It's likely you've already noticed how in the last few decades, dogs and cats are suddenly everywhere we look – movies, books, websites, commercials and advertisement. The pet industry has grown significantly. It's clear that our lives are becoming more intertwined with those of our pets.
Today's podcast is all about that, and how or why we worship our dogs and cats. I had the pleasure of talking to Jeff Lazarus, author of books Dogtology and Catakism. These hilarious and delightful reads are about everything any pet owner will relate to, but they also provide a lot of insight into why we care so much about our dogs and cats, and include actionable tips on how to better understand and communicate with our pets.
If you're passionate about pet ownership, you'll enjoy this episode as me and Jeff cover a lot of ground here. We talked about why people are so in love with their dogs; Jeff explained the meaning of “Dogtology” and how he came up with ideas for his books. As a bonus, I also asked him how other pet owners and aspiring authors can get their books off the ground and he was generous enough to share some great advice. Tune in!
Listen to the episode in the video above and find the full podcast transcript below. For more, visit this episode’s post on the official Theory of Pets website.
- Episode link: TOP 044 – Dogtology: Do We Worship Our Pets?
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Why We Worship Our Dogs
(podcast transcript)
INTRO: If you looked up the title of this podcast before listening to it, you might be wondering if it's going to be based off some type of religious spiel. And I am certainly not here to get into the debate about religion.
However, as humans, we do seem to have this need to believe in something, whether it's some sort of a higher power or some kind of a force like Karma, that just eventually makes everything right in the world.
We believe in all these different things, and the term “dogtology” was actually coined by a man named Jeff Lazarus. Jeff Lazarus is here to talk to me today about Dogtology and another book that he wrote that's called “Catakism” which are just kind of really entertaining fun plays on this belief that we have as pet owners that really, our lives sort of center around our animals. We have these weird rituals that we do for them every day.
In our house at five-thirty in the morning and five-thirty at night, and our dogs know it and we know it and it's just sort of the way that we do things. Every pet owner has these different things that we do for our dog.
As a culture of pet parents, we kind of joke about he fact that our dogs run our lives, our cats run our lives. And it's true to a certain extent.
One of the things that Jeff and I kind of chuckle about is — vacationing. There are so many pet owners that can't take a vacation when their dog sitter is away, because they only trust one other person with their pet. So in every little aspect of our lives, being a pet parent sort of takes part in every little part of our lives.
Again, Jeff is here today to talk to me about Dogtology, and where this came from. We had a lot of fun talking about this book. It's a really easy, humorous, light read. It's something that every pet owner can relate to — Dogtology and Catakism.
If you are watching this on YouTube or social media, there are links below to our website, theoryofpets.com, where you can get on and ask any questions that you might have of me, or I can pass on to Jeff. There are also links to the sites where you can check out the books and get a little bit more information about them.
Interview with Jeff Lazarus
Samantha: Where did this idea come from? How did you get started with the idea of Dogtology, and then the book itself?
Jeff: Well, Dogtology is about all of us dog lovers, and those of us who are obsessed and practically worship our dogs. We're like — well, we don't literally worship our dogs. Well, but wait a minute. [laughs]
Kind of sort of… You know… It's like, go look at the TV. Can you watch three consecutive TV commercials and not see a dog? Hard to do now.
Samantha: Probably not. That's true.
Jeff: It's to the point of — wait, what's the product? Is that for a car or erectile dysfunction medication? I don't know, but did you see the dog?
Samantha: It's so cute. Yeah. [laughs]
Jeff: It's really funny. Dogtology is really about us, and it's about how we're in the club, and we can't wait to put a jacket or a sweater on the dog. And like, right now, today, we better have the dog's gifts for the holidays all picked out and wrapped and everything.
Samantha: Absolutely.
Jeff: Really, that obsession has a name for it, finally, and it's not just “dog-loving.” It's called Dogtology. And it's the primary belief in millions of people's lives, and a lot of fun.
Samantha: Absolutely. I could not agree more.
I mentioned to you before that we are crazy dog people in our house. And cat people as well; actually we have two dogs and four cats. So we're animal lovers here.
