135. Pet Fire Safety, Shelter Makeovers & Wild Tales from the Vet Clinic

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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Pets Ad Life, your guide to the latest in pet trends, products, and the joy of the human animal bond with Kristen Levine and me, Chris Bonafati, powered by the American Pet Products Association and Dog TV. Hello and welcome to another episode of Pets Ad Life. I am one of your co-hosts Chris Bonifati, and joining me as always is three Shih Tzus in a trench coat, Kristen Levine.

Speaker 2 (00:30):
Three Shih Tzus and a trench coat?

Speaker 1 (00:32):
Yeah, they're trying to go see an R-rated film.

Speaker 2 (00:35):
Oh, I don't get it. Am I supposed to get that?

Speaker 1 (00:37):
You don't know the three kids in a trench coat joke,

Speaker 2 (00:41):
They're

Speaker 1 (00:42):
Trying to

Speaker 2 (00:42):
See a

Speaker 1 (00:42):
Movie.

Speaker 2 (00:43):
I missed it. I'm sorry. It's okay.

Speaker 1 (00:45):
Your three Shih Tzus in a trench coat today.

Speaker 2 (00:47):
Okay. Trying

Speaker 1 (00:48):
To see an R-rated film. I used to sneak into the movies all the time when I was -

Speaker 2 (00:52):
Did you?

Speaker 1 (00:52):
Yeah. There was always a friend of ours on the track team who worked at the movie theater and he was the tick guy. Just let you in. Just let us in.

Speaker 2 (01:02):
Did he buy you beer too?

Speaker 1 (01:04):
No, it was high school. I was a good boy. I was a good Catholic.

Speaker 2 (01:10):
Oh, I got to tell you a funny story. Speaking of that, I was at a reunion yesterday, not yesterday, sorry, last weekend with a bunch of girlfriends and we were sitting by the pool and these two young kids come up to us and first of all, they started flattering us with compliments and we were like, "Oh, is that so sweet? That's so sweet." And then we found out why they were flattering us. They asked us if we would buy them beer.

Speaker 1 (01:32):
Oh my God. Of

Speaker 2 (01:33):
Course we said no. Oh

Speaker 1 (01:36):
My God. Oh no. Oh no.

Speaker 2 (01:40):
It was their senior. I think they had just finished their senior year of high school and they wanted to celebrate.

Speaker 1 (01:45):
Oh wow. What a rollercoaster of emotions. Truly a dramatic tale. Speaking of dramatic tales, we are going to be bringing you the same show as always, two amazing stories, two great products, two incredible guests. I mean, for real folks, we've got an incredible lineup of guests today, people that I definitely have not earned the honor of speaking to, but I'm going to anyway. And we'll polish the show off by answering two of your questions. It's definitely going to be a good one.

Speaker 2 (02:19):
It will. Stick around.

Speaker 1 (02:20):
Let's hop into Story Time.

Speaker 3 (02:24):
Kristen and Chris present Story Time.

Speaker 2 (02:28):
Okay, Chris, I'm going to let you do Story Time first.

Speaker 1 (02:32):
Okay. And

Speaker 2 (02:33):
I'm hoping it's not the same as my story.

Speaker 1 (02:35):
I don't think so because it's an older story news wise, but I'm just seeing it and it's for a recurring event that people should be aware of. And it happened back in May, but I just found a local Los Angeles news source that provided the story. The Helen Woodward Animal Center celebrates an annual puppy prom and it is absolutely amazing. They get all the puppies from the shelter in formal wear. When you look at it, I mean, I'm looking right now at, it looks like some type of collie mix in a tutu, you know what I mean? It's not exactly a black tie occasion. In fact, they bring in other fellow rescues and other animals in need. They raise a bunch of money for the local LA based shelters. It's an event you could bring your dog to. There's stuff for you to do as well.

(03:44):
There is dogs and their dates where humans and hounds wear matching and complimentary attire and there's awards given out for the best ones. Basically the idea is you donate a little bit of money, you enter the competitions and everybody comes out a winner and you never know. The reason I decided to pull this is hopefully Ron could bring up some of the pictures from this article. Right now I'm looking at maybe some type of Jack Russell Terrier mix, just like a little scrappy doo. He's got one half vest and bow tie and the back half like a sequence skirt. It is the most androgynously very handsome dog outfit I've ever seen. They do this every year apparently, which I think is just absolutely amazing. It's super cool to see animal shelters getting creative with the way they fundraise, going beyond just going to a local carnival and asking for donations or relying on social media.

(04:54):
This is a full on event and it's become a community annual event that the community really rallies around and a lot of people show up to and it raises some good money for some good causes, enough that they're able to share the money with other shelters. So if that's not community oriented thinking, I don't know what is. That is awesome.

Speaker 2 (05:14):
The

Speaker 1 (05:14):
Article doesn't mention when it'll be back, but it's held in May each year. So those LA heads out west. Mark

Speaker 2 (05:21):
Your calendars. Yeah,

Speaker 1 (05:23):
Block off. Don't take any appointments in May just in case you don't want to miss it.

