0:02

I named my puppy , gogoro , after a

0:04

very popular Taiwanese electric scooter

0:06

brand . Little scooters are pretty

0:08

rare in the States , since they're too small to go

0:10

onto highways , but in the crowded

0:12

metro area , like Taipei or other Asian

0:15

cities , where everything is relatively more

0:17

compact , gogoro the scooter

0:19

makes it very convenient to navigate

0:22

through the narrow alleyways , and

0:24

the brand is known for its electric charging

0:26

and environmentally friendly design . Inside

0:29

the seat there's space for two swappable rechargeable

0:32

battery bricks . Instead of gas

0:34

stations , there are charging docks everywhere

0:36

. If you're running out of juice , just

0:39

open up the Gogoro app and find

0:41

the closest station by you to swap

0:43

out the bricks . According to the ads

0:45

, this can be done within just 6 seconds

0:47

. And guess what ? You

0:49

don't even need to buy this futuristic looking scooter

0:51

. Using the app , you can locate hundreds

0:53

of available Gogoro's near your location

0:56

. The app informs you of the scooter's

0:58

condition , its remaining battery life

1:00

and location . Just choose the

1:02

Gogoro you want to use , scan the code and

1:05

the scooter will automatically unlock

1:07

and power up for you . It's

1:09

like magic . When

1:11

you've reached your destination , just park it

1:13

anywhere , tap done on the app

1:15

and you're literally done . This

1:17

service apparently charges by the hour and

1:20

, if you decide , you have some extra time to help swap

1:22

out a low battery . A reimbursement fee

1:25

will be given to you via the app as

1:27

a reward . In case you're wondering

1:29

, no , this podcast is not sponsored

1:31

by Gogoro . I just find it really

1:33

incredible and good for the earth . I

1:36

personally don't know how to ride a scooter . I find

1:38

it terrifying having to weave around crowded

1:41

roads full of cars in a small scooter . But

1:44

all this has nothing to do with why I gave my

1:46

dog this name . I named him Gogoro

1:49

because the brother that he has never met

1:51

, my previous loving companion , who

1:53

passed away at 10 years old well

1:55

, his name was Vespa . I

2:13

love nothing more than falling asleep cuddling

2:15

with my dog , than being woken up

2:17

the next day by his loud snoring . I

2:20

honestly believe he is the perfect

2:22

dog and most of the time I just

2:24

refer to him as my son . His

2:27

name is Gogoro , or Gogo for short

2:29

, and he's a 3 year old , tri-coloured

2:31

Cavalier King Charles Spaniel . Gogo

2:34

inherited all the positive traits of a Cavalier

2:36

. He's always cheerful , very

2:38

loyal and super affectionate

2:41

. At night , when I'm done cuddling

2:43

with him , he magically transforms

2:45

into a wonderful , warm pillow . Gogo

2:48

makes me laugh every day and every little

2:50

thing that he does these random antics

2:52

just tickles me to my bones . I

2:55

want to document our life together , to

2:57

create a doggy diary of sorts . I

3:00

want to be able to listen back and relive the

3:02

memories we created together some

3:04

day after he is gone . That's

3:06

my selfish reason for deciding to do this

3:08

podcast . If you're listening

3:10

to this right now , you're probably a fellow dog

3:12

lover . I hope you will enjoy these

3:14

stories of my life with my son . By

3:17

the way , my name is Ken . Thanks

3:19

for tuning in and welcome to the my

3:21

Dog Gogo Road podcast . I

3:41

need to go back and take some time , maybe

3:43

a few episodes , to tell you about Vespa

3:46

. He was such an important

3:48

part of my life and the reason I spoiled Gogo

3:50

Road the way I do today . It's

3:53

been about four years since he passed away

3:55

in my arms and I literally still tear up

3:57

every time I think about him or

4:00

when Gogo does something that reminds me

4:02

of him . I never

4:04

knew how much Vespa filled up my life

4:06

until he's gone . Grief is

4:08

a feeling I've never felt before and it

4:10

is an ongoing pain . So

4:14

let's go back 15 years or so

4:16

to the time when I was a workaholic and

4:18

still living in the States . I

4:20

worked on an MTV reality show called

4:22

the Real World . As the co-executive

4:24

producer for many , many years , you

4:27

might know this show . You know the one that starts

4:29

off with . This is the true story of Seven

4:31

Strangers . The show moves

4:34

to a different city for each season

4:36

, so I'm always on the road , although technically

4:38

I own a condo in Hollywood . Each

4:41

season for me runs about eight months

4:43

. In my capacity as co-exec

4:45

I was usually the first one on location

4:47

. Once MTV decides which city we're going

4:50

to do , I look for the

4:52

location where we will build out the space

4:54

that the roommates live in , be

4:56

it a beachside mansion to a converted

4:58

restaurant , to a casino suite . I

5:01

hire the crew and interview lots of local

5:03

crew members . Then we bring in the

5:05

art department to complete makeover

5:07

the living space and bring in the tech crew to

5:09

pull in surveillance and build out the control

5:12

room . After that , filming begins

5:14

, and it's three months of non-stop filming

5:16

. No , the Real World is

5:18

not scripted and no , we do

5:20

not buy them booze to get them drunk . That's

5:23

part of the reason why this show is so fun

5:25

