In the very first episode of Discussing Dogs in the D, host Christine O’Brien introduces herself and the heart behind the podcast. A lifelong dog lover and Metro Detroit pet photographer, Christine shares how a chance encounter with a Belgian Malinois rescue in 2008 changed the course of her life—leading her from a stable full-time job into the world of animal welfare, rescue work, and professional pet photography. This episode sets the stage for what’s to come: honest conversations about shelter life, overpopulation, breed bans, and compassion fatigue, alongside joyful topics like local pet shops, Michigan-made products, training tips, enrichment ideas, product reviews, and adoptable pet spotlights. Christine explains her mission to inform, inspire, and connect the Detroit-area dog community while amplifying the voices of rescuers, veterinarians, fosters, and advocates making a difference. Part storytelling, part education, and always fueled by a deep love for animals, Episode 01 is a warm welcome to a podcast dedicated to the real-life joys and challenges of loving dogs in Metro Detroit—and beyond.
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DDD – Episode 01
00:00:00 Christine O'Brien:
From the heart of Detroit to the end of your leash, welcome to Discussing Dogs in the D, where we're going to talk tails, training, treats, and the truth about life with dogs.
Hey there, I'm Christine, and I'm a lifelong dog nerd, animal welfare volunteer, and someone who's probably talked more to shelter dogs than humans most days. And honestly, no regrets.
So Discussing Dogs in the D is going to be a podcast dedicated to exploring every corner of the dog world here in Metro Detroit. And eventually, we're going to hopefully span across Michigan and northern Ohio.
Whether you're in a rescue, have a couch covered in fur, or you're just trying to figure out which chew toy your dog won't destroy in five minutes, you're in the right place.
So coming up — topics of conversation we're hoping to hit on in the next year: training tips from real-life pros; honest conversations about animal welfare and shelter life; spotlights on local rescues and the people behind them, for sure; interviews with veterinarians, fosters, and behavior experts; deep dives into tough topics like overpopulation, breed bans, and burnout. Compassion fatigue is real, my friends.
Fun stuff too, though — the best local pet shops, Michigan-made treats, enrichment toys, dog-friendly hangouts and events you'll want on your calendar. Plus product reviews. I'm hoping that we'll find more Michigan-made products and give them some reviews.
I'm hoping to also feature some adoptable pets, so we're hoping to connect great animals with great homes.
So this podcast is going to be part storytelling, part education, and always driven by the love of animals and the people who care about them. Each episode, I'm hoping to bring real talk, useful advice, and voices from across animal welfare, dog-loving communities, and all the things animal-related.
Some weeks we're definitely going to get serious. I think most of the time, I'm hoping to bring you joy. There are going to be tough conversations. Every episode is here to inform, inspire, and hopefully make you laugh most of the time.
So grab a coffee. Clip that leash and settle in. You might need a lint roller on occasion, too. We've got a lot to talk about.
So today's episode, I just wanted to keep it simple and introduce myself and who I am — and, you know, why I'm going to be sharing information.
I started this podcast for a lot of different reasons, but how did I get here?
I have been in photography — pet photography — for many years. It wasn't until I crossed paths with a Belgian Malinois and a Belgian Malinois rescue that things really clicked for me.
At that time — I think this was two thousand and eight — I met my friend Robin at my former job. She's one of my best friends now, and I was not even in the pet world. I mean, I had a dog, but I wasn't volunteering.
But when I met Robin, she was fostering a Belgian Malinois for a local rescue, and she asked if I would be willing to come help. She knew I had a camera — and it was a fast camera — and she asked if I would come take photos of her foster for her.
And I figured, why not? We can try a few snapshots. You know, couldn't hurt anything.
So that was the moment that everything changed for me.
From the first photo session, I was hooked. The fact that I got the feedback that my images were helping dogs get adopted — so I started volunteering more, taking photos for adoptable dogs, fostering, helping with transports, and doing pretty much everything I could to support rescue work.
The more time I spent around homeless animals — or even foster animals, especially the ones with the little extra spice — the more I realized I wanted to nerd it up and get more involved, and it's the work I wanted to be doing.
So eventually, I made the leap. I left my full-time, very stable, wonderful job to pursue pet photography full time. And let me tell you — it wasn't… yeah. Tom is definitely the best decision I've ever made, but this was one of the other best decisions I've ever made in my life.
Because that choice didn't just lead me to this career — it brought me to a whole community of people. Albeit a messy, passionate, hard-working community full of people — they care deeply about animals. And I could not — you know, not gonna cry — I am very happy that I landed here.
So now here I am — still photographing dogs, still working with rescues — and now I want to use this podcast to share stories, spotlight important issues, and connect with more people doing amazing work with dogs and cats in Detroit and across Michigan.
I never planned to end up here, but I'm so glad I did.
So next episode, I'm hoping that I'm going to have a conversation with someone who volunteers in animal welfare, especially in Detroit. I want to bring you a status update of animal welfare in Detroit — you know, the shelters that provide services to the city, outreach that provides services to city residents.
And that's what actually drove me to want to do this podcast in the first place.
Just a warning — some of the information is heartbreaking. But I hope to share how we can make change and how people can get involved.
So there's that. Hopefully that'll be the next episode.
But anyway, for today though, thanks for joining me. I really appreciate you being here and listening to this first episode of Discussing Dogs in the D.
If you liked what you heard and you're interested in listening to more topics that we're going to cover, hit subscribe so you don't miss the amazing conversations we've got lined up.
So anyway, if you know someone in Michigan doing great work for dogs — or you just want to share some dog topics that you want us to cover — shoot me a message on my Instagram. It's @dogsinthed. There's some periods in between there, so look in the show notes for our handle.
Until next time, though — stay kind, stay curious, and give your dog a cookie for me, please. Thank you.
From Detroit to your earbuds — thanks for listening to the Discussing Dogs in the D podcast.