Speaker 2 (05:28):
Oh, I love that. Shelter fundraising has come a long way because I worked in a shelter really a long time ago and it was always kind of the same old thing, pet walks, which they still have, but I love the creativity. Okay. So my story is about a very recently published study. I think it was published in August by the Cell Press Journal. And what scientists did is they used an MRI to scan the brains of dogs that were awake. These were just regular trained pet dogs, but they were mostly border collies. Then they showed the dogs photographs of human faces with different expressions like happiness, anger, fear, sadness.

(06:14):
The happy faces activated a region of the dog's brains that is linked to reward processing. So it was kind of like when they saw a happy human face, they reacted as if they were about to get a treat or hear praises. Then in the other experiment, the dogs were able to distinguish the difference between a fearful expression and anger expression and sadness. I don't think this surprises anybody. I think any of us who have dogs have known for a long time that they can read our emotions, but now we just have a little bit more scientific evidence to back it up. There you go. They also pointed out that it was mostly border collies and it was a relatively small sample, but this has just kind of confirmed the theory and they're going to be doing more studies.

Speaker 1 (07:10):
I wonder if it's instinctive or learned. You know how they've done those studies on human beings where it's like we all smile when we're happy, even in isolated tribes haven't seen other people. I wonder if dogs, if it's instinctual or if they over the course of their lives learn to associate our smiles with us being in a good mood.

Speaker 2 (07:30):
Yeah, that's a great question.

Speaker 1 (07:32):
Scientists, get on it. We got to know. I got to

Speaker 2 (07:35):
Know.

Speaker 1 (07:36):
I got to know. Beyond the leash, exploring the untold stories of pet passion and professionalism.

Speaker 2 (07:42):
I'm so excited to introduce our guest, Art Edmonds and his dog, Bowie. There's

Speaker 1 (07:48):
Bowie. This is Bowie.

Speaker 2 (07:50):
Bowie. Art is the host and executive producer of Home for Good. This is the new renovation series airing on ABC Stations Nationwide. Each week, the show honors everyday heroes from first responders and military veterans to community champions with life changing transformations that also put an important focus on home and fire safety. Now, in a very special episode, Art and the Home for Good team turned their attention to Paws Atlanta, that's P-A-W-S, Atlanta, renovating key areas of the animal shelter to create a warmer and more functional environment for the pets and people who depend on it. That gives us the perfect opportunity to talk not only about the incredible work happening at shelters, but also something every pet parent should be thinking about, how to keep our animals safe and if there's ever a fire or an emergency at home. So Art and Bowie, welcome to Pets Ad Life.

Speaker 3 (08:43):
Great to be here. Yeah, I think Bowie is not at all phased by this. He's kind of jaded at this point. So I'm going to put him over here because he wants to sit down and chill. Great to be here guys. Thank you for allowing us to talk about Home for Good.

Speaker 2 (08:57):
Of course, of course. My first question for you is the show is all about transforming spaces for people who give so much to their communities. What made Paws Atlanta as an animal shelter feel like the right story for the show?

Speaker 3 (09:12):
Well, we were in the Atlanta area on season one and we wanted to incorporate people that take care of animals because on our show, we honor first responders, veterans, community champions, people who wear uniforms, who don't wear uniforms, and some of the greatest heroes out there, in my opinion, obviously Bowie is a rescue dog and he came from people that though enough to get him out of the dog pound and into a rescue shelter. That's exactly what Paws Atlanta does. They're one of the oldest no-kill shelters in the Atlanta area since the 1960s. Many of them all working there, volunteers, dedicating their time and their talents to getting these dogs a forever home for good. So it was just a no-brainer for us to go in there and help them out.

Speaker 1 (10:00):
Yeah, absolutely. But when you first walked into that building, what stuck out to you that made you think, "Oh, we can make a real difference here?" Because obviously it's still a TV show, you want to have a big impact, you want to have that great before and after shot. So walking into this animal shelter, where was your mind at? How were you thinking like, "This is a great way for us to make a big impact on these animals' lives?"

Speaker 3 (10:26):
Well, PAWS is very special. Like I said, they've been around since the 1960s in the Atlanta area, but it's not just a building. It's like a compound. They have different areas. They had a lot of needs. Some of the buildings were super, super old. We do these renovations in seven or eight days, so we had to find something that would make a huge impact in a very short amount of time. So we selected the animal intake area. It's the area where animals first come to the shelter. They've been on the streets or maybe they've been in the county dog pound and PAWS gets them into this intake area. They are quarantined, they're evaluated, and this incredible staff of people make sure that they have the best experience when they first arrive. So that was our focus. They needed secure gating area. The pens that they were in, they were well worn.

(11:22):
They were clean, but they needed paint. They needed freshening on the gates. Then we thought, in addition to the animals, these volunteers needed a little place to hang out. So we did a covered area that was already existing, but it needed to have some design to it. We put some nice couches outside. We put fresh gravel. We cut down trees. We really went in there with the intention of improving not only the animal's experience, but the volunteers experience as well.

