50. Inside the Westminster Dog Show & Revolutionizing Veterinary Care

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Voice Over
Pets add life. Your guide to the latest in pet trends, products and the joy of the human animal bond with Christian Levine and Chris Bowen, a fan powered by the American Pet Products Association and Dog TV.

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Chris
All right, welcome to another episode of Pets and Life. I am Chris Bowen, a fatty joined as always by the passionate and perfectionist Kristin Levine. Kristin, how are we doing today?

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Kristen
Oh, we're we're doing great. And you sound great today. You got new headphones.

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Chris
We've got all sorts of new new gear here flowing in. Here's the thing a lot of people don't know about podcast ears is, I have no idea what I'm doing. I've no idea. Like, I have no idea what I'm doing. I don't know how microphones work. I, I don't know how to set up a camera.

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Chris
But we we got some new gear that was very easy to get. Just plug it into the slot, and it started working.

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Kristen
So Brian has to get us gear that that we can set up. Just like idiot proof that we can set up on our own. Because we don't we do not know what we're doing.

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Chris
With the technology. Because. Because I am a techno idiot and I will break it. And I will, I will cause all sorts of malfunctions. But look at us. And in crystal clear 1080. So, folks, if you're listening to this, you should be you should be watching. You should be watching out on dog TV or YouTube, or there's going to be a new Amazon Fast channel right here in the works, where you're going to be able to watch our faces, as a marathon, which is I'm sure you can all of you have been dreaming about the day you can binge watch the Powell podcast.

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Kristen
Yeah, I was just going to say binge at Baby Fidget.

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Chris
The whole damn thing. Could get you could get your 2024 year nerd review by just listening it through like the lens of the Apple podcast. I couldn't think of a better way then to step through time, then through our little pod. But hey, we've got a great episode lined up. For you folks. We've got a repeat guest.

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Chris
Not I gotta spoil who that is, but we got a repeat guest. Always good to have somebody back. And we're going to we're going to do two stories, as always. Two products. As always, answer two of your questions. I think it's going to be a good one, Kristen.

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Kristen
I'm looking forward to it. Let's do it.

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Chris
Kristen and Chris present story time.

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Kristen
Okay. It's story time, Chris.

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Chris
It is time for stories. Why don't you go ahead and tell us off here?

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Kristen
All right. So I don't know that this is so much a story as, you know, something I kind of was researching, because it has been so cold across the country. I mean, Midwest, northeast, southeast Florida even got snow a couple weeks ago. So. Yeah. My dog tulip will not go outside unless she absolutely cannot hold it anymore.

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Kristen
So I was trying to think of some new fun things we could do inside. And I found this great article from the, it's called Daily Paws. And they have, like, a whole list of 15 different cold weather indoor activities you can do. So, there's a couple I'm going to try. I'm not going to share all 15, but, but I thought these are kind of fun.

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Kristen
You can build an agility course, with things around your house, like blankets, boxes, maybe Ottomans or chairs that are easy to move around and kind of walk your your dog through it and walk him through it a few times and see if you can get them to where they can do the course themselves. The Magic Cup game.

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Kristen
This is going to be fun because I already do a version of this with tulip, but with Amazon boxes. But you do just grab three solo cups, put a ball, tennis ball or smaller ball under one of the cups and do the old, you know, switcheroo and see if your dog can pick the right one. Give them a treat.

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Kristen
If they do so, that's going to engage their, their brain, obviously. And you can make your own snuffle box. That's one of the we usually talk about snuffle mats. I know we've featured a few of those on our product of the week, but you can actually take a box and stuff it with tissues or as well as newspaper, but, you know, paper, packing paper and then sprinkle kibble in there and just watch your dog dig around and find the treats.

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Kristen
So those are just a few fun, mental, engaging, tricks, activities that you can do when it's too cold outside.

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Chris
It sounds fun for people too. So if you're bored, if you're stuck in the house and a snowstorm, you lose power. We lost internet, yesterday morning, and it was the most devastating two hours of my life. So, yeah, I think, you know, I like that idea of setting up the little agility course. Sounds like a fun little project.

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Kristen
What would entice you, Chris, to use a human snuffle box? Like, what would we have to drop in the box for you to dive headfirst in there?

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Chris
Oh, that. Probably alcohol.

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Kristen
That's like a nice.

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Chris
Yeah, like like a like a dog, shallow dog Bowl of a good scotch. Yeah. I've had that. I think that would work for me.

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Kristen
All right, let's sober up and hear your story.

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Chris
Yeah. My story, this Sunday is the Super Bowl. But way more importantly, it's the Puppy Bowl. And I love talking about the Puppy Bowl because it is one of the most successful, drive to adoptions. That we've ever come up with in the United States. It's a brilliant piece of marketing, and there's a whole bunch of ways that you can engage with the Puppy Bowl.

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Chris
Right now, they're on the final round of voting for the popularity contest. So you can head on over to their website. I'm going to put the link in the in the show notes. Of course, and you can vote for, your favorite dog play favorites for a little bit. But also what it does is you can look through all the dog's profiles and see a little bit about where they're from and the rescue they're from.

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Chris
And what ends up happening is we actually in Norwalk, we have a rescue that's participated. And people, the way it works is people see, oh, this rescue is participating from, you know, close by me. I really wanted a dog. Let me go check them out. And it gets encourages people to rescue their their dogs, instead of, you know, adopt, don't shop.

