That Gaby Roslin Podcast: Reasons To Be Joyful - Show n Tell with Beverley Knight

Episode Date: January 19, 2024

Beverley Knight shares an emotional and joyfyul story about overcoming her fear of dogs. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

So Beverly Knight, we always ask our guests to give us a little extra nugget of joy on reasons to be joyful. A show and tell. Something that brings you joy. So what have you brought along, please? I have brought, this is something that everybody in Britain would sort of recognise. It's a mini Pudsey the Bear. But he's absolutely wrecked. Let's have a look at Pudsey. He's been mullered, bless him. He's a sort of ex-Pudsy.

He's not the Pudsy that I remember when I worked with Pudsey. He's got half a head missing. Yeah. Share. Come on. Tell me about this Pudsey. It's a stuffing stuffed out of him. The reason he looks like that is because my dog Zane has ragged him to death.

Poor Pudsey. I knew you well. My Zane just loves him. latched onto Little Pudsey. I left him, I think I left him on the sofa. And Zane just decided, that's mine now. And that was the end of that. And yes, this has, this belongs to Zane.

Zane gives me so much joy. Zane is my dog, if I haven't said, he's a rescue dog. He gives me so much joy. And the reason that's significant, so many millions of people around the world can relate. But the reason it's significant to me is because for the majority of my life, I was terrified of dogs. So scared of dogs.

Where did that fear come from? I think my dad. My dad really did not like dogs at all. My mum was ambivalent, I will say, but didn't have a fear. My dad did, definitely. And as children, we all grew up with the same fear that dad had. My brother got nipped by a dog. My sister made the classic mistake of a dog staring at her.

My sister could really run fast. She ran, of course, the dog chased her. Scared of dogs. Got home before anything happened, but scared of dogs. And then I just was scared of dogs. You did it as well, yeah. So I didn't grow up around them. If people had dogs in the house, I would either not visit or they'd have to lock the dog away or, you know, I just didn't like dogs.

That changed in 2012 when I flew over to my husband's sister's house, so my sister-in-law in Austin, Texas, and stayed with her a week. she had an American bulldog, so a big lump of a dog, and it was crossed with a pity. I was terrified, absolutely terrified. Didn't want to stay in the house, all the rest of it, but my husband James was like,

honestly, you'll love blue, you'll be fine, you'll be fine, you know, and I was like, yeah, if I come back alive, that was my thinking. I got to the house, Debbie, my sister-in-law, in typical American fashion, she had the backyard,

which was the way we entered the house, and, you know, you had the grass. She comes bounding out and gives me a hug, and behind her comes her dog, blue. And I've clocked blue and the size of him, and I'm like, oh my God. And I could feel the fear. You know, it was a fear,

and it was quite palpable. Debbie was like, you're going to be fine because you knew I was scared. Blue very slowly came up behind her and then sat a little way away from me with this tail absolutely wagging as if to say I promise you I won't harm you I'm it's going to be fine

so I eventually got the courage to open the back gate the gate the gate was closed got inside the gate kind of went to creep past him and he didn't move but it struck me that he had quite what I would call a kind to face He didn't look mean.

You know, some dogs can look a bit. I love dogs. Mean. Yeah, yeah. Or, shall I say tough? Not mean, tough. He didn't have that kind of a face. He had a kind face.

Eventually, with Debbie stood there and James stood there, my husband. I worked up the courage to just stroke him and the tail went even harder. And went into the house and we went into the house. and we went into the house and Blue, the only way I can describe it is he took his time with me. He allowed me to work up the courage

to get to know him. He felt your worry and your fear. He knew I was scared and he took his time with me. And over the week I got to know and we got to know each other and the thing that did it for me was Debbie

She was on radio, radio DJ. She went off to work early, early, early in the morning, so the morning show, breakfast show. And I could hear, that wasn't James. What the hell? Definitely wasn't James. No.

Definitely not James. What is that? It's blue. He's at the door. He wants to come in. He was outside the door. Like, please can I come in? So I was like, oh, okay.

I'll let him in thinking he'll just come in but the floor. No. Blue leaps onto the bed. He's a big lump of a dog, leaps onto the bed, comes in between me and James, and with his bum, shuffles between us,

and curls up and goes to sleep. And I thought it was the sweetest thing I'd ever seen in my life. I left Debbie's house when it was time to leave. Hug Debbie, bye Debs. I hugged Blue and I didn't let go. I just hugged him and hugged him and hugged him.

That's just giving me goosebumps. Yeah. And stroke him and everything. And I got home, cried. I didn't want to leave Blue. Um, and got home and, you know, Debbie would send us pictures of Blue and here's Blue dressed up in whatever. This, uh, um, his Thanksgiving outfit because he's going to be smart because it's Thanksgiving.

and hears him in his Santa hat and here's him, you know, he's gone trickle treating and here's him in his ghost, you know, thing that he's got on his head. Just blue. And that enabled me to see other dogs and just changed my whole vibe with dogs and I lost my fear almost instantaneously, which led to me getting Zane. I was looking on a website that specialises in just rescue dogs. James has forever wanted a dog.

I was always like, nope. Started to have a look and then I saw this little black and white dog playing in a video which was on this website. And there was something about this dog that just struck a chord with me and I showed the video to James. I said, I think we need to take this one at home.

He was in Spain, Zane was in Spain, Zane in Spain, Zane was in Spain and the charity who sponsored the shelter, the Spanish shelter, covered all his fees to come over, drove him from Alicante to South Mims car park off the M25 where James and I was waiting for him. Took days, but they didn't want, they didn't want to fly him or anything. they drove him so that he would be less panic. It's made me really emotional. I love dogs and the fact that that whole story is so, but how is Zane now? How is it? Zane is wonderful.

He still has his nervousness and, you know, especially around men and he's quite protective of me. So we have to take measures with him. You know, he's a rescue. God knows what he went through in the first year of his life. Whatever it was was horrendous because it's, It's left him with things that are hardwired. And, you know, even with the training that we had for him.

But he's a good boy. He's a sweet boy. He doesn't like too much cuddles and too much fuss. But he likes Pudsey. He loves Pudsey. He latched on to Pudsey and, you know. And even though Pudsey now is, as you said, an ex-Pudsy. Yeah. He still plays with his pudsy.

He just he'll snuggle down and just play with pudsy. And just this little wrecked pudsy just reminds me of a woman who was once so scared of dogs that I'd cross the road. Even when they were on a lead, I'd cross the road, to a woman now who any dog I see, I see the dog before I see the owner. And I will always say, is it all right if I say hello? And I say hello to most dogs I see. And they say hello to me. Oh, Beverly. I'm probably in poor prints, mostly.

I have no idea why, but somehow you have reduced me to a complete and utter mess. I could just, you're overwhelmed. Thank you. That was beautiful. It's a pleasure and I feel the same. Wow.