Episode 6: Innovating in the Pet Industry and Exploring the World of Pet Therapy Animals

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00:00:00:02 - 00:00:03:08
Kristen
All right, Chris, take it away with our opening jingle.

00:00:03:10 - 00:00:05:07
Chris
Doo doo doo doo doo doo, pet.

00:00:05:07 - 00:00:05:20
Chris
add life.

00:00:05:20 - 00:00:07:15
Chris
Doo doo doo doo doo doo. Look out! Narrator I’m coming for your job.

00:00:10:06 - 00:00:32:19
Voice Over
Pets Add Life. Your guide to the latest in pet trends, products and the joy of the human animal. Bond with Kristen Levine and Chris Bonafide. Powered by the American Pet Products Association and Dog TV. I'm coming for it. I'm coming for your job. Narrator and jingle maker. It's not enough to co-host this wonderful podcast with with Kristen Levine.

00:00:32:20 - 00:00:34:01
Chris
Hi, Kristen. How are you today?

00:00:34:02 - 00:00:40:00
Kristen
I'm doing great, Chris. And I don't think that guy has anything to worry about with you taking this job.

00:00:40:01 - 00:01:05:19
Chris
Okay. Yeah, that's pretty fair. Your and I'm not. I'm not a jingle. I'm not a jingle jammer. but I am here to co-host the Pets Add Life podcast, where we will be bringing you a pair of stories, a pair of guests, a pair of product recommendations, and answering a couple of your questions as well. So, I'm really excited to get this show going.

00:01:06:00 - 00:01:16:21
Chris
we're we're back from global. We're all well-rested, and we're ready to go back to our regularly scheduled format here. Now that we're we're through with all those, special episodes.

00:01:16:22 - 00:01:21:08
Kristen
Yeah, it was a lot of fun, but. But I'm kind of glad we're back to back to normal.

00:01:21:10 - 00:01:30:03
Chris
Back to business? Yeah, those episodes were fun. This is going to be a very serious episode. Really? Brace yourself, because that's. We take ourselves very seriously here.

00:01:30:05 - 00:01:31:10
Kristen
Oh my goodness.

00:01:31:12 - 00:01:37:07
Voice Over
Now Kristen and Chris present story time.

00:01:37:09 - 00:01:40:21
Kristen
Well do you want to do you want to kick it off with your first story.

00:01:40:23 - 00:02:01:18
Chris
Yeah. Why not. Let's get right into it. So I said that, we're taking things a little seriously here. and I do not joke. That's one thing you should know about, Chris, is I never joke. and I just wanted to talk a little bit about, my association. APA. we released, the the pet industry expenditures and things like that.

00:02:01:22 - 00:02:23:02
Chris
I don't want to bore, you pet parents with, like, big economy numbers. You know, we're spending a billions, literally billion, $64.4 billion spent in the United States on pet food and treats. That's an insane number. Just really try to conceptualize that. Wow. But there's a couple of other fun facets in here that I think you guys all might find a little interesting.

00:02:23:04 - 00:02:51:16
Chris
because you're all, whether you like it or not, if you own a pet, you're part of this industry. you make purchases around those pets, and you sustain several manufacturers, distributors, retailers, all wonderful business people, just like you and I, trying to get through their day. so what's one thing that I found really cool is the percentage of households that own pets has normalized to pre-pandemic levels, even though the number of households that, that owns pets has increased over time.

00:02:51:16 - 00:03:13:11
Chris
So we're we're out of the new normal and back to the old normal as far as animal ownership goes, which is, great news. There is a big fear that after the pandemic ended, all of those, Covid dogs would end up back in shelters. well, that certainly is probably true on like a micro case in the grand scheme of things, that doesn't appear to be what's happening.

00:03:13:13 - 00:03:42:11
Chris
and the other little factoid I wanted to present is that, millennials are the largest owning, largest pet owning generation, but is Gen Zs right behind them. And Gen Z is fundamentally changing the way that businesses market. and and sort of advertise their pet products. So the younger generations really prefer visual medias. They like those Instagrams and TikTok reels and things like that.

00:03:42:13 - 00:04:02:06
Chris
we saw a lot of really great educational stuff for our, pet product manufacturers at Global Pet Expo in regards to how to market yourself on the internet. So get ready for some pet products advertised in between your Instagram Reels. Get ready to see some pet products on the zoom scrolls. because times are changing and the pet industry is catching up.

00:04:02:08 - 00:04:05:04
Chris
so this was an exciting report to read.

00:04:05:06 - 00:04:30:22
Kristen
That that's it's good news. And I, actually attended one of those, learning marketing learning sessions at, at global and one of the ways that, Gen Z is changing the way we shop is they're searching. They're more likely to search for products on social. So on TikTok, Instagram. Whereas, you know, myself, I might search on Google still.

00:04:31:00 - 00:04:46:07
Kristen
but they are using social as their, as their favorite form of search. So pretty, pretty interesting. But like you said. So that's going to be a great way to find products because product makers know that now. So you're going to see more, more great stuff in your feed.

00:04:46:09 - 00:04:49:12
Chris
That is true. That is true. All right. Well what do you have for me Kristen.

00:04:49:12 - 00:05:17:07
Kristen
So my story's a lot fluffier than yours. You know I know it's good. So this year the show is airing after Easter. And, you know, Easter is a time when a lot of parents will buy bunny rabbits for their kids because it's Easter and it seems like a great idea. but then after Easter, shelters or rabbit rescues tend to see a lot of these rabbits being surrendered.

00:05:17:09 - 00:05:42:03
Kristen
so I think this is a really great time. If you've been thinking about if you've been thinking about getting a pet and you're not ready for a dog or a cat, this might be a really great time to adopt a rabbit. from the shelters who are getting this, you know, being inundated with returned rabbits. But first, I just wanted to mention that, while they make great pets, it's important to learn to know that they can live for up to ten years.

00:05:42:05 - 00:06:10:00
Kristen
They have, special health needs. Like, it's ideal if you take your pet rabbit to an exotic animal hospital as opposed to, you know, a hospital that has vets that specialize in small animals. and also rabbits are really smart, so it's not good for them to live primarily in a cage all the time. They really need at least 2 to 4 hours of exercise every day to feel mentally and physically stimulated and, you know, to get that enrichment that they need.