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Chris
I guess they get is really great. And, you know, if your team starts losing the Super Bowl, it flip out over to the Discovery Network. No one's judging. No one's judging. The party that I go to has two TVs. And so we watch both at the same time. Oh. Which is. Yeah. Which. And and if the game really gets stale and we switch the audio over to the, to the Puppy Bowl, so and.

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Kristen
The other great thing is you don't even have to like football to watch the Puppy.

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Chris
Bowl. Yes, there are apparently there's rules. I don't think so. It's kind of like, if you ever read Calvin and Hobbes with Calvin Ball, it's kind of like that where they. Yeah, there's rules, but they're constantly suggestions. Really? Yeah. They're saying yes. Yeah. Like the Pirates code from Pirates of the Caribbean really suggest. So, I'll definitely be watching.

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Chris
I hope you will be too. And if you're out there listening to our show, considering, getting a new dog, I hope you consider rescuing Beyond the Leash exploring the untold stories of pet passion and professionalism. We are joined now by a repeat guest. We have very few repeat guests, so you know he must be good. Doctor Don Stearns, a globally renowned figure in the world of dogs and dog shows.

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Chris
Having been immersed in the sport since childhood, he has bred, owned and handled all breed and specialty best in Show winners in numerous breeds including Golden Retrievers, Miniature poodles and Pembroke Welsh Corgis. He's currently the president of the Westminster Kennel Club. And I heard there was a little a little event happening quite soon with the Westminster Kennel Club.

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Chris
We're going to be talking about that. Beyond his achievements in the ring, Doctor Stearns is an advocate for philanthropy, animal welfare and inclusivity in the dog community. His personal journey highlights the profound impact dogs can have on personal growth and well-being. Doctor stirs champions diversity while fostering a love of dogs in the next generation. It is such a pleasure to have you back on the podcast.

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Chris
Welcome, Dan.

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Don
Thanks for having me. It's great to be back. It's good to see you guys.

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Chris
Yeah. So I want to jump right on into the big one. We've got the 149th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. It's opening this weekend. What can viewers expect from this year's event? Is there anything, new? Any fun surprises? Anything you want to tease out on the show today?

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Don
Yeah, just a few things.

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Chris
That I.

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Kristen
Was happy about.

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Don
I think the biggest news is the return of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, presented by Purina Pro Plan to its home in New York City. It the last time we were able to be there was in 2020. So for the last five years, we've been displaced, you know, Covid hit. We couldn't be indoors. We pivoted, we went, you know, to the Lyndhurst estate in Tarrytown.

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Don
And we tried to get back to New York City and we technically got there. We were in Queens at the tennis Center for two years, which was fabulous. But, you know, Westminster's historical home is Madison Square Garden. Its first show in 1877. Was it Gilmore Gardens, which is the the the initial, the OG Madison Square Garden. And it stayed with that facility through all of its reiterations and location changes.

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Don
And and so, you know, coming up on the horizon, you know, as you can figure, is our 150th anniversary next year and a big one. So we wanted to get back home for that. And so that was really the goal. And and we you know, we had to find a, you know, a facility that could also help us out with the daytime.

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Don
So Madison Square Garden is where the groups invest and show finals will be on Monday and Tuesday night, February 10th and 11th. During the day, on February 10th and 11 for the breed judging will be at the Javits Center, which is a brand new venue for us. It's a spectacular, huge, fabulous place. And so we're really excited about that.

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Don
On Saturday, February 8th will be our canine celebration, which will also take place at the Javits Center. That day is a lot of fun. That's our Masters agility championship. We've got over 300 dogs competing in that from all over the world. We've got our Masters Obedience championship. We've got, our demonstration ring is back with herding dogs and search and rescue dogs and, dog show 101.

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Don
We threw in a little fun thing called the Human Agility course. So people can kind of go and run a course as if they are the dogs in the agility competition in the main ring. And then the new this year is the fly ball tournament. And the fly ball tournament is really exciting. It's kind of like a relay race.

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Don
There are 15 teams with four dogs each. There'll be 60 dogs competing from all over the United States and Canada. And each team, the four dogs, do a relay. They run down, they they jump over a series of jumps, hurdles. And at the end there is a contraption that shoots out a tennis ball. The dog has to grab the tennis ball and then run back and jump over all the hurdles.

00;11;34;28 - 00;12;11;05
Don
And then the next dog goes. And so it's it's a lot of fun. It's exciting. It's high energy is really noisy. Like I keep reminding my staff, we call it canine celebration. You know, it's it's not a party unless it's noisy. Yeah. Right. So that's that's what we're going with. So Saturday is, you know, kind of a celebratory vibe, with all of these performance events and, you know, high level competition, but also, you know, wonderful opportunity for, you know, individuals to come and see dogs do what they do and see other ways in which they might, you know, engage in activities with their dogs because these are all things anybody could do

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Don
with their dogs. And then also Javits Center will have what we're calling the marketplace, which, is where the Westminster merchandise store is. So if you want your Westminster merch, you know, shop early because that stuff flies off the shelves. And we've got our sponsors there. Purina Pro Plan will have their big sponsor booths. We've got closer plan.

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Don
We've got, field Turf is back there, our official turf provider. So all of the turf that you'll see the dogs competing on at Javits and Madison Square Garden is, is, from them. And we're really grateful for that. We've also got, marks. Perfecto. We've got a, great. Thing going on with, muck boots.

