Onyx Fur Baby Floyd: The Service Dog Who Saved His Handler’s Life — And Kept on Giving

Some service dogs are trained to save lives. Onyx just does it naturally.

In this episode, Tim sits down with April Floyd to hear the remarkable story of how Onyx, a golden doodle who nearly made it to the door of a Humane Society, came into her life at exactly the right moment, and what happened next.

April was battling epilepsy, congestive heart failure, spinal issues, and three forms of cancer simultaneously. She was placed on hospice and given four to six months to live. Through all of it, Onyx was there, alerting, intervening, pushing emergency buttons, and according to April, refusing to let her give up.

In this episode:

• How Onyx found April in a Humane Society car park, and why the timing was no accident
• The day Onyx pushed his emergency button and got April to hospital in time for a heart attack
• The nurse who didn’t believe she was sick, until Onyx pushed the button for her too
• How April trained Onyx for tasks she didn’t even know she’d need yet
• Onyx’s double life as a service dog, emotional support dog, and community ambassador
• The runway encore that made him a local celebrity
• His upcoming feature film, Wishbone Christmas
• Why April believes dogs choose their owners, not the other way around

Less than a year after being given four to six months to live, April is cancer free. She credits Onyx with helping her fight.

This is one of those episodes.

Follow Onyx on social media: search Onyx Fur Baby Floyd

Follow, like and share, and leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It takes less than a minute and helps more people find the show.

Paws on Point is brought to you by Pawsabilities Service Dog Society, a non-profit society advocating for, educating and supporting service dog teams across Canada.

This episode is supported by Trupanion Pet Health Insurance.

Breaking the Silence on Men’s Mental Health — Calvin Fernandez on Why Men Don’t Ask for Help and What We Can Do About It

Men make up over 75% of suicide cases in Canada, yet remain underrepresented in mental health care. So what’s actually stopping them from reaching out and what can we do about it?

In this episode, Tim sits down with Calvin Fernandez, a fifth-year PhD candidate at UBC’s School of Population and Public Health and a trainee with the Reducing Male Suicide Research Program. Calvin’s research takes a strength-based approach to understanding how men experience mental health distress, including racialized men, queer men, and men with intersecting identities and what strategies genuinely help.

In this episode:

• Why men don’t ask for help, and why it’s not because they don’t want to
• The role of masculinity, stigma, and mental health literacy in keeping men away from support
• Why therapy isn’t just for crises, and how that misconception is costing lives
• The value of peer support and community connection in reducing suicidality
• Canada’s first-ever federal men’s health strategy, and why it matters
• Boys, young men, and the growing threat of the Manosphere online
• The role of male role models in schools and communities
• How service dogs are changing the mental health conversation
• Calvin’s message to anyone who’s thinking about reaching out but hasn’t yet

Resources: Calvin and his team at MHR have resources available for anyone wanting support or wanting to learn more.

If today’s episode resonated with you, please share it with one person who needs to hear it. That one share could change someone’s life.

Follow, like and share so you never miss an episode and leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It takes less than a minute and helps more people find the show.

Paws on Point is brought to you by Pawsabilities Service Dog Society, a non-profit society advocating for, educating and supporting service dog teams across Canada.

This episode is sponsored by Helmcken Veterinary Clinic.

Meet Sierra: Service Dog Handler, Apprentice Trainer and the New Co-Host of Paws on Point

Paws on Point has a new voice. In this special episode, Tim introduces Sierra, the show’s new co-host, and she shares how she went from a dog-loving daycare employee to a service dog handler and apprentice service dog trainer.

In this episode:

• Why Sierra thought service dogs were only for people who are blind or deaf, and what changed her mind
• What it’s really like to work with 30 to 40 different dogs in a day, and why dog body language is a whole second language
• How a life-changing moment led to a conversation about a service dog, and how her service dog Cosmos came into her life
• The juggling act of being both a handler and a trainer, and learning to “flip the switch” between the two
• Why vests alone don’t make a service dog, and how that perception affects working teams in public
• What Sierra hopes to bring to the podcast, and why the service dog community has more to say than it’s been given room for

Paws on Point exists to lift the veil on the service dog world, and with Sierra on board, you’ll hear more perspectives from handlers, trainers, families and experts each week.

Have a story to share? If you’d like to come on the podcast, get in touch with us at Pawsabilities Service Dog Society.

Follow, like and share so you get a notification when each new episode drops. It takes three seconds and helps us more than you’d think.

Paws on Point is brought to you by Pawsabilities Service Dog Society, a non-profit society advocating for, educating and supporting service dog teams across Canada.

