition.

And stay tuned because it's evolving and
will be launched first quarter of 2024.

I

Anke: love that.

I love that because it is so true.

Like, you know, prison can take a
million different forms, can't it?

Ivy: We find our way, you know, being
imprisoned is another way to say stuck.

And as one who has experienced
real prison, we'll save

that for another podcast.

I know what it is to have limited
movement and freedom or the perception

that one has limited resources
and movement and freedom and one's

greatest adversity can really become
one's greatest curriculum for growth.

Mind Tour has, so.

Anke: Definitely, it definitely has.

So, So, since we're here to talk
about soul touched by dogs, and you

clearly have a soul that's been touched

by

Ivy: dogs.

I do, and if you would give me
a moment, the soul of my dog is

growling, which she never does.

She must know that we're
speaking about her.

So I'd like to bring her into view.

I'm just going to get up and get her.

I

Anke: would love to.

I would love to.

Please bring her.

Ivy: Because she is quite a personality.

She's super cute.

Um.

Thank you.

is probably hungry and angling
for a goodie at the moment.

So give me one moment and
we will meet Miss Asia.

Never stop looking forward.

Come here, you little munchkin.

We're going to introduce
you on the podcast.

Say hello.

Anke: I was hoping we're going
to see this little sweet pup.

She's

Ivy: so cute.

So this is Asia who came into
my life very serendipitously at

a time when I was in mourning.

I was, um, would you like me to talk
about this of how, how her soul sort of.

I would love you to.

Yeah.

Okay, so she, um, I had had Lukey, um,
who was a Maltese poodle, family dog, um,

with us for almost 14 and a half years.

And in the last year of
his life, um, He took ill.

He had a heart thing happen, and it was
a downward spiral that both my daughter

and I, um, my son was living abroad, so he
wasn't really involved, so it, we really,

um, almost bankrupted ourselves to find
a solution for this, this heart ailment.

And it worked for a while, and then,
um, actually, on the Jewish holiday

of Yom Kippur, when technically the
book closes for the following year,

he spit out his pills and couldn't
move, and basically, it felt to me

like he was saying, Mom, I'm done.

And I watched his body expanding.

I ran through the streets of New
York to the vet and she looked at

me and she said, We've won a lot
of battles, but we've lost the war.

It's time.

He's dying.

And so, um, Luki died that day and
it was a grief that I never, ever

could have understood, uh, prior.

I don't know if I was hallucinating,
if I just somehow believed.

That he was never gonna die, you know,
I was, I mean, I was an experienced

dog owner at that point, almost 15
years later, but somehow had never

grappled with the death thing.

It was devastating.

It was as if a part of me had been
ripped out and I'm a very emotional

woman and had experienced grave.

a human loss in my life and
somehow this was different.

It was, it, it was gripping.

And my daughter, um, also,
cataclysmically sad, said, Mom,

we're never getting another dog.

And I said, I know, I
mean, you know, we can't.

Well, fast forward a few weeks.

I'm at a charity event.

I'm given, um, an opportunity
to buy some raffles.

I do.

Many of the people around me are
winning trips all over the world.

And what do I win?

But an evening session with
a woman named Psychic Cindy.

Now I'd never spoken to a psychic
before, this was kind of like, okay.

And I'll fast forward, I get on
the call and the woman says, he's

been trying to get in all day.

And I said, Oh, I'm so sorry.

Like if You'd like I can call you back
and reschedule and she said, no, no,

no, no, there's a little dog on my
lap that wants to send you an angel.

He's very impatient and I'm thinking,
okay, this is twilight, Sony.

Anyway, she starts to tell me that there's
an object on her dining room table.

Oh, hello.

Um, that he's insisting she photograph
and send to me and that item.

is a candle that looks like
two ghosts holding the candle.

And she sends the photograph and
says, does this mean anything to you?

It didn't.

I mean, a ghost, two
ghosts holding a candle?

No, it didn't mean anything to me.

Okay, the rest of the
call was as bone chilling.

My father came through, my
nephew Vera came through.

This was really quite a
first psychic experience.

If one was not a believer,
one left that call.

Really questioning.

And two weeks went by and the phone
rang and it was a friend I had not

seen or spoken to in two years.

And she said, I've, aside from catching
up, I've rescued a little dog and I

thought Lukey might be getting old
at this point and it would be nice

to have a little young energy around.

And so I said, Oh, Lukey just died.

I can't even talk about it, you
know, and we, she said, well,

that's more reason that you should.

Have a dog.

The only thing is this little one bites
and I'm working with him and I said, well,

that's not going to work because I'm about
to become a grandmother in a few months.

Can't have a newborn and a biting dog.

She said, come out and meet him.

I, I, I think you should.

Okay.

Went out to Long Island, met the dog,
and she said, well, I guess you can't

take Ghost home because he bit me.

