WRW? - Episode 2 - “Potcake”
Summary - Our guests today are Wayne and Caroline. We met them while vacationing in 2018. We became fast friends for many reasons, but we'd say we are actually more like kindred spirits in that they are dog rescue people like us, we connected immediately. All their lives they’ve had a passion for animals. Wayne and Caroline have rescued 11 dogs over the years, each one, having their own story of how they were saved by the opening of their home, and their gracious and loving hearts. You will hear/read about four of their rescues today, Buster, Abby Grace, Hope and Doc. Friends tell them they are hopeless adopters, no one is surprised when a new little canine arrives in their lives.
“Potcake” ~ Episode 2 Show Notes
Summary - Our guests today are Wayne and Caroline who currently reside in South Carolina. We met them while vacationing in 2018. We became fast friends for many reasons, but we'd say we are actually more like kindred spirits in that they are dog rescue people like us, we connected immediately. All their lives they’ve had a passion for animals. Wayne and Caroline have rescued 11 dogs over the years, each one, having their own story of how they were saved by the opening of their home, and their gracious and loving hearts. We will hear about four of their rescues today, Buster, Abby Grace, Hope and Doc. Friends tell them they are hopeless adopters, no one is surprised when a new little canine arrives in their lives.
….See below Highlights/Takeaways for a full script for the hearing impaired…..
Episode Highlights/Takeaways
Dean Koontz Quote - (at 3:52 - 4:00) - Science Fiction Author Dean Koontz said, “Once you have had a wonderful dog, a life without one, is a life diminished.” Find out more information about Dean Koontz by visiting his website: https://www.deankoontz.com
Potcake Place and the story of Hope (starting at 6:46 - 10:42) - Wayne and Caroline adopted one of their dogs, Hope, from Potcake Place in Turks & Caicos. Potcakes, or what they call the street dogs in Turks and Caicos, really, basically in the Caribbean Islands, and they're called that because the locals will make large pots of conch and rice chowder and stew, and the burnt remains of the stew on the bottom they would scrape out of the pot and they're kind of caked up remains and they would throw them out to the street dogs because the humans didn't want them. So that's how they got the name Potcakes. I they call the little scrape of food Potcakes, and they fed them to the dogs. So the dogs became Potcakes.
Donation - (at 10:32 - 11:54) With each episode, in honor of our guests, the Who Rescued Whom? Canine Rescue Tales Podcast makes a $25 donation to the rescue of their choice. We are happy to make this episode's donation to Potcake Place (http://www.potcakeplace.com), in Turks and Caicos, in honor of Wayne, Caroline, and Hope. Potcake Place is the only dog rescue charity based in Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands. They adopt out 100% of all of their rescues to approved, screened homes in the Turks and Caicos Islands and North America. They run solely on donations and their mission is. To reduce the number of homeless Potcakes on the Island. If you are ever in the area, much like Wayne and Caroline were, they ask you to pop in, meet some puppies and learn more about what they do. They have a constant stream of puppies needing socialization and adoption. You can go by and even take a puppy out for a walk. They'll give you everything you need. You just need to supply some TLC. You can learn more about Potcake Place, and see pictures of Hope, by clicking on the link to their website on the episode page of our website, WhoRescuedWhom.com.
