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Speaker 2: Welcome to Animaltopia on pet Life Radio. I'm your host,
Robert Zemro. Thank you for joining us. On today's show,
we sit down with an industry celebrity, the Fairy dog
Mother herself, Laura Nativo. We also have a special visit
from baseball legend and longtime pet lover Steve Garvey. And
we'll close out the show with a recent story about
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right back with Laura Nativo after these messages from our sponsors.
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Speaker 8: Let's talk pets on Petlife Radio dot com.
Speaker 2: Welcome back to Animaltopia on pet Life Radio. Some of
you may remember Laura Nativo and her Pomeranian Preston Casanova
from the show Greatest American Dog the short lived show
on CBS that so it was a competition show. It
highlighted the bonds between pet owners and their pets. Laura
and Preston stood out and quickly became America's sweethearts. Preston
and Laura both have beautiful smiles that draw you in,
and they're both extremely talented and fun to be around.
At a recent event, I caught up with the Fairy
Dog Mother herself and we talked about a wide range
of topics, from her recent appearances to her thoughts on
different industry issues. Let's hear what she had to say. Now,
you were just on the Marie Osmond Show. Tell us
about your parent.
Speaker 10: I was.
Speaker 11: I just did the Marie Osmond Show with Preston, and
it was very exciting.
Speaker 9: Marie Osmond is a legend.
Speaker 11: You know, we've all grown up watching her and Donnie
and Puppy Love. So we actually did a segment on
how to choose the right pet for your family. So
I brought on four different rescue dogs who were all
different ages, breeds, breed mixes, sizes, and then I brought
on a wagon.
Speaker 9: Full of twelve puppies. So it was really a lot
of fun.
Speaker 11: We talked about, you know how you kind of need
to just ask yourself what kind of dog is going
to best suit my lifestyle and kind of go from there.
So Preston came on and press and did a little
demo about small dogs, talking about how they are not toys,
they're not accessories, and they're very trainable, and Freston was hilarious.
Speaker 9: He rode his skateboard.
Speaker 11: Onto set and then at the end he started playing
the piano, and then during the interview, Preston got bored,
so he started skateboarding back and forth across the stage.
Speaker 9: So it was really cute.
Speaker 2: You brought up a great point pets are living longer.
It really is a decision that must include not only
your lifestyle but where you plan to be in the future.
Speaker 9: Absolutely.
Speaker 2: How do you advise people on that.
Speaker 11: I mean when people are talking to me about getting
a dog A lot of times, you know, after the
show we had all these rescue dogs on, so a
lot of people in the crew and in the audience were.
Speaker 9: Like, oh my god, I want a puppy, I want
to adopt. I want to adopt, you.
Speaker 11: Know, and you have to pull them aside and say, okay, listen,
this is great.
Speaker 9: I really am a huge.
Speaker 11: Proponent of bringing an animal into your life and all
of the joy and happiness that you know pets, whether
their dog or a cat, bring to you. But at
the same time, you have to think your animal is
likely going to live ten to twenty years, So you
have to think are you financially prepared, Are you in
the right position to provide an adequate amount of love, training, exercise, socialization.
You know, how much do you travel, and where do
you live, and do you like to exercise?
Speaker 9: Are you more of a couch potatoes.
Speaker 11: You really have to think about where you are now
and where you might be ten fifteen years and be
committed to being there for the life of the animal,
because that's the problem is so many people, you know,
oh I lost my job, I have to move, I'm
moving in with my boyfriend, and people give up animals
for such you know, sad, unfortunate reasons, where you really
have to realize, this is a living, breathing creature who's
going to give you infinite loyalty, just like a child,
and you've got to be ready to be there for
that animal for the duration of their right breast.
Speaker 9: He's like give me a new mom.
Speaker 2: Now, you've seen a lot over the last few years,
You've seen the industry go through a lot of changes.
What changes have given you the most encouragement.
Speaker 9: I think my.