Speaker 2 (11:51):
Yeah. I love that you focused on the intake area because if you think about it, this is the first place the animal experiences at PAWS and it's got to be such a stressful experience being surrendered. I love that you chose the intake. Home for good puts a really strong emphasis on fire and life safety. So for pet parents specifically, can you share any of the biggest fire hazards around our homes that we might not realize that pets could accidentally create?

Speaker 3 (12:21):
Well, sure. It's just like any family member. You want to make sure they're prepared in the event of an emergency and something around 40,000 pets perish in fire incidents every year in the United States. So it's a prevalent problem and not only could be victims of fire and smoke, but they can also cause it. Cats jump up, dogs who are tall, they want to get up on a counter. They can accidentally knock something off the stove. They can turn on a burner on the stove. All of these things, they need to be trained to avoid all of those situations, and they're also more susceptible to carbon monoxide poisoning, which is why it's important to have a low level CO alarm in your home. Now, CO can mimic a number of food poisoning and different toxic circumstances. The same in humans, but because they are small, because they breathe more rapidly, they're more susceptible.

(13:23):
So you want to make sure you've got proper detection in the home. And then, I don't know about you, but Bowie, he hears thunder or he hears the beeping of the fire alarm. He comes running towards me. You want to make sure that your pets go towards you. In many cases, pets go and hide somewhere. So you're trying to find them while you're trying to get your family out. You need to have a fire escape plan and a go bag ready to go in the closet that you can grab that has pet supplies, medications, food, toys, anything like that ready to go because they are a family member and you need to treat them as such.

Speaker 1 (13:59):
It's all incredible advice and I'm a bit curious, coming into pause and you mentioned some of the buildings were older. When you're renovating these buildings and you're thinking about safety, how does that impact your design decisions, especially when you're approaching some older buildings that may or may not be living up to code?

Speaker 3 (14:20):
That's a great question. Where we worked on these pens, the paint might have been chipping because they keep it clean. They're spraying it down, but that takes a wear and tear on the paint. So you don't want pets ingesting any of that. The metal gates they put their mouth on, so they have to be properly painted with a non-toxic paint. The gravel, if it's not the right size, it can get caught in their paws. So all of these things take into account. We also repaired a number of things on the structures themselves because you don't want mold and bacteria growth in drywall and things like that. The roofs on top of these pens, they get worn out, so we replaced all of that. So you really want to think about what would a human being need in those types of outdoor situations and then factor that into being a vulnerable animal.

Speaker 2 (15:17):
Yeah, for sure. Just going back to what you were saying about having the go bag, what are some important things that pet parents should keep in their household or in their go bag?

Speaker 3 (15:28):
Well, obviously, I live in Florida, so there could be evacuations for storms and things like that. You have to have any necessary medications. You should have some dry food that is not going to be perishable, some canned goods as well, their favorite toys and treats, maybe a blanket, any paperwork that if you have to evacuate and get into a hotel or something like that, you want to make sure you have vaccination records. All of this stuff is vital because you don't want to end up in a situation where you're on the street and you can't go anywhere because you can't bring the pet along with you. And with cats, it's even more important because cats tend to hide in small spaces. So if they hear a smoke or a fire alarm, they're going to hide. You also need to have a notification for any first responders.

(16:19):
Let them know you have pets in the house. That's very important as well. And if you exit the home and you evacuate, don't go running back into a burning building. I know that's the initial instinct. You want to let the first responders do that. They're properly outfitted to do that and let them know where the pet might be in that situation. So a lot of preparation goes into this and that makes everybody safer in the end.

Speaker 1 (16:44):
That's great. And speaking of those first responders, I mean, the real origin of Home for Good is around celebrating folks who serve their communities, including first responders, but this special episode was about people helping animals. So what did this experience with PAWS teach you about the people sort of behind the scenes dedicating their lives to animal rescue?

Speaker 3 (17:11):
Well, not everybody wears a uniform and gets up and serves the community. There's people just like the folks at PAWS Atlanta and thousands of shelters all around the country. I learned that people think with their heart, they make all of their time decisions based on helping others. So it was just a small thing for us to go in and help them and we're super proud to continue that. So look at all that beautiful paint that we did in that beauty.

Speaker 1 (17:39):
It looks lovely. It really does.

Speaker 2 (17:41):
That's awesome. Has Home for Good changed the way you personally think about what makes a home truly good and safe? It sounds like you've obviously learned a lot on this show, but what's your takeaway from the show's concept?

Speaker 3 (17:57):
Well, I end every episode saying it doesn't take a lot to help someone in need, so make every little bit of kindness count. That's sort of my Mr. Rogers moment at the end of every show. I love that. But I mean it. It comes from the heart. It's not contrived. The smallest act of kindness can change the trajectory of someone's day, week, month, year into the future. You'd never know what somebody else is going through, whether it's a first responder that still puts on a uniform, but they're struggling with stuff at home or in their past, or folks like these volunteers that may be struggling to put the food on the table at home, but they care enough to show up every day and help out animals. So if we all though of others a little bit more than ourselves, there's nothing bad that can come of that.

