52. Westminster Dogs & Vet Expo Insights

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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. All right, everybody, welcome to another episode of Pets at Life. I am Chris Bonafide, joined, as always by the talented and thoughtful Kristen Levine.

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Chris
Kristen, how are we doing today?

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Kristen
I'm doing great. We have been busy. We've been on the road traveling to different events. So, I'm excited to hear about your travels.

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Chris
Yes, we have been we've done all sorts of cool stuff. And then you may notice the studio change. It's because now I'm snowed in. So it's been we've been everywhere. And now I'm back home. I'm stuck at home. So a nice little cozy, cozy episode. Me, my corgi pillow. And, if we're lucky, Tiger will show up.

00:00:54:12 - 00:01:03:00
Chris
But, my wife's home, too, so she prefers to spend time with her, and I'm. I'm the stinky cheese who stands alone.

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Kristen
Let's see the corgi show the corgi pillow. Yeah, it's really corgi pillow.

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Chris
We don't have a dog. We have this pillow. Which is a lot less responsibility.

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Speaker 3
A lot.

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Chris
A lot less responsibility. But, yeah. Hey, we're still going to we're going to stick to the script a little bit, but yeah, it's a bit of a special episode with us, having been to some events, but, we still have two stories for y'all. We still have two products. We're still going to answer two questions, but the guest segment is going to be a little different.

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Chris
And I don't want to spoil too much. You're going to have to stick around to find out more about Kristen and Chris present story time.

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Kristen
All right, Chris, it is story time. Story time to go first. Go first.

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Chris
Sure. Yeah. I have a fun little story. This is a fun little one. Nothing groundbreaking. Nothing, too heavy. But, there's been a lot of snow across the United States and in some places that never really get snow. So I saw this really fun story about the Houston, the Houston Zoo. They got snow, which is why I'm not a lot, like an inch and a half.

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Chris
It looks like, And I've got a link here in the show notes, because there's a video and you gotta watch it. People. You got to watch it because there are elephants playing in the snow, which, I.

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Kristen
Mean, my gosh.

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Chris
I can't wait. Can't see that because you even if you even if you have a zoo, you know, like the Bronx Zoo doesn't have in New York, doesn't have elephants. It gets too cold that part of the year. So, you know where they keep elephants? It's all going to be the warmer weather ones. So these these are animals who do not get to interact with snow.

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Chris
So it's just a fun. I think they got, like, a 46 second video here on, on NBC, but there's all sorts of clips that you could see. I just think, like, it was so adorable. I had to share it with everybody. But for those of you who live in the South and who may be experiencing snow for the first time, just stay home.

00:03:00:01 - 00:03:12:02
Chris
You're not ready for it. Just stay home. I've seen the videos of like, you know, like Georgia getting snow and the the car pile ups and things like that. Just stay home. You don't know what you're doing. No, you're not. You're not a Connecticut.

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Kristen
No one's going to no one's going to question you. Staying home either.

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Chris
So yeah. Well some people might, but I won't. We won't. Not here at pets at like we got your back. Stay home. Make yourself some cocoa. There are a couple logs on the fire. You know, and and enjoy it because it is a rare occasion. But stay safe. First and foremost, stay safe. All right. Kristen, what do you got for your story today?

00:03:34:19 - 00:03:57:15
Kristen
Okay, well, mine's not a snowy, fun story, but it's kind of interesting. This is about a trend that is really picking up steam now. It's it's it's about supplements. And if I think back to maybe, maybe 15 years ago, if you ask me about pet supplements, the only thing I would know about would be that glucosamine conjoined for joint health.

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Kristen
Right. Well, there have been there's been an explosion of pet supplements, which I think we all know. If you're listening to the show, you're probably familiar with the supplement. Market in the pet industry is pretty huge. And, and I, I came across a story that talked about why it's actually picking up steam. So currently, about a third of dog and cat owners give their pets supplements.

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Kristen
And the demand particularly increased during the pandemic when preventative health became, more of a focus, not only for ourselves but also for our pets. And as as you probably know, pet trends are typically trends that were in the human world that, you know, maybe a year or 2 or 3 years later became popular for pets, too, because what's good for us is good for our pets.

00:04:45:00 - 00:05:10:22
Kristen
But a few other things that are driving this, this surge in pets up a pet supplement is rising veterinary costs and limited appointment availability. Better educated pet parents, that understand the value of those early interventions and really just a focus on overall wellness. So, I thought I'd read through a couple of the cost saving benefits of supplements.

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Kristen
Give it to me. Yeah, yeah. So, regular joint giving your pet a regular joint supplement might mean they might. Won't. Definitely, but might help avoid expensive mobility surgeries or delay those surgeries. Also might keep your pet more comfortable longer. Dental supplements can reduce plaque and tartar buildup, so maybe delaying the frequency of those dental cleanings. Digestive supplements can help, prevent emergency GI issues.

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Kristen
Which we had a tulip a couple of months ago. Very costly GI visit. So. So, yeah. So while supplements are obviously a great preventative measure, they don't replace your veterinarian. But I think it's really great news to hear that more and more people are starting to give their pet supplements and recognizing that, they can help to avoid certain issues and, save money, possibly on vet care.

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Chris
Yeah, that preventative care is huge. It's huge. You know, especially the, the, the the dental stuff, is just here's the thing in nature, these animals were meant to live this long. It's. Yes. It's just the way. It's not the way the animal kingdom meant to shake out. So their teeth didn't need to last ten, 12 years.

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Chris
But, you know, you want your dog to stick around, and as they stick around, you want them to be healthy and happy and comfortable. So it's up to you as the pet parent to do what nature cannot and give them all of this awesome stuff that's going to help keep their body in tip top shape. So definitely recommend it.

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Kristen
That's right.

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Chris
Beyond the leash exploring the untold stories of pet passion.

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Kristen
So, Chris, you just you just came back from the 149th, anniversary sorry show of the Westminster Dog Show. How was it?

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Chris
It was it was amazing. It was quite the experience. It is always such a pleasure to be surrounded by such passionate, passionate dog people. And it's insane. You got to talk to a lot of awesome people. We even captured some of that on camera. So I think we're just going to go ahead, jump on in and see what Chris's day and Chris takes on Manhattan and the Westminster Dog Show.

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Chris
It's it's like sex in the city, but better.

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Speaker 3
Got to.