00:06:10:01 - 00:06:31:08
Kristen
but but they do make great pets. And a girlfriend of mine has she just rescued three rabbits about a month ago. And she said, they've just brought so much joy to her life. She's newly divorced, so she's gone through a rough, you know, a rough year. But she is just she can't stop talking about how wonderful Horovitz are and how great they make her feel.

00:06:31:08 - 00:06:40:19
Kristen
So, I don't know, I thought between her story. And then there's the situation with with rabbits probably being returned this time of year. Something to consider.

00:06:40:21 - 00:07:02:06
Chris
That's very thoughtful of you. Way more thoughtful than me regurgitating my day job on to everybody at home. what's let's, like the temperament of a rabbit. Like, I don't think I've ever seen a domesticated rabbit. Are they like I imagined in my head when I picture rabbit Pet, I see, like, a very energetic, animal. Is that the case, or can they be cozy and snuggly, too?

00:07:02:08 - 00:07:28:14
Kristen
I would say they're both. I don't think they're super energetic. They definitely need exercise like I just mentioned. and they're, I think the one where one thing of caution is that they are very delicate, so they don't make great pets for small children. and, and rabbits can be very easily frightened to. So maybe, maybe when your kids are like 7 or 8, a little bit older, they're, you know, they they're able to understand how delicate the rabbit is.

00:07:28:14 - 00:07:45:03
Kristen
And you can teach them how to hold the rabbit and support their feet and that sort of thing. but yeah, they're really cuddly. They really are cuddly, and they're very social animals, so it's great if they live with another bunny. But you want to make sure it's not a male and female, make sure they're fixed. If they are male and female.

00:07:45:03 - 00:07:46:13
Kristen
Otherwise you're going to have.

00:07:46:15 - 00:07:53:17
Chris
We all know what rabbits do. We, we do. That's great. What a great story. What a great story. Yeah.

00:07:53:18 - 00:08:10:22
Kristen
So I think, let's let's get to our first guest of this. This is, a Shark Tank celebrity. And, we got to talk to him at global about his, his company and and the deal he got with Mark Cuban. And so, let's listen to the interview.

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Voice Over
Beyond the Leash exploring the untold stories of pet passion and professionalism.

00:08:16:09 - 00:08:17:22
Kristen
Chris, we have a celebrity in the house.

00:08:18:00 - 00:08:20:00
Chris
I know, rare well, not that rare.

00:08:20:02 - 00:08:20:13
Kristen
Not that. Right?

00:08:20:13 - 00:08:24:16
Chris
Right. The Pal podcast. But this is a really special celebrity. Got one that's been on TV.

00:08:24:16 - 00:08:25:08
Chris
Actual cable.

00:08:25:08 - 00:08:27:13
Kristen
Yeah, yeah. Welcome. Ben Simon.

00:08:27:18 - 00:08:33:11
Ben Simon
All right, all right. Good to be here. Care. Yeah. It's strange to be called a celebrity, but I'll take it from there.

00:08:33:11 - 00:08:35:01
Chris
Yeah. well, you.

00:08:35:01 - 00:08:36:15
Ben Simon
Guys are the celebrities.

00:08:36:17 - 00:08:50:15
Chris
Yeah, well. Wow, that's a huge compliment. Don't let that go to my head. let's, let's talk a bit about your product. The Mila home. thermometer. For those of our listeners who are, at home and haven't heard of it, why don't you give them a quick rundown on the product?

00:08:50:20 - 00:09:08:01
Ben Simon
Yeah, absolutely. So, if you haven't taken your dog's temperature before, your cat's temperature, you've probably taken them to the vet and you've seen them get and, rectal temperature taken. I remember taking my dog Boogie to the vet for the first time, and they had to take him to the back, have multiple people hold them down to take a rectal temperature.

00:09:08:03 - 00:09:29:04
Ben Simon
now we've brought an underarm thermometer that uses machine learning to take temperature under the foreleg or hind leg of a cat or a dog. so it's connected to an app. It sends data in real time to your veterinarian, to telehealth, to your practice management system. A fear of that, really giving pet parents the tools they need to be able to take that most basic, vital sign.

00:09:29:06 - 00:09:48:20
Ben Simon
so that's where we started as a company, and we're building an ecosystem of all different types of vital signs, monitoring devices. But if you're not sure if your pet's, you know, scratching, itching, lethargic, and you don't want to run over to the vet just to get a rectal temperature taken under our own temperature at home, we are the first and only patent protected and have the algorithm and the clinical trials to prove it.

00:09:48:22 - 00:09:53:14
Chris
And this is something simple enough that any Joe Schmo off the street can operate.

00:09:53:16 - 00:09:54:23
Ben Simon
Yeah. Yeah, absolutely.

00:09:55:01 - 00:09:56:05
Kristen
You, Chris, even me.

00:09:56:05 - 00:09:58:04
Chris
Yeah. Everybody knows I struggle with technology.

00:09:58:04 - 00:10:07:10
Ben Simon
Yeah. You can see even on the back here you have, you know, pets taking temperatures for each other. Oh yeah. So you know pets can either themselves one day hopefully.

00:10:07:12 - 00:10:11:14
Kristen
But as you mentioned, the pet care ecosystem. Tell us a little bit about that.

00:10:11:16 - 00:10:31:00
Ben Simon
Yeah. So when we came into the space, we actually came to Global Pet in 2019 when this was just an idea. And we looked around and we said, there's nothing like this and we like, okay, we need to start this company. There's, you know, so much nutrition, so much furniture, so much pets, treats, leashes. But there aren't that many health devices for pet parents to really take ownership of their pets health.

00:10:31:01 - 00:10:44:02
Ben Simon
that's why we started the company in a in a big way. and then as we got further and further into that, we understood, you know, pet, wait, how do you take your pets, wait in the home, you jump on us, you know, with them. I have to weigh myself. I don't want to weigh what's right. You know, there should be a vet.

00:10:44:02 - 00:10:44:19
Kristen
You gotta do math.

