206. How Mission Meow Empowers Cat Rescues

1
00:00:00,560 --> 00:00:03,360
Welcome back pet parent, I have
something a little bit different

2
00:00:03,360 --> 00:00:08,800
for you today, but something
that is kind of passionate for

3
00:00:08,800 --> 00:00:13,120
me because y'all know I am a
long time cat lady.

4
00:00:13,120 --> 00:00:17,480
I have had at least one cat in
my life since the day I turned

5
00:00:17,480 --> 00:00:21,840
18, the day I moved out.
And I still have cats today,

6
00:00:21,840 --> 00:00:25,360
even though most of you know me
for dogs.

7
00:00:25,360 --> 00:00:27,880
And that's OK.
I am a canine nutritionist.

8
00:00:27,880 --> 00:00:30,520
I'm a holistic pet health coach,
but I work with both dogs and

9
00:00:30,520 --> 00:00:32,439
cats because I love them both
equally.

10
00:00:32,439 --> 00:00:37,320
And today's guest is Sally
Williams, and she's here to talk

11
00:00:37,320 --> 00:00:42,640
to us today about a really cool
nonprofit called Mission Meow.

12
00:00:42,640 --> 00:00:46,720
And I just please stick in for
this because I think this is

13
00:00:46,720 --> 00:00:50,280
going to be this is yes.
I'm probably going to ask you to

14
00:00:50,280 --> 00:00:52,640
check it out and donate at the
end.

15
00:00:52,880 --> 00:00:56,080
But I promise you, this is not
gonna be like a sales pitch.

16
00:00:56,320 --> 00:00:59,520
We're not gonna be like playing
the Sarah McLachlan song for

17
00:00:59,520 --> 00:01:01,840
you.
That's not how I roll.

18
00:01:02,040 --> 00:01:05,239
But I am very curious.
First of all, thank you so much

19
00:01:05,239 --> 00:01:07,120
for being here with me today,
Sally.

20
00:01:07,120 --> 00:01:10,440
It has been such a pleasure to
just kind of know that you're

21
00:01:10,440 --> 00:01:14,960
out there in my sphere of people
that I know because you have

22
00:01:14,960 --> 00:01:18,440
such great energy and I
appreciate what you do.

23
00:01:18,440 --> 00:01:22,160
So if you wouldn't mind starting
off by just telling me a little

24
00:01:22,160 --> 00:01:26,840
bit about like you and I know
you have a big history and in

25
00:01:26,840 --> 00:01:29,120
the nonprofit space.
And so I just like to learn a

26
00:01:29,120 --> 00:01:31,640
little bit about like how you
got into all of this.

27
00:01:32,560 --> 00:01:34,200
Sure.
Hi and thank you Jessica for so

28
00:01:34,200 --> 00:01:37,120
much for having me.
I'm thrilled to be here and be a

29
00:01:37,120 --> 00:01:41,240
guest on the show and introduce
Mission Meow to more people as

30
00:01:41,240 --> 00:01:44,000
we were talking before we
started recording.

31
00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:48,680
It is honestly the greatest joy
of my life along with my family

32
00:01:48,680 --> 00:01:51,000
and my my kitties and I like
you.

33
00:01:51,120 --> 00:01:55,880
I may have 3 cats but I am a
true animal lover and I've had

34
00:01:55,880 --> 00:02:01,080
dogs and cats my whole life but
I feel like my mom.

35
00:02:01,160 --> 00:02:03,320
It was the beginning of all
this.

36
00:02:03,520 --> 00:02:09,520
When my mom was pregnant with
me, our cat Sandy slept on me on

37
00:02:09,520 --> 00:02:13,800
her belly.
And when I was born, Sandy slept

38
00:02:13,800 --> 00:02:16,360
in the bassinet with me, and
that was it.

39
00:02:16,360 --> 00:02:20,880
It was like this unbreakable
bond with cats was formed.

40
00:02:20,880 --> 00:02:24,200
And we had a dog at the time
too, this gorgeous Basset Hound

41
00:02:24,200 --> 00:02:27,960
named Callie, who I adored.
But Callie couldn't make it up

42
00:02:27,960 --> 00:02:30,600
into the bassinet with me.
You know, Basset Hound and all

43
00:02:30,600 --> 00:02:30,960
that.
She.

44
00:02:30,960 --> 00:02:32,360
Wanted.
Yeah, yeah.

45
00:02:32,360 --> 00:02:35,520
And.
That bond just just grew and

46
00:02:35,520 --> 00:02:38,560
grew and grew and grew.
There's never been a point in my

47
00:02:38,560 --> 00:02:40,240
life where there wasn't a cat
with me.

48
00:02:40,240 --> 00:02:44,400
Even in in college, I broke the
room rolls and had a cat in my

49
00:02:44,400 --> 00:02:48,680
dorm room.
So cats have just always been a

50
00:02:48,680 --> 00:02:52,080
big part of my life.
I think I was a pet sitter at a

51
00:02:52,080 --> 00:02:54,360
very young age.
I was one of those kids who went

52
00:02:54,360 --> 00:02:57,040
around to the neighbors and said
if you ever need somebody to

53
00:02:57,040 --> 00:02:59,200
feed your cats, I'm happy to do
it.

54
00:02:59,200 --> 00:03:02,360
And I always just wanted to be
around cats.

55
00:03:03,200 --> 00:03:06,840
And then my career took me a
different way and worked retail

56
00:03:06,840 --> 00:03:10,560
for many, many years.
And then something happened in

57
00:03:10,560 --> 00:03:13,440
my late 30s where I started to
not feel well.

58
00:03:13,440 --> 00:03:16,160
And this all ties into how all
of this started.

59
00:03:16,160 --> 00:03:19,520
And I couldn't work.
I got sick with multiple

60
00:03:19,520 --> 00:03:25,920
autoimmune disorders but had an
amazing Doctor Who said to me, I

61
00:03:25,920 --> 00:03:28,960
think you should volunteer.
Volunteering is very healing.

62
00:03:29,400 --> 00:03:31,880
Find something where you don't
have to have a set schedule.

63
00:03:32,000 --> 00:03:34,040
Without thinking, tell me what
you would do.

64
00:03:34,040 --> 00:03:36,840
I'm like, well, I would want to
pet cats, he said.

65
00:03:36,920 --> 00:03:39,120
So go find a place where you can
pet cats.

66
00:03:39,400 --> 00:03:42,120
And I did that.
And I went to a local shelter

67
00:03:42,120 --> 00:03:46,560
and became a volunteer and then
became an adoption counselor and

68
00:03:46,640 --> 00:03:52,560
inevitably studied behavior,
studied animal Reiki, just

69
00:03:52,560 --> 00:03:55,520
really immersed myself in that
world.

70
00:03:56,160 --> 00:04:01,640
And then one of my cats was
diagnosed with cancer and I, we

71
00:04:01,640 --> 00:04:04,240
decided to treat.
He had a nasal tumor.

72
00:04:04,240 --> 00:04:07,040
We knew with treatment we would
get the gift of time.

73
00:04:07,360 --> 00:04:08,760
And that's really what we
wanted.

74
00:04:08,760 --> 00:04:12,960
Brody was 13 years old and we
just really wanted more time

75
00:04:12,960 --> 00:04:15,520
with him, Good time.
We were very mindful.

76
00:04:15,520 --> 00:04:18,079
This wasn't about us, but we
thought he could get good

77
00:04:18,079 --> 00:04:21,720
quality of life.
But when I was at the vet's

78
00:04:21,720 --> 00:04:25,000
office, I was hearing all these
conversations and for the first

79
00:04:25,000 --> 00:04:28,560
time, I heard the term economic
euthanasia and was horrified

80
00:04:28,640 --> 00:04:32,320
that people might have to put a
cat or a dog to sleep, even

81
00:04:32,320 --> 00:04:35,280
though the cancer could be
treatable or they would get

82
00:04:35,280 --> 00:04:36,960
time.
And that's where the first

83
00:04:36,960 --> 00:04:39,560
nonprofit came from.
I founded something called the

84
00:04:39,560 --> 00:04:43,120
Brody Fund, and for eight years
we gave grants to families that

85
00:04:43,120 --> 00:04:44,760
couldn't afford cancer
treatment.

86
00:04:45,240 --> 00:04:52,240
And it was amazing until I just,
I didn't realize I've been in,

87
00:04:52,240 --> 00:04:55,480
you know, a volunteer in the cat
sector for a long time,

88
00:04:55,480 --> 00:04:58,960
volunteer with in different ways
with local nonprofits.

89
00:04:58,960 --> 00:05:01,800
Never experienced burnout.
Did not know that it would

90
00:05:01,800 --> 00:05:06,400
happen as a nonprofit director,
but I was so immersed in the pet

91
00:05:06,400 --> 00:05:09,640
cancer world.
It became overwhelming and sad.

92
00:05:09,640 --> 00:05:13,200
And we as a board got together,
made the very challenging

93
00:05:13,200 --> 00:05:15,960
decision after a long period of
time that we were going to close

94
00:05:15,960 --> 00:05:18,480
the Brody Fund.
It had done amazing work.

95
00:05:18,800 --> 00:05:22,200
We threw it off and quite a
fashion, had a big party, gave

96
00:05:22,200 --> 00:05:24,640
legacy grants.
We made it very proud.

97
00:05:24,760 --> 00:05:27,800
And then I took some time off
and I thought it was

98
00:05:27,800 --> 00:05:29,880
interesting.
I was listening to podcasts like

99
00:05:29,880 --> 00:05:32,040
crazy at that point.
So we were just coming out of

100
00:05:32,040 --> 00:05:33,720
COVID.
Everybody, I think, was

101
00:05:33,720 --> 00:05:35,720
listening to podcasts to that
point.

102
00:05:35,760 --> 00:05:37,800
And there were two that really
changed my life.

103
00:05:37,800 --> 00:05:41,520
When was the J Shitty one about
burnout where I could recognize

104
00:05:41,520 --> 00:05:44,800
what was going on and this was
normal, what I was experiencing?

105
00:05:45,120 --> 00:05:49,520
And the second one was a Brené
Brown one where the the guest

106
00:05:49,520 --> 00:05:53,080
kind of took over the interview
and told her that she was doing

107
00:05:53,080 --> 00:05:57,240
too much and she needed to take
time off and get bored.

108
00:05:58,480 --> 00:06:02,680
That really struck me as
something bored.

109
00:06:02,680 --> 00:06:06,680
And she said, I don't mean antsy
bored, bored, like your mind is

110
00:06:06,680 --> 00:06:08,920
clear.
And I thought, gosh, I can't

111
00:06:08,920 --> 00:06:10,480
remember the last time that
happened.

112
00:06:10,480 --> 00:06:12,880
And I did it.
And I took this time to myself.

113
00:06:12,880 --> 00:06:14,840
Lucky.
I have a very supportive

114
00:06:14,840 --> 00:06:18,120
husband, and I spent a lot of
time outside in nature.

115
00:06:18,120 --> 00:06:21,640
And one day it hit me.
I miss running a nonprofit.

116
00:06:21,760 --> 00:06:24,920
That's what I'm missing.
There are so many other things I

117
00:06:24,920 --> 00:06:26,720
could be doing.
I could go back to work in the

118
00:06:26,720 --> 00:06:30,280
traditional sense, but I really
missed a nonprofit.

119
00:06:30,280 --> 00:06:33,600
And I recognize at that point
that's my calling.

120
00:06:33,760 --> 00:06:36,680
This is what I should be doing.
It's very purpose driven.

121
00:06:36,680 --> 00:06:39,680
That's not financial driven.
It's not going to make me

122
00:06:39,680 --> 00:06:44,200
$1,000,000, but it feeds my soul
in a way that nothing else did.

123
00:06:45,600 --> 00:06:47,840
That was it.
OK, so now I know that's what I

124
00:06:47,840 --> 00:06:49,560
want to do.
And then it becomes who do I

125
00:06:49,560 --> 00:06:51,320
help?
OK, I have a lot of experience

126
00:06:51,320 --> 00:06:53,560
in the cat world.
I have a background in behavior.

127
00:06:53,880 --> 00:06:56,960
I'm volunteering for
organizations, one in particular

128
00:06:57,280 --> 00:07:02,120
that had a very successful Cat
Cafe adoption center.

129
00:07:02,120 --> 00:07:06,480
They hosted conventions and yet
COVID really impacted them and

130
00:07:06,480 --> 00:07:09,320
they had to downsize, move to a
different location.

131
00:07:09,320 --> 00:07:12,440
And I thought, well, if an
organization that's that well

132
00:07:12,440 --> 00:07:16,960
known that well run is dealing
with these challenges, where

133
00:07:16,960 --> 00:07:20,880
else is it happening?
So I became a keyboard warrior

134
00:07:20,920 --> 00:07:25,440
and just start playing New York
State Cat Rescue, closing

135
00:07:25,440 --> 00:07:29,160
Colorado Cat Rescue, just going
state by state by state with

136
00:07:29,160 --> 00:07:32,280
different, you know, changing
the words up a little bit, but

137
00:07:32,280 --> 00:07:36,200
still the general idea.
And it was clear that this was

138
00:07:36,200 --> 00:07:38,040
happening all across the
country.