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Chris
All right. We're here at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show. The Super Bowl of dogs, the big game of dogs. Big game dogs. Please don't see me. NFL and I'm joined by doctor, Jai Diggs and Doctor Kali Harris, who have some illustrious titles in the veterinarian industry. Doctor Diggs is the resident vet of the Westminster Kennel Club, and Doctor Harris is the senior vet communications manager with Purina.

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Chris
Wow.

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Speaker 3
Wow. That's right.

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Chris
Wow. Yeah. Thank thank you guys for today.

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Speaker 4
You've come a long way.

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Chris
Yeah yeah. Speaking of coming along way, I was doing research rare. I know Chris doing research. And I saw you guys both went to Tuskegee University. That's amazing.

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Speaker 4
Yes, it is amazing.

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Speaker 3
Let's talk. Let's talk about our past a little bit. GI training, right? Yeah. You guys know him as. But the two of us came from the illustrious Tuskegee University, then School of Veterinary Medicine. We were there many, many moons ago. And, the two of us were actually, what, together?

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Speaker 4
So we were, Purina student reps or Purina ambassadors. Actually, I was the one, actually, that I was his predecessor.

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Speaker 3
So he's older. Oh, yeah. Okay. He's all.

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Chris
Established. Right. Okay.

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Speaker 4
So I said we we wanted to bring on more, student reps, and Carly applied for the job. She and a young guy named Stevie Jones, and Stevie and Carly both were hired. And it's full circle how Carly and I have actually transformed into something totally different. Carly took the road to stay with Purina, which was really smart.

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Speaker 3
Very smart. The best job in the world.

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Speaker 4
Yeah, she was really smart. But, you know, honestly, Purina afforded us both opportunities to broaden our, horizons as far as, becoming veterinarians, I, I've built relationships through Purina. That helped me do an internship and build relationships. And now here we are back at Westminster Kennel Club, and I'm the resident veterinarian, so. Yeah.

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Chris
Resident. What does a resident veterinarian? Do for the Westminster Kennel Club?

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Speaker 4
You know, it's it's really funny. I'm the first. Okay, so with some of those things.

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Chris
You're going to get to decide. So some of those things.

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Speaker 4
So some of those things are still, to be decided like we just talked about. But, you know, one of the things is making the veterinary community aware of what we do here at the vet, at the Westminster Kennel Club dog show. Not the veterinary community, but the public aware of what we do at this dog show, also educating the public.

00:10:05:06 - 00:10:25:20
Speaker 4
About various breed, about various diseases. And then if there is an animal emergency, I'm one of those guys. I'm walking around making sure everybody's okay. If anybody has any questions, I'm here to answer those questions. So right now, that's part of my my charge and and me staying abreast of any new, an emerging diseases that may come about.

00:10:25:22 - 00:10:38:17
Chris
Yeah. That's amazing. I mean, it's such an opportunity for both you and the public to learn a lot more. You know, people are really interested in their pets nowadays. They're very invested in their lives. So that kind of information is invaluable.

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Speaker 4
And they're not pets anymore. Their family members. Right. You know, they became family members when we start, provide them with insurance. Yeah.

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Speaker 3
Well, yeah.

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Chris
That's. Yeah, that's that's all right.

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Speaker 3
Now, what's also interesting, you know, sitting with the first resident veterinarian of the Westminster Kennel Club is also just understanding that many of our pet parents are clients back at home where we practice, they look at a dog show as something that is completely unobtainable. This is a world that they don't have access to, that they don't really understand how pets even get here into the show ring and become champions.

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Speaker 3
And what I always like to remind people is that these amazing athletes that you're going to see in the ring, they're people's pets. Yeah, right. Their pets. And you know that there are definitely some key ingredients that you know is going to be required for them to show up and compete. But at the end of the day, they're just somebody's dog that's well-loved and, you know, has been given, you know, a great life.

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Speaker 3
So I think that's really important for us to elevate that information and that messaging to.

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Chris
Yeah, you know, we probably have a lot of people listening right now being like, my dog's got what it takes. But you know, like.

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Speaker 3
So let's do it.

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Chris
Any any tips? You know, let's say I've got, you know, an active border collie and I'm starting them on agility training. Yes. I don't I live in a condo. I have a border collie. But you know what? What sort of things should you be focused on from? Like a nutrition standpoint? You know, human athletes are always talking about, like, a Tom Brady and his diet, things like that.

00:12:06:07 - 00:12:07:13
Chris
Yes. What can we do for our.

00:12:07:16 - 00:12:08:05
Speaker 3
So much.

00:12:08:06 - 00:12:08:16
Chris
Canine?

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Speaker 3
So much? I mean, when I always think about, like, the key ingredients to a Westminster or any type of dog champion, it's going to be three things. It's going to be genetics, right. Like so Border Collie, German Shepherd, whatever genetics are, involved in that particular dog training, wouldn't you say, is super important, right. Because these dogs to get out there and feel comfortable under the bright lights and engaged with so many people, there has to be training that's involved.

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Speaker 3
But then nutrition, it's at the center of everything that we do as veterinarians. That's correct. You know what nutrition does? It's fueling them from the inside. It's going to help them look their best on the outside. Right?

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Speaker 4
I agree with you wholeheartedly. And you know, one one last thing that I would probably add to that is if you ask the question about what does my dog have what it takes? And I would say find a mentor in that breed that's showing that breed to show you what to look for in that breed. I'll oftentimes we find that mentor after we acquire the breed.

00:13:04:23 - 00:13:25:10
Speaker 4
But I would also say find that mentor before you acquire the breed so that you find the right pet. If you decide, hey, I want to compete in these, in various formats, you know, in Cali, hit on something really, really, really important, nutrition. And it's, it's one of those things, you know, the saying says you are what you eat.

00:13:25:12 - 00:13:28:09
Chris
Yeah. And no, it doesn't. Donuts.

00:13:28:11 - 00:13:32:15
Speaker 3
And I'm a bagel. We are. You. I'm a bagel right now. It's all good.

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Speaker 4
I guess I would be French toast, because that's yum.

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Speaker 3
We had a good breakfast this morning, so.

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Speaker 4
But, you know, you know, and and I and I talk to my clients about this because nutrition, you are what you eat, but most of your immunity comes from your gut.

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Chris
Yeah, yeah.

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Speaker 4
So when it comes to you being healthy, your gut is responsible for you being healthy. And what better way than having quality nutrition go in your gut?

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Chris
There you go.

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Speaker 3
Yeah.

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Speaker 4
So really, really important. And, you know, I have, you know, competed with dogs personally on field trials, and my dogs have to have endurance. And I will say that and, you know, people will say, hey, this is, you know, whatever Xyzzy Purina Pro plan sponsors this. But I've seen the results. And I was once that guy that was almost to the winner's circle.