Speaker 11: Favorite part about being in the pet industry for the
last five years, which is crazy that it's gone by
so fast. So I've really seen the evolution from I
guess people being just pet owners to pet parents. And
I think you've also heard, you know, people are using
the word I'm a dog mom or dad or guardian
versus owner. We're not looking at our pets as property
and as such that's being reflected in the choices that
we're making for pet products, for nutrition, for products that
are made in the United States. And what I really love,
what inspires me and it excites me, is seeing how
many American family run businesses are getting into the pet
industry and taking on some of the bigger corporate you know,
box stores to provide really great products and food that
are made in the United States. A lot of them
have a philanthropic you know edge where certain products where
percentage of sales are going back into animal charity. So
that's been really cool and I hope to see it
grow where people are just more focused on health and
wellness for animals as well as the social mission to
use whatever we're making within this fifty two billion dollar
industry and let's put it back into the animals.
Speaker 2: And a good part of that shift and change has
been because the companies themselves have realized there really is
a special bond between humans and their animals. Let's talk
about that definitely.
Speaker 11: I mean, you look at some of the most successful
industries you know in America and I think I think
a statistic that the pet industry has more money than film, TV, music, and.
Speaker 9: Video games combined.
Speaker 11: But with any other industry, your product is a commodity
or it's entertainment.
Speaker 9: With the pet industry, it's a personal connection. You know.
Speaker 11: No amount of money wouldever buy me to say that
I'm going to feed my dog buy products and things
made in China. I just would never do that because
because this is my best friend, this is the love
of my life. Preston has given me infinite love and
loyalty for the last ten years. So everything that I
put into his body and everything I allow him to
play with, I have to know that it is the
highest quality and the safest thing that I can give
to him, and I think that that's how, you know,
all pet owners are starting to look at their dogs
and companies as a result, you know, realize that this isn't.
Speaker 9: Just a business.
Speaker 11: This is a business that revolves around a four legged
member of people's family. So it's just a lot more meaningful.
And that's what I love about being here and being
in the pet industry.
Speaker 2: Now, Preston has given you a lot, and so too
did the show America's Greatest Dog. Yes, when you reflect
on it, what memories come back?
Speaker 11: Oh my gosh, being on Greatest American Dog was the coolest, craziest,
most random, life changing experience of my life. When I
went into that show, I was an independent film producer.
Speaker 9: I worked with dogs for fun.
Speaker 11: Preston was a therapy dog, but I would have never
imagined I could make a living working with animals. And
I really just did the show because I'm a very
clean cut girl.
Speaker 9: I don't drink, I don't do drugs, I don't smoke.
Speaker 11: I just you know, I love animals and I love nature,
and I thought, hey, this is a really cool opportunity
to do nothing but play with my dog for six weeks.
It's going to be an awesome story for my grandkids.
You know how many people get to shut off their
phone and the news and not check their email for
six weeks and just play with their dog. So I
really went into it with just a very naive, you know,
idea of having this really fun experience with my best
friend that I would reflect on for years and.
Speaker 9: It completely changed my life.
Speaker 11: And so you know, when I think back, when you
ask about a specific memory on the episode where we
were about to be kicked off, I remember it was
the painting challenge, and I remember laying in the grass,
and you know, everyone on the outside thinks you're like
living in this mansion and it's so glamorous.
Speaker 9: It's not. It's hell. You're working twenty hours a day.
You're exhausted.
Speaker 11: Your dog is as exhausted, you know, but you are
living in this beautiful house. And I just remember, like
laying in the grass, I'm covered in paint. Preston has
paint all over his face and his fur, and he's
just adorable.
Speaker 9: And I like, look up.
Speaker 11: And all I see is like the blue sky and
this rose garden and my dog's cute little nose covered
in paint. I just It's one of those visual memories
that I think for the rest of my life. I
was like, Wow, I don't know what's going to happen
from here, but I'm so grateful for this experience, and
you know, whatever happens, this was one of the coolest,
you know, most gratifying things I've ever done. Because for animals,
they wake up every day and their whole life revolves
around you.
Speaker 9: So to have the experience for.
Speaker 11: Six to eight weeks to be allowed to revolve my
entire life around my dog, that was amazing and I'll
always be really thankful for that.
Speaker 2: So you've done a lot of charity efforts, You're involved
with a lot of charities. Tell us about some that
you're involved with.