00:10:45:00 - 00:11:00:15
Ben Simon
The ultimate. You gotta whip out the versatile you. The calculator. so we're working on that. We're working on a food bowl, smart food bowl, a hose oximeter, a blood pressure monitor, all of these things that ultimately the goal is to bring the vet into the home so that they have an idea because it's pet parents.

00:11:00:20 - 00:11:16:23
Ben Simon
You know, we we like to think we know our pets, but there are different species. They don't have the same physiologies as we do. and we want to equip pet parents to be more engaged with that. But the goal is really to create that bridge and to allow that data to be shared so that vets aren't just, you know, seeing the when they come in every year or two.

00:11:17:01 - 00:11:30:18
Chris
Yeah. That's great. and for those of you at home who may recognize this product, it was on Shark Tank recently. so, Ben, why don't you tell us a bit about that experience and what it was like to go on a show like Shark Tank? Yeah.

00:11:30:18 - 00:11:53:04
Ben Simon
No, it was thrilling. I think, you know, everyone has been coming up to us saying, hey, the, you know, number question is like, you know, where are you so nervous researchers. And, you know, the truth is, yes. Until the kind of we got past the bright lights and they're just people and we were the experts in the room, and, it felt like a normal conversation like this, you know, a boardroom where you've had those conversations with investors many, many times.

00:11:53:04 - 00:12:11:05
Ben Simon
So, really, you know, it was, it was big giant room studio. So we were kind of far away from each other. But yeah, once I got past the bright lights, we just kind of did our thing, and it was a normal conversation. and, Yeah, it was, Yeah, it was really a really, really a thrilling experience.

00:12:11:07 - 00:12:26:12
Ben Simon
go watch the show. If you haven't seen already. I did a little wrap on the show, and I sure saw it or not. and, but. Yeah. See, and then, you know, the second question everyone asks us is like, you know, did you get the deal done? Because, you know, people say, yeah, you know, do these things actually happen?

00:12:26:12 - 00:12:37:17
Ben Simon
And yes, and, you know, we've been working with Mark and his team and is amazing. you know, he response emails in like seconds. Wow. It's so, it's, it's been it's, you know, we've had a really successful experience.

00:12:37:17 - 00:12:42:03
Kristen
That's cool to hear because you always wonder about how those deals actually do. They actually work.

00:12:42:03 - 00:12:51:15
Chris
How much real is in reality TV, right? but that that's amazing. I mean, Mark Cuban must be an amazing, back pocket investor to have. He brings so much experience to the table. Yeah.

00:12:51:18 - 00:12:56:19
Kristen
I'm curious to know, how about the path to getting on to Shark Tank? Like, what did that look like?

00:12:56:21 - 00:13:13:12
Ben Simon
Yeah. Well, I mean, at these shows also, there's, you know, the Shark Tank has some producers that are looking at different, companies. That's kind of how we got we got spotted. so, that you know, can't go into like the, the, the details, but, we work with their producing team to help you come up with that pitch, right.

00:13:13:14 - 00:13:29:19
Ben Simon
and, you know, ultimately, the the Q&A is up to you, right? So you they're all they're numbers driven investors. They're going to ask you you're going to you got to know your numbers cold. They, you know, cut out things that, are not super, super exciting to the American public. But, you know, they, it's very much a normal conversation.

00:13:29:19 - 00:13:36:13
Ben Simon
And, you know, if you're going to go on Shark Tank, watch as many episodes, you know, all the questions they're going to ask, so absolutely great.

00:13:36:15 - 00:13:46:15
Kristen
I know. And whenever my husband and I watch Shark Tank and, you know, people do silly stuff, we're like, I can't believe they did that. Have they been watching the show? Never say that.

00:13:46:17 - 00:13:53:04
Chris
Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's very easy to follow through. There's pitfalls right. Yeah yeah yeah yeah. Well I'm I'm very happy that you managed to pick up mark.

00:13:53:04 - 00:13:54:20
Voice Over
I mean yeah like, honestly he'd.

00:13:54:20 - 00:14:01:20
Chris
Be my choice. but that that's really great. So with all that investment, what's the future, look like.

00:14:01:22 - 00:14:20:21
Ben Simon
Yeah. So it's going towards more inventory to fulfill demand and, R&D of new products as well. yeah, we watched it. It was actually my son's first birthday, along with the shark thing launch party. So it was just this, you know, kind of the best day ever. and, it was so suspenseful. Know the way they cut it up, they're like, I didn't even know it was going to happen. I don’t remember saying

00:14:20:23 - 00:14:22:15
Chris
oh, you were there.

00:14:22:17 - 00:14:41:13
Ben Simon
but, you know, certainly for us, it was, you know, getting a shark on board and having them on our team, was was really the number one, number one thing for us. And, but yeah, we are just continuing to expand to get a distribution at shows like this, and to educate the better parent. Right. Because, this is something that you see every day on a, on a pet shelf.

00:14:41:13 - 00:14:48:02
Ben Simon
And that's something that, you know, we need to help everyone understand is, you know, being a pet parent means having a thermometer in the home for your pet.

00:14:48:02 - 00:14:50:21
Kristen
Absolutely. And where can pet parents find the under, pet thermometer?

00:14:50:21 - 00:15:11:14
Ben Simon
Yeah. So on our website at Malakai and the la dot I also Amazon also chewy also Walmart.com hopefully on the shelves there you as well working on that distribution in different parts of the world where folks are really excited. but yeah, hopefully more, you know, everywhere you see a human thermometer, you should see a pet thermometer right next to it.

00:15:11:14 - 00:15:12:08
Ben Simon
So that's our goal.

00:15:12:08 - 00:15:14:14
Kristen
Absolutely. Yeah, I love it.

00:15:14:16 - 00:15:15:09
Chris
Thanks for coming on.

00:15:15:10 - 00:15:16:12
Kristen
Congratulations.

00:15:16:12 - 00:15:16:23
Ben Simon
Thank you both.

00:15:17:00 - 00:15:20:12
Chris
Amazing, chat always a pleasure to talk to a star.

00:15:20:13 - 00:15:21:06
Chris
And then a.

00:15:21:07 - 00:15:24:18
Ben Simon
It's always, good to be called a star. and. Yeah. So.

00:15:24:20 - 00:15:28:14
Kristen
Hey, we're going to have to head back next year to see what, what kind of innovations they've come up.