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Chris
Yeah.

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Speaker 4
From feeding product Xyzzy. Okay. And then when I learned about nutrition in veterinary school and started working for a great company, okay. Then I became that guy in their winner's circle. Winner's circle. And I was like my competitors are like boy those dogs. You better be ready when you go against him. So I mean, I saw the difference, you know, I mean, I, I am not a big breeder, but when I showed up to competitions, I showed with five dogs.

00:15:01:15 - 00:15:06:21
Speaker 4
At any given time, all five of those dogs would be in a winner series. Yeah. So, I mean, it was just one of those things.

00:15:06:22 - 00:15:33:02
Speaker 3
You're amongst, you know, really the Giants are there. So when we think about to even just Westminster, you know, 96 out of 100, you know, champions are, you know, Purina Pro plan fed. You know, the stats are there. We're hoping to take on another win. Right. And so and then even from like a vet's perspective when we're thinking identifying like the right high quality nutrients, you want there to be tons of energy for these pets, whether they're doing, food trial or feed trials.

00:15:33:02 - 00:15:34:12
Speaker 3
Excuse me? Field trials.

00:15:34:12 - 00:15:35:00
Speaker 4
Field trials.

00:15:35:00 - 00:15:59:03
Speaker 3
Field trials. Excuse me. Or they're in conformation, which is what Westminster is, where they're just showing, you know, breed standard characteristics and quality. I love what you talked about with the gut and how that's all connected. Yeah. Right. And so I know a lot of my clients are pet parents. They're really big on finding that information on how do we feed the gut beyond just the nutrition.

00:15:59:03 - 00:16:08:08
Speaker 3
Also supplements, Purina specific has a great line of supplements that really helps target that. So lots of good information. Talk to your local veterinarian. Yes.

00:16:08:10 - 00:16:09:19
Chris
You know, don't get your answers from Chris.

00:16:09:19 - 00:16:25:02
Speaker 4
And and I'll and I'll say this too, you know, when when my clients come into my practice, they ask me, why do you recommend this product? And you know, my answer is simple because it has a moneyback guarantee.

00:16:25:04 - 00:16:25:23
Chris


00:16:26:01 - 00:16:47:22
Speaker 4
And I know the results of this product personally. And when you look at that bag on the side of that bag from a company like Purina Pro Plan, they actually have a phone number. And that phone number is actually going to allow you to speak to a veterinary nutritionist about your concerns for your pet. So when you have a product like that and a company that's willing to stand behind a product like that, why wouldn't you feed that?

00:16:47:22 - 00:17:08:13
Speaker 4
Right? And a lot of the what I call designer breeds of dog foods, they don't do those things. They just make they they manufacture, they don't do any research. And I like companies that provide me with research to support their claims. You know, if if you're in medicine, if there's no research to support the claims, how do you know it's going to work?

00:17:08:15 - 00:17:17:13
Speaker 4
And I can make the best diagnoses and make the best recommendation for my patients from the research. Yeah. So and that that's just making an educated decision.

00:17:17:13 - 00:17:33:13
Chris
And speaking of diagnoses and research, big hot topic right now is avian flu. A lot of people like, you know, you go, you get the flu vaccine and unprotected, but a lot of people are worried about their pets. Yeah. So while I have two of the smartest veterinarians I know in the room,

00:17:33:15 - 00:17:34:09
Speaker 3
No pressure, no.

00:17:34:10 - 00:17:39:14
Chris
No pressure. Yeah. What advice can you give to pet parents who may want to protect their pet this flu season?

00:17:39:16 - 00:18:05:07
Speaker 4
And so, so avian influenza, it's actually it's called highly pathogenic avian influenza or HPA. I think that's a term that's being used right now. We're seeing it. And so it's essentially it's in your migratory birds. Mainly like, waterfowl, in an area where, like I live, where there's a fly zone for when birds migrate to Mexico.

00:18:05:09 - 00:18:28:12
Speaker 4
We will probably see this influenza. We hope not, but we probably could see it. So what does that look like? You know, if you if your dog or your cat, are outside and you start seeing dead birds, don't allow your dog or your cat to consume those dead birds. If you see a bird that's in the wild and it's not showing neurologic signs, then don't allow your dog or your cat to take advantage of that wild bird.

00:18:28:12 - 00:18:34:11
Speaker 4
You may even want to contact one of your local wildlife and fisheries agent so that that animal can be,

00:18:34:13 - 00:18:35:04
Speaker 3
Recommend.

00:18:35:06 - 00:18:58:01
Speaker 4
Harvested, and brought in for testing. But right now, it's pretty much the consumption of those wild birds that buy a dog or cat. One of the things I was reading was, some of the dairies have a concern because of the cats drinking the unpasteurized milk. Yeah. And people are like, why are cats out of dairy?

00:18:58:01 - 00:19:24:01
Speaker 4
Well, when you have a dairy, you have a lot of feed. When you have a lot of feed, you have a lot of rats. So a lot of these dairies will have cats to help control that mouse population. But all that to say, you know, if you see a bird showing respiratory or neurologic signs, I would definitely contact your local wildlife and fisheries, or your local, animal control so that, that that bird can actually be, tested.

00:19:24:01 - 00:19:29:11
Speaker 4
And that's the one of the best ways to prevent diseases like this is being proactive instead of reactive.

00:19:29:16 - 00:19:57:13
Speaker 3
And I'm sharing I mean, I think you know, Doctor Diggs broke that down beautifully. And I'm sharing with my pet parents, too, that right now there's a reason to be concerned. And so stay close to the information. Stay close to the partnership that you have with your veterinarian. And right now there's a lot of, thoughts and concerns that this information is not being disseminated out, but behind closed doors, the work is still being done.

00:19:57:15 - 00:20:05:08
Speaker 3
And so I don't want, you know, our communities to fear. Just stay informed. And as things start to change, we're going to let you know.

00:20:05:10 - 00:20:05:17
Chris
Right.

00:20:05:17 - 00:20:21:01
Speaker 4
And it's not something that's, you know, everyone thinks it's it's not like it's really, really where humans are getting it right now. Right? So it's a low threat right now. But we have to stay abreast. Like I said, we want to be proactive instead of real.

00:20:21:02 - 00:20:21:18
Chris
That's exactly.

00:20:21:19 - 00:20:24:15
Speaker 4
Yeah. So you have a game playing. You want to play the game and not have a game plan.