Speaker 11: Yes, I mean, if you're working with dogs and you
have an opportunity to have an impact on at least
one person.
Speaker 9: It's the most real things.
Speaker 11: So to be in a situation where we've got so
many friends on Facebook and on Twitter and in different cities,
you know, around the country, Preston and I are really
really just grateful for the opportunities where we get to
travel and so we go to pet events all around
the country to try to bring awareness for pet rescue,
for therapy dogs, for service animals. There are so many
ways that you know, we go out and we adopt,
but essentially dogs are saving our lives, whether it's you know,
literally or just emotionally. And it's one of the cool
things where we work with local charities in Los Angeles,
some tiny organization like Noah's Bark, Compassion for Canines, Hounds
of Hope, who are just tiny charities where everyone's a volunteer,
no one's making any money, people are spending their last
dollars saving every animal that comes into their path. And
I have so much respect for so many of my
friends that are really really involved with rescue, and I
do a lot with going into the shelter and training dogs.
I take in a lot of dogs and try to
train them and help find them the right home homes.
So we'll work on a local level like that, but
then we also do things with the Humane Society with
Best Friends Animal Society. I've been out to Utah to
cannab best Friends runs the most incredible sanctuary and I
highly recommend if anybody out there has a vacation go
to best Friends in Utah. It's absolutely beautiful and you
can volunteer, whether you're walking the dogs or training the
dogs or feeding them. They've got cats, they've got pigs, horses,
So Best Friends is one of my favorites. And then
we're also working Preston just termed ten. So in celebration
of Pressin's tenth birthday, we're launching the Preston's Planet Foundation.
Speaker 9: And I just have so.
Speaker 11: Many opportunities to meet people and fundraise for different causes.
So the first program that I want to launch is
called the Potastics and it's an animal assisted therapy program
where we have Preston and some of these incredible performing
dogs going into children's hospitals, to summer camps, to nursing
homes and doing fun entertainment performances, but then doing therapy
work after. So it's a little bit of a different
spin on traditional therapy work. And that's something that we've
been personally involved with for almost ten years, since long
before Greatest American Dog. Volunteering with this guy is one
of my favorite things to do. But then we also
want to raise money for service animals and for rescue
dogs and.
Speaker 9: Whatever we can.
Speaker 11: And then going back to the Marie Osmond Show, we're
also involved with the Hallmark Pet Project, which is a
new website that provides resources for pet parents, whether they're
looking to adopt or looking for health.
Speaker 9: And wellness information, nutrition information.
Speaker 11: So there's a lot of great information out there, and
anybody who's interested in learning more, you can always find
me on Facebook or Twitter. And you know, I get
emails from people all around the country saying, Hey, really
want to adopt and I love labs. I'm looking for
a lab and I'm like, great, here's the lab rescue
for you, or you know, you're looking for whatever type
of animal. It's one of my favorite things to help
people connect people to the right rescue group or shelter
to help them find their next best friends.
Speaker 9: So I'm very accessible.
Speaker 2: You're involved with a lot of community outreach and education.
Tell us about some of those efforts.
Speaker 9: Definitely.
Speaker 11: I think education is one of the most important things.
And as someone who's gone from being a dog mom
to a dog trainer, education about everything from training to socialization, exercise,
and nutrition is so important to me. So I work
in different ways where whether it's my friends or people
in the community, to my online community. People will ask
me questions on Facebook and Twitter, and I love to respond.
I try to do a lot as far as video articles,
but then I'm also doing some videos as well, training videos,
and then I've done some.
Speaker 9: Work with the AKAC.
Speaker 11: You can do the national championships, going behind the scenes
and kind of talking to people and giving them an
insight to parts of the dog world that they might
normally see.
Speaker 2: So what don't people know about Laura Nativo?
Speaker 9: What don't people know about me?
Speaker 11: I think everyone in the pet industry looks at me
as just a dog geek, and I am. I love
my dogs, They're my world. Preston just had a birthday
and I took him and his friends to the beach.
You know, I am that nerd, but I'm also in
extreme sports junkie enthusiast. I surf four to five times
a week. I longboard, I shortboard, I stand up paddle board.