00:15:28:14 - 00:15:38:08
Chris
Yeah, I want to come back with, like, a shark, shark suit on yourself, you know, going to the line up, but, you seem like a pretty, shark business guy, so I'm sure that won't be a problem at all.

00:15:38:09 - 00:15:43:02
Ben Simon
And we'll have the products for later sharing. And, Yeah, well dressed up for anything like that.

00:15:43:04 - 00:15:43:21
Chris
Yeah, I don't think that.

00:15:43:21 - 00:15:45:17
Chris
Yeah, obviously, that's not necessary. We keep the like.

00:15:45:20 - 00:15:48:08
Kristen
We keep the. Thanks. Thanks, man.

00:15:48:10 - 00:15:48:19
Ben Simon
Thank you both.

00:15:49:14 - 00:16:12:09
Chris
pets add life. That was it was really great hearing from, Ben. What a cool product to, you know, you we all have a thermometer, I'm sure, at home for ourselves. We I would consider that essential. Right. Like, that's just something you got to keep around. never even dawned on me that it'd be important to have one for my pet.

00:16:12:09 - 00:16:17:09
Chris
So I think that's a really cool product to push animal care forward a bit.

00:16:17:11 - 00:16:30:14
Kristen
I agree, I agree, and and not only that, they also have other really cool products that that this investment is going to help them bring to market, like a scale. And there's some other tools too. So I think we're going to be hearing a lot more from Melody care.

00:16:30:16 - 00:16:43:12
Chris
Next time we see Ben. He's going to be in like an expensive Brooks Brothers suit with a really nice watch. He's going to be looking down his nose at us. He's going to be he's going to be Uber successful because he's he's got a really great line coming out.

00:16:43:14 - 00:16:45:16
Kristen
He does I hope so.

00:16:45:18 - 00:16:49:07
Chris
who do we have. What do we have next? I think we got one more guests for today right.

00:16:49:09 - 00:16:57:16
Kristen
Yeah we did actually. We sat down with Gwen, Adria and her dog Darla. Well, actually, you renamed a dog Starla because she.

00:16:57:17 - 00:17:16:02
Chris
Yeah, that that is the dog stage name. And if you're watching this on YouTube, I'm pretty sure we get her in the shot. She is a diva. She deserves all the screen time and is a born star. but their story is amazing. So let's, check out that interview. Pets add life.

00:17:16:04 - 00:17:24:17
Kristen
All righty. Our next guests are Adrianna Kelly, Gwen Donahue, and the lovely Darla, who we've just renamed Starla.

00:17:24:18 - 00:17:25:14
Chris
Yeah, yeah.

00:17:25:16 - 00:17:26:00
Chris
That's.

00:17:26:00 - 00:17:36:07
Chris
That is her. That is her, stage name starlet. And she clearly has 100% star power. This is really showing us all up. It feels bad, but I'm proud of her.

00:17:36:08 - 00:17:47:11
Kristen
Yeah, well, most importantly, you ladies are both from pet partners, and we're going to talk about what the organization does. And Adriana you've been you've been a volunteer there for 20 years.

00:17:47:11 - 00:17:49:22
Adriana
Yeah. Actually a little bit over maybe about 22 years. Yeah.

00:17:49:22 - 00:17:59:01
Kristen
Yeah. So we'd love to hear some of your stories too. On how impactful your experience has been. So I'm going to start with Gwen. Gwen, tell us a little bit about what Pet Partners is.

00:17:59:03 - 00:18:20:20
Adriana
So Pet Partners is the leading national nonprofit registering therapy animals to therapy teams to bring them into situations where people could benefit from the presence of animals. We have about 8000 volunteers around the country and in 12 foreign countries. our mission is to improve human health and well-being through the human animal bond.

00:18:20:22 - 00:18:23:13
Kristen
Fantastic. And you need volunteers.

00:18:23:15 - 00:18:49:04
Adriana
We do, we do. said 8000. Sounds like a lot. But, in recent years, our numbers have gone down and the need for therapy animals has never been greater. as we all know, there's been a lot of emotional stress on the population with between Covid and economic unrest and social discord. And our therapy animal teams are doing great things in hospitals, nursing homes, schools, libraries, but we can certainly use a lot more.

00:18:49:06 - 00:18:56:00
Adriana
So if anyone has a calm, mild mannered pet, we encourage you to come and get registered as a therapy animal team.

00:18:56:02 - 00:19:14:17
Chris
So you say calm and mild mannered. Are there any other qualities that our listeners should be looking for in an animal? Or even if they're just a prospective pet parent, who might be interested in, adopt during or fostering an animal that may go on to be a therapy dog. any type of, specific characteristics they should be looking for.

00:19:14:22 - 00:19:43:22
Adriana
They definitely should be comfortable in unfamiliar situations with unfamiliar people, unfamiliar locations. and get it and be open to people. they need to be able to be around other animals. and the one of the unique things about pet partners is reregister more than dogs. Now, the vast majority of our therapy animal teams are dogs, but we also register cats, rabbits, guinea pigs, rats, many horses, many donkeys, alpacas, llamas.

00:19:44:00 - 00:20:10:04
Chris
So they truly come in all sorts of shapes and sizes. And I know I personally, at first thought therapy dogs were mostly just larger dogs. I always think of labs or shepherds or collie mixes, but here we even have petite little Darla here. Who is who is so who is so just darling and cute. and wouldn't initially strike me as a therapy dog, but I feel much calmer than I usually do recording now in her presence.

00:20:10:06 - 00:20:16:20
Chris
so why don't we learn a little bit about Darla and her story, and maybe how she became a therapy dog?

00:20:16:22 - 00:20:42:05
Adriana
that's a good question. Yeah. She actually has a very interesting history. Darla had been a show dog, and she was at a show in New England, and, the breeder was setting them up. Had to have an expanse that they could relieve themselves before going into the show. Turned around and while she was getting something else out in the car, a coyote jumped into the X pen and there was a few dogs in the zoo besides Darla.

00:20:42:07 - 00:21:05:08
Adriana
They all ran to one side. Darla was the last one when the breeder heard the commotion, she turned around and Darla was actually in the coyotes mouth and the breeder beat the coyote with her purse and got the coyote to drop Darla and then grabbed Darla. And luckily, in spite of the fact that she was in his mouth, she did not suffer any physical injuries.