139
00:07:38,360 --> 00:07:42,800
And the reality is that a lot of
these groups, the small feline

140
00:07:42,800 --> 00:07:45,920
centric nonprofits, they're the
grassroots organizations, they

141
00:07:45,920 --> 00:07:47,880
are really at the heart of the
problem.

142
00:07:47,880 --> 00:07:51,080
Many of them are doing TNR and
many of them are taking the

143
00:07:51,080 --> 00:07:53,080
senior cats, the special needs
cats.

144
00:07:53,160 --> 00:07:57,480
Many of them have the contracts
with the counties in the towns

145
00:07:57,800 --> 00:08:01,600
for the stray cats coming in to
have the, you know, to have the

146
00:08:01,600 --> 00:08:03,920
ferals coming in to be doing the
TNR.

147
00:08:04,520 --> 00:08:08,560
If these organizations are
struggling, we the cat community

148
00:08:08,560 --> 00:08:12,240
are in big trouble.
So I had, all right, here's my

149
00:08:12,240 --> 00:08:14,960
nonprofit.
Now I know who I want to help.

150
00:08:14,960 --> 00:08:17,280
And then it became, how do I
help?

151
00:08:17,280 --> 00:08:20,000
And I thought, well, it can rule
out the things I don't want to

152
00:08:20,000 --> 00:08:22,000
do.
When I had the Brody Fund, we

153
00:08:22,000 --> 00:08:25,440
were very event driven and
fundraising in the very

154
00:08:25,440 --> 00:08:27,920
traditional way of individual
donors.

155
00:08:27,960 --> 00:08:31,200
And it's a lot of work.
The parties are fun, right?

156
00:08:31,200 --> 00:08:32,960
When you have events, there are
a lot of fun.

157
00:08:32,960 --> 00:08:35,960
But I will say this, they cost
money and the outcomes are

158
00:08:35,960 --> 00:08:37,720
unpredictable.
The ones that you think are

159
00:08:37,720 --> 00:08:40,039
going to be fantastic sometimes
can flop.

160
00:08:40,360 --> 00:08:43,200
And the little ones you think
might not do anything end up

161
00:08:43,200 --> 00:08:45,960
being a really a gem of a
fundraiser.

162
00:08:46,680 --> 00:08:50,160
But I thought, well, all right,
let's eliminate those.

163
00:08:50,480 --> 00:08:54,600
How can I hit the ground running
fast and raise a lot of money

164
00:08:54,600 --> 00:08:57,000
quickly?
Because if my mission now as I

165
00:08:57,000 --> 00:09:00,560
know who I want to help, these
small orgs don't, they don't

166
00:09:00,560 --> 00:09:03,880
need a $500 grant.
They need a big grant that can

167
00:09:03,880 --> 00:09:06,920
really change things for them
and help them grow.

168
00:09:06,920 --> 00:09:09,000
Because that's they don't get
those.

169
00:09:09,000 --> 00:09:11,960
When you do your research, you
find out they get small

170
00:09:11,960 --> 00:09:13,920
community grants, which are
wonderful.

171
00:09:14,200 --> 00:09:18,440
They'll get a occasionally a
larger chunk of private donor

172
00:09:18,440 --> 00:09:22,000
will give them a nice size, but
nothing like 10,012.

173
00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:25,520
They they don't get those again
back out in the backyard,

174
00:09:25,520 --> 00:09:28,800
swinging in the hammock with my
cat, thinking, OK, you know, now

175
00:09:28,800 --> 00:09:31,080
I I've got got The Who I want to
help.

176
00:09:31,080 --> 00:09:34,240
What's the name and how do we
get to the big money?

177
00:09:35,440 --> 00:09:38,080
My cat when I kept putting out
there, what's my mission?

178
00:09:38,080 --> 00:09:41,000
What's my mission?
Just let out a tiny little meow.

179
00:09:41,200 --> 00:09:42,640
There it is.
We're mission meow.

180
00:09:42,720 --> 00:09:47,320
That's the name came and then it
was OK.

181
00:09:47,640 --> 00:09:50,600
Now how do we get started?
I reached out to two people in

182
00:09:50,600 --> 00:09:54,280
the cat world, said I need 2
board members to be able to form

183
00:09:54,280 --> 00:09:57,200
a fancy three.
They agreed, had my foundation

184
00:09:57,200 --> 00:09:59,560
of the organization and then it
was OK.

185
00:09:59,560 --> 00:10:01,440
Fundraising.
The thing that nobody wants to

186
00:10:01,440 --> 00:10:04,560
do, nobody wants to talk about.
I'm actually quite passionate

187
00:10:04,560 --> 00:10:09,360
about it and oddly it came to me
and it's a sad situation, but it

188
00:10:09,360 --> 00:10:11,440
nevertheless it was the
inspiration.

189
00:10:12,040 --> 00:10:15,600
The town next to me had a family
that had had a fire.

190
00:10:15,600 --> 00:10:18,480
They lost their house, lost
everything, and you know what

191
00:10:18,480 --> 00:10:20,720
happens when the communities
come together.

192
00:10:20,920 --> 00:10:23,600
But what I found really
interesting is, was it just the

193
00:10:23,600 --> 00:10:26,720
community members?
It was the local businesses and

194
00:10:26,720 --> 00:10:30,440
they had a whole weekend.
They did sipping shops, they had

195
00:10:30,520 --> 00:10:33,920
private parties.
They gave a percentage of sales.

196
00:10:34,280 --> 00:10:37,400
That raised a lot of money.
And I thought, that's it.

197
00:10:38,000 --> 00:10:42,840
I can business crowdfund, I can
reach out to businesses in the

198
00:10:42,840 --> 00:10:46,200
cat community and ask if they
will contribute and be the

199
00:10:46,200 --> 00:10:49,960
foundation of our organization.
So that was kind of the genesis

200
00:10:49,960 --> 00:10:51,680
of it.
And then it became OK.

201
00:10:51,680 --> 00:10:53,720
Then there's the details.
How often are we going to

202
00:10:53,720 --> 00:10:56,320
collect this money?
How often are we going to give?

203
00:10:56,840 --> 00:11:00,560
And we just came up with a very,
a very simple way of doing it.

204
00:11:00,600 --> 00:11:04,320
We give quarterly, we give in
January, April, July and

205
00:11:04,320 --> 00:11:07,160
October.
And we do that for two reasons.

206
00:11:07,160 --> 00:11:10,520
One is it's less stress on
anybody you're asking.

207
00:11:10,720 --> 00:11:13,240
Only need to give 4 * a year.
That's it.

208
00:11:13,320 --> 00:11:16,040
The rest of the time you could
be helping local organizations

209
00:11:16,040 --> 00:11:18,680
or not help at all.
If you're a small business,

210
00:11:18,680 --> 00:11:20,400
maybe you don't have the
bandwidth to do more.

211
00:11:20,400 --> 00:11:23,880
So just 4 * a year.
It also allows Michigan meow the

212
00:11:23,880 --> 00:11:27,360
downtime we need, right?
So we have a big fundraising

213
00:11:27,360 --> 00:11:31,920
month, then we reorganize, we
give the grants, we do check

214
00:11:31,920 --> 00:11:34,600
ceremonies, that takes a whole
month.

215
00:11:34,600 --> 00:11:36,600
Then we start the grant process
again.

216
00:11:36,600 --> 00:11:38,360
We take applications for two
weeks.

217
00:11:38,360 --> 00:11:42,120
We vet them for almost 2 weeks.
We choose it, and we start that

218
00:11:42,120 --> 00:11:45,880
fundraising all over again.
And probably in your mind,

219
00:11:45,880 --> 00:11:47,800
you're thinking, well, why do
you have to fundraise if you

220
00:11:47,800 --> 00:11:51,400
have business partners, They are
the foundation.

221
00:11:51,600 --> 00:11:55,760
We know that we now we have 82
business partners that are going

222
00:11:55,760 --> 00:11:59,280
to be contributing.
But to give a really big grant,

223
00:11:59,320 --> 00:12:01,720
we need individual donors as
well.

224
00:12:02,080 --> 00:12:05,840
So in the fundraising month,
which we just had in April, we

225
00:12:05,840 --> 00:12:08,600
tell the story of the
organizations we pick.

226
00:12:09,280 --> 00:12:12,760
So let's use this example.
We had two in April. 1 was LIC

227
00:12:13,120 --> 00:12:16,560
Feral Feeders which means Long
Island City Feral Feeders and

228
00:12:16,560 --> 00:12:21,400
they are a TNR organization
founded and run by women and

229
00:12:21,400 --> 00:12:25,360
they are an urban organization
so you can imagine what TNR

230
00:12:25,360 --> 00:12:28,480
looks like there.
They find themselves in alleys

231
00:12:28,480 --> 00:12:32,600
and then situations that are not
ideal and they are out there

232
00:12:32,600 --> 00:12:36,920
doing this hard work and they
needed a safe place to have cats

233
00:12:36,920 --> 00:12:41,120
pre surgery, post surgery and
before they are released and

234
00:12:41,120 --> 00:12:43,200
they needed cameras and some
equipment.

235
00:12:43,200 --> 00:12:46,680
So that was 1 grant.
The other grant is Tomato Foster

236
00:12:46,680 --> 00:12:49,680
Club in New Orleans which I just
think I don't.

237
00:12:49,680 --> 00:12:52,320
I never even asked them where
the tomato part came from and it

238
00:12:52,320 --> 00:12:54,520
may be in their grant
application but I think it's a

239
00:12:54,520 --> 00:12:57,160
call name.
Probably is a cat named Tomato.

240
00:12:57,800 --> 00:13:01,240
Their focus are special needs
kittens and their grant

241
00:13:01,240 --> 00:13:05,720
application was for 8 incubators
and the oxygen so that they can

242
00:13:05,720 --> 00:13:11,840
save the neonates, the special
needs orphan kittens that, you

243
00:13:11,840 --> 00:13:14,960
know, without an incubator,
you're, you're piecemealing

244
00:13:14,960 --> 00:13:17,040
things together.
You know, you have a bottle

245
00:13:17,040 --> 00:13:19,120
warmer, you've got all these
little things for under a

246
00:13:19,120 --> 00:13:23,080
blanket like the old school, you
know, those little yeah, rubbery

247
00:13:23,080 --> 00:13:25,440
warmers.
I mean, you're doing it that way

248
00:13:25,440 --> 00:13:29,040
and you can do it, but having
incubators is priceless. 8

249
00:13:29,040 --> 00:13:31,200
incubators.
That's going to save a lot of

250
00:13:31,200 --> 00:13:34,080
lives.
So what we do in that time frame

251
00:13:34,080 --> 00:13:37,400
is we tell all about these
organizations, what makes them

252
00:13:37,400 --> 00:13:40,520
so special.
We interview people, we'll share

253
00:13:40,520 --> 00:13:43,600
adoption stories, all these
different things.

254
00:13:43,600 --> 00:13:47,960
And now our individual donors
get to see the heart of these

255
00:13:47,960 --> 00:13:51,200
organizations and what makes
them so special.

256
00:13:51,920 --> 00:13:55,360
And that's kind of how that's
how the whole process works for

257
00:13:55,360 --> 00:13:56,800
us.
And then there's a whole other

258
00:13:56,800 --> 00:13:58,920
side that I can tell you, but
you might have questions.

259
00:13:59,000 --> 00:14:01,560
I can tell you about the
business partners side of things

260
00:14:01,560 --> 00:14:04,600
too.
But my favorite part is telling

261
00:14:04,600 --> 00:14:08,520
their stories because I want
people to know how special they

262
00:14:08,520 --> 00:14:10,680
are.
So the support continues well

263
00:14:10,680 --> 00:14:13,360
beyond after Mission.
Meow gives them the money.

264
00:14:14,200 --> 00:14:17,840
Yeah, Well, that so
storytelling, marketing is

265
00:14:17,920 --> 00:14:20,640
something I'm very actually
passionate about.

266
00:14:20,640 --> 00:14:23,160
I love it.
I think, you know, organic

267
00:14:23,560 --> 00:14:26,360
content creation stems from
storytelling.

268
00:14:26,360 --> 00:14:29,400
And I just love that you kind of
embody that.

269
00:14:29,440 --> 00:14:32,200
And I do have questions but
really quickly I'm just feeling

270
00:14:32,200 --> 00:14:36,280
really called to say this
because I think I don't know who

271
00:14:36,280 --> 00:14:39,760
else out there may need to hear
this, but apparently I needed to

272
00:14:39,760 --> 00:14:41,840
hear this today.
And so I'm just going to tell

273
00:14:41,840 --> 00:14:44,200
the story really quickly.
Sally and I were supposed to

274
00:14:44,200 --> 00:14:49,400
record 3 days from now and I
messaged her and I was like, is

275
00:14:49,400 --> 00:14:51,960
there any way you can record
tomorrow instead?

276
00:14:52,000 --> 00:14:55,160
And she was amazing.
Was like of course we can record

277
00:14:55,160 --> 00:14:58,120
tomorrow.
And so you just told the story

278
00:14:58,120 --> 00:15:01,200
about listening to J Shuddy and
Brené Brown.

