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Speaker 1: This Pet Life Radio.

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Speaker 2: Let's Talk Pets. Welcome to Covered in Pet Hair, a

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boozy show for pet lovers on Pet Life Radio. I'm

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your host Isabelle Alvazerata, and today I have the pleasure

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of having a drink in a chat with two pet

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lovers that are making waves in pet pr I will

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tell you all about them and introduce you as soon

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as we come back from these messages from our sponsors. Hi,

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I'm Isabelle Alberzerata, the host of Covered in Pet Hair.

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You know the expression cats have nine lives? Well, what

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if you could give them one more? Give them ten?

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Movement is on a mission to help give cats an

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extra life. How with spee and neuter. Spaying and neutering

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your cat helps them live a longer, healthier life and

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it helps control free roaming cat populations too. Learn more

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about the benefits of spae and neuter and meet Scooter,

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the neuter cat at Give Them ten dot Org. That's

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give them tean dot Org.

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Speaker 1: Let's Talk pets on Petlife Radio dot com.

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Speaker 2: Welcome to coveredy Pet Hair of Booby so for pet

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lovers on Pet Life Radio. I'm your host Isabelle Alvazarana,

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and today I have the pleasure of having a drink

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in the chat with two wonderful women who are pet lovers,

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rescue advocates, here professionals. They are on top of it,

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boss ladies who really know the industry. They have a

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very soft spot in their heart for animal cats specifically,

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and they are Mary Tan and Alex sand Ricard of

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Whisker Media, the Whisker Report and Alex Sand's rescue nonprofit

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Saving Lives with two A's. Welcome, ladies. It's so great

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to have you on the show.

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Speaker 3: Yey, so exciting be here. We love Isabelle.

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Speaker 2: No, I love you guys too. I'm so excited to

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have you here. I'm so excited to start the year

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with you because there's a lot that I want to

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talk about in like trends, and I couldn't think of

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two better people to do that with. You guys have

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like you guys really have a pulse on everything pet

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specific to the industry. You go to all the pet

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trade shows and events. But before we dig in, I

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want to introduce our drinking game. So if you're new

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to Covered in Pet Hair, there is a drinking game here.

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This is a boozy show for pet lovers so anytime

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you hear a word that starts with pee, the secret

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word is pets. That one right, they drink up whatever

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you're enjoying, But please do not overdrink, especially because lots

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of places are covered in snow right now. Please drink responsibly.

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Be over twenty one in the US to partake. Never

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drink and drive. Please, please please be careful. So are

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you guys having any kind of libation with us today?

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Because I sure am. What are you having, Alex? Alex

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and I have shared many a libation at industry events,

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So tell me what are you having? I'm having a

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little gin and tonic. Love a gin and tonic. How

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about you, Mary? I see that you're keeping it warm somewhere.

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Speaker 4: Yes, I am actually drinking some tea with just a

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little bit of brandy, you know, like Nieki, and you know,

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different kind of libations in it.

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Speaker 2: I love that. I love that so much. I thought

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about having a hot toddy because it is snowing in

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Olpaso today. But I've been craving on Manhattan for a

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long time, like all Christmas long, I just wanted a Manhattan.

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So this is a Manhattan with extra cherry juice. Cheers, ladies.

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It's so good to have you show. I cannot wait

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to dig in because I am such a fan of you.

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I love that we have a similar I guess background.

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Mary in media, you were very much a journalist for

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a very long time. And Alex I just realized I

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lived in a town after college right by your hometown.

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Speaker 5: I lived in Montagee, Yeah, which is quite close. Yeah,

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that is so crazy. I had heard you say that

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you lived in Troy, and I was like, I don't

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know that I know that place, and then I looked

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it up and I was like, oh my.

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Speaker 2: Gosh, it's right, Holly buddys. But you were like a

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child when that happened when I was right after college,

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so I don't think we would have been able to

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share a libation back then. So I'm happy we know

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each other now.

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Speaker 4: Well, actually there's no drinking age in France, breaking age

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of two.

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Speaker 2: That's true. And I am wearing my bonjour shirt sweatshirt

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just for you, Alexan. I you really appreciate it. I

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love you so much. I've had such a fun time

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getting to know you guys over anytime we've run into

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each other at these industry events, I just saw you

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a blog part in Boulder in November. So, I mean,

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we have cross puts in many places. You really are

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doing such a good job of bringing together a lot

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of things that other industries do and bringing them into

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the pet industry. I feel like the pet industry gets

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forgotten a lot. It's so cute and it's so sweet,

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but it's multi billion dollar industry and people kind of

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forget about it. So I want to start, because you

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guys have a pulse on everything that's cool and great

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in the industry. I want to play a game with

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you called hot or Not? Ooh, okay, okay. So I

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found a list on LinkedIn. Actually this some of these

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I added, but I found the list about the things

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that the industry expects to trend in twenty twenty five.

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So if you think that this is hot, then you

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say hot, and if you don't, you say not. Are

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you guys ready to play?

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Speaker 3: Yeah, let's go.

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Speaker 2: All right, let's do this. So customized nutrition plans, cod

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or not hot? Yeah, all right, sustainable and eco friendly

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products hot hot? Very hot?

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Speaker 3: Do Alex and I compete against each other to say

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who can say hot or not first?

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Speaker 2: And we'll see if you guys disagree on any and

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that'll be interesting, Okay. Insurance hot or not hot? Always hot?

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Speaker 3: Ah?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, Yeah, Now I would have said not.

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Speaker 3: Hot, but really Okay, that's interesting.

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Speaker 2: We're gonna put a pin in that because I want

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to come back to that. E commerce for pet products

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instead of shopping in person. Hot or not hot? Hot? Oh,

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she's like warm.

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Speaker 3: Okay, it depends on the generation.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, exactly right. I agree with you. Pep tech apps

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and products that are tech based for pet hot not.

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I've even seen a generational difference here for sure. That's interesting. Mary.

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I would have said hot only because I don't use them,

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but I see on them a lot. So we're gonna

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put a pin in that one too. Outerwear for pets

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hot or not hot?

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Speaker 3: Hot?

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Speaker 2: Yeah, hot, Yes, Like I'm coming around to it too.

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Like before I was like, why do pets need all

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these things? But now I'm coming around to it.

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Speaker 6: Yeah.

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Speaker 2: Fresh foods for pet hot or not hot hot, super hot,

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feeling hot hot hot, Okay. Enrichment just the wad enrichment

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hot hot Okay. Specie specific feeders bye bye regular old bull.

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Let's talk species specific feeders. Yeah, hot hot. Subscription boxes

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for pets top okay, and specialty grooming products for pets

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like fancy shampoos and paw balms and.

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Speaker 3: Things like that.

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Speaker 2: Interesting. I am surprised by that, really really surprised by that.

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I am okay. So next thing I wanted to talk

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to you about was your background, but I kind of

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want to talk about pet insurance and why Alex sand

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does not think it's hot. Okay.

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Speaker 3: So, so I come from Europe. We don't really have

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pet insurance. It's just new there, and I just moved

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to Canada where people have pet insurance, right, So I've

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been looking at getting one from my own rescue cat, Tadiki,

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And when I look into it, people are like, insurance

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are actually a scam. They always found a loophole for you,

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like not to pay for your VETS appointments. So what

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I've seen people doing now is kind of create a

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trust fund for their pet. Then that's kind of what

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I've been doing with Tadiki, and so I can have

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my own insurance for her. So she has a trust fund.

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It's not high, right, but every month I do put

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a little bit of money in it, and so if

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I need to go to the vets, I use that

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instead of an insurance because I feel like they won't

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pay the full amount anyway, So for me, I won't

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subscribe to an insurance.

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Speaker 2: Okay, all right, I hear that I have my cat

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on insurance. My dogs are not because they're old, and

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then that way that when they're older, it definitely gets

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really expensive. And I'm a less is more type of

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like medical intervention kind of person. If they get really

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sick at a certain age, I'm just going to do

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more poweriative care. So I do understand that it's definitely

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person specific. But I do think that more insurance companies

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are getting into the pet insurance game.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, absolutely, I believe like State Farm Insurance, which I

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think does my home and my car insurance, they now

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went into pet, but it's only in certain states. But

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I'm gonna tell you my story with pet insurance. Josie,

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who passed away in March, she was on pet insurance

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from the age of two to probably ten because at

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the age of ten she oh my gosh, the amount

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they wanted me to pay blew up like five hundred dollars.

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But every time I tried she needed ACL surgery, which

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is like whatever. Seventeen hundred dollars they refused to pay.

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Every single time I submitted something, they refused to pay,

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and they always likened it back like, oh, she had

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some existing condition because you know five years ago you

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brought her in for limping and they look at all

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of your vet records. So I got really angry. And so,

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as a person who also doesn't like to be in

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debt for any reason, my recommendation and what I do

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is I took that money I would have paid for

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pet insurance and I put it in a savings account.

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And that's honestly the best way to do it. Also,

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I want to clarify one thing. Like a lot of

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Banfield pet hospitals that are national, they have a wellness plan.

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A wellness plan is not the same as insurance. A

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wellness plan is like for preventative and checkups inferstance.

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Speaker 3: So people should remember that too.

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Speaker 4: You know, if your dog gets in a car accident,

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the Banfield plans, the wellness plans will reduce the costs,

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but it's you're still going to have to bear the

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brunt of it because it really only covers wellness. And

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I think a lot of people get that confused because

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they think it's pet insurance.

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Speaker 2: Yes, exactly. Thank you for adding that. That's so true. Well, Mary,

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you were a field reporter, if I'm not mistaken, for

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many many years, and you somehow found your way into

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pet specific media, pet specific PR founding Whisker Media. So

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when did that happen in What was the kind of

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path that led you there? So?

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Speaker 4: Right, you know, right after college, I went to school

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for broadcast journalism. Always wanted to be a reporter or

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a network correspondent, so I went that route, you know,

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and you start in a small market, then you move up.

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So I started in Duluth, Minnesota, and then I went

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to Madison, Wisconsin, went to Las Vegas, I went to Atlanta.

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Speaker 3: I was in New York City briefly.

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Speaker 4: When I was in Atlanta, I did a lot of

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reporting for Fox News and CNN as a contributing reporter

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as well, whenever, you know, we were on the big stories.

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So I did that for many many years, and I

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was primarily a crime reporter and did more investment gate

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of things in some markets as well.

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Speaker 3: And what happened was I just got sick of it.

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Speaker 4: And you know, the hours are terrible. I had to

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work early morning hours, you know, there were twelve fourteen

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hour days, and when there's a big story like right

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now the fires in la I can only imagine those

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reporters are now going to work probably for the next

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three to four days straight.

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Speaker 3: You'll maybe sleep two or three hours. But it's a

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really difficult It's actually a difficult life in some ways.

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So I did that for many, many years.

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Speaker 4: But I've always loved cats, and I loved, always loved animals,

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and I was never I used to get in arguments

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with some of my bosses and my editors, like I

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really want to cover a pet story and they're like, no,

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you're the murder and mayhem person.