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Don
They've they've sent muck boots out to a number of the exhibitors at random and asked them to send back photos of them walking their dogs wearing muck boots, because Macbook's boots is the official dog walker boot for Westminster. So watch for that on social media. And then, we've also just, partnered with, Mug Root beer, which is really, really cool.

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Chris
Yeah.

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Don
So yeah. So, so, we're really excited about that. They will be obviously, you know, pitching mug root beer, their mascot dog will be on site. And, so, yeah. So that should prove to be a lot of fun as well.

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Chris
That's a real celebrity endorsement right there we go.

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Don
There we go. So so a lot of good stuff. And you know, the you know, the crown jewel is obviously the dog show on Monday and Tuesday and the judging there's 2500 champions competing from all over the world. Just to get in is an accomplishment because it's a limited entry. So we had to turn away almost 400 entries because we overdo.

00;13;51;25 - 00;14;17;05
Don
But that's, that's it's like, you know, we're back, you know, in Midtown, you're near Broadway. And it was clearly one of the hottest tickets. Right? People are trying hard to get in and not everybody did. So that's you know, the first step on the journey. And so these dogs will compete during the day and their breeds and then each breed best of breed winner will move on to compete in the finals in their group in the evenings at Madison Square Garden, the world's most famous arena.

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Don
So yeah. So a lot of cool, exciting stuff. I you can hear my voice. I'm ready to roll. Yeah.

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Chris
That looks good time.

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Kristen
Yeah, well, and welcome back. So so the Westminster Kennel Club also engages in some philanthropic efforts. Like the Purple Leash initiative. So can you talk a little bit more about about some of these that are, that are going sure. The impact they make?

00;14;39;25 - 00;15;09;12
Don
Yeah, that's a really important aspect of Westminster. We refer to it as Westminster Cares. It's our umbrella for all of the different kinds of things that we do. One of the things that the Purple Leash is a project that we, support through Purina Pro Plan and that's, a program that provides funding to create shelters that are pet friendly because so many individuals and, you know, and dangerous abusive situations can't leave.

00;15;09;12 - 00;15;30;17
Don
It's hard enough to leave under any circumstances. As we know, it's a big decision and a hard decision. But it's made even more complicated. If you can't take your pet with you, you don't want to leave your pet in that abusive situation. So the Purple Leash Project is out there to try to create more pet friendly shelters for those trying to get away from abusive, dangerous situations.

00;15;30;17 - 00;16;00;10
Don
So we're very, very proud of that project. Then we also, just did, a number of donations to some of the organizations providing, help and, and support, out in LA. In response to the fires, we, we made, $10,000 new donations to the Los Angeles County Animal Care Foundation and also a $10,000 donation to the Pasadena Humane Society.

00;16;00;12 - 00;16;19;22
Don
To try to help them with the good work that they're doing out there, you know, to, attempt to reunite, you know, pets with their families that that may have been displaced and all of that chaos. Right? So our hearts go out to all of them. The we have our scholarships that we, put out for our junior handler winners.

00;16;19;28 - 00;16;39;29
Don
We have our, excuse me, our junior showmanship finals. Drew 99 juniors competing this year from all over the country. And they work real hard all year to qualify to compete, they they have to have a, a significant number of best year handler wins, throughout the qualifying period. And so, you know, these are literally the top juniors in the country.

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Don
And, we celebrated the 90th anniversary of junior showmanship last year at Westminster. And, that's really important to me. I grew up in it, I did it, and I know it made a big difference in my life on many different levels. And so I feel strongly, you know, that Westminster continue to make that a focus of, of its activities.

00;16;58;18 - 00;17;22;29
Don
And so we continue with the scholarship awards for the juniors who place in the finals. And we have a number of veterinary scholarships that go out. We also have our vet of the year award, which, makes a $10,000 donation in the name of the winner to Not One More Vet, which is an organization which supports, mental and emotional health.

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Don
A veterinarian, because, as we know, it's a really stressful profession. And I think people forget that, you know, that it's, you know, it can sometimes be a very lonely profession. You know, it's very different from being, you know, a physician for humans, where humans interact with you and tell you what's wrong and, you know, give you and the doctor a sense of symptoms and so on.

00;17;41;13 - 00;18;02;04
Don
And whether they're feeling better or not, you know, the veterinarian is often, you know, going on intuition and, and sense and, and, you know, it can be, it can be a really difficult, job, a really difficult life. And, and, you know, in those situations, it's not unusual. Right. Unending stress leads to mental and emotional struggles.

00;18;02;10 - 00;18;23;05
Don
And so this not one more vet organization does outreach to support vets, you know, to try to minimize, you know, those circumstances. So, yeah. So these are some of the things that, you know, that Westminster does. And, you know, as things pop up, you know, like, like, you know, this unfortunate catastrophe in LA, you know, Westminster, you know, tries to respond and, and be a part of the solutions.

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Don
Yeah. That's, financial support.

00;18;24;26 - 00;18;47;25
Chris
That's a lot of really, great stuff. It's it's always warms my heart to see, you know, successful organizations, sharing that love and supporting really important things, especially what you talked about with, you know, veterinarians mental health. That's something that doesn't see a lot of support. So you guys jumping in and raising awareness is is absolutely amazing.