279
00:15:01,240 --> 00:15:05,640
And when you started talking
about the guest taking over and

280
00:15:05,640 --> 00:15:08,640
telling her that she needs to be
bored, I, I don't know if you

281
00:15:08,640 --> 00:15:10,560
saw me, I was literally over
here crying.

282
00:15:10,880 --> 00:15:14,280
And it was.
What are you doing but OK?

283
00:15:15,400 --> 00:15:19,120
And it's so random, but I think
the universe works in really

284
00:15:19,120 --> 00:15:20,680
strange ways.
And so I just want to

285
00:15:20,680 --> 00:15:25,000
acknowledge that like I received
that message and I feel like I

286
00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:29,040
feel like maybe all of this
happened and we rescheduled and

287
00:15:29,040 --> 00:15:31,320
you were supposed to tell me
that and I'm supposed to call

288
00:15:31,320 --> 00:15:34,200
this out because I don't know if
anybody else needs to hear this.

289
00:15:34,520 --> 00:15:37,720
But I feel like for me, like I
needed to hear that message.

290
00:15:37,760 --> 00:15:40,640
I listen to Bernie Brown, but
not regularly.

291
00:15:40,640 --> 00:15:43,400
And I didn't, I didn't hear that
particular podcast.

292
00:15:43,800 --> 00:15:46,440
I feel like I needed to hear
that with like everything going

293
00:15:46,440 --> 00:15:48,840
on in my life and what I'm doing
right now.

294
00:15:48,840 --> 00:15:53,000
I feel like that's exactly, I
don't know, it just hit me and I

295
00:15:53,000 --> 00:15:55,880
it literally, I was like trying
so hard not to cry.

296
00:15:55,880 --> 00:15:58,080
I'm like, I'm crying right now
and this is.

297
00:15:58,880 --> 00:16:03,840
Fine.
It was such an awakening for me.

298
00:16:03,840 --> 00:16:07,960
It was like I was meant to hear
that.

299
00:16:08,160 --> 00:16:11,360
I mean, look what happened.
I don't think any of this would

300
00:16:11,360 --> 00:16:16,000
have happened had I not been
listening that day and really

301
00:16:16,160 --> 00:16:21,160
felt it, like Raw felt it and
was this is what I need to do,

302
00:16:21,360 --> 00:16:25,600
this is what I have to do.
You have to listen to these

303
00:16:25,600 --> 00:16:28,480
messages.
I mean, I've had so many in my

304
00:16:28,480 --> 00:16:32,040
life that when I was going in
One Direction and something

305
00:16:32,040 --> 00:16:35,280
happened in a door shut that
pushed me in another way and I

306
00:16:35,280 --> 00:16:38,880
ended up where I was supposed to
be and I was fighting for some

307
00:16:38,880 --> 00:16:41,480
reason going one way and there.
Were.

308
00:16:41,760 --> 00:16:45,000
Roadblocks that I kept like, Oh
no, I've got to push past that

309
00:16:45,000 --> 00:16:48,600
when no, those roadblocks were
there so that I would move in

310
00:16:48,600 --> 00:16:53,440
another way.
Yeah, I believe that so much.

311
00:16:53,600 --> 00:16:56,280
Glad that you that you've
received something that you

312
00:16:56,400 --> 00:17:01,360
needed to beyond just having a
wonderful conversation about a

313
00:17:01,360 --> 00:17:04,800
world that we care deeply about.
Yeah.

314
00:17:04,800 --> 00:17:07,839
So I just, yeah, I just wanted
to put that out there in case

315
00:17:07,839 --> 00:17:11,880
somebody listening also, I don't
know, maybe you heard, maybe you

316
00:17:11,880 --> 00:17:13,680
heard that message the same time
I did.

317
00:17:13,680 --> 00:17:17,440
But I want to acknowledge that
it it's, it's a pretty powerful

318
00:17:17,440 --> 00:17:20,040
message.
And I think it's very certainly

319
00:17:20,040 --> 00:17:25,200
in our society today, like
counter culture to do that to to

320
00:17:25,200 --> 00:17:27,200
pause.
Like we're definitely live in

321
00:17:27,200 --> 00:17:31,240
like a whole hustle culture,
which I feel especially for

322
00:17:31,240 --> 00:17:35,080
women is, is not healthy at all.
Yeah.

323
00:17:35,080 --> 00:17:37,560
So being bored.
Goodness.

324
00:17:38,240 --> 00:17:42,240
I love the way that it that she
explained it that not, you know,

325
00:17:42,240 --> 00:17:44,360
when you get bored and you just
get uncomfortable.

326
00:17:44,600 --> 00:17:48,640
But yeah, antsy bored.
This guest said no, I'm talking

327
00:17:48,640 --> 00:17:53,920
about past that past that point
to where you're completely your

328
00:17:53,920 --> 00:17:58,320
mind is completely freed up and
the space is available for

329
00:17:58,320 --> 00:18:00,720
what's supposed to come next to
come in.

330
00:18:00,720 --> 00:18:04,280
And when it does, you're going
to be like, and I reached, I

331
00:18:04,280 --> 00:18:07,560
mean, I hadn't read a book at
that point.

332
00:18:07,560 --> 00:18:10,200
I couldn't even tell you.
I was so busy all the time.

333
00:18:10,200 --> 00:18:13,160
I wasn't reading books.
I wasn't going to parks anymore.

334
00:18:13,160 --> 00:18:17,960
I wasn't getting out in nature.
I wasn't really giving my cats

335
00:18:18,040 --> 00:18:21,040
what they needed.
They're being met either.

336
00:18:21,040 --> 00:18:25,040
And all of that happened.
And now I have this amazing

337
00:18:25,040 --> 00:18:29,280
gift, which is also now taking
up an enormous amount of time.

338
00:18:29,280 --> 00:18:31,200
And I'm back in that hustle
world.

339
00:18:31,560 --> 00:18:35,520
But that's always back here.
I'm taking some time off coming

340
00:18:35,520 --> 00:18:39,600
up because I said I need for me
to plug in and recharge means to

341
00:18:39,600 --> 00:18:41,800
actually unplug.
And that's what I'm going to be

342
00:18:41,800 --> 00:18:44,360
doing soon.
And if we don't do that, I feel

343
00:18:44,360 --> 00:18:48,040
like I know for me personally
that I've had health issues when

344
00:18:48,040 --> 00:18:52,240
I pushed and pushed and pushed
and mission meow gives me so

345
00:18:52,240 --> 00:18:54,720
much more than I could ever
imagine.

346
00:18:54,720 --> 00:18:58,320
I get very emotional when I get
really deep talking about it,

347
00:18:58,640 --> 00:19:03,720
but it still needs me to take
time off and, you know, take

348
00:19:03,720 --> 00:19:06,920
care of myself so that I can.
Especially these days, I feel

349
00:19:06,920 --> 00:19:08,720
like the world is more
complicated.

350
00:19:08,720 --> 00:19:14,320
At least I, I'm 58, I'll be 59
this year and then my 59 years.

351
00:19:14,320 --> 00:19:18,080
I feel like this right now has
been a very the most challenging

352
00:19:18,080 --> 00:19:22,600
time externally too.
Yeah, just mean I've had, I've

353
00:19:22,600 --> 00:19:25,640
had lot, you know, losses in my
life and all that, but just I

354
00:19:25,640 --> 00:19:29,160
felt so much heaviness in the
world recently and as a

355
00:19:29,160 --> 00:19:33,320
sensitive person, it's it's a
challenging space to navigate

356
00:19:33,360 --> 00:19:38,360
because I want to be giving so
much to the organizations and

357
00:19:38,360 --> 00:19:40,880
that now they're in need more
than ever.

358
00:19:40,880 --> 00:19:44,880
But on the flip side, we have
our business partners who are

359
00:19:44,880 --> 00:19:47,400
also experiencing challenges
too.

360
00:19:47,720 --> 00:19:52,360
And this is a unique place to be
that I have two sides that are

361
00:19:52,360 --> 00:19:57,480
both being tested right now and
we want to support both of them

362
00:19:57,960 --> 00:20:00,520
because my our business partners
are like family to me.

363
00:20:00,520 --> 00:20:04,280
I feel so incredibly lucky that
they are.

364
00:20:04,920 --> 00:20:07,560
If you're thinking everybody
needs to buy things for your

365
00:20:07,560 --> 00:20:10,920
pets, this is not to push any
businesses.

366
00:20:11,880 --> 00:20:15,000
But seriously, our business
partners are partners because

367
00:20:15,000 --> 00:20:18,920
they love the cat community,
they love the animal community,

368
00:20:19,120 --> 00:20:21,880
they love giving back.
They don't have to.

369
00:20:22,280 --> 00:20:25,640
They made a choice to do this
and I am.

370
00:20:25,640 --> 00:20:30,120
So I just love them all so much.
And I have really, I honestly,

371
00:20:30,120 --> 00:20:33,200
if I was to have a conversation
with a business and I didn't

372
00:20:33,200 --> 00:20:37,280
feel like we're not quite
aligning, I don't think they

373
00:20:37,280 --> 00:20:41,720
would be a part of Mission Meow.
Yeah, the energy of that is

374
00:20:41,720 --> 00:20:45,800
really important to me and I
don't know how to do anything

375
00:20:45,800 --> 00:20:49,040
other than lead with my heart
and have a very personal

376
00:20:49,040 --> 00:20:52,000
relationship with somebody.
So if that's not something that

377
00:20:52,040 --> 00:20:54,640
fits for them, probably Mission
Meow is not the right

378
00:20:54,640 --> 00:20:57,680
organization for them.
It's just the fact of how we

379
00:20:57,680 --> 00:21:01,480
are.
Yeah, so with Mission Meow, I

380
00:21:01,480 --> 00:21:04,080
actually, and I don't know if
I've ever told you this, I

381
00:21:04,080 --> 00:21:08,280
started in this world, this pet
space with doing TNR.

382
00:21:08,320 --> 00:21:12,720
That's how I started and it was.
I'm also a very empathetic

383
00:21:13,080 --> 00:21:17,240
person who feels everyone's
energy very intensely.

384
00:21:17,240 --> 00:21:22,720
I've actually had to work very
hard at trying to not

385
00:21:22,720 --> 00:21:24,360
internalize other people's
energy.

386
00:21:25,400 --> 00:21:28,640
It's, yeah, it's, it's it's a
thing that I'm still working on,

387
00:21:28,640 --> 00:21:32,120
quite honestly, especially if I
meet somebody new that I'm.

388
00:21:32,400 --> 00:21:34,840
Challenging because you don't
want to completely shut

389
00:21:34,840 --> 00:21:36,440
everything out like I don't
believe in.

390
00:21:36,440 --> 00:21:39,560
Like if, if people understand
Reiki, you can set a protective

391
00:21:39,560 --> 00:21:43,200
bubble and keep everything out.
But keeping everything out to me

392
00:21:43,200 --> 00:21:45,560
isn't good either.
So it's finding that balance of

393
00:21:45,560 --> 00:21:50,200
letting enough in where you
remain human and empathetic and

394
00:21:50,200 --> 00:21:52,520
kind, but also it's not hurting
you.

395
00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:54,120
Right.
Yeah.

396
00:21:54,480 --> 00:21:58,680
And so, you know, this was back
in my early 20s when I was doing

397
00:21:58,680 --> 00:22:02,120
TNR and I got burnt out really
quickly just because.

398
00:22:02,680 --> 00:22:06,040
TNR is hard work.
It's it's, I don't mean just

399
00:22:06,040 --> 00:22:08,200
physically challenged.
It's emotionally very

400
00:22:08,200 --> 00:22:11,040
challenging.
It is and honestly that first

401
00:22:11,040 --> 00:22:15,920
time I had to let cats back
outside, I was like, that killed

402
00:22:15,920 --> 00:22:17,200
me.
Killed me.

403
00:22:17,200 --> 00:22:20,040
Cuz I'm like, I understand
logically that these are not

404
00:22:20,040 --> 00:22:25,040
adoptable animals, but like you
care for them so much even

405
00:22:25,040 --> 00:22:27,240
though you've never, they've
never let you touch them.

406
00:22:29,640 --> 00:22:34,760
Yeah, but I'm so I have, I've
always had a soft spot in my

407
00:22:34,760 --> 00:22:38,400
heart for cats and so.
And it is definitely I also

408
00:22:38,440 --> 00:22:43,080
always talk to people anytime I
do like a cat centric episode,

409
00:22:43,080 --> 00:22:45,720
which I don't, but I mean, I try
to do at least a few times a

410
00:22:45,720 --> 00:22:50,080
year because it is, it's
important for me that I do that

411
00:22:50,080 --> 00:22:52,680
because I feel like that's like
it grounds me a little bit back

412
00:22:52,680 --> 00:22:54,920
to my roots and, and where I
came from.

413
00:22:55,240 --> 00:22:59,120
I mean, the fact that I do still
have cats, but it is, I think a

414
00:22:59,120 --> 00:23:02,680
lot harder.
I think there are certainly like

415
00:23:02,680 --> 00:23:04,440
cats rule the Internet.
Don't get me wrong.

