197. How Independent Pet Stores Are Saving Pets from Chronic Health Issues – with Toni Shelaske

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Welcome back pet parent.
I have such an interesting guest

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for you today.
Her name is Tony Schlasky and

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not only is she a podcast host,
which is so fun, she has been an

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entrepreneur for so long, a
holistic pet Wellness expert.

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She is also the founder and
former owner of Healthy Pet

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Products in Pittsburgh, which is
a natural pet supply company

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there, which is amazing.
We all know how much we love

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Indie Pet, which brings me to
the next point.

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She actually serves on the board
of Indie Pet and she has a

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private label where she creates
Pittsburgh Being Dog Toy Toys.

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So obviously she's a big fan of
Pittsburgh.

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Thank you so much for being
here, Tony.

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Your passion for helping pet
parents and pets is incredible

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and I'm just really excited to
have you on the Pet Parenting

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Reset.
Thank you.

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I'm thrilled to be here and I'm
thrilled that we've made this

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connection and can help them
together.

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Yes, I know it takes it takes a
village.

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I was just talking to somebody
yesterday, very popular in in

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the pet space and I finally was
introduced to her.

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She's like, people ask me all
the time why I teach what I do

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to other people and she's like,
because we need more educators

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out there.
And it's like that exactly

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percent.
That's actually exactly why I

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created the podcast in the 1st
place, because I feel like as a

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business owner, like put your
best stuff out there for free

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for people and like that's how
your tribe is going to find you

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and be gravitated towards you.
And I feel like as a podcaster,

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you must feel in some way the
same.

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So I would just love to start
off by hearing kind of a little

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bit about your journey because
you've done so much already.

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Yeah, I noticed that you gave us
an hour and a half, but I will

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keep it brief.
So I have been in the pet space

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for 25 years.
I started pet sitting.

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So I had my own pet sitting
business.

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I was really like one of the
first pet sitters in Pittsburgh.

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My pet sitting business was
started in 2000, the year 2000.

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And I had it for eight years and
you know, it was it was awesome.

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And I loved doing it, but I
burned myself out of it.

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But what was cool is I really
learned a lot just from being

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with dogs, with cats, and just
being present with them,

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watching their behavior,
noticing things they did.

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I really, I really feel like I
connected a lot of dots and

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noticed a lot of common problems
with dogs and cats that my my

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dog at the time was not
experiencing.

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So I was seeing a lot of issues
with my customers pets like

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obesity and diabetes and skin
issues, hot spots, ear

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infections, you know, you know
all of the things.

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And I knew diet and
supplementation.

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Could.
Help these pets and I had

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already been a raw feeder, so I
knew that that was the end.

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I I mean, we, we think it's the
end all be all right.

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So I'm glad my dog is not the
only one making noise.

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But then so I had been doing
that.

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I burned myself out of pet
sitting and literally in my

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backyard was a little tiny pet
food store called healthy pet

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products.
It was about 1000 square feet.

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They carried all natural
products.

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So they carried, you know, grain
free kibble, which was like a

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big thing then.
And you know, knew it was Evo.

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Evo was their brand and
California natural and all of

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those.
And but they didn't carry raw

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food.
I still though would shop there,

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I'd get treats, I'd walk my dog,
create a relationship, all that

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sort of thing.
And then one day they said to

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me, we're selling, we're moving
out of state, and we really

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don't want to move the business.
So I have an extensive retail

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management background.
I was already a raw feeder.

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I knew a lot about natural pet
food.

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So I just bought the business
and then grew it to three stores

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within Pittsburgh and then
opened one location in Port

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Charlotte, FL So I did that for
16 years, yeah.

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So now you, you touched on
something that we, we talked

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about previously on your podcast
about being a raw theater and

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people thinking it's like the
end all be all.

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But I want to, I want to get to
that a little bit later in the

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conversation, because I, I want
to talk first about some of the

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things you have seen in that 16
years being an indie pet store

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owner, seen all of the, all of
the things, all the people that

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have been coming through your
doors, the issues with their

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pets.
For me, you know, I think people

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oftentimes come in and they're
just like, tell me what

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supplement to give to fix X,
right.

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And that's a very like, that's
just how we've been trained by,

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by the Pharmaceutical industry.
But, but that's also a big

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opportunity to, you know, begin
educating.

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So like how how do you view all
of that?

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So the core diet is, is where
you have to start.

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You can't just add in a
supplement and think the world

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is going to change and these
symptoms are just going to go

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away.
There's more to it than that.

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There's way more to it than
that.

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And the amount of change I've
seen over the 16 years in the

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pet food industry, I can't even
begin.

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I mean, you know, when I
started, people looked at me

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like I had three heads when I
told them I said raw food.

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So you know, and then I grew the
the raw food market in

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Pittsburgh and went from single
door freezer to double door

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freezer to multiple double doors
to everyone of my stores had

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walk in freezers.
So tons of raw food moving

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through the door and now gently
cooked is all the rage.

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And freeze dried came onto the
market and it's great.

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We have all these new categories
that are options.

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It amazes me that freeze dried
continues to be the fastest

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growing category.
Even though I tell people over

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and over and over again, you
realize this is the most

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expensive way to feed your pet.
They don't care.

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Yeah, well, it's convenient.
It's more convenient,

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especially.
It gives them that feel good

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feel.
Similar to kibble.

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You scoop it and put it in the
bowl.

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You can hydrate it or you can't,
it doesn't matter.

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So went through DCM, you know,
and how bad grain free food is.

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I I mean, it's, I could go on
and on.

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Well, since you brought up DCMI
still have people coming to me

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telling me their vet said you
need to feed a grain inclusive

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diet like this is this has
persisted for so long.

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And I think one of the reasons
not obviously the the fear

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mongering initially when it all
happened was strong.

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But the FDA updating that they
couldn't find anything one way

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or the other was like hush hush.
They just like updated the page

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and didn't tell anybody about
it.

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So there's no it just it boggles
my mind.

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Are you?
I assume you're still seeing

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this too?
Same, and I recently just had a

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trainer friend reach out to me.
She had a new client with a

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giant breed dog and the vet was
telling her she has to feed

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great inclusive food to protect
the heart and to I can't

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remember if it was a male or
female but basically spay or

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neuter the dog by 6 months old.
And the trainer reached out to

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me because she knows she knows
better especially with a giant

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breed dog and she said can you
give do you have some white

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cheese?
Do you have some data that I can

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provide to her?
And I, I, I did.

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And then I literally said to
her, I mean, vets are not

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recommending these early span
neuters anymore for the most

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part, right?
And I said if her vet is that,

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that is not keeping up with new
research that's being done.

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Absolutely.
I mean, again, like you said,

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especially for a large breed
dog, because there is so much of

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it and, and this is a hard topic
to talk about honestly.

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And I, I have covered it
multiple times on this podcast

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because we do, we don't, in my
opinion, we don't have an

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overpopulation issue.
We have a human irresponsibility

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issue.
It's just not being addressed

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properly.
It's not being looked at.

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It's, it's like, no, I'm not
going to say what I was going to

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say, but we're looking at the
symptom and saying that that's

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that's the problem.
That's what we have to address.

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Just like with everything else.
Instead of looking at like what

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is causing it, which is us,
which is humans being so

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incredibly irresponsible in my
opinion, I'll just throw that

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out there.
That's not the issue.

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And the idea that we can remove
any organ from the body and say

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you're totally fine, especially
at such a young age, and that

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there are no negative
repercussions from it, is just

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burying your head in the sand.
Right.

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I mean, and it doesn't even, I
mean to me, it's common sense.

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It's like for a female it's like
giving an infant a full

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hysterectomy.
Yeah, absolutely.

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And when I find.
Other people, then they're like,

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like, and I'm like and and you
say hormones do good things.

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We need hormones.
Yeah, yes.

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Oh my gosh, it is.
It's tough because I know, you

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know, I, I actually just very
recently posted something else

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on social media about this.
And I mean, people just came

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after me with like, well, you
know, my dog got pyometra and

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this is the worst thing that
could ever happen.

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And like, first of all, that's
not the worst thing that could

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ever happen to a dog.
It is bad.

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Like, obviously we don't want
that happening, but it's very my

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understanding I have not had a
dog with it.

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But I mean, just listening to
like somebody like a doctor Judy

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Morgan, she's like, if we catch
this early, this is very easily

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treatable.
Same.

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Yeah, yeah.
And a friend that it actually

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happened to, because she didn't,
they didn't want to spay her dog

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and she did end up with pyometra
and but they caught it early and

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everything.
She's totally fine.

