179. The More You Know Pet Wellness Summit 2025

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Welcome back, pet parents, and
welcome to 2025.

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We are in a brand new year.
I, well, not when I'm recording

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this, but when you're hearing
this, we're in a brand new year

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and I think that is super
exciting.

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And what else is super exciting
is that tickets are going on

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sale today.
In fact, even though this

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podcast episode, it starts
really, really early in the

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morning, it might already be too
late for the more, you know, Pet

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Wellness Summit in Williamsburg,
VA.

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And I bring that up because my
guest today is Amanda Wilborn,

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who is the owner of the Nautical
Dog and who is somehow she has

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lost her mind and putting on
this event.

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Actually, it's one of my
favorite events to go to every

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year.
So I'm really grateful for her

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and I love her store and I love
bringing you indie pet store

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owners because I am super
passionate about shopping local,

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shopping small, and shopping in
indie pet stores for various

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reasons.
If you've been with me for any

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length of time, you probably
know them.

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If you don't, you're going to
learn about them today.

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So I want to welcome Amanda
Wilborn.

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How are you doing today?
Hi, thanks for having me on.

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I am good.
Yes, I am a little things are

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crazy and chaotic and yes I lost
my mind a long time ago so.

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That's OK.
We'll like just pull little

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pieces here and there and, and
put, put some puzzles together

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and it'll all work out.
I was fortunate enough to attend

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the very first the more, you
know, Pet Wellness Summit and

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then last year was the second
one.

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I got to attend that as well.
And I'm super excited.

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I'm planning to attend the one
this year and I want to talk all

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about that.
But before we do, I would just

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like to hear a little bit about
you and how you started the

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nautical dog, because I know
just like everything else in

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life, it wasn't like a straight
path.

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Definitely not a straight path.
I think if anyone has ever seen

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those like diagrams of like what
a business owner is, and it's

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like, you know, people think
it's like this, this, this.

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And in fact, it's this that very
much describes my life.

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And I think my life is still
actually on that same, you know,

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roller coaster path.
But as far as the store goes,

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you know, I don't have like this
like really cool story and this

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like big inspirational thing
that happened in my life.

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It was 20 years old and I had my
first dog, like as an adult,

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that was my dog.
That wasn't a family dog.

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And if you look in the back,
it's a little corgi back there.

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And she was my first dog.
And I just, I loved her so much.

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And I had already been working
in retail throughout high

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school, and one day I just was
like, I want to open up a dog

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store.
And, you know, the store is very

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different now from what it was
then because it, you know, I

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sold cutesy things that I
probably would never sell now.

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But you know, it's part of my
story and how I got here.

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And that's why I opened.
And, you know, we could talk

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forever about my store and how I
got here.

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You know, if you've been into
the store before, which you

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have, if you're listening even
in the store, you know that

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nutrition is really my forefront
if everything that I do now, it

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was not when I first opened the
store.

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But you know, as a lot of
porgies are, they're genetic

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little nightmares.
And I knew nothing about them.

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And she had lots of allergies
and issues.

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And, you know, I went down the
path of what to do.

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And, you know, the first food
that I ever sold in the store

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was raw food.
And it's what I, you know, did

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for her.
And I saw it worked in 18 years

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later, here I am and putting
these big events on and teaching

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everyone about all the things.
That's the very, very short

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story about me.
There's a whole lot more.

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You know, I do all the rescue
work with all the animals and I

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have way too many animals in my
house right now.

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But you know, I have two kids
now and husband and here we are.

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Yeah, well, and Speaking of all
the rescue work you do, I know

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you're always highlighting the
shelters and rescues at your

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store, having adoption events,
but you also expanded.

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Well, you've expanded multiple
times, but you have like what

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used to be, if I remember
correctly, your original

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storefront is now your cat
section.

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And you have in the front a cat
Cove, which is so cute and so

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fun with all adoptable cats.
And how many?

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I I'm sure it will change by the
time this airs, but roughly how

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many?
Today I think we're like 300 and

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no, sorry, 430.
Some I believe, maybe more.

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You know, at some point we start
to lose track of them.

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So yeah, so the Cat Cove opened
like 2 a little over two years

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ago in July of 22.
And yes, that was my original

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store in Newtown before I
expanded into a larger location.

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And it's named after Schwartzy.
He was my first shop CAD.

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You know, I always joke that he
was the love of my life, but I

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adopted him as a senior and he
lived in the store.

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And when that space became back
open or vacant again, we

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expanded into it.
And I had the idea of doing a

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whole store of cat merchandise,
but then also essentially

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putting in a cat cafe.
It runs a little different than

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most cat cafes do that You don't
have to pay for it to go in.

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But you know, we get cats from
our local shelter and you can

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just go hang out with them.
If you want to adopt them, you

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can.
If you just want to cuddle some

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cats, you can do that too.
It's probably been one of the

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most rewarding things that I've
ever done for the store.

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You know, it's not something
that makes me money.

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It's more of a passion project
and was kind of my way to foster

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more animals without bringing
more into my house because at

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some point my husband was like,
this is this is crazy.

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And it is.
I have 11 animals in my house.

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Yeah, I mean, I know what that
feels like.

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And I can't honestly, at this
point in my life, can't imagine

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going back to that.
But you live and learn, right?

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But yeah, your store.
So the Nautical dog, you're in

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Newtown in Williamsburg, VA, and
it is nautical themed, so

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there's a lot of blue.
There is a lot of blue.

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A lot of blue, but it's really
super cute.

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I see it highlighted fairly
often and like pets plus

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magazine and you won coolest
store you were yes was so fun,

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which it is.
It's but it's certainly been one

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of the coolest stores I've been
into and the growth of an indie

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pet store I think is something
that most most people in general

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don't.
And I don't mean this in a

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negative way, but most people in
general don't really understand

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like entrepreneurship and and
owning a business and how to

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grow a business.
I think.

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And there's obviously in various
different industries, there's,

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they all have their own
difficulties and pitfalls and

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all the things.
But with an indie pet store

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specifically being in the space
and you can tell me so much more

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about this than I could say.
There's definitely, I think it's

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just that much more difficult.
Pet parents.

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It's there's so much more
education involved, I guess is

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what I'm getting at.
It's not something that a pet

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parent most of the time is going
to walk in and say, I want

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Steve's real food or I want
green juice.

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You know, like they're not
walking in saying I want

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goodness gracious, right?
They're not walking in knowing

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that they want and need these
really high quality brands that

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you stock in your store.
They come in thinking I'm just

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going to buy a bag of dry food
off the shelf, but this is a

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cool store to do that in.
And so you have that hurdle of

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education.
And so how did you start like

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incorporating that when you are
growing your?

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So I'm going to use my dog as an
example and I used my current

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pets as an example too.
So in my philosophy is if I

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wouldn't give it to my own
animals, it's probably not in

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this store.
You know, when I have lots of

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levels of things in the store to
kind of fit, you know, every

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budget and every need.
But you know, you're right.

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No one is coming off the the
street and saying I want to feed

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my dog raw food like that.
You know, it doesn't happen

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often when they do come in and
say that like my eyes just like

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it's so big because it's so
exciting for you.

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But that's not generally the
course that it takes.

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So, you know, it's usually
someone coming and it's like my

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dog has allergies and my friend
or my neighbor told me to come

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in here that you guys know a lot
about food.

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And they usually don't want
food.

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They usually want like a
supplement or some like magic

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pill to like knock it out.
And it's, it's such a, you know,

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a journey to get to that point.
So, you know, it can go a lot of

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ways.
You know, we get a lot of cuz

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and then we get customers who
come in who just want to come

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look at the cats or they're just
picking up some treats.

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And over time that evolves as
well into the food conversations

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and things like that.
So it's definitely not easy and

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it's not, I think what the
average person would think.

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And in, in terms of running a
store, no, we're not just

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selling like gifts that people
can come and pick up.

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There's a lot of education
involved and there's a lot of

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learning involved.
And, you know, I learned

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something new every day, whether
it's something that I've read or

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something that I look up to has,
you know, told me about or the

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customer who came up with a
problem that I don't don't know

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anything about.
And I've got to do some

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researching about it.
So it definitely evolves.

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And, you know, and it's not just
me, it's my whole team of, you

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know, people who work for me as
well and always teaching them

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too.
And you know us all learning

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together.
Well, I I know when talking to

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so many people, it's like what I
used to do before this.