Author Lewis Grizzard - Humorist - (at 19:25 - 19:58) - Guest/Wayne - “There was a famous Southern writer, Lewis Grizzard, he was something else. He wrote about his dog Catfish a lot and also wrote about when his dog passed. It's one of my favorite prints. After his dog passed, someone did this caricature of Lewis Grizzard entering heaven and his faithful dog was jumping into his arms. It's like, you know, that's kind of says it all." You can read about Catfish, Grizzard’s dog, and see the print, at https://www.ajc.com/lifestyles/man-best-friend-catfish-howling-holds-twilight-bay/YIExOzvMKBkbS8twAAmzfK/
Twilight Zone Reference - (at 20:04 - 21:17) -Twilight Zone Episode - “The Hunt" Originally Aired on January 26, 1962. You can see a short snippet of the episode on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLBTTIf7EzA
Full Summary of the Twilight Zone Episode called "The Hunt”, taken from: https://twilightzone.fandom.com/wiki/The_Hunt
Hyder Simpson lives with his wife and his hound-dog Rip in the backwoods. Mrs. Simpson does not like having the dog indoors, but Rip saved Hyder's life once, and Hyder won't be parted from him. Mrs. Simpson has seen some bad omens recently, and warns Hyder not to go raccoon hunting that night. When Rip dives into a pond after a raccoon, Hyder jumps in after him, but only the raccoon comes up out of the water. Next morning, Hyder and Rip wake up next to the pond. When they return home, Hyder finds that neither his wife, the preacher, nor the neighbors can hear him or see him—they seem to think that he and Rip are dead. Walking along the road, he encounters a fence he doesn't recognize, and decides to follow it. Presently, both come to a gate tended by a man. Simpson asks him if he is Saint Peter. Explaining only that he is a gatekeeper, the man explains that Simpson can enter the Elysian Fields. Simpson is appreciative, but disheartened to hear that there is no raccoon hunting there, nor are there any of his other usual pleasures. When he is told that Rip can't enter and will be taken elsewhere ("up the road"), he declines and angrily goes on down the "Eternity Road" rather than enter the gate without his beloved dog. Simpson states, "Any place that's too high-falutin' for Rip is too fancy for me." Later, after stopping to rest, Simpson and Rip are met by a young angel whose job is to find and bring them to Heaven. Simpson tells the angel about his experience at the first gate, commenting "Son, that'd be a helluva place without Rip!" The angel replies "Mr. Simpson, you ain't far wrong - that is Hell! Heaven's up yonder a piece," pointing up Eternity Road. When asked by Simpson why the gatekeeper at the gate to Hades wouldn't let him bring Rip inside with him, the angel explains that the reason Rip was not allowed in was because the dog would have been able to smell the brimstone and alert Simpson that something was wrong. The angel says, "You see, Mr. Simpson -- a man, well, he'll walk right into Hell with both eyes open. But even the Devil can't fool a dog!" The angel also tells Hyder that there will be a raccoon hunt in Heaven that night, "right after the square dance," and assures him that his wife, who will be coming shortly, will not be misled into entering Hell.
Will Rogers Quote - (at 21:21 - 21:27) “If there are no dogs on Heaven, then when I die, I want to go where they went.” Will Rogers
Production Note - (at 21:37 - 21:50) - This podcast was edited and produced by Mike McClellan at podcastps.com. Mike also wrote, performed, and produced all the original music that you heard on this episode.
SCRIPT ~ created for the hearing impaired, can be found below.
WRW? Canine Rescue Tales - Episode 2 - “Potcake”
This script, for the hearing impaired, was created using the online platform Descrip, then edited by Diane Thomas
INTRODUCTION MUSIC ~
Host - John Thomas - It's the who rescued, whom K9 rescue tales podcast. And where are your hosts? John and Diane.
Host - Diane Thomas - Our guests today are Wayne and Caroline who currently reside in South Carolina. We met them while vacationing in 2018. We became fast friends for many reasons, but we'd say we are actually more like kindred spirits in that they are dog rescue people like us, we connected immediately. All their lives they’ve had a passion for animals. Wayne and Caroline have rescued 11 dogs over the years. Each one, having their own story of how they were saved by the opening of their home, and their gracious and loving hearts. We will hear about four of their rescues today, Buster, Abby Grace, Hope and Doc. Friends tell them they are hopeless adopters. No one is surprised when a new little canine arrives in their lives. Here's Caroline…
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Guest - Caroline - My first love was always animals in whatever way I could be around them. Thankfully, my husband feels the same way that we have some more time on our hands, we’re just really enjoying our time with our dogs. But even when we were working full time, gosh, we had so many dogs, but somehow we managed it. Maybe all the dogs just gave us peace and joy after a long day at work. So it's kind of been a lifelong project for us.
Host - John Thomas - We asked Wayne and Caroline to tell us about Buster.
Guest - Caroline - Um, well I just start smiling and giggling when you just said his name, he says, of course I feel that way about all of our dogs, but he was a goofy dog. I was coming home from an animal shelter function and, uh, I came across a little puppy, on a side of the road, Wayne was riding behind me and I pulled up and there were two puppies and Wayne pulled up behind me and he's like, what now? I found a puppy again, another puppy.
Guest - Wayne - And this poor little guy was, he had blood and we thought he was badly injured. The sad part that Caroline didn't tell you was that just ahead of us was a younger driver and, uh, in a revved-up car that was speeding. And, uh, it turns out that two puppies were crossing the road and, and one was killed and Buster survived. This is when we were living in West Virginia, there was only one all night shelter, uh, open at that time. And it was about a 45 minute drive, but we took him down there and, um, of course we're both looking at each other, like, you know, we don't need another dog at this point. But then they looked at us and said, what's his name?