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She's so healthy.
It's amazing.

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And a giant breed dog.
Yeah.

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So another reason why she wanted
to keep.

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They wanted to keep everything
intact and just let nature take

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its course.
So, you know, yeah, the amount

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of cases of and these, and I
really think it's just scare

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tactics and, you know, just just
following the same thing we've

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always been doing because that's
the easy way to go.

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And we all, as a village of our
own house, have to just keep

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making those connections and
having these conversations, even

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if we get shit about it.
Yeah, Oh for sure.

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And I I love that you not only
grew your freezer space in the

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store, but that you also grew it
to including Florida 4 stores.

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Is that correct?
So I mean you really when when

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you have, you know, you can't do
that if people aren't buying

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the.
Product.

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Oh my gosh, yeah.
And people aren't buying the

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product unless you're educating
them to buy that product because

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the marketing in the mainstream
is serious like it.

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I don't know about you, but I
before I got into this space, I

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was that pet parent that I went
to the vet for everything.

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I trusted my vet wholeheartedly.
I did everything my veterinarian

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told me to do for all of my
animals, which led me to I was

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buying multiple different kinds
of prescription food that was

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being sold at the veterinarian's
office.

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They were getting annual
vaccines.

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They were getting quarterly
dewormers.

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They were getting everything my
vet said to do.

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And they were the sickest
they've ever been in their lives

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during that very young period of
their lives when they should

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have been thriving the most.
They're way healthier today.

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So that marketing of one or the
indoctrination of blindly

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trusting authority number one.
And then the marketing on the

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products that are out there.
I'm just like one of the things

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I'm curious about is, is how you
kind of overcome the whole,

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everybody buys everything
online.

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And two, there's such a shiny
object syndrome with especially

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supplements, but still with
foods to kind of help people

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understand that like really your
caring.

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You are doing your job by
researching, by finding the best

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products that are out there and
that, like coming into your

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indie pet store, really is in
your best interest.

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So every indie pet store across
the nation, I mean, I would say

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nearly 100% of them carry
smaller brands are more educated

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on natural products.
They are a resource.

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We all shop online.
We're always going to shop

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online, but use them as a
resource, support their

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business.
They're your neighbor.

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They are spending tax dollars in
your community to keep your

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schools open and your kids in
sports and your kids in the

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musicals and the band and all of
those things.

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It's so important.
And yes, we need the Internet.

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Yes, we're going to shop online,
but we also need relationships.

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Again, COVID divided us.
I think we're really, I think

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00:14:21,040 --> 00:14:24,760
we've really made some ground
getting back to having

235
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relationships with people, but I
think we still have quite a ways

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00:14:30,480 --> 00:14:35,640
to go because they, I mean, the,
the amount of people I've I've

237
00:14:35,640 --> 00:14:39,520
counseled and developed
relationships with over 16 years

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are, I can't even begin to
count.

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And these are relationships like
these people, these, these pet

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store owners and the people that
work there, they love your

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animals and they get connected
to them no different than a pet

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00:14:53,160 --> 00:14:55,320
sitter does.
They're vested in their health.

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You know, you take your dog or
your cat into the store with you

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and they make a big fuss over
them.

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And you know, it's just a win,
win for everyone.

246
00:15:05,680 --> 00:15:10,280
I, I mean, sometimes I feel like
I'm old school, but I just, I

247
00:15:10,280 --> 00:15:13,440
just don't want to, I, I just
don't, I want to hold on to that

248
00:15:13,440 --> 00:15:16,680
human connection, even though I
mean, I hate some people.

249
00:15:16,720 --> 00:15:18,320
I mean, I don't hate, you know
what I mean?

250
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Like, yeah, you know, I mean,
it's hard.

251
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It's hard.
It's hard sometimes, but it's

252
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important to work through like
adverse situations too.

253
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Mm hmm.
Yeah.

254
00:15:31,880 --> 00:15:34,520
Oh my gosh.
I think that it is so funny.

255
00:15:34,520 --> 00:15:37,320
Like that's some who was I
talking to the other day?

256
00:15:37,320 --> 00:15:40,920
I don't even remember, but that
came up with, there's this

257
00:15:40,920 --> 00:15:45,040
whole, like, generation of
children who have been coddled

258
00:15:45,760 --> 00:15:49,400
that anytime adversity entered
their life, their parents

259
00:15:49,400 --> 00:15:53,960
handled it, shielded them from
it, protected them from it.

260
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And I mean, as a parent, I can
imagine that you do want to

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00:15:58,440 --> 00:16:02,040
protect your children to some
degree, but also that you, you

262
00:16:02,040 --> 00:16:07,120
know, they, they need adversity
to build character and to learn

263
00:16:07,120 --> 00:16:10,040
life lessons and to be able to
like actually go out into the

264
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world and be a productive member
of society.

265
00:16:12,640 --> 00:16:15,280
And that's a whole tangent I
just went.

266
00:16:16,240 --> 00:16:18,520
I'm Gen.
X, so you can't get me started

267
00:16:18,520 --> 00:16:22,520
on that.
I will go on and on and on.

268
00:16:22,800 --> 00:16:28,760
I am as successful as I am
because I had amazing parents

269
00:16:29,000 --> 00:16:32,040
that pushed me to be independent
and pushed me to think for

270
00:16:32,040 --> 00:16:34,840
myself.
And if I fell down, I got up by

271
00:16:34,840 --> 00:16:37,920
myself.
They made sure I was OK, but I

272
00:16:37,920 --> 00:16:41,040
got up by myself.
Yeah, yeah.

273
00:16:41,800 --> 00:16:45,600
I'm, I'm an elder millennial, so
not too far off.

274
00:16:45,880 --> 00:16:48,960
I'm like right there in that
cusp of like, I don't know if

275
00:16:48,960 --> 00:16:52,040
I'm Gen.
X or a millennial because it's

276
00:16:52,040 --> 00:16:55,960
right there at the beginning,
but I remember that so vividly

277
00:16:55,960 --> 00:17:01,000
that like it, I, I did grow.
You know, it's this, I did grow

278
00:17:01,000 --> 00:17:04,160
up where you went outside in the
morning and you came home when

279
00:17:04,160 --> 00:17:09,319
the street lights were on.
But also, you know, we got the

280
00:17:09,319 --> 00:17:12,760
Internet before I, I was, I
think I was in middle school

281
00:17:12,760 --> 00:17:14,400
when we got the Internet.
You know what I said?

282
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Like living through both of
those times was definitely,

283
00:17:19,079 --> 00:17:23,800
definitely interesting.
But yeah, like you, you learn to

284
00:17:23,800 --> 00:17:25,240
ride a bike, you're going to
fall down.

285
00:17:25,920 --> 00:17:29,360
And I don't know where I'm going
with any of this.

286
00:17:29,920 --> 00:17:32,160
I'm just like getting angry
about it and.

287
00:17:32,320 --> 00:17:34,240
I leave it to us to get on a
tangent.

288
00:17:34,240 --> 00:17:37,840
Yeah.
Yeah, so well.

289
00:17:38,200 --> 00:17:40,760
Yeah, talking to people,
communicating and building

290
00:17:40,760 --> 00:17:43,640
connections.
That is so important because I

291
00:17:43,640 --> 00:17:47,040
have another one of my really
good friends on another podcast

292
00:17:47,040 --> 00:17:49,040
that I do.
She's one of my Co hosts on that

293
00:17:49,040 --> 00:17:51,680
other podcast.
She owns an Indy pet store in

294
00:17:51,680 --> 00:17:56,080
Georgetown, TX.
And that's one of the biggest

295
00:17:56,080 --> 00:17:59,920
complaints that she has is that
a new customer will come in the

296
00:17:59,920 --> 00:18:03,440
door and come in with an
attitude, right?

297
00:18:03,440 --> 00:18:06,840
Because they probably just left
the vet's office and paid a crap

298
00:18:06,840 --> 00:18:09,560
ton of money.
And we're told that their pet

299
00:18:09,560 --> 00:18:12,480
needed to be on this food and
these three medications or

300
00:18:12,480 --> 00:18:16,120
whatever it is.
And then they walk in and the

301
00:18:16,120 --> 00:18:20,080
people in the pet store
genuinely care.

302
00:18:20,240 --> 00:18:22,440
They want to help.
They want to hear the story.

303
00:18:22,440 --> 00:18:29,160
They want to offer more healthy,
aligned suggestions, but that

304
00:18:29,160 --> 00:18:32,160
pet parent, one, just spent a
crap ton of money at the vet.