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Speaker 3: Go and cover the mayhem of the world. And I

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did that, but always secretly, I in my off time,

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in the very little off time I had, I would

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try to volunteer at rest us and shelters, and so

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eventually I'm like, I can't do this anymore.

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Speaker 2: I'm just sick of it.

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Speaker 4: You know, once you cover a murder and you start

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getting really like, you know, oh, it's just another dead body, yeah, terrible,

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and like I hate to say this, but I was

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getting grizzled, and it was like, oh, I'm so sorry.

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I would knock on the door of somebody who just

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lost their you know, loved one, and I say, hi.

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Speaker 3: I'm with you know, channel six, and.

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Speaker 4: I really am so sorry to hear what happened. But

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could I do an interview with you? And I could

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I get a picture of you know, your son or

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daughter who just die. And that's what news is like,

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because it's so competitive. So I ended up going into PR.

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But the natural transition was to kind of continue the

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crime and slime. So I ended up doing PR for

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the city of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, where I did also

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public information work for the police and fire departments, and

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I also you know, did general media relations. And while

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I was in government, I was like, and it was

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just the opposite. So I would go to fires and stuff,

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but instead of like, you know, getting an interview, I

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was telling the information to the reporters. It was a

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it was kind of a natural, easy transition. And then

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I was like, I started putting cats into my like

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into the city budget materials. I was like including animals

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whenever I could. And luckily, you know, we did have

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like the city impound. It was called pups. It was

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pets under police security, and I just started including animals

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in the city newsletter and in city emails and stuff,

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and I just became.

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Speaker 3: It was partly because I was a little bored with

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what I was.

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Speaker 4: Doing, and so eventually the PR job and that's actually

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when I started with Schermedia. It started out as a

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video production FIRMO. And what happened was, as I got

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more and more into PR, I realized I really like

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PR better than creating videos. And I was getting a

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lot of business because of other government agencies. I was

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doing a lot of government videos and so basically that's

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how Whisker Media started. Then the only full time PR

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job in the Upper Midwest came open, which was here

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the Animal Humane Society. It was the only like livable wage,

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full time PR job where I could actually make a living.

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Speaker 3: So I was like, I have to take this, and

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so I did that.

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Speaker 4: And what happened was, you know, there were some pet

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product companies that would want to work with the shelter.

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I started talking to them and they would bring products

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that would like not work in a shelter setting. Right

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the whole of zoonotic diseases.

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Speaker 3: You can't. Here's a tip if you're a pet product manufacturer.

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Speaker 4: Like, you cannot give like squeaky toys that are soft

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because they have to be machine washable and be able

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to be bleached until those toys would disintegrate. Or we

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had one of my litterbox clients, former litterbox clients, came

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in with this litter box, but it was the size

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so that she could fit it in an Amazon box, right,

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because shipping is such a big thing. Well, I took

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her to the shelter and I'm like, look at these cats.

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American cats are fat. They will never fit in litter box.

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It's for kittens, is what it is. And so she

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took that to heart, and then pretty soon she created

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bigger litter boxes and.

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Speaker 3: It was really awesome. It's now, you know, doing really well.

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It's all over pet Smart and pet Co and different

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things like that. And so it was at that point

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when my business completely I switched totally switched to pet

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pr nice and I just couldn't keep up. There were

307
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a whole bunch of different factors. There was another PR

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agency that was closing and they wanted they asked me

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to take over their clients. And then I was getting

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I don't know how people were finding me what they

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were and it got to be where I was doing

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two full time jobs for about three years and I

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couldn't handle it.

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Speaker 4: You just can't do that. And I wasn't sleeping or anything.

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Speaker 3: And so that's the story of Whisker Media. And then

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I met Alex.

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Speaker 2: Well, it's so funny because I already knew I knew

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I loved Alex when I met her because she just

319
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has a great energy. But then she told me of

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how how she ended up on your team. And I

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have nothing but respect for Alex for knowing what she

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wanted and making it happen. So you know the story

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that she tells, did you feel like she was following

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you around the whole pscent?

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Speaker 4: So it was a very stressful trip and I was

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caught up trying to do all the different things with

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that while we were in Greece, and Ellie, the gal

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I had brought to help, was like, Mary, there's this

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great gal named Alex.

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Speaker 3: You got to talk to her. And I'm like, that's great,

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but I don't have time. Can you just talk to

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her and tell her about Whisker Media? And she's like

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she's like, You've got to hire this girl. And I

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was like, okay, okay.

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Speaker 4: And then finally the last day, I was like okay,

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because I think Alex, you had invited us to lun well,

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I kept inviting you everywhere.

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Speaker 6: I was like, I'll drive you. You want to go

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to the beach, I'll drive you. You want to go

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home earlier, I'll drive you. I was driving Mary anywhere.

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I was like, whatever you want, I'll do it. And

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then on the last day I was finally I was like,

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we should go for lunch or dinner, and then she

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finally said yes, and I was like, okay, that's my cue,

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that's bye c you. So we're at the restaurant. I

346
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was like, you know, Mary, I could work for you,

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and she was looking.

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Speaker 3: At me like oh sure, like who are you? And

349
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this is exactly what happened. So I've gotten quite a

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few people that cause you know, it's PET. So a

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lot of people want to do PET.

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Speaker 2: But one of my.

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Speaker 3: Sticklers is the ability to write.

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Speaker 4: And so I until I saw Alex's work, it was

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just like okay, you know, I was like, okay, this

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is great.

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Speaker 3: I mean, I really I liked you, but I didn't

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know your work yet.

359
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Speaker 4: So while I was flying home, you'd sent me everything

360
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so by the time I arrived home, it was already

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in my inbox, and I think I took a few

362
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days and then I read, you gave me writing samples.

363
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Let me tell you that Alex is a much better

364
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writer than a lot of kids that I hire from

365
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the local colleges here. They can't write. Even some of

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the professionals like they'll send me their writing samples and

367
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there's tons of grammatical mistakes, and I couldn't find one

368
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thing wrong with Alex's and what I was really really

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looking for. And I think in general, whether you're going

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for a journalism job or a pr job, it's being

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a great storyteller, you know, And Alex has those skills.

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And to this day I rarely have to change her

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press releases.

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Speaker 3: You know.

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Speaker 4: I hired other people who they maybe were in the

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business for five six years, and I would have to

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constantly rewrite their stuff. They would bury the lead. And

378
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Alex is just an exceptional writer. And then when she

379
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told me she could speak multiple languages.

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Speaker 3: That was it. And is it? The is still a.

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Speaker 2: Baby, I know, I know, I know that, yes, and

382
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I'm so impressed because English is my second language. But

383
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I moved that I was four. Okay, when did you

384
00:20:10,839 --> 00:20:13,680
start learning English, Alex And I'm assuming you learned it

385
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in school like everybody else in France, because that's how

386
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I ended up in France, was as a teacher, an

387
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English teacher. But you still the level.

388
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Speaker 3: We don't learn English well. Most French people do not

389
00:20:22,839 --> 00:20:26,200
speak English. It's really hard for us because yeah, we're

390
00:20:26,200 --> 00:20:27,880
not great at teaching languages and freance.

391
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Speaker 2: So I became an exchange student.

392
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Speaker 3: I went to Pittsburgh when I was sixteen for a year.

393
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And that's what I was telling Mary, because Mary was

394
00:20:35,400 --> 00:20:36,880
asking me the other this, She's like, how do you

395
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speak English so well?

396
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Speaker 2: And I was like, I was quiet.

397
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Speaker 3: For the first three months in the US, I didn't

398
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say a word because I couldn't understand and I couldn't speak.

399
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So for three months I was just quiet. I'm just listening,

400
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and it was terrible. It was so stressful. It was

401
00:20:50,200 --> 00:20:53,240
really hard. But then after three months I started speaking

402
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and then yeah, just yeah.

403
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Speaker 2: Okay, you speak and you write, which is really truly

404
00:20:58,960 --> 00:21:02,759
remarkable because one thing is speaking, another thing is not

405
00:21:02,799 --> 00:21:06,599
only writing, but like excelling in your product and you're writing.

406
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Speaker 3: Yeah, I think I was just very lucky that I

407
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was during my senior year there and I had amazing

408
00:21:11,559 --> 00:21:15,079
like English teachers. I also took journalism, so I did

409
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a little bit of journalism there and I had you know,

410
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I had to past the SATs and all of that.

411
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So I did it all and I actually got good

412
00:21:22,400 --> 00:21:25,759
scores in English math not so well, but yeah, so

413
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I was really, yeah, I was really putting myself into

414
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the I love English.

415
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Speaker 2: I just love the language in itself.

416
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Speaker 3: I love reading, I love yeah writing.

417
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Speaker 4: Tell Isabelle about the app and this would help all

418
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all the listeners and viewers too.

419
00:21:39,039 --> 00:21:40,240
Speaker 2: Oh maybe even knows it.

420
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Speaker 3: Actually, do you know the app language Transfer?

421
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Speaker 2: I don't think so.

422
00:21:43,240 --> 00:21:46,440
Speaker 3: So everybody talks about Jeelingo all the time, right, I

423
00:21:46,599 --> 00:21:49,799
did not love Jewelingo. I've tried for years to learn languages.

424
00:21:49,920 --> 00:21:52,880
Never works. But Language Transfer is one of the best

425
00:21:52,880 --> 00:21:55,200
app and it's free to learn languages, and so I've

426
00:21:55,240 --> 00:21:57,720
sent it to Mary so she can finally learn French

427
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and speak French to me.

428
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Speaker 2: Well, I practice my French on duel Lingo, and I

429
00:22:01,880 --> 00:22:04,599
keep getting messages being like are you done with your

430
00:22:04,640 --> 00:22:07,759
French exams and with your French lessons? I'm like duel lingo.

431
00:22:07,880 --> 00:22:11,119
Leave me alone. I'm busy, Okay, I stop shooting me.

432
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Speaker 3: No, you should try language Transfer. It's really really great.

433
00:22:14,519 --> 00:22:15,279
Speaker 2: I do like it.

434
00:22:15,359 --> 00:22:18,240
Speaker 4: Yeah, and it's free. So I downloaded it. I started

435
00:22:18,319 --> 00:22:20,480
less than one and leave lech?

436
00:22:21,319 --> 00:22:21,759
Speaker 2: Was that right?

437
00:22:22,079 --> 00:22:22,880
Speaker 3: I want cake?

438
00:22:23,440 --> 00:22:24,440
Speaker 2: You shure it's French?

439
00:22:24,720 --> 00:22:28,920
Speaker 3: Wait le che, it's I confuse spilk different in Spanish.

440
00:22:29,039 --> 00:22:30,279
Speaker 2: Yeah, but I thought che.

441
00:22:31,160 --> 00:22:35,920
Speaker 3: No, wait, cafe a lot o eule uri. Okay, I'm

442
00:22:36,160 --> 00:22:39,519
I Obviously I didn't learn very much lesson Rome was

443
00:22:39,559 --> 00:22:40,480
not built in a day.

