Robin's Nest from American Humane - Ethan, American Humane Hero Dog Winner and his handler Jeff

Episode Date: February 19, 2024

In this episode of Robin’s Nest, Robin hosts handler Jeff and Ethan, the Hero Dog Award winner from 2022 in the shelter dog category. Ethan was found in a parking lot on a cold January day in 2021 and rushed to critical veterinary care. He was extremely emaciated, couldn’t lift his head to eat or drink on his own, and he didn’t take his first steps for six days. However, he never stopped fighting to stay alive. He had an unimaginable determination to keep persevering through seemingly insurmountable odds,  and thousands of people began to follow his story. See how this amazing dog has touched the lives of countless people in this episode of Robin's Nest.

Welcome to Robin's Nest. So many of us have a deep connection with the animals around us and want to protect them from the pets in our homes to endangered species in the wild. That's why I joined American Humane. As one of the oldest and most effective animal protection groups, we help billions of animals around the world. Join us as we explore how we can build a more humane world together. Hello and welcome to Robin's Nest. I'm Dr. Robin Ganzert and this is the official podcast of American Humane and Global Humane, the nation's first and most experienced humane organization focused on the humane treatment of animals all over the world, including certifying zoos and aquariums, being the first boots on the ground in crisis and rescues, making sure animals are safe in the filming of movie sets globally, protecting a billion animals in farms, and our military veteran and military dog programs. Gosh, there's so much to talk about with American Humane's power to touch lives

and keep animals safe and loved. And today we're focusing on one of the most remarkable dogs in the entire world. Ethan, the 2022 American Humane Hero Dog Award winner in the shelter dog category and his handler, Jeff. In fact, Ethan is America's top dog. Listeners are taking time to hear some of these remarkable stories and we're grateful for you. And we want to hear what you think after you've listened. Please make sure to review Robin's Nest on your podcast platform.

I'm so excited to introduce you to our guests today, handler Jeff and Ethan, the American Humane Hero Dog of the Year and the Shelter Dog winner as well. Welcome, Jeff and Ethan. Not sure if we can hear Ethan, maybe some barking and panting. We love you, Ethan. Welcome. Hey, Dr. Robin, how are you doing? Thanks for having us on. Oh my gosh, it wouldn't be our wonderful podcast without you guys for sure. Oh my goodness. Jeff, so proud to know you. So proud to know Ethan. My goodness, you have such a great story to tell, so many lessons we can learn. And importantly, you have been an agent for change for animals. And I'm so, again, proud to know you and congratulations for being our Hero Dog of the Year. Jeff, there's so much to know about you and Ethan.

Please tell us all your story. Well, first, thank you. We're very proud and honored for Ethan to be the Hero Dog and very proud to represent American Humane and all the things that American Humane stands for. represent American Humane and all the things that American Humane stands for. Well, Jeff, I tell you, there's no better representative than you both, because you live those values of building a more humane world. And what you've done for Ethan is what we want all people to do for animals in our lives. And you have such a great, kind heart. You know, for people who didn't watch the Hero Dog Awards, which I can't believe there's anybody on earth

that hasn't watched the Hero Dog Awards, but for the few people who haven't seen Ethan's story, please share with us what makes Ethan a hero dog. Well, Ethan's story is really pretty remarkable. So many little small things had to go right along the way just for him to even live, really. His life started by being abused. He was starved. He was deprived of water. He was left for long periods of time in a small confined space where he couldn't get up. He had pressure sores on his legs that were down to the bone where he wasn't able to move. Thankfully, mercifully, someone who knew the condition he was in went and took him

and thinking that they could help Ethan. And they took him to their house. I think they thought they were going to clean him up and save him. And they doused him with Dawn dishwashing liquid, trying to clean him up, and then quickly realized he was in much worse shape than they even imagined and that they were going to have a dead dog on their hands pretty soon. So they loaded him in their car, and on a cold January day in 2021, they brought him to the Kentucky Humane Society parking lot where they pulled in a spot. They threw out a urine and feces covered bed and then they threw Ethan on top of it and they drove off. I'm sure thinking that if he wasn't dead already, he was going to be dead in a few minutes. But there was a wonderful family who was who was coming by that day to drop donations off to the Kentucky Humane Society. who was coming by that day to drop donations off to the Kentucky Humane Society. And as they were pulling out of the parking lot, their son, who was, I believe he was 11 at the time, Tatum,

he saw Ethan in the parking lot and alerted his parents who called our phone number. It was during COVID. So the building was closed to the general public. And we had a staff member who rushed out there and without even thinking twice, scooped him up, brought him into the vet area. And when she came through the door, their their first thought was that, you know, this dog was dead and there's really nothing we can do for him. And then he took a breath. And that's really when the real lifesaving began. They somehow got him stable. You know, they had to use a kitten needle. He was his veins were so dehydrated they had to use a kitten needle. He was, his veins were so dehydrated. They had to use a kitten needle just to get some fluids in him. So they get him stable.

