From housing issues to obstacles involving vetting and adopting, pet owners are feeling the heat in so many ways. Our nation is in a crisis right now as shelters flood with owner surrenders and strays. Many pet owners have lost all hope. Collecting data has always been valuable, but now more than ever so we can learn from reasons for surrender to shelter trends. Some of these statistics are really jarring. Jon Davis is the Manager of Data Analytics for Best Friends. He works in the Business Intelligence Department and learns so much from the information he receives from around the country. That research then helps shelter, rescues and Best Friends to provide help and hope. A real honor to chat with him in this podcast and learn why this is happening and how we all can help. For more: www. bestfriends.org

It would be interesting to see how many people listening have their microchips completely updated. Many times, people move and forget to update it or they change their phone number and forget to update their pet's chip. There is a team of incredible people devote to helping lost animals find their human when the chip dead-ends. What does all this mean and how is it even possible to find an owner when the pet's chip is completely wrong OR the pet was rehomed and info never passed along. So many scenarios. Jeanette Garlow, the Director of Microchip Hunters joins me with SO MUCH GREAT INFO! Join us! More here: https://lostdogsillinois.org/categories/microchip-hunters/

As a health care worker, Katelin burned out quickly during Covid, so when the opportunity to start her own small business arose, she took it. Good Boy Biscuit Co started when her dog Blue had issues with store-bought dog treats. Katelin decided to do some testing in the kitchen and the rest is history. Good Boy Biscuit Co. will be part of Roo Fest Nashville on September 28th and Kyla, an event organizer will give us a preview of this incredible event! For more: www.goodboybiscuitco.com 

Non-profit Canine Therapy Corps empowers individuals to improve their physical and psychological health and well being by harnessing the human-animal bond. They provide an incredible FREE service with animal-assisted therapy services using volunteers and certified therapy dogs. Amy Condellire is the Program and Volunteer Manager and joins me for a great convo on all the great work this charity is doing in our community! For more: www.caninetherapycorps.org

"An engine for innovation."
It certainly is. Dog Aging Project is absolutely fascinating and Dr. Jake Ryave, who is at the forefront of research, joins me to dive into all of it. YOU can be part of their study by enrolling your own dog into their Project, which has a goal of maximizing health and longevity for your dog! INCREDIBLE work they do. Oh, and they are a non-profit. Check out their work here: www.dogagingproject.org

"There is nothing more magnificent than a wolf." Abby Matzke started her career in animal welfare working with wolves and exotic animals. That lead her to the Shelter Manager position at Chicago Canine Rescue. Her experiences with wild animals has helped her in her role keeping the rescue and brick and mortar shelter organized. This is a great conversation with someone on the frontlines of rescue, but also with very unique past experiences that paved the way for a successful career here in Chicago. For more: www.chicagocaninerescue.org

Robyn started her career in forensics and from there has built a business with the most powerful images that you will ever see. From the lighting to the background to the editing, Haute Dog Photography creates memories and keepsakes that will last a lifetime. Robyn joins me for a terrific discussion on how she took this giant leap and built her business of creativity from the ground up! For more: www.hautedogpetphotography.com

When you adopt a senior gem from  Beth Stern, you better be ready for your social media to blow up. Haaa. That is what happened with veterinarian Colleen McCarthy and her dog Bugsy. Colleen and her partner Dan take in broken dogs and cats and give them the absolute best. A great conversation with some great insight into vet med, too. Follow her crew here: https://www.instagram.com/bugsybuttonbellisima/

"I remember going there every day and trying not to take it personal."
In the age of The Bear, kitchen's have been exposed as an intense place to work. For anyone that has work in one, you already know that. (Former waitress, here) Kim Padilla, formerly a Michelin Star chef, is now making pet cakes and treats with her Cosmico's Pet Bakery. I love this convo so much. Woman and Latina-Owned Biz! PLEASE SUPPORT HER: https://cosmicospetbakery.com/

Imagine seeing your adoptable animals with water rising around them. In late June, that was a reality for Heartland Animal Shelter when a water main broke, flooding their shelter. The quick actions of the community, staff, volunteers and strangers from all over the world made sure this catastrophe a little less brutal. Shelter Manager Allyson Rosenthal joins me to talk about that incredibly difficult day, but also how inspiring the whole event was for her and her team! To donate to Heartland: https://www.heartlandanimalshelter.org/donate/

Senior pet adoption has been on the rise the last few years and Zoe from Newman Nation: Senior Pets United has been taking discarded seniors since 2017. There is a lot of heartache, but also so much reward. Zoe and I catch up on her latest rescues and her thoughts on the current shelter crisis. 

Imagine being at work knowing your dog is on a field trip! The Magic Dog Bus is a relatively new business venture, but it has taken off in the Tennessee area! Join Founder Amy for a conversation about all the goodness she gets to experience every day on the magic dog bus! 

Pet photography is truly an art. When you pair sick animals or hospice pets with that, you come up with some magical moments. Pet Photographer Kimberly Kingen joins me with some truly great insight into her pet photography! 