444
00:22:40,720 --> 00:22:44,720
Speaker 2: Okay. It's a process. It's a total process. And well,

445
00:22:44,720 --> 00:22:48,039
now you all have a podcast called The Whisker Reports.

446
00:22:48,160 --> 00:22:51,599
So she went from exchange student to podcaster and Mary,

447
00:22:51,680 --> 00:22:55,079
you went from field reporter to podcaster. And I listen

448
00:22:55,119 --> 00:22:56,880
to your podcast every time it comes out. I think

449
00:22:56,880 --> 00:23:00,240
it's invaluable. I think what you're sharing is fantastic. I

450
00:23:00,480 --> 00:23:03,359
work with a lot of pet businesses. I do copywriting

451
00:23:03,400 --> 00:23:07,039
and blogging and social media management for pet sitting, dog walking,

452
00:23:07,400 --> 00:23:12,359
dog training businesses, and I'm constantly like, they need to

453
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listen to this, they need to listen to this, they

454
00:23:13,920 --> 00:23:16,440
need to listen to this. Because people think that PR

455
00:23:16,599 --> 00:23:19,599
is only for the big guys, but you will bring

456
00:23:19,680 --> 00:23:22,720
it in for rescue, which I just listened to your

457
00:23:22,759 --> 00:23:27,680
interview with your I guess your subordinate at the you had,

458
00:23:27,720 --> 00:23:30,480
like one of your employees. I just listened to that

459
00:23:30,559 --> 00:23:32,759
episode where you were talking about how, you know, the

460
00:23:32,839 --> 00:23:36,480
challenges that she ran into as a PR specialist working

461
00:23:36,519 --> 00:23:39,400
for Humane Society of the United States. I think it

462
00:23:39,480 --> 00:23:39,880
is right.

463
00:23:40,200 --> 00:23:43,759
Speaker 3: No, this was the it's called Animal Humane Society. It's here.

464
00:23:44,319 --> 00:23:47,119
It's not such got aneric name that they confuse it

465
00:23:47,160 --> 00:23:49,039
with Humane Society the United States.

466
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Speaker 2: But okay, but yeah, it's it was really eye opening.

467
00:23:52,319 --> 00:23:54,079
I thought it was great. I think it's great that

468
00:23:54,119 --> 00:23:56,319
you not only work with you know, products, but also

469
00:23:56,400 --> 00:24:00,799
services and also nonprofits. So what inspire you to start

470
00:24:01,119 --> 00:24:02,079
the Whisker Report.

471
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Speaker 4: You know, it's our way to give back to the

472
00:24:05,799 --> 00:24:10,480
pet industry. So everybody said to me initially, why are

473
00:24:10,519 --> 00:24:13,319
you doing that? Why are you giving away your secrets? Well,

474
00:24:13,400 --> 00:24:16,599
we're not really giving away any secrets. I mean, it's

475
00:24:16,640 --> 00:24:21,440
pretty obvious. But the key is most pet businesses, for example,

476
00:24:21,519 --> 00:24:24,519
they don't have time to do all the networking involved,

477
00:24:24,720 --> 00:24:28,200
knowing who to send it to that takes time, how

478
00:24:28,240 --> 00:24:31,319
to get out there and meet people. And I even

479
00:24:31,400 --> 00:24:34,440
do it virtually, so I'll reach out to a random reporter,

480
00:24:34,839 --> 00:24:37,160
you know at the New York Times and say, hey,

481
00:24:37,640 --> 00:24:39,440
do you think I could have a zoom meeting with

482
00:24:39,559 --> 00:24:41,680
you to just ask you, you know, what are you

483
00:24:41,720 --> 00:24:43,079
looking for in news coverage?

484
00:24:43,400 --> 00:24:46,720
Speaker 3: Everybody can do that, yes, but the problem is is

485
00:24:46,759 --> 00:24:49,559
that it's a time situation. But there's some.

486
00:24:49,680 --> 00:24:53,359
Speaker 4: Organizations that will never have the budgets to be able

487
00:24:53,400 --> 00:24:57,079
to hire us, and especially in the rescue world or

488
00:24:57,160 --> 00:25:00,200
even in the startup pet world, you know, where it's

489
00:25:00,240 --> 00:25:03,920
just a single person trying to do their best. You know,

490
00:25:04,000 --> 00:25:06,319
we want to do our best to support these people

491
00:25:06,640 --> 00:25:09,839
and give back, and you know, maybe because in the

492
00:25:09,880 --> 00:25:12,880
long run it is going to benefit us because if

493
00:25:12,920 --> 00:25:15,559
they get their product going, if they get their rescue

494
00:25:15,559 --> 00:25:19,440
shelter going, they're going to continue and they're eventually, if

495
00:25:19,480 --> 00:25:22,720
they can, they're going to hire us, you know, or

496
00:25:22,759 --> 00:25:25,400
they're going to recommend us to other people. And so

497
00:25:26,079 --> 00:25:30,559
but it's really more philanthropic because Whisker Media's mission and

498
00:25:30,680 --> 00:25:33,960
this is also why Alex was the perfect hire, is.

499
00:25:33,880 --> 00:25:34,680
Speaker 2: To give back.

500
00:25:35,160 --> 00:25:38,279
Speaker 4: We believe, you know, we want to support people who

501
00:25:38,319 --> 00:25:41,839
are helping animals, whether you are adopting them out, whether

502
00:25:41,880 --> 00:25:44,880
you are rescuing them, whether you are making a product

503
00:25:44,920 --> 00:25:46,440
to make their life better.

504
00:25:46,920 --> 00:25:50,319
Speaker 3: That is the goal of Whisker Media. And you know,

505
00:25:50,400 --> 00:25:51,680
giving back is.

506
00:25:52,119 --> 00:25:55,720
Speaker 4: Everybody that That's probably the number one thing besides the

507
00:25:55,759 --> 00:25:59,839
ability to write, is having the right mindset. You know

508
00:26:00,160 --> 00:26:04,920
that giving back is really important and that's really like,

509
00:26:05,319 --> 00:26:09,519
you know, I would love to support every single rescue

510
00:26:09,599 --> 00:26:13,480
and shelter. We do have an affinity towards cats, but

511
00:26:13,559 --> 00:26:14,759
we love dogs too.

512
00:26:14,920 --> 00:26:15,480
Speaker 2: Of course.

513
00:26:15,680 --> 00:26:19,119
Speaker 3: Yes, now, and it's important.

514
00:26:18,559 --> 00:26:19,400
Speaker 2: To give back.

515
00:26:19,799 --> 00:26:23,279
Speaker 4: You just feel better about yourself and that's the whole

516
00:26:23,319 --> 00:26:24,960
reason I started Whisker Media.

517
00:26:25,359 --> 00:26:26,599
Speaker 2: Yeah, and for.

518
00:26:26,519 --> 00:26:29,680
Speaker 3: The podcast as well. You forget one big thing, Mary,

519
00:26:29,759 --> 00:26:32,400
is that everybody has been asking Mary, why don't you

520
00:26:32,440 --> 00:26:34,839
have a podcast? You have a big personality, you talk

521
00:26:34,960 --> 00:26:38,279
so much. Why don't you have your own podcasts? I

522
00:26:38,319 --> 00:26:40,960
have a very big mouth. Yes, yeah, you too.

523
00:26:41,400 --> 00:26:43,680
Speaker 2: Were you the child who always got in trouble for

524
00:26:43,759 --> 00:26:47,160
talking in class? Yes, and now I don't think it's

525
00:26:47,160 --> 00:26:48,839
a bad thing when my kids get in trouble for

526
00:26:48,880 --> 00:26:51,559
talking in class. I'm like their leaders and they are

527
00:26:51,880 --> 00:26:54,160
They're confident, and that is a good thing. I will

528
00:26:54,200 --> 00:26:56,440
teach them when it's appropriate and when it's not appropriate,

529
00:26:56,440 --> 00:27:00,960
but let's not extinguish this spirit because we want that spirit.

530
00:27:01,039 --> 00:27:03,440
It helps down the line. Well, I love that so much.

531
00:27:03,480 --> 00:27:05,640
I really do think it's so valuable. Again, if anybody's

532
00:27:05,720 --> 00:27:08,519
listening and you are a pet business, owner, a pet rescuer,

533
00:27:08,920 --> 00:27:11,079
any kind of you do, any kind of work within

534
00:27:11,480 --> 00:27:15,359
the pet industry, it's the Whisker Report on Pet Life Radio.

535
00:27:15,680 --> 00:27:18,440
We're obviously in the same family of Pet Life Radio,

536
00:27:18,519 --> 00:27:21,680
and I just think it's so great. Your guests are fantastic,

537
00:27:21,880 --> 00:27:23,680
you know. That's really one of the things that I

538
00:27:23,720 --> 00:27:26,240
can say is because of your background, Mary, you have

539
00:27:26,319 --> 00:27:30,160
access to some really great guests, right.

540
00:27:30,799 --> 00:27:34,359
Speaker 4: You know, we're really trying hard to make sure that

541
00:27:34,519 --> 00:27:37,839
you learn something and we are working. I mean, we're

542
00:27:38,119 --> 00:27:41,680
we're just starting out, but I really want to get

543
00:27:42,160 --> 00:27:47,319
guests who can teach as well as be exciting as well.

544
00:27:47,680 --> 00:27:50,759
It's right, but when we invite rescues and stuff, a

545
00:27:50,799 --> 00:27:53,960
lot of times we reverse it where they can ask us.

546
00:27:53,920 --> 00:27:56,400
Speaker 3: Questions because you people learn a lot from that too.

547
00:27:56,640 --> 00:27:58,960
Speaker 2: So, oh, that's so cool. I haven't heard any of

548
00:27:58,960 --> 00:28:01,920
those yet, but you've had. I'm really amazing guests, and

549
00:28:02,319 --> 00:28:04,279
I am one of the amazing guests. So I'm gonna

550
00:28:04,279 --> 00:28:07,720
plug myself there. But I do learn something every time

551
00:28:07,759 --> 00:28:10,319
I listen, and it's I do media too. I work

552
00:28:10,359 --> 00:28:13,079
for magazines and I write for newspapers and stuff, and

553
00:28:13,160 --> 00:28:15,440
I just you know, I didn't go to school for this,

554
00:28:15,599 --> 00:28:18,640
so I didn't have a mentor to teach me these things.

