Episode 405 - Good Dog, Carl

Episode 405 - Good Dog, Carl

From Fuse 8 n' Kate by Betsy Bird and Kate Atienza

April 13, 2026 · 29 min

About this episode

Betsy and Kate discuss the children's book 'Good Dog, Carl' and its implications on parenting and babysitting.

"I would trust my baby with Amelia Bedelia before I trusted it with Carl." "Well... she does have opposable thumbs." Poor Kate has just survived the ordeal of solo parenting for around a month with a child not yet a year old and still not on solids. As such, Betsy thought the time was right to spring upon her everyone's favorite doggie babysitter, Carl. How would Kate react to Carl's less than entirely 21st century appropriate babysitting techniques? Today, we discuss whether or not Kate had the strange new COVID version (the Cicada Variant!), whether or not the mother in this book is perfectly aware of what Carl is capable of (Kate makes a VERY strong case for believing that this is not the first time Carl has been placed in charge like this), why the baby lacks self-preservation skills, and more. You can read the full show notes at https://afuse8production.slj.com/2026/04/13/fuse-8-n-kate-good-dog-carl-by-alexandra-day/

People in this episode

Hosts: Betsy Bird, Kate Atienza

Topics covered

  • parenting
  • children's literature
  • dog babysitters
  • COVID-19
  • self-preservation

Keywords

  • Good Dog Carl
  • Amelia Bedelia
  • parenting
  • children's books
  • dog babysitters

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Good Dog, Carl

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