"The greatest act of love we can do for somebody is to let them go." Foreverland Farm is doing incredible work by rescuing discarded farm animals. The podcast could have been 3 hours and I would have been so entertained. Recently, Brittney reached out for help with a puppy with cancer, which is so rare. We helped financially at Live Like Roo Foundation and I wanted to know so much move about the farm, so I had Brittney join me! This is such a great chat! 

A devastating incident with a pet care company change Dan Rubenstein's life forever. The CEO and Founder of Pup Pet Club knew he had to build a better business focused on listening to customers. His journey started in NYC and moved to Chicago and with over 25 years in the pet care business, he is proud of what he has built in memory of Sydney. More here: https://pupspetclub.com

It can be a dark place when you think about abused and neglected animals. There are also dogs stuck in the judicial system hanging on by a thread in a cage 24/7 waiting for a court date, but with the help of Safe Humane Chicago, those animals have a future instead of a death sentence. Cynthia Bathurst, the Founder of Safe Human Chicago, joins me to talk about all of the goodness the program brings to Chicago and now, far beyond Chicago! While education is the key to our future, Cynthia has built a program by learning from the past and it continues to grow and flourish under her guidance! For more: www.safehumanechicago.org 

Often we are going about our daily life and we do not recognize something in front of us that could be a big problem. In big cities, thousands of birds die each migration season (and beyond) when they run into buildings. Those buildings are not just the 50 story offices, but also smaller buildings. There are many ways to help and Annette from Chicago Bird Collision Monitors is so knowledgable on the subject and she has been doing it for over 20 years! For more: https://www.birdmonitors.net/

I decided to turn a Live Like Roo story into a podcast because it is just so special. Sometimes fate steps in when you need it the most. Imagine losing your house, your owner and the only semblance of life that you know in a span of a few weeks. That happened to a dog named Tiki. 2 Heroes stepped in named Tom and Cary and as luck would have it, our Accountant heard their story at a hotel bar and the rest is history.

Imagine starting a business plan at age 8 and seeing it flourish at age 16. Ava decided to make homemade dog treats at age 6 and NOW her product is in Target. She also gives back to community by donating treats to non-profits and dog shelters. She is a great guest! For more: www.avaspetpalace.com

I have so much respect for vet techs. They do SO MUCh and I always say they do not get paid enough for all the work they do not just medically, but also emotionally. I met Dani a few years ago and because of the vets that Live Like Roo uses, she was often the tech for our difficult cases. She was watching the pawdcast a few weeks ago with Dr. Josie Horchak, her former coworker and I decided to ask her to come on so we could chat about what it is like to be a vet tech! 

Natalie from Great Lake Pigeon Rescue joins me to chat about these incredible animals and what the rescue does to help them! What you may see as a disposable annoyance on a city street, some people see as a family pet. My jaw was on the floor for a lot of this interview. Natalie and her colleagues at Great Lakes Pigeon Rescue do so much great work for injured, discard pigeons and doves. When you hear what some of these birds go through, it is really hard to believe. Great Lakes Pigeon Rescue’s mission is to save the lives of homeless domestic and non-releasable pigeons and doves in the Great Lakes region, who otherwise would face euthanasia or a slow death from lack of care, by providing foster homes, adoption services, medical treatment, and compassionate education about the need for pigeon and dove rescue. For more: https://greatlakespigeonrescue.org

Dr. Horchak was my go-to for all things cancer-related and old hot mess chihuahua related when she was with a local Chicago vet. She uprooted and opened her OWN practice in Nashville and though I was sad, I was so proud of her. I always feel lucky when we get someone like her on the podcast because she not only started a biz from the ground up, but she has the best heart and always helped me through tough cases! 

"We cannot save them all." 
Elli Frank adopted Mr. Bones from an open admission shelter and because of his reactivity in situations that caused him stress and angst, she had to say goodbye to him with a behavior euthanasia. Elli was talking about this long before many were brave enough to tell the truth about what happened to some animals. Elli also bases her rescue on QUALITY and not QUANTITY. There is no competition with other groups. She just wants to give the animals in her care the absolute best. Is it always perfect? No, but she is doing it the right way. Elli is a terrific guest, with lots of knowledge through firsthand experience.  OH PS: Elli did not grow up with dogs! Tune in at 7pm central! For more on Mr. Bones & Co: https://mrbonesandco.org/

Imagine you become incapacitated in some way or even worse you pass away. Think about the instructions you leave a pet sitter when you go on vacation. (SAME!) What if there was no plan for your dog? What if your cat had to go to a friend and they did not know the cat was an escape artist. So much to think about if your pets were left to someone who had little to no info about them. Christine Ciana Calabrese has made it REALLY easy for you with her book "What About The Dog," which is as much a journal as it is a book. It pokes at you to THINK about what the needs are of your pets in case something ever happens to you. Something we ALL should think about and journal about as tough as it may be. A great guest! More here: https://www.whataboutthedogbook.com/