Episode 18: Traveling with Pets: Summer Travel Special

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00:00:00:05 - 00:00:15:07
Voice Over
Pets Add Life. Your guide to the latest in pet trends, products and the joy of the human animal. Bond, with Kristin Levine and Chris Bonifati powered by the American Pet Products Association and Dog TV.

00:00:15:09 - 00:00:23:14
Kristen
Welcome to the Pets Add Life podcast. I'm one of your hosts, Kristin Levine, and I'm always joined by my friend Chris Bonifati Hi, Chris.

00:00:23:16 - 00:00:26:03
Chris
Hey, Kristin. How's it going?

00:00:26:05 - 00:00:38:22
Kristen
it's going, it's going. I am planning, another road trip with tulip, and, you know, just getting ready to hop on another eight hour car ride with her and trying to find ways to keep her happy while we're in the car.

00:00:39:00 - 00:00:59:22
Chris
That sounds like an adventure in and of itself, let alone the actual destinations you're going to and the itineraries you have planned. The process itself just seems exhausting. I have some trips coming up too, and we're flying to Chicago this summer, to Miami this summer. We've got a big Euro trip. a little worried about what we're going to be doing with the cat while we're gone.

00:00:59:22 - 00:01:00:15
Chris
But we're not.

00:01:00:15 - 00:01:02:11
Kristen
Traveling with Tiger, right?

00:01:02:13 - 00:01:22:12
Chris
No. No way. No. Tiger. Barely. Tiger barely leaves her little pillow that she has. I don't think she's too keen on moving cities. So she will be staying home while we while we accomplish this travel. but luckily for all of us, Kristen, we've got a whole show based around some summertime travel for our beautiful listeners at home.

00:01:22:15 - 00:01:43:23
Chris
And for those of you joining us for the first time, welcome. For those of you who are veterans of the show, welcome back. we're going to be bringing you some excellent guest stories products and also answering some of your questions later on in the show. and we're going to be revolving around travel and either leaving your pet at home or bringing with you however you prefer to do things.

00:01:44:03 - 00:02:12:04
Chris
We want to give you some of that information. So you are so prepared for this summer and all of your beautiful vacations. Kristen and Chris present story time. So for my story this week, it is it is travel and Jason. And it might convince some of you to bring your dog along for any camping trips. So, this person in Oregon, went on a camping trip.

00:02:12:06 - 00:02:33:01
Chris
Oregon, obviously beautiful forests and woods, but it can get pretty remote. and they took their dog, along with them. It was just the traveler and the dog and, as they were traveling from the campsite to either pick up supplies, the story doesn't really specify what they were doing, but they actually crashed their car, and the, driver fell unconscious.

00:02:33:03 - 00:02:41:16
Chris
Oh, my. The dog traveled. I want to say here, nearly four miles to the nearest highway to get help like last.

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Kristen
Whoa.

00:02:42:13 - 00:03:07:08
Chris
Straight up. Like Lassie traveled for miles and returned with help. Because obviously, you know, with cars nowadays, when you crash, it sets off some stuff. but they were in such a remote area that the satellites weren't able to pick up the exact location of the vehicle. So the dog was actually able to find help, return to their owner, and it wound up saving this person's life.

00:03:07:09 - 00:03:27:14
Chris
They ended up, needing to use an intense high line rope system to pull this person. They crashed into a ravine. So the dog was obviously protected somehow in this car. So they were obviously using some type of protection, to keep the dog safe. and was able to travel, a total of four miles. It's ridiculous.

00:03:27:15 - 00:03:40:10
Chris
What a what a great picture. So if you're traveling and you go and you're going camping and you're thinking, oh, I'm going to leave Fido at home, think again, think again. because that that pooch may end up, being your your saving grace.

00:03:40:12 - 00:03:48:11
Kristen
That is a great story. And, you know, some people say, that cats are smarter than dogs, but I'm not so sure.

00:03:48:13 - 00:04:07:11
Chris
They if they are, they don't act like it. Yeah. Tiger's single brain cell right now is in box mode, so she just kind of goes into a box, and I don't know what she does in there. She might be plotting to take over the world. She might just be trying to find, like, instinctually find shade while it's hot.

00:04:07:13 - 00:04:12:05
Chris
but no, I don't think Tiger would be coming to my rescue if I crashed my car.

00:04:12:07 - 00:04:34:00
Kristen
Well, that may be true, but I went down this rabbit hole of about cat brain facts when I was writing today's show, and I came across this really interesting article. It talked about how the cat's brain is is 1% of their body weight. but the shape and the structure of their brain is very similar to the human brain, like 90% similar.

00:04:34:04 - 00:05:00:13
Kristen
Like, they say that, the cat's brain is compartmentalized and specialized and, you know, connects very much like our human brain does. And so experts are saying that, they estimated felines intelligence being similar to that of a two year old toddler. So that makes sense to me. So but I found this test that where you can see if your cat is smarter than a toddler.

00:05:00:15 - 00:05:07:07
Kristen
And here's how you do it, okay. So to perform the test, you all you need is a quiet room, a cardboard box which you already have.

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Chris
I'm already on it. Yeah.

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Kristen
And your kitty's favorite toy. Hopefully she has a favorite toy.

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Chris
Okay.

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Kristen
Maybe.

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Chris
Okay. Yeah. It's usually just whatever trash is on the ground.

00:05:17:09 - 00:05:47:04
Kristen
Okay. Perfect. Perfect. Like our. I wanted a paper ball or something. So what you do is, is you. You allow your cat to see that you have this toy. Now you. Then you place the toy behind the cardboard box and if your cat simply accepts the fact that the toy has disappeared, not so smart. Or okay. If your cat does go searching for the toy behind the box, it's demonstrating that it has a grasp of object permanence.

00:05:47:06 - 00:05:58:13
Kristen
oh. Currently. Okay. Apparently humans, actually grasped that concept around the age of two years old. So that's just a quick IQ test for your feline.