00;18;47;28 - 00;19;05;19
Chris
Before we let you go, Don, this is 149. But we got 150 coming up. The world of dog shows is growing in popularity. What's the future look like for, both Westminster and the culture of, showing dogs?

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Don
Well, I think for, you know, for us, you know, this 149 and we are kind of looking at it this the dress rehearsal for the big one next year, the 1/50. And we've tried to hold back, you know, some surprises, you know, to, you know, make that 150th, you know, special and unique. Yeah. Excuse me. So, you know, you know, people can watch for that with me.

00;19;24;19 - 00;19;46;28
Don
We're already working on it. So, that's, you know, very, you know, very front of minds for, for all of us on the Westminster team. But I think, you know, just when you talk about, like, say, the fact that Westminster over drew by 400 entries, it shows that the sport is still very viable and very healthy and, you know, people, you know, there's just a universal love of dogs.

00;19;46;28 - 00;20;13;02
Don
And to me, the dog show world is just a microcosm of that, you know, larger part of our society where, you know, dogs are part of our families. And, you know, dogs give us unconditional love. Dogs, you know, improve our physical and mental health. You know, they're they're just so integral to our existence and always have great dogs have always been a part of the human journey from, you know, early, early on in primitive times.

00;20;13;02 - 00;20;48;09
Don
So it's it's, I think just the dogs, those are just, you know, kind of an offshoot of that, that bigger, bigger picture and, and a place where people can come together. Right. It gives you a, a common focus, you know, a common event to celebrate, you know, that's built around this, you know, universal love. And, you know, Westminster, you know, does enjoy this, you know, very special recognition as, as the most famous, most iconic dog show in the world, literally, you know, people and dogs come from all over the world to be there both to compete and to be there as spectators just to experience it.

00;20;48;12 - 00;21;01;28
Don
And also, you know, seek it out, you know, on all the different media platforms. So. Yeah. Yeah. It's, it's, it's quite something. I, you know, it's, you know, when I sit back and when I talk to you like that sometimes it, you know, it hits me like, wow. Yeah. This is huge.

00;21;02;01 - 00;21;05;05
Chris
Yes, yes, it's it's a local event.

00;21;05;09 - 00;21;11;09
Kristen
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, Don, thank you so much for joining us today. I know Chris is going to get to enjoy some of the show.

00;21;11;09 - 00;21;13;07
Chris
Me there will be no great. Yeah.

00;21;13;07 - 00;21;15;05
Don
So yeah, he'll come find me please.

00;21;15;06 - 00;21;21;21
Chris
Yeah I know I definitely will. If you're too busy, too bad. I mean, if I get.

00;21;21;23 - 00;21;25;11
Don
I will, I will, I will definitely swing by the booth for sure.

00;21;25;13 - 00;21;35;17
Chris
That sounds great. Yeah, I can't wait. It's always such a special part of my year to be able to visit and and see it all. And so I. I just can't wait. It's going to be a great day for Westminster.

00;21;35;17 - 00;21;39;13
Don
Is really grateful for our partnership with dog TV. And we're thrilled that you're going to be there.

00;21;39;15 - 00;21;40;27
Chris
Awesome. All right.

00;21;40;28 - 00;21;41;28
Kristen
Thank you Don. We'll see.

00;21;41;29 - 00;21;43;02
Chris
Thanks, Don.

00;21;43;04 - 00;21;47;07
Don
Yeah. Thanks to everybody.

00;21;47;09 - 00;22;16;29
Chris
And you know we we didn't get a chance to talk about this while we had Don on. But on dog TV there's the whole vault of Westminster shows going all the way back to like, black and white shows. You watch all this awesome historical content and, you could you could binge watch, you could catch up, see what all the hype is about, whether you're new to dog shows or you are a, you know, you're an absolute aficionado and and you just love the history of it.

00;22;17;02 - 00;22;27;22
Chris
I think it's a really cool thing that, that they have on dog TV. And like I said, I'll be there. So we'll be bringing you some awesome content from, the Westminster show as well.

00;22;27;24 - 00;22;29;28
Kristen
And I will have FOMO for sure.

00;22;30;02 - 00;22;30;16
Chris
Yes.

00;22;30;16 - 00;22;34;08
Kristen
Then get to join you this year. But maybe next I'm going to join you for 150, that's for sure.

00;22;34;13 - 00;22;40;28
Chris
For 150. Yeah, yeah. Chris will have fun. Kristen will have FOMO, and all of you will be the better for it.

00;22;41;01 - 00;23;11;22
Kristen
All right. Joining us now is Doctor Emily Hubbard, a seasoned veterinary professional and the chief medical officer at veterinary Innovative Partners. Now, this is a growing network of nearly 70 veterinarian owned and operated hospitals across 12 different states. Now, with a decade of very diverse experience, Doctor Hubbard has worked as an associate veterinarian, as a single and multi unit medical director and a regional director of medical quality, overseeing over 200 veterinarians.

00;23;11;22 - 00;23;39;18
Kristen
Wow. VIP, she leads medical operations, enhances veterinary training, and develop strategies to empower vet teams while ensuring exceptional patient care, which of course, is what our listeners are most interested to learn more about. And I just wanted to add that Doctor Hubbard is passionate about combating the burnout that is taking place, in the veterinary profession and supporting vets with resources, mentorship, and the autonomy to create better work life balance.