00:21:05:14 - 00:21:29:17
Adriana
But her. She was messed up psychologically. She was messed up. The breeder kept her for about a year, worked with her, but she wasn't the same. She'd be in the show ring and she wouldn't put her tail off, but she'd always be looking behind her. So the breeder knew that I was looking for someone to do therapy work with, and she called me up and they asked me if I would like if I would like Darla, because she absolutely had the personality to be a therapy dog.

00:21:29:22 - 00:21:52:14
Adriana
She was just afraid of everything. So I worked with her for about nine months. I took her everywhere. The flea markets, everywhere that would let me bring the dog. And I would say, let people hold her, let people pet her. let her get exposed to the loud noises, all kinds of different things. And after about nine months, I went to pet partners.

00:21:52:14 - 00:22:03:21
Adriana
We had her evaluated, and she passed. She passed with flying colors. And like you, the evaluator first said to me, what a Chihuahua.

00:22:03:23 - 00:22:04:09
Chris
that's an.

00:22:04:09 - 00:22:07:03
Chris
Amazing story. But you you've been doing this for 22 years.

00:22:07:03 - 00:22:14:02
Adriana
Actually, not with her. Yeah. So she's my she's my third therapy dog now. Yeah. And I do have a, I have a fourth one.

00:22:14:04 - 00:22:19:14
Chris
And how many, how many if you could guesstimate. How many people do you think you've helped across three therapy dogs.

00:22:19:14 - 00:22:46:12
Adriana
Well, I can tell you, Darla, is going to be evaluated for the third time in May, so she has five years of experience. She already has over 500 therapy visits. Yeah. So. And that's just Darla. So, Yeah. You know, if, as Gwen mentioned, there's a huge, huge need for therapy animals. When I first started, it was just nursing homes that wanted them and maybe hospitals, hospice.

00:22:46:14 - 00:23:12:15
Adriana
Now everybody sees the benefits of therapy animals and they want them, besides going to assisted living facilities, she goes to, schools, she goes to, the colleges, the colleges like her at their at, freshman orientation when people are a little stressed out, of course exam time, she goes to conferences and things like this.

00:23:12:19 - 00:23:42:18
Adriana
I'm very fortunate. I live near Daytona Beach, so I'm kind of halfway between Jacksonville in Orlando, and we get invited to go to events at both places. where else does she go? do you mentioned libraries? a lot of research has shown that, programs like read with me where, dogs go into, either schools or libraries and have children read to the dogs.

00:23:42:20 - 00:24:08:11
Adriana
They can increase their reading abilities, 2 or 3 grade levels in as little as six months. It is amazing and I understand, and I'm not a psychologist, but you've seen it with your own eyes. I understand it, reading is mechanical, and by reading aloud to the dogs, it read gets those neurons in the brain working. It makes them.

00:24:08:14 - 00:24:09:16
Kristen
And there's no judge.

00:24:09:18 - 00:24:17:06
Adriana
And. Yeah, and the dog, of course, is not your daughter doesn't care if you mispronounce somebody's, you know, whatever the word is it just okay.

00:24:17:08 - 00:24:19:07
Kristen
Which sounds great to me.

00:24:19:09 - 00:24:26:22
Kristen
So Adriana tell us a little bit about your path to to working with pet partners as a volunteer. What led you there?

00:24:27:00 - 00:24:48:06
Adriana
I had well, I guess I got started in doing pet therapy work. I used to have ferrets, and I belong to a ferret club. And the ferret club was across the street from a veterans home. And one day, the, president of the club said, you know what? I think we're going to go across the street and visit to visit the veterans with our ferrets.

00:24:48:07 - 00:25:08:10
Adriana
And we did. And the fair the veterans loved having the ferrets there. So I said, you know what? If I ever get a dog, I'm going do this. And, my favorite cure passed away and I replaced him with my first dog, a long coat to our name, Carmen. And, I was looking for someplace that I could register the dogs with.

00:25:08:10 - 00:25:32:12
Adriana
This was way back in the middle of the Wild West days. It's like the early 90s, and, there really wasn't a lot of places. Well, first of all, places didn't even care whether or not you were registered. and, there was at that time, only two and Peg partners wasn't even pet partners. They were called Delta Delta Society.

00:25:32:13 - 00:25:57:16
Adriana
So we we we got in touch with somebody and I lived in new Jersey, and they actually had an evaluator in the Philadelphia area. So we went down there and we were evaluated down there, and we started doing that. And as the years have passed, more and more places not only wanted therapy animals, but they also wanted you to have insurance with, with your animal.

00:25:57:16 - 00:26:03:06
Adriana
And that's why you really want to have, belong to an organization.

00:26:03:07 - 00:26:18:03
Chris
So obviously the world needs more adria's. So, Gwen, why don't you tell us a bit about what a volunteer might do? if they decide, hey, I want to become a part of this, what would that be like for them? What sort of things should they expect out of that type of partnership?

00:26:18:05 - 00:26:38:20
Gwen
So to become a volunteer, the steps would mean you obviously want to make sure you think your pet has the aptitude for it. But we have an online course and that goes through covers things like infection control, animal welfare, you know, policies for visiting. Then your veterinarian would sign off on a health form and then you have an in-person evaluation, which Adrian.

00:26:38:21 - 00:26:44:00
Gwen
But Adrian could probably tell you a little bit more about. And then you get registered as a therapy team.

00:26:44:00 - 00:26:45:11
Chris
It's not easy.

00:26:45:13 - 00:26:48:06
Gwen
Yeah. Yeah. I mean I.

00:26:48:08 - 00:26:50:08
Chris
Say, you see, let's say it's.

00:26:50:08 - 00:26:51:12
Chris
Easy with the right animal.

00:26:51:12 - 00:26:55:10
Kristen
Well, how many and how many locations around the country are there that do the evaluations?

00:26:55:12 - 00:27:22:18
Gwen
So evaluators are all over the country. so you would just hook up with one of them? We have so we have independent volunteers. We also have community groups. So a lot of times people like that social aspect, and there's large community groups all over the country that are affiliated with pet partners. as Adrian said, the insurance that we offer our registered volunteers is great because especially a lot of facilities like hospitals and nursing homes really want to make sure that you're insured just in case anything happens.