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Chris
That's awesome. I feel like we need to get, like, Jeff Foxworthy on this show so that we could do, like, is your cat smarter than a than a three year old? Yeah. and turn that into a little spin off show. Let's write that down. Let's write that down. a little spin off show. is your is your cat smarter than a three year old?

00:06:16:00 - 00:06:20:00
Chris
And we'll just get some cats on here to demonstrate if they have permanence or not.

00:06:20:01 - 00:06:26:23
Kristen
I also want you to do this test with Tiger because I want to on the next show, I want to I want to hear if if Tiger passed the test or not.

00:06:27:01 - 00:06:33:23
Chris
Okay. I feel like I feel like she won't, but it'll be it won't be out of stupidity. It will be out of pure apathy.

00:06:34:01 - 00:06:36:12
Kristen
Well, but she's also very senior, isn't she?

00:06:36:18 - 00:06:41:21
Chris
She's very old. She's over 20 years old, so she does not. It could be cognitive issue.

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Kristen
Or just like you said, apathy.

00:06:43:10 - 00:07:05:17
Chris
She also can't hear anything anymore. She is completely deaf. She has lost the ability to hear. It's actually quite funny because she'll vocalize to ask for something and then just sort of cruise around the condo meowing, just trying to find somebody. And we could be right there. And she doesn't look right at us. She'll have no idea. Poor little girl.

00:07:05:17 - 00:07:09:11
Chris
She she's treated like a princess. So nobody, nobody at home has to worry about.

00:07:09:12 - 00:07:15:05
Kristen
Okay. All right. Good. Chris, do you remember Chrissy Joy from the Dog Moms?

00:07:15:06 - 00:07:17:12
Chris
How could I possibly forget?

00:07:17:14 - 00:07:25:21
Kristen
Well, we're actually going to have her back today because she does a ton of traveling with her dogs, and we couldn't think of a better person to give us some travel tips.

00:07:25:22 - 00:07:44:14
Chris
So that sounds awesome. And, I heard she is currently traveling, so we are getting travel tips from a currently traveling dog mom expert. What a segment! I mean, we're pulling out all the stops for you guys. Yeah, so let's go ahead and listen. Beyond the Leash exploring the untold stories of pet passion and professionalism.

00:07:44:16 - 00:07:58:20
Kristen
All right. Joining us as our first guest today is the fabulous Chrissy Joy dog trainer, host of The Dog Moms and Dog TV. And travel with your pets expert. Hey, Chrissy, thanks for joining us today.

00:07:58:22 - 00:08:04:21
Chrissy Joy
It's great to be here. You caught me on a big trip that I'm doing my cat with my dogs.

00:08:04:23 - 00:08:06:20
Chris
And what I love, what.

00:08:06:22 - 00:08:08:14
Kristen
It's like as we speak.

00:08:08:16 - 00:08:20:19
Chris
Yeah. If you are traveling as we speak in our travel base at the Sode about how to travel with your animals during a busy summer, if there's somebody we need to talk to, it's you.

00:08:20:21 - 00:08:22:00
Kristen
There you go.

00:08:22:02 - 00:08:28:13
Chrissy Joy
Yeah, I'm actually driving right now at Dollywood amusement park, where we're going to perform a few days in Tennessee.

00:08:28:15 - 00:08:31:17
Chris
Oh, how awesome. And how is awesome?

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Kristen
Do you have your four dogs with you?

00:08:34:04 - 00:08:54:13
Chrissy Joy
I do. So my dog Ashley is my oldest. He just had a dental yesterday, so he's staying home with my family. Kind of rushing, recuperating. But the other four are with Pete and they are. You know, we just packed it up so that, you know, because it's hot out and it's gonna be hot where we're going. So we did a lot of packing up, prepping so that we could be ready for our adventure.

00:08:54:15 - 00:09:15:11
Chris
Yeah, absolutely. So packing prepping for dogs in the heat in a van. What is different from gas? Like a. And I know you would never do this, but if you were going on a trip by yourself, which I know you would never do in a million years. But if you were, how how does like the packing change up with four dogs and a single van?

00:09:15:12 - 00:09:18:11
Chris
What are some of those key ingredients that you get thrown in?

00:09:18:12 - 00:09:37:21
Chrissy Joy
I you know, some things I've learned over the years is that, you know, you have to be super attentive to your days that you're going to be away, but also the risk that you may be a few days outside of your travel in case of delays or problems. So whenever I'm packing food, I'm always packing extra, whenever I'm packing, like engagement type thing.

00:09:37:23 - 00:09:59:06
Chrissy Joy
I'm also packing additional chews, additional bags of treats. you know, keeping temperatures important. So if that's something I need to worry about. sorry. I have to do something real quick. There you go. you know, if that's something I'm worried about, I want to make sure that I have those things at hand. So when we get to our location, they have some enrichments and stimulation.

00:09:59:08 - 00:10:22:11
Chrissy Joy
I also do like to travel with water from home, so I'll start them on a couple yards of water right from home. So that's familiar to their system. And I actually have a battery generator. So if I have heard about these things for now than before, but that allows me to recharge the batteries and, you know, charge my phone if we're somewhere and we get stranded.

00:10:22:13 - 00:10:38:10
Chrissy Joy
But, you know, you know, keeping in a big van like this, I want to make sure that the air is flowing throughout our travel. And to them stay cool back there. So it's just about thinking outside the box. And with today's world, you have so many gadgets that you can buy that really make that easier, right?

00:10:38:11 - 00:10:46:15
Kristen
That's a great I love that tip about the generator and the water from home that's super important. And and that's something I had not thought about.

00:10:46:17 - 00:11:00:07
Chrissy Joy
Yeah. You just never know what's going to upset them. Stress travel can can affect all sorts of ways. You might outwardly see it or you might see it when they go use the bathroom at your next stop. So you know, that's another important thing, is that, you know, all my dogs are older, so I'm able to utilize that.