416
00:23:04,440 --> 00:23:07,400
Like, you know, there are cat
memes everywhere and everybody

417
00:23:07,680 --> 00:23:10,560
likes, you know, laughing and
sharing cat memes.

418
00:23:12,200 --> 00:23:17,440
But there is a very different
feeling, I think for not all

419
00:23:17,440 --> 00:23:22,040
people, of course, but for a lot
of people in in our society that

420
00:23:22,040 --> 00:23:25,120
like, we just, we care for dogs
and cats differently.

421
00:23:26,720 --> 00:23:30,960
And so it has to be really it,
it, it has to just have an extra

422
00:23:30,960 --> 00:23:33,320
layer of challenge, I guess is
is.

423
00:23:33,360 --> 00:23:36,600
Where I'm going, we work very
hard in the cat community

424
00:23:36,920 --> 00:23:40,400
because yes, it's true.
You can, you can find any kind

425
00:23:40,400 --> 00:23:44,640
of meme, any kind of anything.
But when it comes to veterinary

426
00:23:44,640 --> 00:23:51,240
care, it's not the same.
I, I am always challenged with

427
00:23:51,240 --> 00:23:55,640
that offices that practices.
It's very easy for, you know, we

428
00:23:55,640 --> 00:23:59,440
have a a beautiful new hospital
nearest that was built and they

429
00:23:59,440 --> 00:24:02,480
have a space that's supposed to
be where the cats come in.

430
00:24:02,760 --> 00:24:06,640
But it's this little tiny space
and the walls don't go up to the

431
00:24:06,640 --> 00:24:08,080
ceiling.
There's no door.

432
00:24:08,080 --> 00:24:12,560
The dogs are still coming in.
And all the money in the world

433
00:24:12,560 --> 00:24:15,240
didn't make this a good space
for cats.

434
00:24:16,240 --> 00:24:21,320
You get into a vet practice,
it's not set up very cat

435
00:24:21,320 --> 00:24:23,800
friendly.
You can walk into any of the

436
00:24:23,800 --> 00:24:28,360
Super pet stores.
The cat stuff is not the dog

437
00:24:28,360 --> 00:24:32,840
stuff is one whole aisle and
then you'll have like fish,

438
00:24:32,840 --> 00:24:35,840
reptiles, bunnies, and then they
make us go all the way to the

439
00:24:35,840 --> 00:24:40,960
back for cats.
And yet we're spending tons of

440
00:24:40,960 --> 00:24:44,880
money.
So there's there's some sort of

441
00:24:44,880 --> 00:24:47,840
disconnect.
I think it's changing.

442
00:24:49,040 --> 00:24:51,960
I think there's still work to be
done.

443
00:24:52,640 --> 00:24:56,320
Yeah, But I do think, I do think
it's changing a lot and

444
00:24:56,320 --> 00:25:04,360
especially in the in the area of
holistics, I think that cat

445
00:25:04,560 --> 00:25:08,800
folks are really driving that.
That to me is an area where

446
00:25:08,800 --> 00:25:11,640
you're where we're talking all
the time.

447
00:25:12,000 --> 00:25:16,000
I mean, I knew for me all my
cats have an integrative

448
00:25:16,000 --> 00:25:20,800
approach to veterinary care,
especially having lived through,

449
00:25:21,080 --> 00:25:23,000
you know, having had four cats
with cancer.

450
00:25:24,440 --> 00:25:29,080
It was all, all that and you
know, I'm very much into things

451
00:25:29,080 --> 00:25:33,000
being, you know, I, it's
interesting because I'm a Reiki

452
00:25:33,000 --> 00:25:35,040
practitioner.
I'm very careful with what I

453
00:25:35,040 --> 00:25:38,520
eat.
I have autoimmune disease, but

454
00:25:38,520 --> 00:25:41,640
I'm also that person where I
understand not everybody has the

455
00:25:41,640 --> 00:25:44,720
money to be feeding.
I mean, the really healthy

456
00:25:44,720 --> 00:25:47,960
foods, a lot of them are very
expensive and you put a roof

457
00:25:47,960 --> 00:25:49,640
over their head.
You love them and you do the

458
00:25:49,640 --> 00:25:53,080
best you can.
That's the space I come from,

459
00:25:53,200 --> 00:25:55,120
right?
There's, there's, there's

460
00:25:55,120 --> 00:25:57,040
wonderful things happening in
the cat world.

461
00:25:57,040 --> 00:25:59,560
Let's just say that I think
things are really, really

462
00:25:59,560 --> 00:26:02,240
changing.
And I, it should be that way for

463
00:26:02,240 --> 00:26:04,240
both.
I love dogs.

464
00:26:04,240 --> 00:26:07,200
The only reason I don't have a
dog is because, and I did this

465
00:26:07,200 --> 00:26:09,840
should have something I should
have asked before we got

466
00:26:09,840 --> 00:26:11,960
married.
I just assumed because my

467
00:26:11,960 --> 00:26:14,600
husband grew up with dogs that
he would want to have a dog too.

468
00:26:14,600 --> 00:26:18,040
And then the conversation came.
We were, I don't know, probably

469
00:26:18,040 --> 00:26:21,560
in our 30s and we had two cats
like, all right, let's go get

470
00:26:21,560 --> 00:26:22,960
the dog.
These cats are great.

471
00:26:22,960 --> 00:26:25,520
They're they would be wonderful.
I don't want a dog.

472
00:26:25,760 --> 00:26:31,240
We mean you don't want a dog.
So we never got a dog.

473
00:26:31,320 --> 00:26:34,280
You know what we did?
I went out two more cats because

474
00:26:34,280 --> 00:26:37,080
two more cats equaled the size
of the dog that I would like to

475
00:26:37,080 --> 00:26:37,480
have.
Oh.

476
00:26:37,600 --> 00:26:39,640
My goodness, that's.
That's funny.

477
00:26:39,880 --> 00:26:43,640
Yeah, so funny.
Yeah, cats are.

478
00:26:43,800 --> 00:26:46,720
And this is another conversation
I have often when I have cat

479
00:26:46,720 --> 00:26:49,080
people on.
In fact, the first time I ever

480
00:26:49,080 --> 00:26:52,480
said it on this podcast was with
Jay and Adrian.

481
00:26:52,480 --> 00:26:56,440
And they were like appalled with
me because I was like, cats are

482
00:26:56,440 --> 00:26:58,160
so much harder to take care of
and dogs.

483
00:26:58,760 --> 00:27:01,520
And this is just my experience,
but I think.

484
00:27:02,120 --> 00:27:03,800
A lot of people say the other
thing.

485
00:27:03,800 --> 00:27:06,640
They say, Oh my gosh, it's so
easy to take care of a cat.

486
00:27:06,640 --> 00:27:10,720
You just put food and litter.
No, no, all animals it, it

487
00:27:10,720 --> 00:27:13,560
doesn't matter.
Cats, dogs, some are easier than

488
00:27:13,560 --> 00:27:15,240
others, some are harder than
others.

489
00:27:15,240 --> 00:27:18,640
They're I mean, they're all
different personalities.

490
00:27:18,680 --> 00:27:20,400
It's.
Yeah, yeah.

491
00:27:20,840 --> 00:27:23,240
And it's also put into it,
right?

492
00:27:23,600 --> 00:27:28,320
I mean, it is well, and that's
the thing that so many people do

493
00:27:28,320 --> 00:27:32,960
have that mindset of the cats
are easy, put food down, clean

494
00:27:32,960 --> 00:27:36,080
the litter box, hopefully clean
the litter box and that's all

495
00:27:36,080 --> 00:27:38,920
they need and it's absolutely
not all they need.

496
00:27:40,600 --> 00:27:43,040
And guess what?
The humans are missing out on

497
00:27:43,040 --> 00:27:47,360
the all the really fun stuff.
They really are.

498
00:27:47,360 --> 00:27:50,480
I think so too.
The way you engage with a cat,

499
00:27:51,680 --> 00:27:55,440
the way that you provide them
enrichment is very, I mean it's

500
00:27:55,440 --> 00:27:58,400
similar but in some ways, but
very different from a dog.

501
00:27:58,400 --> 00:28:00,640
You just to see them like they
are.

502
00:28:01,080 --> 00:28:05,760
They are like apex predators and
living in your home end.

503
00:28:06,040 --> 00:28:09,040
Up going and doing that whole
prey sequence.

504
00:28:09,160 --> 00:28:12,080
Yeah.
It's it's so, you know, they get

505
00:28:12,080 --> 00:28:15,680
going, they get the butt wiggle
and then they go and I don't

506
00:28:15,680 --> 00:28:17,960
know.
And here's the because I had a

507
00:28:17,960 --> 00:28:22,000
behavior business for seven
years, the contented cat working

508
00:28:22,000 --> 00:28:23,680
with people and talking about
enrichment.

509
00:28:23,680 --> 00:28:26,600
One of the things I heard all
the time was that my cat doesn't

510
00:28:26,600 --> 00:28:28,240
like to play.
And my answer is, well, you

511
00:28:28,240 --> 00:28:30,800
haven't found the right toy yet.
That's all.

512
00:28:30,880 --> 00:28:33,240
Yes, you need to find out what
they like.

513
00:28:33,640 --> 00:28:37,080
Some, like I am a huge fan of
the bird and it's got these big

514
00:28:37,080 --> 00:28:40,800
long feathers, but I have a very
shy cat who doesn't like it

515
00:28:40,800 --> 00:28:43,840
because that one moves in a way
that he doesn't like so much

516
00:28:44,160 --> 00:28:49,040
where a wand toy that has a
little mouse on the end that I

517
00:28:49,040 --> 00:28:51,680
just tug along the floor.
He's all about that.

518
00:28:52,800 --> 00:28:54,840
Some would rather I have
thatchers.

519
00:28:54,840 --> 00:28:58,200
I have one cat that will fetch
all day long, you know, get a

520
00:28:58,200 --> 00:29:00,240
nice softball, throw it up the
stairs.

521
00:29:00,640 --> 00:29:04,120
He'll run up and down until
finally he's just done just

522
00:29:04,120 --> 00:29:06,360
panting.
So they all have their thing and

523
00:29:06,360 --> 00:29:10,960
all mine are harness trained
too, so all mine go outside and

524
00:29:11,040 --> 00:29:13,960
I here's a shout out.
Thank you Jay and Adrian.

525
00:29:13,960 --> 00:29:16,920
Their flea and tick formula is a
godsend.

526
00:29:17,000 --> 00:29:19,640
You know, my lawn doesn't have
any pesticides on it.

527
00:29:19,640 --> 00:29:22,000
So I feel very safe going out
there with them.

528
00:29:22,000 --> 00:29:26,320
I just, I had had one experience
with a cat and personally with

529
00:29:26,320 --> 00:29:30,880
the topical flea treatment.
So it's just my personal choice

530
00:29:30,880 --> 00:29:33,800
not to use it and their flea and
tick.

531
00:29:34,040 --> 00:29:37,360
I can spray it in my hands and I
have autoimmune disease and I, I

532
00:29:37,360 --> 00:29:39,040
don't spray it on them because
they don't like that.

533
00:29:39,040 --> 00:29:41,640
So I spray it in my hands and
then it becomes a grooming

534
00:29:41,640 --> 00:29:44,720
session, you know, just rubbing
it all over them.

535
00:29:44,720 --> 00:29:47,920
Then we take them outside and
that just, it's a hunt.

536
00:29:47,920 --> 00:29:50,680
It's been 100% and I love it so
much.

537
00:29:50,720 --> 00:29:54,640
And I, you know, it took some
time to train them on harnesses

538
00:29:54,640 --> 00:29:57,480
and I do it the right way.
Anybody who says just throw it

539
00:29:57,480 --> 00:29:59,520
on and take them outside, please
don't do that.

540
00:29:59,960 --> 00:30:02,600
Them inside, start them with
just a collar and that collar

541
00:30:02,600 --> 00:30:05,880
might last 2 minutes and then
give them some treat and try

542
00:30:05,880 --> 00:30:08,240
again the next day and then
extend it and then eventually

543
00:30:08,240 --> 00:30:10,760
make it the harness.
And then you can leave them

544
00:30:10,760 --> 00:30:14,080
through the house by dropping
treats or holding a churu and

545
00:30:14,080 --> 00:30:16,920
leading them through the house.
And then and then you can get

546
00:30:16,920 --> 00:30:19,400
them outside.
Because I know a lot of people

547
00:30:19,400 --> 00:30:21,280
want to do, if they're like, my
cats hate it.

548
00:30:21,280 --> 00:30:24,560
We'll go back to square 1.
And there's great resources out

549
00:30:24,560 --> 00:30:26,480
there.
I mean, we have a couple

550
00:30:26,480 --> 00:30:29,360
companies that have great
resources if anybody wants to do

551
00:30:29,360 --> 00:30:30,440
that.
Yeah.

552
00:30:31,120 --> 00:30:33,800
So if somebody out there does
have a business and they're

553
00:30:33,800 --> 00:30:37,920
interested in potentially, you
know, sponsoring.