305
00:18:32,160 --> 00:18:35,840
And two, you have to overcome
everything that veterinarian

306
00:18:35,840 --> 00:18:40,080
just said.
And then three, it's like you're

307
00:18:40,080 --> 00:18:43,400
wanting me to spend more money
on these foods and supplements.

308
00:18:43,640 --> 00:18:47,040
That has to be so difficult.
How did you manage that for so

309
00:18:47,040 --> 00:18:50,360
long?
So I can totally relate and had

310
00:18:50,360 --> 00:18:54,240
those conversations thousands of
times and I really feel like

311
00:18:54,240 --> 00:18:56,640
that the best way I did it was I
just listened.

312
00:18:57,320 --> 00:19:00,280
Yeah.
I really just let them get it

313
00:19:00,280 --> 00:19:02,640
all out.
And then I said, OK, I'm not

314
00:19:02,640 --> 00:19:05,600
saying that your vet's wrong,
but what I'm telling you, I'm

315
00:19:05,600 --> 00:19:08,440
going to tell you the opposite
of what your vet just told you.

316
00:19:08,880 --> 00:19:11,000
If you want to hear it, I'm
going to tell you.

317
00:19:11,440 --> 00:19:15,880
And then you're going to be more
confused than you ever were.

318
00:19:16,840 --> 00:19:21,680
But ultimately it's your
decision what path you take.

319
00:19:22,400 --> 00:19:27,800
So whatever makes the most sense
to you health wise for your pet

320
00:19:27,880 --> 00:19:31,680
is the direction you need to go
health wise and budget wise, you

321
00:19:31,680 --> 00:19:33,840
know, because we have to take
budget into account.

322
00:19:33,840 --> 00:19:40,960
And 9, I would say 98% of the
time I would have success.

323
00:19:41,320 --> 00:19:44,800
And a lot of times it's just,
let's just start with one thing

324
00:19:44,800 --> 00:19:47,280
because I don't like to change
more than one thing at a time.

325
00:19:47,280 --> 00:19:50,640
I'm sure you're the same way.
So let's just start with one

326
00:19:50,640 --> 00:19:53,920
thing.
And a lot of time like this is

327
00:19:53,920 --> 00:19:56,120
1.
I would love when they would.

328
00:19:56,280 --> 00:19:59,320
They would come in and say, oh,
well, my dog was dying or my dog

329
00:19:59,320 --> 00:20:03,360
or cat was diagnosed with
IBDIBD, stands for irritable

330
00:20:03,360 --> 00:20:06,080
bowel disease.
OK, you know what my first

331
00:20:06,080 --> 00:20:08,440
question is?
So they did a biopsy of the

332
00:20:08,440 --> 00:20:12,960
colon. 50% of the time the
customer would say no.

333
00:20:12,960 --> 00:20:15,720
Well, then you can't call it a
disease.

334
00:20:16,200 --> 00:20:19,600
Yeah, it's a syndrome.
So we really don't know what's

335
00:20:19,600 --> 00:20:24,920
going on.
Right, yeah, it's that cluster

336
00:20:24,920 --> 00:20:29,000
of symptoms that are is so easy
to for a veterinarian to just be

337
00:20:29,000 --> 00:20:31,880
like, oh, they have IBD and I
actually have dealt with that in

338
00:20:31,880 --> 00:20:36,360
multiple cat, my own cats and I
can't tell you how many clients

339
00:20:36,440 --> 00:20:39,920
animals, especially cats and so.
Hard with that.

340
00:20:40,400 --> 00:20:44,040
It's almost, it's almost
guaranteed in my opinion that if

341
00:20:44,040 --> 00:20:48,840
it isn't, by the time the
veterinarian is quote, quote, UN

342
00:20:48,840 --> 00:20:53,760
quote diagnosing IBD, if it's
not already lymphoma, it's yeah,

343
00:20:53,760 --> 00:20:56,200
intestinal lymphoma.
It's it's especially with cats

344
00:20:56,200 --> 00:20:58,520
specifically like it's that's
where it's going.

345
00:20:58,920 --> 00:21:02,320
I can't tell you how many even
my own cats, because they were

346
00:21:02,320 --> 00:21:04,840
raised very conventionally for
the first half of their lives.

347
00:21:05,480 --> 00:21:09,080
I've I've lost to what a
veterinarian called IBD.

348
00:21:10,400 --> 00:21:14,160
So then did you have?
Did you end up knowing the

349
00:21:14,160 --> 00:21:20,120
reason they passed?
Yeah, yeah, My first one was the

350
00:21:20,120 --> 00:21:22,880
first time it happened.
The first cat that it happened

351
00:21:22,880 --> 00:21:26,040
with was before I was in this
space at all.

352
00:21:26,440 --> 00:21:30,360
I was in the pet space, but not
in the like what I call the

353
00:21:30,360 --> 00:21:33,560
healthy pet space.
I hadn't found functional

354
00:21:33,560 --> 00:21:36,200
medicine or holistic modalities
or anything like that.

355
00:21:36,560 --> 00:21:41,120
And so he was on all of the
everything that the vet wanted

356
00:21:41,120 --> 00:21:48,600
him on and it it they never
diagnosed it as lymphoma.

357
00:21:48,600 --> 00:21:52,440
But yeah, he wound up in the
hospital and went septic.

358
00:21:52,440 --> 00:21:58,760
And it was horrifying.
But it let me realize like what

359
00:21:59,600 --> 00:22:03,480
what was happening in the next
couple of cats that I had that

360
00:22:03,480 --> 00:22:07,120
went through it and helped me
make better informed decisions

361
00:22:07,440 --> 00:22:10,600
for them.
Because now even with my clients

362
00:22:10,600 --> 00:22:14,200
cats, and I say cats
specifically because I think

363
00:22:14,240 --> 00:22:17,440
that it's just we do in
veterinary medicine especially,

364
00:22:17,440 --> 00:22:20,080
we do so much less for cats in
these cases.

365
00:22:21,640 --> 00:22:23,440
And so there's a whole lot of
question around it.

366
00:22:23,440 --> 00:22:26,280
I just assume lymphoma from the
from the very beginning.

367
00:22:26,760 --> 00:22:29,920
That's interesting because a
conventional veterinarian is

368
00:22:29,920 --> 00:22:31,480
going to treat them the exact
same way.

369
00:22:32,400 --> 00:22:36,280
Even if they know it's lymphoma,
their treatment plan is exactly

370
00:22:36,280 --> 00:22:39,280
the same.
Yeah, so do you want to know

371
00:22:39,280 --> 00:22:42,160
something scary about my pets
all died of cancer.

372
00:22:43,680 --> 00:22:45,920
I'm so sorry.
Yep, Yep.

373
00:22:45,920 --> 00:22:49,240
Now the first, my first dog, I
don't know what she died.

374
00:22:49,240 --> 00:22:53,080
She lived till she was 18.
She died quite a few years ago,

375
00:22:53,080 --> 00:22:56,600
but it and and all of them were
rescues.

376
00:22:56,960 --> 00:22:59,640
Some of them like a couple of
them when I was with a

377
00:22:59,640 --> 00:23:02,120
boyfriend.
He had two labs that came.

378
00:23:02,200 --> 00:23:06,760
So part of their life, yes was
conventional but all of them

379
00:23:06,760 --> 00:23:09,920
switched to raw food.
None of you know I don't use any

380
00:23:09,920 --> 00:23:12,400
chemical flea and tick.
I don't do heart guard.

381
00:23:13,240 --> 00:23:18,280
I don't do any vaccines.
And they still are dying of

382
00:23:18,280 --> 00:23:22,360
cancer.
It's amazing, it really is.

383
00:23:22,440 --> 00:23:26,720
I mean, I, it's, it's mind
boggling to me.

384
00:23:26,720 --> 00:23:31,800
And I get when, when, when you
do what we do and then we're

385
00:23:31,800 --> 00:23:35,200
still seeing it happen.
There's really some shit going

386
00:23:35,200 --> 00:23:37,200
on that needs to change in this
world.

387
00:23:38,000 --> 00:23:41,520
There, Oh my gosh, there is and
I mean the first thing there are

388
00:23:41,520 --> 00:23:44,360
two things come to mind 1 is
that there is just so much that

389
00:23:44,360 --> 00:23:46,960
we can't control in our
environment.

390
00:23:47,040 --> 00:23:50,640
There are so many toxins.
It's, you know, glyphosate at

391
00:23:50,640 --> 00:23:53,480
this point is ubiquitous.
I mean, that we could get into

392
00:23:53,480 --> 00:23:55,480
so many things.
People would think I'm an

393
00:23:55,480 --> 00:23:57,960
absolute lunatic.
I'm not, I swear.