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I learned that it's generally
like the lowest paid person in

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an organization who is the first
like face to face interaction

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with a client.
And so a business, for instance,

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like a receptionist, right?
They're generally the lowest

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paid person in a corporation,
yet they're the face of the

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business.
So like an organization has to

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realize really, really quickly,
either you're going to put a lot

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of time and effort and energy
into making sure that person

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puts on the exact face you need
for your corporation and knows

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everything, or they're going to
make your business look really,

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really bad.
And in the pet world, I feel

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like our indie pet stores are
almost like the receptionist,

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right?
You're certainly not in it to

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get rich, but you are kind of
like that frontline with pet

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parents and then guiding them
and where they really need to be

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paying more attention to things
in their pets lives.

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Because, you know, sitting at
home watching commercials on TV,

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you're going to think of
something, some giant company

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that's advertising and spending
millions of dollars on the Super

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Bowl ad is like, that's the best
food I can feed my dog.

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But then they walk into your
store and they're like, there

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really is this like, Oh my gosh,
moment of like, I didn't know

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anything.
And it changes so quickly to it,

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you know, I think our industry
is, it's always evolving.

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There's always something new.
Someone is buying someone out,

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you know, And you know, my
world, you know, I know we're

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airing in January here.
But, you know, just this week,

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there's a brand of food that I
carry.

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General Mills just bought it.
It's all on sale right now in

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the store.
It's dumped.

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So those are things that happen
here a lot.

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But yes, I mean, you're right.
People come in, you know, not

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only am I the face of it, but I
have employees and you know, the

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one thing that I think all of us
have in common here is, you

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know, we all love animals here,
right?

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So, you know, if even if you
don't know everything there is

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to know about, you know,
nutrition and different

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products, like we're all and
this because, you know, we love

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our dog or cats.
It's easy to learn if you're

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passionate about it.
And I, and I think, you know, I

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can speak that most of the stuff
that works for me, a lot of them

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have been with me for a very
long time.

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And you know, they're, they're
good forward.

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Yeah, So in your store, I know
it's called the nautical dog,

222
00:12:22,000 --> 00:12:26,720
but you have a pretty big, you
have a good size freezer

223
00:12:26,720 --> 00:12:30,040
section, pretty big, like dog
food section, treat section.

224
00:12:30,360 --> 00:12:33,000
We talked about you have you do
have the cat section.

225
00:12:33,000 --> 00:12:35,520
There's like a dedicated section
for cats.

226
00:12:35,520 --> 00:12:38,600
And you also have tell me if I
get any of this wrong because

227
00:12:38,600 --> 00:12:42,360
you have like this really,
really cute section for like

228
00:12:42,360 --> 00:12:44,880
touristy things.
Because you are in Williamsburg,

229
00:12:47,440 --> 00:12:49,920
you're in a very popular area of
Williamsburg where there are a

230
00:12:49,920 --> 00:12:51,560
lot of tourists, especially in
the summer.

231
00:12:51,640 --> 00:12:55,760
There's a lot of toys.
There's a lot of you have like a

232
00:12:55,840 --> 00:12:59,560
couple supplement walls.
I think you have a dog wash.

233
00:13:00,400 --> 00:13:04,800
What am I missing?
And treats the bone bar is

234
00:13:04,800 --> 00:13:08,080
actually probably the IT will
probably is the most popular

235
00:13:08,080 --> 00:13:11,840
thing in the store.
So we have the largest selection

236
00:13:11,840 --> 00:13:16,280
of natural shoes anywhere around
that I know of, at least in my

237
00:13:16,280 --> 00:13:18,520
area.
That's awesome.

238
00:13:18,800 --> 00:13:22,080
Well, and those are I was
actually just talking to Lauren

239
00:13:23,160 --> 00:13:26,440
Girls Gone wrong and that's what
we were talking about.

240
00:13:26,440 --> 00:13:29,600
Like a lot of times these treats
and chews are like gateway drugs

241
00:13:29,920 --> 00:13:34,640
and getting into a healthier
food period for your pets.

242
00:13:34,640 --> 00:13:37,720
So I I love it.
That's like the biggest thing in

243
00:13:37,720 --> 00:13:41,440
your store, bringing people over
to not the dark side, but the

244
00:13:41,440 --> 00:13:44,520
bright, the all the.
Good things that you might think

245
00:13:44,520 --> 00:13:47,400
are weird, but your dog is going
to think is fantastic.

246
00:13:47,560 --> 00:13:49,920
Yes.
So tell me a little bit about

247
00:13:50,000 --> 00:13:52,680
how, if you don't mind, how you
choose.

248
00:13:53,160 --> 00:13:54,920
We can talk about food, we can
talk about supplements,

249
00:13:54,920 --> 00:13:56,640
whatever.
There might be different

250
00:13:56,640 --> 00:13:59,360
criteria, but like how do you
choose what comes and what goes?

251
00:14:00,200 --> 00:14:05,760
So if it's owned by a big
company, it's it's done, dunzo.

252
00:14:05,760 --> 00:14:09,080
I don't carry it.
I won't even look at it after

253
00:14:09,080 --> 00:14:10,880
that.
You know, I'm always reading

254
00:14:10,880 --> 00:14:13,760
ingredients, the labels, who
owns the company.

255
00:14:13,760 --> 00:14:17,240
And you know, I'm a big enough
store where I can offer a

256
00:14:17,240 --> 00:14:20,360
variety of things.
So I can have, you know, my, my

257
00:14:20,360 --> 00:14:23,160
starting points, my medium
points and then like the

258
00:14:23,160 --> 00:14:27,240
absolute best.
So, you know, I think for me in

259
00:14:27,240 --> 00:14:30,560
the store and you and I have
talked about this before, I want

260
00:14:30,560 --> 00:14:34,000
to have an option for everyone.
So for someone that's walking

261
00:14:34,000 --> 00:14:36,960
and off the street, they're
feeding grocery store brand

262
00:14:36,960 --> 00:14:41,560
food, probably not taking them
to the freezers to begin with,

263
00:14:41,640 --> 00:14:43,600
right?
Like I want, I don't want to

264
00:14:43,600 --> 00:14:47,880
scare.
I mean, I would, that's our

265
00:14:48,000 --> 00:14:49,480
goal.
Like Ray, like that's, that's

266
00:14:49,480 --> 00:14:52,280
the ultimate goal.
But there's a lot of that's

267
00:14:52,280 --> 00:14:54,520
essentially like a foreign
thing, you know, they, they

268
00:14:54,520 --> 00:14:56,200
don't know.
And so I don't ever want to

269
00:14:56,200 --> 00:14:59,800
scare someone, right.
So, you know, let's take baby

270
00:14:59,800 --> 00:15:01,640
steps.
You know, I'm, I'm always asking

271
00:15:01,640 --> 00:15:03,400
them like, you know, what are
they feed?

272
00:15:03,400 --> 00:15:05,080
What are their comfortable
feeding?

273
00:15:05,280 --> 00:15:07,000
What things are important to
them?

274
00:15:07,000 --> 00:15:08,440
And then we kind of go from
there there.

275
00:15:08,440 --> 00:15:11,960
So, you know, I have a lot of
criteria in the way of like, you

276
00:15:11,960 --> 00:15:14,720
know, it can't be like, you
know, grocery store brand, you

277
00:15:14,720 --> 00:15:17,240
know, Mars cannot own at
Procteria, but cannot own it.

278
00:15:17,520 --> 00:15:20,160
And then from there, you know, I
look at the company, see what

279
00:15:20,160 --> 00:15:24,240
they're doing, look at their
recalls, you know, all the

280
00:15:24,240 --> 00:15:28,120
things that if you were shopping
that you would want to look for

281
00:15:28,120 --> 00:15:29,520
or you would want to know,
right?

282
00:15:29,520 --> 00:15:31,840
So I try to take all that guess
work out of it for you.

283
00:15:31,880 --> 00:15:34,600
You should be able to come in
the store and know what you're

284
00:15:34,600 --> 00:15:38,080
going to buy.
You know isn't sketchy or got

285
00:15:38,120 --> 00:15:41,120
some weird recalls or weird
stuff going on.