Not, not a big bite, just, and I
went, what did you just call him?

She said, oh, I named him Ghost.

Okay, now I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm almost
hyperventilating because now the angel

that Lukey sent is Ghost, the biting dog.

So I tell Tina the story, her eyes
are rolling, and she said, All right,

I'm going to really try to train him.

You know, he was traumatized,
blah, blah, blah.

Okay, a few weeks go by.

The baby is born, and she
said, she calls and says, Okay.

Lukey has not given up.

Ghost is still biting, but
Ghost's mother had a hookup with

a chihuahua in the backyard.

Ghost's mother is a Maltese, and
from the backyard hookup, there is a

litter, and they, it's the same trashy
family, and the doggies are like

muddled in bubblegum and leaves and
mulch, and I'm grabbing one for you.

I said, Tina, like, she said,
this is Luke, this is Luke's

soul is sending you this gift.

This is Ghost's half sister
and I'm sending you a girl.

Well, never stop looking forward
because this is my baby who I got.

Tina kept her.

Until she was eight weeks old, we, you
know, we couldn't bring her into the city.

And this little being is the most
loving, kind, smart companion.

And of course, right after that, the
following March, the pandemic hit and.

She has been my constant companion.

She has become the best
friend of the baby.

They've grown up together.

Tali and Asia are
dearest and best friends.

Um, Asia is just, she's She's
determined, she's strong, she's

smart, she loves to go shopping, she
loves to eat, although she's picky

and has quite a sophisticated palate.

Um, she's resilient.

Um, this past year, um, there was a
rat infestation in New York City along

the riverfront and we didn't know.

It's a place that we walk every day.

And, um, somehow she must have licked
or eaten some rat poison and became

violently ill when I finally, you
know, vomiting and pooping blood.

I mean, when I finally got her to the
ER, um, they said we didn't know, you

know, we don't know if she can make it
and she resiliently came through it.

Um, really forced me to look at
readjusting her whole gut biome from the

poisoning and putting her on probiotics
and changing her food and going way more

holistic than medical model, which I
am personally, um, for me as a human.

And now she's on the most
wonderful, natural, fresh food.

You know, the universe provided,
they opened an outlet right down the

block from us, so we'd go there and
we'd get everything fresh, um, or

freeze dried, you know, from fresh.

And she's really healthy, I mean, you
can see she's lean and, and strong.

So cute!

Really, really, um, present, you know,
she understands human words, she, um,

It's almost like she just gets it.

She knows when we're going to the subway.

She knows when we're going on the ferry.

Um, she loves other dogs.

It's a piece that people

Anke: often underestimate, right?

So it's that piece because they
don't have language, you know.

You know how there's this
saying when people always say,

Oh, I wish they could talk.

And I'm like, they don't need to.

You know, they have a
million ways to communicate.

They don't, you know, they don't need.

words to understand what's going on.

They don't really need
words to communicate.

If we pay enough attention to, to

Ivy: listen, you know, If you're really
tuned in, no different than with a spouse

or a friend or a client, if you're really
tuned in to listen, to really bring

your curiosity, okay, to really, um,
pick up on the unspoken body language.

You really have an opportunity
to convene with a dog in a way

where you have the freedom of no
words and an unspoken language.

No judgment, although
she'll judge something.

For example, when she sees a suitcase come
out from under the bed, she gets really

nasty, like starts walking on my feet,
like following me around, um, that may not

sound nasty, but it's almost like, I don't
want you to go, I don't want you to go.

She's like gripping on.

The last trip I took was a visit, a quick
visit to visit my daughter in Mexico

City, and I went to the bathroom, and
when I came out, Asia was in a suitcase.

She had jumped in the suitcase
and was just burrowed away.

You know, you were supposed to take me,
and now you're not, like, boo hoo on you.

So, it's really quite remarkable what
they know, and how they figure out.

Um, what's important and, you know,
the comfort at night, you know, Asia

waits for me, um, to like finish
whatever I'm doing in the evening.

She knows when the light goes off in
the living room that she turns on her

belly as if to say, okay, bedtime.

Um, and you don't get to growl because
you think you deserve a goody now,

although I will give you one because you
have been wonderful and I know you have.

Um, you know, I'm going to walk
with you to, to the goodies.

Um, so, you know, she, she then gets into
bed and she lays down and she completely

waits for me to settle in, to get my
final position, and then she spoons me.

And she lays there, you know, I'm
a pretty peaceful sleeper, but she

lays there spooned in all night long.

You couldn't hope for a better companion.

And you know, especially when
it's cold and that warmth of

her little body is, is in there.

She's just, it's quite remarkable.

The knowing of, of, of
her, her, it's her soul.

Like she is my, my, my best girlfriend.

Anke: See, that's why I wanted
to have this conversation because

it's not like just the doll, right?