00:20:24:15 - 00:20:39:10
Chris
And I think that's what makes pet parents feel better. I think there's this idea of like helplessness because especially with an animal, they can't communicate very well with you. Like, oh, I'm not feeling well. Is there another lot of pet parents get anxiety so they know, hey, if you have that partnership with a good vet, that's right. Someone to talk to you.

00:20:39:10 - 00:20:41:06
Chris
They're there to alleviate that anxiety and.

00:20:41:08 - 00:20:51:08
Speaker 3
We're staying on top of that. Veterinarians, we are talking about it in our inner circles, our outer circles within our practices. So we're staying, you know, connected on all of this information.

00:20:51:09 - 00:21:03:21
Chris
It's great to hear. Well, we're coming up on time. But before I let you guys go, I want to know what's next field or any other work that you're you're working on. Any nonprofits that you want to promote make people aware of? I want to give you guys an oh yeah.

00:21:03:23 - 00:21:31:19
Speaker 3
So I think, you know, what I enjoy doing the most is mentorship. Sure. And I absolutely, I would say I'm very targeted about mentoring to communities that are underserved, marginalized, that may not have access to information. And so a big pillar of mine is just really trying to raise visibility to this career that I do, that I've been blessed, so fortunate to be a veterinarian, so fortunate to go to a school like Tuskegee University.

00:21:32:01 - 00:21:55:19
Speaker 3
So my goal is just to try to raise the roof on the information and access to information on education and what you can do if you want to pursue a job in pet care, animal care, vet care. As far as organizations that I, am working with, I love vet Set Go. That set go is a fabulous, partnership that I've had in the past with, just mentoring opportunities.

00:21:55:21 - 00:22:15:03
Speaker 3
When I think about, also servicing, communities that are more marginalized or, underrepresented. One of my favorite groups is out of Atlanta, ATL, the ATL Dog Mom Social Club. Look them up. They're fantastic. So that's who I would love. You know folks to like get a little bit more insight into.

00:22:15:05 - 00:22:39:09
Speaker 4
You know, one of the things I like to start off with is, you know, mentorship is key. We have to embrace the next generation. When I walk around this building and I, I'm really fortunate because I was once that kid that watched the Westminster dog show on TV. Yeah. So I, I love talking to the people, but I love talking to the children and the junior handlers more.

00:22:39:10 - 00:23:05:15
Speaker 4
Yeah. Because in and I target them because I want them to feel like they're somebody. When I saw it, when they see me on the screen or whatever, I'm receiving an award like, hey, that guy came and spoke to me. So I'm really, really, really instrumental in working with the the junior handlers. I'd also like to say that, you know, the the veterinary career is really broad.

00:23:05:19 - 00:23:09:00
Speaker 4
Yeah, right. It goes far beyond what you see.

00:23:09:02 - 00:23:09:13
Chris
You look at.

00:23:09:13 - 00:23:13:03
Speaker 3
You look at me. And this is just two of us. Germany, right?

00:23:13:03 - 00:23:20:08
Speaker 4
Yeah. And and honestly, I tell people, veterinarians or people of average intelligence, but with hard work ethics with with crazy work, hard work at.

00:23:20:09 - 00:23:25:02
Speaker 3
Yes, we're. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Crazy hard work and also crazy. Yeah.

00:23:25:04 - 00:23:37:11
Speaker 4
A little bit more crazy than I work. But it's just one of those things where, you know, don't look at what I do or how I do this. This profession is very, very multifaceted.

00:23:37:11 - 00:23:37:22
Speaker 3
That's right.

00:23:37:22 - 00:23:44:14
Speaker 4
So there's there are so many things you there that are here that you don't even know about, like governmental medicine.

00:23:44:16 - 00:23:45:20
Speaker 3
Industry, industry.

00:23:45:20 - 00:24:08:12
Speaker 4
Yeah. So it goes far and beyond what we do. Visibility in the community. I live in New Orleans area, and a lot of folks there, unfortunately, they didn't know how to take care of themselves. So when I started working with the local animal shelter, I was like, I was working with animal control officers, educating them on how to to really decipher a situation.

00:24:08:14 - 00:24:28:22
Speaker 4
If you if you went to an environment and the person's not well taken care of, there's a good chance that their pet won't be well taken care of. So I started trying to build that bridge because there was there was a wall being built, and I was trying to take that wall down. So education of both animal control officers and the community were really, really, important to me.

00:24:29:00 - 00:24:51:11
Speaker 4
And I was really fortunate to partner with a group of ladies from New Orleans, the Goldring family, miss Jean and Lizzie Goldring. And, with the inner pup of New Orleans, we created an educational system in the school systems there, where we started educating students about animal care. So now the students would go home and they can tell their parents on how to take care of the dogs if they had no idea.

00:24:51:11 - 00:24:58:17
Speaker 4
Hey, mom, did you know we can't chain that dog out in the yard because you know that there's no you know, that's so great. You know that because.

00:24:58:18 - 00:25:00:01
Speaker 3
Yeah, because people know.

00:25:00:02 - 00:25:06:19
Speaker 4
You don't know. And you go to the Walmart or you local and they have chains in there. So it's like, oh, you can do that.

00:25:06:19 - 00:25:09:23
Speaker 3
And it's all connected. It's oh, it's so true, so.

00:25:09:23 - 00:25:22:09
Speaker 4
Educating, so educating the children about, you know what what proper pet care looks like. Good. Was what was really key. So I mean, that's that was my soapbox. And I'm, I'm just that guy.

00:25:22:09 - 00:25:24:05
Chris
I enjoyed it so much.

00:25:24:07 - 00:25:25:10
Speaker 3
It's a good soapbox.

00:25:25:12 - 00:25:37:06
Chris
Well, I you two are absolute pinnacles of your profession. Thank you so much for taking the time today. Thank you for having this doctor, doctor Harris from the Westminster Kennel Club dog Show. Thank you guys so much.

00:25:37:06 - 00:25:37:21
Speaker 3
Thank you.

00:25:37:22 - 00:25:39:03
Speaker 4
Yes. And they take care.

00:25:39:05 - 00:25:40:22
Speaker 3
So yes.

00:25:41:00 - 00:25:47:05
Chris
Awesome. Thank you guys. The man that was it was just it was so much fun. It was so much fun.

00:25:47:05 - 00:25:54:15
Kristen
I'm jealous I got to say I'm jealous next year. Well you get to go next year. Can I can I get a confirmation?

00:25:54:17 - 00:26:05:19
Chris
Yeah. For for for 150th. You're there. I will move heaven and earth, I will move, I will move Westminster to North Carolina. Oh that's that I don't know.