286
00:15:41,840 --> 00:15:45,640
Yeah, well, and that's actually
one of the biggest selling

287
00:15:45,640 --> 00:15:50,760
points for me for shopping at an
indie pet store is that you do

288
00:15:50,760 --> 00:15:54,440
all of that research because
it's a lot like, it's a lot to

289
00:15:54,440 --> 00:15:56,720
stay on top of just like you
were talking about this week, a

290
00:15:57,320 --> 00:16:00,120
specific brand and and this.
Huge.

291
00:16:00,120 --> 00:16:05,160
Corporation, this is the second
big acquisition that they've had

292
00:16:05,160 --> 00:16:10,960
in a year like in in the pet
food space, in the pet world.

293
00:16:10,960 --> 00:16:14,920
And so my understanding is that
they're not stopping anytime

294
00:16:14,920 --> 00:16:17,160
soon.
No, no one is you.

295
00:16:17,160 --> 00:16:20,080
No one is stopping anytime soon.
You know, I always say every,

296
00:16:20,400 --> 00:16:23,480
everything is for sale.
Everyone's for sale.

297
00:16:25,440 --> 00:16:28,800
If someone you know walked in
with anything, you know a big

298
00:16:28,800 --> 00:16:31,280
number, you know, everyone is
for sale.

299
00:16:31,280 --> 00:16:33,400
So people say, well, what does
that matter?

300
00:16:33,400 --> 00:16:36,400
You know it, it matters.
You know, when you've got these

301
00:16:36,400 --> 00:16:40,600
big corporations, I can promise
you that quality is not at the

302
00:16:40,600 --> 00:16:43,960
forefront of sourcing and what
they're putting in the food.

303
00:16:44,880 --> 00:16:49,360
If you think it is, you should
go read your own labels of the

304
00:16:49,360 --> 00:16:52,960
foods you're feeding yourself
and remember that those

305
00:16:52,960 --> 00:16:55,960
standards are higher than the
standards our pets get.

306
00:16:56,440 --> 00:17:00,080
So, you know, the people who are
making, you know, your candy

307
00:17:00,080 --> 00:17:03,400
bars, I'm sorry, should not be
making your pets food.

308
00:17:04,560 --> 00:17:06,160
And those are just things to
look at.

309
00:17:06,160 --> 00:17:09,040
And they sell all the time.
You know, you've been into the

310
00:17:09,040 --> 00:17:11,480
store before.
Wait, when you walk in my store,

311
00:17:11,480 --> 00:17:17,000
I've got posters lining the wall
that show who owns what.

312
00:17:17,319 --> 00:17:21,800
And I have to have them redone
every single year because that's

313
00:17:21,800 --> 00:17:25,040
how quickly things change.
And I think it's important to

314
00:17:25,040 --> 00:17:27,680
know who is making your pets
food.

315
00:17:27,680 --> 00:17:30,640
I mean, because they don't care.
It's like some guy sitting on a

316
00:17:30,640 --> 00:17:35,080
board somewhere and you know.
Well, yeah, bottom.

317
00:17:35,120 --> 00:17:39,520
Line is his wallet, not your
pet's health, and if they tell

318
00:17:39,560 --> 00:17:42,480
you differently, you know we can
just.

319
00:17:43,080 --> 00:17:46,960
Yeah, well, and, and that's
actually exactly like I posted

320
00:17:46,960 --> 00:17:51,640
that on Instagram this week when
we're recording this this week,

321
00:17:52,440 --> 00:17:55,160
because when you start a
company, you do have that

322
00:17:55,160 --> 00:17:57,600
passion.
You do care about the product

323
00:17:57,600 --> 00:18:00,680
that you're putting into the
world for people's pets to

324
00:18:00,680 --> 00:18:07,520
consume one way or another.
And when it's just a huge

325
00:18:07,520 --> 00:18:12,080
conglomerate corporation, they
may actually care about what

326
00:18:12,080 --> 00:18:14,080
they're putting in their own
pets mouths.

327
00:18:14,360 --> 00:18:16,760
But when they're sitting in that
boardroom making decisions, they

328
00:18:16,760 --> 00:18:20,000
are just looking at what is the
percentage of profit increase

329
00:18:20,000 --> 00:18:22,120
quarter after quarter and that's
where can.

330
00:18:22,120 --> 00:18:25,080
We get this item cheaper.
Where can we source it from

331
00:18:25,080 --> 00:18:28,120
cheaper.
Let's not forget that a lot of

332
00:18:28,120 --> 00:18:31,160
these people that are sitting on
this board are also sitting on

333
00:18:31,160 --> 00:18:35,400
the AFCO board and they're
saying what can and cannot be

334
00:18:35,400 --> 00:18:38,760
allowed in pet food.
And I think if you know, if you

335
00:18:38,760 --> 00:18:41,880
are, you know, listening or
watching to this podcast right

336
00:18:41,880 --> 00:18:47,560
now and you don't know what's
allowed in food per AFCO, please

337
00:18:47,560 --> 00:18:50,320
go to the AFCO website.
It is all public information.

338
00:18:50,640 --> 00:18:52,720
You can see what is allowed on
pet food.

339
00:18:52,720 --> 00:18:55,640
And these people that are
sitting on these pet food boards

340
00:18:56,000 --> 00:18:58,280
or your lobbyists that are
allowing this.

341
00:19:00,520 --> 00:19:03,080
I mean, there you go.
There's your answer.

342
00:19:03,080 --> 00:19:05,520
They're fighting for some of
this stuff to be allowed in pet

343
00:19:05,520 --> 00:19:08,320
food.
So they want it in there for a

344
00:19:08,320 --> 00:19:09,920
reason, right?
You know.

345
00:19:10,960 --> 00:19:15,320
Yeah, well, and as as a matter
of fact, I saw this the other

346
00:19:15,320 --> 00:19:19,880
day and Susan Thixton just
posted about it as well.

347
00:19:20,920 --> 00:19:24,320
They are now letting consumers
attend AFCO meetings for only

348
00:19:24,320 --> 00:19:29,640
$250, which I know is still a
lot for a lot of people, but

349
00:19:29,640 --> 00:19:33,280
it's like literally half the
price of what it used to be.

350
00:19:33,280 --> 00:19:38,400
So that actually is a big deal
and hopefully will make it

351
00:19:39,000 --> 00:19:42,800
easier depending on, you know,
what actually happens with AFCO

352
00:19:42,800 --> 00:19:44,360
moving forward.
Hopefully, it will make it

353
00:19:44,360 --> 00:19:48,480
easier for more consumers to
attend because as Susan reminds

354
00:19:48,480 --> 00:19:52,600
us all the time, consumers are
the biggest stakeholders in pet

355
00:19:52,600 --> 00:19:55,840
food and we're not represented
in pet.

356
00:19:55,840 --> 00:19:57,440
Food.
No, not at all.

357
00:19:58,160 --> 00:20:02,240
Yeah, not at all.
Yes, so Speaking of like having

358
00:20:02,240 --> 00:20:06,240
to make those decisions I about
pulling something off of your

359
00:20:06,240 --> 00:20:07,760
shelf.
I've spoken to a couple of

360
00:20:07,760 --> 00:20:11,640
people about this, originally
talked to BC Henshin about this

361
00:20:11,640 --> 00:20:15,560
on the podcast and Krista Fox,
who wins pug and hound and.

362
00:20:16,040 --> 00:20:19,880
Who I know you're familiar with
and it can be really, really

363
00:20:19,880 --> 00:20:23,760
difficult to make that decision
to pull something off of your

364
00:20:23,760 --> 00:20:26,600
shelf, especially if it is
something that is your biggest

365
00:20:26,600 --> 00:20:28,720
seller or close to your biggest
seller.

366
00:20:29,120 --> 00:20:32,680
So can you, I just like to
reiterate this for people like

367
00:20:33,480 --> 00:20:37,240
it's not an easy decision for
you, but you do it for the pets.

368
00:20:38,080 --> 00:20:40,040
It's yeah, I mean, it's, it's no
question.

369
00:20:40,040 --> 00:20:42,120
You know, the big company buys
out something.

370
00:20:42,120 --> 00:20:44,200
You know, I'm not going to be
hypocrite and have a, you know,

371
00:20:44,200 --> 00:20:48,400
big sign on my wall that says
Mars owns XYZ brands.

372
00:20:48,440 --> 00:20:51,880
And then Mars buys a brand that
I sell in the store and I sell a

373
00:20:51,880 --> 00:20:54,320
lot of it.
Like I can't pick and choose

374
00:20:54,320 --> 00:20:56,240
which ones I want to put up on
the board, right.