555
00:28:18,640 --> 00:28:22,559
I've learned them going like doing. But your show definitely

556
00:28:22,559 --> 00:28:24,880
gives me like an insider's view on what it is

557
00:28:24,880 --> 00:28:27,160
that I would have learned had I studied you know,

558
00:28:27,240 --> 00:28:31,039
broadcast journalism or writing or something like that. But now

559
00:28:31,039 --> 00:28:33,480
we're gonna learn a little more because my next game

560
00:28:33,519 --> 00:28:37,039
for you is Pet PR Shakedown, and I just want

561
00:28:37,039 --> 00:28:40,039
to get an insider's kind of like look at how

562
00:28:40,200 --> 00:28:44,079
PR for the pet industry is unique and different from

563
00:28:44,119 --> 00:28:47,960
maybe other industries. Are you all ready to play? Yeah, yeah,

564
00:28:48,160 --> 00:28:52,759
let's do this. Okay, this is about PR, So get

565
00:28:52,799 --> 00:28:53,920
your minds out of the gutter.

566
00:28:54,359 --> 00:28:58,640
Speaker 4: What turns pet parents on emotional stories?

567
00:28:59,119 --> 00:28:59,319
Speaker 3: Yeah?

568
00:29:00,039 --> 00:29:00,799
Speaker 2: Okay?

569
00:29:00,480 --> 00:29:01,119
Speaker 3: Oh yeah?

570
00:29:01,839 --> 00:29:03,559
Speaker 2: What turns pet parents.

571
00:29:03,279 --> 00:29:08,400
Speaker 4: Off abuse the animal cruelty pictures?

572
00:29:09,119 --> 00:29:09,960
Speaker 3: That doesn't work?

573
00:29:10,400 --> 00:29:13,440
Speaker 2: No, never, So Sarah McLaughlin, No.

574
00:29:13,839 --> 00:29:17,599
Speaker 3: That is the most hated commercial. We've noticed they've changed

575
00:29:17,640 --> 00:29:21,599
it now. To the ASPCA's credit, they.

576
00:29:21,559 --> 00:29:25,200
Speaker 4: Raised millions off of it, and their new one is

577
00:29:25,240 --> 00:29:26,960
also equally sad.

578
00:29:27,680 --> 00:29:30,920
Speaker 2: It's the guy from Will and Grace. Yes exact, I

579
00:29:30,960 --> 00:29:33,160
can't remember his name. I love him, but it's him,

580
00:29:33,200 --> 00:29:35,559
and I like, immediately look because I love that show.

581
00:29:35,640 --> 00:29:37,839
And then I'm like, no, I'm kidding.

582
00:29:38,000 --> 00:29:41,440
Speaker 3: When you go to the animal welfare conferences, animal welfare

583
00:29:41,480 --> 00:29:43,839
people hate that commercial with a passion.

584
00:29:44,400 --> 00:29:48,000
Speaker 4: But in general, I don't know, you know they're reasoning

585
00:29:48,079 --> 00:29:48,519
behind it.

586
00:29:48,599 --> 00:29:50,480
Speaker 3: I know they use a they I'm sure they use

587
00:29:50,559 --> 00:29:54,640
a really big PR agency, but some research has shown

588
00:29:54,720 --> 00:29:57,519
it doesn't work. It turns people off. They're gonna turn

589
00:29:57,559 --> 00:29:58,119
the channel.

590
00:29:58,680 --> 00:30:00,559
Speaker 2: You have to have some sort of hope when you're

591
00:30:00,599 --> 00:30:01,279
showing something.

592
00:30:01,720 --> 00:30:05,079
Speaker 3: Yeah, when we say what turns on pet parents? It's emotional,

593
00:30:05,119 --> 00:30:06,960
but at the end, and it's to have hope. You

594
00:30:07,000 --> 00:30:09,920
can't just give to a coat that's hopeless. And I

595
00:30:09,920 --> 00:30:12,839
feel like that, well true story is too sad. You're like, well,

596
00:30:12,880 --> 00:30:15,000
whatever I do, it's not gonna help, So why would

597
00:30:15,000 --> 00:30:15,400
I help?

598
00:30:15,640 --> 00:30:17,759
Speaker 2: It's way too far gone. Exactly.

599
00:30:18,480 --> 00:30:22,720
Speaker 4: The most successful is the before and after that Really

600
00:30:23,119 --> 00:30:27,480
when you are fundraising for animal welfare, that is what

601
00:30:27,519 --> 00:30:30,519
you want to Here's another tip is about this is

602
00:30:30,599 --> 00:30:33,880
when people don't know the more dogs you have, the

603
00:30:33,960 --> 00:30:35,359
wealthier you tend to be.

604
00:30:36,039 --> 00:30:39,440
Speaker 3: The more cats you have, the less resourced you tend

605
00:30:39,519 --> 00:30:43,359
to be. The marketing studies have shown when you show

606
00:30:43,880 --> 00:30:46,839
a picture of a dog, if you're a rescuer shelter,

607
00:30:47,319 --> 00:30:50,480
people are going to donate, whether they're dog or cat people,

608
00:30:50,880 --> 00:30:54,599
but when a cat is shown, the dog people oftentimes

609
00:30:54,920 --> 00:30:55,839
will not donate.

610
00:30:56,359 --> 00:30:58,039
Speaker 2: Dog people, you're in trouble.

611
00:30:58,200 --> 00:31:02,079
Speaker 3: You're in trouble with me, But there's research behind that.

612
00:31:02,759 --> 00:31:04,799
Speaker 2: I believe that. I believe that we've talked about a

613
00:31:04,799 --> 00:31:07,160
lot in this show, and actually Nathan the cat lady,

614
00:31:07,640 --> 00:31:10,319
and I think it was Aaron from Wildcat. We all

615
00:31:10,319 --> 00:31:13,319
talked about how cat people love all animals, but dog

616
00:31:13,359 --> 00:31:16,559
people could be bury dog specific. If you're really targeting

617
00:31:16,640 --> 00:31:18,680
dog people, you want to focus on the dogs, and

618
00:31:18,720 --> 00:31:21,200
if you're targeting, you know, pet people, then you can.

619
00:31:21,640 --> 00:31:23,880
Cat people will will respond to all of it. They

620
00:31:23,920 --> 00:31:26,319
love all animals, even chickens and horses, and who knows

621
00:31:26,359 --> 00:31:29,039
what else. What is the worst thing that can happen

622
00:31:29,440 --> 00:31:30,400
to a pet brand?

623
00:31:30,759 --> 00:31:34,799
Speaker 3: As far as PR, I would say, the death of

624
00:31:36,240 --> 00:31:38,160
an animal caused by the product.

625
00:31:38,759 --> 00:31:39,799
Speaker 2: How common is that?

626
00:31:40,720 --> 00:31:45,200
Speaker 3: Not common? But it happens. I am working on a

627
00:31:45,240 --> 00:31:49,519
situation right now where there's an unfortunate situation where a

628
00:31:49,559 --> 00:31:53,039
boarding facility one of the employees who is a little

629
00:31:53,160 --> 00:31:57,240
mentally off murdered a dog on her shift.

630
00:31:58,240 --> 00:32:03,400
Speaker 4: And so that is not the fault of the business owner.

631
00:32:04,000 --> 00:32:07,119
And so we're, you know, trying to protect the reputation

632
00:32:07,880 --> 00:32:11,200
of the business right now, and that can kill a business.

633
00:32:11,440 --> 00:32:15,839
Speaker 2: Yeah, yes, absolutely absolutely. People are very tolerant, Like why

634
00:32:15,920 --> 00:32:19,880
before cancel culture, this was reality for the pet industry,

635
00:32:19,960 --> 00:32:22,480
Like one thing will destroy and then but at the

636
00:32:22,480 --> 00:32:25,880
same time you see other huge businesses that maybe can't

637
00:32:25,920 --> 00:32:29,200
afford the PR and something happens and it's almost like

638
00:32:29,240 --> 00:32:32,079
it never happens, like the public doesn't remember it is

639
00:32:32,119 --> 00:32:34,880
that because of the PR efforts it.

640
00:32:34,839 --> 00:32:37,799
Speaker 4: Could be, but don't forget the news cycle is very

641
00:32:38,079 --> 00:32:40,880
is very short. That is when you absolutely need a

642
00:32:40,920 --> 00:32:43,519
PR firm to step in because you want to be

643
00:32:43,880 --> 00:32:47,039
on the offensive, not the defensive.

644
00:32:47,559 --> 00:32:51,279
Speaker 2: Yes, absolutely, And on the other side of the coin,

645
00:32:51,400 --> 00:32:54,000
what is the best thing that can happen to a

646
00:32:54,039 --> 00:32:54,680
pet brand?

647
00:32:55,240 --> 00:32:59,240
Speaker 3: Well, digitally, I'd say to be genuinely endorsed by a

648
00:32:59,279 --> 00:33:03,079
celebrity with about asking like if a celebrity likes your

649
00:33:03,119 --> 00:33:05,519
product and like, you know, you might be a smaller brand.

650
00:33:05,920 --> 00:33:08,839
I think it happened with yaokat nip toy. Which celebrity

651
00:33:09,000 --> 00:33:12,039
was it that they posted about their banana toy? Like

652
00:33:12,079 --> 00:33:14,079
out of nowhere, they were just posting, Yeah, and have

653
00:33:14,200 --> 00:33:19,440
somebody famous, somebody really famous. Yeah, like a huge movie director.

654
00:33:19,960 --> 00:33:22,640
Speaker 2: That's so cool. Now that's a big deal. That's the

655
00:33:22,759 --> 00:33:23,480
dream right there.

656
00:33:23,720 --> 00:33:27,759
Speaker 4: But even I mean that that really, you know, I

657
00:33:27,759 --> 00:33:30,839
feel like if Taylor Swift posted.

658
00:33:31,680 --> 00:33:34,160
Speaker 2: That's the dream for a cab for a to.

659
00:33:34,279 --> 00:33:38,319
Speaker 3: Be authentic, right It can't be a celebrity that says like,

660
00:33:38,359 --> 00:33:40,680
you know, paid advertisement something.

661
00:33:40,480 --> 00:33:41,200
Speaker 2: Pay callab.

662
00:33:41,559 --> 00:33:44,839
Speaker 3: If it's really genuine, it's because your product is so

663
00:33:45,000 --> 00:33:47,559
good that they're willing to talk about it for.

664
00:33:47,440 --> 00:33:49,920
Speaker 2: Free and they know exactly what's going to happen when

665
00:33:49,920 --> 00:33:54,039
they post. Yes, I don't mean your website can handle

666
00:33:54,240 --> 00:33:57,799
Taylor Swift the Swifties coming to buy your product. Yes.

667
00:33:57,960 --> 00:33:59,920
Speaker 3: I was like, yeah, you say, like whenever she was

668
00:34:00,000 --> 00:34:02,839
there's a skirt, the skirt has gone in like half

669
00:34:02,880 --> 00:34:05,720
a second on the waists. Actually that's the power of them.

670
00:34:05,759 --> 00:34:08,000
So if they do that for pet products.

671
00:34:07,599 --> 00:34:09,719
Speaker 2: That's the dream. And we know a lot of celebrities

672
00:34:09,760 --> 00:34:12,800
are very big into the pets and their pets and

673
00:34:12,960 --> 00:34:15,519
getting involved. I mean, you know, more and more we're

674
00:34:15,559 --> 00:34:18,719
seeing pet products being designed by celebrities, right like the

675
00:34:18,760 --> 00:34:21,599
girl from the Big Bank Theory, I always forget her name.