00:11:00:07 - 00:11:22:06
Chrissy Joy
But there are some great travel spots that you can stop on your way, like love has dog parks or loves gas stations. And also you can go to Sniff Spot and you can actually read someone's backyard, which is like so crazy. But you can rent out like your own personal space or backyard. So I could go for like ten, 15, $20 and get a private experience.

00:11:22:06 - 00:11:26:08
Chrissy Joy
If your dog isn't going to thrive well, where there's other animals.

00:11:26:10 - 00:11:44:11
Chris
But that's a great tip because one one issue I know a lot of dog owners run into is the stop planning. I mean, for me personally, I could take a ten hour trip and stop once, right? But that does not work for that does not work for dogs. So there's there's a little bit of for women. Yeah. Yeah I'm sure.

00:11:44:11 - 00:11:48:17
Chris
Yeah. There's a little bit of strategy involved as well as preparation.

00:11:48:23 - 00:12:09:16
Chrissy Joy
It also helps that my van that's absolutely awful on gas mileage. So so it's going to it's going to easily force me to stop. But I would say to do stare at during the day. It's like every three hours 3 to 4 hours. If it's a nighttime drive overnight, you can get away with last stops because I'm not there at bedtime.

00:12:09:18 - 00:12:33:10
Chrissy Joy
So sometimes I'll actually try to travel overnight like you would do with kids so that like for them, they would rather sleep anyway in their system is used to that. So there's a lot of little things you can do. And obviously having a great first aid kit is super important to house. And you could spend some time with your bat for the what if this happens and be ready on the road so that to get a cut, you know how to treat it.

00:12:33:12 - 00:12:42:15
Chrissy Joy
You get to the vet if you have stomach upset, what can you do? And just kind of having a kit ready just in case you run into some problems, which we have definitely had all of those things happen.

00:12:42:17 - 00:12:55:03
Kristen
So, Christy, you know, we want to let you get back to your road trip, but, last question you mentioned loves and you mentioned the sniff spot. Are there any other apps that you would recommend for people that are traveling with their pets?

00:12:55:05 - 00:13:12:14
Chrissy Joy
Yeah. There's great wants to consider, like bring Fido that's going to help you find dog friendly places. And also I love you want to go on a hike? You can go to all trails. It's a great app, and you can have select pet Friendly that allows you to know like if there's good nature walks, things like that, that just gives you some activities on the road.

00:13:12:14 - 00:13:21:07
Chrissy Joy
The sniff spot, Bring Fido, the All Trails app and the loves app, which will save you on gas but also help you find the specific ones that have dog parks.

00:13:21:09 - 00:13:23:15
Chris
That's great. That's great.

00:13:23:17 - 00:13:34:00
Kristen
Great travel tips Christy, we appreciate you so much. Be sure to say hi to Dollywood for us and enjoy your time there. Bye bye.

00:13:34:01 - 00:13:54:17
Chris
Bye Chrissy. It's always great having, Chrissy on. I mean, such a great personality, but especially for travel. I mean, she does so much of it. She knows it's like she knows the ins and outs like nobody else. so hopefully some of those tips will come in handy for some of our traveling pet parents this summer.

00:13:54:19 - 00:14:00:09
Kristen
Yeah, I learned a lot, actually. I jotted down some of her tips myself, so I'm going to incorporate those.

00:14:00:11 - 00:14:14:01
Chris
Because I use all trails. Like for people travel. I had no idea they had like a dog friendly filter. That's like one of those little tiny things that that can really be a lifesaver on a long road trip.

00:14:14:03 - 00:14:18:22
Kristen
Very important. And one last thing you want to do is go to a trail with your dog and find out that it's not a dog friendly trail.

00:14:18:22 - 00:14:23:01
Chris
So exactly. Very important. Yeah. Good stuff. Great stuff all around my dog.

00:14:23:01 - 00:14:27:04
Kristen
She started. Yes. She's sitting.

00:14:27:04 - 00:14:30:06
Chris
Behind. All right. Okay.

00:14:30:08 - 00:14:31:14
Kristen
Okay. Go ahead.

00:14:31:16 - 00:14:39:10
Chris
So, Kristen, I don't know about you. Have you ever tried to fly with one of your animals in any capacity?

00:14:39:12 - 00:14:58:02
Kristen
Yeah, I have, two, and I have flown on three occasions now. She's small, so I can put her in a carrier and, you know, bring her on board. and she she actually doesn't mind it. She really enjoys it. And I love being able to take her with me. I take her with me everywhere I go if I can.

00:14:58:04 - 00:15:26:16
Chris
Yeah, well, you're one of the. You're one of the lucky ones because your dog's bigger or has bad anxiety or really just doesn't travel. Well, your options are incredibly limited, which is unfortunate, but. But luckily for you, there's some, incredibly clever entrepreneurs on the case. We're going to be speaking with Dan Wiesel who is, trying to reestablish Pet Airways, which will be an amazing option.

00:15:26:16 - 00:15:50:00
Chris
I don't want to give too much away. So let's go ahead and listen in that. So joining us now on the Pets Add Life podcast is Dan Wiesel who is quite the interesting, entrepreneur. He has a business called Pet Airways. And believe it or not, it is an airline made specifically for pets and their pet parents. So we're going to be talking a little bit about that today.

00:15:50:00 - 00:15:51:17
Chris
Dan, thank you so much for joining us.

00:15:51:22 - 00:15:54:07
Dan Wiesel
Oh, thank you very much for having me I appreciate it.

00:15:54:09 - 00:16:16:02
Chris
So right off the bat, you hear an airline built for pets. And the questions just immediately come to mind, I could ask you a million different questions about this, but I'm going to start with what separates you from just a standard commercial airline and paying that fee to sort of bring my dog along for the journey.