So of course the books sparked my interest. I was excited because I was able to check out a copy of it; I received a copy in the mail. And it's just… I don't know. It's funny. It's so relatable, I think, for anybody. I wasn't able to check out Catakism, but I did look at Dogtology. And I'm assuming Catakism is probably pretty close to the same lines as far as how it's written.
It's an easy read, but it's just fun and it's kind of informative. There is some things that I think we do sort of instinctively, I guess, with our dogs, and we don't even realize it.
You talk a lot about communication with your pets in the book, so I really think it's relatable for any dog lover or cat lover, which was my favorite part for sure.
Jeff: Yeah, you're right for “Catakism,” it's a lot like “Dogtology,” in just the set up and how we're in the club and we're obsessed with our cats. The pictures in Catakism can arguably be even funnier then in Dogtology, I must say. And that's the number one thing people pick up Catakism, and they're just flipping through, and just cracking up, and I'm like — yeah, you should read it too, it's really not bad.
And so, it's a crack up, it's the nine books of Catakism, from the book of Whiskers, the book of Surrender, the book of Hairball. The chapters are appropriately named, but, it's the same general idea.
Each book has a chapter really about the communication with the dogs and the cats. Like the book of barks in Dogtology, and the book of Purrs in Catakism. And it's about the communication that we embark upon — no pun intended there, when I said the embark. It just sort of just comes out of me, right, it's the dog lover that shows in so many of us.
Samantha: That's right.
Jeff: These books are about us. And it's the number one comment that I get from people, is — That book was about me. I'm like — yes it was.
Samantha: Absolutely.
Jeff: I tell people this book is about you, it's about you Samantha. I mean you, hey, you have two books, because you have two dogs, and four cats. You should really have both books.
Samantha: It is true. It's definitely very relatable. And I think as dog lovers we all have our only little things. You talk to your dog a certain way, some people have a little nickname for their dogs. Everybody does their own little weird things with their dogs, that you wonder sometimes, like am I the only person that treats my dogs or my cats this way? Am I a crazy dog lady, or crazy cat lady?
But it is becoming a culture, especially here in the United States, and really all over the world dogs are becoming more pets than they used to be. They used to be seen as working animals, they helped out on farms and they caught rodents and things like that. And now we do definitely still have some working dogs, but a lot more we're just seeings dogs used for that bond. They're our companions more than anything and a lot of times even working dogs, you know, their job certainty still comes first, but they're still a companion, they're still sleeping on somebody's bed every night and doing their job every day.
Jeff: That's right and in the book of Bones in Dogtology we talk about how dogs have really elevated themselves or we've elevated them in our society from workers. Actually before that they were just scoundrels and roaming the streets and campgrounds back before our time. But then it became, here's the term, “part of the family.” And then when people say well “it's like the dog is part of our family” and I'm like, are you kidding me? The dog's the best part of your family.
Samantha: Absolutely.
Jeff: And so, there's actually a place that a lot of dogs are now higher than that and that's trusted companion and confident. If you think about this, a lot of us might even know people that are married or have a significant other, but yet their dog is still the number one primary relationship in their life.
Samantha: People joke with us sometimes. My husband and I are both avid dog lovers and so we have two dogs. But because I work from home, both of them when they were puppies I was training and they're definitely more attached to me because we spend more time together. So people always laugh and we always say you know our dogs, they're both girls, so they're mama's girls. And they go everywhere in the car with me when I'm running errands and things like that. Actually I've had people ask me if when you go to places as a family do your dogs sit in the front seat or does your husband get to sit in the front seat?
So it is, it's true, I mean even for people who are married or people with families with children, dogs have been raised to this unimaginable level that before hundreds of years ago I'm sure it was never even thought of that dogs would ever get to this place.
Jeff: No absolutely. Think about it, if you ever have a squabble with the husband who do you turn to? The dog.
Samantha: The dog, that's right.
Jeff: You can talk to the dog. Now the cats? Maybe, well the cats will look at you — well, we're mad at you too.