So the ocean is my other obsession. I love jumping
out of planes, jumping off of bridges, climbing waterfalls. If
there's adrenaline and nature, that's that's me. So the other
side to me, and I guess just my downtime is
I love being outdoors and I love playing sports, and
other than that, I'm pretty mellow. I'm I'm just an outdoorsy,
dog loving nature granola hippie.
Speaker 2: What's one thing you wish every pet owner knew and understood?
Speaker 9: Let's see, there's one thing I would.
Speaker 11: I guess one thing that I just wish every pet
owner knew and understood was how easy dog training is.
Speaker 9: People will look at Preston and I and think, oh,
you guys, you know he's so smart. Wow, my dog's
not like that.
Speaker 11: And I really think every dog has the capacity to
learn and understand and communicate.
Speaker 9: People just have to put the time in.
Speaker 11: You have to make training a regular part of your
life where you're constantly rewarding good behavior. And it shouldn't
be something that you stress about, Oh, I've got to
take my dog training class, or oh I've got to
spend a half an hour a day, you know, two
minutes here, three minutes here. People don't realize if you
just put in little bits of training throughout the day,
how it all adds up and you can really develop
a communication with your dog where Preston probably understands about
one hundred words and phrases. And I'm not a rocket scientist.
I'm a self taught dog trainer. The first book I
read on dog training was I Think The Idiot's Guide,
And in the last few years I've studied with some
of the world's tap behaviorists. But honestly, it's just common sense.
And that's the thing that I try to communicate to
my friends and clients is that it's easy and anyone
can do it.
Speaker 9: You just have to put in the time, the love
and the discipline.
Speaker 11: And that's what I'm a big fan of, you know,
just encouraging people to spend more time with their dogs.
Speaker 2: Let's talk about nutrition and how it impacts our pets.
Speaker 9: Nutrition is huge.
Speaker 11: I mean, if you look at studies and research about
the animals who are living the longest, you know, you
can look at what that dog has been eating throughout
the course of its life, and you.
Speaker 9: Know, one of the things that really.
Speaker 11: Saddens me is you hear stories about how a dog
will end up with diabetes or kidney disease or cancer,
and all of a sudden, the pet parent freaks out
and seeks the help of a holistic vet, and all
of a sudden their diet changes dramatically. I'll go from
a low grade kibble perhaps to you know, a really raw,
pure diet of meat and vegetables and fruits and antioxidants
and the right supplements. And it makes me so sad
because why aren't we doing this from the beginning. Why
can't we feed our dogs the best possible food from
the time when they're a puppy all the way through
their older years. You know, regardless of what disease or
what health problems they might have, dogs just have so
much of a better chance of living a long, the
healthy life if we're putting good food into their bodies.
So you can't really put a price on nutrition. A
lot of people will say, oh, well it's really expensive
and I can't feed that. Well what's more expensive, preventive
nutrition or paying medical bills later down the road, And
then you think of the dog's quality of life, which
is the most important. So I'm a very big fan
of give your dogs the best food that you can afford.
Speaker 2: For those who want to stay in touch with all
of the different wonderful things you're doing, how can they
do that.
Speaker 9: Preston and I are very active online.
Speaker 11: We're total Internet geeks, So you can find us on
Facebook at Laurinativo or at Preston Casanova on Twitter.
Speaker 9: Same thing.
Speaker 11: I'm on Instagram at Laurinativo. I love Instagram. I'm a nerd.
I warn you you're going to see pictures of the
ocean and my food as well as dogs. And then
you know, you can always reach out to us, whether
it's through Facebook or through Twitter or Instagram.
Speaker 9: We really like to stay in touch with people.
Speaker 11: We love looking at everybody else's pictures and videos and
kind of If anybody has questions about things, we always
try to get back to them. So it's nice to
stay in touch with other passionate pet parents, and so
I encourage anybody out there to befriend us. And sometimes
we travel and we go to great pet events around
the country. So whether it's somebody who is a fellow
pet host or somebody who lives, you know, in the
middle of you know, the Midwest, who just loves their
dogs and lives on a farm, I love meeting people
and hearing their stories. And it's the one thing that
we all have in common is our love for dogs.