375
00:20:56,240 --> 00:20:58,640
So, you know, it, it hurts a
little bit at first.

376
00:20:58,760 --> 00:21:01,600
You know, it always is a sting
in the very beginning.

377
00:21:01,600 --> 00:21:09,200
But you know, I've been around
since 2006 and hopefully have

378
00:21:09,200 --> 00:21:13,600
enough trust in me to know that
I am doing it in the best

379
00:21:13,600 --> 00:21:15,760
interest of their pet.
And guess what?

380
00:21:15,760 --> 00:21:18,880
I don't sell that anymore.
But hey, here's another option

381
00:21:18,880 --> 00:21:20,320
for you.
You know, I don't have all my

382
00:21:20,360 --> 00:21:23,240
eggs in one basket.
And you know, I don't want to

383
00:21:23,240 --> 00:21:25,840
speak for Krista, but Kristen
are pretty good friends.

384
00:21:25,920 --> 00:21:29,560
And, you know, I won't name
names, but you know, a couple

385
00:21:29,560 --> 00:21:34,000
years ago, her and I both pulled
our #1 brand from the store with

386
00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:38,640
some things that happened.
And when you sell a whole lot of

387
00:21:38,640 --> 00:21:42,360
a product and not just a little
bit of it, and that's a big

388
00:21:42,360 --> 00:21:46,680
chunk of your money.
And you, you see that and you're

389
00:21:46,680 --> 00:21:49,560
like, what do I do?
But you know, it again, it

390
00:21:49,560 --> 00:21:51,240
stinks for a minute and then it
goes away.

391
00:21:51,240 --> 00:21:54,360
Because, you know, I want people
once again to come to my store.

392
00:21:54,360 --> 00:21:58,480
I want them to trust me, know
that what I'm selling is not

393
00:21:58,480 --> 00:22:01,880
going to harm their pet.
And I have to always stick with

394
00:22:01,880 --> 00:22:04,400
that.
And if I lose that, then all of

395
00:22:04,400 --> 00:22:07,240
my credentials now go out the
door and I want it to stay

396
00:22:07,240 --> 00:22:09,400
there.
Yeah, no, I mean, that's a

397
00:22:09,400 --> 00:22:11,680
really good point.
And again, and I'm just going to

398
00:22:11,680 --> 00:22:16,120
keep saying this, why I'm so
passionate about sending people

399
00:22:16,120 --> 00:22:20,440
to Indy Pet stores because
that's exactly what you want.

400
00:22:20,480 --> 00:22:24,440
Like you don't want, I was going
to say you don't want your

401
00:22:24,440 --> 00:22:27,080
doctor to prescribe you
something just because they're

402
00:22:27,080 --> 00:22:29,080
making money out.
But that's that's actually

403
00:22:29,160 --> 00:22:30,720
happening.
But I mean, that's not what

404
00:22:30,720 --> 00:22:34,000
people actually want.
They want to go to their doctor,

405
00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:37,160
for example, and then to
actually give them what is going

406
00:22:37,160 --> 00:22:40,720
to be the best for them, not
just what they're getting the

407
00:22:40,720 --> 00:22:43,160
most kickback off.
Right.

408
00:22:43,400 --> 00:22:45,880
Yeah, absolutely.
I mean, it is crazy to think

409
00:22:45,880 --> 00:22:49,880
about, you know, what the most
popular foods are and, and how

410
00:22:49,880 --> 00:22:55,800
they get there and yeah, you.
Don't want to talk about yeah,

411
00:22:55,920 --> 00:22:58,760
yeah.
So with your supplements, I

412
00:22:58,760 --> 00:23:03,200
think that's something similar
where you're how do you there is

413
00:23:03,200 --> 00:23:06,440
so.
There's so many supplements and

414
00:23:06,680 --> 00:23:11,600
fun thing supplements around buy
a lot of these big corporations

415
00:23:11,600 --> 00:23:14,600
as well and people don't think
about supplements as being one

416
00:23:14,600 --> 00:23:17,000
of them, but they are
supplements and treats and all

417
00:23:17,000 --> 00:23:19,400
this stuff.
So you know, I've got my go to

418
00:23:19,400 --> 00:23:22,760
brands that I love.
You know, most of the

419
00:23:22,760 --> 00:23:28,120
supplements that I have in the
store I've used at some point or

420
00:23:28,120 --> 00:23:30,320
have a staff member that has
used at some point.

421
00:23:30,440 --> 00:23:35,520
So we're not just Willy nilly
just someone says that I should

422
00:23:35,520 --> 00:23:38,560
bring it in, right?
Like we use it, we've had

423
00:23:38,560 --> 00:23:40,800
experience with it and that's
how I bring it in.

424
00:23:40,800 --> 00:23:43,520
And you know, there's a lot of
supplements that I don't carry

425
00:23:43,520 --> 00:23:46,760
the full line of supplements
from that company.

426
00:23:46,760 --> 00:23:49,640
I kind of pick and choose things
and and go from there.

427
00:23:49,640 --> 00:23:53,040
So when somebody comes into your
store and as you were saying

428
00:23:53,040 --> 00:23:55,440
earlier, likely they're if
they're coming in for the first

429
00:23:55,440 --> 00:23:59,400
time, they're coming in thinking
I need a supplement do.

430
00:23:59,400 --> 00:24:02,240
You.
Start off, I'm just curious,

431
00:24:02,240 --> 00:24:04,560
like, do you start off saying,
yeah, I can sell you a

432
00:24:04,560 --> 00:24:08,640
supplement for that?
Or do you say, you know, this

433
00:24:08,640 --> 00:24:11,120
supplement is going to be really
amazing, but you're going to see

434
00:24:11,120 --> 00:24:13,560
the full benefit if we also
improve the diet?

435
00:24:13,560 --> 00:24:15,600
Like, how do you have those
conversations with people?

436
00:24:16,160 --> 00:24:18,320
You know, it really depends on
the person, right?

437
00:24:18,320 --> 00:24:21,840
Like you got to read the person
to kind of, you know, see how

438
00:24:21,920 --> 00:24:23,640
willing you know they're going
to go.

439
00:24:24,120 --> 00:24:27,440
If it's me talking to someone, I
usually take them right to the

440
00:24:27,440 --> 00:24:29,840
supplements.
I show them, you know, some

441
00:24:29,840 --> 00:24:33,360
other things and then I will
say, but what are you feeding?

442
00:24:34,280 --> 00:24:36,880
And when if they tell me it's,
you know, one of those big

443
00:24:36,880 --> 00:24:39,360
brands that's owned by someone
that's got bad ingredients, I'll

444
00:24:39,360 --> 00:24:43,040
say, you know, this might help.
But I think that really this is

445
00:24:43,040 --> 00:24:45,120
actually your problem.
And if we fix that, you might

446
00:24:45,120 --> 00:24:49,680
not even need this supplement.
And you know, you hear this all

447
00:24:49,680 --> 00:24:53,120
the time and I say it all the
time, you know, you cannot out

448
00:24:53,120 --> 00:24:55,680
supplement a bad diet.
You just can't.

449
00:24:56,360 --> 00:25:01,240
So I would rather see someone,
you know, fix the food, start

450
00:25:01,240 --> 00:25:03,080
there and see if you even need
the supplement.

451
00:25:03,840 --> 00:25:06,480
You know, I'll, I'll sell you
all the supplements in the

452
00:25:06,480 --> 00:25:09,080
world, but it doesn't mean that
you need them or your pet needs

453
00:25:09,080 --> 00:25:12,560
them in this in this case.
So the idea is we're not adding

454
00:25:12,560 --> 00:25:15,720
all of these things in, right?
Like if you're feeding a good

455
00:25:15,720 --> 00:25:18,280
food, you probably don't need
all this stuff.

456
00:25:18,320 --> 00:25:20,160
And I think it's crazy.
And I always bring this up.