554
00:30:37,920 --> 00:30:39,960
Being a business partner, yeah.
How?

555
00:30:40,000 --> 00:30:42,280
How does that work and how what
do?

556
00:30:43,040 --> 00:30:47,080
You it's so easy.
It is so easy and so inexpensive

557
00:30:47,080 --> 00:30:50,840
and so impactful.
You can be a small, small

558
00:30:50,840 --> 00:30:53,040
business or you can have a big
business.

559
00:30:53,040 --> 00:30:55,760
And if you look at our partners,
you will see all of them.

560
00:30:56,640 --> 00:30:58,720
I use an example.
I love Pam Webster.

561
00:30:58,720 --> 00:31:01,280
She has the, she's the
crocheting cat behaviorist.

562
00:31:01,320 --> 00:31:06,080
It is a small, newer business.
So she figures out what she can

563
00:31:06,080 --> 00:31:08,040
contribute and she can
contribute that.

564
00:31:08,360 --> 00:31:13,400
There's no set expectation.
Is it easier in some ways to

565
00:31:13,400 --> 00:31:15,680
manage when everybody has a set
amount?

566
00:31:15,680 --> 00:31:17,800
Sure.
But we want people to feel good

567
00:31:17,800 --> 00:31:21,360
about giving and we want them to
feel no pressure about giving.

568
00:31:21,680 --> 00:31:24,720
I don't want somebody to say,
I'm going to give you $500 a

569
00:31:24,720 --> 00:31:28,400
quarter and then their quarter
comes and they're like money's a

570
00:31:28,400 --> 00:31:32,200
little tight right now.
So the bigger companies are more

571
00:31:32,200 --> 00:31:34,640
apt to say we're going to pick
an amount.

572
00:31:34,840 --> 00:31:36,800
That's what we're going to give
every, every quarter.

573
00:31:37,480 --> 00:31:40,520
Smaller businesses, some do
percentage of sales, some do

574
00:31:40,520 --> 00:31:44,520
special events, some picked a
product and the proceeds from

575
00:31:44,520 --> 00:31:47,880
that product go to us.
We do not tell our business

576
00:31:47,880 --> 00:31:50,800
partners how much and we don't
tell you that you have to pick a

577
00:31:50,800 --> 00:31:53,040
set amount.
We do say give quarterly.

578
00:31:53,040 --> 00:31:56,920
Some set it up so money comes in
every month that makes it easier

579
00:31:56,920 --> 00:31:59,640
for them, harder for our
bookkeeping, but easier for

580
00:31:59,640 --> 00:32:01,680
them.
So we encourage people to give

581
00:32:01,680 --> 00:32:05,160
quarterly if they can.
You determine the level that you

582
00:32:05,160 --> 00:32:07,360
want to come in on and that's
where you go.

583
00:32:08,040 --> 00:32:12,680
We try to get the businesses and
you'll probably be like what to

584
00:32:12,680 --> 00:32:17,200
start around 202 fifty 1/4.
So even the bigger companies

585
00:32:17,200 --> 00:32:20,600
that's only 800 to $1000 a year.
And people like, well, that

586
00:32:20,600 --> 00:32:23,400
doesn't seem like a lot of
money, but when you have 82

587
00:32:23,400 --> 00:32:28,080
partners, it is a lot of money.
And it's, it's not about the

588
00:32:28,080 --> 00:32:31,000
individual give, although that's
what we need.

589
00:32:31,000 --> 00:32:34,600
We need the businesses to give.
It's about how much it is coming

590
00:32:34,600 --> 00:32:36,960
together.
We do not tear.

591
00:32:37,280 --> 00:32:39,520
Nobody gets more on social
media.

592
00:32:39,520 --> 00:32:41,760
No one gets a bigger space on
the website.

593
00:32:41,760 --> 00:32:45,400
It's not about that.
It is truly about coming

594
00:32:45,400 --> 00:32:47,960
together.
As far as the partnership part

595
00:32:47,960 --> 00:32:51,480
of it, we give what we call is
the business partners perks

596
00:32:51,480 --> 00:32:55,720
package and they in a
fundraising month get benefits

597
00:32:55,720 --> 00:32:59,000
back to them and set number of
social media mentions, blogs,

598
00:32:59,000 --> 00:33:02,640
emails, all the different things
that we do to highlight them.

599
00:33:02,640 --> 00:33:05,640
And it's easy to highlight
companies that you're

600
00:33:05,640 --> 00:33:09,840
supportive, right?
This is that we, I use their

601
00:33:09,840 --> 00:33:12,080
products that I'm passionate
about.

602
00:33:12,080 --> 00:33:14,480
So my cats have a surfer cat
harness.

603
00:33:15,440 --> 00:33:20,800
We have a litter robot upstairs
that Desmond that's his go to

604
00:33:20,880 --> 00:33:22,680
and we have options.
We have three.

605
00:33:22,680 --> 00:33:24,760
No, we have four boxes and three
cats.

606
00:33:24,760 --> 00:33:28,800
And so we have options.
I have sheer fun.

607
00:33:28,800 --> 00:33:32,360
I just highlighted them.
That is one of my favorite go to

608
00:33:32,360 --> 00:33:34,600
toys.
And if people do not have a

609
00:33:34,600 --> 00:33:36,800
sheer fun, you should have a
sheer fun.

610
00:33:37,400 --> 00:33:40,360
And I knew them before I started
missing me out.

611
00:33:40,360 --> 00:33:42,280
And so these are the things like
these are products that

612
00:33:42,280 --> 00:33:44,920
initially I reached out to.
Who did I know at conventions,

613
00:33:44,920 --> 00:33:46,920
when I was at conventions for
the Brody Fund?

614
00:33:47,480 --> 00:33:49,760
What products in my house do I
love?

615
00:33:51,040 --> 00:33:55,080
And you know, because I want to
feel, I want to feel I've had

616
00:33:55,080 --> 00:33:58,480
some sort of investment in them.
I wouldn't, I don't like the

617
00:33:58,480 --> 00:34:01,520
idea of, oh, we're just going to
pick a random business.

618
00:34:01,520 --> 00:34:03,800
I like knowing something about
the business.

619
00:34:03,800 --> 00:34:07,160
Or if a new company comes along
and we find out about them and

620
00:34:07,160 --> 00:34:10,800
we're really excited about them,
we want to bring them on board.

621
00:34:11,120 --> 00:34:13,560
And they also have to get that
mission.

622
00:34:13,560 --> 00:34:16,120
Meow feels like a family.
If you're not comfortable with

623
00:34:16,120 --> 00:34:18,520
that, you might not be the right
fit for us.

624
00:34:18,920 --> 00:34:21,159
Do we have an attorney?
Do we have an accountant?

625
00:34:21,159 --> 00:34:22,920
Do we do all the things the
right way?

626
00:34:22,920 --> 00:34:24,280
Yes.
Do we have full transportation?

627
00:34:24,800 --> 00:34:28,760
Yes.
But until maybe we're, you know,

628
00:34:28,800 --> 00:34:33,400
a multi $1,000,000 nonprofit and
even then I still think I would

629
00:34:33,400 --> 00:34:36,239
struggle with it.
I I like that personal feel.

630
00:34:36,520 --> 00:34:39,239
I like that I have a personal
relationship with all these

631
00:34:39,239 --> 00:34:41,840
businesses.
It makes me feel good about

632
00:34:41,960 --> 00:34:45,040
especially right now we're doing
something called the Summer

633
00:34:45,040 --> 00:34:49,040
Mission Meow Summer of support
because the economy has been a

634
00:34:49,040 --> 00:34:52,080
little unsettled and because
some of our smaller and medium

635
00:34:52,080 --> 00:34:54,679
sized businesses are really
feeling the impact of the

636
00:34:54,679 --> 00:34:57,200
tariffs.
I mean, this is a real thing

637
00:34:57,240 --> 00:35:02,560
that it's not it's not I don't I
don't get into the minutiae of

638
00:35:02,560 --> 00:35:05,600
politics.
It's just a fact that a lot of

639
00:35:05,600 --> 00:35:09,760
the smaller companies, even the
bigger companies, they, even

640
00:35:09,760 --> 00:35:12,960
though the products are made
here, they're getting bits and

641
00:35:12,960 --> 00:35:16,640
pieces from other places because
they wouldn't be able to afford

642
00:35:16,640 --> 00:35:18,880
having a business if they did
not, right.

643
00:35:18,880 --> 00:35:21,280
So we know they're feeling the
impact now.

644
00:35:21,280 --> 00:35:25,560
So we decided to take the entire
summer and highlight our

645
00:35:25,560 --> 00:35:27,600
businesses.
So you're going to see in our

646
00:35:27,600 --> 00:35:30,480
social media, and I wish I had
it right here.

647
00:35:30,560 --> 00:35:33,080
I would show you sheer fun
because I love it so much, but I

648
00:35:33,080 --> 00:35:35,040
don't want to get up and walk
out on your interview.

649
00:35:35,120 --> 00:35:36,320
That's OK.
Look up.

650
00:35:36,320 --> 00:35:40,120
Sheer fun.
Yeah, it's this sheer fabric

651
00:35:40,440 --> 00:35:42,520
that has a border that.
You know what?

652
00:35:42,840 --> 00:35:45,920
I wonder if I do?
Oh, my.

653
00:35:46,120 --> 00:35:48,280
In my office.
Perfect timing, right?

654
00:35:48,280 --> 00:35:52,600
I keep Sasha's choice.
Can actually show you.

655
00:35:52,600 --> 00:35:54,200
Awesome.
This is so cool.

656
00:35:54,200 --> 00:35:57,320
I swear to you I had no
intention that I looked over to

657
00:35:57,320 --> 00:36:00,400
grab something and there it was.
This is sheer fun.

658
00:36:01,320 --> 00:36:05,360
OK, Yeah.
And so it crinkles.

659
00:36:05,680 --> 00:36:08,440
Yeah.
So they love the border.

660
00:36:08,520 --> 00:36:13,000
And what you can do too is throw
it over a box and now they're in

661
00:36:13,000 --> 00:36:15,960
the box and trying to get out
from underneath that.

662
00:36:15,960 --> 00:36:17,680
You could hide toys underneath
it.

663
00:36:18,080 --> 00:36:21,760
You can put it over a cat and
then they're the 2 cats, one's

664
00:36:21,760 --> 00:36:25,760
under it.
It's genius.

665
00:36:25,760 --> 00:36:30,520
It's so simple, It's so genius.
And she makes a product for

666
00:36:30,520 --> 00:36:34,440
shelters too, that you can hang
this up outside a cage and it's

667
00:36:34,440 --> 00:36:38,000
a privacy screen.
It's like.

668
00:36:39,360 --> 00:36:41,520
I.
Know favorites and I just order

669
00:36:41,800 --> 00:36:45,080
I have so much over in my I just
got this from another one of my

670
00:36:45,080 --> 00:36:47,600
business partners Princess
dreams.

671
00:36:47,920 --> 00:36:52,360
She hand makes cat toys, not
just her she has a team but I

672
00:36:52,360 --> 00:36:55,360
just this was a new one that I
got from her and I love it so

673
00:36:55,360 --> 00:36:56,360
much.
Look at this.

674
00:36:57,040 --> 00:37:01,120
It's an ear of corn.
And it it crinkles.

675
00:37:01,120 --> 00:37:02,560
Doesn't have to.
Yep, it crinkles.

676
00:37:04,000 --> 00:37:06,040
This is one of our business
partners as well.

677
00:37:06,040 --> 00:37:09,240
I mean gosh, she sent me this.
This is 1 new one of hers too.

678
00:37:09,240 --> 00:37:11,080
She's made these beautiful
flowers.

679
00:37:11,080 --> 00:37:12,720
Oh.
My goodness.

680
00:37:13,560 --> 00:37:16,960
But if you if you go to our
website, you will see our

681
00:37:16,960 --> 00:37:19,640
business partners.
I couldn't be more proud of all

682
00:37:19,640 --> 00:37:21,480
of them.
And and they are like we have

683
00:37:21,480 --> 00:37:25,280
behaviorists.
Michael Delgado is, is a member.

684
00:37:25,920 --> 00:37:29,480
I think we have 5 or 6
behaviorists they're so

685
00:37:29,480 --> 00:37:30,680
passionate about.
We do.

686
00:37:30,680 --> 00:37:32,840
I mentioned Michael Delgado
easily because she's a board

687
00:37:32,840 --> 00:37:35,560
member too.
So she's very involved in our

688
00:37:35,560 --> 00:37:38,440
organization.
We have very small toy

689
00:37:38,440 --> 00:37:40,600
companies.
We have very big, you know, toy

690
00:37:40,600 --> 00:37:42,840
companies.
We have Doctor Elsies who's been

691
00:37:42,840 --> 00:37:46,000
in with us.
We just signed on Litter Genie

692
00:37:46,000 --> 00:37:48,880
recently.
So it really there's and it's so

693
00:37:48,880 --> 00:37:51,160
cool.
It's like we have, I've received

694
00:37:51,160 --> 00:37:53,200
emails at the holidays.
Thank you so much for your

695
00:37:53,200 --> 00:37:54,880
website.
It was one stop Christmas

696
00:37:54,880 --> 00:37:56,880
shopping.
I had no idea.