And I think if you love dogs, you have something
to talk about, and that's the great thing about being
in our world.
Speaker 9: So stay in touch.
Speaker 2: Thank you, Laura and Preston. What a great time, a
lot of great info. Really appreciate that and definitely going
to have her back soon. When we come back, we
will talk with baseball legend and longtime pet.
Speaker 4: Lover Steve Garvey.
Speaker 2: We'll be right back after these messages shift stay.
Speaker 3: We'll be right back after a short pause. Well for
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We'll talk to everyday pet owners and more.
Speaker 4: Listen.
Speaker 6: I am here to entertain you each and every week
right here on Pet Life Radio.
Speaker 2: Again.
Speaker 6: That's Your Pets My Dogs. I'm your host, Lisa Smith Putnam.
Speaker 3: Let's talk past.
Speaker 1: Let's pet Hetline.
Speaker 12: Radio petlfradio dot com.
Speaker 2: Welcome back to animal Toopia on Pet Life Radio. I
was fortunate to get to spend a little time recently
with baseball legend and longtime pet lover Steve Garvey. Let's
hear what Steve had to say. Steve, tell us about
your relationships with pets over the years.
Speaker 10: Well ever since my mom and dad picked me up
after my first grade final day and they had a
German shepherd with them, and they said, we thought you
should have a pet, and you did so good this year,
and what would you like to name him? Because I
love sports. I said, let's name him Sports. So that
was my first dog, my first pet. He stayed with
us about five or six years. He turned out to
be a thoroughbred. He should have been a greyhound instead
of a German shepherd. Used to chase motorcycles, but it
was as I was an only child, sport became my
brother and we grew up together over the next six
seven years. And over the years we've had a number
of pets, primarily dogs, and we have one now, Spartacus,
who's a Rottweiler about two and a half years old,
one hundred and forty pounds, and there's not enough synergy
natural bounds pet food around the house to keep him,
to keep him voe into the dish all the time,
I guess to speak. So you know, pets have been
a big part.
Speaker 4: Of our lives.
Speaker 2: That's great. Now you're involved with a number of different causes.
Let's talk about some of the different pet and animal
causes you're involved.
Speaker 10: With well through Natural Balance, my dear friend and we're
also clients. Over the last four years, Joey Herrick and
I who's the founder, I have talked about their presence
in the pet food industry and it's been such a
growing strong presence and the things we do are so
innovative and so creative from national sports sponsorships. We're very
integrated in Major League Baseball at a number of stadiums
around the country created Bark in the Parks in which
you have a chance to bring your pet to a
game and we have a pup rally and then we
do a parade around the warning track of the stadium.
And our sponsorships are created to be able to not
only to expand our brand, but to be able to
add an extension to who we are and what we
stand for.
Speaker 4: And that goes into the creation.
Speaker 10: Of Guide Dog Month, which is I'm so very very
popular and has raised millions to adoption programs around the country.
SPCA help We do a big event in Los Angeles
every year to what we think is going to be
and it is one of the most unique programs and
one of the great ideas from Joey Herrick. And that's
a monument that we've created to our military dogs who
have acted in valor and service to this country, and
a replica is going to be on our float this
coming January first, honoring these very special dogs. It has
been a bill passed by President Obama. We will actually
have this monument do a tour around the country that
will end up being placed with the other monuments in
Washington in October of twenty thirteen. So it's programs like
this that Natural Balance so believes in not just the
selling its products, but being a responsible citizen within these
United States and being reponsible in the pet food industry.
Speaker 2: And they really have done that, and they've really also
given a face to the pet industry, in particular the
pet food industry, which occasionally gets knocked but Natural Balance
is really taking it to a whole new level and
given great faces like yourself, Tillman and others. That's so important.
Speaker 10: Yeah, Well, Joey Herrick believes that he has been so very,
very fortunate. He started this business twenty five years ago,
and it's the old story. It wasn't a garage, but
it was out of the back of the car and
he and Linda would take the product and distribute it
around to the point now where they're really a very
very strong voice in the industry for the right way
to do things, the proper way to do things, how
to be responsible, how to give back. So just being
at the show here and like today, I'll be there
four hours. The response to the people, not only about
having the product in their stores, but how proud they
are when they see the bad Natural Balance name doing
good within the industry on our streets and our communities,
especially with this monument that's going up in Washington, which
Natural Balance and Petcoar are going to sponsor. It's things
like this that help create a strong reputation for the industry.