457
00:25:20,560 --> 00:25:23,200
It's amazing to me how much
money people are willing to pay

458
00:25:23,200 --> 00:25:25,600
for a supplement, but they're
not willing to spend that on

459
00:25:25,600 --> 00:25:28,320
food.
And the food will actually cost

460
00:25:28,320 --> 00:25:32,800
less than the supplement will.
So, you know, it's, you know,

461
00:25:32,800 --> 00:25:35,200
I'll always, always bring that
up too, because people like flat

462
00:25:35,200 --> 00:25:38,040
foods XYZ, but you know, this
supplements only X, you know,

463
00:25:38,080 --> 00:25:40,240
this, I'm like, you know, you're
putting this on top of the food

464
00:25:40,240 --> 00:25:42,520
that you're already spending.
What if you just took that money

465
00:25:42,520 --> 00:25:45,320
and, and put it into a good
food, you know, and you fix all

466
00:25:45,320 --> 00:25:49,000
that, But not only are we going
to fix like this problem, you

467
00:25:49,000 --> 00:25:52,320
know, let's say, you know, the
pet has allergies or you need a

468
00:25:52,320 --> 00:25:53,920
probiotics got a gut issue or
whatever.

469
00:25:54,240 --> 00:25:56,040
So you know, they're looking for
a probiotic.

470
00:25:56,040 --> 00:25:59,400
We want to fix that, but you
know, let's talk about the food

471
00:25:59,400 --> 00:26:01,840
that you're currently feeding
and all the things that that

472
00:26:01,840 --> 00:26:05,320
food could also 'cause, you
know, later down the road.

473
00:26:05,480 --> 00:26:08,760
So I think, you know, I kind of
went on a TH here, but I think

474
00:26:08,760 --> 00:26:11,120
it really depends on the
customer and you know, if

475
00:26:11,120 --> 00:26:13,440
they're willing to jump into
food, you know, we're going to,

476
00:26:13,440 --> 00:26:15,240
we're going to walk back over to
the food section.

477
00:26:15,240 --> 00:26:18,040
And then, you know, I always, I
don't like to give people too

478
00:26:18,040 --> 00:26:20,160
many things.
Like I think it's important for

479
00:26:20,160 --> 00:26:23,320
when someone comes in, you know,
we, we don't overwhelm them,

480
00:26:23,320 --> 00:26:24,760
right?
Like if they're feeding grocery

481
00:26:24,760 --> 00:26:28,840
store food or you know, your big
box brand, they're feeding that

482
00:26:28,840 --> 00:26:31,960
and I sell them food and this
supplement and this and a test

483
00:26:31,960 --> 00:26:34,240
for this.
It's very overwhelming for

484
00:26:34,240 --> 00:26:35,720
someone who's never done it
before.

485
00:26:36,160 --> 00:26:39,200
I don't ever want to scare
someone away from doing better

486
00:26:39,200 --> 00:26:41,760
for their pets, right?
So like, let's take baby steps.

487
00:26:42,080 --> 00:26:46,280
Let's start small, let's change
the diet, let's add 1 supplement

488
00:26:46,280 --> 00:26:48,360
and you come back in a month and
tell me how your pets doing,

489
00:26:48,480 --> 00:26:50,920
right?
If you're doing better, awesome,

490
00:26:50,920 --> 00:26:52,600
let's keep it this way for a
little bit longer.

491
00:26:52,600 --> 00:26:54,760
If you've noticed a little bit
of improvement, but you still

492
00:26:54,760 --> 00:26:57,240
have got something else going,
now let's add another one.

493
00:26:57,440 --> 00:27:00,200
Plus like I think it's important
to know what's working as well

494
00:27:00,200 --> 00:27:01,800
too.
You know, you add, you know, 5

495
00:27:01,800 --> 00:27:04,600
supplements in there and your
dog all of a sudden is doing

496
00:27:04,600 --> 00:27:07,480
great.
Which one is the supplement that

497
00:27:07,640 --> 00:27:10,680
is helping your pet?
Yeah, very, very good point.

498
00:27:11,040 --> 00:27:14,680
And so Speaking of all of the
education you do in your store,

499
00:27:14,720 --> 00:27:20,720
2 1/2 at this point years ago,
you had the first, your first

500
00:27:20,720 --> 00:27:23,680
event, the more, you know, Pet
Wellness Summit.

501
00:27:23,680 --> 00:27:26,440
And at that first event, Doctor
Judy Morgan was the headliner.

502
00:27:27,840 --> 00:27:33,320
And let me remember Angela
Ardelino, Billy Hookman.

503
00:27:33,760 --> 00:27:36,360
Yep, that was it.
That was it that first year.

504
00:27:37,600 --> 00:27:40,280
It seems so, it seems so long
ago.

505
00:27:40,360 --> 00:27:42,680
And yeah, like I just did it at
the same time, right?

506
00:27:42,680 --> 00:27:47,360
Like it's very Yeah.
So I, you know, I say this story

507
00:27:47,360 --> 00:27:50,600
a lot.
So I've always done lots of like

508
00:27:50,880 --> 00:27:54,120
little events in my story, you
know, where 20 to 30 people come

509
00:27:54,120 --> 00:27:58,680
into and that's in the store.
You know, I started off many

510
00:27:58,680 --> 00:28:01,640
years ago.
I was doing viewings a.

511
00:28:02,680 --> 00:28:04,400
Pet food.
Careful yes.

512
00:28:04,640 --> 00:28:08,440
So I was doing, you know,
little, you know, showings of

513
00:28:08,440 --> 00:28:11,000
that, you know, happening in the
store and people would watch it.

514
00:28:11,000 --> 00:28:14,120
You know, I've had, you know,
other speakers like come in for,

515
00:28:14,120 --> 00:28:16,320
you know, smaller events.
Philly is one of them.

516
00:28:16,320 --> 00:28:20,080
And one day I just like I was
like, oh, I was talking to Billy

517
00:28:20,080 --> 00:28:22,720
and I was like let's I should do
like I would like to do a

518
00:28:22,720 --> 00:28:26,040
summit, some type of thing.
And, you know, he said, oh, I

519
00:28:26,040 --> 00:28:27,600
think you should do it.
And then it just kind of like

520
00:28:27,720 --> 00:28:29,800
got put on the back burner and I
never thought about it.

521
00:28:29,800 --> 00:28:32,440
And then, you know, him and I
were talking again one day and

522
00:28:32,440 --> 00:28:33,560
he's like, I think you should do
it.

523
00:28:33,560 --> 00:28:38,040
So I jumped in, hit first.
I had no idea what I was doing.

524
00:28:38,040 --> 00:28:41,440
I mean, it is like planning a
wedding.

525
00:28:41,520 --> 00:28:44,000
I don't think anyone realize
unless you've done one of these

526
00:28:44,000 --> 00:28:47,280
events and put it on it, I don't
think people realize how many

527
00:28:47,280 --> 00:28:52,560
things go into putting it on.
And most of the people who do

528
00:28:52,560 --> 00:28:56,320
these events don't have stores
to like they're able to focus

529
00:28:56,320 --> 00:28:58,160
all their time and do this.
And I'm like, oh, I'm still

530
00:28:58,160 --> 00:29:00,240
running the store and planning
this event.

531
00:29:00,440 --> 00:29:02,320
It's exhausting, but so very
worth it.

532
00:29:02,320 --> 00:29:04,560
So yeah, that was the that was
the first one.

533
00:29:04,640 --> 00:29:08,760
And it was successful enough to
do it for a year or two.

534
00:29:09,320 --> 00:29:14,560
And I did last year's.
Yeah, there's yeah, last year

535
00:29:14,560 --> 00:29:17,200
was.
What really this year, 2024?

536
00:29:17,640 --> 00:29:18,520
Yes.
Well, yeah.

537
00:29:18,880 --> 00:29:24,680
Yeah, by the time this airs last
year, so you had Doctor Karen

538
00:29:24,680 --> 00:29:29,720
Becker, Rodney Habib, Angela
Ardolino, Billy Hookman and Dr.

539
00:29:29,720 --> 00:29:33,640
Katie Woodley.
So we added a couple speaker

540
00:29:33,640 --> 00:29:39,600
spots and that was super fun.
And then so the Rodney and Karen

541
00:29:39,600 --> 00:29:45,800
did their first live podcast
right afterwards with the Inside

542
00:29:45,800 --> 00:29:47,320
Scoopers.
Got to stay that.

543
00:29:47,320 --> 00:29:50,240
Was really cool.
It was, it was really, really

544
00:29:50,240 --> 00:29:55,520
cool and it's just been like,
obviously I don't go to every

545
00:29:55,520 --> 00:29:58,560
single event, but I go to a
handful of them and it's

546
00:29:58,680 --> 00:30:01,680
definitely been my favorite out
of all the events.