697
00:37:57,400 --> 00:38:01,400
That's amazing.
And we're also connecting people

698
00:38:01,400 --> 00:38:03,320
because we have brick and mortar
stores.

699
00:38:03,320 --> 00:38:07,240
We have several of those that in
different States and they have

700
00:38:07,240 --> 00:38:10,960
gone to our site and they found
wholesalers and now they're

701
00:38:10,960 --> 00:38:14,360
carrying products in their
stores because of their

702
00:38:14,360 --> 00:38:16,560
connection to Mission Meow.
I love that.

703
00:38:16,880 --> 00:38:19,760
I love that.
So much I didn't expect, right

704
00:38:19,760 --> 00:38:23,080
there are there are so many
things in the past 2 1/2 years.

705
00:38:23,080 --> 00:38:28,680
So it's been 2 1/2 years, 23
grants given and think we give

706
00:38:28,680 --> 00:38:34,120
quarterly 23 grants given for
$186,000.

707
00:38:34,680 --> 00:38:37,840
That's amazing.
I love that.

708
00:38:38,120 --> 00:38:44,840
And all to small organizations.
And what I think it's it's

709
00:38:44,840 --> 00:38:48,720
really important for people to
know is that these groups are

710
00:38:48,720 --> 00:38:52,560
the foundation of rescue,
whether it was on a dog side or

711
00:38:52,560 --> 00:38:56,240
the cat side, the small
organizations are really the

712
00:38:56,240 --> 00:39:01,640
ones doing just the tough stuff.
I mean, right now they're the

713
00:39:01,640 --> 00:39:05,000
ones taking in these teeny tiny
kittens and finding them all the

714
00:39:05,000 --> 00:39:07,360
time because they're the really
ones doing most of the trap

715
00:39:07,360 --> 00:39:09,520
neuter returns.
So they're the ones finding

716
00:39:09,520 --> 00:39:12,800
these tiny kittens and tomato
foster club that we work with,

717
00:39:12,800 --> 00:39:14,960
they're one of the ones that
taking special needs.

718
00:39:14,960 --> 00:39:18,040
Special needs kittens are more
expensive, you know, and some

719
00:39:18,040 --> 00:39:21,480
people say, Oh, well, you know,
maybe we shouldn't be trying to

720
00:39:21,480 --> 00:39:24,400
save them.
You could be saving more if you

721
00:39:24,400 --> 00:39:25,840
were putting that money
somewhere else.

722
00:39:25,840 --> 00:39:28,000
So guess what?
There's enough room for

723
00:39:28,000 --> 00:39:30,160
everyone.
I love their mission.

724
00:39:30,280 --> 00:39:34,080
You go to their page and see the
faces of these beautiful

725
00:39:34,080 --> 00:39:37,040
kittens, you wouldn't think
twice about doing it.

726
00:39:37,040 --> 00:39:38,720
And guess what?
They're in New Orleans.

727
00:39:38,880 --> 00:39:41,680
There are plenty of other
organizations around them doing

728
00:39:41,680 --> 00:39:46,760
TNR, doing foster, having the
traditional rescue build.

729
00:39:46,760 --> 00:39:50,320
There's plenty of that.
This is their mission, right?

730
00:39:50,320 --> 00:39:53,760
So there's room for everybody.
And I love what they do.

731
00:39:54,320 --> 00:39:59,280
So I just especially right now,
this is kitten season for people

732
00:39:59,280 --> 00:40:01,760
that really are not immersed in
the cat world.

733
00:40:01,800 --> 00:40:04,680
There's a small part of the
country down South that really

734
00:40:04,680 --> 00:40:08,560
has kitten season non-stop.
And I don't know how they do it,

735
00:40:08,720 --> 00:40:11,600
I really don't.
But for most of the country, it

736
00:40:11,600 --> 00:40:16,200
happens when we hit that 50°
mark and the female cats start

737
00:40:16,200 --> 00:40:18,400
going into heat and next thing
you know.

738
00:40:18,920 --> 00:40:22,240
We have lots of kittens being
born outside and I wish, I wish

739
00:40:22,240 --> 00:40:25,560
I could tell you the pyramid
right now of what 1 cat turns

740
00:40:25,560 --> 00:40:29,560
into, but it's pretty darn fast.
Because if one cat could be four

741
00:40:29,560 --> 00:40:33,040
months old, has a litter of four
kittens, if three are females

742
00:40:33,040 --> 00:40:35,600
and they're not fixed those
females in four months while

743
00:40:35,600 --> 00:40:37,960
having babies and on and on and
on.

744
00:40:37,960 --> 00:40:42,760
And it happens very quickly.
TNR is the humane solution for

745
00:40:42,760 --> 00:40:45,840
this.
So we really need to be

746
00:40:45,840 --> 00:40:49,640
supporting our trap neuter
return organizations as much as

747
00:40:49,640 --> 00:40:53,680
possible.
Because if we understand a bit,

748
00:40:53,760 --> 00:40:56,040
because I think it's talked
about more the veterinary

749
00:40:56,040 --> 00:41:00,080
community, we talk about burnout
all the time and a lot of people

750
00:41:00,200 --> 00:41:04,040
in this community know that it's
the highest suicide rate of a

751
00:41:04,040 --> 00:41:07,040
career.
Now our veterinarians that

752
00:41:07,040 --> 00:41:10,680
translates to rescue.
It is happening in rescue,

753
00:41:10,800 --> 00:41:15,560
suicide, burnout, compassion
fatigue, organizations closing

754
00:41:15,560 --> 00:41:17,520
to take a break because it's too
much.

755
00:41:17,560 --> 00:41:20,120
It is that way because their
hearts are so big.

756
00:41:20,920 --> 00:41:23,800
They're so big.
The organizations that we help,

757
00:41:23,800 --> 00:41:26,680
these people have full time
jobs.

758
00:41:26,880 --> 00:41:28,880
They are not being paid to do
this.

759
00:41:28,880 --> 00:41:32,560
There's not these huge salaries
in these organizations.

760
00:41:32,560 --> 00:41:35,200
They do it because they believe
in the work.

761
00:41:35,360 --> 00:41:39,400
They know the impact it's having
and it has to be done and they

762
00:41:39,400 --> 00:41:42,320
love cats and so they do it.
But it doesn't mean they still

763
00:41:42,320 --> 00:41:45,480
don't struggle.
They put on a brave face.

764
00:41:45,480 --> 00:41:47,640
I see them, I talk to them all
the time.

765
00:41:47,640 --> 00:41:51,800
They're amazing.
Then we also have mission Meow

766
00:41:51,800 --> 00:41:54,160
has a Facebook group for
everyone.

767
00:41:54,160 --> 00:41:57,760
So everyone we give a grant to,
we invite them into our Facebook

768
00:41:57,760 --> 00:42:01,680
group and I see the
communications, you know, I'm

769
00:42:01,680 --> 00:42:06,840
talking to them all the time.
We try to zoom every month or as

770
00:42:06,840 --> 00:42:09,880
often as possible.
Right now it they're in it,

771
00:42:10,000 --> 00:42:12,920
they're they're in.
And so we didn't get to zoom.

772
00:42:12,920 --> 00:42:17,960
It would have been this week,
but they're I just, I can't

773
00:42:17,960 --> 00:42:23,920
stress enough how amazing they
are and how we owe them so much

774
00:42:23,920 --> 00:42:26,320
more than we give them.
Because here's a here's a

775
00:42:26,560 --> 00:42:29,920
another.
We can go off on another topic.

776
00:42:29,920 --> 00:42:32,760
So I was talking about business
partners and I ended up back on

777
00:42:32,760 --> 00:42:34,000
my.
OK, no.

778
00:42:34,160 --> 00:42:38,680
Organizations we help, but we we
gave a surprise grant one month.

779
00:42:38,680 --> 00:42:41,760
It was very early on and we
picked an organization that we

780
00:42:41,760 --> 00:42:43,760
wanted to help that was
launching a foster program.

781
00:42:43,760 --> 00:42:46,280
But there was another group that
we really wanted to help.

782
00:42:46,560 --> 00:42:49,200
We didn't know yet if we could
give two grants in the month.

783
00:42:49,320 --> 00:42:51,280
They didn't know if we had that
kind of money.

784
00:42:51,800 --> 00:42:54,440
But one of the things they were
looking for was a fire alert

785
00:42:54,440 --> 00:42:56,640
system and not just really stuck
with me.

786
00:42:56,640 --> 00:42:59,200
I thought, Oh my gosh, how am I
going to sleep knowing that

787
00:42:59,200 --> 00:43:02,120
somebody, you know, and that I
don't want people to think that.

788
00:43:02,120 --> 00:43:03,840
Oh, well, how could they not
afford that?

789
00:43:05,160 --> 00:43:08,600
Being small means that you're
paying for food, litter, rent,

790
00:43:08,600 --> 00:43:11,800
medical bills, all that.
And the fire alert system may

791
00:43:11,800 --> 00:43:14,840
sound obvious, but it's
expensive and it has to be

792
00:43:14,840 --> 00:43:17,160
installed.
And there's a cost to that, too.

793
00:43:17,160 --> 00:43:20,080
And all their money needs to go
for the care of the cats.

794
00:43:20,280 --> 00:43:24,240
That was the thing so that
their, their grant was for that

795
00:43:24,240 --> 00:43:26,960
and they needed to replace some
ceiling tiles and some lights.

796
00:43:26,960 --> 00:43:28,520
There had been a leak in the
ceiling.

797
00:43:28,520 --> 00:43:31,680
And you know, but the fire alert
system was the big deal to me.

798
00:43:31,680 --> 00:43:34,800
So I reached out to my business
partner, sent emails to some of

799
00:43:34,800 --> 00:43:38,400
my donors and saying if
minimally we can just raise the

800
00:43:38,400 --> 00:43:41,960
money for the fire alert system
and not even the whole 6000,

801
00:43:42,640 --> 00:43:46,920
I'll be happy with that.
In a week we had the $6000 and

802
00:43:46,920 --> 00:43:49,960
at the end of that month, I was
able to get them on the Zoom.

803
00:43:49,960 --> 00:43:52,920
I didn't tell them why, but I
got them on the Zoom and told

804
00:43:52,920 --> 00:43:55,360
them we have the money, we're
surprising you.

805
00:43:55,360 --> 00:43:58,480
We're giving you a $6000 grant.
You're going to get everything

806
00:43:58,480 --> 00:44:00,760
you wanted.
First of all, they're crying

807
00:44:00,760 --> 00:44:02,960
because they can't believe this
has happened because all the

808
00:44:02,960 --> 00:44:07,040
money goes down the road. 15
minutes to the shiny bigger

809
00:44:07,160 --> 00:44:09,960
organization.
But wonderful that they're doing

810
00:44:09,960 --> 00:44:13,560
that work.
But this group, the very next

811
00:44:13,560 --> 00:44:16,360
day, the director of this
organization called me and said,

812
00:44:16,360 --> 00:44:18,680
Sally, you have no idea what
you've just done.

813
00:44:18,680 --> 00:44:20,800
We were going to close at the
end of the year.

814
00:44:21,560 --> 00:44:25,080
And I was blown away because I
I'm Privy to their budgets.

815
00:44:25,120 --> 00:44:27,880
I see their budgets.
They had the money.

816
00:44:27,880 --> 00:44:31,320
It wasn't about that.
They thought nobody cared.

817
00:44:32,360 --> 00:44:36,080
They thought nobody saw them.
All the money goes down the road

818
00:44:36,080 --> 00:44:39,320
to the shiny shelter.
We're always, you know, we have

819
00:44:39,320 --> 00:44:42,560
enough, but never to do more,
never to buy the fire alert

820
00:44:42,560 --> 00:44:47,200
system or to have a safety net
if, like, a washer or dryer

821
00:44:47,200 --> 00:44:48,720
breaks.
Like, we're always able to care

822
00:44:48,720 --> 00:44:51,080
for the cats and do all the
things we need, but not more

823
00:44:51,080 --> 00:44:53,960
than that.
And secondarily, isn't it nice

824
00:44:53,960 --> 00:44:58,560
to be recognized they're working
their butts off and nobody is

825
00:44:58,560 --> 00:45:01,600
telling them?
Good job amongst each other they

826
00:45:01,600 --> 00:45:05,120
are, but it's nice for them to
hear it from somebody else.

827
00:45:05,120 --> 00:45:08,840
So when Mission Meow says good
job, it's me, it's my board,

828
00:45:08,840 --> 00:45:13,400
it's my volunteers, it's the
business partners, they now look

829
00:45:13,400 --> 00:45:16,600
at the list of businesses and
say they all know who we are,

830
00:45:16,920 --> 00:45:20,440
they care about us, they see the
work that we're doing.

831
00:45:20,920 --> 00:45:24,360
They are still around today.
They move to a bigger building.

