Zach Skow drank himself into liver failure by 28. He needed a transplant to survive, and you had to prove six months of sobriety just to qualify. While he waited it out, wondering if he'd make it, three rescue dogs did something no doctor could: they gave him a reason to keep going.

Zach tells the story of standing in his bathroom in the middle of the night, sick and covered in his own mess, staring into a mirror and not recognizing what was looking back. His dogs were sitting by the toilet, waiting, like they still saw something worth waiting for. That night cracked something open in him, and it's the same thing that eventually became Marley's Mutts Dog Rescue and the Pawsitive Change program, now running inside six California state prisons, including a maximum-security yard where guys who've been locked up for decades are learning to foster and train dogs of their own.

He and Alexander get into what it actually looks like to ask for help as a man, why "trudging forward" is a better description of recovery than "walking," and how Zach found a version of spirituality that had nothing to do with religion and everything to do with three dogs who loved him before he could love himself. He's also refreshingly honest about the hard week he's having right now, and how easy it still is to slip into old patterns even years into recovery.

If you've ever felt like the person in the mirror was someone you didn't recognize anymore, or you've written off people in prison as people who can't change, this conversation is going to move something in you. Zach isn't interested in painting a prettier picture than the truth. He's just living proof that the truth can still turn into something good.

🎨 Connect with Zach Skow:

🌐 Website: marleysmutts.org

📸 Instagram: @zachskow

🐕 Marley's Mutts: @marleysmutts

🐾 Pawsitive Change: @pawsitivechangeprogram

🤝 Support the prison program: marleysmutts.org/pawsitivechange

💙 Presented by People Helping People Live

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