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Brian Lehrer: Brian Lehrer on WNYC. To end the show every day during this membership drive, we're going to have a little fun talking about all the animals that people in our listening area love and care for in your homes. Yes, we're talking about pets. We're kicking off the series with what else? Dogs. By far, the most visible pets on the sidewalks and in the parks, right? And so we're joined by Elias Weiss Friedman, who you might know better as The Dogist on Instagram, at least if you're among the 7.7 million people who follow him there.

Besides Instagram, he brought out a book this summer called This Dog Will Change Your Life. Today, as it happens, he's launching a new YouTube talk show called Dogs with Elias Weiss Friedman, where he will interview people, not their dogs. Elias, welcome to the show. Thanks for coming on,-

Elias Weiss Friedman: Hi, Brian. I'm glad to be on. [crosstalk]

Brian: -or coming back on, yes. Your book opens with a story, I see, that explains why dogs are so great, in your opinion, and will give anyone, especially parents, I think, chills. You want to share that briefly?

Elias: Yes. When I was about two or three years old, I was with my grandmother, and the story is that she went inside to grab a jacket, and when she came back outside, I was gone, along with her dog, Oreo. They called the police and the fire department, and landscapers spotted me within 20 minutes, about to cross a busy intersection, and Oreo was keeping me out of the street. I guess that's part of my origin story, that I owe my life to a dog named Oreo. [chuckles]

Brian: Well, it's a real Lassie story, right?

Elias: Yes.

Brian: I understand that you've had a lot of different pets in your life. In this series, we're going to be talking about a different kind of pet each day. Did you decide somehow that dogs were the best of the bunch, at least for you?

Elias: Yes. I mean, dogs create a source of joy for us, unlike anything else. We come home from our jobs, we're stressed out, and we open the door, and our dogs are greeting us. They're looking us in the eye. They make us feel so present. They love us unconditionally. They don't judge us. Nowadays, we need that source of joy more than anything else. It feels like dark times, and we need an antidote to that, and so that's part of why I do what I do, is to be a source of light in the world.

Brian: You even frame this idea in the book that humans invented dogs. What do you mean?

Elias: We created all of the various breeds that we see over hundreds of years through selective breeding. There's no such thing as a wild pug in the forest of wherever, right? We saw the characteristics that we liked in certain dogs, and we said, "Oh, let's breed this one with that one." Then, fast forward 100, 200, 300 years later, we end up with a certain breed. That's how we end up with the very popular Labradoodles nowadays. We created them in the way that we like to have our dogs; friendly, cute, want to cuddle with us, all the things. [chuckles]

Brian: Is New York City a good place for dogs? Are they able to get the exercise they need?

Elias: Yes. I think if there's a will, there's a way. My dog, Elsa, we have a dog walker that at least walks her one of the three times a day, and we can take her to the dog park where she socializes. We take her to Central Park, in the Ramble, where she can see all the squirrels. There's always a way, and I think Elsa has a good life. Maybe she would like-- it's good that we get her Upstate and into the woods as well, but New York City is certainly a good place for a dog, I think.

Brian: In our last 30 seconds or so, your videos on Instagram include a little interview with the owners, usually about their dogs. Is that what led you to try talk show-hosting, which you're going to do now? If you want, you can plug that and say who your first guest is going to be.

Elias: Yes. People love talking about their dogs. And my new show, Dogs, with myself, Elias Weiss Friedman, is a show where I get to invite a special guest to join me in looking for dogs in New York City. These are notable people. My first episode is with the late, great Jane Goodall, so my timing-- yes, it was very fortuitous that I got to meet her. She's a hero of mine. I got to meet her a week before she passed, and we had an amazing time walking through Central Park petting people's dogs. I think that's what Jane would have wanted for her last few days.

Brian: Wow. The chimpist meets The Dogist Elias Weiss Friedman, and you can check out that new talk show on The Dogist's YouTube channel. Thanks, Elias. Thanks for starting off this series that we're going to be doing at the end of every show, in the pledge drive, on different pets.

Elias: Thank you, Brian.

Brian: Listeners, stay tuned for All Of It with Alison coming up right after the news. Among her guests, art dealer Mary Boone and gallery co-founder Brett Gorvy discuss their new exhibition Downtown/Uptown: New York in the Eighties, including works from Jean-Michel Basquiat, Jeff Koons, and Cindy Sherman. More of that with Alison coming up. More of me tomorrow. Thanks for listening.

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