832
00:45:25,080 --> 00:45:28,120
I mean, these are the kinds of
things we now we just made A1

833
00:45:28,120 --> 00:45:30,760
pager that we're going to put
out called the Mission Meow

834
00:45:30,760 --> 00:45:33,840
Ripple Effect.
Because I started taking notes

835
00:45:33,840 --> 00:45:36,800
about all the things they're
getting new board members,

836
00:45:36,800 --> 00:45:41,480
they're getting more volunteers.
The impact it has on the

837
00:45:41,480 --> 00:45:45,960
volunteers, like they just feel
so proud of the work that just

838
00:45:45,960 --> 00:45:49,840
to be recognized, you know, to
be validated for the work that

839
00:45:49,840 --> 00:45:53,320
you do.
They get looked at more often

840
00:45:53,320 --> 00:45:57,240
for grants when they apply.
Once you've gotten a big grant,

841
00:45:57,600 --> 00:46:01,520
next time you apply, you list
that on that grant application

842
00:46:01,520 --> 00:46:05,520
that is going to help you.
It helps you get more donors.

843
00:46:05,640 --> 00:46:08,720
You know, we highlight them,
they get their social media

844
00:46:08,720 --> 00:46:11,960
grows.
It's so much more than just the

845
00:46:11,960 --> 00:46:16,720
money, and the money is so
important, but the rest of the

846
00:46:16,720 --> 00:46:18,320
stuff is what really gets.
You.

847
00:46:19,520 --> 00:46:21,040
I'm crying.
Got you right?

848
00:46:21,520 --> 00:46:24,040
I'm crying again.
Well, I mean, it's just so,

849
00:46:24,240 --> 00:46:27,360
well, I'm OK, I'm going to tell
a story because I was just

850
00:46:27,360 --> 00:46:30,760
talking to a veterinarian
yesterday who actually closed

851
00:46:30,760 --> 00:46:34,560
her practice seven years ago
because, well, mainly because

852
00:46:34,560 --> 00:46:37,520
she had a child and wanted to
raise that child.

853
00:46:37,520 --> 00:46:41,600
But she said at the same time, I
couldn't stay in the system any

854
00:46:41,600 --> 00:46:44,040
longer.
And she's, the reason that I'm

855
00:46:44,040 --> 00:46:48,320
connected with her is because
she's now in a program, like I'm

856
00:46:48,480 --> 00:46:52,920
mentoring her through a program
where she's learning integrative

857
00:46:52,920 --> 00:46:55,760
and holistic modalities for
veterinary care.

858
00:46:56,040 --> 00:47:00,320
But she said to me after the
first 100 times somebody

859
00:47:00,320 --> 00:47:03,120
screamed at me and told me I was
going to hell because I was

860
00:47:03,120 --> 00:47:06,120
charging for my services, I
became callous to it.

861
00:47:06,120 --> 00:47:07,760
And I'm like, I don't even hear
it anymore.

862
00:47:08,040 --> 00:47:12,920
And it reminded me that like we
talk on, on this podcast, at

863
00:47:12,920 --> 00:47:17,640
least about veterinarians a lot
because I, I appreciate them so

864
00:47:17,640 --> 00:47:20,640
much.
So a lot of, a lot of the things

865
00:47:20,640 --> 00:47:25,360
I say and a lot of the topics I
have on this show kind of kind

866
00:47:25,360 --> 00:47:27,160
of put veterinarians in a bad
light.

867
00:47:27,160 --> 00:47:30,520
And I, and it's not intentional
toward veterinarians.

868
00:47:30,520 --> 00:47:35,760
It's just that there's so much
more out there and, and there's

869
00:47:35,760 --> 00:47:39,680
a lot of fear around going
outside of the medical

870
00:47:39,680 --> 00:47:41,280
establishment and things like
that.

871
00:47:41,280 --> 00:47:43,400
And it's just a big, like
listening to you.

872
00:47:43,400 --> 00:47:45,920
It's just a bit, it's a big
reminder that it's not just

873
00:47:45,920 --> 00:47:49,320
veterinarians, it's everybody
out there that is trying to care

874
00:47:49,320 --> 00:47:52,680
for animals in whatever way that
they're trying to care for

875
00:47:52,680 --> 00:47:55,840
animals, because there are so
many different ways that it's

876
00:47:55,840 --> 00:47:57,040
hard.
It's it's hard.

877
00:47:57,040 --> 00:48:01,880
You know, somebody like that's
potentially getting a grant or

878
00:48:01,880 --> 00:48:04,600
applying for a grant from
Mission Meow.

879
00:48:04,600 --> 00:48:10,840
They are probably inundated with
people who, and I've seen this

880
00:48:10,840 --> 00:48:15,000
so many times where it's like
you have to put signs up because

881
00:48:15,040 --> 00:48:19,280
people won't even do the right
thing and contact you and try to

882
00:48:19,280 --> 00:48:21,600
get an animal to you.
And you're like, they literally

883
00:48:21,600 --> 00:48:24,760
just drop them off and leave
them sometimes in plastic bags.

884
00:48:24,760 --> 00:48:28,160
You know what I mean?
Like it's, it's like it breaks

885
00:48:28,160 --> 00:48:31,360
your heart in a million pieces
to think about.

886
00:48:31,640 --> 00:48:33,560
But like, that's the reality of
it is.

887
00:48:33,720 --> 00:48:38,280
The reality, it's why I can't, I
can't do that.

888
00:48:38,440 --> 00:48:41,440
I can do that.
Like you said when you talked

889
00:48:41,440 --> 00:48:44,640
about how, how TNR, how you felt
about that.

890
00:48:44,880 --> 00:48:47,400
I can go out short term and do
some trapping.

891
00:48:47,400 --> 00:48:51,240
Like I love to go out and just
be a part of the day and have

892
00:48:51,240 --> 00:48:53,840
the experience.
Not what I could do.

893
00:48:54,120 --> 00:48:56,720
I spent eight years in the in
the shelter.

894
00:48:56,720 --> 00:48:58,760
I, I know I could never do it
again.

895
00:48:59,040 --> 00:49:01,240
I know I can't.
I can't foster.

896
00:49:02,240 --> 00:49:05,680
You just know, but I can do
this.

897
00:49:05,720 --> 00:49:09,360
And I love the people and I love
getting to know the

898
00:49:09,360 --> 00:49:12,240
organizations.
That's selfishly, the Facebook

899
00:49:12,240 --> 00:49:16,080
group is just as good for me as
it is for them because these are

900
00:49:16,080 --> 00:49:18,320
amazing people.
Yeah.

901
00:49:18,600 --> 00:49:22,360
Met the most amazing, kind,
generous people.

902
00:49:22,400 --> 00:49:26,040
And what we also need to
recognize is and it's true in

903
00:49:26,040 --> 00:49:29,040
the vet profession, it's true in
the tech profession is true in

904
00:49:29,040 --> 00:49:32,280
the rescue world.
There are a lot of people that

905
00:49:32,280 --> 00:49:35,880
are a little bit awkward around
people, but love animals need to

906
00:49:35,880 --> 00:49:40,240
also remember that that
sometimes they may not they

907
00:49:40,240 --> 00:49:43,120
might be a little bit more on
the introverted side, but

908
00:49:43,120 --> 00:49:45,000
they're really good at what they
do with animals.

909
00:49:45,000 --> 00:49:47,920
So we we should be a little bit
patient and we should also

910
00:49:47,920 --> 00:49:51,200
understand that in the
veterinary world and in the

911
00:49:51,200 --> 00:49:55,480
rescue world, you don't know
what situation they just came

912
00:49:55,480 --> 00:49:57,920
from before they are now in
front of you.

913
00:49:57,920 --> 00:50:02,040
I mean, we should always extend
that kindness to people in

914
00:50:02,040 --> 00:50:04,320
general.
It's how I try to live my life.

915
00:50:04,320 --> 00:50:10,080
But in rescue and in veterinary
medicine, somebody you know,

916
00:50:10,720 --> 00:50:13,680
that's often they come into an
appointment after having just to

917
00:50:13,680 --> 00:50:16,840
euthanize a 15 year old family
pet, right?

918
00:50:17,120 --> 00:50:23,440
In rescue, they might be having
a foster at home who was doing

919
00:50:23,440 --> 00:50:27,120
well and just faded and passed.
And now they're in front of you

920
00:50:27,120 --> 00:50:30,600
taking in more fosters.
And maybe they're not fearing

921
00:50:30,760 --> 00:50:34,000
feeling they're most cheery.
But this is this is what rescue

922
00:50:34,000 --> 00:50:37,240
is.
So I think we just have to be

923
00:50:37,240 --> 00:50:40,520
mindful of that.
And right now, people should be

924
00:50:40,520 --> 00:50:43,920
thinking about if I'm trying to
reach out to an organization

925
00:50:43,920 --> 00:50:46,560
because I need help and they
don't get back to you in a

926
00:50:46,560 --> 00:50:50,280
couple days, don't be angry.
Understand that.

927
00:50:50,320 --> 00:50:53,440
That's the best that they can do
right now because your phone

928
00:50:53,440 --> 00:50:57,840
call is one of how many others
are coming in and they can't get

929
00:50:57,840 --> 00:50:59,440
to everybody as much as they
want to.

930
00:50:59,440 --> 00:51:02,160
Especially the groups we work
with, they're so small.

931
00:51:02,680 --> 00:51:05,520
There's one person maybe
checking that e-mail who's also

932
00:51:05,520 --> 00:51:09,200
checking their social media, who
is also out trapping, and

933
00:51:09,520 --> 00:51:12,360
they're doing everything so
they're wearing all the hats.

934
00:51:12,360 --> 00:51:15,480
And it's important that people
think about that.

935
00:51:15,480 --> 00:51:18,400
We want to support them, and
supporting them means, yeah, we

936
00:51:18,400 --> 00:51:20,720
can be helping them financially
like we do.

937
00:51:20,800 --> 00:51:23,880
But these organizations need
volunteers all the time and

938
00:51:23,880 --> 00:51:27,480
people shouldn't discount
anything that's possible.

939
00:51:27,680 --> 00:51:30,840
You don't have to physically be
able to go into organization to

940
00:51:30,840 --> 00:51:32,480
help.
What are you good at?

941
00:51:32,480 --> 00:51:35,800
What, what do you like doing?
You know, get, pick up the

942
00:51:35,800 --> 00:51:38,200
phone, call them and say, I'd
like to volunteer, but I can't

943
00:51:38,200 --> 00:51:39,360
come in.
What else can I do?

944
00:51:39,360 --> 00:51:42,280
Well, what do you like to do?
Well, you know, I love sending

945
00:51:42,280 --> 00:51:45,640
emails or making phone calls or,
you know, I'm good at making

946
00:51:45,640 --> 00:51:47,720
graphics.
I, I do graphic design.

947
00:51:47,720 --> 00:51:49,400
I could, I could maybe give an
hour.

948
00:51:49,760 --> 00:51:51,600
So maybe every week give me the
graphic.

949
00:51:52,120 --> 00:51:55,800
Everything makes a difference.
These organizations always need

950
00:51:55,800 --> 00:51:58,800
help.
Are really, they're, they're

951
00:51:58,800 --> 00:52:03,080
tiny, but so mighty.
And it's so much more rewarding

952
00:52:03,080 --> 00:52:06,520
to me to be involved with those
organizations.

953
00:52:06,600 --> 00:52:09,400
I mean, they're like these
families whenever I meet them

954
00:52:09,400 --> 00:52:13,040
and we get to do the check
presentations, it's incredible.

955
00:52:13,040 --> 00:52:16,920
I wish we try to, so if we can
go out and give a check in

956
00:52:16,920 --> 00:52:20,040
person, we do that and we'll
bring one of the big, big

957
00:52:20,040 --> 00:52:21,960
checks.
And I try to get either a

958
00:52:21,960 --> 00:52:25,360
volunteer or business partner
donor or somebody from my

959
00:52:25,360 --> 00:52:29,640
organization to come with me.
And the stories even just like

960
00:52:29,640 --> 00:52:33,200
when you make the phone call,
I've had people like, I got one

961
00:52:33,200 --> 00:52:35,160
woman on the phone.
She's like, hold on, hold on.

962
00:52:35,160 --> 00:52:37,400
I can hear her.
She puts the phone like, Oh my

963
00:52:37,400 --> 00:52:39,040
God, Oh my God.
She's like, so sorry I had to

964
00:52:39,040 --> 00:52:40,280
pull over.
I was on the highway.

965
00:52:40,280 --> 00:52:44,240
But Oh my God, Oh my God, you
get them crying.

966
00:52:44,240 --> 00:52:47,560
I got one group that was an
Apple picking festival when I

967
00:52:47,560 --> 00:52:51,120
made the call and she's like
you, I have to put you on

968
00:52:51,120 --> 00:52:52,760
speakerphone.
Everybody's here.

969
00:52:52,760 --> 00:52:54,920
My board is here, my volunteers
are here.

970
00:52:55,120 --> 00:53:00,200
They all erupt and are cheering.
I, I wish everybody would have a

971
00:53:00,200 --> 00:53:04,960
chance to, to hear that, to
experience that, because you'd

972
00:53:04,960 --> 00:53:08,080
want to get involved, whether it
was with them or with us, you

973
00:53:08,080 --> 00:53:10,080
would want to be involved in
some way.

