Episode Description
We don’t ever want to think of our pets getting lost. We may even make excuses that our dog never leaves our side or our cat is too fearful of leaving our home. However, the sad reality is that many pets go missing every year and they don’t always make it back home. July is Lost Pet Prevention Month and this year’s theme is anxiety in pets. Today’s show is going to focus on companies, products, people, and organizations that tackle the lost pet problem and are helping to comfort those pets who suffer from anxiety, including our very own sponsor PetHub. Keep your furkid close and be sure to take lots of notes.
Guest Information
- Tom Arnold - Tom Arnold left Microsoft to start PetHub.com in early 2010. “I wanted to combine my passion for 20 years of software development with my love of animals and know that I’m making a difference in my lifetime,” he said when asked why he left the software giant. After his cat went missing in 2009 (re-united two days later), Tom learned that once an animal goes missing, less than 2% of cats and 18% of dogs ever get back to their families (source: ASPCA). In just two years, PetHub.com had returned over 400 companion animals with 96.8% of them home in under 24-hours, and 35% home in under 4-hours. “Many pet owners didn’t know their pets were missing yet when they received PetHub’s phone call or ‘Found Pet’ alert. Now I know I’m making a difference in animals’ and families’ lives.” Tom lives in Seattle, Washington, with his 5-year old rescue dog (“Ullr”) and his two cats (“Taz” and “Houdini”).
- Robin Bennett - Robin Bennett is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer, author, consultant and expert on dogs. She founded one of the largest dog training companies in Virginia. She has been teaching families how to train dogs, and working in the pet care industry helping others keep dogs safe for over 20 years. Her first book, All About Dog Daycare is the number one reference on opening a dog daycare. Co-author of Off-Leash Dog Play… A Complete Guide to Safety and Fun, and an extensive staff training program called, Knowing Dogs, she is now making canine body language easy for everyone.
- Vicki Rae Thorne - It was love at first smell when Vicki attended a weekend intensive on essential oils in 1992. She’d been diagnosed with fibromyalgia after a whiplash injury 4 years earlier, and was inspired to start making massage oils and bath salts to address her constant pain and stress. Because she was pregnant and had a 5-year-old, everything had to be safe for everyone, and Vicki applies that same level of responsibility to formulating for dogs. Vicki is a member of the American Herbalists Guild, Alliance of International Aromatherapists, and Women in the Pet Industry Network.
- Kristen Levine - Kristen Levine believes we need pets just as much as they need us. She shares stories, advice, and research to show how pets make our lives happier and healthier. As a pet living expert, whether reviewing a great new product, or telling an inspirational “tail” – Kristen knows pet parents seek content and connections with people who love pets as much as they do. By creating watchable, sharable, fun content for Pet Parents and Pet-Positive Companies, Kristen promotes engagement across multiple media channels. Feeling happier, healing faster and living healthier with pets – is a message she wants to help get out into the world. Kristen especially loves sharing weekly videos about living happier and healthier with pets. When asked about this journey, Kristen says, “It’s funny when I look back at how this people-pet connection first started for me. I was working for the SPCA, advocating for pet adoption and pet lifestyle. I knew those pets needed us. Now I know we need pets just as much."
(Original air date: July 7, 2018)
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