Samantha: Yeah, depends on the cat. When you first said that the photos in Catakism are more humorous than in Dogtology, I think that's a cat personality thing, they're a little grouchy sometimes and we find a lot of humor in that.
Jeff: Exactly. We so do. But again, the husband can get sent to the couch but the ultimate punishment would be — well the dog can't go sleep with you on the couch, the dog's in the bedroom with the wife. That's the ultimate punishment.
Samantha: That's right. So when you decided that you were going to write this book, how did that idea come to you?
Jeff: The infamous date story. It's so much fun. It's a really short, but poignant story. Several years ago, right after I lost my four-legged companion, he and I, we were joined at the hip. He had me tightly wrapped around his paw. He was the cutest, funniest person I've ever known. That's right. He was hilarious. His name was Romy.
Right after I lost Romy, I went on this date with this woman and I knew that she had two dogs and we were leaving the date walking out the door and she asked me, “Hey by the way, what is your religion?” And I thought — Well now? I was just about to say goodbye and I should probably not call her again, but that's another story. So I just all of a sudden blurted out — Dogtology. She looked at me funny and then she laughed out loud and I laughed and then I never called her again anyway.
But years later, I was joking around about the topic and I remember Dogtology was something that I said. And one day it just hit me out of the blue and I remember I ran to the computer, I typed in “belief,” and I looked at the definition of “belief” and it's knowing something or someone to be true. And I'm like, wait a minute. Then I looked at the system of rituals that we do as dog lovers and cat lovers. But as dog lovers, the things that we do every day, and the walk, oh the dog wants to go on the walk, well guess what, we've been trained to do that too, and to laugh at it.
So it just hit me that Dogtology is a belief in dogs. Because we worship our dogs, right? And so I began writing this book about all of us dog lovers and having fun doing it.
Samantha: So Catakism came after Dogtology?
Jeff: You know, Catakism funny enough, it was really born probably about two months into writing Dogtology when half of the people that I would mention Dogtology to and say — OK I'm writing this book Dogtology, here's what it's about. Half of them would say — OK that sounds great, but where's the cat book? So, I was like, OK, OK. So not only was I fearing that cats were planning to kill me, but now their humans were too.
So I thought, I get it, I got the memo, OK. And, you know what's interesting about cats in households in the US is that in 1985, that long ago, the number of households in the US that have cats surpassed that of dogs. That long ago. And so Catakism is definitely a must and is as popular or more than Dogtology. So, it's definitely a major belief in our world, and together here's the very simple argument. If you were from outer space and looked down on the planet earth, wouldn't you conclude that Catakism and Dogtology were primary beliefs? All you have to do is look at all the paw prints and bone shaped everything that we have in this world. They're everywhere.
Samantha: How true, very true.
Jeff: Yes, it's what we do.
Samantha: You can't go into any store anymore without seeing it. A lot of stores now have their own section of, it's not the pet section, but it's like the pet lovers section. And it's just t-shirts and writing utensils and stationary, and everything with cats and dogs and paw print all over it.
Jeff: It's the world we create and it doesn't stop. It's more and more and more. We love seeing pet stores, do we not, that have the creative names for them, the cute names?
Samantha: Absolutely.
Jeff: The best one I've ever seen was “Bark, Bath, and Beyond”.
Samantha: Oh, that's good.
Jeff: That's the best name I've seen ever, and I hope they're still in business. I just crack up and we just think it's so cute. When I autograph the books I stamp a paw print and you would think that I put a hundred dollar bill in there. They're like — oh my god, that is so cute, you've got to sign another book. I'm like — wow, OK, it's just a paw print.
Samantha: That's funny. We, my husband and I, take our dogs virtually everywhere with us. We have a chocolate lab, Sadie, and then a little beagle mix, Molly. So they're very well behaved because we socialize them a lot. So they are fine walking in a city setting, an urban setting, or something like that, meeting people and dogs. So we love taking them to certain, we literally, honestly, I couldn't make this up. We have certain towns that we like to visit in the summertime with our dogs because they're dog friendly and they'll put, the stores, will put little water dishes outside for walking dogs that walk by. And there are certain restaurants that allow dogs and places that give dog biscuits and stuff throughout the town.