He goes home with a vet tech that night on a, on an IV and he begins seizing in the middle of the night. And so she loads him in the car, rushing him to the hospital, stopping at every red light, every stop sign, and just reaching in the, in the the back seat just to see if he was still breathing. He gets to the hospital and he ends up being at the hospital for five days. He comes back to to KHS still at that point, still unable to walk. And so my story with Ethan really began the first few minutes that he was dropped off. They called me and said, Jeff, someone dropped a dead dog off in the parking lot. Can you check the cameras? So I checked the cameras. I find a car. But through sort of the rumor mill of the shelter, I heard that he was still alive. And so I thought I would,

I would check in. And so I popped my head into the vet area and he, they were taking care of him up on the wet table. And there was something about him at that moment. I just knew he was my dog. I, you know, maybe people know what I'm talking about, but I saw him and I thought, you know, this is my dog. And so I let them do their work. And I started texting the vet later that night asking how he was doing. That's when they told me that they had named him Ethan. And she said, Jeff, you know, all weekend long, she kept telling me, Jeff, don't get your hopes up. This dog is, you know, is not going to make it.

He's not doing well. this dog is, you know, is not going to make it, he's not doing well. Um, you know, but each day he got just a little bit better and a little bit better. And I thought, you know, this dog has not had any love in his entire life. And I was just going to make sure before he passed away, he was going to know that somebody cared about him. And that, that sort of began, uh, I kind of like to think of Ethan's life and like three different things. You know, the first part of his life, he was abused and mistreated. And then he had a second part of life where he was just a fight to stay alive. And then he became a part of our family. We adopted him, he became a part of our family. And his story just connected with so many people that we,

you know, continue to social media. And I just wanted all these people to be able to follow his story. Jeff, I just have to pause there because what you just said about his early beginning is so horrifying. And if our listeners aren't able to see the video today, you see a very different dog today, a dog so huge. I want to go back. And when you first met Ethan on that table, how little was he? He weighed 38 pounds and he was literally skin and bones. We later determined, it was hard to determine his age because he was in such bad shape. And as he began getting better, we realized he was about an eight or nine month old mastiff puppy who should have been 85 or 90 pounds. And he weighed 38 pounds. In fact, when she neutered him, he still had two baby teeth that she went ahead and pulled out when she was neutering him. Oh my goodness. So he wasn't ever really able to develop. Now,

how much does Ethan weigh? Because I'm looking at him and I know he's a big boy. Now Ethan weighs 130 pounds. And that's what Ethan weighs, 130 some pounds. Look at him. He looks so happy and I can tell how much he loves you. Anyone who meets you too, sees the love on both ends of that healing leash. Oh, my gosh, Jeff. You talked about three stages of life. The first was, you know, his abuse time, those first nine months of really hell that this dog went through that we can't imagine. And then he gets his second chance at life thanks to the Kentucky Humane Society and your beautiful home you bring him into.

And then there's this third phase. Tell us what you and Ethan have done to pay it forward to so many other shelter dogs, which is why he won the Shelter Hero Dog of the Year and, of course, now America's Top Hero Dog. Yeah, and when we entered into the contest, I really was hoping that he had a chance to win the shelter category. I wanted him to be recognized in the way that I thought he deserved and thought he was going to, you know, to really let people hear his story. And, and thankfully he, he, he won that category and we we actually went to florida and i thought you know he's got no chance of winning this whole thing and that which was perfectly fine i wanted

to be happy with exactly where we were as as i wanted him to be recognized as the nation's top shelter dog and i thought that was fantastic this little dog that was 38 pounds found in a parking lot now represents shelter dogs all over the country. And which is sort of a funny little story. If you go back and watch, you know, the video for the promo for the show that you guys put out, I had my head down and I was, I had his shelter award in my hands and I had my eyes closed because I thought when they announce a different name, I'm going to open my eyes and look at this award and be so proud of where we are and that we had come this far. And you guys said his name and my head just dropped because I couldn't believe it. I was

really kind of speechless. And so, you know, we go around the state. We go around a lot of places trying to bring awareness and advocacy to all the shelters around. He has an incredible following that started with the Kentucky Humane Society and I started his social media and all the folks that follow him. I kind of affectionately call them his extended family because they mean so much to me. They were there to support him in so many ways from the very beginning. And so, you know, I've heard so many stories and so many, I get cards and letters and emails from people literally all over the world of how Ethan's story has positively affected and changed their life. And, you know, it's, it's so many different things, but on the shelter side, you know, we,

we want to bring awareness for how crowded shelters are. And we, we've done some, some really good work, even in the state of Kentucky and at the Kentucky Humane Society, but there was a little dog. I get sent messages about dogs that are in bad shape or need some help all the time. And, and there was a little dog from, from Florida that someone sent me a picture of that this foster based rescue named Muddy Paws Rescue had rescued.