394
00:23:58,160 --> 00:24:00,960
But I certainly don't trust our
government.

395
00:24:00,960 --> 00:24:03,320
And so there are so many things
that we can't control.

396
00:24:03,320 --> 00:24:08,520
But one thing that I talked to
EC Henson about this was a

397
00:24:08,520 --> 00:24:11,600
little over a year ago and
because we were talking about

398
00:24:11,600 --> 00:24:15,360
the whole Purina thing, that was
a thing that the FDA never

399
00:24:15,360 --> 00:24:18,160
really followed up on.
But I believe in my heart was a

400
00:24:18,160 --> 00:24:20,240
real thing.
And we were talking about the

401
00:24:20,240 --> 00:24:25,360
fact that there are some things
that you as much as you do,

402
00:24:25,560 --> 00:24:28,920
you're just not going to be able
to overcome genetically because

403
00:24:28,920 --> 00:24:35,720
we are so many generations into
our dogs eating crap food,

404
00:24:36,400 --> 00:24:40,840
being, you know, injected with
who knows what constantly

405
00:24:40,840 --> 00:24:43,520
throughout their lives.
All of the chemicals, all of the

406
00:24:43,520 --> 00:24:46,280
pesticides, all of the
everything that has gotten worse

407
00:24:46,280 --> 00:24:48,200
and worse and worse from
generation to generation to

408
00:24:48,200 --> 00:24:55,200
generation that they're born not
being able to handle what a dog

409
00:24:55,200 --> 00:24:59,080
100 years ago could handle.
A. 100% true.

410
00:24:59,280 --> 00:25:02,920
And I just, I truly like and
that's not a very.

411
00:25:03,120 --> 00:25:05,480
Customers ask me why is this
happening?

412
00:25:05,800 --> 00:25:09,800
My childhood dog, exactly this
didn't happen.

413
00:25:09,800 --> 00:25:12,760
We didn't see any of this.
And I say exactly what you just

414
00:25:12,760 --> 00:25:17,000
said, Jess.
It is just a combination of all

415
00:25:17,000 --> 00:25:20,680
of the shit in our food system,
in our air, in our water,

416
00:25:21,000 --> 00:25:23,480
everything that is out of our
control.

417
00:25:23,680 --> 00:25:27,400
We just have to fight harder for
what we can control.

418
00:25:28,400 --> 00:25:31,840
Absolutely.
And that brings me back to at

419
00:25:31,840 --> 00:25:36,360
the beginning you were talking
about kind of I feed raw food.

420
00:25:36,360 --> 00:25:39,000
Everything's great now because
we did talk about this a little

421
00:25:39,000 --> 00:25:42,320
bit on, I think it was on your
episode or on your podcast.

422
00:25:42,440 --> 00:25:45,080
It was either that or after we
stopped recording, I don't

423
00:25:45,080 --> 00:25:50,160
remember which, but ten years
ago, 15 years ago, you could

424
00:25:50,160 --> 00:25:54,520
switch a dog or a cat to a
species appropriate diet,

425
00:25:55,400 --> 00:25:58,400
especially, you know, a raw food
diet, whether it's bar for prey

426
00:25:58,400 --> 00:26:01,640
model or even if you're doing an
8010 ten, which that's a whole

427
00:26:01,640 --> 00:26:04,960
other thing.
And very, very probably see all

428
00:26:04,960 --> 00:26:06,840
of their symptoms go away and
everything's wonderful and

429
00:26:06,840 --> 00:26:10,000
everything's great.
And that's just not the case

430
00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:13,720
anymore.
And that's, I think some people

431
00:26:13,800 --> 00:26:16,640
are running with that and
saying, see, raw food diets

432
00:26:16,640 --> 00:26:19,880
don't work.
But that is a much deeper issue

433
00:26:20,200 --> 00:26:21,200
I think.
What do you think?

434
00:26:21,440 --> 00:26:24,240
It's a much deeper issue.
And when I have customers come

435
00:26:24,240 --> 00:26:27,600
back to the store and say, well,
I switched to raw food, I'm

436
00:26:27,600 --> 00:26:29,120
doing goat's milk, I'm doing
that.

437
00:26:29,120 --> 00:26:30,680
I'm doing everything you told me
to.

438
00:26:31,120 --> 00:26:34,680
And my dog just broke out in
horrible hives and I'm still

439
00:26:34,680 --> 00:26:38,760
seeing this happen and I'm like,
it's hot.

440
00:26:38,760 --> 00:26:42,440
It was hard.
It's hard at first to think, to

441
00:26:42,440 --> 00:26:44,000
not think.
Are you really doing everything

442
00:26:44,000 --> 00:26:45,800
I told you to do?
Right.

443
00:26:45,800 --> 00:26:46,200
You know what?
I.

444
00:26:46,200 --> 00:26:49,600
Mean and then you know, what's
going on in the household is

445
00:26:49,600 --> 00:26:53,560
there, stress is there.
And that's an even harder topic

446
00:26:53,920 --> 00:26:57,880
to do to get into because then
we're like asking people to

447
00:26:57,880 --> 00:27:03,040
really open up.
But ultimately it's not changing

448
00:27:03,040 --> 00:27:06,880
things as quickly as it used to.
It's really not.

449
00:27:06,880 --> 00:27:12,880
And that terrifies me.
Yeah, it does Me too, because I

450
00:27:12,880 --> 00:27:19,880
have I don't, I didn't go out
and ask for all the leaky gut

451
00:27:19,960 --> 00:27:25,160
dogs to come find me, but the
universe has sent them to me.

452
00:27:25,720 --> 00:27:32,840
And not only that, but I would
say half of my current cases

453
00:27:32,840 --> 00:27:36,280
that I'm working with are not
just leaky gut, but SIBO.

454
00:27:36,280 --> 00:27:39,640
And I'm just like, this is
amazing.

455
00:27:39,840 --> 00:27:43,840
This is how do we get, like I
understand logically how we get

456
00:27:43,840 --> 00:27:47,400
here, but like we are letting
these symptoms go on for so

457
00:27:47,400 --> 00:27:48,640
long.
Our veterinarians are

458
00:27:48,640 --> 00:27:51,600
suppressing the immune system
without addressing the

459
00:27:51,600 --> 00:27:56,200
underlying issues, and it just
gets worse and worse and worse

460
00:27:57,280 --> 00:28:01,520
and it is so frustrating to me.
So 100% agree.

461
00:28:01,520 --> 00:28:06,400
And these food sensitivity tests
that come back page after page

462
00:28:06,400 --> 00:28:12,760
after page after page that how
can, how can these pets not have

463
00:28:12,760 --> 00:28:18,120
leaky gut and have all of these
issues and have all of these

464
00:28:18,120 --> 00:28:21,240
sensitivities?
So you have, you have to, you

465
00:28:21,240 --> 00:28:25,600
have to, I feel address both
issues at the same time, right?

466
00:28:26,360 --> 00:28:28,880
Absolutely.
Yes, yeah.

467
00:28:28,880 --> 00:28:32,080
And it is hard.
It's hard.

468
00:28:32,320 --> 00:28:35,240
It's hard that veterinarians
push back so much on sensitivity

469
00:28:35,240 --> 00:28:36,880
testing.
It's not perfect.

470
00:28:37,120 --> 00:28:41,800
It's not, and I'm not going to
tell anybody that it is, but it

471
00:28:41,800 --> 00:28:43,880
gives us a place to start for
sure.

472
00:28:44,080 --> 00:28:48,160
And we do have to address, we do
have to remove everything that

473
00:28:48,160 --> 00:28:50,880
we possibly can that's causing
inflammation in the body.

474
00:28:52,080 --> 00:28:54,960
I mean, we just have to.
And so how else do we do it?

475
00:28:54,960 --> 00:28:59,280
I mean, we can sit here for six
months or more and just

476
00:28:59,280 --> 00:29:01,640
individually test food after
food after food.

477
00:29:02,200 --> 00:29:05,160
A veterinarian certainly doesn't
have time to sit there and do

478
00:29:05,160 --> 00:29:08,440
that with a patient with how
many patients do they have

479
00:29:08,440 --> 00:29:10,920
coming through the door.
It's not going to happen, but

480
00:29:10,920 --> 00:29:13,280
that's what needs to be done, I
think.

481
00:29:13,320 --> 00:29:16,320
You have a preferred sensitivity
test that you like.