yet so exhausting to work on . Technically

5:28

I work seven days a week and I'm also on

5:30

call 24-7 in case something

5:32

happens , like a fight or some late

5:34

night emergency . After

5:37

eight seasons of back-to-back filming

5:39

that had me living in San Diego , Philadelphia

5:42

, Austin , Key West , Denver

5:44

, Sydney , Vegas and Cancun , I

5:47

arrived at our next location , Washington

5:49

DC . After the

5:51

initial excitement of finding time to visit

5:53

the White House and the museums , it's

5:56

back to the same old routine . Even

5:58

though I work with some truly wonderful people

6:00

and we hung out together all the time

6:02

, especially in cities like Cancun

6:05

, where we all live in a resort with a great lobby

6:07

bar , it gets pretty repetitive

6:09

seeing the same people all the time , and

6:12

in DC I decided to live separately

6:14

from the crew . I got a very

6:16

modern condo near the old post

6:18

office , which is now a Trump hotel . I think

6:20

I was getting lonely being

6:22

on the road for so many years . That's

6:25

when Vespa came into my life . He's

6:27

a black and tan Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

6:29

with the sweetest composition . I

6:32

don't remember why I named him Vespa

6:34

, but I think it was a fitting name . Because

6:37

of work , I had a dog walker visit twice

6:39

a day to play and walk him before

6:41

I can get home at night . Having

6:43

this affectionate puppy with tons of

6:45

love was everything that I needed . My

6:48

life has a focus now and I revel in being

6:50

a dad . I thought to myself I

6:52

can never be selfish again . This dog

6:54

comes first . But I was

6:56

also pretty strict . He wasn't allowed any

6:58

human food because I hated when dogs

7:00

beg for food . Our

7:03

life in DC finally came to an end

7:05

, so we packed up and moved to the next location

7:08

, New Orleans . Vespa

7:10

and I were inseparable when I'm not working

7:12

. But over the next two years we

7:14

did have to separate because I

7:16

had to go and work in locations unsuited

7:18

for me to bring my dog , like when

7:20

I had to live in the Vegas Casino hotel

7:23

room for six months or when we moved

7:25

to the Virgin Islands by

7:27

the end of island living . I was truly

7:29

burnt out , extremely exhausted

7:32

from years of non-stop traveling , and

7:34

had to take a break . Vespa

7:36

and I drove up to Northern California and

7:38

went to my grandma's place in Carmel for a long

7:40

visit . My grandma was so

7:42

impressed by how attached Vespa was with

7:44

me . She could always tell , whether

7:46

I went for a walk or a drive by , whether

7:49

Vespa was sleeping by the front door or

7:51

by the garage door . My

7:54

parents still lived in Taiwan and

7:57

I've been away from home since I left for

7:59

college to Pittsburgh when I

8:01

was 17 . Now

8:04

I'm 35 and my parents really wanted

8:06

me to move back home . There was

8:08

also a good job opportunity in

8:10

mainland China , where reality

8:12

shows where the hottest thing on TV . Then

8:15

the pay was gonna be great

8:17

and my housing in Shanghai would

8:19

be in a really good part of town

8:21

. I traveled all over Asia

8:23

and Shanghai was definitely one of my favorites

8:25

. So plans began for

8:28

the big move back to Taiwan first

8:30

, then to Shanghai , if the job

8:32

negotiation goes smoothly . My

8:34

biggest concern , of course , was Vespa

8:36

. Taiwan is an island and

8:38

has some of the most draconian rules

8:40

regarding importing animals . Taiwan

8:44

has never had cases of rabies , so

8:46

it makes sense for them to be so cautious

8:48

. So

8:50

what this entailed was a blood

8:52

test on Vespa that was sent to

8:54

a specialized lab in Cleveland , I

8:56

believe . Once that test came

8:58

back negative , the countdown starts . The

9:00

requirement is Vespa will be

9:03

allowed to travel after six months

9:05

. In the meantime , shanghai

9:07

needed me to meet with their executives

9:09

in person , so I left Vespa

9:11

with Nika , a good friend of mine , while

9:13

I went back to Asia . Vespa

9:16

and I would be separated for those six months

9:18

. Nika would then fly with Vespa

9:20

to Taipei once the holding period is over

9:23

and Vespa and I will be reunited

9:25

to begin a new chapter of our lives

9:27

in Asia . I

9:29

will tell you that this move would eventually

9:32

turn out to be the biggest regret of my life

9:34

. I blame myself for making this

9:36

move and , in turn , turn Vespa's life

9:38

around . Of course we still

9:40

have plenty of wonderful time together , but

9:43

looking back at my life from my perspective

9:45

right now , the move back to Taiwan

9:48

with Vespa is the biggest mistake I've ever

9:50

made . So I'm sorry

9:52

to end on a depressing note

9:54

, but there's a lot more about Vespa

9:56

that we will get into in the next

9:58

episode . You must be wondering

10:00

why a podcast called my Dog Gogoro

10:03

actually has nothing to say about Gogoro

10:05

this episode . But I promise

10:07

you we'll get there . Think of this

10:09

as the prequels that we have to understand

10:12

before fully appreciating the

10:14

original trilogy . Gogoro

10:16

is now deep asleep and snoring so loud

10:19

I don't know if you can hear him in the background

10:21

. It's time for bed . In

10:23

the next episode we'll wrap up my memories

10:25

of my dear , sweet Vespa .