Just a... beginning.

Happy new year to you and yours! From Nadine, with Duna.

This note lands on the first Saturday of 2026, which happens to be my 41st birthday. I’m holding two things at once: 41, what a gift! and 41, what the...?!

This year already feels different.

Last January, I stepped into a new decade sensing that big change was coming.

I knew, in theory, what needed to happen. (Don’t we always?)

But in practice, it took longer to act.

For context: five months ago, I started Just a Dog Podcast with no previous podcasting experience. I should probably admit I bought my equipment 6 years ago. That’s how long I waited to feel ready.

I don’t recommend it.

If 2025 taught me anything, it’s that hesitation disguises itself as preparation.

So this year, I’m trying something different: moving before the plan is fully formed. Being messier. Failing more visibly.

Because cringe, as it turns out, is the price of participation, and as Marc the Vet reminded me, the cause matters more than my comfort.

Talking about feeling ready..

Four months ago, I started fostering Duna, also with no experience.

I expected she would eventually move on. That’s the nature of fostering.

But along the way, we built trust, safety, and steadiness.

Over Christmas, she became unwell with a nasty case of colitis, and without trying to steal her (literal) thunder, —while she was suffering, so was I.

So, unsurprising to many of you, I’ve decided to adopt her.

She’s home. Properly and permanently.

💙

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Head’s up.

Throughout December, I recorded a run of conversations with guests whose work I deeply admire. You’ll notice my Christmas tree in the background of every future episode..probably until Easter. Once it was up and decorated, it didn’t make sense to move it. (Note to self for next year! 🙄)

Here are a couple of recent episodes you might have missed:

Marisa Heath, co-founder of the Innate Health Assessment, joined me to talk about how far breeding has drifted from the dog’s natural form. There are dogs who can’t breathe properly, who can’t run, who can’t even greet another dog without difficulty. Most of us have no idea because it looks so normal to us now.

Dr. Marc Abraham OBE, the vet behind Lucy’s Law, shared how one shift in an emergency clinic made it clear that treating sick puppies wasn’t solving anything. The problem was upstream: puppy farming. What followed was ten years of persistent, unglamorous campaigning. He breaks down what grassroots work actually involves, meeting your MP, building cross-party support, leveraging celebrity and FOMO, handling the people who want you to fail, and more.

As always, you can listen or watch JADP episodes on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, iHeartRadio, and YouTube.

Coming next week: If you’re interested in what’s really driving behaviour, yours as much as your dog’s, then next week’s episode with Andrew Hale is for you.

Thank you for being here.

With gratitude,

Nadine & Duna