974
00:53:10,080 --> 00:53:14,560
It's just, it's incredible.
I love that, I love that.

975
00:53:14,560 --> 00:53:18,080
So you have the foundation of
businesses, but individuals can

976
00:53:18,080 --> 00:53:20,800
still donate.
And it's, and we need them to,

977
00:53:20,960 --> 00:53:24,440
it's important, we have to have
both to really, because the

978
00:53:24,440 --> 00:53:29,240
reality is, so in a month, let's
say this past month, we needed

979
00:53:29,240 --> 00:53:33,440
to raise $16,000.
That is enough to pay the

980
00:53:33,440 --> 00:53:35,040
grants.
We do that in the month.

981
00:53:35,040 --> 00:53:38,840
So we get the business partners
and remember, they fluctuate.

982
00:53:39,120 --> 00:53:42,760
So sometimes the business
partner might have given $400.00

983
00:53:42,760 --> 00:53:46,200
in the next quarter.
No, it's tax time and tariffs

984
00:53:46,200 --> 00:53:47,800
hit.
And next thing you know, they

985
00:53:47,800 --> 00:53:50,640
can only afford $50.00.
So there can be a big

986
00:53:50,640 --> 00:53:53,600
fluctuation.
We, so our, our individual

987
00:53:53,600 --> 00:53:57,960
donors, it's all the same.
We need them both equally.

988
00:53:58,000 --> 00:54:01,840
And it's easy to donate.
You can, you know, we even snail

989
00:54:01,840 --> 00:54:05,880
mail, we still get checks,
checks from donors, but our, our

990
00:54:05,880 --> 00:54:09,720
websites, missionmeow.org and it
says on the website, you can

991
00:54:09,720 --> 00:54:12,320
donate through PayPal.
There's fees with that.

992
00:54:12,440 --> 00:54:14,720
Zell.
We also send a Venmo.

993
00:54:14,800 --> 00:54:16,600
That's just the way the world is
right now.

994
00:54:16,600 --> 00:54:19,320
So you can donate through Venmo
to Mission Meow.

995
00:54:20,120 --> 00:54:24,040
And it's really important.
And I know that you've people

996
00:54:24,040 --> 00:54:26,800
hear this all the time, but I
cannot stress it enough.

997
00:54:26,840 --> 00:54:32,000
Every dollar makes a difference,
$5 makes a difference.

998
00:54:32,000 --> 00:54:36,240
We have 100 donors that give us
five, $5, that's $500.

999
00:54:37,080 --> 00:54:39,400
Yeah.
It it all makes an impact.

1000
00:54:39,400 --> 00:54:42,800
I don't want anybody to think,
well, I only have $5 this month,

1001
00:54:42,800 --> 00:54:46,120
what's that going to do?
But if everybody thinks that

1002
00:54:46,120 --> 00:54:49,800
way, then nobody donates that.
And if everybody really

1003
00:54:49,800 --> 00:54:52,960
understands the impact that that
makes, you will donate it.

1004
00:54:52,960 --> 00:54:55,680
That $5 does make a difference
every time.

1005
00:54:55,680 --> 00:54:57,680
I because I'm the one who sees
them, I give all the

1006
00:54:57,680 --> 00:55:01,360
notifications.
It's not like every single

1007
00:55:01,360 --> 00:55:03,800
dollar.
I'm so excited that that money

1008
00:55:03,800 --> 00:55:06,120
came in because that's five more
dollars.

1009
00:55:06,120 --> 00:55:09,520
It gets us closer to making our
grants happen.

1010
00:55:09,720 --> 00:55:13,520
Plus we nobody likes to talk
about this, but we have, we have

1011
00:55:13,520 --> 00:55:15,320
things we have to pay for as
well.

1012
00:55:16,120 --> 00:55:20,040
Have a website, we have design
programs so we can make

1013
00:55:20,040 --> 00:55:21,760
graphics.
There are things that because,

1014
00:55:22,200 --> 00:55:26,040
you know, we in an ideal world,
we would have volunteers that

1015
00:55:26,040 --> 00:55:27,680
could do everything.
We just don't.

1016
00:55:27,680 --> 00:55:30,080
So some things we have to do in
house.

1017
00:55:30,080 --> 00:55:33,520
And so we have bills too.
We keep them very lean.

1018
00:55:33,640 --> 00:55:37,240
You can trust somebody who ran a
pet cancer fund for eight years

1019
00:55:37,240 --> 00:55:39,920
to never want to spend more than
they need to.

1020
00:55:40,600 --> 00:55:43,080
But we also, we go to
conventions.

1021
00:55:43,080 --> 00:55:45,400
There's a cost to those.
You know, we have to pay, get

1022
00:55:45,400 --> 00:55:46,920
there.
We have to pay for hotels.

1023
00:55:46,920 --> 00:55:50,920
We have to pay for a booth, but
it's important for us to be

1024
00:55:50,920 --> 00:55:53,600
there.
It's how we get into communities

1025
00:55:53,600 --> 00:55:56,760
and introduce ourselves to
potential grant recipients,

1026
00:55:57,280 --> 00:56:00,320
potential business partners,
potential donors, potential

1027
00:56:00,320 --> 00:56:02,000
volunteers.
It's everything.

1028
00:56:02,000 --> 00:56:04,120
It's not just out there looking
for money.

1029
00:56:04,480 --> 00:56:07,600
The only way we can build an
organization is by filling all

1030
00:56:07,600 --> 00:56:10,800
those roles, and there's just
too many business partners.

1031
00:56:10,800 --> 00:56:13,040
But if we don't have grant
recipients, who are we giving

1032
00:56:13,040 --> 00:56:15,040
to?
And if we don't have volunteers,

1033
00:56:15,080 --> 00:56:18,480
none of this happens.
Yeah, that's.

1034
00:56:18,840 --> 00:56:22,160
All of these things.
And so yes, money comes in that

1035
00:56:22,280 --> 00:56:25,640
feeds Mission Meow too.
So it's very important that our

1036
00:56:25,680 --> 00:56:30,480
our donors know that in a grant
fundraising month, if we raise

1037
00:56:30,480 --> 00:56:33,760
more, you are helping Mission
Meow make it through the next

1038
00:56:33,760 --> 00:56:37,880
few months for us to do the
things that we need to do and

1039
00:56:37,880 --> 00:56:40,360
then go into the next grant
cycle.

1040
00:56:40,960 --> 00:56:45,040
Yeah, Well, I just think, you
know, this is such an amazing

1041
00:56:45,040 --> 00:56:48,240
thing that you're doing.
I appreciate it so very much

1042
00:56:48,240 --> 00:56:50,880
because I know, you know, it's
easy, especially around the

1043
00:56:50,880 --> 00:56:53,440
holidays.
And it's like, you know, donate

1044
00:56:53,440 --> 00:56:55,440
to the Humane Society, blah,
blah, blah.

1045
00:56:55,440 --> 00:57:00,160
And I like for so many years, I,
I felt uncomfortable saying that

1046
00:57:00,160 --> 00:57:04,160
because I know how much with a
lot of these, especially the

1047
00:57:04,160 --> 00:57:07,600
larger humane societies does
that, you know, doesn't actually

1048
00:57:07,600 --> 00:57:11,080
go to the animals.
And so I appreciate being able

1049
00:57:11,080 --> 00:57:15,560
to highlight an organization
that is very lean and like, it

1050
00:57:15,560 --> 00:57:19,360
really is there for the animals
and just appreciate so much of

1051
00:57:19,360 --> 00:57:23,600
what you do.
And so definitely check out the

1052
00:57:23,600 --> 00:57:27,280
show notes, get all the links,
go to social media, follow

1053
00:57:27,280 --> 00:57:31,920
Mission Meow, whatever you can
do, please do that.

1054
00:57:31,920 --> 00:57:34,600
And again, just thank you so
much for being here.

1055
00:57:34,640 --> 00:57:37,040
They can reach out to me.
You know, there's, there's the

1056
00:57:37,040 --> 00:57:39,080
e-mail on there.
If you have questions, you're

1057
00:57:39,080 --> 00:57:40,880
going to, you're going to come
to me.

1058
00:57:41,280 --> 00:57:43,880
So if you want to find out how
you can help, what you can do

1059
00:57:43,880 --> 00:57:47,000
more or how you can help in your
community, we can try to always

1060
00:57:47,000 --> 00:57:48,840
connect you too, because we get
those questions.

1061
00:57:48,840 --> 00:57:50,680
I want to help in my local
community.

1062
00:57:51,040 --> 00:57:55,560
We've helped all across the US.
If they see on our grant page,

1063
00:57:56,200 --> 00:57:58,560
you look at the organizations
we've helped, they're all

1064
00:57:58,560 --> 00:58:01,680
looking for help too.
There's always a way that you

1065
00:58:01,680 --> 00:58:03,080
can give back.
I promise that.

1066
00:58:03,080 --> 00:58:05,480
And if it's not through Mission
Meow, we can try to guide you.

1067
00:58:05,480 --> 00:58:07,640
I love.
That of course I love dogs, but

1068
00:58:07,640 --> 00:58:12,960
I very much appreciate that it
is cat centric because I think

1069
00:58:13,080 --> 00:58:15,320
as we talked about earlier, I
think they get kind of lost

1070
00:58:15,360 --> 00:58:18,760
sometimes and.
The reality is that in the US,

1071
00:58:20,280 --> 00:58:23,400
when we're talking about
overpopulation and where there's

1072
00:58:23,400 --> 00:58:25,200
an issue, it's the cat
community.

1073
00:58:25,240 --> 00:58:30,480
Sure, there are places in the US
down South where we hear about

1074
00:58:30,480 --> 00:58:33,240
the dogs, and we know there's
transports that bring dogs up

1075
00:58:33,240 --> 00:58:35,880
from the South to save them
because, you know, it's just

1076
00:58:35,880 --> 00:58:38,000
different down there.
But if we're talking about a

1077
00:58:38,000 --> 00:58:42,600
country as a whole, in the
animal world, the population

1078
00:58:42,600 --> 00:58:44,480
issue is cats.
Yeah.

1079
00:58:44,560 --> 00:58:46,720
And so we need to get a handle
on this.

1080
00:58:46,720 --> 00:58:49,960
And by supporting these small
organizations, the grassroots

1081
00:58:49,960 --> 00:58:52,880
ones, we're really targeting the
root of the problem.

1082
00:58:53,640 --> 00:58:55,240
That's amazing.
I love it.

1083
00:58:55,640 --> 00:58:59,680
Thank you so much for.
Being here, it's been too long.

1084
00:58:59,760 --> 00:59:02,440
We got to talk about something
I'm passionate about.

1085
00:59:02,800 --> 00:59:06,760
I know, I know, it has been too
long and I can't wait to see you

1086
00:59:06,800 --> 00:59:10,360
again and hopefully that won't
be too much longer.

1087
00:59:10,360 --> 00:59:16,320
But until then, I I'm actually
I'm I've been looking at so my

1088
00:59:16,360 --> 00:59:19,760
do it, another podcast who
everybody listening is very

1089
00:59:19,760 --> 00:59:21,640
familiar with because I posted
here.

1090
00:59:21,640 --> 00:59:25,280
It's called the weekly pet
roundup with Isabel Alvarez

1091
00:59:25,280 --> 00:59:27,480
Arada.
I know, I know.

1092
00:59:27,480 --> 00:59:29,280
She's.
Love both of you.

1093
00:59:29,480 --> 00:59:32,240
That's a great.
I love that the two other.

1094
00:59:32,440 --> 00:59:34,160
Yeah.
And I know she's one of your

1095
00:59:34,160 --> 00:59:37,080
business partners and I've been
looking at that and I'm like, I

1096
00:59:37,080 --> 00:59:42,520
need to do that too.
Join It's a big, wild, crazy

1097
00:59:42,520 --> 00:59:44,480
family.
Yeah, much.

1098
00:59:44,920 --> 00:59:46,160
Fun.
Maybe one day we'll have a

1099
00:59:46,160 --> 00:59:48,840
mission, meow convention and
we'll all come together.

1100
00:59:48,840 --> 00:59:51,160
Oh.
My gosh, let's just do a cruise.

1101
00:59:51,160 --> 00:59:55,400
Let's just all go on a cruise.
I can't be on a boat that big,

1102
00:59:55,400 --> 00:59:58,240
but we'll figure it out.
I'll mute you at the

1103
00:59:58,240 --> 01:00:01,160
destinations.
OK, no cruise.

1104
01:00:01,200 --> 01:00:02,720
Got it.
Well, yeah.

1105
01:00:02,720 --> 01:00:04,800
So, Sally, thank you so much for
being here.

1106
01:00:04,800 --> 01:00:07,720
Thank you so much for what you
do, for taking care of these

1107
01:00:07,720 --> 01:00:10,560
kitties and the best way you
know how, which is a very, very

1108
01:00:10,560 --> 01:00:12,760
important way.
And I just appreciate you.

1109
01:00:12,760 --> 01:00:13,920
Thank you so much for being
here.

1110
01:00:14,120 --> 01:00:15,760
Thank you for having me as a
guest.