00:16:16:04 - 00:16:33:08
Dan Wiesel
Great. Well, so that's a really good question. And that's really the crux of what Pet Airways is. So, when you fly, when you fly on an airline or you want to fly your pet on an airline, you have two choices. If your pet is small enough, you can put your pet on board with you and put them under the seat in front of you.

00:16:33:10 - 00:16:57:11
Dan Wiesel
if your pet is larger and can't do that, they're relegated to the cargo hold of the air of the aircraft. So, we pet parents all understand that the cargo hold is really not for their loved one. Their family pet, the child. So, I had that. I had that same problem. I wanted to fly my pet Zoe from, California to Florida.

00:16:57:13 - 00:17:14:12
Dan Wiesel
And it was a traumatic experience for me, you know? I didn't know where Zoe was. I didn't know how she was doing, you know? so it was terrible. And Zoe didn't sort of come out completely. Okay. Also, and I hear this from pet parents all the time that, you know, my pet, you know, I don't want to put my pet in cargo.

00:17:14:13 - 00:17:34:20
Dan Wiesel
I don't want to put my pet through that. That thing cargo is a very dangerous and, nasty place for your pets. So I created Pet Airways. And the major difference in pet air, which is that pets actually fly in the main cabin of our aircraft. So, the types of aircraft we use do not have a baggage compartment under the plane.

00:17:34:22 - 00:17:57:05
Dan Wiesel
They're all, all the people and the pets sit right behind the pilot. So the pilot and our pet attendant, our onboard pet attendant, actually are breathing the same air, flying in the same space as, as, as the pilot and the copilot. So, what's beautiful about it is that, you know, we are like. We are like, we're pet people.

00:17:57:10 - 00:18:17:01
Dan Wiesel
We understand pets. We want to make sure that pets are having a good experience flying. and so, we put our pets in the, in the plane, and when the, the plane is up at a certain altitude, our pet attendant actually goes through the cabin at different times, checking to make sure the pets are okay. Our our cabins are fully lit.

00:18:17:03 - 00:18:26:00
Dan Wiesel
You know, they're air conditioned and, so the pets are having a comfortable, safe experience flying.

00:18:26:02 - 00:18:45:12
Kristen
That is such great news to hear. I can't tell you how. For how long I've wished there was a pet airways for for for us to travel with our dogs. We've always had larger dogs, so. And the cargo hold was never an option that I would choose. because like on your, on your website, it says pets are not luggage.

00:18:45:18 - 00:19:03:00
Kristen
They don't belong in the cargo hold. so I wasn't passengers, but passengers. Yes. That's perfect. So. But it's I love it. The puns are great. So is Pet Airways operating currently or is this something we're we're working toward in.

00:19:03:02 - 00:19:26:20
Dan Wiesel
So you know, we we flew between 2009 and 2011. And as a startup company, you know, we look to investors for, for the cash to get to the point where you're profitable. Unfortunately, it was right at the Great Recession of 2009, where all of the investments in all the different, genres just disappeared. And so unfortunately, we just ran out of cash and we had to stop operating.

00:19:26:22 - 00:19:46:17
Dan Wiesel
However, the dream and the in the, the intent, to resurrect that has always been there. And I get every day I get ten, ten or so emails. When are you coming back? We I want to fly, my pet. I don't want to put my pet in cargo. So, in the interim, we've we've, reorganized, and we're trying to come back right now.

00:19:46:17 - 00:20:06:02
Dan Wiesel
I'm in the process now of, speaking to different investors who want to invest in the company, who see the, the, the ability to do something great for pets. And so, I'm hoping if we can, we'll actually, I'm, I'm planning that in the next two years, some of next year will be, back up and running.

00:20:06:04 - 00:20:18:18
Kristen
Fantastic. So will the fares be comparable to what we might pay for, you know, a ticket on a traditional commercial airline these days for for a human passenger or how will that work?

00:20:18:20 - 00:20:42:11
Dan Wiesel
Yeah. So there's there's two fares for, for pets when you try to send the pet in cargo, if you are flying on a plane, then you can, check your pet as extra large luggage, you know, like skis and golf clubs and things like that. So they consider that, your luggage and the fares are quite reasonable, actually, you know, maybe $150.

00:20:42:17 - 00:21:05:04
Dan Wiesel
Okay. But if you just want to send your pets as, as, freight, if you will, you could be paying for or for a larger dog, you know, $1,500 or something like that. So, yeah, it's quite it's quite expensive. And then, you know, you have to drop your dog off at the cargo facility and that's a whole other, you know, issue, you know, who's handling your dog and things like that.

00:21:05:06 - 00:21:27:04
Dan Wiesel
with us, our goal is to, to, to make it a reasonable, you know, we, you know, flying is is an expensive proposition. But, I've always tell people that it's basically the price of what a human would pay for, like a non discounted price. Okay. So if you think about how far you are it is going from New York to California, for example.

00:21:27:06 - 00:21:44:05
Dan Wiesel
It's a long way to drive. So you have to sort of think about that whole experience. And I've done that. I've done that. It's a it's a whole experience in hotels and cars and all that other stuff with, with a dog, with a cat, it's actually even worse because cats do not like to travel, in cars.

00:21:44:07 - 00:21:50:02
Dan Wiesel
so, so, if you think about that and you compared to what we're doing, it's a it's, it's very, very reasonable.

00:21:50:04 - 00:22:10:09
Chris
The cost and and the, the planes that you guys are going to use, is it going to be the same kind of like bigger, bigger type thing where you're going to have, you know, hundreds of animals or is it going to be a smaller jet? Is it going to be based on the route? what can you know, what type of planes, can we expect from Pet Airways?

00:22:10:11 - 00:22:33:18
Dan Wiesel
Yeah. So, you know, we need to keep the prices reasonable, and we need to not have too many pets, because if you have 100 pets, it's becomes a bit of a zoo. so our planes carry somewhere between 40 and 50 pets. Okay. Which is very, very manageable. and then at the different locations where they get on and get off, you know, there's maybe 10 or 15 pets to get on and off.