00;23;39;21 - 00;23;44;18
Kristen
She's based in Nashville, Tennessee. Let's welcome Doctor Hubbard. Well, thank.

00;23;44;18 - 00;23;47;25
Dr. Emily Hubbard
You, thank you. I'm excited to be here.

00;23;47;27 - 00;24;08;26
Kristen
We're excited to have you. I'll just kick it off here by, asking you about. So your career path has been really dynamic. You've gotten had it. You've held a lot of roles and you're very, very young. So you've got a lot in your young career. So what is what inspired you to take this path in pursuing leadership roles with vets?

00;24;08;28 - 00;24;40;13
Dr. Emily Hubbard
So I think that in my clinical experience, because I did it for over a decade that I realized I loved impacting, of course, the pet parents and the pet, but that I really was called to help and develop and impact the other doctors. So as I would go and coached, like maybe doctors or, get them used to things, I realized I can do more if I just join that leadership path.

00;24;40;15 - 00;25;01;25
Dr. Emily Hubbard
And I just tried it and I slowly got more experience, and I just fell in love with it more and more and more. And I, I do miss my my little furry patients sometimes, but I always feel so good because I know that I can develop someone else to take care of so many more pets than I could alone.

00;25;01;27 - 00;25;27;12
Chris
Right? Yeah, absolutely. That makes a lot of sense to me. But we mentioned at the top of the show overseeing 200 veterinarians. I mean, I have I have trouble, like developing my meal plan for the week, and you're, you're you're helping 200 people through. What are some of that? What are some of the challenges that go into taking on such a heavy burden?

00;25;27;14 - 00;25;52;02
Dr. Emily Hubbard
Oh, gosh. So one of the biggest challenges is trying to just remember everybody does everything differently. And that's I think what's special about, you know, where I am with VIP right now, that I still want to have everybody maintain, their autonomy, they can still practice their the way they want to do what they want to do.

00;25;52;04 - 00;26;16;05
Dr. Emily Hubbard
And my job is really kind of gathering seams or threads and creating that gold standard or just a basic standardization. So I get a lot of feedback. I ask for feedback all the time, constantly. What can we do better? What are we doing? Well, what do you want to see? And then I am bringing that all together.

00;26;16;05 - 00;26;19;05
Dr. Emily Hubbard
So really everything I do is based off of feedback from you.

00;26;19;05 - 00;26;27;07
Chris
Sound like a really great force. No kidding. There's probably a lot of listeners may like them. I can't my boss be like that, right?

00;26;27;08 - 00;26;37;23
Dr. Emily Hubbard
I try, I mean, of course everybody's opinions, you know, everything doesn't always go into the bucket, to be able to do. But, everybody deserves a chance to be heard.

00;26;37;25 - 00;26;38;15
Chris
Yeah.

00;26;38;18 - 00;27;07;21
Kristen
Absolutely. So I know that VIP focuses on combating burnout and improving the work life balance for veterinarians. For our listeners who are primarily pet parents, can you explain how veterinarians, find themselves burning out and, and and trying to strive for that work life balance? Because I don't think pet parents, you know, obviously we see it very differently, when we take our own pets to the vet, but help us understand what it's like on the other side.

00;27;07;24 - 00;27;30;06
Dr. Emily Hubbard
That's a great. Yeah, that's a great question. So, for pet parents, I think that one big thing I just want to share is that I guarantee your veterinarians that, you know, see your pets every day. They are putting on their best self for you. They really are. They love your babies, your fur babies. They love their job.

00;27;30;06 - 00;27;57;24
Dr. Emily Hubbard
They love what they do. But it's an emotional roller coaster. Sometimes, unfortunately, we have, pets we have to say goodbye to. And maybe that's euthanasia. You put your best things on and you are there with that pet parent. And then maybe the next room that you see is a brand new puppy, and you're so excited to see the brand new puppy, but you just also sat and cried with that previous pet parent.

00;27;57;24 - 00;28;20;22
Dr. Emily Hubbard
So it's it's really just, a roller coaster. And I think that, you know, over time that really can wear on you. And so, as a natural inclination, we as veterinarians, we have big hearts and, we want to do the best. And we're also very if you don't already know, this, we are very, very Type-A people.

00;28;20;22 - 00;28;44;12
Dr. Emily Hubbard
We want to do the best at everything we do all the time. So just think about that from that perspective that we want to do it right every single time. And we also want to show up best for you in these moments of extreme emotional ups and downs. So again, that is really when we talk about that work life balance.

00;28;44;15 - 00;29;05;08
Dr. Emily Hubbard
We throw ourselves into work. And if we're not taking care of our selves in a way that is fulfilling for us, then we can't give to our pets and pet parents the way we want to. So again, it's a it's a balance. It's not always perfect, but it's very important piece.

00;29;05;10 - 00;29;30;22
Chris
Yeah. That's, some great perspective. And beyond burnout, there's obviously a whole slew of, challenges that, the modern, modern, veterinary practitioner is experiencing right now. What are some of those, other challenges that VIP is looking to address? And is there any way, that we as pet parents can help support those concerns?

00;29;30;25 - 00;30;03;28
Dr. Emily Hubbard
Ooh, yes. So one big thing that, has really, really, really started showing that is a need in our vet world is the need to accommodate all the demand. We have so many pets out there and we want to see them. We want to be efficient. We want to do the right thing. One challenge I'll just share for, probably almost all of your veterinarians out there is how do we make sure we uphold really great medical quality decisions, have conversations, and have a good medical record?

