Gayle King once introduced Carol Bryant as "a dog lover of the highest order."

Carol, whom I met in 2020 just weeks before the whole world shut down with the COVID-19 pandemic, has been on King's Oprah Radio to talk about the love of dogs.

Carol is so much into the dog business that she had her catchphrase "my heart beats dog" trademarked and tattooed on her left bicep.

She is the immediate past president of the Dog Writers Association of America, a member of the American Spaniel Club, founder of the Club Cocker Facebook group, and founder of Wigglebutt Warriors, a fundraising group that has raised over $80,000 to date for homeless Cockers and other dogs.

She's also the co-author of Pet Blogging for Love & Money and author of the DogMinder, a canine health and wellness journal.

That's not all. Carol is a very very busy woman.

In November last year, Carol's beloved boy, a Cocker Spaniel named Dexter, was diagnosed with and then very suddenly died from hermangiosarcoma.

Hermangiosarcoma is a highly malignant cancer that commonly attacks a dog's spleen, liver, heart and skin. Hermangiosarcoma's cause, according to NC State Veterinary Hospital, is in most cases unknown. There are options for surgery and chemotherapy but the Flint Animal Cancer Center at Colorado State University says despite treatment, the long-term prognosis for dogs with hermangiosarcoma is generally poor.

Carol very publicly shared her pain on her Facebook profile.

Every post, every word she wrote on Facebook tore my heart apart. I could feel her panic and agony as Dexter was diagnosed and dying of hermangiosarcoma.

What she didn't realize at the time was how she helping other dog lovers recognize the signs of hermangiosarcoma and get their dogs to treatment. She was also able to bring comfort and learning to thousands by being very public about the trauma she experienced in losing her Dexter.

Join me and Carol as we look back on those days and discuss why she felt she needed to be so public with her pain and how the stories she and others have told about her beloved Dexter have brought her comfort in the days following his death.

Listen for:

Why the Cocker Spaniel is Carol's special breed The sudden onset of the news that Dexter had hermangiosarcoma The lessons she learned from Dexter How Carol is learning to live with her grief, carrying her "grief suitcase" with her wherever she goes What not to say to a grieving dog owner

Find Carol:

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