00:22:33:18 - 00:22:57:08
Dan Wiesel
So it's very, very reasonable. The pets have, you know, individual attention. So it's not like this mass exodus of pets. Okay. And of course, you know, our, our all of our people are, pet people. They're either veterinary technicians or people who have been in the pet industry and handle pets all their lives. So we have a very good pet center type of experience for the pets.

00:22:57:10 - 00:23:21:18
Chris
That's a that's an interesting pick as a, as a job opportunity. Because do you want do you want all of the the benefits of being, you know, an airline stewardess without having to deal with airline people? here we go. You you can if you or if you're a vet tech. Right. And you want to do a little bit, you want to get a little bit of traveling done and, and kind of get a different, breath of fresh air for the industry.

00:23:21:18 - 00:23:24:13
Chris
That's actually a very interesting proposition.

00:23:24:15 - 00:23:37:18
Dan Wiesel
Absolutely. And we do get a lot we do get a lot of, solicitations for to work for us constantly. Sure. Let's go to a vet techs. we've even had a couple of actual vets who wanted to be in the company.

00:23:37:18 - 00:23:43:20
Chris
I mean, I'm over here. I'm on this other computer brushing up my resume right now. That doesn't sound too bad.

00:23:43:22 - 00:24:03:22
Kristen
Doesn't sound too darn good. I have a question, Dan, about, so the inside of the plane. I'm trying to visualize the the pet owners pet parents and the, say, 40 to 50 pets. will the pets be required to be in a carrier or a kettle, or, like, how will that work? as far seating, so to speak.

00:24:04:00 - 00:24:29:09
Dan Wiesel
Yes. So our planes are basically human planes. They're 19 passenger turboprops. We remove all of the, human accouterments, and they become with, you know, basically a shell, just a shell. And so what we, what we do is we, we supply the carriers. So that's one of the benefits. You don't have to go to Petco and PetSmart to, going by $100, a carrier, we supply them.

00:24:29:11 - 00:24:55:19
Dan Wiesel
And when you bring your pet to the pet lounge, we put them in the appropriate size. carrier and those carriers are hand delivered to the plane, and then they're, put into the plane. We usually can fit, you know, the large parts on the bottom and the smaller cap that's on the top. And so basically, there's a row of carriers, 40 carriers with all the pets in them, and there's an aisle, in there.

00:24:55:19 - 00:25:17:09
Dan Wiesel
So they're not just sort of shoved in there and all over the place. That's sort of in a row. And then, our pet attendant can actually go up and down the aisle during the flight. and it's all, you know, it's all lit. and of course, they have a flashlight if they need it, but they can look inside the carrier and they can see, how each pet is doing.

00:25:17:11 - 00:25:43:23
Chris
That's great. Yeah. I mean, that sounds like a very innovative idea. And I mean, such a step up from literally, literally saying that the pet is cargo. I mean, that is that's how we started this is is, you know, other airlines are saying there that is that's going to go in with the bags. And, you know, you've seen we've all seen the horror stories, we've seen like the the infamous United guitar situation where the guy wrote the song about them breaking the guitar.

00:25:44:02 - 00:25:55:01
Chris
And if that's how they're treating baggage, you know, you, I would not trust my animal with a business like that, but this sounds like something I could definitely get behind.

00:25:55:06 - 00:26:10:16
Dan Wiesel
Well, you know, when you get your pet to the, the human airlines, as I call them, you know, you basically have cargo people, you know, not to denigrate cargo people, but, you know, they, they're not the, you know, the, you know, the the cargo people, they.

00:26:10:16 - 00:26:14:14
Chris
Handle inanimate objects. Exactly. And you see the, the anatomy.

00:26:14:16 - 00:26:35:12
Dan Wiesel
Of the luggage being tossed in this and that. Now, they don't do that with pets generally, but, you know, there's stories of pets, you know, falling off the conveyor and things like that. So, but our people, it's all about the pets, okay? Every pet is loved. You know, we have we have, we had people that when, when, when we couldn't fly for a snowstorm, for example.

00:26:35:12 - 00:26:48:01
Dan Wiesel
Okay, they would take the pet home and make sure the pet was okay, you know? So, and, of course, you know, when the really, really cute pets came through, we had to slap their hands because they wanted to take them home permanently.

00:26:48:03 - 00:26:50:21
Chris
Get them, slap them in the purse like a sugar packet. Yeah.

00:26:51:02 - 00:27:10:00
Dan Wiesel
It's unbelievable. The love. The love that all these people have for the pets. And that translates into how they treat them and handle them. And that's the difference. You know, we are about the pets and not about luggage and, you know, throwing them into a cargo hold where it's dark and scary and a lot of strange noises and things like that.

00:27:10:01 - 00:27:11:05
Chris
That's amazing.

00:27:11:07 - 00:27:22:00
Kristen
How can how can listeners, how can we support Pet Airways to making sure you get off the ground next summer? Is there anything that that we as parents can do?

00:27:22:02 - 00:27:57:15
Dan Wiesel
Well, that's that's that's a great question. And, you know, right now I'm in the fundraising stage. So I'm looking for investors. you know, you know, people, of different, you know, amounts. Obviously we'd like some, some very serious high net worth individuals, to step up and, you know, put in a substantial amount of money. the other thing is that at some point I may do some sort of a crowdfunding, situation if people want to do that, I may do a pre-sale type of situation where, you know, we would get, my own moneys in that way.

00:27:57:17 - 00:28:08:19
Dan Wiesel
or, you know, people can have a piece of the company, you know, by actually investing, in put away. But right now we're trying to get several million dollars, for the, for the initial start.

00:28:08:21 - 00:28:27:15
Chris
Yeah. Well, if this is an idea you like pet parents, I'm sure some social media buzz would help to, You know, I'm sure this is something you never even thought would be a possibility. So. So get talking about it. Get in that comment box, start posting to Instagram and Facebook. Make your TikToks about how badly you need the pet airways to succeed.