So we have these three or four spots, that, those are our go to summer kind of little road trip places that we go and hang out on the weekends because they are dog-centered. Because it's the town that's dog-centered.
Jeff: Absolutely, I mean you can get the travel guide of dog friendly hotels now or pet friendly, they go by both terms. I mean we will plan vacations around our pets. In fact I have a friend who said last week, “You know, we were thinking about Europe, but we can't be away from our dog that long.” Seriously, and you know as funny as it is in thinking they're crazy to not go to Europe, you kind of understand at the same time.
Samantha: At the same time, I was just going to say, we have planned vacations. We only leave our dogs with my mother. She's their “grammy”. We always say they're going to grammy's. And that's it, so if she's not available, we have changed dates of going away because she wasn't available to watch our dogs. We don't leave them at boarding facilities or anything. We only trust that one person. So it's definitely something that's very similar.
I mean, to put it in perspective for you, we probably have five or six different people who babysit our human children for us. There's a high school girl that lives right down the road from us that does it. We have a couple of friends and family members that will babysit our human children for us. But when it comes to leaving our dogs over night, we would never dream of leaving them with a high school girl that's just going to check in on them every once in a while, or somebody that's off at work all day, or something like that. So it is funny how we kind of move our lives around to make sure that our dogs have the best possible.
Jeff: You know we do, and by the way, I mean, you're really great parents. So hats off to you and I love how you treat your dogs and think of your dogs. And I wouldn't think anything different.
Samantha: Awww, thank you. Like you said I mean they're part of the family and I think that's a lot more common now than it used to be. We have lots of friends and family, who it's the same for them. So like I said when I saw the book Dogtology, obviously you see the word and it kind of you obviously sort of get the meaning of it just from the word. You know that it's some kind of humorous take on sort of worshiping and being devoted to dogs. So I wanted to check out the book as I read it. Like you said, I was one of those people that this is, oh my gosh, this is about me. Every time you you turn a page and you read different things like the Book of Hydrants was funny to me because it was all those symbolic things and the rituals and the things like that. And our dogs almost have us trained as well as we think we have them trained.
Jeff: It's true, in the Book of Hydrants, the sharing of the bag, oh my gosh, imagine 24 pounds gold, cute as can be, that's Romy. And I tell you what, I used to wake up, king-sized bed, and I wake up on the edge, and I'm like — how does this happen? And 24 pounds felt like a 124 pounds next to me. So I'd actually scoot him over, it's like 3AM., scoot him over so I can get all the way on the bed. And I hear this big huff, like, — oh, I'm sorry sir, didn't mean to interrupt you, I'll just hang off the end then.
Samantha: How dare you wake me while I'm sleeping. Oh that's funny. We do, we're co-sleepers with our dogs which is funny because, again, when we had human children, you hear all these things as parents. You should co-sleep with your kids because of this, you shouldn't co-sleep because of this. And we never really put a whole lot of thought into that, but when it comes to your dogs, it's like, oh my gosh, they can't sleep on the floor. Poor things. They have to sleep on the bed.
Jeff: That's totally true. I mean, it's so funny when we think about this. It's like, human children, “Can I come in the?”, “No. Go to your room. Go to your bed.” And there's the dog going, “Yeah. You heard your Mom, go to your room.”
Samantha: When you were writing the book, did you work with anybody else? Did you throw ideas around with anybody? Or did you just kind of sit down and just write your own thinking and your own experiences?
Jeff: Great question. I didn't need to talk to anybody. I'd seen enough. I mean, you can't escape it right? So, everyday you know there's inspiration, you go on Facebook and look at these funny videos and more and more. That would inspire me enough and I knew from the get go that I would be addressing things like that in there and the whole cats and their interplay with computers. I knew I would be addressing that in Book of the Mouse in Catakism.