And we had to come up with something, so, you know, it's like, well, his name's Buster.
Guest - Caroline - We both just looked at each other and said it, we were calling him that we were saying, hang in there, Buster, you’ll be okay, Buster, we're going to get you to the vet. So we were setting ourselves up.
Guest - Wayne - We were with him throughout the night and lo and behold by daybreak, his name was Buster. And then we took him home with us and, uh, you know, he had Basset hound ears and a droopy face. I mean, we used to calling slobber Huck because he seemed to leave a path of drool wherever he went, but he was just a great lovable soul.
MUSIC ~
Host - Diane Thomas - After 11 joyous years together, Buster passed away from cancer, but their home was never without a dog, whether they stumbled upon a dog in need of help or a dog stumbled upon them in search of a loving family, fate continued to lead them to one another and enriched their lives.
Host - John Thomas - Science fiction author, Dean Koontz said, “Once you have had a wonderful dog, a life without one, is it a life diminished?”
Host - Diane Thomas - Wayne and Caroline lost another dog named Annie. But years later, Annie's twin found them.
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Guest - Wayne - Losing Annie was very difficult. A few years later, one night we're at home and a neighbor calls and tells Caroline that there's a stray dog in the neighborhood. And, she wants Caroline to come out and help her determine what breed of dog this is.
Guest - Caroline - Isn't that a sneaky, a way of getting us to look at the dog?
Guest - Wayne - Yeah, I could see this coming because she knew that we were suckers for, you know, and I’m begging Caroline, not to go out. Caroline goes out and then she comes back in the house as if she's seen a ghost ,and she looks at me and she goes, you've got to come out here, and I'm like, no, I don’t. She’s like, no, seriously, you really need to come out here. So, you know, I put a jacket and shoes on and she looked exactly like Annie, I mean, it gave me chills. You know, at the time we had four other dogs and I believe they were all male. So the first night that Abby Grace stayed in our house, she stayed alone in the garage. And then the next day, of course, Caroline was really worried that, you know, it's like, well, you know, I think we're really going to have to take this slow and we're going to have to introduce her one at a time to the other dogs. There was just something about this little puppy. I could just tell by looking in her eyes, it's like, she's fearless and she's got so much spirit about her. You know, I told Caroline, I said, no, just let all of them out in the backyard and I'm going to come around the side and I'm going to let her out there with them.
Caroline and I got the biggest kick for the next half hour or so watching our four larger male dogs chase after this little black puppy with panda paws.
MUSIC ~
I mean, she was like a little running back. She was just juking and you know, in and out and a half hour later, our four guys are just, they're all lying down, uh, gasping, and Abby's still prancing around the yard. And from that moment on it's like she was queen bee, she just owned it.
Host - Diane Thomas - We also asked them to tell us about their Potcake puppy, Hope.
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Guest - Caroline - Yeah, so Wayne an I were celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary and we thought, well, let's go somewhere special. So we chose the Turks and Caicos Islands. I don't know why maybe it's because we're such dog people, but I decided to do some research about the island and of course the first thing and research is what's the homeless dog situation on Turks and Caicos. I was just curious and I found out, told Wayne there's a place called Potcake Place, Potcakes, or what they call the street dogs in Turks and Caicos, really, basically in the Caribbean Islands, and they're called that because the locals will make large pots of conch and rice chowder and stew, and the burnt remains of the stew on the bottom they would scrape out of the pot and they're kind of caked up remains and they would throw them out to the street dogs because the humans didn't want them. So that's how they got the name Potcakes. I guess they call the little scrape of food Potcakes, and they fed them to the dogs. So the dogs became Potcakes. So our first whole day, we didn't go to the beach, we went over to this Potcake Place to see the puppies and make a donation. And, um, we walked out of there two hours later, without a puppy, we were so proud of ourselves. So we went about our vacation and the next day we were walking down the beach, minding our own business, and we see a little Potcake puppy being walked by a little girl and her parents. And we said, oh, is that a Potcake puppy, and they said, yes, her name is Hope. And, um, I put my hand down and just cradled her chin in my hand and she just looked at us, she was so shy.
Guest - Wayne - She was not in good shape.
Guest - Caroline - No. Oh, she was well so bad for her. Um, she was being walked actually by Potcake Place volunteers, a lot of people who vacation will volunteer to walk these dogs. We had about a 20 minute walk back to our hotel and neither of us said a word. We were both thinking and afraid to say it out loud. And then, uh, we just started talking about it, you know, and I don't know if you remember the rest of it Wayne, exactly how it came about.