00:26:05:19 - 00:26:07:07
Kristen
I want to come to New York. I want to come.

00:26:07:07 - 00:26:27:12
Chris
Out that kind of power. But, you know, the weather was kind of terrible. I got to be honest. There's New York, New York in the winter. Disgust place. I don't know why people consider it a winter destination. Then I could say that because I'm from the area. But you were a Christian. You, were in the beautiful sunshine state for, BMX.

00:26:27:14 - 00:26:32:09
Chris
So, yeah, a lot of me, I think a lot of people listening don't even know what BMX is, so give them the rundown.

00:26:32:09 - 00:26:38:03
Kristen
Yeah, sure, sure. So Vmax stand. I think it stands for Veterinary Expo, BMX veterinary.

00:26:38:05 - 00:26:40:06
Chris
Medical Expo, something like that. Yeah, yeah.

00:26:40:08 - 00:26:49:20
Kristen
Something like that. But it is. It's, the largest veterinary conference in the world, or at least in North America. So I'm just gonna I'm just going to say the world, like, I can't imagine.

00:26:49:22 - 00:26:51:03
Chris
Because the world.

00:26:51:05 - 00:27:17:08
Kristen
Veterinarians come from all over the world, literally, to see and to learn. This is where they get their credits. And it is just always learn so much. And it's just so fun to be surrounded by people who have dedicated their lives and their careers to learning how to improve veterinary medicine. So I had a lot of fun, met with a lot of folks, and I think we're going to show you one of my interviews with somebody you might recognize.

00:27:17:10 - 00:27:23:22
Kristen
Oh, I've got a special treat for you guys today. A second time guest doctor Tiffany Templer from chewy.

00:27:23:23 - 00:27:27:07
Speaker 5
Welcome, Doctor Templer, thank you so much. I'm so happy to be back. Yeah.

00:27:27:07 - 00:27:28:21
Kristen
We don't have a lot of people back.

00:27:28:21 - 00:27:53:05
Speaker 5
For a second. That is awesome. Yes, exactly. And we're here at Vmax, which let's tell our pet parents at home what Vmax is. Yeah. So Vmax is one of our large veterinary community, continuing education, which we'll call C. Yeah. It's where we can learn all about anything and everything about veterinary medicine, how that impacts our pet parents and in our community.

00:27:53:08 - 00:28:19:12
Speaker 5
Awesome. And tell us about your role at chewy. Yeah. So I am what we call a veterinary service manager. And so what that means is that I actually manage a team of veterinary professionals who work on our tele triage or Tela, and my service called connect to the vet. Okay. And what we do at connect with a vet is we offer completely free opportunities to talk with credentialed veterinary technicians and licensed veterinarians.

00:28:19:18 - 00:28:38:06
Speaker 5
Pet parents can ask any question they want. They can talk, and have that interaction and actually get advice and next steps on what they need to do. Let me make sure we heard that right. It's free. Yep. And is free talk with licensed veterinary technicians and veterinarians. Now when you say talk, is this a chat service? Is it a phone service or.

00:28:38:06 - 00:28:42:07
Speaker 5
Yeah. So we actually it's a free chat service setup. Yeah okay okay.

00:28:42:07 - 00:28:45:15
Kristen
And is available to any chewy customer.

00:28:45:20 - 00:29:04:09
Speaker 5
Or do you have to be a chewy customer or you have no obligation to be a chewy customer so you can chat with us? You know, basically the only information we ask you for is your general information and then an email address. Right. And a big reason we ask about your email, because after we chat with you, we want to make sure that we give you some resources.

00:29:04:09 - 00:29:27:01
Speaker 5
Yes. From Candy, which is one of our, editorial groups that help us give you more information about next steps. Right. Okay. And this is not a replacement for a veterinary visit or is no diagnosis happening, right. No diagnosing. Right. Treating or prescribing. Yeah. It's literally just, you know, hey, my dog broke a toenail. The air is really far away or there's so busy too.

00:29:27:01 - 00:29:30:08
Speaker 5
I need to go now. Yes. Okay. So it kind of gives you that peace of mind.

00:29:30:08 - 00:29:32:04
Kristen
Yeah. We actually had a question from,

00:29:32:06 - 00:29:44:19
Speaker 5
One of our viewers, just about that very topic recently. I wanted to know, like, how do I know when it's time to go see the bat trail? So this is a really great resource for people. Yeah, it's an excellent. So let's.

00:29:44:19 - 00:29:45:07
Kristen
Talk about what.

00:29:45:07 - 00:30:08:03
Speaker 5
You're doing this here at Cisco. You're educating bat. Tell us about what. Yeah. So it's really great. So as a veterinarian who practices behavior and offer and also at sorry also offers proactive training advice. I'm here today to help the veterinary community kind of give some tips and tricks on how they can help their pet parents and their clients navigate their behavioral journey.

00:30:08:03 - 00:30:25:09
Speaker 5
Okay. And what do we mean by behavioral journey. Yeah. So behaviors a journey right. Like so if you think of it like when you go to a therapist, they're not just going to give you something and then magically you're cure, right? Our job is to help you understand, give communication and learn how to cope with some of the things that we're seeing, right?

00:30:25:09 - 00:30:42:14
Speaker 5
Create a partnership. Okay. Right. We can't control our pets, but we can help understand what they need. So not only do we help them, but we become better. Okay. So for example, if we have a dog at home that's anxious, are you are we giving pet parents tools to.

00:30:42:15 - 00:30:43:19
Kristen
Identify these.

00:30:43:19 - 00:31:09:13
Speaker 5
Behaviors or the symptom this early on? Yeah. So here's here's a good example. Right. So fear is normal right. Every every animal every person dog cat bird. Yeah. Fear is normal. Yeah. It protects us. Right? Right. Totally. Absolutely. Or anxiety isn't. Phobias are not right. Anxiety is. When something bad happens, you're already thinking and anticipating that that bad things are going to happen again, right?

00:31:09:13 - 00:31:27:00
Speaker 5
So you get inside, right? And then you get that phobic behavior where you're just totally out of control. What we want to do is veterinary professionals is help pet parents recognize what fear looks like. So then we can start early. Let's start intervening now with behavioral modification in therapy. Right. So we don't have an anxious stop. Right.