It's easy because our whole lives we've experienced so many dog lovers and cat lovers and, hey, we have them in my family. Look at my experience. We've talked about traveling and not wanting to be away from the pets too long. I used to go away and my dog Romy would stay with my mom. I would call and it got to the point where my mom would just literally answer the phone and go — he's fine. Not hello, just — he's fine. Great, I'll you again in an hour mom. No you won't. The book is certainly not about me. The book is certainly about all of us. My experience was a plenty.
Samantha: Absolutely. So they're both available on Amazon. I think they're like $15, something like that. I think Catakism is a little cheaper, maybe like $12 or something. I think they're both around $15 on Amazon. We actually bought a couple extra copies to give because both sides of our family are dog lovers. We have one of my husband's brothers, my brother-in-law, they have actual coffee table books. They have a coffee table with four or five books. So we got this for them and we actually couldn't even wait to give it to them. We gave them to them last weekend at a family gathering that we had and they just cracked up laughing.
One of the things that I want listeners to think about is these are great books for any pet lover in your house. They make a really great, inexpensive book for somebody. They're great hostess gifts as well. I did want to mention that, too.
Jeff: They're widely available at major book sellers — Books-a-million, Barnes and Noble, independent book sellers can get them in, even Target, Walmart list the books. Not only can you order on Amazon and they'll deliver it, but in this day and age they can deliver it under your pillow because they can get in now.
Samantha: That's right, that's so true.
Jeff: Yes, and you know Catakism opened up, I think within 24 hours it was a hot new release, number one new release on Amazon for a month and because of that they did drop the price to $12.40 so I'm like oh, OK. So I don't know why that is but hey we'll take it.
Samantha: Yes, I thought when I looked it was a little bit cheaper but either way even if it goes up to the 15, you know they're beautiful. One of the things I love is they're beautiful hardcover books and like you said the illustrations are humorous. But there's also some really good ones in there that when you look at it you think — oh my gosh, that's my dog or that's my cat. Like they have that grouchy face or they're drooling for a treat or something like that.
I don't know why this is and I have always since I was little, we grew up with dogs too but I love dog paws. I don't know what it is about their little feet but I love dog paws. So some of the more artistic pictures in there of paws and things like that caught my eye. They're beautiful color photos and a nice hardcover book, so it makes a really nice gift or a great little coffee table piece to put out for your guests. It looks very professional I guess but it's at a cheaper price. It's not just a cheap looking paperback book so I like that.
Jeff: Oh, yes and we'll credit Sky Horse publishing out of New York. They did a wonderful job, I mean so solid covers and the pictures are amazing and we had a great time choosing the pictures. Oh my gosh.
Samantha: I bet.
Jeff: Yes.
Samantha: Did you find all the pictures online or are any of them yours?
Jeff: So some secrets. A lot of them were online and a combination of some unique things that we were able to find through some people.
Samantha: So we won't see Romy's not in here at all?
Jeff: Well there is a picture of Romy in the back of Dogtology.
Samantha: Right but not throughout the book or anything like that?
Jeff: No, not at all because the books aren't about me…
Samantha: I do like the little section, I forgot about that you have that little section about the author's dog which was really cute too.
Jeff: Yes, that's the only part that was about me. Just the one page was my experience which having the object of my worship, Romy.
Samantha: Yes, absolutely. Now do you have cats? Have you had cats in the past?
Jeff: Oh, I have.
Samantha: Oh you have.
Jeff: So I've had the experience of you know coming home and not knowing my status. Am I loved, am I hated? What's going on?
Samantha: So true.
Jeff: I didn't understand it for the first couple weeks the cat was not a little kitten. I unfortunately inherited the cat there, so I didn't get the kitten stage. But I loved him and I'd come home, I'm like — what did I do wrong, I don't understand. We were just cuddling and purring, and now you hate me. And I joke about this in Catakism of course in the book of Cattitude in the chapter The Book of Surrender, where I point out clearly that it's just best that you just come clean and just render yourself a servant in your own home because that is your life and you have chosen it. So embrace it, and your life will be that much easier.