Speaker 1 (18:42):
That's amazing. And we are coming up on time, Art, so I want to give you the chance, let people know where they could go catch episodes, especially this special pet related episode of Home for Good and where they may be able to follow your story on social media.

Speaker 3 (18:58):
Absolutely. Yes. Home for Good airs every weekend on ABC stations nationwide. So just check your local listings. It's on either Saturday or Sunday mornings, right at that sweet spot as your weekend is beginning or you're having your morning coffee. It's family viewing from everyone, from the kids to the grandparents. Everybody can take something away from Home for Good and learn about important things like fire and smoke protection and prevention.

Speaker 2 (19:22):
Awesome. Well, we thank you so much for joining us. I don't know if Bowie's still in the room there, but thanks Bo. Oh, there he is. He's right here.

Speaker 1 (19:30):
Bowie,

Speaker 2 (19:30):
Bowie.

Speaker 1 (19:32):
Bowie is sleeping in the chair. Great podcast guest. He is. He's locked in.

Speaker 3 (19:36):
He's a little quiet unless he sees a squirrel that a squirrel.

Speaker 2 (19:41):
Unfortunately, we were not interrupted by squirrels. There's the

Speaker 3 (19:43):
Squirrel. Where's the squirrel, Bowie?

Speaker 1 (19:46):
I love that.

Speaker 3 (19:46):
Now he's locked in. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (19:48):
Right. Exactly. Thanks so much for the great work you're doing on the show, Art. It's great to see you. Thank

Speaker 3 (19:52):
You for letting us talk about it. Keep up the good work, guys.

Speaker 2 (19:58):
I can't wait to check out that series. Me too. I didn't know about it before this show. See, I even learned from the show. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (20:03):
We're all learning. We're all learning. I love a good before and after show. You know what I mean?

Speaker 2 (20:08):
Yes.

Speaker 1 (20:09):
Like kitchen nightmares or. Listen, I'm going to expose myself a bit. Love Queer Eye. I really do. I love that show. Let's go on back. So I think this is right up my alley, honestly. I

Speaker 2 (20:24):
Think so too. And I just love, love, love that they did a makeover renovation on an animal shelter because as you know, animal shelters, they're not always that well funded that they can afford to put their money toward needed renovations. And

Speaker 1 (20:39):
The consideration of somebody saying, "Well, we're going to make a show that celebrates and rewards community helpers." And a lot of people immediately go like firefighters and EMS and things like that. The fact that they had the wherewithal to even consider an animal shelter, I mean, that is incredibly thoughtful for, like you said, a part of our community that often goes unnoticed and uncelebrated. So good on the entire Home for Good team for that one.

Speaker 2 (21:13):
Yeah. Don't miss it.

Speaker 1 (21:17):
And joining us now is the enigmatic Walter Brown, AKA Skinny Go Live, your favorite vet techs, vet tech, known for his absolutely bombastic personality and decisive data-driven advice given to you on his channels. He is entertaining. He is educational. He is hysterical, and he's joining us today on the PAL podcast. Walter, welcome back to the show. I think you're one of the first three Petes we've had.

Speaker 2 (21:49):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (21:50):
At times, he stood in for me while I was off doing daddy duty. Same

Speaker 2 (21:56):
For me? Same for me. That's right. Hey,

Speaker 4 (21:58):
You know I love y'all, man. Chris and Chris is what I usually call you. But yeah, man, I'm so ecstatic to be here on another podcast with you all. You guys have been absolutely amazing. And Chris, how can I pay you to do that intro for me everywhere I go?

Speaker 1 (22:14):
Listen, in another life, I was like a medieval herald. You know what I mean? The guy who walks in before the king and just says all the titles. Yeah. Hear ye, hear ye. Hear ye, hear you. Walter, listen, we missed you last week. We had a bunch of the Wild Tails folks in to talk about Costa Rica, but you're sort of the missing piece. You're the fourth head of the Wild Tails Quad Fectra. I don't know if that's a word, but it is now. Quad Squad. We talked a lot last week about the Costa Rica episode, but there's a bunch of episodes coming out on Wild Tails. So why don't you talk a little bit about your experience starring in that show and how you feel now that it's all been wrapped and it'll be airing soon?

Speaker 4 (22:54):
First of all, like I've always told you guys, big shout out to Dog TV for all you guys do. This is amazing. The one thing I really want to reiterate is we had this vision for a while, and I actually threw this idea out to a lot of people. When I first started social media, a lot of people searched through Instagram like, "What's our next big deal?" A lot of people have gotten their TV shows from just the Instagram market. It was funny. A lot of my videos went viral. I had maybe four or five companies that were like, "Hey, we're looking for a veterinarian to do X, Y, and Z." And the conversation would go great until I had to be like, "Hey, I'm actually a veterinary technician. Crickets." Literally all four. I was like, "Wow." It made us feel like we were not important enough.

(23:50):
I'm like, "Do these people know we do not important?"

Speaker 2 (23:54):
Right, right.