Guest - Wayne - Our last day Carolina's in the shower and, you know, we're all packed and I had already called a cab to take us to the airport, and I call Potcake Place and, uh, they remembered us, and uh, I asked them, I said, how difficult is it to adopt a Potcake. They wanted to know which one we were looking at and I said Hope. They were just thrilled because Hope had a bad case of mange, and she had had some other ailments. The reason why they named her Hope was that the first night she arrived at Potcake Place, they didn't think she was going to make it through the night and they gave her the name Hope.
Host - John Thomas - The Potcake Place immediately got the needed adoption and travel paperwork together and waited for Wayne and Caroline's arrival. When Caroline got out of the shower…
Guest - Wayne - I gave her the good news that, hey, uh, we're going to be making a stop and, uh, she was thrilled.
Guest - Caroline - I want to point out that I think that does not normally does the adoption process go so quickly, but you have to remember about three days before, four days before we had spent at least two hours in there and they remembered us very well and you know, so they knew who we were.
Guest - Wayne - Right. And, and I think they were also desperately wishing to find a home for Hope.
MUSIC ~
Guest - Wayne - Yeah. We were so happy with her, I was just thrilled, never expected it, you know, go away on our 20th anniversary vacation and come back with a puppy, but we've had people well, you guys would do that, that doesn’t surprise us too much. (laughter)
Host - Diane Thomas - With each episode, in honor of our guests, the Who Rescued Whom? Canine Rescue Tales Podcast makes a $25 donation to the rescue of their choice. We are happy to make this episode's donation to Potcake Place in Turks and Caicos, in honor of Wayne, Caroline, and Hope. Potcake Place is the only dog rescue charity based in Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands. They adopt out 100% of all of their rescues to approved screened homes in the Turks and Caicos Islands and North America. They run solely on donations and their mission is. To reduce the number of homeless Potcakes on the Island. If you are ever in the area, much like Wayne and Caroline were, they ask you to pop in, meet some puppies and learn more about what they do. They have a constant stream of puppies needing socialization and adoption. You can go by and even take a puppy out for a walk. They'll give you everything you need. You just need to supply some TLC. You can learn more about Potcake Place, and see pictures of Hope, by clicking on the link to their website, on the episode page of our website, WhoRescuedWhom.com.
Host - John Thomas - Hope is doing great and enjoys her new home and pack members. Next, Wayne and Caroline told us about Doc.
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Guest - Caroline - He was found at five weeks old, abandoned in the field in Georgia, when we lived in Georgia and some friends of mine who volunteered in a shelter, I said, you gotta see this dog. And, uh, Wayne went down the, see it. And he said, oh, that's where we're getting this dog. I'd always wanted a Golden Retriever and he looked a lot like a Golden Retriever and Wayne brought him home and I fell in love with Doc! Oh, he was just so cute. Always smiling, even as a puppy. We named him Doc, after a dear friend of ours.
Guest - Wayne - I don't think I've ever seen a, a happier soul. He just woke up happy and, and went to bed happy, and in-between, he just lived life to the fullest. I mean, he just couldn't understand why Hope would want to be lying around. It's just like, you know, I mean, well, let's go chase something, you know, it's a great day out there. Let's go seize it!
MUSIC ~
Host - John Thomas - In time, Doc's time came. He developed a mysterious disease that caused unexplained seizures. They took him to a specialist clinic where a team of 12 doctors each played a hand in trying to figure out what was wrong with him. The best they could conclude was that it was probably tick-related. Consequently, Doc had heart problems, gallbladder, and bone problems. One thing after another, this disease was taken over.
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Guest - Caroline - It was winning. And, um, we had to make that decision sadly on Wayne's birthday, but it, he couldn't suffer anymore. It was a way to show love for him, you know, and if we could do that for them and take the pain away from them, we don't want them to suffer and we just had to put our dogs first and not our feelings and do it for them.
Host - Diane Thomas - Because of another recently rescued dog, Wayne got to spend some quality time with Doc in his last few weeks.
Guest - Wayne - One major blessing for me, we had adopted Charlie Buck and Charlie Buck was so afraid of men, period, that Caroline had no other choice, but to coddle him. So I got to spend some good quality time with Doc that I may not have had if Charlie Buck hadn't been in the picture and Caroline and I even talked about that.
Guest - Caroline - It really was nice that they had, that they spent more time together. And having Charlie Buck has been a lifesaver in our grieving over Doc.