Samantha: So true. That's funny, it is so much different being a dog owner than it is being strictly a cat owner. Of course we have both so we sort of have gotten ourselves used to it. But I did not grow up with cats. My dad was allergic to cats so we never had cats as children. But when I moved out on my own and we have our own kids and our oldest daughter begged and begged for a cat. So both me and my husband were not… Not that we weren't cat people but we just didn't have the experience with cats. So we went back and forth on it for a little while. Finally we caved on the cat thing.
So a good friend of ours has a few cats and she's been a cat lover forever and only has cats. So I asked her — we're going to go to the shelter and we're going to pick out this cat, what are some of the things that we should stop and get before we bring this cat home? And so she gave us a list of things and she said, and I'm going to tell you this, because she grew up with dogs and now only has cats. And she said, “This is my advice for anybody who is new to being a cat person or a cat owner, but they've known dogs and had dogs. Dogs live to serve you. They want to please you. They are easily trained, they want to do things to make you happy. Cats are the exact opposite. You have to live to serve them and that is what they live for, is for you to do their bidding.”
So I chuckled and I laughed about it then, and now of course we have our own cats and like you said, we walk in the door every day and it's like — are you going to snuggle me today or are you going to hide in the basement and we're not going to see you? It just depends on the day, if it's a good day or a bad day.
Jeff: Totally true. You can lock a dog in the trunk of car, and you better not because a cat won't kill you I will, but if somebody were to do that, you open up the trunk the next day and guess what? The dog jumps up, “Hey, where have you been?” and is licking your face. It's just that relationship is just constant, you know the dog loves you. You know when you get home that dog is going to be there jumping up and down or you know what makes me laugh? Is when the dog makes laps around the living room.
Samantha: Yes.
Jeff: Oh is that not the funniest thing when dogs do that?
Samantha: I love that. I love that.
Jeff: Me too. I always used to go — “go, go, faster,” and egg him on and then I'd be in trouble for doing that by the humans. “It's bad for the carpet.” I'm like who cares?
Samantha: He's so happy.
Jeff: Exactly. And it makes me happy. And the cat relationship of course is what we're talking about is so totally different, but there's something psychological for the human there I think in those relationships with cats. It's like always striving for acceptance we are. But we've accepted that. We accept it every moment of every day at home, we're going to be earning the respect and love from the cat. It's really funny.
Samantha: So true. You definitely have to earn it and I think that's the biggest thing that we learned is the difference between being a dog owner and being a cat owner for sure.
Jeff: Yeah, oh definitely. And in a household like yours, I mean what's the ratio? Four to two? Four cats.
Samantha: It is and we're in Maine and were in a very rural area so our cats go outside and they of course have their little cat door so they spend the nights inside and the days outside. And it's very funny because there are times when the dogs are out playing in the yard, and we have a big orange tabby cat and he's almost as big as our beagle. So she'll have something that she's playing with, a ball or a toy, and he'll just go over and look at her and you know that the look he's giving her is “I want what you have.” And she'll just kind of drop it and put her head down like she's ashamed of herself and he'll take her toy and it's the funniest thing to watch that. Cats definitely have thee rein of our house for sure.
Jeff: Mhhmm. And what do they think of the dogs? Do they let the dogs be or…
Samantha: Again it's day to day. If it's a good day… Our orange tabby's very funny. He will play and wrestle with our beagle, they're almost the same size. We have a little small female that loves to wrestle and play with the dogs when she's on her territory, when she wants to and the orange one's the same way. Some days he'll wrestle and play and some days he will steal their toys and just be terrible to them. Then we have one who hides from the dogs most of the time. Then we have another little female cat and she is always up higher than the dogs and just looks down on them. My husband always calls her the queen of the house, because she likes to sit up on something and she looks down on them, and if they try and come near her and sniff her, she'll bat their nose when they try to sniff her.
Jeff: Yes. Very funny.
Samantha: They've learned to kind of just stay away from the cats unless one of them wants to play with you, which is kind of what we do too. You just sort of give them their space and if they want you to pet them they'll come to you.