547
00:30:01,680 --> 00:30:07,600
I think because it's big enough,
but it's also pretty intimate.

548
00:30:08,280 --> 00:30:12,520
Yes.
So you obviously have already

549
00:30:12,520 --> 00:30:15,760
announced who is going to be
speaking for 2025.

550
00:30:15,760 --> 00:30:18,800
So you want to tell me about
who's coming this year?

551
00:30:18,800 --> 00:30:21,160
And really quick, I want to go
back to something that you just

552
00:30:21,160 --> 00:30:25,360
said to touch base with talking
about it's big enough, but it's,

553
00:30:25,360 --> 00:30:28,040
and I've struggled with this,
you and I have talked about this

554
00:30:28,040 --> 00:30:34,360
because the 2024 Summit sold out
in 36 hours of the VIP event

555
00:30:34,360 --> 00:30:37,680
sold out in 18 minutes.
I mean, I got to the store early

556
00:30:37,680 --> 00:30:40,240
that morning and I put up
Eventbrite where the tickets

557
00:30:40,240 --> 00:30:42,400
were on sale.
And I was just like, my eyes

558
00:30:42,400 --> 00:30:45,880
wanted to explode and I had to
go mad at me that the VIP

559
00:30:45,880 --> 00:30:48,800
tickets sold out.
And you know that, you know, the

560
00:30:48,800 --> 00:30:51,400
tickets never went for sale
public.

561
00:30:51,400 --> 00:30:55,280
Like you had to have had access
to the tickets, which was

562
00:30:55,280 --> 00:30:57,520
signing up for it to get access
to the tickets.

563
00:30:57,920 --> 00:31:00,520
And so we had some very angry
people.

564
00:31:00,560 --> 00:31:02,120
Most people are understanding
it.

565
00:31:02,160 --> 00:31:04,640
You know, that venue holds
roughly 200 people.

566
00:31:04,920 --> 00:31:08,240
And you know, it's, it's big
enough for me to want to

567
00:31:08,240 --> 00:31:10,400
control.
It's also a block away from the

568
00:31:10,400 --> 00:31:13,440
store.
So it makes sense in terms of,

569
00:31:13,480 --> 00:31:15,920
you know, business.
Fun fact, you know, I tell

570
00:31:15,920 --> 00:31:18,160
people all this, you know, the
store pays for this event.

571
00:31:18,160 --> 00:31:21,040
You know, as much as you know,
we sell tickets and all that

572
00:31:21,040 --> 00:31:23,880
stuff, I don't make any money
off of this event.

573
00:31:23,880 --> 00:31:26,560
I'm really doing this is like a
passion project to bring

574
00:31:26,920 --> 00:31:29,280
information to people.
And I and I want people to

575
00:31:29,280 --> 00:31:31,320
learn.
So it kind of has to be by the

576
00:31:31,320 --> 00:31:35,960
store, but because it's 200
people and it's, you know, it's,

577
00:31:36,080 --> 00:31:38,160
it's 200 people tight.
Like we're going to, we're going

578
00:31:38,160 --> 00:31:39,480
to love each other and be best
friends.

579
00:31:41,080 --> 00:31:43,600
You know, you, you get to feel
close with people though, right?

580
00:31:43,800 --> 00:31:46,680
You know, our speakers, they're,
they're close to you, they're

581
00:31:46,680 --> 00:31:48,680
within reach.
Like you can, it's not this like

582
00:31:48,960 --> 00:31:53,200
huge venue where they seem so
far away and like, you know, in

583
00:31:53,200 --> 00:31:56,360
our world, like these are the
stars of our world, right?

584
00:31:56,360 --> 00:31:59,360
So I think it's cool to, like,
have them accessible.

585
00:31:59,520 --> 00:32:04,560
You know, I, you know, have gone
back and forth on the whole, do

586
00:32:04,560 --> 00:32:07,440
we make it at a bigger venue?
But the answer to that's no,

587
00:32:07,840 --> 00:32:10,960
it's going to be 200 people.
And if you're listening to this,

588
00:32:10,960 --> 00:32:13,000
there's a good chance the
tickets are already sold out.

589
00:32:13,000 --> 00:32:16,880
But if not, send me an e-mail
and we can get you on that list.

590
00:32:17,640 --> 00:32:20,560
That was my rant about my, about
the size of the space.

591
00:32:20,560 --> 00:32:23,640
But yeah, so for the 2025
summit, let me think about this.

592
00:32:23,640 --> 00:32:25,680
We've got Susan Thixton.
So we've already talked about

593
00:32:25,680 --> 00:32:28,720
Susan Thixton.
She is the truth about pet food.

594
00:32:29,080 --> 00:32:32,760
We also have Doctor Katie Kangas
and she's coming from

595
00:32:32,760 --> 00:32:36,400
California.
Rita Hogan, canine herbalist.

596
00:32:36,400 --> 00:32:40,600
So, so excited to hear from her.
She has a book coming out, so

597
00:32:40,840 --> 00:32:44,920
we'll have her books here.
And I've been in this industry

598
00:32:44,920 --> 00:32:48,240
for a very long time and I'm
pretty well versed and pet food

599
00:32:48,240 --> 00:32:50,240
and supplements.
Let me tell you what I'm not

600
00:32:50,240 --> 00:32:54,960
well versed in, and that is
herbs because like so many

601
00:32:54,960 --> 00:32:58,120
things.
And so I'm really, really

602
00:32:58,120 --> 00:32:59,920
excited to hear and learn from
her.

603
00:33:00,520 --> 00:33:03,160
Who else, Oh my gosh, I'm
missing?

604
00:33:04,440 --> 00:33:07,120
Well, you're missing a big one,
but is Amy?

605
00:33:07,360 --> 00:33:09,680
Amy?
Wait, Amy Renz, right?

606
00:33:09,680 --> 00:33:13,040
Isn't Amy speaking?
Oh my gosh, Amy Renz.

607
00:33:13,720 --> 00:33:16,800
Amy Renz was just at my store a
couple weeks ago actually, or

608
00:33:16,800 --> 00:33:18,360
you know, a couple months ago
for listening to this.

609
00:33:18,680 --> 00:33:21,760
And Amy is the CEO and founder
of Goodness Gracious.

610
00:33:21,840 --> 00:33:25,760
And Dr. Connor Brady is coming
all the way from good old

611
00:33:25,760 --> 00:33:30,720
Ireland, which I'm so very lucky
that I got the chance to meet

612
00:33:30,720 --> 00:33:35,160
him and his crew a few months
ago.

613
00:33:35,280 --> 00:33:38,080
They had a pit stop here in
Williamsburg and it was a very

614
00:33:38,080 --> 00:33:41,360
impromptu thing.
So excited to have him back for

615
00:33:41,360 --> 00:33:44,480
longer than just a couple hours.
Yes.

616
00:33:44,480 --> 00:33:47,960
So, OK, I have so much like I
really want to say about this

617
00:33:47,960 --> 00:33:52,480
lineup because first of all, Amy
is somebody that I very

618
00:33:52,480 --> 00:33:56,760
unexpectedly have like kind of
hit it off with and been able

619
00:33:56,760 --> 00:34:00,000
to.
She really is like just her

620
00:34:00,000 --> 00:34:02,080
mindset and how she looks at
things.

621
00:34:02,080 --> 00:34:04,600
I find myself like asking her
way.

622
00:34:04,960 --> 00:34:08,239
I ask way too much of her.
I ask way too much of her.

623
00:34:08,440 --> 00:34:11,880
And what's really interesting
about Rita is that, and I

624
00:34:11,880 --> 00:34:14,880
actually like texted her the
other day because.

625
00:34:16,560 --> 00:34:19,719
She.
Her life is crazy with this book

626
00:34:19,719 --> 00:34:23,800
right now with her publisher,
but I talked to two different

627
00:34:23,960 --> 00:34:27,199
animal communicators in the same
week for two different animals,

628
00:34:27,960 --> 00:34:32,960
and both of my animals brought
up that I need to be learning

629
00:34:32,960 --> 00:34:35,560
from Breda Hogan.
She's amazing.

630
00:34:36,159 --> 00:34:39,440
I mean, I'm like, OK.
Slowed her down when I'm talking

631
00:34:39,440 --> 00:34:40,600
to him like wait, wait, wait,
wait back up.