Speaker 4 (23:56):
The veterinarian, he just goes in there like, "This is what's happening. Hey, nurses, make it happen." So that was kind of a discouraging thing. And it was funny when you guys found me on Instagram and we got to chatting and again, shouts out to Ron. I was like, "This guy matches my energy and I love it." And he was like, "What do you want to do?" I'm like, "Ugh." I kind of had the idea of another person I'm going to tell an idea to, and then it won't come full circle. Ron took this idea and was like, "Amazing. I'll make things happen." And he basically took everything that we like, and he had some ideas as well, and he made these things happen. Even with the Walter and the Wild thing, I didn't even think that was a thing, but I just love visiting people, going around, talking in different booths and whatnot, and that was a great experience as well.

(24:51):
So with the Wild Tails, man, this was just a full circle deal. I was able to bring along three other individuals. Ron was like, "Hey, who can we bring in?" I found three other content creators that do their thing. They're absolutely amazing. I was like, "Hey, let's see if we can bring these guys in on Wild Tails." I didn't know the chemistry would be the chemistry that it is, but I mean, it has been an absolute fantastic time working with all three of those, Peter, Sarah, and Joe Free and being the fourth person in on it. It is an absolute amazing deal, even though it makes us feel like we belong now. We're finally able to get our stories out and voices out. So it's been awesome.

Speaker 2 (25:34):
It's an incredible lineup. The four of you together really work well off of each other. And also because you each come from a little bit different perspective of the vet med. Chris and I got to be there back when you were shooting. I think you were still shooting episodes for the first season, and you guys are just hilarious. The stories are great, but it's also really important because I think it educates the audience about the role that you truly do play in a vet practice. I think pet parents just generally know how important veterinary technicians are, but I don't think they know the breadth of the work that you do and what an incredible role that you play. So it's entertaining and also very educational. I

Speaker 4 (26:19):
Love it. I love it. We were able to, and I shared a lot of the links and episodes and a lot of friends of mine like, "Dude, I'm subscribing to dog TV to definitely watch your shows." The thing that I really realized is that all four of us, we have different communities. Even though we're in veterinary medicine, we have other communities outside of who we are as veterinary technicians. I think being able to share that link and show other diverse parts of it, people really gain the respect for veterinary technicians and was like, "Oh God." Hearing some of the stories and some of the wild, they were like, "Oh, you guys really are in the mud, huh?" I'm like, "Yeah, we're really out there in that mud." It brought a different perspective to just a diverse group of audience members. So we really appreciate this

Speaker 1 (27:08):
Being so much

Speaker 4 (27:09):
Fun.

Speaker 1 (27:10):
Well, Walter, I'm hoping you could give us a little sneak peek of what to expect with Wild Tails. It's a show that goes through all these incredible and outrageous and at times visceral in the detail stories that y'all have as vet techs. Can you give us a little preview? What's one maybe micro story you could share now, quick one to give people a little taste, a little free sample in the Costco? Oh

Speaker 4 (27:35):
My gosh. I don't even want to spoil them there. We have a couple of them that educate us. Some of them like, "Wait, what?" What did I share? My biggest thing, so we have this thing called triage, where you go into the room, you talk with the owners about what's going on. A lot of nurses, you have to be a people person or a kind of a person to go in the room. Sometimes owners are already in some type of emotional indu-indu, right? So it's like a lot of people don't want to have that conversation. I love owners. The meaner they are, the more upset, the more emotional they are. I'm like, "Let me have them." I just like to see if I can fix it, get a good laugh out of them or make them feel better about things. Fix two

Speaker 1 (28:18):
Problems in a day. Two

Speaker 4 (28:19):
Problems in a day. But one of my favorite clients of all time are the older generation, and I'm talking about the Boomer Nation. I love them because you never know what they're going to say. You're allowed not to have a filter, and I really love that. I don't know if you guys are from the. Maybe it's a Southern thing. I'm thinking it's a Southern thing, but in the South, older people have this thing, a diagnosis called the sugars. Now, I don't know if you all have heard about the sugars, but in 2020 hindsight, the sugars in the South is diabetes.

Speaker 1 (29:11):
Oh,

Speaker 2 (29:11):
Lord. Oh boy.

Speaker 4 (29:15):
And as we know, diabetes can be a serious kind of a conversation. And lo and behold, we had this elderly lady come in and we were working up this. We're like, "Oh, I'm looking at the glucose. It's sky high. This dog actually has ketones, so this dog actually surpassed diabetes mellitus and is now having diabetes ketoacidosis." We're going in the room explaining to her, and she's really nonchalant about it. She's like, "Okay." Some of the newer doctors are like, "I don't think she understands what's happening. What's going on?" I'm like, "All right." I go in the room and I'm like, "Wait a minute. Let me go in here, guys." I go in, 10, 20 minutes of talking with this lady. I'm like, "Do you understand that you're Dog has the sugars. She hysterically starts crying and bawling. And I'm like, "We have been talking about your dog having diabetes for the last 20 minutes." But she didn't.

(30:15):
Yeah. When I told her we had the sugars, she lost it.

