#52- 17 Phrasal Verbs, Slang Words and Idioms for Animals and Pets

Welcome to episode #52- 17 Phrasal Verbs, Slang Words and Idioms Animals and Pets. Do you have a pet? Are you an animal person? In this episode, we dive deeper into the world of pets because of how important pets are to many cultures around the world. In this episode, you'll learn words like perk up, a mutt, spay/neuter and more! By the end of this episode, you'll be able to speak about this topic with CONFIDENCE! 

Don't forget to download the Study Guide, where you can practice what you learned in the episode! The Study Guide includes:

• All 17 words and definitions
• All new words in real life contexts
• Example sentences 
• Practice activities
• The transcript

Get your Study Guide Right >> HERE <<

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Transcript

[00:00:00] On this episode of The Real Life English with Gabby podcast, I'll be teaching you 17 phrasal verbs, slang words, and idioms about animals and pets. You'll be learning words like perk up, let out, take in, a mutt, and more. Let's get to it.

Hey there! Welcome to The Real Life English with Gabby podcast. I'm your host, Gabby — your fun and friendly English teacher from the one and only New York City. My goal is to teach you phrasal verbs, idioms, and slang that will help you speak English confidently and understand real American conversations.

Are you ready to improve your English skills? Let's jump right in.

Hey, hey, hey! Greetings from New York City. Welcome back to the podcast. I'm very excited about today's episode because it's
 [00:01:00] all about animals and pets. But by the way, before we get into the episode, I just wanna say a happy belated Mother's Day to all of the moms who are listening to this. This past Sunday — meaning May 11th — was Mother's Day here in the United States. And I know that in many countries, Mother's Day was May 4th.

So, happy Mother's Day to all the moms listening to this. I really hope you had a good Mother’s Day. My Mother's Day was very relaxing. I got some time alone. You know, I'm with my kids every day. So, Mother's Day here in the United States — we do the whole weekend. We kind of spend it with our moms, maybe going out to eat, family time, but…

Mothers in the U.S. usually — their husbands give them some spa treatments or some kind of self-
 [00:02:00] care kind of gift. So Mother's Day here was great. I really got to relax and have a good time.

Alright, so back to the episode. Let's talk about pets. Here in the USA, pets are a huge part of our culture. People seem to like animals more than people a lot of the time. Most people have at least one pet — but many have more. I actually looked up some data and some statistics because I was curious.

So, okay — the most popular pets, as I think is common in most countries, are dogs and cats. Now, after dogs and cats, we have fish, birds, and other small animals like hamsters, gerbils, rabbits, and
 [00:03:00] guinea pigs. Some people have exotic pets like snakes or tarantulas — spiders — ugh, gross! I can't imagine that… but to each their own, we say. But most exotic pets are illegal in many states throughout the United States.

Every once in a while, we hear reports of someone owning a tiger or an alligator — even here in New York City. A few years ago — actually, this must have been more than 10 years ago — a guy got caught owning all of these huge exotic pets: tigers, anacondas — in like a New York apartment. And he was actually found guilty of animal trafficking because it’s very illegal to have animals like this as pets.

So yeah. But here's how the numbers break down. There are 330 million Americans. There are 145 million households
 [00:04:00] — families, basically. Out of the 145 million households:

• 65.1 million households own dogs
  
  
  
• 46.5 million households own cats
  
  
  
• 11.1 million have fish
  
  
  
• 6.7 million have small animals (this includes hamsters, gerbils, rabbits, and guinea pigs)
  
  
  
• and then birds are at 6.1 million.
  
  
  

So, we love pets here. More than half of American households have at least one pet.

Here in New York City, you see dogs everywhere. People live in tiny apartments but still own big dogs — or even more than one dog. In fact, because of this — because everyone just wants to have a dog here —
 [00:05:00] one of the most lucrative jobs in New York City is dog walking.

Listen to this, okay? In New York City, the average hourly rate for a dog walker is $23 an hour. The range is $17 to $35 per hour, which is pretty crazy. So basically, if I wanted to make more money, I would go to a really rich neighborhood in Manhattan — like the Upper West Side — and I would dog walk there.

And if you've ever visited New York City or even seen movies that are set here — or TV shows — you've probably seen dog walkers with like five dogs walking down the street, walking in Central Park, or around the city.

The love for pets here is real.