Her name was Khaleesi. And the pictures of her, like, just got to my heart. And like, it immediately drew me back to Ethan's pictures. And they were posting about the care that she was needing and the medical bills that were piling up. And I felt drawn to post about her and have people follow her story. And Ethan's family stepped up and started sending money and helped pay for those medical care.

And I was so very proud of what they did. And they've, they've done that another time in a case in that with down in Florida with a little dog named Dave that was intentionally burned and needed some extensive medical care. And, you know, some of the things that, that you see when people send you are just so hard to believe. And which is another reason why, you know, because Ethan has gotten so popular and people just love his story and they're so drawn to him. We began to do some advocacy for some better animal welfare laws in Kentucky. And so we visit the state capital

and we'll go and watch the house in session. We'll watch the Senate in session. Jeff, I saw pictures of you with the governor of Kentucky and Ethan. That was a wonderful photo. We, when we came back from Florida from the American Humane Hero Dog Awards Gala and Ethan won, the governor's office reached out and wanted to know if they could do something for Ethan. And so, you know, we had some conversations about it back and forth about what would be the best way to honor him. And so the governor named January Ethan Almighty Shelter Animal Awareness Month. Oh my goodness. Say that again. Ethan Almighty? Ethan Almighty Shelter Animal Awareness Month in the state of Kentucky. That is wonderful.

So a whole month devoted to our incredible, amazing Ethan. I love that. Yeah, and we came down to Frankfurt to meet with the governor and brought over 100 people with us. And the plan was just to kind of meet with the governor in his office. And so many people came that he felt compelled to come out into the rotunda to sort of give a speech and welcome everybody and thank everybody for coming and talk about what a great representative of Kentucky and shelter animals that Ethan is. Just recently, just this week, we found out that there is a hotel in downtown Louisville that we've designed a banner that's going to go up 60 foot long by 20 foot tall

of Ethan as such a proud representative of Louisville and of Kentucky. I love that. That's so wonderful. That is, you know, the purpose of the American Humane Hero Dog Awards now in its 13th year is to celebrate these amazing, amazing dogs who have lived an extraordinary life and have made a difference. And the story of Ethan coming back, what a fighter he is, a fighter for his own life, and then to pay it forward with you sharing this platform with so many other people. And importantly, the family of Ethan is actually paying it forward with medical expenses for other dogs in need. And today, Jeff, I'm so proud to tell you because we're always so touched by the story of what Kentucky Humane Society did for Ethan,

that we are issuing a Second Chance Grant in Ethan's honor to Kentucky Humane Society so that they can pay for the next animal that needs emergency medical care. that needs emergency medical care. So that grant will be issued on behalf of American Humane Second Chance Grant Fund and pay it forward for Ethan at Kentucky Humane. Thank you so much. I really appreciate that. That's that, you know, the, the things that, that, that you see done in shelters is just amazing, but it takes people and it takes volunteers and it takes staff and it takes volunteers and it takes staff and it takes donations and it takes everything to come together to really help these animals that are in shelters. We're proud to be able to make that grant. We are a fan of the work of Kentucky Humane Society, and we're, of course, Ethan's biggest fan besides you.

Thank you very much. We love our hero. you. Thank you very much. One of the things that I, that I love so much about Ethan is his connection that he has with people that have never met him. They see his story and they see his resilience and his fight to live. An example of that was, um, I received a letter from a lady who, who since then we've had much correspondence, even talking on the phone, who tragically had lost her family in a car accident. And she had got, she had taken herself to a really dark place where she decided she doesn't, she didn't want to be around anymore. And she had on her nightstand the pills she was going to take to commit suicide and an iPad. And she picked up the iPad, and it was a Friday, January 29th.

And she saw Ethan's story. And she thought, like, this is another tragic story that I've continued to see in the news and on the Internet. But she it got her just enough invested that she said, I'm going to wait and see what happens tomorrow, what happens with this dog. And he lived through the night. And so she lived through the night and she she wanted to see what happened to him again. He lived another day and she lived another day and he lived another day and she lived another day and got to the point where she was able to get out of bed. She she went and got the counseling that she she needed. And while she has this horrific tragedy in her story.