632
00:34:40,600 --> 00:34:43,760
Like I didn't understand that.
Like I just went way over my

633
00:34:43,760 --> 00:34:46,080
head.
But like, so smart and so

634
00:34:46,080 --> 00:34:50,360
knowledgeable and I can't wait
to get my hands on a copy of

635
00:34:50,360 --> 00:34:52,040
that book and.
I know.

636
00:34:52,159 --> 00:34:56,840
Hear her talk for, you know, one
to two hours about you know, all

637
00:34:56,840 --> 00:35:02,000
the herbs than you know the
simple things to improve and you

638
00:35:02,000 --> 00:35:07,280
know, these things also help us,
you know, as as someone walking

639
00:35:07,280 --> 00:35:08,640
on two legs, you know they help
us.

640
00:35:08,640 --> 00:35:11,440
It's not just for our pets.
Yes.

641
00:35:11,720 --> 00:35:17,440
So yeah, Herbalism is definitely
on my on my Go card for 2025.

642
00:35:18,040 --> 00:35:20,560
Good, good.
It's on my bingo card.

643
00:35:20,560 --> 00:35:23,240
I'm I'm, I'm doing it, I'm I'm
definitely doing it because I'm

644
00:35:23,240 --> 00:35:26,000
very interested in it as well.
And Doctor Connor Brady.

645
00:35:26,000 --> 00:35:32,360
I am if I don't get to meet this
man, I swear, I know.

646
00:35:32,400 --> 00:35:36,760
It's it's like I've had
multiple, well, it a couple of

647
00:35:36,760 --> 00:35:40,480
times been on the like I'm
supposed to be somewhere to

648
00:35:40,480 --> 00:35:42,720
where I could meet him and then
it fell through and I'm like.

649
00:35:44,760 --> 00:35:46,280
July is coming.
It is.

650
00:35:46,360 --> 00:35:50,440
It is your time.
I'm very excited for for it and

651
00:35:50,440 --> 00:35:53,720
I am very lucky.
I know I say this all the time.

652
00:35:53,720 --> 00:35:56,080
I'm very, very lucky that my
family is there.

653
00:35:56,080 --> 00:36:00,480
So I make a huge trip out of it
and get to stay and hang out and

654
00:36:00,480 --> 00:36:04,960
then try to pull you out, but
you're like, you can't.

655
00:36:04,960 --> 00:36:07,640
You're just dead to the world.
Just a little bit.

656
00:36:07,680 --> 00:36:09,240
I'm dead to the world today.
What are you talking about?

657
00:36:09,600 --> 00:36:13,800
Yeah, Conor is is so cool.
Like I mentioned, you know, I

658
00:36:13,800 --> 00:36:16,480
had this like really cool thing
happened a few months ago.

659
00:36:17,320 --> 00:36:21,160
You know, Doctor Judy Morgan's
event was supposed to take place

660
00:36:21,520 --> 00:36:26,080
and that hurricane came through
and the whole thing was

661
00:36:26,080 --> 00:36:28,360
rescheduled.
So super unfortunate for her.

662
00:36:28,360 --> 00:36:31,520
I know it's coming back and it's
going to be fantastic when it

663
00:36:31,520 --> 00:36:33,920
does get to happen.
But Doctor Carter Brady, Doctor

664
00:36:33,920 --> 00:36:39,440
Nick Thompson, Doctor Brendan
Clark, they were all in the

665
00:36:39,520 --> 00:36:42,600
state.
So funny story because they had

666
00:36:42,600 --> 00:36:46,360
posted online that they were in
the States and they were looking

667
00:36:46,360 --> 00:36:47,960
for something to do and where
should they go?

668
00:36:49,120 --> 00:36:52,120
Everyone's like commenting all
these things like where they

669
00:36:52,120 --> 00:36:55,680
should go.
And someone commented, actually

670
00:36:56,160 --> 00:36:59,280
Jessica, who works for Doctor
Katie Kangas comments, she's

671
00:36:59,280 --> 00:37:01,640
like, well, if you're in the
States, like obviously you have

672
00:37:01,640 --> 00:37:04,480
to go to Nautical dog.
So there was all these comments

673
00:37:04,520 --> 00:37:07,840
on there and I commented and I
was like, yeah, like come by.

674
00:37:07,840 --> 00:37:10,280
Like, I hope to see you guys.
And out of all the comments,

675
00:37:10,280 --> 00:37:12,400
like I was the only one that
they like, responded back to.

676
00:37:12,400 --> 00:37:15,520
So of course, like I messaged
Connor and I had a lot of stuff

677
00:37:15,600 --> 00:37:19,160
going on during that weekend and
I was like, I need, I need to

678
00:37:19,160 --> 00:37:21,840
know like where you guys are
going?

679
00:37:21,840 --> 00:37:25,280
Like, are you guys coming here?
And so in typical like UK

680
00:37:25,280 --> 00:37:28,280
fashion, like they think
everything on a map is like it

681
00:37:28,280 --> 00:37:31,600
must be really close.
Yeah, because they were in New

682
00:37:31,600 --> 00:37:33,960
Orleans and I'm like, that's a
big.

683
00:37:34,640 --> 00:37:38,840
So Connor emailed me and was
like, you know, Nick talked to

684
00:37:38,840 --> 00:37:42,080
Billy and, you know, maybe, you
know, Billy can come because

685
00:37:42,080 --> 00:37:44,040
like, I know that like, he's
near you.

686
00:37:44,040 --> 00:37:49,320
And I was like, well, like he's
so, but it's not like, you know,

687
00:37:49,320 --> 00:37:52,440
he's not going to like hop in
the car and like, you know, you

688
00:37:52,440 --> 00:37:54,440
know, be here in an hour.
He's not like that close.

689
00:37:54,720 --> 00:37:57,360
So I called Billy and I was
like, hey, like he's like, I

690
00:37:57,360 --> 00:37:59,800
know why you're calling me.
Like you must have talked to

691
00:37:59,800 --> 00:38:03,160
Nick and he was like, you know,
Nick thinks I'm like an hour

692
00:38:03,160 --> 00:38:05,240
from you or something like that.
He's like, you know, because

693
00:38:05,240 --> 00:38:07,400
when they look at a map, you
know, Ireland, you know, the big

694
00:38:07,400 --> 00:38:09,560
map, every everything is
relatively close, right,

695
00:38:09,560 --> 00:38:11,440
Whereas, you know, the state's
everything is far.

696
00:38:12,000 --> 00:38:15,160
So fun time.
So Billy's like, yes, I'll come

697
00:38:15,160 --> 00:38:18,000
up there.
So gets here and they literally

698
00:38:18,000 --> 00:38:22,680
drove from, so they like drove
from like New Orleans to Atlanta

699
00:38:22,760 --> 00:38:25,080
or not.
No Athens, GA, sorry, Athens,

700
00:38:25,120 --> 00:38:27,200
GA.
And then they're like, OK, well,

701
00:38:27,200 --> 00:38:28,600
we're leaving at 8 O clock in
the morning.

702
00:38:28,600 --> 00:38:33,800
We'll be to like around 5:30.
They drove from Athens, GA all

703
00:38:33,800 --> 00:38:37,080
the way to Williamsburg, VA in
the day.

704
00:38:37,640 --> 00:38:39,400
Connor left his driver's
license.

705
00:38:39,400 --> 00:38:42,840
So it's just making Brendan
driving and they get to the

706
00:38:42,840 --> 00:38:51,320
store and I had 48 hours to plan
this, like impromptu Q&A session

707
00:38:51,400 --> 00:38:56,040
with raw pet medics in person.
And I'm like, people, this is

708
00:38:56,040 --> 00:38:57,920
never going to happen again.
Like this.

709
00:38:58,080 --> 00:38:59,560
This is not ever going to
happen.

710
00:38:59,560 --> 00:39:02,800
And so, you know, it was a small
event because it was so last

711
00:39:02,800 --> 00:39:05,320
minute.
But man, those three are

712
00:39:05,400 --> 00:39:10,040
absolutely hilarious and so down
to earth.

713
00:39:10,040 --> 00:39:12,600
They mean like, you just meet
them and they were like, where

714
00:39:12,600 --> 00:39:14,920
are we going when we leave here?
Like let's go out.

715
00:39:15,360 --> 00:39:18,200
They're just so fun.
So I cannot wait for Connor to

716
00:39:18,200 --> 00:39:22,120
come back in the summer.
And you know, I kind of wish the

717
00:39:22,120 --> 00:39:25,120
other two were coming too, but
the events have planned already,

718
00:39:25,120 --> 00:39:27,960
so I don't know. 26 y'all watch
out.