I'm a dog person — a big dog person. I'm not really
 [00:06:00] a cat person. This is actually how we express it in English. We say, "I'm a [blank] person," and then you put the animal name there. So someone might say, "I'm a big cat person," or "I'm a big dog person."

For example, people who don't like animals will say, "I'm not an animal person," or "I'm not really into animals."

Most kids here in the United States grow up with at least one pet. Families think that it's very good for kids to own a pet because it builds responsibility. The kids have to take care of the pet, feed the pet, clean the cage, etc.

When I was growing up, I had a hamster that I loved — a teddy bear hamster. I had a little turtle, and then I had a bunch of fish. I loved them. We had a lot of fun. Of course, it was devastating when they died, but it was still a great experience.

Unfortunately, my mom was allergic to
 [00:07:00] dogs and cats — and pretty much any animal that had long hair — so we could never have bigger pets.

My husband and I — we have not yet bought pets for our boys because my younger son, who's almost four — he'll be four in about two months — he's our little wild child. You've heard me talk about him before. We wouldn't put it past him to climb into the animal cage or eat the animal food — you know, stuff like that.

My older son would be great. He's very obedient and responsible. So we're waiting a bit longer to get a small pet.

And then, when we're done having kids — and our youngest child probably turns, like, two — we'll get a dog. My dream is to wake up on Christmas morning and open a gift that has a little puppy inside. That would be the ultimate surprise.

And I know this is very cliché — like this is a very popular
 [00:08:00] scene in American movies and TV shows — kids waking up and finding little puppies on Christmas morning. So hopefully that'll be me in about two years when my little girl — who's coming in August — when she turns two.

One more thing to note about pets in the United States is that people love to buy accessories and clothes for their pets — and it can definitely get a bit ridiculous at times.

This is something that my students comment on all the time. Like, they'll come in on a rainy day and say, "Gabby, I just saw a dog with rain boots and a raincoat walking around New York City." Or they'll comment that they saw a little dog in a stroller — they looked inside, thought they were gonna see a baby, but they actually saw a dog.

I know, guys — Americans can be ridiculous in many ways. But we kind of
 [00:09:00] make fun of Americans who put their dogs in strollers, okay? So we're not that ridiculous.

I will say though — Halloween is always fun. We dress up dogs in costumes. In New York City, we even have a little dog costume parade around Halloween, and all you see is thousands of dogs in cute little costumes.

If you're curious, you can look it up on Google — search something like "American dog costumes" and you'll be shocked.

Get this — it's estimated that Americans spend $700 million every year just on pet costumes for Halloween. Crazy, right? Cute — but crazy.

Alright, in today's episode, I'm gonna teach you 17 new vocabulary words and expressions for talking about pets and animals.

Let me tell [00:10:00] you what those are: take in, a mutt, perk up, give away, kitty, look after, run away, chase after, clean up after, poop, let out, fur baby, fixed, neutered, spayed, in heat, pup, a rescue, man's best friend.

A lot of these words are probably familiar to you, but I'm going to put them in the context specifically of talking about pets and animals.

Before we get into the story, I just wanna remind you that there's an awesome study guide waiting for you that has all the materials you need to practice what you learned in the episode, so that you can start using the words confidently and naturally in your daily English. To get the free guide, [00:11:00] click the link in the episode description.

All right, let's get to the story. I'm going to read a story to you that I created that has all the new words in real life context. As you listen, try to see if you can figure out the meanings of the words without using a dictionary or translator. Then, after the story, we'll talk about all the definitions and more examples.

Let's get started.

I had never planned on having pets, but somehow my quiet little apartment has turned into a zoo. It all started when I took in a tiny, scruffy little mutt that showed up outside my building. He looked lost, skinny, and scared. I asked around, but no one [00:12:00] claimed him. So I brought him inside, fed him some leftover chicken, and he immediately perked up.

I named him Max. Max was the first of many. A few weeks later, my neighbor gave away her cat because she was moving. I couldn't say no to the cat with those beautiful big green eyes. That's how I ended up with Luna, a shy little kitty who loves sleeping in my laundry basket.

Now I spend my mornings trying to look after them both. Max wants constant attention, while Luna just wants to nap in peace. It's chaotic, but I love it.