What happens when a hurricane hits and you're evacuating with a service dog and a wheelchair user in the car?

That's the world Catherine Mann brings to life in her novel The Sweet Tea Odyssey, a dual timeline story that weaves a present day hurricane evacuation with the true history of the Wheels of Justice march that propelled the Americans with Disabilities Act into law in 1990.

But Catherine isn't just a novelist. She's a ten year volunteer with PAALS, Palmetto Animal Assisted Life Services, an Assistance Dogs International affiliated service dog training organisation in South Carolina. She's fostered dogs, taken them into hospitals, schools and public spaces, and watched firsthand as dogs find their destiny with the people they're partnered with.

In this episode Catherine and Tim cover:

• The real history behind the ADA, and the moment people crawled up the Capitol steps that changed everything
• What hurricane evacuation actually looks like when you have a service dog and a disability
• Practical tips every service dog handler and pet owner needs before disaster strikes
• Why so many dogs don't complete the two year training journey, and what that means for demand
• The financial case for service dogs that insurance companies need to hear
• How to spot a legitimate service dog organisation, and the red flags to watch for
• Why regulation of the service dog industry matters globally, not just in North America

This episode is for anyone who loves dogs, believes in disability rights, or wants to understand the world behind the vest.

🎧 Follow Paws on Point — Canada's service dog podcast 🐾 Learn more or donate: pawsabilitiesservicedogs.ca 📩 info@pawsabilitiesservicedogs.ca

#PawsOnPoint #ServiceDogPodcast #CatherineMann #SweetTeaOdyssey #ServiceDogs #DisabilityRights #ADA #AccessRights #CanadianPodcast #Pawsabilities #ServiceDogCanada #DisabilityAdvocacy #HurricaneEvacuation #ServiceDogTraining #BCServiceDog

Some conversations change you. This is one of them.

Steve Serbic spent decades as a firefighter and Fire Chief, responding to suicides, talking people back from ledges, removing guns from homes, and holding space for first responders at their lowest. He became one of Canada's most recognised voices on mental health, spoke to 26 countries at the European Council, delivered a TEDx talk, and wrote two books about his journey through depression.

And yet.

The chaplain who got Steve to stand on a stage and talk openly about his depression, the man who convinced him that vulnerability wasn't weakness, took his own life.

In this episode, Steve sits down with Tim to talk about what that moment did to him, what it took to come back from it, and why he believes the conversation around men and mental health is still the most important one we're not having loudly enough.

This episode covers:

• Growing up in the care system and finding purpose through the fire service
• Multiple suicides within his department including close friends
• His brother's suicide - and the phone call the night it happened
• The chaplain Ken Gill - the man who changed everything, and what happened to him
• Living with depression and anxiety as a senior leader
• Crisis intervention work - the Golden Gate Bridge, jumpers, removing guns, driving people to emerge
• Why 75% of all suicides are men - and what Heads Up Guys is doing about it
• Goose - and why this dog has been there through every dark moment
• Why service dogs open doors for men that nothing else can

This episode is dedicated to every first responder and member of the armed forces who puts themselves in harm's way so that we don't have to. We see you. We hear you. Thank you.

If you're struggling right now - please reach out. You are not alone. 🇨🇦 988 — North America 🇬🇧 116 123 — United Kingdom 🇦🇺 13 11 14 — Australia

🎧 Follow Paws on Point — Canada's service dog podcast 🐾 Learn more or donate: pawsabilitiesservicedogs.ca 📩 info@pawsabilitiesservicedogs.ca

#PawsOnPoint #ServiceDogPodcast #MentalHealth #FirstResponders #FireChief #Depression #PTSD #ServiceDogs #MensmentalHealth #Pawsabilities #CanadianPodcast #SuicidePrevention #988 #SteveSerbic #GooseTheFireDog #FirstResponderMentalHealth #BCServiceDog

One year ago, Tim pressed record for the first time with no idea who - if anyone - would listen. Today, Paws on Point has been heard in 32 countries, is sitting in the top 20% of podcasts globally, and has charted in Canada, the United States, France, and Macau.

In this special first birthday episode, Tim reflects on a year that far exceeded every expectation - 18 episodes, extraordinary guests, and a service dog community that showed up from every corner of the world.

To celebrate, Tim does something no other podcast has done - saying thank you to all 32 countries in their own language. From Canada to Macau, Singapore to the Dominican Republic, Uzbekistan to the United Kingdom - this one is personal.