00:31:27:01 - 00:31:52:17
Speaker 5
Because once they're anxious, we all know it is such a tough journey for land. It damages the human animal bond. Right. And we're doing all these things that maybe we can't fix. Right. But what we can fix is building that. What is fear? How do I recognize fear? What does that body language look like? And then help them understand how to communicate with their dog so their dog has better tools on how to cope instead of oh no, my dog now has thunderstorm anxiety, right?

00:31:52:18 - 00:32:18:01
Speaker 5
Or separation anxiety? Now it's my dog is fearful. This is what I can now do. Right? Here are the people that can help me and I can start having a better journey and a better partnership. Right? Right. And let me ask you this too, when, the readiness is right along with what you're talking about. I think all too often we as pet parents don't see those early signs as as distressing enough to talk to the vet about.

00:32:18:01 - 00:32:19:08
Speaker 5
Right.

00:32:19:10 - 00:32:21:00
Kristen
Why is it so important that.

00:32:21:00 - 00:32:45:21
Speaker 5
We do talk to our vets early about any fear or anxiety behaviors we're seeing in our face? So here's a good example. In the veterinary behavior community, we talk a lot about like that exact thing. How do we recognize these signs. So we talk a lot about the aggression ladder right. So we as pet parents just as I'm talking not even as a vet, your dog is growling and most people are like, I don't want my dog to growl.

00:32:45:21 - 00:33:03:20
Speaker 5
That's bad, right? But growling is actually a normal behavior. Sure, cuz communicate is totally normal. But the bad thing is, is that growling is at the top of that ladder, which means that we as as owners have missed all these other signs like yawning, right? Yeah. Go and look at a video and you'll see these dogs displaying fear.

00:33:03:20 - 00:33:26:07
Speaker 5
Right. And what are people doing? They're pushing them right. They're holding that can in front of their face. And these dogs are all very fearful. So right now you have dogs that learn through trial and error that my normal signs aren't working right. So then I start to learn well, if I growl. So I escalate right? Okay. And now when they get confronted with something that scares them, they don't do the normal fear signs.

00:33:26:13 - 00:33:50:00
Speaker 5
They go to. Right? Higher level ones. Right. So as trainers now we have to work backwards, right? Instead of helping that parents recognize what more and more signs of fear love to pick. Okay, so we as pet parents need to do better about picking up what they're putting down. That's right. Exactly. Okay. Awesome. So how do you often get, inquiries, through the ones I call connect to and then act to the vet?

00:33:50:00 - 00:34:06:23
Speaker 5
Connect to the vet? Do you get a lot of behavioral types of questions? I mean, we, we know even as vet professionals, that behavior is something that pet parents see at home. Yeah, right. They're not thinking about, oh, my dog may have kidney disease. Yes. They're thinking my dog is spinning in a circle. That's a problem. Right?

00:34:06:23 - 00:34:26:06
Speaker 5
Right. And so even if you don't think about the tree outside even as and then an area and what most parents see is behavior. Yeah. Even if it could be medical which a lot of times it is. And that's why we integrate veterinarians so quickly. Yeah. Because that spinning may not be behavior. Right. It could be something actually medical short.

00:34:26:06 - 00:34:42:07
Speaker 5
So we we see it across the entire industry. The problem is, is that we don't have a lot of preventative. Right. Because most parents don't want to bother us. Right. We want you to bother us. Please bother us because we want to do it sooner. You hear that? They want to be bothered. Fear that wants to be bothered about.

00:34:42:11 - 00:34:50:19
Speaker 5
That's right. Concern you have about. That's me. Okay. That's right. Well, Doctor Tiffany, thank you so much for joining us again and for giving us these tools. And remember.

00:34:50:19 - 00:34:51:13
Kristen
Connect with

00:34:51:18 - 00:34:55:07
Speaker 5
That. Yeah. Just go to two Wycombe and you can hear our comments right there. Okay.

00:34:55:07 - 00:34:58:01
Kristen
Fantastic. And thank you for all that you've done to contribute.

00:34:58:01 - 00:35:05:12
Speaker 5
To the, to the veterinary community and to helping our pets live better lives. It's my pleasure. Thank you very much. You absolutely.

00:35:05:14 - 00:35:12:13
Kristen
Yeah. It was it was great to see Doctor Tiffany again. And a bonus treat. I got to meet her little dog, Monty.

00:35:12:15 - 00:35:13:09
Chris
Oh, yeah.

00:35:13:09 - 00:35:16:08
Kristen
What a doll. He's super cute.

00:35:16:10 - 00:35:23:17
Unknown
Oh, my. The pop of a product of the week of the week. All right, folks, it's time for the pup. Pup.

00:35:23:17 - 00:35:31:21
Chris
A product of the week. And, Kristen, hey, why don't you go ahead and kick it off with your product of the past?

00:35:32:00 - 00:35:57:10
Kristen
I'd be happy to. So this is a very boozy boogie. Boogie. Okay. It could be for small dogs or for cats. And it's called, My Petite Puppy. Although, like I said, it'll work for cats, too. This woman in Palm Beach, Florida, she created this really cool chair for dogs. Says it says 10 pounds and under it looks it looks like it would hold a bigger dot than that.

00:35:57:10 - 00:36:14:06
Kristen
But that's what it says. This is a chair. It looks like an office chair. So it's got the, the the wheels, and you can wheel it around so your dog can sit next to you at the desk. Your dog can sit next to you at the kitchen table. Your dog can sit next to you. I don't know, like this woman.

00:36:14:06 - 00:36:33:19
Kristen
I think this woman has a hair salon from her dog. Yeah, yeah, the hair. Yeah. And, it's pretty pricey. I think it was around, 300 bucks or something like that. But I don't know if you remember this, but I mentioned a similar product on the show about six months ago. It was for, a place for your dog to sit next to you while you're working.

00:36:33:19 - 00:36:34:22
Chris
Yes, I remember, but.

00:36:34:22 - 00:36:56:09
Kristen
What I think what's cool about this one is it's on wheels, so you can just wheel it around the house so that you never have to be more than 12in from your dog. So, I don't know, a little, little, little strange kind of bougie, but I could see some practical advantages to it. You know, certainly I would love to have tulip sitting right here instead of ten feet away from me.

00:36:56:11 - 00:37:10:08
Kristen
And, I think it would also be great for, you know, an older dog. Maybe you don't post, post up, you know, situation where you got to keep a close eye on their movement. But anyway, check out my petite puppy for a very bougie dog seat.

00:37:10:12 - 00:37:14:09
Chris
That's very fun. Very fun, very, very fun.

00:37:14:11 - 00:37:16:02
Kristen
What do you have for us this week?