Speaker 2: Now, you've always been a member of great teams. How
does Natural Balance rank in those team team rankings there?
Speaker 10: Well, the most important thing is you have to honor
what you're representing, and that's the pet food industry and
the beliefs that pets are such a significant part of
a family and the need to treat them well and
to respect them and give them the best products and
services possible. And that's Natural Balances philosophy and again to
be responsible. So I think it's all part of being
part of a team. You know, everybody's represented in the
industry here, but I think there's a mutual respect, maybe
the same categories or maybe the same services, but each
respecting the other. Realizing that this industry only grows by
respect and trust and going out and eventually it's up
to the consumer to choose what they think is the
best product, but if it's supported by people who really
care about life around them, then that's ultimately going to
go to the testimony of who you are and what
you want to be. And I've been on a lot
of good teams and it's people working together, people helping
each other out and being not selfish, but selfless.
Speaker 4: So to speak.
Speaker 2: Not individuals, not I but we wonderful if you could
communicate one message to pet owners, what would it be.
Speaker 10: Well, I think it's so very important to realize, Oh,
though these are pets, they have a heart and they
have a soul.
Speaker 4: They're living and breathing.
Speaker 10: When you take them into the home, you have to
treat them as part of your family and respect them
just as you would a child or a grandmother or
a grandfather. And that's what we do with Spartacus and
all the pets that we've had in the past. They
become such an integral part of our family and we
only want the best for them. And it's ironic when
the economy went down, we thought, well, we're going to
go out less and maybe we'll buy this instead of that.
But we never skimped on a pet food for Spartacus,
it was always natural balance.
Speaker 4: And that's a lot of people think.
Speaker 10: You know, we may cut back on our needs, but
we're not going to cut back in the needs of
our animal and pet.
Speaker 2: When you think back about your various pets that you've had,
what emotion, what memory jumps out?
Speaker 10: Well, it's been interesting. Each of them has had their
own personality.
Speaker 4: You know.
Speaker 10: We've had English Cocker spaniels and German shepherds, and we
had old English sheep dogs. And it's interesting when you
get a dog and you look at it and you say,
what shall we name? You know, and we've had a
few Dodgers, you know, we've had a few Budweisers for the.
Speaker 4: Old English sheep dog.
Speaker 10: And now I went to Michigan State, so were the Spartans.
So we got Spartacus. You know, we got Sparty and
they've become you know, part of the name and part
of who you perceived them to be, and then they
worked their way into your heart. And just the other day,
having Sparti, we were at Dodger Stadium. We did two
bark in the parks this year, which is a great
testimony to how popular they are.
Speaker 4: But to walk.
Speaker 10: Spartacus around the warning track of the stadium and all
the dogs going by, and we rarely have an incident
and to have the people look up and get a
feel for what it's like to play on the field.
It's a special day and a special memory. And that's
what we're in really. In all the events and activities
we do, we create memories, and those memories trends into
being part of a family and family memories and it's
about you know, it's about us, about we, about family.
Speaker 2: You've had a lot of great leaders in your life.
How would you compare the Natural Balance leaders to some
of those that you followed on the field.
Speaker 10: Well, they all have one thing in common, and that's
they truly believe in a moral foundation of doing things
the right way. They believe in integrity, they believe in honesty.
The old by a handshake actually works with Natural Balance,
and there has to be some written parameters, but it's
by word, it's by handshake, it's by commitment, and they
expect that in return.
Speaker 4: Though you know, there's an old.
Speaker 10: Saying, don't take kindness for weakness, you know, and that's
what we do. And of course Joey Herrick sets that
tone we're good to everybody.
Speaker 4: They were kind to everybody.
Speaker 10: But don't take advantage of us, because it's still we
have goals and we have directions to go to. We're
going to stick on those and we respect others to
respect that well.
