Hello, Moth Family. Have you listened to our new podcast, Grown Yet? Grown, that's GROWN,

is a podcast filled with true stories all about the joys and pains of growing up.

Listen with a young person in your life, or by yourself to hear Moth Stories,

Storyteller interviews, and audio diaries from young voices that tackle family dynamics,

heartbreak, culture, mental health, and so much more. If you love listening to Moth Stories,

then share Grown with a young person in your life. Find it by searching GROWN on all major podcast

platforms. Welcome to the Moth Podcast. I'm Eskie DeVeed, the Moth social media coordinator,

and your host for this episode. Today, we're going to be sharing stories about the magic of pets.

And I know a little something about the links we'll go to for our furry friends.

In January 2022, I decided to send out invites to my friends and family to my dog,

Mookie's Zoom Bark Mitzvah, a Jewish celebration of his coming of age. Now Mookie wasn't 13 years old,

but he had matured exponentially during the pandemic. From the moment Mookie entered our family,

I knew I was going to throw him a bark Mitzvah. The question was when, and what would it look like?

And I mean, what even is a bark Mitzvah? But the invites were out and I needed to just start

building something. I chose a theme, put together an original song and a side show,

organized speakers, wrote out a whole ceremony, and even consulted with my rabbi.

On the eve of the bark Mitzvah, I had a minor meltdown because I was worried that I was forcing

everybody to come to a frivolous party for a 12-pound shitsu poodle. I knew what I was doing was silly,

but it was also my way of sharing my profound gratitude for Mookie and all of his support throughout

quarantine. And it was about creating a space for the people in my life to share stories about how

their pets had impacted them too. Now is a bark Mitzvah kosher? I still don't know. What I do know

is that I felt connected to my spirituality, my community, and most importantly, Mookie, on that

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