482
00:29:17,360 --> 00:29:19,160
You don't have to tell me now if
you don't want to.

483
00:29:19,160 --> 00:29:23,200
I have one that I I have.
So there is a company that is

484
00:29:23,200 --> 00:29:27,440
working on one that I think is
going to be amazing and I think

485
00:29:27,440 --> 00:29:30,480
is going to be a lot more
accurate because it's actually

486
00:29:30,480 --> 00:29:33,680
going to be using blood, which
is going to be another hurdle

487
00:29:33,680 --> 00:29:37,360
for pet parents to do at home.
But it is possible, you know, to

488
00:29:37,360 --> 00:29:40,440
prick their paw pad or whatever.
Like it's possible to do this.

489
00:29:42,560 --> 00:29:45,400
It'll be hard for people to do,
you know, like it would be hard

490
00:29:45,400 --> 00:29:47,880
for me to like sit here with my
dog and be like, Ah, I'm going

491
00:29:47,880 --> 00:29:48,880
to make you.
We have.

492
00:29:48,880 --> 00:29:51,240
To get the drops in that certain
little, yeah.

493
00:29:51,840 --> 00:29:53,840
Right, like I've done.
For myself.

494
00:29:54,680 --> 00:29:56,960
That's like super top secret.
I can't.

495
00:29:57,440 --> 00:30:01,600
OK, I'm really, really excited
for when that may come out on

496
00:30:01,600 --> 00:30:02,960
the market.
Maybe next year.

497
00:30:03,600 --> 00:30:06,560
In the interim, I mostly use
Glacier Peak.

498
00:30:06,560 --> 00:30:09,120
Again, it's not perfect, but
none of them are.

499
00:30:09,480 --> 00:30:12,640
And it also depends on what the
dog's symptoms are.

500
00:30:12,640 --> 00:30:17,440
I may not even do a sensitivity.
I may go straight for an HTMA

501
00:30:17,440 --> 00:30:20,000
test.
Those are a lot more scientific

502
00:30:20,000 --> 00:30:23,000
in my opinion, a lot more
scientific and accurate.

503
00:30:23,000 --> 00:30:26,440
And we are, we're not going to
sit here and get like, oh, you

504
00:30:26,440 --> 00:30:29,240
shouldn't be eating beef or pork
or whatever.

505
00:30:29,240 --> 00:30:33,120
But we can look at a lot of
other things in the body.

506
00:30:33,120 --> 00:30:36,920
We can look at heavy metals,
which actually resemble heavy

507
00:30:36,920 --> 00:30:40,400
metal toxicity actually
resembles leaky gut in a dog.

508
00:30:40,840 --> 00:30:43,880
So there's, I mean, there's a
lot, there's a lot.

509
00:30:45,720 --> 00:30:47,720
Thoughts on seasonal eating?
Seasonal.

510
00:30:47,720 --> 00:30:49,400
Love it.
Yeah, I love it.

511
00:30:49,680 --> 00:30:53,520
So an interesting thing just
happened with my puppy, Layla.

512
00:30:53,520 --> 00:30:59,960
She has been a beef dog.
She's been picky since day one.

513
00:30:59,960 --> 00:31:02,400
She's a Great Dane, but she's
been a beef dog.

514
00:31:03,240 --> 00:31:06,760
And about a month ago, she
started turning her nose up to

515
00:31:06,760 --> 00:31:10,120
beef.
And I, I still rotate.

516
00:31:10,120 --> 00:31:12,000
I will not take with one
protein.

517
00:31:12,000 --> 00:31:14,240
I refuse.
I literally have a conversation

518
00:31:14,240 --> 00:31:17,360
with her and say, Layla, this is
not going to be, I don't care

519
00:31:17,360 --> 00:31:19,800
how much you like it, We're
getting another one in here.

520
00:31:20,360 --> 00:31:26,480
So she is losing her mind over
pork, which she's had before,

521
00:31:26,480 --> 00:31:28,440
but now she's losing her mind
over it.

522
00:31:28,800 --> 00:31:32,080
So I'm talking to myself.
I wonder if this is her just

523
00:31:32,800 --> 00:31:36,680
switching herself seasonally.
Yeah, she needs to cool down a

524
00:31:36,680 --> 00:31:39,400
bit.
Yeah, absolutely.

525
00:31:39,400 --> 00:31:42,680
I I love that.
And I love the idea of letting

526
00:31:42,680 --> 00:31:45,800
our animals choose if we can, if
we have that.

527
00:31:45,800 --> 00:31:49,440
No, they're not so sick that we
have to restrict them a lot.

528
00:31:49,440 --> 00:31:51,120
I love the idea of letting them
choose.

529
00:31:51,120 --> 00:31:55,320
My dog tends to eat more cooling
proteins and.

530
00:31:55,320 --> 00:31:58,160
But even in this like just
normally all year long.

531
00:31:58,480 --> 00:32:04,040
But I do go for more like rabbit
more often in the summer for her

532
00:32:04,040 --> 00:32:08,160
and then I will also I know it's
it's terrible.

533
00:32:08,160 --> 00:32:12,280
Let her eat her food a little
bit cooler in the summer too.

534
00:32:12,400 --> 00:32:15,000
Like I don't let it.
Get to room temperature.

535
00:32:15,520 --> 00:32:18,400
Yeah, like I, I, I won't
necessarily even let it get to

536
00:32:18,400 --> 00:32:20,480
room temperature.
Sometimes in the summer, I'll

537
00:32:20,480 --> 00:32:22,400
just like, you know what?
It's so hot.

538
00:32:22,560 --> 00:32:24,280
Like I'm sweating.
You're panting.

539
00:32:24,280 --> 00:32:26,960
Here's some cool, you know, cool
food.

540
00:32:27,920 --> 00:32:31,080
Yeah.
Not frozen, but like also not

541
00:32:31,080 --> 00:32:33,080
room temperature.
Yeah, I, I love that.

542
00:32:33,120 --> 00:32:35,760
And I also love the ideas if
you're doing it, if you're

543
00:32:35,760 --> 00:32:38,040
making your own food, which I do
not do.

544
00:32:39,120 --> 00:32:42,760
But if you're making your own
food to like, you know, feed

545
00:32:42,760 --> 00:32:46,040
what is growing seasonally in
your area from the farmers

546
00:32:46,040 --> 00:32:50,840
market or wherever our grocery
stores kind of, you know, I, I

547
00:32:50,840 --> 00:32:53,080
would, I would be willing to bet
there are people out there that

548
00:32:53,080 --> 00:32:55,880
have no idea that foods grow
seasonally because of the way

549
00:32:55,880 --> 00:32:58,920
grocery stores.
I guarantee it.

550
00:32:58,920 --> 00:33:01,480
And people are starting to talk
about it in the human space.

551
00:33:01,480 --> 00:33:04,320
But I, I don't know if you've
ever had an episode just on

552
00:33:04,320 --> 00:33:07,280
seasonal eating, but I, I feel
like I need to have an episode

553
00:33:07,280 --> 00:33:11,200
just on seasonal eating.
I haven't, but that's a good

554
00:33:11,200 --> 00:33:12,840
one.
Yeah, that's a really good one.

555
00:33:12,840 --> 00:33:17,840
Yeah, that's a really good one.
And when you said Rabbit, you

556
00:33:17,840 --> 00:33:21,440
just made me remember I offered
Layla Rabbit a couple months

557
00:33:21,440 --> 00:33:24,480
ago.
So I think I need to try to

558
00:33:24,840 --> 00:33:27,120
offer it again to her and see if
she eats it.

559
00:33:27,200 --> 00:33:29,440
That would be a fascinating
little.

560
00:33:29,880 --> 00:33:31,880
It would because it's cooler
than pork.

561
00:33:33,080 --> 00:33:37,000
That would be very interesting
to see.

562
00:33:37,000 --> 00:33:38,320
Yeah.
And my cats.

563
00:33:38,480 --> 00:33:44,720
So I mean, I think it is more
common for dogs to be on the

564
00:33:44,720 --> 00:33:47,880
warmer side, generally speaking.
Of course there are dogs that

565
00:33:47,880 --> 00:33:50,840
live cooler, but I think it's
the opposite for cats.

566
00:33:51,200 --> 00:33:53,400
And so it's it.
But it's interesting to me that

567
00:33:53,800 --> 00:33:57,560
most of my cats are are very
into rabbit as well.

568
00:33:58,160 --> 00:34:01,320
They're like, Yep, that's but
that's a that's a natural.