676
00:34:21,639 --> 00:34:24,000
I love her. She has her own line of pet

677
00:34:24,039 --> 00:34:27,880
products now and Catherine Heigel was at super Zoo promoting

678
00:34:27,880 --> 00:34:30,559
her products last year. So yeah, they're getting more into it.

679
00:34:30,639 --> 00:34:32,360
But this is this would be like you.

680
00:34:32,320 --> 00:34:38,360
Speaker 3: Know, I just saw is Paris Hilton teamed up with RuvA. Ooh,

681
00:34:38,599 --> 00:34:41,719
I'm telling cat food. I think she has a cat,

682
00:34:41,760 --> 00:34:44,360
but I don't. I don't think she's a cat person. Like,

683
00:34:44,840 --> 00:34:47,360
I'm sure it's the same food, it just has the label.

684
00:34:47,880 --> 00:34:51,840
Speaker 2: Harris Hilton is a queen, I mean when it comes

685
00:34:51,840 --> 00:34:55,159
to pr marketing. Oh, she's in Walmart store. She has

686
00:34:55,199 --> 00:34:57,719
her own line at Walmart. You know, like what is

687
00:34:57,840 --> 00:35:03,760
more like of a juxtaposition then Paris Hilton, heiress to

688
00:35:03,840 --> 00:35:08,519
the Hilton Fortune and Walmart. But there she is, and

689
00:35:08,559 --> 00:35:11,920
she's on her stories sharing her cutest little you know,

690
00:35:12,000 --> 00:35:15,519
butter dish that she made for Walmart. You know, go Paris,

691
00:35:15,679 --> 00:35:18,199
get that bag. I will never judge her for it,

692
00:35:18,360 --> 00:35:21,719
especially she actually lost her house in Malibu to the fires.

693
00:35:22,039 --> 00:35:23,800
So my heart goes out to so many of these

694
00:35:23,800 --> 00:35:26,559
celebrities that we think just you know, they like, you know,

695
00:35:26,599 --> 00:35:29,239
it rains millions of dollars for them, but they also

696
00:35:29,679 --> 00:35:31,800
you know, they also have their challenges. So my heart

697
00:35:31,800 --> 00:35:35,280
goes out to everybody in the Pacific Palisades who's lost everything,

698
00:35:35,400 --> 00:35:39,760
including the Queen Paris Hilton. Okay, so how competitive is

699
00:35:39,800 --> 00:35:43,880
the pet industry? Like you've worked in, like it bleeds,

700
00:35:43,880 --> 00:35:47,639
it leads kind of culture, right, Yeah, so you've seen

701
00:35:47,719 --> 00:35:52,159
the most cutthroat stuff. How competitive is the pet industry comparatively?

702
00:35:52,599 --> 00:35:58,199
Speaker 4: So among pr agencies, it's competitive, but it's not as

703
00:35:58,280 --> 00:36:03,320
competitive between all of the agencies that solely focus on pets.

704
00:36:03,639 --> 00:36:07,400
We all know each other, we're pretty friendly with each other.

705
00:36:08,239 --> 00:36:11,559
We worked together, so I don't know, did you know

706
00:36:11,639 --> 00:36:15,639
Dana Humphrey with Oh of Yours? She and I met

707
00:36:15,760 --> 00:36:18,400
I think at Global Pet several years ago.

708
00:36:19,000 --> 00:36:21,840
Speaker 3: We just hit it off. She was so sweet, she

709
00:36:21,960 --> 00:36:23,000
was so nice.

710
00:36:23,320 --> 00:36:24,239
Speaker 2: We just kept.

711
00:36:24,000 --> 00:36:27,119
Speaker 3: Talking and then she told me she just wants to

712
00:36:27,159 --> 00:36:30,159
get out of the business, and then we looked into

713
00:36:30,480 --> 00:36:33,519
developing a partnership, but we ended up, you know, it

714
00:36:33,559 --> 00:36:36,239
was probably better that we remain separate. And then she

715
00:36:36,519 --> 00:36:40,480
ended up referring all her business to me, which really

716
00:36:40,760 --> 00:36:44,480
took Whisker Media off. And then around the same time,

717
00:36:44,519 --> 00:36:49,039
another pet agency who used to do the PR for

718
00:36:49,199 --> 00:36:53,639
either Global or super Zoo they folded or they decided

719
00:36:53,760 --> 00:36:56,519
to no longer operate because they lost a really big client,

720
00:36:56,599 --> 00:36:59,719
and the founder said, let's just end this. And I

721
00:37:00,039 --> 00:37:01,880
ended up getting their clients as.

722
00:37:01,719 --> 00:37:04,639
Speaker 4: Well, and I was already getting kind of my own clients,

723
00:37:05,159 --> 00:37:08,119
and all of a sudden it was like, oh my god,

724
00:37:08,159 --> 00:37:09,400
I can't Oh what is it.

725
00:37:09,480 --> 00:37:12,039
Speaker 2: The blessings that you can't keep up with somebody?

726
00:37:12,920 --> 00:37:16,679
Speaker 3: Yeah, we've been really really lucky. I ask Alex all

727
00:37:16,719 --> 00:37:18,960
the time, how are we getting these people I am getting?

728
00:37:19,239 --> 00:37:21,440
We get a lot of inquiries just on our website,

729
00:37:21,559 --> 00:37:24,320
and I'll ask people and they'll they're like, well, we

730
00:37:24,480 --> 00:37:28,360
just googled, you know, apparently that's how we're finding us.

731
00:37:28,400 --> 00:37:31,519
We could do a better job marketing ourselves as Wow.

732
00:37:31,800 --> 00:37:34,800
Speaker 2: Well, I'm a copywriter and SEO specialist. I can help you,

733
00:37:34,840 --> 00:37:36,800
but it sounds like you don't need my help. It doesn't.

734
00:37:36,960 --> 00:37:38,880
It sounds like if you're coming up on the top

735
00:37:38,920 --> 00:37:40,679
of Google, you're doing something right.

736
00:37:41,079 --> 00:37:45,800
Speaker 3: I actually I am not a digital person. That's Alex's realm.

737
00:37:46,280 --> 00:37:47,039
Speaker 2: I don't know how.

738
00:37:47,159 --> 00:37:48,000
Speaker 3: I have no idea.

739
00:37:48,119 --> 00:37:51,159
Speaker 2: Actually, you're doing something right, Alex, Alex has all thank you,

740
00:37:51,800 --> 00:37:56,199
Thank you, Alex, give me the compliments. Mary all day,

741
00:37:56,440 --> 00:37:58,880
all day, I'll day. I have nothing but respect for y'all.

742
00:37:58,920 --> 00:38:01,280
You are so great. I love to see you guys

743
00:38:01,280 --> 00:38:03,239
whenever I run into you, because I do think that

744
00:38:03,360 --> 00:38:06,400
you're bringing such a such a great vibe to the industry.

745
00:38:06,599 --> 00:38:09,440
You know, it is a male dominated industry, just like

746
00:38:09,559 --> 00:38:12,039
most of them are. So when I see women standing

747
00:38:12,039 --> 00:38:15,119
out in our industry, being vocal, bringing change, you know,

748
00:38:15,239 --> 00:38:17,679
making things happen, I just always I'm in awe and

749
00:38:17,760 --> 00:38:20,639
I always want to celebrate it. So what kind of

750
00:38:20,880 --> 00:38:23,960
services do you all offer for the pet brands who

751
00:38:24,039 --> 00:38:26,800
might be watching or pet services that might be you know,

752
00:38:26,880 --> 00:38:28,880
bigger and ready to take it to the next level?

753
00:38:29,199 --> 00:38:30,280
Speaker 3: And like, do you do this?

754
00:38:31,199 --> 00:38:31,559
Speaker 2: Okay?

755
00:38:31,679 --> 00:38:35,360
Speaker 3: Well, digitally, we do offer influence in marketing. I'm in

756
00:38:35,440 --> 00:38:38,159
charge of that part of the Whisker media, So I'd

757
00:38:38,159 --> 00:38:40,800
love to talk about that. But then, of course we

758
00:38:40,920 --> 00:38:44,960
do PRS to public relations, and that goes from if

759
00:38:44,960 --> 00:38:47,159
you go to a trade show like supersue a Global,

760
00:38:47,599 --> 00:38:49,960
we help you, We help get the media to your

761
00:38:50,000 --> 00:38:53,159
both we send out press releases and yet we make

762
00:38:53,199 --> 00:38:55,840
sure that your voice will be heard among all of

763
00:38:55,880 --> 00:38:59,079
these other booth when there's thousands of other ones. Yeah,

764
00:38:59,239 --> 00:39:03,280
Mary is a specialist in crisis communication, right, Mary.

765
00:39:03,239 --> 00:39:05,679
Speaker 2: I hope I never need you, Mary mat earn.

766
00:39:05,440 --> 00:39:07,800
Speaker 3: Out some fifty one I need us for you have

767
00:39:07,880 --> 00:39:10,639
to hope that you don't ever want to hire me

768
00:39:10,760 --> 00:39:14,360
for crisis Crisis communications AL is extremely important.

769
00:39:15,079 --> 00:39:20,119
Speaker 4: Your reputation can tank. Crisis communications is where I tell

770
00:39:20,199 --> 00:39:24,000
businesses if you're in a situation, in a terrible situation,

771
00:39:24,639 --> 00:39:27,639
you really do need to get help. That is something

772
00:39:27,840 --> 00:39:31,159
that is very difficult to maneuver yourself. The other thing

773
00:39:31,239 --> 00:39:33,639
we also do is thought leadership, where.

774
00:39:33,400 --> 00:39:36,960
Speaker 3: We position either you know, the head of a rescuer

775
00:39:37,039 --> 00:39:40,320
shelter or the head of the founder of a pet

776
00:39:40,360 --> 00:39:45,239
product company. We want them to shine and share their expertise.

777
00:39:45,840 --> 00:39:48,800
So a lot of what we do is media relations

778
00:39:48,880 --> 00:39:50,880
and community relations.

779
00:39:50,880 --> 00:39:54,280
Speaker 2: Amazing, Yeah no, And so what for somebody who is

780
00:39:54,320 --> 00:39:57,199
a small business and wants to position themselves in their

781
00:39:57,239 --> 00:40:00,239
local area. They may not have the budget free, but

782
00:40:00,320 --> 00:40:04,000
what recommendations would you give them? Obviously they're their own influencer.

783
00:40:04,039 --> 00:40:06,679
They're not going to hire an influencer. They are the influencer.

784
00:40:06,960 --> 00:40:08,599
But how did they get how do they get into

785
00:40:08,599 --> 00:40:09,400
the media.