Topics covered:

• One year of Paws on Point — what's happened, what it means, and what's coming
• 32 countries, top 20% globally, and charting internationally in year one
• A thank you to every country in their own language
• What's ahead in year two — Paws Unleashed, new guests, listener stories, and more
• How you can be part of the mission — follow, share, and write in

This episode is for every listener in every country who found this podcast and stayed. You made this possible.

🎧 Follow Paws on Point — Canada's service dog podcast 🐾 Learn more or donate at pawsabilitiesservicedogs.ca 📩 Share your story: info@pawsabilitiesservicedogs.ca

#PawsOnPoint #ServiceDogPodcast #CanadianPodcast #ServiceDogs #PawsAbilities #ServiceDogCanada #DisabilityAdvocacy #AccessibilityRights #PodcastBirthday #Top20Percent #ServiceDogCommunity #PodcastMilestone #32Countries #ServiceDogAwareness #BCServiceDog

For decades, patients with POTS have been told the same thing - it'll go away. You'll grow out of it. Just wait.

The research tells a very different story.

In this episode of Paws on Point, Tim sits down with Dr Satish Raj - cardiologist, POTS researcher, and professor at the University of Calgary - and Kate Bourne, MD/PhD candidate at the University of Calgary's Cumming School of Medicine and POTS patient herself - to discuss the most comprehensive long-term POTS outcome study ever conducted.

With a median follow-up of 23 years, their research published in the Journal of Internal Medicine is the longest known study of its kind. And the findings are clear - 98% of participants continued to experience POTS symptoms decades after onset. Only 2% reported being fully recovered.

This episode covers:

• Why POTS is a lifelong condition for the vast majority of patients
• The average diagnostic delay of 5 years - and why it's still happening
• The psychiatric myth - what the research actually shows
• Why treatment can improve quality of life even without an FDA approved drug
• The comorbidities that predict worse long-term outcomes
• How service dogs are changing daily life for POTS patients
• What patients can do when their doctor doesn't recognise POTS
• Where POTS research is heading next

Kate brings something rare to this conversation - the lived experience of a 12 year diagnostic delay, combined with the scientific credibility of someone who has dedicated their career to understanding the condition that changed her life.

This is the episode POTS patients, their families, and their healthcare providers need to hear.

🐾 Paws on Point is the podcast of Pawsabilities Service Dog Society - amplifying credible voices in the service dog and invisible illness community.

#POTS #PosturalOrthostaticTachycardiaSyndrome #Dysautonomia #InvisibleIllness #ChronicIllness #POTSAwareness #ServiceDogs #ServiceDogPodcast #MedicalResearch #ChronicPain #EhlersDanlosSyndrome #MCAS #POTSSupport #InvisibleDisability #PawsOnPoint #PawsabilitiesServiceDogSociety #HealthPodcast #PatientAdvocacy #ChronicIllnessAwareness #MedicalMyths

What if a sunflower could change the way the world treats you on your hardest day?

In this episode of Paws on Point, Tim Land sits down with Clare Kumar - Canadian Director of the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower Scheme - to explore one of the most quietly powerful movements in accessibility and invisible illness awareness happening right now.

The Sunflower Scheme began at Gatwick Airport in 2016 as a simple idea: a recognisable symbol that anyone with a hidden disability could choose to wear, signalling to those around them that they might need a little extra patience, kindness, or assistance. Today it's present in nearly 350 airports worldwide and has spread across retail, healthcare, transit, banking, events, and municipalities - and it's growing fast in Canada.

Tim and Clare talk about why bias makes the sunflower necessary, what it actually feels like to wear the lanyard, the incredible ripple effect of one small symbol on an entire environment, and why Uruguay and Brazil have already made the sunflower legally recognised as a symbol of non-visible disability.

Clare also shares her own personal journey - including her late diagnosis of autism and ADHD - and why that experience deepened her commitment to making the world more inclusive for everyone living with something you can't see from the outside.

Whether you're living with an invisible illness, caring for someone who is, or simply want to understand how to make the world a kinder place - this conversation is for you.

🌻 Find the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower Scheme in Canada at hdsunflower.com/ca 🎙️ Listen to Claire's podcast: Happy Space 🎙️ The official Sunflower podcast: Sunflower Conversations

Conditions discussed in this episode include: POTS, EDS, PTSD, autism, ADHD, MS, and other hidden disabilities.

Paws on Point is produced by Pawsabilities Service Dog Society - a Canadian nonprofit advocating for service dog handlers and shining a light on invisible illness. Find us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and more.