00:37:16:04 - 00:37:38:21
Chris
Yeah. So I, you know, we talk a lot about with, you know, cats bringing the outdoors indoors or, you know, the patios and stuff like that. And if you're like me, building your own patio is out of the question. Okay, I could barely I could barely hit a nail flush. I could barely hang shelves. You know, I'm I'm I'm not handy at all.

00:37:38:21 - 00:38:00:23
Chris
So I found this this company, wind pet. Link in the show notes, as always. And they specialize in sort of outdoor equipment for pets. So, you know, they've got the bunny hutches and they've got the chicken coops, but they had and this is this is kind of what inspired me. They say you reversal cage medium and it's a pre-built cage.

00:38:01:02 - 00:38:22:00
Chris
And you could very simply set this thing up near a window in your house and sort of cut a hole with pliers through the chicken wire of the cage and lead it out through a window. So all the hard work of the patio is done. It's already a pre-built structure, and you just sort of have to figure out how to connect it to your house.

00:38:22:01 - 00:38:41:12
Chris
And that'll run you, you know, it will bring you about 400 bucks for that thing, but it's it's spacious. They they've got it decorated and photoshopped on their page with, like, a nice cat tree and things like that. Yeah. So you could go ahead and, you know, it's a good starter if you're like me, and you'd rather spend the money than DIY.

00:38:41:13 - 00:38:53:23
Chris
Which is totally my style. This is a great starter to get you get you going, and then you just figure out, you know, what kind of cat door are you going to use? Are you going to connect it to a window? Are you going to do a cat door type thing? So it's get you most of the way there?

00:38:53:23 - 00:39:14:08
Chris
Because I was thinking like, man, like I, I currently live in a condo acadia's out of the question, but you know, you start looking at houses and you're thinking, you know, family planning and thinking about your animals and stuff like that, and like, man, like, it'd be so cool to have one of those indoor outdoor patios, you know, for, for a cat, because, our area of the world is not safe for outdoor cats.

00:39:14:08 - 00:39:30:15
Chris
A lot of traffic, a lot of highways, a lot of things like that, you know? So. But, like, it would be so cool to set something up in there, and I can't do that. I guess I just ain't got it in me. So, I was all over the internet, you know, during an insomnia trip, and that's what I found.

00:39:30:15 - 00:39:33:09
Chris
So I'm sharing it with you all, and I hope you enjoy.

00:39:33:11 - 00:39:35:01
Kristen
It's a great idea.

00:39:35:03 - 00:39:55:08
Chris
Q and days. All right, folks, it is time for my. And possibly Kristen's. Although Kristen really likes story time. But, you know, we're going to say both of ours our favorite part of the show. That's right. We're going to answer two questions from our audience. And I know what you're thinking. How do I have my question answered by Chris and Kristen?

00:39:55:08 - 00:40:20:14
Chris
Well, it's quite simple, folks. You're going to head on over to Pet AD life.org/podcast. Scroll on down to the bottom of that page. You're going to see a form to submit your question. Or if you're feeling as brave as Chris, who who confronted a a New York winter to bring you excellent content from Westminster. You could submit a voice memo and you could hear your question played live on this very show.

00:40:20:16 - 00:40:24:08
Chris
And, Kristen, I think we're going to do things a little different this time.

00:40:24:10 - 00:40:26:06
Kristen
Yeah. We are we're mixing it up. The show.

00:40:26:08 - 00:40:44:05
Chris
Yeah, we're mixing it up. We want to keep things fresh. So we got some questions here, that are less, less animal related. Let's help me with my animal. More personal. So we're we're both we're going to share the questions. So I'll go ahead and read the first one, but we're both going to give the answers to both these questions.

00:40:44:05 - 00:41:05:00
Chris
So, I'll read the first one here. Okay. And this one comes from Megan in Seattle, and Megan asks Chris and Kristen, you spend so much time talking about other people's pets. Unless you're Chris, who can't shut up about his cat. So I thought to ask about yours. What's the funniest or most unexpected thing your pets have ever done?

00:41:05:02 - 00:41:10:05
Kristen
Oh good question. You want me? Should I go.

00:41:10:05 - 00:41:12:01
Chris
First? Yeah, if you got it in your head.

00:41:12:03 - 00:41:33:04
Kristen
I, I got I got something good. It's. I wouldn't say it's one of those. Funny. Not funny because it wasn't a safe thing that tulip did. So tulip is she's about 18 pounds. She's a min pin Chihuahua mix. So little, little petite girl and we live in the Smoky Mountains of North Carolina. And we always take her out on a leash.

00:41:33:04 - 00:41:49:21
Kristen
Because just to be safe, because there's a lot of wildlife out here, including bears. So one day, my husband, I was out of town. My husband takes tulip, outside for a walk. And, like, just for some reason, he didn't put the leash on her that day. Just he thought, oh, you know, I'll just take her out real quick.

00:41:49:23 - 00:42:04:05
Kristen
Well, he's standing in the yard, you know, looking at his phone or something, and he hears her barking like, like like there's there's a major emergency, like shrill barking. He turns around to see her chasing a black bear.

00:42:04:06 - 00:42:06:20
Chris
Oh my God, tulip.

00:42:06:22 - 00:42:07:12
Speaker 3
Maybe.

00:42:07:13 - 00:42:18:21
Kristen
50 yards away chasing it. And so he, of course, drops his phone. He takes off after tulip, and as he's running, he's thinking, why am I chasing a dog chasing me?

00:42:18:23 - 00:42:21:04
Chris
It's like it's a Scooby Doo scene.

00:42:21:06 - 00:42:42:20
Kristen
Yeah. Fortunately, tulip stopped and the bear kept going, and he scooped her up and got her back in the house. And then he, you know, kind of, you know, peered out the window to see if the bear came back. Well, it turns out this was a mama bear. So not just a bear, but a mama bear with two cubs that had climbed up into a tree just past our property, right past our property line.

00:42:43:02 - 00:42:49:23
Kristen
So she came back to get her baby bears out of the tree. And then they took off. You know, up the mountain. But that was pretty scary.

00:42:50:00 - 00:42:51:19
Chris
Tulips punching above your weight.

00:42:51:23 - 00:42:53:06
Speaker 3
Like she was.

00:42:53:06 - 00:42:58:09
Kristen
She was so tulip is on a leash when we go outside.

00:42:58:11 - 00:43:19:01
Chris
Speaking of leashes, I was talking in products about bringing the outdoors indoors and stuff like that. Well, you know, Tiger came into my life particularly late. Hope so. Is had the cat who was Hope's, childhood cat. But when, Tiger moved into our new condo, I was thinking, well, you Tiger was an outdoor cat.