00:28:27:15 - 00:28:33:08
Chris
And maybe by next summer, well, we'll all be traveling, first class, even our four legged friends.

00:28:33:10 - 00:28:43:00
Dan Wiesel
Well, you know, the funny that you talk about first class in the planes and on the tarmac when you when you walk, when we put took our pets in there, we actually had a red carpet.

00:28:43:02 - 00:28:44:18
Chris
yes, of course, I love that.

00:28:44:19 - 00:29:00:12
Dan Wiesel
In the plane was red, it was red carpet. And the you know, just like when the dignitaries come to visit the president, you roll out the red carpet. And that's what that's that was that was the the theme of the service. It was a red carpet service for our pets.

00:29:00:14 - 00:29:17:17
Chris
Great. Well, Dan, thank you so much for taking the time today to talk about this. it's very clear that your, your passion and compassion for animals will be the building blocks for what I hope. Fingers crossed. Hope will be an incredibly successful business. So I'll be, following the story closely.

00:29:17:23 - 00:29:35:12
Dan Wiesel
Thank you very much. And thank you to all your all the pet parents out there. If anybody wants to sign up under our, website, pet.com, we have a contact page we care at Pet Airways. pop your name in there and we'll keep it. We'll put you on a on a mailing list, and we'll keep you up to date on all the things that we're doing.

00:29:35:14 - 00:29:36:09
Chris
Sounds great.

00:29:36:11 - 00:29:39:03
Kristen
Fantastic. Thanks, Dan.

00:29:39:05 - 00:29:43:09
Dan Wiesel
Thank you very much for your time. I really appreciate it. Pets add life.

00:29:43:11 - 00:29:56:19
Kristen
I am so hopeful that he's successful. I really think that this can happen. And I think it would just it would revolutionize the way we're able to travel with our pets. Obviously. it's just such a needed service.

00:29:56:21 - 00:30:23:06
Chris
Yeah, it's one of those things that right now, traveling, flying specifically with your dog or cat is the way it is, simply because that is the way it is. It doesn't have to be that way. And I think that's where Pet Airways comes in. So if you're if you're listening to this for and for whatever reason and you've got like a cool million sitting around, pop it on over to Dan, right.

00:30:23:08 - 00:30:24:13
Kristen
Please.

00:30:24:15 - 00:30:46:09
Chris
Please. So but and honestly, if you post on social media, if you make a big deal out of this, like any type of positive. But this buzz would be incredibly helpful for an upstart business. sign up for the newsletter and things like that. I was saying in our little post interview chat that we we don't record that this is one that I care deeply about.

00:30:46:09 - 00:31:13:07
Chris
I, I really want people to be able to feel more freedom of movement. as a pet owner, it's one of the top reasons that people don't get pets is because they're thinking about moving, or they travel a lot, and making things more accessible will make pet ownership more accessible and easier and more affordable. It's yes, it's a win across the board, so be on the lookout for more news from Pet Airways, the product of the week.

00:31:13:09 - 00:31:24:03
Chris
And now it's time for our products of the week, products of the week. And, Kristen, why don't you go ahead and lead us off, all right?

00:31:24:03 - 00:31:36:20
Kristen
Sure. I guess this could sort of be a travel adjacent product. so this this is going to, be the the grand finale of my calming product series, for the month of June senses.

00:31:36:20 - 00:31:37:03
Chris
Grand.

00:31:37:03 - 00:32:00:05
Kristen
Finale Awareness month. So this is a really cool product for dogs. It was developed by Neurobiologists and veterinarians to help dogs. Initially, it was created for dogs that had separation anxiety, separation anxiety. However, they have found that it also has application for other, you know, anxieties that dogs have, so it could be used for travel anxiety. Some dogs don't enjoy travel.

00:32:00:05 - 00:32:24:00
Kristen
Some dogs love to jump in the car and go for a ride. so what is it's called the calmer canine, anxiety treatment system. And it uses and I actually have a piece of it here or I did, yeah. If you're watching, if you're if you can see the video, you can see what this is. So basically it's a little halo that your dog wears over their head like this.

00:32:24:02 - 00:32:49:00
Kristen
And yeah. And it straps onto a vest. And when you press this button it delivers. Let me see if I can remember this acronym targeted pulsed electromagnetic frequency, little micro currents of frequencies to the amygdala, which is a part of the dog's brain and our brains as well, that regulates the emotions. And they say and this is not done.

00:32:49:03 - 00:33:13:12
Kristen
Clinical studies on this, that if you use this twice a day for 15 minutes a day for six weeks, it almost retrains the brain to not be anxious about certain triggers. So and what it's ultimately doing is, is reducing inflammation in the part of the brain that is causing your dog's stress. So it's called canine I think it's super, you know, kind of high tech but super simple to use.

00:33:13:14 - 00:33:23:10
Kristen
And yeah, I think it would it might work for travel anxiety too. I actually asked if it worked on humans. Like if you're stressed out, if you could like wear it on your.

00:33:23:11 - 00:33:29:13
Chris
That's what I'm mostly curious about is can I can I zap my anxiety away with microwaves there?

00:33:29:15 - 00:33:34:18
Kristen
While there are no studies to, you know, prove that that's effective, but I'm willing to try it. So yeah.

00:33:34:20 - 00:33:44:12
Chris
I mean, I'll try anything 23 times that. That's amazing. I apologize to our listeners who may be listening to this first thing in the morning. That's a lot of science. first thing.

00:33:44:13 - 00:33:45:05
Kristen
You're right, that.

00:33:45:05 - 00:34:07:02
Chris
Is it is a lot of science, but it's absolutely incredible. the thought that's going into pet products nowadays, I mean, that something like that would have been reserved for humans 20 years ago, right? People wouldn't have studied that and came up with the idea and the concept and the product. but it just goes to show you how far we're willing to go to help our pets and their anxiety now, too.