719
00:39:27,960 --> 00:39:29,800
We might have all of raw path
medics here.

720
00:39:30,960 --> 00:39:33,360
You have no idea I was literally
on Expedia.

721
00:39:33,360 --> 00:39:34,840
Like what is the last minute
flight?

722
00:39:35,560 --> 00:39:36,720
Right.
It was so awesome.

723
00:39:36,720 --> 00:39:40,240
Like it was, it was crazy.
And you know, the fact that they

724
00:39:40,240 --> 00:39:44,120
drove that far to come to my
store was was really, really

725
00:39:44,120 --> 00:39:45,600
cool.
I'm not so sure that they knew

726
00:39:45,600 --> 00:39:48,840
exactly how far it was going to
be, but you know, they made it

727
00:39:48,840 --> 00:39:51,520
here and they, you know, made a
great road trip out of it.

728
00:39:51,520 --> 00:39:55,120
And I'm very honored that out of
all the places they could have

729
00:39:55,120 --> 00:39:56,720
come and gone to, they came
here.

730
00:39:56,760 --> 00:39:59,200
So it was really cool.
Yeah, yeah.

731
00:39:59,400 --> 00:40:04,680
So this year's.
The more you know, Pet Wellness

732
00:40:04,680 --> 00:40:09,400
Summit is it you're going to do
so it's an all day event.

733
00:40:09,880 --> 00:40:12,000
All day.
All day event and Doctor Connor

734
00:40:12,000 --> 00:40:17,520
Brady is the headliner and very,
very limited VIP tickets as very

735
00:40:18,040 --> 00:40:21,040
huge, very, very limited and
then are you do what you are

736
00:40:21,040 --> 00:40:24,920
doing the next morning, a coffee
talk type situation again.

737
00:40:25,320 --> 00:40:28,080
So things are going to be play
out a little differently than

738
00:40:28,080 --> 00:40:30,720
they did last year.
The VIP event is going to be the

739
00:40:30,720 --> 00:40:35,520
night before, so it'll be that
Friday night, which will be

740
00:40:35,520 --> 00:40:38,400
better I think for everyone.
It was a lot to do in one day

741
00:40:38,400 --> 00:40:40,640
and that was just because of
some of the speakers schedule.

742
00:40:41,480 --> 00:40:44,680
We had to do it all on that day.
So so Friday night we'll have

743
00:40:44,680 --> 00:40:47,960
the VIP events at the store.
The next day the summit will be

744
00:40:47,960 --> 00:40:50,080
all day.
The nice thing with having the

745
00:40:50,080 --> 00:40:54,400
VIP event the night before is
that this summit is not really

746
00:40:54,400 --> 00:40:57,120
going to be on a short timeline.
Like we'll actually be able to

747
00:40:57,120 --> 00:41:00,480
have a little bit of a longer
day with our speakers and then

748
00:41:00,480 --> 00:41:04,320
the next morning we are having
our coffee talk go.

749
00:41:04,880 --> 00:41:08,880
As of this recording right now,
I have not announced to my

750
00:41:08,880 --> 00:41:11,320
coffee talk people are, but
you're going to be listening to

751
00:41:11,320 --> 00:41:14,000
this in January.
Billy and Kelly are going to be

752
00:41:14,000 --> 00:41:17,520
here for the cough talk,
Connor's coming for the coffee

753
00:41:17,520 --> 00:41:19,920
talk and and there's going to be
some other people coming too.

754
00:41:19,920 --> 00:41:25,960
So that's who's going to be here
for the coffee talk and Billy is

755
00:41:25,960 --> 00:41:30,400
the MC for this year.
So it'll be super fun.

756
00:41:30,520 --> 00:41:32,880
You know, if you know Billy,
he's very dry.

757
00:41:33,040 --> 00:41:35,960
But you know, I'm sure he'll be
roasting lots of people.

758
00:41:36,680 --> 00:41:41,840
Yeah, well, you know what he did
better last year and, and so

759
00:41:41,840 --> 00:41:45,280
many people I know he said, so
many people have come up to him

760
00:41:45,280 --> 00:41:48,080
and said like how much better,
how much funnier?

761
00:41:48,080 --> 00:41:50,240
And he's like, I don't know what
I did different, but OK.

762
00:41:51,120 --> 00:41:56,080
Roast some people a little.
Bit yeah, yeah, I'm very much

763
00:41:56,120 --> 00:41:59,280
looking forward to it and
hopefully because I do post

764
00:41:59,280 --> 00:42:02,600
these at like 8:00 AM.
So hopefully there are some

765
00:42:02,600 --> 00:42:05,400
tickets left by the time you are
listening to this.

766
00:42:05,400 --> 00:42:08,720
If not, then like Amanda said,
get on the wait list.

767
00:42:09,640 --> 00:42:12,240
Yes, the get on the wait list.
Send an e-mail to

768
00:42:12,280 --> 00:42:17,320
info@nauticaldogva.com.
You know, if you are listening

769
00:42:17,320 --> 00:42:20,800
to this and there's tickets
left, you can shoot me an e-mail

770
00:42:20,800 --> 00:42:23,760
and I can tell you how to get on
that list to buy the ticket.

771
00:42:24,440 --> 00:42:27,680
Yeah, and if you are anywhere in
the world other than Hampton

772
00:42:27,720 --> 00:42:31,800
Roads, Virginia, and you are
planning a vacation and you are

773
00:42:31,800 --> 00:42:35,360
at all looking at Hampton Roads,
Virginia, make sure to stop in

774
00:42:35,360 --> 00:42:37,920
to the nautical dog because she
really does have some really

775
00:42:37,920 --> 00:42:39,600
cute stuff.
Take some pictures, take some

776
00:42:39,600 --> 00:42:43,880
video, post on social media that
you what, adopt the cat.

777
00:42:45,720 --> 00:42:48,200
I guess it depends on where
you're heading back home to, but

778
00:42:48,200 --> 00:42:50,760
yes, adopt the cat.
We told people to adopt cats

779
00:42:50,760 --> 00:42:52,600
from Canada before, so there you
go.

780
00:42:53,680 --> 00:42:55,520
Yeah.
So sweet.

781
00:42:57,600 --> 00:42:59,240
Yeah.
Well, I just want to say thank

782
00:42:59,240 --> 00:43:02,520
you for all that you do for.
Everything that you do July will

783
00:43:02,520 --> 00:43:06,080
be here before you know it.
So you know I give you a big hug

784
00:43:06,080 --> 00:43:08,880
when I see you then.
Yes, I can't wait.

785
00:43:08,880 --> 00:43:10,400
And anything else you want to
tell people?

786
00:43:11,160 --> 00:43:15,640
No, other than, you know, if
you're not in Virginia close to

787
00:43:15,640 --> 00:43:19,000
me, please, please, please shop
at your local independent

788
00:43:19,000 --> 00:43:20,880
stores.
I cannot stress that enough.

789
00:43:20,880 --> 00:43:24,200
Like, you know, we care, we try
really hard.

790
00:43:24,360 --> 00:43:27,360
You know, we, I can speak for
myself that I try to keep our

791
00:43:27,360 --> 00:43:30,440
prices, you know, very
comparable to everything online

792
00:43:30,440 --> 00:43:33,840
or in the big box stores.
And, you know, we are out there

793
00:43:33,840 --> 00:43:37,160
doing the research for you and
vetting everything and, and

794
00:43:37,160 --> 00:43:38,960
making sure everything is safe
for your pet.

795
00:43:39,000 --> 00:43:42,640
And yeah, so please shop, you
know, take that extra minute,

796
00:43:42,760 --> 00:43:45,600
take the time to shop with them.
They're going to look out for

797
00:43:45,600 --> 00:43:48,240
your pet.
And you know you you need these

798
00:43:48,240 --> 00:43:51,120
stores around.
Absolutely.

799
00:43:51,120 --> 00:43:53,840
That's perfect way to end.
Thank you so much, Amanda.

800
00:43:54,160 --> 00:43:56,960
You guys have a wonderful rest
of your day and I'll talk to you

801
00:43:56,960 --> 00:43:58,480
next week.
See you soon.

802
00:43:58,480 --> 00:43:59,120
Bye.