My Podcast Episode on Ramblings from the Little Shed

Hey everybody! This ol' lady was on a podcast! There's a first time for everything.

Check out my episode on Ramblings from the Little Shed. It was great fun, even though my room (behind me in the video) is a mess and I kept blinking! But two people told me they didn't even notice so maybe I shouldn't have mentioned that here.

Don't you love the picture Holly B. Gutwillinger came up with of the RV with Tux and Cooper inside?! Hilarious! Hope you'll give it a listen. Thank you, if you do!

Episode Summary

What happens when grief, love letters, and a frozen pizza-stealing dog collide? You get Dear Hobie: Letters to My Heart Dog — a memoir unlike any other. This week, Holly and Rogan welcome Kathy Mandell, a former travel industry executive turned memoirist, who spent a decade quietly sitting on the most heartfelt book she never planned to publish.

From the chaos of being dragged down the street by two enormous dogs, to the daily ritual of HowlFest (yes, it's exactly what it sounds like), to uncovering over 1,000 WWII love letters her father wrote to her mother — Kathy's conversation overflows with warmth, wit, and the particular ache of loving animals with your whole heart.

Meet the Pets
• Tux — 16-year-old cat who dresses better than most of us (tuxedo markings, bow tie, spats — the full look)
• Charlie Brown — 14-year-old hound dog, the big gentle one
• Petey — 10-year-old Chihuahua/Dachshund mix, Kathy's "little buddy," daily Substack muse, and apparent podcast critic (he moaned audibly every time Hobie came up)

What We Talked About
• The book that almost wasn't: Kathy began writing letters to her dog Hobie during his final year, continued after his passing as therapy, uploaded the manuscript to Amazon in 2023... then quickly took it down. It sat for a decade until her husband spotted it over her shoulder.
• HowlFest — the daily morning howling ritual Petey and Charlie perform with Kathy's husband. If he's late, they start without him.
• Traveling with dogs: Kathy's three-week cross-country road trip (South Carolina → Arizona → back) with two dogs, zero pet-related obstacles, and a van that wasn't quite big enough. An RV is incoming.
• Pet grief and the Facebook group: Kathy took a course with the Association of Pet Loss and Bereavement and now offers comfort to grieving pet owners online. Her message: "It doesn't get easier — it gets less. You learn to live around it."
• Her father's 1,000+ WWII love letters: Found in a closet after her parents passed. Her dad wrote to her mom every single day for nearly four years while serving in Europe under General Patton. Kathy typed them all out — in cursive, bad handwriting and all — and published several volumes. A Substack series may be on the horizon.
• The second memoir: Kathy is currently drafting a memoir about her 30+ years in the travel industry. She wrote 80,000 raw words during a January memoir writing sprint (think NaNoWriMo, but for nonfiction lovers).
• Substack strategy: Consistency is the key. Kathy posts written essays weekly and daily notes under #DailyDogLady — almost always featuring Petey. Where to Find Kathy • 📖 Book: Dear Hobie: Letters to My Heart Dog — available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, and Google Books • ✍️ Substack: Travelling Dog Lady • 🐕 Daily content: Follow

Where to Find Kathy
• 📖 Book: Dear Hobie: Letters to My Heart Dog — available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, and Google Books
• ✍️ Substack: Travelling Dog Lady
• 🐕 Daily content: Follow #DailyDogLady for your regular Petey fix