786
00:40:09,480 --> 00:40:13,440
Speaker 4: So, if you ever watch the morning shows in every

787
00:40:13,559 --> 00:40:17,760
community across the country, those morning shows are like from

788
00:40:17,840 --> 00:40:22,119
four am to noon, have eight hours of content, and

789
00:40:22,239 --> 00:40:26,639
almost every single market has a pet section. The media

790
00:40:26,760 --> 00:40:29,679
loves pet stories. Studies have shown.

791
00:40:30,039 --> 00:40:32,599
Speaker 3: In fact, I've been told by the local Fox affiliate

792
00:40:32,639 --> 00:40:35,920
here their ratings goes up by twenty percent when a

793
00:40:35,960 --> 00:40:38,920
picture of an animal is shown. And so when you

794
00:40:38,920 --> 00:40:42,039
will watch a lot of media, you'll see the coming up,

795
00:40:42,079 --> 00:40:44,000
we're going to tell you about the dog who is

796
00:40:44,039 --> 00:40:47,159
reunited with his family ten years later.

797
00:40:47,679 --> 00:40:50,760
Speaker 4: That it it's constantly teased. It's because that will hold

798
00:40:50,800 --> 00:40:55,000
people through a newscast, and so anybody can pitch. What

799
00:40:55,039 --> 00:40:58,239
you want to do is google the TV station, try

800
00:40:58,280 --> 00:41:01,960
to find out who, for example, the producers are of

801
00:41:02,039 --> 00:41:03,360
the newscast.

802
00:41:03,039 --> 00:41:05,119
Speaker 3: Or just you know, to make it super easy.

803
00:41:05,280 --> 00:41:09,280
Speaker 4: Just email the news department, make a short pitch and

804
00:41:09,360 --> 00:41:12,159
an email. It doesn't necessarily have to be a press release,

805
00:41:12,239 --> 00:41:15,840
and say hey, I have a store and here's my

806
00:41:16,039 --> 00:41:18,559
story and would you be interested in covering it?

807
00:41:18,599 --> 00:41:21,280
Speaker 3: And what you want to do is is like, for example,

808
00:41:21,320 --> 00:41:24,719
on National Cat Day, you could say, hey, can I

809
00:41:24,800 --> 00:41:28,559
show you some of the cool products I have apphnorance. Yes,

810
00:41:28,760 --> 00:41:30,599
I love that they need that.

811
00:41:30,840 --> 00:41:34,079
Speaker 4: I mean, you know, they may not cover it, but

812
00:41:34,639 --> 00:41:37,280
they at least if they don't cover it, the news

813
00:41:37,320 --> 00:41:40,920
media then knows that you exist, and so you know,

814
00:41:41,079 --> 00:41:44,679
maybe there is a big story involving a colony of

815
00:41:44,719 --> 00:41:49,159
cats that's overtaking an apartment complex. They may call you.

816
00:41:49,440 --> 00:41:51,199
The reporter may call you and say, hey, do you

817
00:41:51,239 --> 00:41:53,199
have any resources to help?

818
00:41:53,559 --> 00:41:57,920
Speaker 3: You know? Can you talk about pet overpopulation? Rescues and

819
00:41:57,960 --> 00:42:01,960
shelters have a non stop story and almost every station

820
00:42:02,239 --> 00:42:05,400
has adoptable pets that come on. Yeah, when you do

821
00:42:05,440 --> 00:42:09,239
those adoptable pet segments, I would I would look at

822
00:42:09,360 --> 00:42:11,599
it as not only a way to adopt that animal,

823
00:42:11,719 --> 00:42:16,159
but a way you must brag about your your organization,

824
00:42:17,000 --> 00:42:20,000
because nobody is going to promote you better than yourself.

825
00:42:20,400 --> 00:42:24,000
Speaker 2: True that's true. It's absolutely true, and we're embarrassed sometimes

826
00:42:24,000 --> 00:42:26,000
to do it, but like only we can tell our

827
00:42:26,039 --> 00:42:30,440
own story. Okay, So you all are experts in this industry.

828
00:42:30,559 --> 00:42:34,800
What trends are you seeing as standouts for twenty twenty five,

829
00:42:35,000 --> 00:42:37,880
whether it be in pr for products or just like

830
00:42:37,960 --> 00:42:42,440
reaching pet parents or influence or like the usage of influencers.

831
00:42:42,639 --> 00:42:47,239
What's happening. What's kind of like the buzz authenticity? Ah,

832
00:42:47,239 --> 00:42:51,760
one word, I love her. One word answers love it authenticity? Yes, yes,

833
00:42:52,239 --> 00:42:54,559
I mean I see it. For the digital world, that's

834
00:42:54,599 --> 00:42:57,920
what people want. We don't want any more paid collab.

835
00:42:57,840 --> 00:42:59,840
Speaker 3: Or like you know those big influences that get paid

836
00:43:00,000 --> 00:43:03,199
every day to promote product every day. No way, that's

837
00:43:03,239 --> 00:43:04,599
not true. That's not genuine.

838
00:43:04,679 --> 00:43:05,079
Speaker 2: We want.

839
00:43:05,199 --> 00:43:08,079
Speaker 3: Yeah, we want authenticity from people now. And it's the

840
00:43:08,119 --> 00:43:11,320
same for press releases. Because of the chat GIPT and

841
00:43:11,360 --> 00:43:15,440
all of those like press releases we've heard from journalist,

842
00:43:15,639 --> 00:43:18,320
they will catch that it's been written by chatjipt and

843
00:43:18,320 --> 00:43:19,800
they won't even look at it because they're like, no,

844
00:43:20,000 --> 00:43:22,320
that's not genuine. It's just you know, it's there's no

845
00:43:22,400 --> 00:43:23,159
emotions in it.

846
00:43:23,559 --> 00:43:26,360
Speaker 2: Yes, if it says furry companions. I know chat GBT

847
00:43:26,480 --> 00:43:29,480
wrote it. Okay, your furry companions is chat gbt all

848
00:43:29,559 --> 00:43:33,559
day long? Okay, yeah, come on, it's pretty easy.

849
00:43:33,719 --> 00:43:35,960
Speaker 4: I mean, that is a trend in PR that is

850
00:43:36,039 --> 00:43:39,960
not does not vode well for us. But chat GPT

851
00:43:40,159 --> 00:43:42,880
press releases are really easy to spot.

852
00:43:43,400 --> 00:43:45,840
Speaker 2: Well. I can read a blog or a website copy

853
00:43:45,920 --> 00:43:48,719
and I could be like, that was definitely AI, yeah,

854
00:43:49,039 --> 00:43:52,119
because it's so generic. It doesn't tell anybody's story. There's nothing,

855
00:43:52,159 --> 00:43:54,719
there's no there's no voice to the same voice. It's

856
00:43:54,800 --> 00:43:57,199
chat Gibt's voice, and I can pick up on that.

857
00:43:57,239 --> 00:43:59,760
And I feel like anybody who's really kind of discerning

858
00:43:59,840 --> 00:44:02,039
and when we love our pets as much as we do,

859
00:44:02,159 --> 00:44:04,119
that's not gonna win us over right.

860
00:44:04,639 --> 00:44:07,239
Speaker 3: And here's the thing Isabelle is you can write a

861
00:44:07,280 --> 00:44:10,199
press release, but you need the context to send it to.

862
00:44:10,679 --> 00:44:14,119
So I have found some people are writing their press

863
00:44:14,159 --> 00:44:17,119
releases and saying just send it out for us, and

864
00:44:17,119 --> 00:44:20,880
I'm like, well, this is poorly written and my name

865
00:44:21,039 --> 00:44:23,800
is coming on top of it, right, Alex like, we're

866
00:44:23,880 --> 00:44:27,960
you no way, Well, we don't really want to do that,

867
00:44:28,400 --> 00:44:30,480
and that I think we're going to see more and

868
00:44:30,559 --> 00:44:31,039
more of that.

869
00:44:31,480 --> 00:44:33,639
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think so too, And I think that the

870
00:44:33,719 --> 00:44:36,800
cream always rises to the top, right And I think

871
00:44:36,880 --> 00:44:40,119
when everybody's using the same AI system, you're just going

872
00:44:40,199 --> 00:44:42,440
to be in the same place as everybody. And those

873
00:44:42,480 --> 00:44:46,440
people who do show who they are, share their story,

874
00:44:47,159 --> 00:44:50,039
they are authentic, They're going to rise to the top. So,

875
00:44:50,239 --> 00:44:53,360
speaking of sharing their story, alex An, I want to

876
00:44:53,360 --> 00:44:55,519
finish up because i could stay here and talk to

877
00:44:55,559 --> 00:44:57,159
you all night, but I'm gonna let you go at

878
00:44:57,159 --> 00:44:59,159
some point. Well, we have to take a break right now,

879
00:44:59,199 --> 00:45:00,840
but when we come back, we're going to dig in

880
00:45:01,119 --> 00:45:04,079
more into all of the pr dews and don'ts that

881
00:45:04,119 --> 00:45:08,000
you recommend for pet businesses and how alex san to

882
00:45:08,119 --> 00:45:11,480
crepassion for pets and pr and made them one don't

883
00:45:11,519 --> 00:45:14,079
go anywhere. We'll be right back after these messages from

884
00:45:14,079 --> 00:45:19,960
our sponsors. Hi. I'm Isabelle al Razarada. I'm the host

885
00:45:20,000 --> 00:45:22,519
of Covered in Pet Hair, a boozy show for pet

886
00:45:22,519 --> 00:45:25,679
lovers on Pet Life Radio. We all have those moments

887
00:45:25,719 --> 00:45:28,280
where our dog has done something kind of frustrating, or

888
00:45:28,280 --> 00:45:30,840
we just love them so much and we wish we

889
00:45:30,840 --> 00:45:33,400
could talk to them and tell them how much we

890
00:45:33,480 --> 00:45:36,760
adore them. Well, recently I found out that we can.

891
00:45:37,239 --> 00:45:40,760
I learned about a company called Regal Ai that builds

892
00:45:40,840 --> 00:45:44,159
AI agents for brands, and they have built an AI

893
00:45:44,400 --> 00:45:48,199
dog hotline that is crazy fun. When I heard about it,

894
00:45:48,360 --> 00:45:51,079
I initially thought it might be robotic or slow to

895
00:45:51,159 --> 00:45:55,519
respond or cheesy. But they have the fifteen most common

896
00:45:55,519 --> 00:45:58,239
breeds in the US on their site with a phone number,

897
00:45:58,559 --> 00:46:01,480
and I was legit able to have a full conversation

898
00:46:02,000 --> 00:46:05,760
that felt like talking to the perfect French bulldog if

899
00:46:05,880 --> 00:46:08,679
he or she could speak. Of course, if you're interested

900
00:46:08,719 --> 00:46:11,840
in trying the dog hotline, go to regal dot ai

901
00:46:12,079 --> 00:46:16,000
slash dog, scroll down and pick your dog's breed or

902
00:46:16,079 --> 00:46:19,239
use the fetcher at the top and prepare to be amazed.