00:43:19:01 - 00:43:42:20
Chris
When, you know, we had grown up in upstate New York. So much safer there for cats to sort of, prance around in suburban. Yeah. So, yeah. So, and I was thinking like, man, this must suck to to now be relegated completely indoors. So we had gotten Tiger a leash and a little harness, and we were so excited because we were like, oh, Tiger, you're finally going to get to go outside again and experience the outdoors.

00:43:42:20 - 00:43:57:03
Chris
And we opened the back door and we carry and we put her outside holding on to the leash just on the back patio, and she looks to the left. She looks to the right, turns tailing us, walks back inside the way.

00:43:57:05 - 00:43:58:03
Speaker 3
Yeah, well.

00:43:58:05 - 00:44:10:19
Chris
You're not interested at all. And I was like, well, I don't feel bad about keeping. We've we've come to an agreement that we are an indoor cat now. And that's fine. It was very it was very funny. Very funny.

00:44:10:21 - 00:44:18:14
Kristen
That's great. I thought you were going to say she because that was her first time wearing a harness. I thought you were going to say she just kind of plopped down and wouldn't know she was even with the harness.

00:44:18:14 - 00:44:36:10
Chris
She. She let us put the harness on, and, you know, when she was inside, she reacted well to the leash. She didn't seem to mind, and she just, you know, honestly, like, we'll keep you. She'll look out the window every now and again. But sometimes when the weather's nice and we open the back, the back door, she really just doesn't care.

00:44:36:10 - 00:44:41:15
Chris
She doesn't? Yeah, yeah. Old cat, she's comfortable where she is. Yeah.

00:44:41:17 - 00:45:06:08
Kristen
Good good good. Okay, so we have another question from a viewer listener. This is from Tom from Chicago. And I think we're both going to answer this one too, because it's, it's it's not your typical question that we, that we get. Tom says, I love hearing your stories about working in the pet industry. What's the most surprising thing you've learned about pets or pet owners since starting this podcast?

00:45:06:12 - 00:45:08:15
Kristen
Yeah. So I'll, I'll let you take this one first. Yeah, yeah.

00:45:08:15 - 00:45:16:06
Chris
Yeah, I'll jump in first. So, we never really talk about my I always say my day job, we never really talk about my day job. And when it's on this.

00:45:16:08 - 00:45:17:15
Kristen
Know you do, Chris.

00:45:17:17 - 00:45:44:11
Chris
So I, I help organize, Global pet Expo. And I got that job when I was 22. So my first global pet expo was the 2015 show. And I went into this show, you know, as an animal lover like anybody else. But but not not really appreciating the minds behind it. And I had a pretty embarrassing moment where I was having a conversation with this gentleman who came from out of the country.

00:45:44:11 - 00:46:02:08
Chris
I forget where specifically, but he had traveled, you know, miles and miles and miles and miles to come to Global Pet Expo. And it was genuinely insightful for me. I'm asking, you know, this, that, you know, and finally, like, you know what? Why? Why are you here? What are you looking for? And he said, I'm looking for innovation in pets.

00:46:02:11 - 00:46:06:22
Chris
And I laughed because that was the funniest sentence I have ever heard in my life.

00:46:07:00 - 00:46:08:04
Speaker 3


00:46:08:06 - 00:46:41:11
Chris
And he was being completely serious that I had to, like, dismiss myself because, like, man, like I couldn't, I couldn't contain it. So I suppose the answer to the question is that each each product that you buy, everything that goes into your pet comes from some person who is incredibly passionate about solving a specific problem. And when you get all those people together at a place like Global Pet Expo, it is mind blowing about the amount of heart and brain and blood and not blood is sweat will say sweat.

00:46:41:13 - 00:47:03:15
Chris
That goes into all of these things that you use. And honestly, we take for, for granted. And we try to highlight some of them on, on this show, but it continues to blow my mind how how much people care beyond just I love animals and I want to take care of them, but care about making it easier or more functional or whatever.

00:47:03:18 - 00:47:07:00
Chris
Solving these issues, it blows my mind every time.

00:47:07:01 - 00:47:10:08
Kristen
Yeah, no innovation and passivation.

00:47:10:10 - 00:47:19:12
Chris
Innovation and people. That's funny. Not funny. It's not funny. It's not a joke. Very serious business. And serious stuff. Okay.

00:47:19:14 - 00:47:42:00
Kristen
I actually have some ideas about innovation for pee pads, but we'll talk about that later. Okay. Well, sort of similar to to to your answer. One of the things I have learned about, from all the different types of guests that we've had on the show over the past year is people what we all have in common is a love and a passion for pets.

00:47:42:02 - 00:48:05:01
Kristen
But these people have found creative ways to use their their talent, their skill set, their love for animals to create an amazing array of careers in the pet industry. Yeah. I mean, whether you're talking about, you know, Doctor Ross Henderson, who is a veterinarian and he has this love for music. And so he writes songs about pets that are just so beautiful.

00:48:05:03 - 00:48:30:21
Kristen
To, doctor, you know, as you saw in the interview I did with, with Doctor Tiffany earlier, she when she was growing up, she didn't first think about becoming a vet. She just wanted to help people. And that ultimately led her to a career in veterinary medicine. Too, you know, we've we've talked to a lot of pet healers, artists and just just a vast array of people who have taken that love and passion and turned it into a career.

00:48:30:21 - 00:48:41:14
Kristen
So, I'm always impressed with, with the creativity and all the different ways people come up with to, to make pets part of their, their daily lives, not just at home, but also in the workplace.

00:48:41:20 - 00:48:46:12
Chris
Yeah, it's an awesome industry. And I'm glad. Yeah, I'm a part of it. Yeah. It's great.

00:48:46:12 - 00:48:47:13
Kristen
Me too. Yeah.

00:48:47:18 - 00:49:09:01
Chris
And all of you listening are to, believe it or not. Yes. So listening to this podcast, you're part of the fam now. Congrats. Welcome. But speaking of fam and family, we're done. That's it. Snow day. Lots of fun. A really great show, as always. But fear not, people, we're going to be back next Tuesday, as always.

00:49:09:03 - 00:49:15:03
Chris
So until then, be kind to yourself. Be kind to your animals, and we're going to see you in a week.

00:49:15:05 - 00:49:18:18
Kristen
Yeah. Claws in, purrs out.

00:49:18:20 - 00:49:19:01
Speaker 3