00:27:22:19 - 00:27:36:15
Gwen
but yeah, no, it's you know, I don't want to say that it's easy. We definitely have rigorous standards because we want to protect the safety and health and welfare of the animals, as well as the people that they're visiting and the handlers. but I think that's what makes us for the leading program.

00:27:36:20 - 00:27:40:14
Kristen
Absolutely. And you mentioned you have something coming up on April the 30th.

00:27:40:16 - 00:28:01:02
Gwen
We do it's National Therapy Animal Day, where we celebrate all therapy animals around the world, all of them that our volunteers do because it it is a volunteer based organization. And this year we're really calling for more volunteers, more people to get involved. we also have a special program that we're trying to get more cats.

00:28:01:04 - 00:28:07:03
Chris
don't look at me. My cat does not like people. She tolerates me at best.

00:28:07:05 - 00:28:15:15
Gwen
Yeah, but believe it or not, there are cats that make great therapy. Animals. And especially some situations that people might be scared of. Dogs they go towards.

00:28:15:15 - 00:28:18:08
Chris
Cats are allergic or any anything, any reason.

00:28:18:08 - 00:28:36:12
Gwen
Yeah. Yeah, exactly. And a cat person is a cat brand and they've given us, they're partnered with us to give incentives to cat teams. So if you go to our website, pet partners.org and look under volunteering, especially if you're a cat person, you can get some discounts on the registration. but otherwise it's just an amazing program.

00:28:36:12 - 00:28:58:06
Gwen
And, and I think, you know, I can probably tell you what what it does for you as well as the people that you and Darla and Lucy visit. I love animals, and I can't imagine, like, being someplace where I couldn't see animals have them there. So to me is like a natural thing to go. Besides being a therapy dog.

00:28:58:12 - 00:29:20:01
Adriana
Darla has eight AKC titles. She does, she doesn't do agility, but she does fast Cat, and she's, which is a 100 yard dash for dogs. She's, she's a, certified farm dog. She's, has all of her good citizen titles. so she does a lot of stuff.

00:29:20:03 - 00:29:20:18
Chris
She's the total.

00:29:20:18 - 00:29:26:01
Chris
Package, total beauty, brain speed, and triple threat.

00:29:26:03 - 00:29:30:22
Adriana
But I always say I'm most proud of her work as a therapist. Sure, sure.

00:29:30:22 - 00:29:35:21
Chris
Absolutely. Probably the most difficult. So. And it's great work that you won't do.

00:29:35:21 - 00:29:37:00
Adriana
Yes. Never. Yeah.

00:29:37:01 - 00:29:40:07
Chris
Well, thank you so much for joining us. that was PetPartners.org

00:29:40:07 - 00:29:41:11
Kristen
.org.

00:29:41:15 - 00:29:47:21
Chris
Petpartners.org. be on the lookout April 30th for therapy dog day.

00:29:48:02 - 00:29:49:06
Gwen
National therapy animal.

00:29:49:06 - 00:29:50:06
Chris
National therapy Animal Day.

00:29:50:06 - 00:29:53:02
Chris
If you guys are here, I am.

00:29:53:02 - 00:29:54:23
Chris
Just being stubborn and shallow.

00:29:55:01 - 00:29:56:00
Chris
As they continue to.

00:29:56:00 - 00:29:58:06
Chris
Tell me that there's therapy alpacas out there.

00:29:58:12 - 00:29:58:18
Chris
And I'm.

00:29:58:20 - 00:30:09:20
Chris
Discriminating against them. So be on the lookout for all that, amazing information. Head on over to the website. see if you, are interested in volunteering. You can always use more help. And thanks again for joining us.

00:30:09:22 - 00:30:11:10
Gwen
Thank you so much for having us.

00:30:11:12 - 00:30:13:21
Voice Over
Pets add life.

00:30:13:23 - 00:30:37:04
Kristen
So I had no idea there was a shortage of therapy animals. So I think this is a really exciting opportunity for folks who've maybe always thought about it, but just figured, you know, I don't know how to go about getting certified and all that stuff. but just to know that that they are actively looking for volunteers and that it doesn't have to be a dog or a cat, or it can be just about any pet.

00:30:37:06 - 00:30:58:00
Chris
Yeah. That's amazing. And I think the most difficult part of that process is starting and knowing, and that's what they're there to help you with is is getting past that. So if you're at home and you have a kind tempered animal who you've always thought would make a great, therapy animal, now might be your time to step into the star light.

00:30:58:01 - 00:30:59:10
Chris
Is that good?

00:30:59:12 - 00:31:02:14
Voice Over
The product of the week.

00:31:02:16 - 00:31:05:11
Kristen
Chris, what is what is your product of the week? Your purpose?

00:31:05:11 - 00:31:26:07
Chris
Yeah, actually, I saw product. Yeah. Last night. Last night I was, I was inspired. I was making, some chicken broth and and my favorite part of making homemade chicken broth is when it finally cools and you take a ladle, it is sip the fresh stock. It's just so it's it's so delicious. And it's semi. yeah. It's yummy and it's comforting.

00:31:26:07 - 00:31:47:12
Chris
Like, we all know that flavor of chicken noodle soup. and it reminds me of a time that, tiger, my cat, had an issue with her tooth. and she was not, like, completely unable to eat kibble and was struggling with wet food, too. because you know, they just need the tooth needed to get pulled or or whatever.

00:31:47:13 - 00:32:07:18
Chris
So we got, Brutus broth. Now, Brutus broth is a a longstanding standing member of the APA. available in a ton of retailers from your Walmarts all the way down to your independents. and it is basically it's essentially just salt free bone broth, because, you know, our animals aren't supposed to have as much salt as us.

00:32:07:20 - 00:32:29:23
Chris
so they take a lot of that sodium out. But, the, the natural benefits of bone broth are all still their joint health. the, the collagen for their skin. it's naturally infused with, with all sorts of nutrients that are essential to your your animal's health. Brutus broth is specifically marketed towards dogs, but I've used it for my cat.