00:34:07:04 - 00:34:10:07
Chris
so so that's amazing. Yeah. What an amazing product.

00:34:10:09 - 00:34:12:00
Kristen
What is your product, Chris?

00:34:12:02 - 00:34:34:20
Chris
So I've got a product here that I don't personally use, but I know a few people who do, who maybe if you maybe leaving your animal at home, either with a sitter or if you work in an office that's not dog friendly, or if you're just going for a weekend trip and you're comfortable leaving the pet. this is a an advanced, tech pet camera called the pet Cube.

00:34:34:22 - 00:34:55:09
Chris
and it does all the things you would expect a modern nanny cam to do. it connects to your phone. You can move it around. You can, speak into it. But what I love about this is that it has a treat dispenser attached to it. So you can actually, with the pet cube, you can check in on your animal.

00:34:55:11 - 00:35:17:20
Chris
You can let them hear your voice, and you could actually have them if they're good with vocal commands, especially dogs. Have them sit, get the treat. And it's sort of like that stimulation that they expect when somebody is home of like, the person here, I got to act good. I get my treat. it does all the amazing stuff that a, that a camera should do.

00:35:17:21 - 00:35:42:22
Chris
Full 1080p resolution, two way audio. It does night vision really well in a gray scale. It'll even do, motion alerts. So if you want to use it also for, home security. Right. And you want to say detect people because there shouldn't be people here. Or if you're expecting a pet sitter and you want to get a notification when your pet sitter arrives so that you can give them a call or either buzz them, buzz them into your apartment or something like that.

00:35:43:01 - 00:36:03:19
Chris
There's a lot of flexibility here. It's not a incredibly, expensive product. It's about $100. I think they're even doing a sale right now. the website pet youtube.com. a great piece of reassurance to have. I love I have a camera, that I could talk to the cat, and I stopped doing it because she gets confused.

00:36:03:23 - 00:36:22:08
Chris
I think dogs to piece it together a little bit. better. but I love having a camera and having that visibility on my pet and knowing that they're behaving normally. they're not displaying some of those signs of anxiety that may only come up when you're not home. so it can it could really be used for a lot of different purposes.

00:36:22:08 - 00:36:31:09
Chris
So I think a good camera, this is a good recommendation for a camera. If you don't think it's great, find a different camera. I think it's really great for a pet owner to have.

00:36:31:11 - 00:36:41:13
Kristen
Yeah, I love that, especially if you're traveling and you have it like you mentioned, pet sitter. talk about giving you peace of mind that you can, you know, just check in on your phone to make sure you're pets, you know.

00:36:41:15 - 00:37:03:20
Chris
Absolutely. I know it's I know it's animal Anxiety awareness month, but, but the people we've got anxiety to. And when I leave home, I am constantly anxious about the cat. I want to make sure she is still going up and down stairs. She's not over vocalizing that she's. She doesn't seem to board, but doesn't seem to be anxious.

00:37:03:20 - 00:37:06:17
Chris
I mean, I'm crazy. I'm insane because that's how is.

00:37:06:18 - 00:37:08:01
Kristen
Like a helicopter pet parent.

00:37:08:01 - 00:37:12:17
Chris
I'm a helicopter cat, dad. I wouldn't have it any other way.

00:37:12:19 - 00:37:19:04
Kristen
Q and A’s. All right, Chris, we're up to our two questions section of the show. my.

00:37:19:04 - 00:37:19:14
Chris
Favorite part.

00:37:19:14 - 00:37:35:16
Kristen
Mom, I know, I know, and we would love to hear your questions. And, you know, they could be about your pets, or they could be, just maybe you have a question about a product, or maybe you have a dilemma you're trying to sort out with your pet that you'd like to share with us, and maybe we'll have you on the show to help you figure it out.

00:37:35:18 - 00:37:58:04
Kristen
you just go to PetsAddLife.org/podcast and you can submit your question, your comments. and you can even leave a voice memo, like a voice question, like, yeah, you leave the audio. But that's what I'm trying to say. An audio version of your question, and we'll play it on the show, okay? Okay. So, let's see, let's do this first one from Brian in Phoenix.

00:37:58:06 - 00:38:11:02
Kristen
Brian says, with summer heat on the rise, what are some essential tips to keep my dog cool and safe during the hot months? And are there any specific products or practices you recommend? Great question.

00:38:11:04 - 00:38:11:10
Chris
Yeah.

00:38:11:10 - 00:38:13:08
Kristen
Great question one take a stab at first, Chris.

00:38:13:08 - 00:38:35:05
Chris
Yeah, I will I think, you know, I talked a bit about this on our previous episode. I mean, two episodes go, and I think my biggest takeaway from that is be tuned into your dog's behavior when they're normal. and then when they go outside, your dog's going to Pam. It doesn't matter. Especially long, long handles.

00:38:35:08 - 00:38:57:09
Chris
They're going to pant. But see, learn what normal panting is and then maybe take them to a dog park and let them go buck wild and see how they pant at that point, right after rigorous exercise. And know that if you're just normally walking your dog and they start panting like they were just playing at the dog park, it's time to take a break.

00:38:57:15 - 00:39:16:14
Chris
It is time to take a break. Travel with a dog, friendly water bottle. Dogs need water just as much as people and they can't sweat. So also understand when it's simply too hot for your dog to take that extended walk. Instead, walk in their early early hours of the morning or the later hours at night when the sun's a bit lower.

00:39:16:16 - 00:39:43:20
Chris
because sometimes avoidance can be the only, solution, especially for I always feel bad. I see in our in our town often some big huskies that are not built for this kind of weather and demand an incredible amount of exercise out of their owners. So if you have an animal that's that's sort of in that category, I would recommend early morning long walks or, twilight long walks and just learn to recognize that behavior.