Speaker 1 (30:20):
That's a great poor woman.

Speaker 4 (30:22):
So it's a lot of different things. And these are just the things that I like to go in the room to life. It wasn't funny at the time, but it was one of them things like you just got to know how to talk to owners sometimes.

Speaker 1 (30:33):
Yeah, speak

Speaker 4 (30:34):
Their language. Yeah, you got to speak their language. Yeah, exactly. Wild sales happening. So it'd be a good time for sure. It's

Speaker 1 (30:42):
Part of your whole vibe, man. Everybody loves to

Speaker 4 (30:44):
See

Speaker 1 (30:44):
Walter coming.

Speaker 4 (30:47):
I mean, I love it. People actually like, "Dude, do you really actually..." It was funny. Someone asked me, "Oh, now that's awesome."

Speaker 1 (30:54):
Somebody's got to get me that for my desk. I need a Walter Bobblehead. Hey,

Speaker 4 (31:01):
I might make that happen for you, Chris. I might.

(31:06):
I can't wait. This is going to be so awesome. But again, I love my daily life being in the vet med space. It was a struggle a little bit as a nurse being on the floor. A lot of times you get the hands-on with pets or whatnot, so you get that instant gratification. This was a little bit of a learning process where I was like, I don't get the instant gratification that I used to, but being in front of students and being able to tell them my story, being able to tell them what life looks like out of the university when they're going to explore jobs, that is just fantastic to being able to lead them down a pathway to find the right career path for them in veterinary medicine. So I absolutely enjoy it. So day to day, it's a loser. I have a credit card.

(31:47):
I swipe it. I put the expense in and I say, "Our recruiters will be with you." You

Speaker 1 (31:55):
Basically, and pardon the pun, your dog draper.

Speaker 4 (31:58):
Yes.That's a pretty good one. I like that one.

Speaker 1 (32:07):
Yeah, steal it. It's yours. Well, Walter, we got to let you go. We're at time here, but remind all the good folks at home where they could go find you.

Speaker 4 (32:14):
Man, you can find me at Skinnygolive. That's S-K-I-N-N-I, not a Y. A lot of people like to put the Y in there. They can't find me. So it's S-K-I-N-N-I-G-O-L-I-V-E. Do not get that mistaken for Skinny Go Olive. I don't know why people like to say that. I'm like, "What?" They like, yeah. Skinny

Speaker 1 (32:32):
Go Olive.

Speaker 4 (32:33):
Yeah, Skinny G Olive. And I'm like, "Where did you get Skinny G Olive from? All right, cool. Whatever." on all platforms. You can find me on Instagram, you can find all the social platforms. So definitely be sure to follow me on all the platforms where we have a good time. So Chris and Kristen, I really appreciate y'all and can't wait to see you all in Nashville. I know.

Speaker 2 (32:56):
We'll see you there. And we'll see you on Wild Tails. On Wild Tails, yeah.

Speaker 4 (33:01):
Running the halls of Nashville. Wild Tail. Can't wait.

Speaker 1 (33:07):
It's always a pleasure to have. Okay, hold on. Everybody, people need to understand the lore right now, the outro. We don't play on the outro at all. The rest of the episode, there is an unspoken rule for who talks first that Kristen and I have agreed upon over the course of 130 episodes. And we still haven't figured out who gets to talk first for the outros. I know. I know. It just ends up with both of us staring at each other through the camera like crazy people.

Speaker 2 (33:35):
Or we both start talking at the same time. At the

Speaker 1 (33:38):
Same time. It's created this paralysis. I think Walter would appreciate a story like that because

Speaker 2 (33:43):
He gets - I think he

Speaker 1 (33:44):
Would. I think he would. He's a behind the camera guy. He gets it. And he's so much fun to have around. I really appreciated listening back on the episodes that he subbed in for me because I was so worried that without Chris, that the Pets Ad Life brain would just completely go off the rails. And it did, but in the most fantastic way possible. Walter's a great guy and we love him and he'll be back for a fourth, fifth, sixth, eighth, 20th time. So get used to him. The product of the week. It is time for our products of the week. It is the Equinox today when the show comes out. So Kristen, I hope you have specifically an Equinox related product. Oh, of course I do. I don't either, so that's okay.

Speaker 2 (34:36):
No. I'm not sure what that would be, but we'll pretend.

Speaker 1 (34:43):
You want to kick us off or you want me to go?

Speaker 2 (34:45):
Oh, I'm sorry. I'll kick us off. Sure. Okay. Sory.

Speaker 1 (34:48):
It's

Speaker 2 (34:49):
Okay. Okay. So my product of the week is for dogs, cats, or rabbits, guinea pigs. You could really use this product for any pet and it is a Trixie snuffle mat. They call it a level one enrichment dog and cat puzzle toy. They don't specifically call out that you could use it for bunnies and guinea pigs, but you totally could. And we've talked about enrichment products. We talk about them all the time, I feel like, but there's a difference between enrichment toys that are enriching and entertaining, and then there's enrichment products that are enriching and very purposeful for feeding. So that's why I like the snuffle mat. I actually have this in my cart right now because our old snuffle mat kind of got gross and that's the thing about snuffle mats. It got snuffled.