00:32:30:01 - 00:32:46:19
Chris
I got my I got the cat, a cat brand one. I forget the brand. She did not like it. And then I got Brutus broth and she was she was drinking it up like it's the the fourth martini at happy hour. she she was really. She was thoroughly enjoying it. you could use it as a topper.

00:32:46:19 - 00:33:14:15
Chris
I was putting it in a separate bowl. some animals are kind of like, you know, how raccoons, they take their food and they don't get in water first. There are some animals out there that enjoy some some moisture on their kibble. so you might want to experiment with that a little bit. I just think it's a, a really cool product that's continuing to blend the lines between what's acceptable care for people and what's acceptable care for animals, because oftentimes it's the same thing.

00:33:14:15 - 00:33:31:02
Chris
We're all creatures of Earth. and we need generally speaking, we need the same nutrients. Sure, in different quantities. but I just think it's it's great for, animals to be able to enjoy that, that comfort that I find personally so endearing.

00:33:31:04 - 00:33:40:07
Kristen
Yeah. And I think it's a great way to make sure your pet's getting enough hydration. That's true. And a little bit of the Brutus Brown. It's it's hard to say. Brutus. Brutus bone broth. Yeah.

00:33:40:09 - 00:33:54:17
Chris
It's, chicken, pork, salmon. and then they also have a line of, of treats and things like that. So, be sure to check them out. You can find you can find these folks anywhere, but, support your independent retailer.

00:33:54:19 - 00:34:14:23
Kristen
You got it. Okay, so my my product of the week is from a company called Healer's Pet Care. this is a comprehensive first aid kit, and I think this is good timing to talk about a first aid kit for your pet, because springtime, we're spending more time outdoors. and this particular pet first aid kit is good for dogs.

00:34:14:23 - 00:34:39:08
Kristen
Cats, really? Any pet, including equine? It says. So here's what's in the kit. It's got a a wound cleanser. And this is made from a hypochlorite solution, which is an all natural spray that's designed to, help clean and moisturize wounds so that they heal faster and then it's got an ear and I wash in the kit.

00:34:39:10 - 00:34:52:08
Kristen
this would be great. After maybe, you know, a day at the beach with your dog, or maybe you just took a long walk. You know, keep in mind, our pets are loaded. The grounds. So they. As we're walking, we kick up a lot of dust and pollen and things like that that can get in there eyes and ears.

00:34:52:12 - 00:35:13:20
Kristen
So an eye and ear wash is a really great, routine type of thing to do. After some outdoor time. It's also got a hot spot relief spray. And I think there are also some medical bandages in there that are reusable. so it's a pretty cool kits, very comprehensive. They've got a kit that's they've got the full kit that 79, 99.

00:35:13:20 - 00:35:31:10
Kristen
But then they have a, kind of a mini kit with just the basics. And I think that one's around 30 bucks, so that's awesome. Pet care, I know. Yeah, I, you can find it on their website at Healer's Pet care.com, but I also know that they just got into CVS recently. So you might check it out at CVS.

00:35:31:10 - 00:35:42:19
Chris
So you get it. You get a healers pet kit. You get a thermometer. and eight years of schooling, you're a vet. How about that?

00:35:42:21 - 00:35:47:02
Kristen
I didn't think about that theme there, but yeah, I like how I did that one without even thinking about it. Yeah.

00:35:47:02 - 00:36:02:09
Chris
Christy Muir is eight years away from practicing veterinarian medicine, I think. I believe it's eight years. I believe it's which is, which is a long time, if you think about it. But, you're that close. You've got the gear. You just need to. You just need the rest of it. The rest?

00:36:02:11 - 00:36:05:13
Kristen
Yeah. I'm ready. I just need a white coat.

00:36:05:15 - 00:36:10:02
Chris
Yeah, and Doctor Kristin Levine has a nice ring to it. We'll work on that.

00:36:10:02 - 00:36:10:21
Kristen
We're going to.

00:36:10:23 - 00:36:17:18
Chris
Test going for eight years so that we could have doctor Kristin Levine by the end of it. It'll be like your character.

00:36:17:18 - 00:36:31:15
Kristen
Arc that happened. Chris. That happened to me one time. I was doing a TV segment about pet products, and they put up, I put up my name, veterinarian doctor Kristin Levine. To that's bad.

00:36:31:17 - 00:36:32:14
Chris
That's borderline.

00:36:32:18 - 00:36:33:08
Kristen
That is bad.

00:36:33:08 - 00:36:53:03
Chris
Can't do you can't do that. No. Can't do that. Oh, man. That's that's great. Well, be sure to shop around for these, products of the week. Look for them either online at your local pet store or wherever pet products may be sold. but I believe now it's time to get to a pair of questions from home.

00:36:53:07 - 00:36:59:10
Chris
My personal favorite segment. I have no idea what's, about to be, asked of us.

00:36:59:12 - 00:37:02:01
Voice Over
Q and A's? I'm.

00:37:02:02 - 00:37:09:20
Chris
I'm not hearing this right. We have a voicemail. Somebody left us a voice memo, and I believe we're going to go ahead and listen to that one.

00:37:09:20 - 00:37:12:03
Kristen
Oh, let's do it. Let's do it.

00:37:12:03 - 00:37:32:11
Matt
Hey, Kristen. Chris, this is Matt from New York. First time caller, long time listener. Just wanted to ask you a quick question about pet toys specifically for cats. My partner and I have two cats. One is very playful. she loves her little blueberries from this blueberry pie cat toy. We got her other cat. She really likes to snuggle.

00:37:32:13 - 00:37:47:07
Matt
really likes to sunbathe. Playing isn't exactly her thing. So I was wondering if you had any ideas, for any new pet toys that might make her exercise a little bit more so she doesn't get on the chunky side? Thanks.

00:37:47:09 - 00:38:08:05
Chris
I've had my fair share of chunky cats. Yeah, yeah, we have a voicemail and saying thank you for being your actual voice, Matt. and you're going to be coming through the airwaves into everybody's ears that that you have transcended the human experience, and you're now part of the podcast. So congratulations. Hey, nothing.

00:38:08:05 - 00:38:09:10
Kristen
And I love the question, too.