One day, Max saw a squirrel out the window and managed to run away when I opened the door to get mail. [00:13:00] I had to chase after him in my slippers while yelling his name. The neighbors got a good laugh out of it.

Having pets means always having to clean up after them. Max tracks in mud, Luna sheds her hair like crazy, and don't get me started on having to clean up poop.

Sometimes I let them out on the balcony for some fresh air, but I keep a close eye on them. Luna once tried to jump onto the neighbor's air conditioner. They may be a handful, but they're my fur babies.

I took Max to the vet to get him fixed because our neighbor's dog, who he often plays with, was in heat, and Max was howling like a wolf at the moon. The last thing we needed in the house was a bunch of pups. Luna, thankfully, has already been spayed, so I never have to worry about this with [00:14:00] her.

When people ask why I do it, I just shrug. Pets are messy, noisy, expensive—but totally worth it. Max might be a rescue, but honestly, I think he rescued me too. After all, dogs really are man's best friend. And Luna? She tolerates us both. But when she curls up next to me at night, purring softly, I know that she feels at home.

All right. Now let's talk about the definitions.

First up, we have take in. In the story, we hear that he took in a tiny, scruffy mutt. Let's talk about this. Take in means to give a home to a person or animal in need. So essentially, take in means to adopt.

Let's say there's tragedy in a family. Someone might say, "Oh, my grandmother took me in when I was four," for example. It just means that someone gives you a home.

For example: We took in a stray dog last year, and she's been part of the family ever since.

A stray dog or stray cat is a cat or dog who does not have a home. Usually, they're roaming the streets.

You also heard a description of a scrawny mutt. Scrawny is not one of our words, but let's talk about that. Scrawny is an adjective and it describes a person or an animal that's very thin, bony, in an unattractive way. A mutt is the word that we have for a dog that's mixed breed. [00:16:00] It's not a purebred. So for example, it'll have three different types of dog mixed in. So it was a little mixed dog—a mutt—that was very skinny, and you could tell it wasn't eating well.

Their mutt may not be fancy, but he's full of love and personality.

Next up we have the phrasal verb perk up. In the story, he gives the little dog leftover chicken, and once the dog started eating, he perked up immediately. Perk up is a phrasal verb that means to be more lively, alert, cheerful. So maybe someone's sad, but then they do something to make them perk up—they become more lively.

The dog perked up as soon as he heard the bag of treats open up.

Next up, we have the phrasal verb give away. In the story, [00:17:00] it says that the neighbor gave away her cat, and so he adopted or took in the cat as well. So give away means to give something you no longer want or need to someone else.

For example: She had to give away her cat when she moved to a no-pets apartment.

Many places in the United States will say—like many apartments will say—“pet-free environment,” or “we’re in a pet-free building,” meaning that pets are not allowed. Most people don't follow those rules.

Next up, you hear the word kitty. I'm pretty sure most of you have heard it, but when he's describing Luna, she's a shy kitty, and that's just a really cute name that we have for cats. It's an affectionate name. "Come here, kitty. Come here." The word kitten is a baby cat, but kitty is just a [00:18:00] really cute or affectionate word that we have for cats.

The cute little kitty climbed up on the couch and curled into a ball.

Next up we have the phrasal verb look after. He's describing taking care of both pets, and look after is to care for or take responsibility for someone or something. We mentioned this came up during the kids and family episode, and Parenthood, so we've talked about this before.

For example: Can you look after my dog while I'm on vacation?

Next up we have the phrasal verb run away. In the story, it says that Max ran away because he was chasing a squirrel, and then he had to chase after him. So run away is to escape or leave suddenly—very [00:19:00] unexpectedly.

The rabbit ran away when the gate was left open.

And then we have chase after. So chase is to run—like the police were chasing the criminal. Chase after is to run or hurry after someone or something in order to catch them.

I had to chase after my dog when he started chasing a squirrel.

Next up we have, in the story, talking about how when you have pets, you always have to clean up after them—clean up their poop. So let's talk about this.

Firstly, clean up after—this is a three-word phrasal verb. So clean up means to clean, but when we add a second particle—after—clean up after is specifically talking about removing someone else's mess, taking care of what someone else did. [00:20:00]

For example: I had to clean up my apartment before my guests arrived. That's clean up.

Versus: I had to clean up after my kids after dinner. That’s specifically talking about someone else's mess.

Having a puppy means constantly cleaning up after them.