Speaker 1 (35:36):
Yeah,

Speaker 2 (35:36):
It got snuffled. It got too snuffy. Yeah. It had a snuffy smell to it and everything, so I tossed it. Anyway, by the way, a snuffle mat is, it's sort of like a rug. It's got a backing on it so that it won't slide around on the floor. And it's got these loops of felt that makes it. It's kind of like a grass mat, like a fake grass mat. And you can sprinkle your pet's treats or kibble, or if you feed them any air dried type of food, you sprinkle it into the snuffle mat and you can't really see those kibbles and treats, you have to dig for them. And so when I feed Tulip with a snuffle mat, if I feed her in the bowl, she can finish in about a minute. And if I feed her in the snuffle mat, she can take as long as seven or eight minutes to feed.

(36:19):
So that gives her a lot more brain, a lot more mental exercise, and that's why I love snuffle mats. So it's formerly called a food foraging mat. And like I said, it works for all kinds of pets and you can get it on Chewy. This particular one that I have in my cart is from Chewy and it's only. How much is it? It's only 22.99. The snuffle mat I just toss lasted for a couple years. So these things can last a long time if you keep them clean.

Speaker 1 (36:48):
I feel like that's good for any pet that has a foraging instinct at all. Probably tickles that itch real good.

Speaker 2 (36:56):
Absolutely. Absolutely. What kind of product do you have

Speaker 1 (37:00):
Today? Well, I brought up the Equinox. It's kind of an Equinox related product, but the thing is, as we get further and further into fall, the days get a bit shorter and that most dangerous time of day, that twilight half hour is. I mean, it's just a terrible time to. A terrible time to be walking your dog. Don't do it. But with the days getting shorter, that doesn't necessarily work for everybody's schedule. Sometimes you got to be walking the dog when it is not light outside, especially for those of you who may have gotten a puppy over the summer and are now entering your first winter. It's very important to think about walk safety as things get darker and darker. So I've got this great little $20 just from Petco. They just released it because there's no reviews on it quite yet. It says brand new everything and it's a Petco store brand thing.

(37:57):
It even has the new label on it. For 20 bucks any size, a glow in the dark pet jacket. So high vis vest. They go extra small to extra large. So be sure to check out the sizing chart, but there's really not much complex about this thing. Leave it outside in the sun during the day or under a lamp for a few minutes. Pop it on the dog before you go for that twilight or nighttime walk, and they're going to be glowing a little bit. So you combine that with your own. You should also, as the person, be wearing a high vis color or a high vis vest if you're going to be walking your dog at night and some type of light source, whether it's a flashlight or one of those fancy leashes or collars that has some type of light. That wombo combo of three things is going to keep you nice and safe as our days get a bit darker and darker and our night's a bit longer and longer.

(38:55):
So stay safe out there. New pet parents who may be realizing that your dog's internal clock doesn't care that it gets dark at 6:00 PM anymore. It still wants that 6:30 PM walk. I'm

Speaker 2 (39:09):
Glad you brought that up. We live in the mountains here in Western North Carolina and it is pitch black at night. There are very few lights, so that is really important.

Speaker 1 (39:18):
Yeah. Stay safe.

Speaker 2 (39:21):
Q&As.

Speaker 1 (39:24):
All right, Kristen. It is time for our favorite part of the show. That's right. We're going to answer two questions from our lovely audience and lovely audience. I know what you're thinking. How do I get my question answered by Chris and Kristen? Well, it couldn't be easier. Head on over to pets@life.org. It's right there, slash podcast. Scrolling down to the bottom of that page. Fill out the form and you'll have your question presented to us in beautiful Excel or Word doc format. But if you're feeling brave, if you're feeling as brave as somebody walking their dog in the middle of the night without PPE, that's brave but stupid, you can record a voice memo and you may hear your question played live on the air in WAV format. And now wouldn't that be something? But without further delving into your options for asking Chris and Kristen questions, we're going to go ahead and jump right in.

(40:23):
Kristen, I've got a question from Michelle. Michelle is in Raleigh, so right nearby. How about that?

Speaker 2 (40:32):
Yeah. Not too far away.

Speaker 1 (40:34):
I feel like you play your home turf well. I feel like we always get

Speaker 2 (40:36):
Questions from Caroline. I feel like we get some good questions from.

Speaker 1 (40:39):
We very rarely see Connecticut, but that's because Connecticut's fake and I'm actually the only real person who lives here. Michelle asks, "We recently got our first guinea pig and I'm worried he might get lonely when no one is home. Are guinea pigs happier living with another guinea pig? And what should a new owner know before introducing a companion?"