00:38:09:10 - 00:38:33:05
Chris
Yeah, it's a great question because I think it displays how cats can have very different personalities. They're not all the same. I think we tend to put, cats like, in there's like how cats act backs. but they have very dynamic and different differentiating, personalities. and, a I wouldn't worry about it too much, if your cat doesn't seem to be too interested by in toys.

00:38:33:10 - 00:38:51:02
Chris
But your final point saying I don't want the cat to get too chunky. That is a good point. cats do require some type of exercise. I would recommend looking for some. Yeah, like automatic products. Have you seen some of those, Kristen? Where, like, it sort of runs like a thing underneath, like a blanket and things like that.

00:38:51:04 - 00:39:12:00
Chris
something that really simulates their natural instinct to hunt. if you're. Especially if your cats are on the younger side, they're probably coming into the age where those instincts are really starting to kick in. so it just seems like you've got one hunter on your hands, and then one eater on your hands. like.

00:39:12:00 - 00:39:13:05
Chris
You.

00:39:13:07 - 00:39:16:02
Chris
Which tends to happen. Okay.

00:39:16:04 - 00:39:37:04
Kristen
Well, and I have a tip also for Matt. sometimes it's the way you're playing with the cat with a toy. So if you cats would rather play with a toy with you involved. So. And that's also a great bonding experience. So when you do play with the, with your cat, whether it's a feather wand or a little catnip toy or whatever, move the toy away from them.

00:39:37:04 - 00:39:56:21
Kristen
Because in In the wild, prey moves away from the cat, typically not toward them. And if you're moving away from them, they're more likely to engage and pounce on it. now, if your cat if this chubby cat just doesn't dig toys, you can you can make sure he gets some exercise by hiding his food around the house like so.

00:39:56:21 - 00:40:06:01
Kristen
He has to walk to find it. if you have stair staircase in your house and he hangs out downstairs, put the food upstairs. Just get him moving. Yeah, get him moving. Doesn't have to be a toy.

00:40:06:03 - 00:40:20:13
Chris
There's also some, toys around that, just kind of create an obstacle to eating like that. Kind of have to open it up to get to their treat and things like that. and that could help spur some of those instincts forward.

00:40:20:15 - 00:40:32:11
Kristen
Yeah. Cat. Check out cat it cat it, they make some really, really cool, engaging cat toys. Well, we'll see if we can't get, the couch potato up and play.

00:40:32:11 - 00:40:41:20
Chris
Yeah, but if you end up with a chunky cat. Listen, abs, to the best of us, okay? It's just something. It's just part of the natural forces in the world. Some cats are just made to be chunky.

00:40:41:22 - 00:40:46:15
Kristen
okay, so we're going to take another question. I take it that was our only voice mail question, right.

00:40:46:17 - 00:41:14:06
Chris
I think I think we have we had one voicemail, which is I mean, that's amazing in and of itself. So thank you, Matt, for submitting yourself to, the podcast in audio form. but I believe we have plenty of text, questions queued up. They're going to go ahead and pull one for us from the hat for, Kristen to read for us in a second here, I'll continue to stall using, my natural wit.

00:41:14:06 - 00:41:14:16
Kristen
I have.

00:41:14:16 - 00:41:18:10
Chris
One. Oh, you got one. Okay. Excellent. I was running out of stuff.

00:41:18:10 - 00:41:23:00
Kristen
And actually, this is a really. Well, this is a good one for you, actually. Okay.

00:41:23:00 - 00:41:23:08
Chris
Let's hear.

00:41:23:08 - 00:41:38:06
Kristen
It's from Lorenzo. From from San Francisco. Lorenzo says, let's see, with the pet industry constantly evolving, what trends do you see emerging from the expo that pet owners should be excited about in the coming year?

00:41:38:07 - 00:42:00:02
Chris
Yeah, I think my big thing is pet tech. we are millennials, we own a lot of pets, and we are going to be the worst helicopter parents that the world has ever seen. we love staying on top of our pets business. We want to know when they're eating, when they're drinking, if they're healthy. and there's all sorts of new tools.

00:42:00:05 - 00:42:19:15
Chris
I mean, we just talked to Ben Seidman. He's got a great tool for keeping, track of your your pet's health. we want to be able to do that ourselves without having to bring a professional in and pay that really expensive vet bill. So expect a lot of really cool tech products that are going to plug into your smart home and become part of your tech routine.

00:42:19:17 - 00:42:40:18
Chris
because, you know, first we got all this, like Google and Amazon stuff into our home to help with our lives. And then we brought all these pets into our home. And now there's going to be products that sort of play into that ecosystem, really well. So be on the lookout for some of those. and you've heard from a couple of the great, makers of similar products already.

00:42:40:19 - 00:42:51:16
Kristen
Yeah, same in the vets. Yeah. The vet world to, telemedicine, being able to talk to a vet on your phone, that is definitely. It's already here, but it's it's, It's. Yeah.

00:42:51:18 - 00:43:15:20
Chris
Take a look and. Yeah, keep your, keep your eyes on at all. I believe that's the the end of our show. Thank you, everyone, for those questions. If you would like your question answered on this show. And if you are brave, like Matt, and want to leave a A voice memo, you could go to dog TV.com slash pal podcast, that's l podcast all one word.

00:43:15:22 - 00:43:25:01
Chris
Scroll down, down to the bottom. You'll see a place to leave your comments. You'll see a place to record a voice memo, and you may have your question answered on this show.

00:43:25:06 - 00:43:32:08
Kristen
Yeah, I hope you guys do that because it's so much more fun to hear your voice. And it's kind of like old school radio, right? When people call in asking, yeah.

00:43:32:08 - 00:43:51:09
Chris
Those are my favorite. I also caught the the long time listener, first time caller caller. He can't be that long. Yeah, can't be that long. All right. You got like, maybe he got like what, five weeks maybe. but we do we do appreciate it. He got points. Points. make sure you, tune in every Tuesday for a new episode.

00:43:51:09 - 00:44:09:15
Chris
Make sure you like, subscribe, share, climb your local mountain and stream pal podcast from the summit. let everybody know how much fun you're having. Listen to listening to us. And until, next time, be be good to yourself. Be good to animals, and we'll see you in a week. Pets add life.