Jeff: Exactly. It's when they want. It's their terms. A dog's agenda is us, like the dog says, “So what are we doing? We're playing? We're walking. We're going to the store? What are we doing? What are we doing?” That's the agenda for the dog. It's us.
But the cat's agenda is the cat's agenda. And we have to fit into that agenda.
Samantha: Absolutely. Absolutely.
Jeff: Yes. Totally different. It's no fun. And the thing about whether it's a cat or a dog, and we're having this conversation, enter in anybody else, like — Oh, my gosh, you should see what my dog does. Or, you should see what my cat did to our dog. Or like —
Oh, no, what happened here? — and that's what this is all about.
It's like — oh, well you think your dog is cute. You think your cat's funny. Well, check this out. Well, my cat fell off a bookcase at six feet up. Mine fell off the roof! — Like they're going to one-up it.
Samantha: Right.
Jeff: — And then got up and looked around and said, “Well, I meant to do that.”
So we laugh about that stuff, but that's the society we're in and we want to show off the dogs and the cats.
Samantha: I cannot tell you how many times we have been out with friends and, like most people pull up pictures of their children — oh, look at little Susie at her Christmas recital. We have friends who will say — oh my gosh, you'll never guess, look at this cute little sweater that I got the dog. And they pull up on their smartphone a picture. Or — oh, my gosh, you'll never guess, our cat was in a box the other day and it was the cutest thing. And they pull up a picture. Or when you get on social media, how many pictures of peoples' animals when you're scrolling through do you see.
And talking about where the books are available too, we'll make sure that anybody that's listening, we'll have on our website, which is theoryofpets.com. And on Top Dog Tips too. There'll be links to the book if anybody wants to check out where they're available for purchase. And your websites as well, we can link to those, so it's kind of quick, anybody that wants to jump on there can just jump and there'll be links to everything right in one place.
Jeff: Sure, there is Dogtology.com, Catakism.com and you might want to have just those two and if not this is also jefflazarus.com and that's a site that's really about me as an author of the three books that I currently have out and my author coaching program and agency that I run.
Samantha: That's great I didn't know that you did an author coaching program, that's cool.
Jeff: Yes, I do and I am now an agent and will be launching my own publishing label in the next month.
Samantha: Wow, fantastic. So do you have plans to write more books or are you kind of focusing now more on the publishing side of it?
Jeff: Well it's actually both. I can't stop generating content and material. In fact with Dogtology and Catakism there's actually likely to be a third book in that series and here's a semi-spoiler alert. It's another four legged animal wildly loved by the people, the humans that love them.
Yes that's as far as we'll go. But I've had a lot of people asking about it and that's one that I think's by popular demand. It's come up enough that I'm listening and I'm like you know what, that's an interesting book. So I have some ideas for that. I have also other more self improvement business related books in the works that are unrelated to this. The favorite things right now for me in my world are Dogtology and Catakism and I love them dearly, I just do. They were so much fun to right and I am glad that people are happy and I just love, love seeing that.
Samantha: Yes, absolutely and I think that's the best thing for me reading through Dogtology is you relate to it, it's an easy read, it's funny, it is just a feel good kind of book which is really nice especially in today's society everybody wants a feel good thing. So I'm sure they were a blast to write, they were a lot of fun to read.
So like I said, we'll put the links up there for everybody if they're interested in the books or the websites they can check that out and of course listen to the podcasts. And we will have a transcript up there for anybody that wants to read it instead of listening. So all kinds of good stuff there on our site theoryofpets.com and Top Dog Tips as well.
So thank you so much again for your time today. I really appreciate you taking the time to talk to us about the books and the process of writing them.
Jeff: Well thank you very much. It's a lot of fun, I always enjoyed it and you were fun to talk to and I appreciate it.
Samantha: Another big thanks to Jeff Lazarus for coming on and talking to us about the books that he's written, the process of that and new and exciting things are coming in the future. I hope you guys had as much fun listening to this interview as I had making it. Jeff was a blast to talk to, really funny guy. The books showcases his humor in the books. They're great easy reads and as I said they make a really great gift for pet owner that has everything.
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