569
00:34:01,440 --> 00:34:06,160
It's yes like very species
appropriate food for them to be

570
00:34:06,160 --> 00:34:10,440
eating anyway, regardless of
like taking into account Chinese

571
00:34:10,440 --> 00:34:13,480
medicine.
Yes, yes, and they would not be

572
00:34:13,480 --> 00:34:20,360
in in lakes fishing for fish.
No, no, no, it's, it's it is to

573
00:34:20,360 --> 00:34:23,800
me so interesting how addicted
to fish cats get.

574
00:34:23,800 --> 00:34:27,880
And it's not really a natural
natural food source for them.

575
00:34:27,880 --> 00:34:30,920
No.
Maybe some of the bigger cats in

576
00:34:30,920 --> 00:34:36,360
some areas, you know, will fish,
but I can't imagine what we

577
00:34:36,360 --> 00:34:39,239
think of as a traditional house
cat to be out there fishing.

578
00:34:39,560 --> 00:34:44,400
OK, so back to the pet store.
Everything you're doing, your

579
00:34:44,400 --> 00:34:48,400
podcast, I mean, I feel like
you're doing something similar

580
00:34:48,679 --> 00:34:52,040
to what I do here on the pet
parenting reset and educating

581
00:34:52,040 --> 00:34:55,120
pet parents.
Do you?

582
00:34:55,120 --> 00:34:57,440
Did it start out?
I'm curious because you were so

583
00:34:57,440 --> 00:35:02,120
like Philadelphia focused.
Did it start out that way, like

584
00:35:02,240 --> 00:35:06,960
the podcast too?
No, So the podcast started

585
00:35:07,120 --> 00:35:11,720
because I knew this message had
to reach further than

586
00:35:11,720 --> 00:35:15,040
Pittsburgh.
So that's.

587
00:35:15,600 --> 00:35:16,920
I'm sorry.
That's OK.

588
00:35:16,920 --> 00:35:19,200
It happens all the time.
And we hate each other.

589
00:35:19,880 --> 00:35:22,760
Yeah, it and yeah.
And it's Pennsylvania, so how

590
00:35:22,760 --> 00:35:24,200
could we not?
Yeah, we are.

591
00:35:24,800 --> 00:35:29,840
We actually like hate each other
so, but that's why the podcast

592
00:35:29,840 --> 00:35:34,720
started because I felt like this
message had to get further than

593
00:35:34,720 --> 00:35:36,680
just Pittsburgh and Port
Charlotte, FL.

594
00:35:37,640 --> 00:35:41,840
And I am an entrepreneur and I
always like to be creating and

595
00:35:41,840 --> 00:35:46,880
doing different things.
So after having the business for

596
00:35:46,880 --> 00:35:50,120
so long, I was like, I got to do
something different here.

597
00:35:51,520 --> 00:35:56,120
I started the podcast in 2022.
The grand plan was to get the

598
00:35:56,120 --> 00:36:00,920
podcast off the ground and, you
know, let Healthy Pet Products,

599
00:36:01,040 --> 00:36:05,520
my executive management team,
take it over and, you know, take

600
00:36:05,520 --> 00:36:07,280
the wheel.
And I could just do the podcast,

601
00:36:07,280 --> 00:36:10,040
but it just didn't work that
way.

602
00:36:10,080 --> 00:36:14,320
Podcasts take a lot of work.
So yeah, they take a lot of

603
00:36:14,320 --> 00:36:16,280
work.
So that's that's how it

604
00:36:16,280 --> 00:36:18,200
happened.
And then just like with pet

605
00:36:18,200 --> 00:36:23,240
sitting, I kind of burned myself
out of retail so I decided to

606
00:36:23,240 --> 00:36:28,120
sell and fortunately there's
another store, there's another

607
00:36:28,120 --> 00:36:30,880
company in Pittsburgh called
Pedagogy.

608
00:36:31,480 --> 00:36:36,800
They have two locations and but
have freezers and the same

609
00:36:36,800 --> 00:36:39,560
brands and everything.
And they're like 15 years

610
00:36:39,560 --> 00:36:42,520
younger than me.
So I went to them.

611
00:36:42,640 --> 00:36:46,200
There's 5 owners.
I was a single owner and said,

612
00:36:46,200 --> 00:36:49,360
hey guys, I'm thinking it's time
for me to move on.

613
00:36:49,720 --> 00:36:51,200
Do you have any interest in
buying?

614
00:36:52,360 --> 00:36:55,680
And they did and they were, they
were honored that I went to

615
00:36:55,680 --> 00:36:59,400
them.
So we had a fantastic experience

616
00:36:59,400 --> 00:37:03,320
with selling the business and,
you know, taking, you know,

617
00:37:03,320 --> 00:37:06,040
taking things over and working
together through it.

618
00:37:06,040 --> 00:37:10,080
We just really meshed well.
And it wasn't, no egos were

619
00:37:10,080 --> 00:37:12,440
involved.
It was a really unbelievable

620
00:37:12,440 --> 00:37:13,720
experience.
Thank God.

621
00:37:13,720 --> 00:37:17,880
Because like this, you know,
yeah, it's a, it's a mission

622
00:37:17,880 --> 00:37:23,080
driven business and my heart and
soul for 16 years and that I

623
00:37:23,080 --> 00:37:26,680
worked very hard building.
But it's in good hands.

624
00:37:26,680 --> 00:37:29,560
And now I have more time for the
podcast and a lot of other

625
00:37:29,560 --> 00:37:32,240
things.
And being on the Indie Pet board

626
00:37:32,760 --> 00:37:37,280
is very fulfilling because I am
a huge believer and supporter in

627
00:37:37,280 --> 00:37:40,640
those independent pet stores.
So when I go on vacation, the

628
00:37:40,640 --> 00:37:43,120
first thing I do is figure out
what what stores I'm going to go

629
00:37:43,120 --> 00:37:45,200
visit.
That's awesome.

630
00:37:45,440 --> 00:37:47,600
What?
Talk to me about Indie Pet a

631
00:37:47,600 --> 00:37:51,200
little bit so.
Indy Pet was, is it a nonprofit

632
00:37:51,200 --> 00:37:58,360
association organized by other
Indy pet stores to create this

633
00:37:59,640 --> 00:38:05,160
association to make us stronger
in numbers, to make our voice

634
00:38:05,160 --> 00:38:10,440
heard to manufacturers.
And also we are working on

635
00:38:10,440 --> 00:38:14,880
providing tools for them.
So like Open Catalog, which is a

636
00:38:14,880 --> 00:38:18,560
one stop shop for them to
download SKUs and pictures of

637
00:38:18,840 --> 00:38:21,440
products and keep up to date on
pricing.

638
00:38:21,440 --> 00:38:26,320
And because a lot of times as an
indie pet, a manufacturer will

639
00:38:26,320 --> 00:38:30,440
raise prices and we don't even
know it and we're losing money

640
00:38:30,440 --> 00:38:34,960
because we didn't raise prices.
So there's a big disconnect

641
00:38:34,960 --> 00:38:38,920
between manufacturers and the
amount of indie pet pet stores

642
00:38:38,920 --> 00:38:43,120
in the country.
So, so we're and we do a lot of

643
00:38:43,120 --> 00:38:48,280
things at Global Pet Expo and
Super Zoo to help educate and

644
00:38:48,440 --> 00:38:51,640
create those relationships with
manufacturers.

645
00:38:51,640 --> 00:38:55,760
And I could go on and on and on.
So, but Indy and, and we're not

646
00:38:55,760 --> 00:38:59,640
competitors, you know, just like
the other pet food store in

647
00:38:59,680 --> 00:39:02,360
Pittsburgh, like we weren't
competitors because we're in

648
00:39:02,360 --> 00:39:05,560
different parts of the city.
So we really were colleagues.

649
00:39:05,840 --> 00:39:10,400
So we just share information and
really strengthen, strengthen

650
00:39:10,480 --> 00:39:13,520
network because if we don't have
them, I don't know what's going

651
00:39:13,520 --> 00:39:17,280
to happen.
Yeah, I mean, and that again is

652
00:39:17,280 --> 00:39:19,800
such an interesting, I believe
that too.