00;30;04;00 - 00;30;34;22
Dr. Emily Hubbard
So we are actually leaning into AI technology. And at VIP, that's actually something that we are, starting to roll out and starting to use to help our doctors be able to have those great conversations and not miss anything. And what that looks like is basically systems that help support us to maybe as pet parents, I can put together some information that you can take home, or maybe it will, email you a summary of what we talked about.

00;30;34;24 - 00;30;54;25
Dr. Emily Hubbard
So I think that, my ask from our pet parents is be open minded, be open minded for us with new tools. I think that these are very different from what we used to use. And, it's only going to help us help you better.

00;30;54;28 - 00;31;00;15
Kristen
Yeah. That's. I'm, I'm glad that you that you talked about ai so exciting. What what we're going to be able to do.

00;31;00;20 - 00;31;03;29
Dr. Emily Hubbard
It is so exciting I am yeah.

00;31;04;02 - 00;31;19;24
Kristen
And so, doc, what's the most what's been the most fulfilling aspect of your role as, chief medical officer at VIP so far? And what excites you about the future of, veterinary medicine? Besides, besides, I.

00;31;19;27 - 00;31;49;05
Dr. Emily Hubbard
Think clearly that is exciting. So I think that what I really enjoyed specifically about VIP and my new role, is that I have I have the ability to create. And I know that sounds so funny in a science based world, I guess, but I can create training, I can create systems, I can create what is needed in our hospitals.

00;31;49;07 - 00;32;19;01
Dr. Emily Hubbard
And I think that's been so exciting. And that kind of goes back to the feedback piece. My way might not always be the right way. So like, what's the right way for our teams and for our doctors? So I think that having that freedom and having that, support has been just thrilling. So really the possibilities are endless, with our docs and they just have to open up and tell tell us what they need.

00;32;19;04 - 00;32;42;24
Chris
Yeah. It's always great to be able to tap into your creative side, especially in positions where that's not really something that happens too often that I don't think a lot of people hear veterinarian and think, oh yeah, that's a that's a creative, creative job. So, yeah. And we're coming up on time here. But I do want to ask you one more question before we let you go, doc.

00;32;42;24 - 00;33;11;00
Chris
And, you know, we have a whole broad range of listeners out there, some who may be considering going into, the veterinary practice career and, you know, veterinary medicine fields. What advice do you have for a young person who, may be sitting at home listening to this, the sultry tones of Chris and Kristen and thinking, yeah, I'm going to grow up and become a fan.

00;33;11;03 - 00;33;35;28
Dr. Emily Hubbard
Oh, I love it. Okay, so that is funny that you asked because I actually just had my, my niece and I just had this conversation. She's in high school right now, like, literally just had this conversation. It was much longer, but give you the nutshell. So, I pretty much told her, I said, you know, right now is where you really just need to get yourself some experience.

00;33;36;00 - 00;34;04;25
Dr. Emily Hubbard
Go and, volunteer, go to some shelters, go follow a doctor that you've seen, with your pets for years. Really just kind of expose yourself because it always sounds like a great idea, which is to be a veterinarian. But, I think that getting getting our hands dirty is really, really important. And then also, the other piece in a nutshell that I gave her was, start taking care of yourself now.

00;34;04;27 - 00;34;23;29
Dr. Emily Hubbard
Start taking care of yourself and start finding those hobbies and the loves and things that you just can't wait to do when you're done with work. Because again, it's such an amazing profession. But we have to remember it is a job. It's not us, and it's not our life or our identity. So that those are the two big nuggets.

00;34;24;01 - 00;34;29;24
Chris
That some killer advice. All right. I'm writing that, that last one I'm writing down. I am not my job.

00;34;29;27 - 00;34;30;17
Kristen
I am not.

00;34;30;17 - 00;34;38;17
Chris
A podcast host. I have more, I am more than a microphone.

00;34;38;19 - 00;34;46;26
Kristen
Doctor. However, so much for all that you're doing to support veterinarians. Empower them so that they can show up as their best selves for our pets.

00;34;46;26 - 00;34;51;06
Chris
And we. Yeah, you're doing great work, and thanks for taking the time out of your busy, busy day.

00;34;51;09 - 00;34;52;01
Dr. Emily Hubbard
Thank you.

00;34;52;05 - 00;34;59;06
Chris
Pets add life. I'm telling you, Chris, in 2025 guests. All baggers.

00;34;59;09 - 00;35;04;15
Kristen
All baggers. Man, you know it's I feel sorry for the next guest having a dog.

00;35;04;17 - 00;35;25;09
Chris
Yeah, yeah. You know, it's actually interesting. I just had to bring Tiger to the vet yesterday, and, she's like everybody know where she's found? She had a you ended up being a UTI, but, you know, moment of panic when you see blood in your cat's urine. And I only looked she was in and out of the box nonstop.

00;35;25;09 - 00;35;45;15
Chris
Right. And, you know, we get that question a lot. And I do know enough to I always say, you know, if this thing is happening, take your animal to the vet. So I call over and I say, hey, you know, like, I don't know if it's an emergency and you have any same-day appointments. And they took me at 545, and I've seen that same doctor at 830 in the morning.