00:39:43:22 - 00:40:03:10
Kristen
Yeah. And and just to add on to that, Chris, I'd say, you know, you probably need to modify your routine, for the summertime, if you're one of those folks that, you know, exercises with your dog, maybe goes for a jog or likes to go for a midday walk, you can keep doing that yourself. You mean, you know how kind of heat tolerance you can handle?

00:40:03:12 - 00:40:24:11
Kristen
But like Chris said, you know, the dog, isn't going to tell you they don't want to go with you. They want to be with you, and they're wearing that fur coat. So please, just be really mindful. of the time of day, the temperature and also the pavement gets super hot, you know, summertime too. And make sure your dog's getting lots of great hydration.

00:40:24:13 - 00:40:41:02
Kristen
I love I love dogs fountains or cat fountains or whatever, you know, but you have I love fountains for better hydration for your pet because they're more likely to drink more than from a stagnant water bowl. so yeah, just, keep those tips in mind and have a safe summer with your pooch.

00:40:41:04 - 00:40:51:09
Chris
All good stuff. All good stuff. we've got a question here. I think I'm going to be an expert in this one. I see one here from Sam in New York. Is that the one you were going to pull to?

00:40:51:11 - 00:40:54:16
Kristen
It's not, but that's okay. It's all right. Okay. It is a cat question, so.

00:40:54:21 - 00:41:14:15
Chris
Well, this one's a cat question as well. so Sam from New York asks, I have a senior cat who has become less active and seems to be losing weight. What are some steps I could take to ensure she's getting proper nutrition and the care she needs as she ages? Which, if I'm an expert in one thing.

00:41:14:17 - 00:41:15:01
Kristen
It's.

00:41:15:02 - 00:41:38:23
Chris
It's it's all cat care. And I think a lot of cat owners take for granted how simple cats could be. I was telling, my boss earlier today that sometimes I feel weird considering myself an expert in pet products because my pet uses food and litter and that's it. Like, I go to the store and that those are the like, that's all she wants and desires and needs.

00:41:39:01 - 00:42:03:10
Chris
And, I think it's easy as a cat owner to fall into that routine as your cat ages, you may need to change some of the products, specifically the food. There are senior diets for a reason. They are more calorie dense. They are, sometimes softer, especially with kibble. and sometimes you may need to switch, foods entirely.

00:42:03:10 - 00:42:24:06
Chris
We had to switch, Tiger from a dry kibble food to wet food because her teeth just weren't holding up. She didn't want to crunch on food anymore. She wanted something soft. She really just eats with her tongue now. And the mess she makes around in her area kind of proves that. so it may just be time to make some changes.

00:42:24:06 - 00:42:44:01
Chris
Those senior diet foods are more calorie rich because the cat is going to put less into its stomach. you may want to look into some stimulation activities, some some automatic toys. Some cats become incredibly apathetic. But what I've noticed with my cat is she doesn't want to play with a toy, but she wants to be around us.

00:42:44:03 - 00:43:04:14
Chris
she will follow us into every single room we go into, and she will make herself a little nest in the corner and plop down. And sometimes she just wants to be around. So let her be around. Give her some nice pets. Let her know that you're there. switch up the diet and you'd be surprised how those little changes can can be exactly what the cat needs.

00:43:04:16 - 00:43:21:17
Kristen
Yeah, I, I agree with all of that. And I would just add to that, as we always say, talk to your veterinarian as well. Especially I don't know the exact age of your kitty, but senior cats just like senior anything, need to see, the veterinarian more frequently because they, you know, they age so much faster than us.

00:43:21:17 - 00:43:29:20
Kristen
So they're, you know, her weight loss could also, you know, be a result of some health condition. And and so it's very important that you that you're taking her for her senior wellness.

00:43:29:20 - 00:43:51:00
Chris
Exam to give you a little peek behind the curtain here. Tiger had stopped eating. And you know her at the time she was 19. We thought, oh, well, you know, this this is it. Take her to the vet. Because obviously, I want to be sure it turns out she has had a bacterial infection in her kidney, and it was affecting her appetite.

00:43:51:04 - 00:44:01:03
Chris
And she got a single shot and then was boom, right back to being herself. Put the weight right back on and has since then has lived another 18 months. so.

00:44:01:05 - 00:44:03:09
Kristen
Imagine if you hadn't taken her to the vet.

00:44:03:11 - 00:44:12:06
Chris
Right. Exactly. So sometimes it is, sometimes it could be complete. It could be an issue completely unrelated to age. So that's great advice. Kristen.

00:44:12:07 - 00:44:18:16
Kristen
Well, Chris, that was a really fun show. We had some great travel specific guests and I learned a lot about you.

00:44:18:17 - 00:44:36:10
Chris
Yeah, I learned a lot too. And I'm excited for all my my summer travels. Luckily, my cat is going to stay at home, but I picked up some tips and tricks, some great product ideas, even doing my own research here. I'm already feeling more confident about leaving the cat, for even just weekends away. So, I agree.

00:44:36:10 - 00:44:37:23
Chris
I learned a lot.

00:44:38:01 - 00:44:54:15
Kristen
Awesome. And you know what the best part is? You guys out there, I know you've got travel plans. You can actually take us along the Pets Add Life podcast and listen to us in during your travels. anywhere podcasts are found, you can find us. And, we'd love to join you on your trip.

00:44:54:17 - 00:45:04:17
Chris
Yeah, I've been told that the sound of my voice, is scientifically proven to ease anxiety in most animals. I mean, that is a fact. Don't look into it. Don't do any research.

00:45:04:17 - 00:45:06:07
Kristen
Don't test it, don't even test it.

00:45:06:07 - 00:45:22:14
Chris
Test it. I guess taken at face value as a true statement. we will be back here next Tuesday, as always. In the meantime, be sure to like, subscribe, share the show with a friend, and until then, enjoy your summer vacations and we'll see you next week! Pets add life.