903
00:46:19,599 --> 00:46:23,679
I have no idea how they knew what Pierre's personality was,

904
00:46:24,159 --> 00:46:27,880
but it was spot on, so fun. If you want

905
00:46:27,880 --> 00:46:31,199
to talk to Pierre, just try it out. Call six

906
00:46:31,320 --> 00:46:35,559
oh eight three eight four nine seven four. We're gonna

907
00:46:35,559 --> 00:46:37,599
call now, just so you can hear it for yourself.

908
00:46:41,039 --> 00:46:44,480
Speaker 7: Bonjou and your French bulldog. I'm so excited to be

909
00:46:44,519 --> 00:46:47,559
speaking human, I can't believe it. I took a nap

910
00:46:47,639 --> 00:46:49,599
and then woke up and now all of a sudden,

911
00:46:49,679 --> 00:46:52,800
I'm speaking to you. It's so crazy. It must be

912
00:46:52,880 --> 00:46:55,960
crazy for you too. Anyway, can you tell me what

913
00:46:56,000 --> 00:46:58,079
my name is the name that you call me?

914
00:46:58,519 --> 00:46:59,760
Speaker 2: Your name is Pierre.

915
00:47:00,360 --> 00:47:03,280
Speaker 7: Ah, that's right. I love the name Kierre, and how

916
00:47:03,280 --> 00:47:06,079
it sounds when you say it? Picking of sound? What

917
00:47:06,239 --> 00:47:08,079
have you always wanted to tell me? Now that we

918
00:47:08,119 --> 00:47:08,639
can chat?

919
00:47:08,880 --> 00:47:10,719
Speaker 2: I love your sweet little face.

920
00:47:10,920 --> 00:47:13,599
Speaker 7: Oh how sweet of you to say I love when

921
00:47:13,639 --> 00:47:16,519
you scratch my ears and give me cuddles. Speaking of love,

922
00:47:16,960 --> 00:47:19,159
have you ever wondered why I make those funnies? Not

923
00:47:19,280 --> 00:47:20,119
when I'm excited?

924
00:47:20,519 --> 00:47:21,119
Speaker 2: Of course?

925
00:47:21,400 --> 00:47:25,400
Speaker 7: Really that's so intriguing. It's like my own little symphony

926
00:47:25,440 --> 00:47:28,079
of joy? Do you know? If there are gomet snacks

927
00:47:28,079 --> 00:47:31,000
that match my autistic vibe, I shall create a massup

928
00:47:31,039 --> 00:47:31,719
bit of flabel.

929
00:47:32,039 --> 00:47:32,920
Speaker 2: Of course there are.

930
00:47:33,280 --> 00:47:36,800
Speaker 7: Oh, how delight bulb? Did I you holding a snack earlier?

931
00:47:37,199 --> 00:47:39,360
I'm just wondering if it's something I can taste that

932
00:47:39,599 --> 00:47:42,280
for you? That would be such a Gournet collaboration.

933
00:47:42,840 --> 00:47:45,800
Speaker 2: Yes, let's have chocolate croissants.

934
00:47:45,039 --> 00:47:49,599
Speaker 7: Oh, chocolate crouton. They sound absolutely divine? But are they

935
00:47:49,639 --> 00:47:52,480
okay for me to mention too? If not. Can we

936
00:47:52,519 --> 00:47:56,320
shall something scrumptured that dog friendly life is best enjoyed

937
00:47:56,320 --> 00:47:59,920
with a cozy spot, gomet snack and someone to scratch

938
00:48:00,039 --> 00:48:02,039
behind the eels. Wouldn't you agree?

939
00:48:02,239 --> 00:48:06,280
Speaker 2: You're right, Pierre, chocolate is not safe for dogs. Let's

940
00:48:06,360 --> 00:48:07,960
do French fries instead.

941
00:48:08,199 --> 00:48:12,239
Speaker 7: Oh, French fride. That sounds heavenly, especially if they have

942
00:48:12,360 --> 00:48:15,079
that crispy age. Can we have some warm cuddle and

943
00:48:15,239 --> 00:48:18,199
enjoy them together. I'm dreaming up the crunch right now.

944
00:48:18,519 --> 00:48:21,039
Speaker 2: Of course. Do you want mayonnaise or no mayonnaise?

945
00:48:22,199 --> 00:48:26,320
Speaker 7: Meyomaise? That's a curious choice. I'd never tried it. If

946
00:48:26,360 --> 00:48:28,760
its TABORI like your belly rubbed, or just something to

947
00:48:28,840 --> 00:48:32,480
dip my poem. Either way, I think snacking together will

948
00:48:32,519 --> 00:48:36,079
be a masterpin. Well, dip the French fries in the mayonnaise.

949
00:48:36,119 --> 00:48:39,800
You're gonna love it. Oh, I can hardly wake That

950
00:48:39,920 --> 00:48:42,960
sounds like a delicious experience. Oh I've been talking too

951
00:48:43,039 --> 00:48:46,400
much again, trying to dream of quassoms and sunny naps.

952
00:48:46,559 --> 00:48:49,360
Call me back anytime and ask me any questions you want.

953
00:48:49,719 --> 00:48:52,280
Can't wait to chat again soon, Oh revoir?

954
00:48:52,760 --> 00:48:56,639
Speaker 2: Oh what, Pierre? I'm actually pretty impressed. I'm impressed. He

955
00:48:56,679 --> 00:48:59,119
told me that chocolate's not safe. After I said it,

956
00:48:59,159 --> 00:49:01,400
I was like, oh no, probably need to say something different,

957
00:49:01,599 --> 00:49:04,840
but he corrected me, which is perfect. As you can imagine.

958
00:49:04,960 --> 00:49:08,519
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959
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960
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961
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962
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963
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964
00:49:26,039 --> 00:49:29,400
of millions of calls where the AI has wowed customers,

965
00:49:29,599 --> 00:49:32,920
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966
00:49:34,159 --> 00:49:35,039
Speaker 1: Let's talk past.

967
00:49:35,360 --> 00:49:38,039
Speaker 3: Let's done a life radio headline.

968
00:49:37,760 --> 00:49:50,599
Speaker 8: Radio at light radio dot com.

969
00:49:50,760 --> 00:49:52,840
Speaker 2: Welcome back to Covered in pet Hair. I'm your host

970
00:49:52,880 --> 00:49:56,760
Isabelle Albazarana, and I want to hear about saving lives

971
00:49:57,320 --> 00:50:01,519
your nonprofit two a's and I what to just kind

972
00:50:01,519 --> 00:50:04,000
of tell me how it came to be and where

973
00:50:04,000 --> 00:50:04,719
it is right now?

974
00:50:05,239 --> 00:50:10,559
Speaker 3: Yeah, okay, So back in twenty twenty, during COVID, you

975
00:50:10,599 --> 00:50:13,800
were not allowed to travel, and so I was just

976
00:50:13,880 --> 00:50:17,519
finishing an internship in Bali working with dogs at a

977
00:50:17,519 --> 00:50:20,119
big shelter, which was absolutely amazing. I was there for

978
00:50:20,159 --> 00:50:23,559
like six seven months, helping them with front raisers and

979
00:50:23,719 --> 00:50:26,920
organizing puppy yoga classes, and then COVID hits and you

980
00:50:27,039 --> 00:50:29,079
just got to go home, back to your parents' house

981
00:50:29,119 --> 00:50:31,639
in the middle of nowhere in friends. That was not fun.

982
00:50:31,960 --> 00:50:34,159
So I was looking for a way to cool back

983
00:50:34,199 --> 00:50:37,079
out there to do something. And I found out that

984
00:50:37,079 --> 00:50:38,559
if you had like a sort of like a job

985
00:50:38,639 --> 00:50:41,719
offer or volunteering opportunity, you could actually travel if you

986
00:50:41,760 --> 00:50:45,360
had like some paperwork. So I found a Greek shelter,

987
00:50:45,679 --> 00:50:48,480
a shelter in Greece close to Athens, and I replied,

988
00:50:48,559 --> 00:50:50,800
and I went there with a friend. I was supposed

989
00:50:50,840 --> 00:50:52,880
to stay there for five weeks and I ended up

990
00:50:52,880 --> 00:50:55,519
staying in Greece for four years. So he went Greek

991
00:50:55,559 --> 00:50:57,840
two see Gussigu, Yeah.

992
00:50:57,719 --> 00:50:59,159
Speaker 2: A little bit gosh.

993
00:51:00,000 --> 00:51:02,159
Speaker 3: So I went to Greece and I went to that shelter,

994
00:51:02,320 --> 00:51:05,079
and that shelter was focused on rescuing cats, so it

995
00:51:05,119 --> 00:51:08,599
was only cats, but they didn't tackle the big problem.

996
00:51:08,719 --> 00:51:11,079
Because so if you've ever been to Greece, which a

997
00:51:11,079 --> 00:51:13,199
lot of people have, you just see so so so

998
00:51:13,320 --> 00:51:16,159
many stray cats and what the shelter did was just

999
00:51:16,199 --> 00:51:18,559
to take one cat, put it in a house, which

1000
00:51:18,599 --> 00:51:21,519
was a really nice house, and then get it adopted abroad,

1001
00:51:21,639 --> 00:51:24,400
which okay, nice, but what about the other thousand cats?

1002
00:51:24,400 --> 00:51:26,039
Speaker 2: Like, you're not tackling the problem.

1003
00:51:26,320 --> 00:51:29,000
Speaker 3: And so this organization did not tackle t and R

1004
00:51:29,320 --> 00:51:32,119
until I met Mary, and even after that, it was

1005
00:51:32,159 --> 00:51:35,079
not their priority. The priority was just rescuing pet cats.

1006
00:51:35,599 --> 00:51:39,360
And so I met Amber there she was the shelter manager,

1007
00:51:39,599 --> 00:51:43,119
and I was like, we should tackle the problem. We

1008
00:51:43,159 --> 00:51:46,360
should start sterilizing cats, and that's how we started. So

1009
00:51:46,400 --> 00:51:49,440
we started our own nonprofit, or Saving Lives. It's been

1010
00:51:49,599 --> 00:51:52,119
a bit more than two years now, and in just

1011
00:51:52,199 --> 00:51:54,639
two years we've sterilized more than two thousand cats in

1012
00:51:54,679 --> 00:51:57,280
a small town in Greece. And we've sterilized more than

1013
00:51:57,320 --> 00:51:59,360
two thousand, but you can't see it. It's still the same.

1014
00:51:59,440 --> 00:52:03,679
So it is a lot of work and to be done,

1015
00:52:03,760 --> 00:52:06,320
so much work, and we're still there. We stop providing

1016
00:52:06,320 --> 00:52:09,119
freestyilizations for all the communities, so we send money with

1017
00:52:09,199 --> 00:52:11,679
the beds and we send them traps, so they have

1018
00:52:11,719 --> 00:52:15,280
tomahawk traps and they keep sterilizing every day. And I've

1019
00:52:15,320 --> 00:52:19,039
moved to Vancouver because for you know, just like the

1020
00:52:19,079 --> 00:52:20,880
work and the life, I just needed a bit of

1021
00:52:20,880 --> 00:52:22,760
a more of life because, as you said, I'm a baby,

1022
00:52:22,800 --> 00:52:26,440
so I also still want to explore and still save animals.