00;35;45;17 - 00;36;09;13
Chris
So she is working ridiculous hours long days, squeezing people in when there's concerns. And they took care of Tiger Tigers fan. She woke up this morning feeling, you know, they gave her an antibiotic shot. She feels completely okay now. And vets are the best because I feel a lot better now. I'm able to come on the show and make a lot of jokes because I know my kitty cat is home and healthy.

00;36;09;16 - 00;36;12;13
Kristen
Fantastic. The product of the week.

00;36;12;16 - 00;36;40;09
Chris
All right, it's time for the pop up product of the week. And, this week, I'm bringing you something that is, pretty cool. Inexpensive, actually. So it's a it's a is an animal brush. And my least favorite part of brushing my cat is having to get the hair out of the brush. Like, once you get it all.

00;36;40;09 - 00;37;03;00
Chris
And now it's just like this mess. So this is this is a brush from. I want to pronounce this properly. Hurts. Go. And it's like this, this nice purple brush. Good for dogs, good for cats. But what makes it just a little different is there is a button you push and it retracts the bristles and the hair just falls right out.

00;37;03;03 - 00;37;36;02
Chris
So it's on Amazon right now for 17 bucks. 17 bucks, which is just as expensive as any other brush that we've ever recommended on on this podcast. The self-cleaning is really great, especially if you've got one of those thick winter coats on your animals and to to save the time, because I know even with Tiger right now, because she has her winter coat in and I brush, I, I spent as much time pulling the hair out of the brush and putting it into the trash as I do brushing it, so I'm considering getting somebody with allergies.

00;37;36;02 - 00;37;49;09
Chris
I mean, I've been stuffy this entire time with her shedding and shedding and shedding. There is never any end. So I'm looking for any advantage I could get. So I'm going to be checking this one out. Link, as always in the show notes.

00;37;49;12 - 00;37;52;25
Kristen
That's a good one. They should make those for people brushes, too.

00;37;52;27 - 00;38;08;12
Chris
Yes. Oh my goodness. Sometimes I look at my wife's airbrush in horror. It's like some type of eldritch horror. I wouldn't be surprised if some type of Cthulhu monster emerged from there. So, yeah, maybe. Maybe they should.

00;38;08;14 - 00;38;28;13
Kristen
Okay, so I have an inexpensive product to to share now, February is Pet Dental Health Month, and we've probably talked about this on the show probably last February. But just as a reminder, periodontal disease affects over 80% of dogs and 70% of cats by age three. So it's and it's one of the most common health issues in pets.

00;38;28;15 - 00;38;53;02
Kristen
And it all starts because of that plaque build up that leads to gingivitis. And ultimately if it's untreated or, you know, unmanaged, it can cause tooth loss and serious health problems. So I discovered this really cool cat treat. It's called a treat brush instead of a tooth brush. And it's just this it looks like a cat toy. I don't even know how to describe it, so you'll have to check it out.

00;38;53;04 - 00;39;15;27
Kristen
It's sort of like a feathered toy. It's got like, a, squiggly thing on the bottom in the middle has this really cool, like, floss engineering where the cats, as they're playing with it, chewing on it, it's actually brushing their teeth. And it has, patent pending floss slots and a plush toothbrush design. I went on this company's website, which, by the way, where's the name?

00;39;16;01 - 00;39;44;23
Kristen
Oh, it's called get Shumate, get cat, get you. They actually have a video of how it works that like, really close up. So you can really see that it actually does brush the teeth. Really cool. And right now they you can get a two pack for only $9. So I thought that was a great one. There's tons of dental products on the market because as we all know, it's very difficult to brush your dog or cat teeth if you haven't been doing it since they were younger.

00;39;44;26 - 00;39;55;25
Kristen
But this is this sounds like a really good one. Oh, and by the way, it was designed by a human dentist and his high dentist hygienist. So there you go.

00;39;55;27 - 00;40;22;17
Chris
That sounds great. Cat's breath stinks. It does anything to help clean the Q and A's. All right, folks, it's time. That's right. It's time for our favorite segment of the show, where we answer two burning questions from our dear listeners. And I know what you're thinking. Hey, how the heck do I get Chris and Kristen to answer my question?

00;40;22;21 - 00;40;43;23
Chris
It's quite simple. You're going to head on over to Pet at life.org/podcast, fill out the form, or hey, listen, if you're as brave as one of those little doggos performing in this in the Puppy Bowl, then you can have your voice recorded as a voice memo. Submit it and you may hear your question. Play live on this show.

00;40;43;23 - 00;41;00;02
Chris
And while you're over on the Pets at Life website, check out all the other awesome pet ownership resources. Some information to find your pet quiz. Some really great stuff, so check it out while you're there. But without further ado, Kristen, are you ready for a question?

00;41;00;04 - 00;41;01;25
Kristen
I'm ready. Hit me with it.

00;41;01;27 - 00;41;29;05
Chris
All right, here we go. I've got a question here from Jenna, who is in Portland, Oregon, and Jenna asks, hi, Kristen and Chris, it's Chris and Kristen, but but sure question. Yes. Just sure. I'm just I'm thinking about getting a bunny as a pet for the first time. What are some key things I should know before bringing one home, and how can I create a safe and happy environment for them?