Host - Diane Thomas - Wayne and Caroline told us that each and every one of the 11 dogs, they rescued have impacted them in numerous ways
Guest - Wayne - Each and every one of our dogs has a very special place in our hearts. Every one of them was unique. They all have made us laugh and brought us emence joy.
Guest - Caroline - They knew love and happiness and comfort and safety. And in return, we have been beyond blessed, um, by having them in our lives.
Guest - Wayne - These dogs have given more to us than we've given to them, and they've enriched our lives more than we've been enriched theirs. There’s something special about the relationships that people have with their dogs. And there's no ifs, ands or buts about it. I mean, I have felt it in my heart and in my soul and I've witnessed it in others. So, it's a live thing! Caroline, and I've always been drawn to rescue animals. Just leave your hearts open to it. One of life's wonderful connections and one of God's great gifts, just that relationship. It's mind, body and spirit, you know, the dog is all in and you're all in. And you know, we really try to encourage people like, well, you know, you really, you know, consider rescuing because they're already here and they need help. So just go visit a shelter and look at the conditions they're living in and look, and just think how much better you can make their lives.
MUSIC ~
Host - John Thomas - Some people, after a pet passes away, understandably, find it hard to think about getting another. Wayne and Caroline had some good advice.
Guest - Wayne - We've known so many people that have had a dog and have lost it. You know, it's like, I'm never going to have another dog. I'm not going to do it. You know, losing that dog was just too much for me. I think any dog owner would tell you that we all wish dogs lived longer. And the hardest part of being a dog owner is when it comes time to say goodbye. I think the one thing that gives us a added peace, is being able to reflect and know that, hey, you know, do you remember the night or the day that we rescued this little guy, or this little girl, they were not in a good place. You know, it just makes the process of letting go
Host - John Thomas - Diane and I have gone through that ourselves, but the years spent with the rescue dog, or even sometimes just days as it was with our rescue dog Stormy in 2015, who was with us only 25 days, that precious time and shared life experiences, giving that dog years, or just quiet days of peace, safety, happiness, love and comfort ,for us, the tears and heartache that follow their departure are replaced by the satisfaction that for a time, that dog new love and that possibly for the first and only time in their life felt that they were part of a pack, part of your loving family. That feeling of giving them a true home for however long and thinking that if not us, then who, well, it makes it all worth it, and we choose to believe that we will see them again, someday down the road.
Guest - Caroline - I don't know why. I, I can't think of a words right now, but I just saw a little meme on social media that really touched my heart.
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And it was a picture of two dogs, like up in heaven and they had little angel wings and one dog turned to the other dog and said, you know, they still talk about you. He said, yeah, I know. And that just touched my heart. There's another one where Peter at the Gates of Heaven and in a man comes in and he says, Oh, you must be a little Bobby. He's an older man. He said, you know, Rufus has been talking about you for years.
Guest - Wayne - There was a famous Southern writer, uh, humorist, uh, named, uh, Lewis Grizzard, he was something else. He wrote about his dog a lot and also wrote about when his dog passed. It's one of my favorite prints. After the dog passed, um, someone did this caricature of Lewis Grizzard entering heaven and his faithful dog was jumping into his arms. It's like, you know, that's kind of says it all.
Guest - Caroline - We'll see them once again.
Guest - Wayne - There you go. I remember as a kid, there was one episode of a Twilight Zone where an elderly man and his dog, and his dog was old as well, and they lie down to rest, uh, by this tree and they both passed away, uh, the, the man and his dog. They get up. And they continue walking and they're greeted, this individual is presenting himself to be Saint Peter, and it's like, you know, hey, we've been waiting for you. Welcome. And you know, the old man's getting ready to enter and he's telling his dog, you know, come on Buddy. And the guy says, well, you know, I'm sorry, you know, dogs aren't allowed. And he said, well, I'm sorry, but if he's not allowed, I'm not coming in. He walks further up the road and lo and behold, it's the real Heaven. He said, now is Buddy invited? And they're like, well, of course he is, we've got his name right here alongside yours. We've been waiting for both of you. And that's one of the few real happy episodes of the Twilight Zone.
MUSIC ~
Host - John Thomas- “If there are no dogs in the heaven, then when I die, I want you to go where they went.” Will Rogers
Host - Diane Thomas - This podcast was edited and produced by Mike McClellan at podcastps.com. Mike also wrote, performed and produced all the original music that you heard on this episode.
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This script, for the hearing impaired, was created using the online platform Descrip, then edited by Diane Thomas