A Pack of Our Own w/ Samantha Cheirif

You can listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all the other podcast platforms. New episodes post on Tuesdays.

How Dogs Saving People Was A Lesson Samantha Cheirif Learned From Her Grandmother

Samantha Cheriff - Dog Save The People

About The Episode

After first getting a hamster, Samantha Cheirif got a dog when she was young. Her grandmother did the research and they went and got the puppy - Casey a King Charles spaniel (or KC for short). Her grandparents house-trained him and then KC came to live at their house.

After her grandfather passed away, her grandmother took the dog back and Samantha saw how important their relationship was with each other and how important it was for her grandmother to have a dog during this important part of their lives. This started off the idea in her head of how dogs save people.

After graduating from Cornell in 2012, Samantha wanted to be next Tina Fey. She started pursuing this but was miserable going to work. Eventually, she said, “I gave up on my dream to found my passion.” This passion was fostering dogs.

Her partner wanted to get a dog and Samantha dove right into looking at dogs. They fostered for a while and with each dog, they learned a new set of lessons.

Eventually, the right time came and Samantha and her partner even adopted dogs to keep permanently - including Penny (or PigPen) and Lucille, who are now best friends. And later, Gertrude, as well.

Throughout this time, Samantha also realized that she likes the balance of her job to just be that - her job - and for her personal and passion to live separately outside of that. They’ve even found a place with a backyard for their dogs within New York City, which is not an easy task.

About The Guest - Samantha Cheirif

Samantha Cheirif wanted to be the next Tina Fey and was determined to chase down her dreams after graduating from school. Over time, however, she felt something missing and not right with her life. After helping take care of the dog of her boss, at the time, she realized she could handle the responsibility of having a dog. Not too long after, Samantha and her partner decided to begin fostering and Samantha found a passion in this avenue. Eventually, that fostering also turned into adopting some dogs, too, and they’ve now formed their own little pack together. This has also helped take their relationship, as a couple and as a family, to another level that otherwise wouldn’t be prevalent.

Featured Links

InterviewJack SommerFamily