She has a job. She's doing well. And one of the times I've talked to her on the phone, I told her, I said, you know, and she told me, she said, if I hadn't seen Ethan's story, I wouldn't be here. And I said, you never know. Ethan may have lived just for you. You just never know. Say that again. Ethan may have lived. for you. You just never know. Say that again. Ethan may have lived just for her. I mean, you never know. So his story and his message everywhere we go, no matter what we go to advocate for. And so many people in our community reach out and ask if Ethan can

come to this or Ethan can come to that. And I never say no, because if they feel like that his presence will bring more attention and more awareness of what, what we're doing, then, you know, I want to bring him and, you know, his, and that's just one story of things that will just continually break. I couldn't read all of them in a day because they would just completely break your heart. But his, something about him and his story resonates with people and they see his, his will to live and his fight. And I remember Dr. Buley, our shelter vet telling me several times that, that he had the strongest heart that she had ever seen in any seen in any dog.

And so that's what makes me proud. These stories just give me goosebumps, you know, of this story of inspiration and the many, many day-to-day stories that you hear about how Ethan's touched people's hearts and lives and even saved lives. It does me, it does my heart so, so good. When we go places and he just puts smiles on people's faces and he brings happiness and it just makes me still very proud, you know, that we're still able to do the things we want to do. And, and, um, you know, we want to be able to, um, I feel a deep responsibility, um, to give back. And so we give back every chance that we get. And we want to make sure that Ethan, his story is so impactful. Now we want to make sure that he leaves a legacy and he continues to help animals 15 years from now. And so that's what we're working towards.

You know, the story of Ethan and how you want that legacy to live on for 15 years and another 15 years reminds me of a hero dog back from 2012. We had a military working dog, Gabe, and Gabe had a legion of fans that were remarkable, like Ethan's fans. And 15 years later, they're still engaged, you know, in building a more humane world, which is what you and Ethan have done. You know, we just have a couple more minutes left in our incredible chat here at Robin's Nest, Jeff. And I just want to ask you, what advice would you have

for someone who wants to help shelters or adopt from a shelter? You represent our shelter hero dog. What would you say about someone who's touched by Ethan's story and they want to get involved? Well, there's a lot of things that you can do. You know, I have an artist friend who has a series of she paints all animals and she has a series called Rescue is a New Pure Breed. And so I would say the first thing to do is if you're contemplating adding to your family, go to the local shelters. There are some amazing pets at the local shelters. You will find a wonderful dog. pets at the local shelters, you will find a wonderful dog. Maybe you're not in the spot that you can adopt, but you might be in a spot where you can foster animals. And that's one of the biggest things that you can do because there's a lot of animals in the shelter, cats and dogs,

that can develop some bad habits. They can start to deteriorate as the longer that they stay in shelters. And if we can get them in homes, even as for short times before they get to their forever homes, fosters are some of the most amazing people out there. If you're not in a spot that you can do that, maybe you can come and volunteer, you know, at the shelter. You can come and walk dogs. You can clean kennels. Maybe you can do data entry. Maybe you can take a dog out for the day. There's so many things that you can do. Maybe you can come in and help make enrichment, get the food bowls ready. And then if you can't do any of that, maybe you have some supplies around your house. Maybe you can donate some blankets, some towels.

They always are looking for donations of any kind. Money is always appreciated. But if you can donate any of those things, it goes a long way to helping the shelters out. Jeff, that's wonderful advice. Well, Jeff, tune on behalf of all of us at American Humane, we want you and Ethan to come back for our 23 Hero Dogs of the Year Awards. It'll be November 10th at the Breakers in Palm Beach, Florida. We will air that show this year on A&E and FYI networks over Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving weekend. So we definitely want to have you and Ethan on stage as you pass over the

trophy to the next year's top hero dog. We wouldn't be the same without you and Ethan. So I hope you'll be able to join us. We, we already have our tickets and we are looking forward to coming. And it was an, the whole, the whole, the whole thing was an amazing experience. One of the best things about was, was being able to meet the other dogs and their people and to hear their stories. You guys put together amazing videos for each dog. And that night they'd show a video and I would say, Oh my gosh, that dog's got to win. And then they'd show another video and I'd say, Oh my gosh, that dog's got to win. Like they're just incredible. And the stories, I still take, I still stay in touch with some of those people. Like they're just incredible. And the stories, I still stay in

touch with some of those people. And they're just wonderful stories and wonderful dogs. Wonderful stories, wonderful people, and wonderful magical heroes on both ends of the leash, just like you. Jeff, thank you so much for being in Robin's Nest today. We look forward to seeing you on the red carpet at the Hero Dog Awards. Thank you so much.