653
00:39:19,840 --> 00:39:26,080
I, I can also see where it may
be hard for someone who owns a

654
00:39:26,080 --> 00:39:31,440
business to have someone else in
close proximity with a similar

655
00:39:31,440 --> 00:39:35,920
or exact same almost business.
How that could be hard, but also

656
00:39:35,920 --> 00:39:41,680
like especially in in a niche
like this where again, it's not

657
00:39:41,680 --> 00:39:46,160
just pet products, but you're
really focused on the healthier

658
00:39:46,160 --> 00:39:50,600
pet products.
The more people see it, the more

659
00:39:52,360 --> 00:39:55,960
the more they're more likely
they are to be like, I guess I

660
00:39:55,960 --> 00:40:00,760
really should check this out
regardless of what store they go

661
00:40:00,760 --> 00:40:02,640
into.
And it that actually reminds me,

662
00:40:02,640 --> 00:40:07,920
earlier I was thinking it online
when you're marketing something

663
00:40:07,920 --> 00:40:11,920
online.
There are so many touch points

664
00:40:11,920 --> 00:40:16,600
like in the statistics vary
depending on the study.

665
00:40:16,600 --> 00:40:19,240
You know who, who's whoever
study your, your reading.

666
00:40:19,240 --> 00:40:23,160
But like how many times you have
to like hit somebody's feed

667
00:40:23,680 --> 00:40:28,800
before they engage, before they
start saying yes to whatever it

668
00:40:28,800 --> 00:40:33,000
is you have to offer.
And I, I would imagine in a

669
00:40:33,320 --> 00:40:38,120
brick and mortar location, those
like, I wonder how many times

670
00:40:38,120 --> 00:40:40,600
they have to hear about you
before they walk in the door.

671
00:40:41,080 --> 00:40:43,480
Because generally speaking,
once, once they walk in the

672
00:40:43,480 --> 00:40:48,120
door, I think those touch points
dramatically like dramatically

673
00:40:48,120 --> 00:40:51,200
reduce before they actually
purchase from you.

674
00:40:51,400 --> 00:40:54,960
This is probably way more than
like the average listener who's

675
00:40:54,960 --> 00:40:56,920
caring to listen to me talk
about this right now.

676
00:40:57,000 --> 00:40:59,840
But it is a very interesting
thing because I know a lot of

677
00:40:59,840 --> 00:41:03,960
people that listen are trying to
build their businesses as well

678
00:41:03,960 --> 00:41:07,400
in in the pet space, whether
they are pet sitters or, or or

679
00:41:07,640 --> 00:41:09,400
health coaches or whatever
they're doing.

680
00:41:09,440 --> 00:41:12,760
But knowing that, you know you
do have to have so many touch

681
00:41:12,760 --> 00:41:15,280
points before somebody starts
saying yes to you.

682
00:41:16,160 --> 00:41:20,880
Absolutely.
And but but those stores, they

683
00:41:20,880 --> 00:41:23,880
have a reputation.
They have like I grew the

684
00:41:23,880 --> 00:41:28,440
reputation and most of them do
across the country that, you

685
00:41:28,440 --> 00:41:31,120
know, you've got issues.
Go talk to someone.

686
00:41:31,160 --> 00:41:32,080
Go talk.
To toe.

687
00:41:32,200 --> 00:41:35,360
Unhealthy pet products, she
will, she can help you.

688
00:41:35,360 --> 00:41:38,160
She can help you and our
businesses are grown through

689
00:41:38,160 --> 00:41:46,360
word of mouth for that reason.
So you know, again, another

690
00:41:46,360 --> 00:41:50,760
reason to just and Chewie's not
going to give you advice.

691
00:41:52,280 --> 00:41:59,160
Amazon is not going to give you
advice and buyer beware, buyer

692
00:41:59,240 --> 00:42:00,840
beware.
If you're jumping on the

693
00:42:00,840 --> 00:42:03,040
Internet.
I was helping.

694
00:42:03,040 --> 00:42:07,320
I mean, I just have a follower
on Instagram and I was they

695
00:42:07,320 --> 00:42:11,520
posted this horrible picture and
skin issues going on and and I

696
00:42:11,720 --> 00:42:15,200
started AI said DM me.
I can help you And well, I'm

697
00:42:15,200 --> 00:42:18,160
yes, I'm doing a bottom line is
yes, I'm doing.

698
00:42:18,480 --> 00:42:21,200
I think it was a probiotic and I
said, well, send me which one

699
00:42:21,200 --> 00:42:22,520
you're doing and I'll check it
out.

700
00:42:22,760 --> 00:42:27,120
It was fucking made by Amazon.
I was like, no.

701
00:42:28,240 --> 00:42:31,000
I had no idea they, I mean, I'm
sure they're white labeling it,

702
00:42:31,000 --> 00:42:33,160
but still.
Yes.

703
00:42:33,280 --> 00:42:39,040
I was like, no, don't you?
So anyhow, yeah, yeah, you have

704
00:42:39,040 --> 00:42:41,560
to.
Another reason an indie pet is

705
00:42:41,560 --> 00:42:43,560
going to help you.
They are really vetting the

706
00:42:43,560 --> 00:42:46,720
products.
They are making sure it's not

707
00:42:46,720 --> 00:42:49,200
made in China.
They are making sure that their

708
00:42:49,200 --> 00:42:52,560
supplements are NASC certified,
National Animal Supplement

709
00:42:52,560 --> 00:42:56,040
Council certified, so third
party verified.

710
00:42:56,840 --> 00:43:00,720
I mean, there's so many, there's
so many things to it that it

711
00:43:00,720 --> 00:43:03,800
puts a customer, I feel, at a
comfort level walking into an

712
00:43:03,800 --> 00:43:06,440
indie pet that you really, for
the most part, don't have to.

713
00:43:06,440 --> 00:43:08,280
Look at a label.
Yeah, I mean.

714
00:43:08,720 --> 00:43:10,560
Unless there's allergies or
whatever.

715
00:43:10,760 --> 00:43:12,840
I still want people to look at
labels, but yeah, I mean, I

716
00:43:12,880 --> 00:43:15,240
like, I think that's how people
educate themselves.

717
00:43:15,240 --> 00:43:16,840
But yes, I completely agree with
you.

718
00:43:16,880 --> 00:43:22,160
I think walking into a big box
pet store versus walking into an

719
00:43:22,160 --> 00:43:26,240
indie pet store, I am absolutely
much more likely to be like,

720
00:43:26,760 --> 00:43:28,800
walk into an indie pet store.
You know, tell somebody, walk

721
00:43:28,800 --> 00:43:33,200
into an indie pet store and
you're like shop to your heart's

722
00:43:33,200 --> 00:43:35,240
content.
But if I send somebody to, I

723
00:43:35,240 --> 00:43:38,080
would never send somebody to a
big box, But I just personally

724
00:43:38,080 --> 00:43:41,680
would be like, I don't trust
anything that's in there.

725
00:43:41,920 --> 00:43:45,800
No, no.
Even even if they had one or two

726
00:43:45,800 --> 00:43:49,240
products that I'd be like,
that's actually a good one.

727
00:43:49,520 --> 00:43:52,320
Like I feel like if I sent
somebody there for it, they

728
00:43:52,320 --> 00:43:54,600
would get distracted by all
these other things and start

729
00:43:54,600 --> 00:43:56,840
buying things that like, no,
that's not going to help your

730
00:43:56,840 --> 00:44:01,680
pet at all.
And yes, I want people to read

731
00:44:01,680 --> 00:44:05,240
labels too, and to do some
research and, you know,

732
00:44:05,240 --> 00:44:11,360
understand the philosophy here.
But there are so many people

733
00:44:11,760 --> 00:44:15,480
that don't do that.
And I, I will say to them, do

734
00:44:15,480 --> 00:44:18,320
you want me to tell you
everything about every one of

735
00:44:18,320 --> 00:44:19,960
these brands?
I will.

736
00:44:19,960 --> 00:44:23,000
How long do you have?
I am happy to provide you with

737
00:44:23,000 --> 00:44:26,040
all of the information.
And then you can walk out and

738
00:44:26,040 --> 00:44:27,800
think about it and come back
tomorrow.

739
00:44:27,800 --> 00:44:30,560
And sometimes people want to
know it all.

740
00:44:30,560 --> 00:44:32,240
And sometimes, sometimes I
would.

741
00:44:32,240 --> 00:44:34,320
I would hear.
Just tell me what to get.

742
00:44:35,080 --> 00:44:36,960
Just tell me what to do and I'll
do it.

743
00:44:37,720 --> 00:44:38,880
Yeah.
So.

744
00:44:40,520 --> 00:44:44,640
I mean, I appreciate that too,
because certainly, you know, a

745
00:44:44,640 --> 00:44:46,920
lot of us just only have so much
bandwidth.

746
00:44:47,760 --> 00:44:49,360
Well, we all only have so much
bandwidth.