1023
00:52:26,480 --> 00:52:29,400
So now I'm focusing on Central America and I'm actually

1024
00:52:29,400 --> 00:52:32,079
going to Mexico in April to work with a big

1025
00:52:32,119 --> 00:52:35,760
rescue imply that come in and I'm going to stylize dogs, which.

1026
00:52:35,559 --> 00:52:36,119
Speaker 2: I've never done.

1027
00:52:36,119 --> 00:52:38,480
Speaker 3: I've always done cats. So I'm really excited to start

1028
00:52:38,719 --> 00:52:40,760
really important doing TNR with dogs.

1029
00:52:41,159 --> 00:52:43,960
Speaker 2: That's wonderful. And Mary, how did you end up in Greece?

1030
00:52:44,360 --> 00:52:48,239
Speaker 3: So you know sterling trap this. So he got invited

1031
00:52:48,239 --> 00:52:51,119
there and I was his manager at the time, so

1032
00:52:51,320 --> 00:52:54,719
I helped organize the trip with the cat rescue that

1033
00:52:54,760 --> 00:52:58,639
Alex was talking about got it. So that's how that's

1034
00:52:58,679 --> 00:53:01,360
how we met. We were there, we were talking to

1035
00:53:01,480 --> 00:53:06,519
government officials, having events with the children, and I was

1036
00:53:06,599 --> 00:53:10,239
really though, I don't think I could live there seeing

1037
00:53:10,360 --> 00:53:13,599
all those cats there. I would have eighty million cats

1038
00:53:13,639 --> 00:53:16,079
in my house. Now, granted they look some of them

1039
00:53:16,079 --> 00:53:20,280
look really happy. Yes, yes, yeah, I'm not against stray cats.

1040
00:53:20,360 --> 00:53:22,400
I'm not against a stray dogs. It was just them

1041
00:53:22,480 --> 00:53:24,920
in Valley. They were straight, but they were happy. But

1042
00:53:25,079 --> 00:53:28,960
we need to limit the casualties right to Yeah, we

1043
00:53:28,960 --> 00:53:31,400
need to stop because I mean in Greece especially, you know,

1044
00:53:31,440 --> 00:53:34,039
the population. I mean it's changing a little bit with

1045
00:53:34,079 --> 00:53:37,480
the new generation, but the older generation consider them like

1046
00:53:37,719 --> 00:53:39,639
like rats, like we would consider them beast, you know,

1047
00:53:39,760 --> 00:53:41,679
like I run them over and who cares?

1048
00:53:41,760 --> 00:53:42,679
Speaker 2: Like, don't care.

1049
00:53:42,960 --> 00:53:44,719
Speaker 3: And it was hard to live in a country like

1050
00:53:44,760 --> 00:53:48,599
that where people would question and they would like I

1051
00:53:48,639 --> 00:53:51,000
had so many people stopping me in the streets with

1052
00:53:51,079 --> 00:53:52,800
my traps and being like, what are you doing. You're

1053
00:53:52,800 --> 00:53:55,599
not allowed to do that. I had the I almost

1054
00:53:55,599 --> 00:53:58,119
got sued because I was sterilizing cats.

1055
00:53:58,400 --> 00:53:59,000
Speaker 2: So it went.

1056
00:53:59,360 --> 00:54:02,320
Speaker 3: Yeah, people wear against it, and it was really hard.

1057
00:54:02,480 --> 00:54:04,079
Speaker 2: Because they just want them gone. They don't want them

1058
00:54:04,079 --> 00:54:06,119
sterilized and released, they just want them gone. And that

1059
00:54:06,559 --> 00:54:09,280
happens in the US. I remember being in the DC area.

1060
00:54:09,320 --> 00:54:12,480
I trapped a feral mom. We had gotten her kittens

1061
00:54:12,480 --> 00:54:14,639
and we trapped them first, and then we trapped the

1062
00:54:14,679 --> 00:54:16,519
mom and we took them all in and she was

1063
00:54:16,559 --> 00:54:19,679
completely feral, could not be you know, adopted out. And

1064
00:54:19,719 --> 00:54:21,880
they were like, we can't do anything with her. And

1065
00:54:21,960 --> 00:54:24,440
I thought the next step was euthanasia for her, and

1066
00:54:24,480 --> 00:54:26,000
I was like, we did not trap her for you

1067
00:54:26,039 --> 00:54:28,679
to kill her here, and they were like no, thank god.

1068
00:54:28,760 --> 00:54:30,599
They were like, so long as you will take her

1069
00:54:30,599 --> 00:54:33,440
back where you found her, she can live. But a

1070
00:54:33,480 --> 00:54:35,960
lot of people they were concerned. We were all kind

1071
00:54:35,960 --> 00:54:38,199
of like feeling each other out because they were concerned.

1072
00:54:38,239 --> 00:54:40,559
I wanted her gone, like I don't want her back

1073
00:54:40,599 --> 00:54:43,280
in my neighborhood because so many people were like, they're

1074
00:54:43,320 --> 00:54:46,800
peeing on my petunias, and I'm like, sure about petunias.

1075
00:54:46,840 --> 00:54:50,000
I care about this cat. So they fixed her, they

1076
00:54:50,000 --> 00:54:52,559
gave her her vaccines, they ear tipped her, and I

1077
00:54:52,599 --> 00:54:54,880
took her back to my condo area and she lived

1078
00:54:55,199 --> 00:54:57,079
as long as I was there. I fed her every day.

1079
00:54:57,239 --> 00:54:59,360
She was beautiful, wonderful. Her name was Emmy Lou. I

1080
00:54:59,400 --> 00:55:02,039
still love her. I'm sure like she's had a million

1081
00:55:02,119 --> 00:55:05,599
litters before that. Thankfully we ended that for her and

1082
00:55:05,960 --> 00:55:09,559
her last litter found homes. So yeah, I completely agree.

1083
00:55:09,599 --> 00:55:11,920
That's not just a Greek thing. Unfortunately, that does happen

1084
00:55:11,920 --> 00:55:14,760
in the US, where it's like cats are gross, they pee,

1085
00:55:14,960 --> 00:55:17,119
it smells, I want them gone, And it's like no,

1086
00:55:17,599 --> 00:55:19,679
we can find a happy media, I think, yeah, and

1087
00:55:19,719 --> 00:55:21,920
that is where you guys come in. So how can

1088
00:55:21,960 --> 00:55:24,480
we support saving lives and how can those that are

1089
00:55:24,480 --> 00:55:27,760
interested in learning more about Whisker Media and the Whisker

1090
00:55:27,800 --> 00:55:29,079
Report learn more about y'all.

1091
00:55:29,280 --> 00:55:32,239
Speaker 3: So for saving lives, we're always looking for foster family

1092
00:55:32,440 --> 00:55:35,280
or adopting families, so we have you know, and unlimited

1093
00:55:35,280 --> 00:55:36,280
supplies of cats.

1094
00:55:36,360 --> 00:55:37,119
Speaker 2: There's so many.

1095
00:55:37,639 --> 00:55:40,440
Speaker 3: And we also looking actually for people who are traveling

1096
00:55:40,519 --> 00:55:43,159
to Greece or to any other countries that need traps

1097
00:55:43,239 --> 00:55:46,119
because we can't really get them. So if you're traveling,

1098
00:55:46,320 --> 00:55:48,679
you would have nothing to do. Just add a tomahawk

1099
00:55:48,760 --> 00:55:50,719
trap to your flight and then we'll pick them up

1100
00:55:50,719 --> 00:55:53,679
at the airport. So if any rips are planned to Greece,

1101
00:55:53,760 --> 00:55:56,880
that would be amazing, or even to yeah, Mexico, we

1102
00:55:56,920 --> 00:55:59,480
also have that program there, so it would be incredible.

1103
00:56:00,119 --> 00:56:03,280
And then for Whisker Media and Whisker Or, you can

1104
00:56:03,360 --> 00:56:06,559
find us on old podcast platform, Apple Music and Spotify

1105
00:56:07,199 --> 00:56:12,800
and on Instagram TikTok now to Facebook and Twitter, right Mary, yeah,

1106
00:56:12,960 --> 00:56:13,599
so on.

1107
00:56:13,480 --> 00:56:16,719
Speaker 2: LinkedIn Etlaus you have Whisker Report and you have Whisker

1108
00:56:16,760 --> 00:56:20,000
Media on Instagram separately I did tag you today, so

1109
00:56:20,039 --> 00:56:22,760
if anybody saw the like little provo I did, they

1110
00:56:22,760 --> 00:56:26,360
were tagged in there and saving lives too. Yeah, I

1111
00:56:26,400 --> 00:56:28,519
think you guys are amazing. I just want to propose

1112
00:56:28,559 --> 00:56:31,920
a tost to you for being my guest. Pure incredible.

1113
00:56:32,039 --> 00:56:35,360
We didn't talk about you enough, NEPO talk about me.

1114
00:56:35,480 --> 00:56:38,239
This is all about you and telling your amazing stories.

1115
00:56:38,280 --> 00:56:40,880
So here's to you, and here's to our executive producer,

1116
00:56:40,920 --> 00:56:43,039
Mark Winter. Here's you, Marto.

1117
00:56:43,199 --> 00:56:44,079
Speaker 1: We love the Mark.

1118
00:56:44,480 --> 00:56:46,559
Speaker 2: Let me do love Mark. Mark. I don't know what

1119
00:56:46,639 --> 00:56:48,360
you did to get him on your show, but he

1120
00:56:48,440 --> 00:56:50,639
won't even be a guest on mine. So Mark, you

1121
00:56:50,719 --> 00:56:53,119
owe me in twenty twenty five. So here's to a

1122
00:56:53,199 --> 00:56:55,559
life Covered in pet Hair because there's no better way

1123
00:56:55,599 --> 00:56:57,360
to live. And what do you guys say at the

1124
00:56:57,440 --> 00:57:02,280
end of your show? Bark laud personal Thank you guys

1125
00:57:02,280 --> 00:57:05,440
for joining us, and to learn more about Covered in

1126
00:57:05,480 --> 00:57:08,119
pet Hair, please visit Covered in Pethair dot com or

1127
00:57:08,199 --> 00:57:10,480
put life radio dot com. You'll also find the Whisper

1128
00:57:10,599 --> 00:57:14,599
Report on Setlife Radio dot com. And we'll see you

1129
00:57:14,599 --> 00:57:16,880
next time either on their show or online. Thank you

1130
00:57:16,880 --> 00:57:19,159
guys for joining us. Have a great evening.

1131
00:57:20,320 --> 00:57:24,960
Speaker 1: Let's Talk Pets every week on demand only on petlife

1132
00:57:25,039 --> 00:57:39,639
radio dot com.