And then next we have the word poop. This is an informal word for waste that comes out of you. I'm sure you've heard this word. They said, "Oh my gosh, my dog pooped all over the sidewalk. I have to clean it up." We have pee and poop. Poop is not just for animals, it's also for humans. For example, make sure you pick up your dog's poop when you walk him in the park.

Next up we have the phrasal verb let out in the story. He says that he sometimes let them out on the balcony, and to let out is to allow someone or something to go [00:21:00] outside or leave a place. So maybe your dog is scratching at the door and you say, "All right, it's time to let you out," and then you let out your dog in the backyard. For example, "I let out the cat this morning and she hasn't come back in yet."

Next up we have fur baby. Okay, let's talk about this for a second. A lot of Americans say, "I'm a dog mom," "I'm a cat mom." You know, especially people that don't have children—they refer to themselves this way. Some people make fun of them, but it's pretty normal. And so a lot of people, when they talk about their pets, they don't say "my dog." They say my fur baby. Fur is animal hair that covers their body, and so fur baby is a playful term for a pet that people treat like a family member. They treat their dog like a fur baby—he even [00:22:00] has his own bedroom.

Next up, we have three words: fixed, neutered, and spayed. I'm sure you recognize the word fixed, but here it has a different meaning. So when you get an animal fixed, neutered, or spayed, this is a surgical procedure that prevents the animal from reproducing. So in the United States, when I was younger, for example, you would walk down a street and you would see stray dogs all over the place, stray cats all over the place.

But there was a campaign in the late '90s and 2000s where people really were urged to fix, neuter, or spay their animals so that we would have fewer stray animals on the street. And it worked very well, and now we have more animal shelters as well. So you'll [00:23:00] still sometimes see stray cats—sometimes, like in my neighborhood, we see some stray cats—but it's not typical anymore. We never see stray dogs. They'll go to a shelter right away. An example of this is: "We got our cat fixed last month to avoid any unexpected kittens."

Next up we have the expression in heat. This is the time when a female animal is fertile and seeking to mate. For example, "Their dog was in heat and howling all night long." So this is, you know, that time when an animal wants to reproduce, and we'll say, "She's in heat."

Next up you have the word pup—P-U-P. It comes from the word puppy. This is the informal word for puppy or young dog. For example, "The pups were [00:24:00] only six weeks old when they were adopted."

Next up we have the word rescue—a rescue. So you know, to rescue is a verb, but we also use it as a noun: "He's a rescue." This is a pet that has been saved from a bad situation or from a shelter. We have a lot of animal shelters, and we encourage many Americans, when you want to adopt a dog, go to a shelter first. Don't go to a pet store. Don't go to a breeder—someone who makes dogs have babies so they can sell them. We say, "Oh yeah, she's a rescue." Maybe the dog was in an abusive environment. Unfortunately, that happens often. But it's very common here to get rescues and adopt dogs. For example, "We adopted a rescue who had been found abandoned in a park."

Next up, we have man’s best friend. This is [00:25:00] a common phrase used to describe dogs as loyal companions. For example, "No matter what kind of day I've had, man's best friend is always happy to see me." And this is very true. You know, we have so many stories out there about dogs who saved people's lives—just really amazing dog stories. And you'll probably notice that there are so many movies out there about dogs. We have Lassie, we have Beethoven, so many amazing stories about dogs that saved humans and things like that.

All right, so before we end the episode, I just want to give you some homework. Of course, it's optional, but it's the best way for you to really remember what you heard in this episode. My first bit of homework for you is to download the study guide that has everything you need that will [00:26:00] help you really commit these words to memory.

Second, I want you to pick about 10 of the words from this episode—maybe 8 to 10, depending on your English level—and commit to using them this week. The only way to really learn new vocabulary is repeated exposure and actually using them in your English. So that’s your homework. You can either write them down in a journal, you can talk to a friend who's also learning English, you can write them in an email, you can even record yourself using them with a voice app on your phone. However you do it, make sure you use at least some of the words from today’s episode.

Well, that's a wrap for today's episode of The Real Life English with [00:27:00] Gabby podcast. Be sure to download today’s study guide so that you can learn how to use this vocabulary confidently. If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe for more weekly adventures in English learning. Also, I’d love to hear from you, so please leave me a review.

Thanks so much for tuning in.