747
00:44:49,360 --> 00:44:52,520
But you know, it's, it's a
matter of like where you can

748
00:44:52,520 --> 00:44:56,760
focus your time and energy.
And if you really do walk it,

749
00:44:56,760 --> 00:45:00,200
you know, walk into any pet
store and just like jive with

750
00:45:00,200 --> 00:45:02,240
somebody and decide you're going
to trust them.

751
00:45:02,520 --> 00:45:04,400
That's amazing.
That's amazing.

752
00:45:04,400 --> 00:45:07,760
I would much rather you do that
than to like, I don't know,

753
00:45:07,840 --> 00:45:10,760
you're not going to walk into
Home Depot and like have

754
00:45:10,760 --> 00:45:15,400
somebody tell you to.
No, you need to RIP, RIP out the

755
00:45:15,400 --> 00:45:18,040
insulation in your walls and
replace it with this one.

756
00:45:18,040 --> 00:45:21,520
That's not going to happen.
A different department all the

757
00:45:21,520 --> 00:45:22,720
time.
Did you know that?

758
00:45:23,160 --> 00:45:25,840
Yes, that's why I never know
anything.

759
00:45:26,200 --> 00:45:29,000
They never know anything.
Isn't that like, I think that's

760
00:45:29,000 --> 00:45:30,840
a foolish business business
decision?

761
00:45:30,840 --> 00:45:33,720
It is so foolish.
Yeah.

762
00:45:34,120 --> 00:45:36,440
Because they're like, for like
receptionists.

763
00:45:36,800 --> 00:45:40,000
I talk to people all the time.
And it, it, it drives me

764
00:45:40,000 --> 00:45:42,920
absolutely insane that generally
speaking in any company, a

765
00:45:42,920 --> 00:45:45,400
receptionist is like the lowest
paid person.

766
00:45:45,600 --> 00:45:48,000
And yet they are the face of
your company.

767
00:45:48,240 --> 00:45:51,280
Like, they should know
everything everybody knows to be

768
00:45:51,280 --> 00:45:52,760
able to answer anybody's
question.

769
00:45:52,760 --> 00:45:54,440
And they should be very highly
paid.

770
00:45:54,880 --> 00:45:57,680
And we just don't like, respect
that at all.

771
00:45:57,680 --> 00:45:58,800
And we should.
Yeah.

772
00:45:58,840 --> 00:46:03,200
I'm on so many tangents today.
It's a tangent day and I'm I'm

773
00:46:03,200 --> 00:46:07,760
half watching my puppy make sure
that she continues to chew on my

774
00:46:07,760 --> 00:46:12,720
Birkenstock and that she already
got like a month ago, of course,

775
00:46:12,720 --> 00:46:16,760
right after I resold it.
Yeah, yeah.

776
00:46:17,200 --> 00:46:20,440
Oh well, I mean how puppy
problems.

777
00:46:20,440 --> 00:46:23,120
She she's already, she's 15
months.

778
00:46:24,160 --> 00:46:26,760
She's.
Still, she's still every once in

779
00:46:26,760 --> 00:46:29,600
a while we'll get into something
so.

780
00:46:30,400 --> 00:46:33,320
Yeah.
So bottom line, I think first of

781
00:46:33,320 --> 00:46:38,360
all, your podcast Tony Unleashed
you are you still have a store

782
00:46:38,360 --> 00:46:41,000
in Florida, but I know from
talking to you, you're like

783
00:46:41,000 --> 00:46:45,120
really, really heavily focused
on doing a lot more with the

784
00:46:45,120 --> 00:46:47,760
Tony Unleashed podcast moving
forward.

785
00:46:47,760 --> 00:46:50,520
And I know you know your passion
with Indy pet.

786
00:46:51,360 --> 00:46:55,560
I obviously I don't own a store.
I will never there's I shouldn't

787
00:46:55,560 --> 00:46:59,240
say never.
I highly doubt I would over own

788
00:46:59,240 --> 00:47:01,240
a store.
I just don't like to be tied to

789
00:47:01,240 --> 00:47:04,800
a brick and mortar of any sort.
Like I want to travel.

790
00:47:04,800 --> 00:47:07,280
I want to do all the things like
I don't want to be tied to to

791
00:47:07,280 --> 00:47:12,200
brick and mortar, but I just
have so much like respect and

792
00:47:12,200 --> 00:47:16,920
appreciation for people that are
in Indy Pet that like I'm just

793
00:47:16,920 --> 00:47:19,720
like, accept me, please, because
I love you guys so much.

794
00:47:20,480 --> 00:47:22,640
Thank you.
I appreciate that.

795
00:47:22,640 --> 00:47:26,520
We appreciate that.
I just think it makes such a big

796
00:47:26,520 --> 00:47:31,240
difference in in a pet parent's
life to have an indie pet store

797
00:47:31,240 --> 00:47:34,760
that they can walk in and trust
that who they're talking to is

798
00:47:35,400 --> 00:47:38,320
going to be leading them in the
right direction again.

799
00:47:38,320 --> 00:47:40,560
I want them to do their own
research and I want them to try

800
00:47:40,560 --> 00:47:42,600
things.
Because nobody is going to know

801
00:47:42,600 --> 00:47:44,720
your dog or your cat like you
do.

802
00:47:45,880 --> 00:47:48,760
But like, y'all are on the front
lines, yeah.

803
00:47:49,800 --> 00:47:53,520
We are on the front lines
working hard and trying to

804
00:47:53,520 --> 00:47:56,840
educate because education is
going to is going to be

805
00:47:56,840 --> 00:48:00,640
ultimately what tips that needle
and we need the needle to tip.

806
00:48:01,520 --> 00:48:03,880
We do so badly.
Yeah.

807
00:48:04,480 --> 00:48:06,280
So, Tony, thank you for what
you're doing.

808
00:48:06,280 --> 00:48:09,120
I know I do block an hour and a
half because sometimes we go

809
00:48:09,120 --> 00:48:10,800
over, but I try to keep it at an
hour.

810
00:48:12,520 --> 00:48:14,960
I appreciate you.
I appreciate you for being here.

811
00:48:15,160 --> 00:48:19,760
I want everybody to go follow
Tony Unleashed wherever you get

812
00:48:19,760 --> 00:48:21,200
your podcast.
But where?

813
00:48:22,480 --> 00:48:26,280
Where you at there?
Tony unleashed So my website

814
00:48:26,280 --> 00:48:31,800
istonyunleashed.com Instagram is
Tony dot unleashed, Facebook is

815
00:48:31,800 --> 00:48:35,400
Tony unleashed.
So pretty easy Tony Unleashed

816
00:48:36,440 --> 00:48:42,040
And if I can share real quick, I
just became a board member for a

817
00:48:42,040 --> 00:48:46,520
charity that currently is local,
but I think will it will soon be

818
00:48:46,520 --> 00:48:49,040
nationwide.
It's called the Izzy Fund and we

819
00:48:49,040 --> 00:48:52,840
provide grants to pets currently
just dogs.

820
00:48:52,840 --> 00:48:56,040
We haven't branched in the cats
yet that need medical care.

821
00:48:56,880 --> 00:49:01,160
So it really can because a lot
of people might not realize

822
00:49:01,160 --> 00:49:05,440
this, but a lot of dogs and cats
are surrendered in shelters

823
00:49:05,440 --> 00:49:09,040
because the pet parents can't
afford the health care.

824
00:49:09,720 --> 00:49:13,600
So it's a very great
organization and also very

825
00:49:13,600 --> 00:49:16,680
passionate about nonprofits.
So I kind of do an educational

826
00:49:16,680 --> 00:49:19,240
series, like an educational
episode, and then I'll do a

827
00:49:19,240 --> 00:49:23,280
nonprofit and then I kind of, I
kind of bounce through through

828
00:49:23,280 --> 00:49:26,400
all of them.
So thanks for having me, Jeff.

829
00:49:26,920 --> 00:49:30,840
Of course, thank you so much for
being here and all right guys, I

830
00:49:30,840 --> 00:49:34,080
will talk to you next week
again, make sure to check out

831
00:49:34,080 --> 00:49:39,080
Tony Unleashed Everywhere You
Are, whatever social media

832
00:49:39,080 --> 00:49:42,520
platform you are on and on your
podcast app.

833
00:49:42,520 --> 00:49:45,400
Tony, I hope to see you later
this year at Super Zoo.

834
00:49:46,080 --> 00:49:49,480
And until then, you know, just
keep recording.

835
00:49:49,640 --> 00:49:52,040
Thanks.
I will you too.

836
00:49:52,480 --> 00:49:54,160
Bye guys.
Bye.