Speaker 2 (41:02):
Yes. Okay. Great question, Michelle. And congratulations on your new guinea pig. I love guinea pigs. So yes, absolutely. Guinea pigs are herd animals by nature. So yes, they almost always do better in a pair, like with a companion. So you can certainly add to your guinea pig so that he or she will be happier and healthier too. So here's the thing, you obviously want to have the best pairing possible, which is not a male and a female, but rather a same sex pair or a female and a neutered male guinea pig. Also, since you already have one and you're asking me if he gets lonely, he probably does. So I would just say, first of all, before you decide to get a second guinea pig, make sure he's getting lots of enrichment, lots of attention, lots of special care, and hopefully you'll make a decision to get that second one.

(41:59):
When you do get the second one, you're going to want to introduce them just like. Same advice we give when we talk about adding a dog or a cat to the family, you kind of want to introduce them slowly. And in the case of guinea pigs on neutral territory. So you don't ever want to take your new guinea pig and just kind of plop it into the

(42:16):
Housing. No, don't plop it in. Take them both to an area of the home where maybe. Or even outside if you have a fenced area or an enclosed area, something that feels relatively neutral so that your existing guinea pig doesn't feel invaded. And then it's normal. Don't freak out if there's some chasing going on initially or even sometimes one will mount the other to try to show dominance. It's typically not a mating behavior right off the bat. And they make this cute little chattering noise too sometimes. So if any of that happens, I wouldn't worry. Just give them some time to get to know each other. However, there are some signs that it's not a good match or that you need to take it slower. And that would be if one of them draws blood on the other one, if they are literally fighting, attacking one another, or if one is cornering the other one and intimidating it quite a bit.

(43:18):
So you want to keep them separate in that case. At least take your time introducing them more slowly. It is possible you end up with not a good fit, but hopefully wherever you acquire the guinea pig would let you choose another one. But chances are good that they're going to get along. You just have to give them that transition time. So there you go. Good luck, Michelle.

Speaker 1 (43:38):
Good luck, Michelle. You'd be surprised how many people think just plop the guinea pig in is a good idea.

Speaker 2 (43:42):
Don't plop it. No plopping. No plop, no plop. I mean, come on. Can you imagine somebody just plops a new human being into your new roommate? Yeah. Okay. So I have a question for you, Chris, and this one comes from Daniel in Brooklyn. Dan says, "My cat is really anxious and hides whenever we have visitors or if there's a change in a house. How can you tell the difference between a naturally shy cat and a cat that's genuinely struggling with anxiety and what can we do to help her feel safer?"

Speaker 1 (44:15):
Cool. I really want to grab onto the first part of that question because I feel like we spend a lot of time on the second part, giving them their safe place, giving them vertical space, yada, yada, yada. But that first part is kind of a new take on it and telling the difference between a cat who just has that kind of personality and a cat who may actually be struggling. And that's where you sort of have to pay attention to behavior. Cats are, for the most part, naturally pretty timid, careful creatures. And this kind of behavior is not weird when that's the extent of the behavior. But I think the number one thing to always be concerned about with your cats is that they are A, sticking to their own routine, even if you're changing things in your life, that they are generally wanting to eat their meals at the same time is a good one.

(45:05):
They're generally taking their midday nap at the same time. They're generally sleeping around the same times at night, even if it doesn't fit into your schedule and they're doing the midnight zoomies. If they're retaining their own sense of time and routine, then they're probably just naturally shy. What you want to be on the lookout for is things like not going in the box or refusing meals or refusing to wake up from a nap for their supper. Those weird behaviors where it's like, "Well, you weren't like that yesterday." That means they're experiencing something that is changing the way that they are behaving. And cats are very much so creatures of routine. So for them to break their own routine means something's wrong. It's how I used to tell Tiger had another UTI. She was like

Speaker 4 (45:57):
UTI

Speaker 1 (45:57):
Queen and that was pretty easy to treat. Take her to the vet, gets the antibiotics, take her home from the vet and the day she was right as rain. But I always knew before I even saw the little splecks of blood in the litter box, by the way, she wasn't sticking to her routine. She had slept in that morning. She didn't finish her breakfast, and I knew that by that afternoon we were going to be going to the vet. I was already calling to make the appointment. So that's the kind of mindset you want to be in, really understand what your cat, their average day is like and make sure that they're kind of sticking to that sort of routine. Thank you for the question, Daniel. I had to go back to remember Daniel's name. I'm sorry, Daniel. I'll try harder next time. And that concludes Pet Sad Life, Equinox Addiction Addiction.

(46:53):
Yeah. I'm right about that, right? It's September 22nd.

Speaker 2 (46:57):
Yeah, it is. I know you didn't want to talk about this today, Chris, but I just have to end the show with a happy birthday.

Speaker 1 (47:06):
I thought I could sneak past the entire thing nonchalantly. Happy birthday. 34, folks, for those of you keeping count at home. 26 already started the show. Yeah, it's been a long one, long two and a half years. Long two and a half years. Thank you so much. It is a great way to spend my birthday with my good friends, Kristen and Ron, and of course, all of you, and we'll be back here next Tuesday. I will be one week older and so will you all. So until then, bye, I guess. Pets Ad Life, your guide to the latest in pet trends, products, and the joy of the human animal bond with Kristen Levine and me, Chris Bonifati, powered by the American Pet Products Association and Dog TV.