Or it's, there is that, there is that,
that connection that, that, um, you

know, and there was, there's, there's
another episode on, on this show where,

you know, where there's A coach who
actually works with men who find they can

be themselves around their dog and their
struggle with the people in their lives,

you know, like that kind of perfectly
makes sense because they are there for us

and have like, there is that connection.

If you allow it, there's that
connection that is pretty hard to do,

kind of like achieve with other human
beings, you know, because they just

don't have all the monkey mind BS.

Ivy: No, and you know, there's another
benefit of having a friend dog slash dog.

Um, I've gone through a lot of adversity,
um, and some illness this past summer.

And, um, you know, When you're, when
things are upended and you're in that

first moment of not seeing the opportunity
and the adversity and you're feeling a

little sorry for yourself, Asia always
reminds me how a, I woke up that morning

and how fortunate I am to be alive.

And then is so, um, complicit.

in getting me up, getting me out into
nature, into um, really appreciating

um, the day, you know, and the evening,
you know, like we just had the most

magnificent full moon last Friday
and I'm, you know, I was engrossed, A

friend was visiting and I was engrossed
in a conversation and Asia nudged me

like as if to say, Mom, I need a walk.

Um, which is another thing, no words,
just looks at me, nudges a little

bit, like she, I know when she's
hungry, she has a way, I know when

she, it's time for, you know, walk.

She knows when I'm spelling
O U T because I'm stalling.

Like, it's just a language.

And we went out and she paused at
at a very different spot than we

would normally walk and looked up
and there was this harvest moon.

It was the most magnificent,
powerful, light filled moment

and she just directed me to it.

So I believe she knows a lot
more than I even know she knows.

I know she knows when I'm sad,
when I'm crying, she'll appear

out of nowhere and lick my tears.

She's a very tuned in soul.

And my soul has been touched in a
way that even my children who at

first, you know, were like, Mom,
how could you get another dog?

Luke is dead a year.

And it was like, wait a minute.

He's not, Luke was not my Jewish husband.

And I'm not even religious.

That's like an orthodox thing.

Like, come on.

And, you know, They've all
fallen in love with her.

I mean, it's just assumed as my children
have moved abroad, one set to Berlin,

one to Mexico City, it's assumed.

Well, did you get Asia chip?

Did you get Asia shots?

Did you, you know, and I'm having
a conflict now because Europe

requires a second chip and a
rabies shot a month before.

You actually arrived in Germany and
Asia had her rabies shot, like to

give her another dose, like, I'm
thinking maybe we should just leave

her home for a week and not schlep her

Anke: through this.

I think so, yeah, but that's like, yeah,
no, I think like we could kind of, I

think that that's a whole, that's a
whole, that's more of the topic, I think

this whole idea of, um, yeah, traveling,
that's the whole point, yeah, definitely.

Well, thank you, thank you so much because
I think You know, like, we've often had

these conversations where, you know, when
you sort of, you're out with friends and

you kind of want to go home because you
feel like the dog's been alone for so

long, and I think a lot of people don't
get that, you know, and that's, I think,

one of the reasons I even wanted to kind
of create this, this space or whatever you

want to call it to, to share these stories
so that if, if somebody's listening and

go, well, I'm that person who kind of,
you know, connects with my dog on, on a

level that's well beyond what, you know,
traditionally you might've been taught

that, um, yeah, you're onto something.

You're not wrong.

You're not ridiculous.

It's, uh, I think.

There's so much to see and I'm
really grateful that you've come

and shared and even like got
a little Asia on on screen so

Ivy: that was wonderful.

Thank you Anke.

You know you and I have shared this
passion uh through our professional

relationship through you know the last
couple of years and um I've watched this

being born and I think you, you are on to
something major that, A, you're passionate

about and what you're finding is that
there are those of us who, yes, have been

made wrong, like, oh, the dog will be
fine, come on, you're going to give up

going to this nightclub or that thing,
or you're not going to stay at the party?

And it's like, Okay,
you can think I'm crazy.

Um, I'm not fanatical, you know, but
leaving her more than a couple, you

know, of hours or not having somebody
hired to come relieve her, so she's

sitting there holding in a discomfort,
like, so, you know, I, I have an arsenal

of trusted and wonderful dog sitters
now, and I'm not stopping my life.

It's professionally important
and humanly important for me, you

know, to be able to meet a friend,
go to a movie, have a dinner.

Well, that's sometimes too long a stretch.

Yeah.

But I make sure that she's cared
for no different than I wouldn't

leave an infant unattended.

Exactly.

And Asia is not an infant.

She's four and a half.

But she doesn't deserve to suffer.

And anyone who doesn't
understand that, oh well.

They can

Anke: just go have a nice life, right?

Well thanks, thank you so much and I'll

Ivy: talk to you soon.

Thank you for your mission, Anke.

It's beautiful.

Bye.

Thanks so much for listening.

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