00;41;29;07 - 00;41;54;20
Kristen
Hey Jenny, I love this question. We don't get bunny questions. Let's go be the first bunny question. Actually. Okay, so a couple things I would say at the start is that rabbits are social animals. So I would recommend if you're if you're going to get a bunny that you consider adopting a bonded pair. And if they are not already spayed and neutered and or neutered please spay and neuter.

00;41;54;22 - 00;41;58;05
Kristen
Otherwise you're going to end up with a bunch of bunnies.

00;41;58;08 - 00;41;58;21
Chris
So.

00;41;58;23 - 00;42;22;22
Kristen
You'll also want to make sure that your home is, kind of bunny proofed. So you'll want to hide any electrical cords and toxic plants. And bunnies are like an eight plus year commitment. They they really can live 8 to 12 years, typically when well cared for. So, so, but aside from that, you want to make sure that you have a living space for them.

00;42;22;22 - 00;42;44;06
Kristen
That's at least they usually say four times the size of the bunny. So obviously the the bunny needs to be able to, you know, do their business in one corner because they don't typically do their business where they eat. So make sure they've got plenty room and you can litter box train a bunny too. So, it's great to make sure that you give them out of the cage time, too, so that they can get exercise.

00;42;44;06 - 00;43;04;01
Kristen
And I have a girlfriend who, recently went through a divorce and one of her kind of forms of therapy and coaching at going through this difficult time in her life was she adopted two bunnies and she is so crazy about bunnies, and she now has four bunnies, and she posts about them on Instagram all the time, and she's absolutely in love with them.

00;43;04;01 - 00;43;15;18
Kristen
And it's really cute to watch this whole these relationships develop so I think bunnies are great pets. So good luck with that. And let us know if you do adopt a pair, hopefully a pair.

00;43;15;20 - 00;43;31;20
Chris
That is great advice as always, Chris, and I've got nothing to add. I had a cousin who had a bunny, but I did not help take care of it. And I was very, very young. So, I would listen to Chris and on that one. Jen, I thank you for the question.

00;43;31;27 - 00;43;51;21
Kristen
Yeah. Good luck. Jenna. Okay, so, Chris, I have a question from you. This one comes from Mark in Austin, Texas. Mark says, hi there. My dog Max is constantly scratching and biting at his skin. It seems like he's super itchy all the time. What could be causing this and how can I help him feel more comfortable?

00;43;51;24 - 00;44;19;15
Chris
Yeah. So my parents, dog also has a lot of skin issues, going on. And number one, cause allergies. Straight up, dogs can be allergic to a whole lot of the stuff that's outside. So in my parents case, when they moved, that's when the dog developed, some skin issues, because there were some grasses that were up there that weren't where they had originally lived.

00;44;19;15 - 00;44;49;03
Chris
That was irritating the dog. So if they're able to if you're able to identify, when and where they're getting these irritations and it does end up being allergies, keeping them away from that kind of stuff can help. There's also, all sorts of balms and creams that you can use to help alleviate the, itching that the thing that you have to be careful of is the obsessive scratching, just like with a person.

00;44;49;06 - 00;45;12;14
Chris
If you keep scratching at a wound or an itchy spot, it just gets worse. And dog's nails are real, real dirty. So the risk of infection is quite high. The cone of shame is an option, though. There are, less humiliating, products out there that can help prevent the dog from, either biting or scratching that area.

00;45;12;16 - 00;45;41;25
Chris
You know, bandaging, bandaging. It could be an option. And if you can't find a way to either a stop it from happening, b stop the dog from really going after it, or, c it just continues to get worse and finding new spots. It's time to bring the dog to the vet. There's all sorts of things that it could be, but they're going to be able to guide you, and provide some relief for your d your dog Max.

00;45;41;28 - 00;45;47;29
Kristen
Yeah. Great advice, and I'm glad you mentioned the part about the, you know, the secondary infection that can be caused from.

00;45;47;29 - 00;45;51;01
Chris
Yeah. From this. That's what I'll really getcha.

00;45;51;04 - 00;45;52;03
Kristen
Yeah. For sure.

00;45;52;05 - 00;46;12;18
Chris
And I think, Kristen, that brings us to the end of our show. Already? Yeah, I know it. Time flies when you're having fun. Time also flies when you're sitting at a desk recording a podcast. The two are not necessarily mutually exclusive, but hey, folks, remember, this is our job. We're out here working for you all.

00;46;12;21 - 00;46;30;16
Chris
All right? We're bringing you the best and brightest in the pet industry. All the all the the painstaking research that we do, our years of experience. It's all yours for for free. Free 99. Wherever you get your podcasts or videos. It's it's, it's an incredible opportunity.

00;46;30;18 - 00;46;33;19
Kristen
Oh my goodness. Yeah. A lot of blood, sweat, tears goes a.

00;46;33;21 - 00;46;37;19
Chris
Lot of blood, sweat and tears. None of them mind.

00;46;37;22 - 00;46;38;14
Kristen
They're all wrong.

00;46;38;21 - 00;46;55;04
Chris
They're all right, they're all right. But thank you all so much, as always, for listening to us. We're going to be back. Don't worry. We're back next Tuesday. And until then, be kind to yourself. Be kind to animals, and we'll talk to you in a week.

00;46;55;06 - 00;46;59;12
Kristen
Or over and out.

00;46;59;15 - 00;47;02;19
Chris
Oh, God. Rover it out.

00;47;02;20 - 00;47;03;13
Kristen
I love it.