Speaker 2: Steve, you're certainly a special person and a special team player.
For those who want to find out more about your
involvement with Natural Balance, where can they go.
Speaker 10: Well Naturalbalancepetfoods dot Com. And of course it's been Dick
ben Patten's Natural Balanced pet food over the years and
he's kind of a patriarch for us, and his son
Jimmy is here with us today and their family has
had a tremendous influence on Natural Balance and been a
great part of it over the years. And it's a
lot about family, you know. Joey Herrick and Linda believe
that it's about family and that's how you grow not
only as a business, but as a family, how you're
perceived in the community. And even at this show here,
I mean, people come by and say, you know what,
my first job was with you and I want to
thank you and gone on to bigger and other things.
But they remember where they start and they still have
such a great respect and admiration for Joey and all
the people in Natural Balance, and I think that's what
life is all about. I mean, I spent fifteen years
in Los Angeles, who and I've ever thought that I
would go on from there, But I went to San
Diego and spent five years. And people will always come
up and say, you know what, I respect how you
played the game. I think he really went out there
and played for us, the fans. And I told him,
I said, I did you know, I love the fans.
I respected the game, felt I was fortunate and gave back.
Then that's what we do at Natural Balance.
Speaker 2: I want to thank Steve Garvey and the team from
Natural Balance for spending some time with us. Really a
great guy who was more personable and easy going than
you'd think. It was really great to spend time with him,
and I can tell you he really cares for animals.
Before we wrap up this episode of Animal Topya on
Pet Life Radio, I want to share an important story
with you that was sent to me by a listener.
And if you have a story to share, we want
to hear it. So reach out to me via email
or Twitter or Facebook. Let me know about it, and
if you're not currently following the show on Twitter or Facebook,
please do. I want to thank the more than thirty
thousand followers we currently have and encourage more to follow
us and share with us. I can be found on
Twitter at Animal Topians or on Facebook at animal Topia. Well.
This story really upset me and many others and it
was sent in via a friend who shared the story
of Jill Robinson, who is the founder of Animals Asia,
and unfortunately, in the past two weeks they got some
very disturbing and shocking news. After working so hard for
so long to build a world class sanctuary for the
bears rescued from Vietnam's bile farms, they're being asked to leave.
On Friday, October fifth, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Development informed Animals Asia that the Ministry of Defense had
issued in order to evict the entire sanctuary operation. And
it's one hundred and four rescued bears. There's no justification
for it, and I'll let you read the specifics as
to what they sided, but there certainly seems to be
an unsettling part to this, especially behind the scenes and
when you make the connections but in the end, what
it really means is that the closure would see the
one hundred and four bears that were recently rescued from
the bio industry evicted, seventy seven of the local Vietnamese
staff would be unemployed, and the financial losses to Animal
Asia would be more than two million dollars. And that's
just unbelievable. You know, after years of trauma from being
locked up in small cages and milk for the bile,
the bears were finally enjoying their dens and enclosures and
they had friends to play with. These bears are now
going to be forced to return to cages to be located,
and this is going to have a negative impact on
both their mental and physical wellbeing. It's also going to
take a lot of time, and I'm not sure that
they're going to get the time. So if you want
more information, please look into it. You can find again
more information on both my Twitter and Facebook, or you
can go to caretwo dot com search for one hundred
and four rescued bears being forced out of the sanctuary
impact into cages. Unbelievable. Well, that'll wrap things up for
this episode of Animaltopia on Pet Life Radio. I want
to thank my guest Laura Nativo, the Fairy doog Mother,
and baseball legend Steve Garvey for spending time with us
and opening up about their love of pets and the
pet industry. I want to wish the best to Jill
Robinson and Animals Asia, and I pray that they are
able to find a workable solution for the one hundred
and four bears, once again at great risk. I look
forward to a world where we're more humane and less
selfishly human for animal Toopia, pet Life Radio, and all
those who make this possible. I'm your host, Robert Simro,
saying I'm proud to be an animal topian and I
look forward to sharing more stories with you soon.
Speaker 8: Let's Talk Pets every week on demand only on Petlife
Radio dot.
Speaker 4: Com at two weeks