What I Learned After Getting a Dog I Didn’t Understand
Our American Stories
iHeartPodcasts
4.6 • 817 Ratings
🗓️ 29 January 2026
⏱️ 11 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
On this episode of Our American Stories, after becoming an empty nester, Paul Bauer decided to get a dog, despite knowing almost nothing about dogs. What he got instead was Gizmo, a stubborn, charming King Charles Cavalier Spaniel who quickly made it clear who was really in charge.
With humor and humility, Paul shares the lessons Gizmo has taught him about patience, routine, pride, and love, and how sometimes the best teachers arrive with fur, a strong will, and no interest in playing fetch.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is an I-Heart podcast. |
| 0:02.3 | Guaranteed Human. |
| 0:14.2 | And we continue with our American stories. |
| 0:17.2 | And up next, a story from one of our listeners and now regular contributors, Paul Bauer, from Minneapolis, Minnesota. |
| 0:25.0 | Today, Paul brings us a story he's titled, Lessons from Gizmo. |
| 0:32.9 | When I became an empty nester and my home became quiet and lonely, I decided it might be time to get a pet. |
| 0:39.3 | I knew nothing about dogs, but there must be a reason why they're called man's best friend, so I went for it. |
| 0:46.3 | Without a clue on how to go about picking the right precious canine and very few brains in my head, |
| 0:51.3 | I went with my ear, and I chose the sweetest sounding breed |
| 0:55.2 | I could find. |
| 0:56.6 | I purchased a King Charles Cavalier Spaniel. |
| 1:00.9 | With a royal name like that, how could I lose? |
| 1:03.8 | This regal sounding dog was going to be my ticket out of middle class, and like the young |
| 1:08.7 | Prince William of England, I would have sent straight into royalty. |
| 1:12.0 | I'm not so sure that was a good plan looking back. I'm now five years into this |
| 1:17.7 | Canaan experiment and though I have a breed that starts with word King Charles and ends |
| 1:21.7 | with word cavalier I have yet to meet Queen Elizabeth or even sit next to Bob Euker at a |
| 1:26.6 | baseball game for that matter. |
| 1:28.5 | Good seat, sir. |
| 1:29.5 | You're in the wrong shape, buddy. |
| 1:31.5 | Come on. |
| 1:32.5 | I must be in the front row. |
... |
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