ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
Here at ALL THINGS CONSIDERED, we're well aware that a good portion of our audience consists of pets left home alone with only the radio for company. Shoutout to Alisa's dog, Mickey, and our producer Kat's dog, Chloe. Well, this week, we learned just how devoted some of those listeners are.
Russia and Ukraine expert Nina Jankowicz tweeted about her dog, Jake, who cannot help but sing along to our theme song at the top of every hour.
(SOUNDBITE OF DOG HOWLING)
SHAPIRO: That was not just a one-time fluke. She posted a composite video to prove it.
(SOUNDBITE OF DOG HOWLING)
SHAPIRO: They live here in Washington, D.C. So the other day, while that tweet was going viral and witnesses were testifying about impeachment, I had my most important interview of the week.
(SOUNDBITE OF DOG BREATHING)
NINA JANKOWICZ: Should we go say hi to Ari?
SHAPIRO: The calendar invite said Jake the dog.
Hi, buddy.
JANKOWICZ: He's really big on the kisses.
SHAPIRO: What a sweetheart you are.
JANKOWICZ: Do you want to give him some treats?
SHAPIRO: I would love to.
We settled into the studio - Nina in a chair, Jake with his own microphone near the floor.
(SOUNDBITE OF DOG SNIFFING)
JANKOWICZ: He is part shepherd, part husky, about 65 pounds. He is quite chonky (ph).
(SOUNDBITE OF DOG BREATHING)
SHAPIRO: Jake's an older dog. Nina adopted him from a shelter seven years ago.
(SOUNDBITE OF DOG SNIFFING)
SHAPIRO: So my first question is, who's a good boy?
(SOUNDBITE OF DOG BREATHING)
SHAPIRO: Jake is more of a singer than a talker, so I turned to his celebrity handler.
You are a Ukraine expert, and so it embarrasses me that we have brought you into the studio to talk about something that is actually totally unrelated to Ukraine. We've brought you in to talk about your dog, Jake.
JANKOWICZ: That's totally fine. You know what? I owe Jake one because I have been to Ukraine many, many times and spend a lot of time outside of the house, so I think this is only fair that he gets his moment in the spotlight.
SHAPIRO: Nina Jankowicz says Jake is a real news hound.
JANKOWICZ: He listens to NPR a good eight hours a day sometimes.
SHAPIRO: Wow.
JANKOWICZ: Yeah.
SHAPIRO: We're grateful.
JANKOWICZ: Yeah.
SHAPIRO: It's listeners like him that keep public radio afloat.
She says Jake doesn't howl at anything else - not sirens, not the TV, and definitely not the Morning Edition theme - new or old. But our theme?
JANKOWICZ: It seems that he does it every time. Sometimes it's just a little bit of a whimper. Sometimes he goes hog-wild. I think maybe it depends on the news of the day.
SHAPIRO: It does make many people want to howl...
JANKOWICZ: (Laughter).
SHAPIRO: ...Especially this week. So we put on his favorite tune.
(SOUNDBITE OF ALL THINGS CONSIDERED THEME SONG)
SHAPIRO: (Laughter).
JANKOWICZ: That was beautiful (laughter).
SHAPIRO: (Laughter) We got that full-on howl.
We should say we reached out to several cats for comment, but none responded - you know, cats. Big thanks to Jake. We will think of you whenever we start the show.
(SOUNDBITE OF ALL THINGS CONSIDERED THEME SONG)
AILSA CHANG, HOST:
(Laughter) Who's a good listener? Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
