Petworking

SuperZoo has become an annual August tradition for me. Despite the fact that it tends to coincide with my birthday, I love the networking and trendspotting, the chance to see new product launches, to meet new people, and reconnect with old friends. And as each year passes, the number of people I'm reconnecting with at SuperZoo continues to grow.

This year was special for me, as it represented the first time I'd attended SuperZoo since launching Petworking in April. I have to say, I was humbled by the positive response I received from nearly everyone at the show.

I wanted to post a compilation of the highlights and conversations that I managed to record during the show. In this week's episode of Petworking, you can check out:

SuperZoo was a great 3 days, and I can't wait to dive further into these topics on future episodes of Petworking.

A recap of conversations from the Pet Sustainability Coalition's Impact Unleashed conference.

On the 9th episode of Petworking, we cover a topic that has the potential to drive profound reverberations across the pet food ecosystem, the human food ecosystem, and in the fight against climate change.

Regenerative agriculture is a system of farming principles and practices that seeks to rehabilitate and enhance the entire ecosystem of the farm by placing a heavy premium on soil health. It is a method of farming that "regenerates" the soil, improving its nutrient content and increasing its carbon capture potential.

I was fortunate enough to be joined by Tina Owens, Senior Fellow of Regenerative Agriculture at Green America to discuss regenerative agriculture, and why it is more than a sustainability buzzword.

Take a listen to the episode to hear Tina and I discuss:

Regenerative Agriculture and its Ties to Nutrient Density in Food

The Positive Health Effects of Eating a Nutrient-Dense Diet for Both Humans and Animals

Regenerative Agriculture's Potential to Contribute to Carbon Sequestration

Despite all of the benefits outlined above, very few companies are marketing regenerative agriculture to the consumer, and outlining the connection between regenerative agriculture, and increased nutrient density, better health outcomes, and carbon sequestration.

Regenerative agriculture is still in its early stages. Several companies, like Cargill, Pepsi, and Nestle, have committed to implementing regenerative agriculture practices. Regenerative practices can be profitable for farmers and can contribute to the longevity of their farms.

However, ultimately, it will require demonstrated demand from the consumer to ensure that regenerative agriculture is adopted on a large scale.

Hopefully, after watching this episode, you'll find it in you to become an advocate for regenerative agriculture, for the good of human health, animal health, and the health of our planet.

Have you ever noticed how some families are just good at certain things?

The Bush and Kennedy families were political dynamos.

The Ripken and Griffey families were baseball savants.

In pet food, it's the Scott family.

Jim Scott Sr. bought Old Mother Hubbard in 1961, and instilled his passion for animal nutrition in his son, Jim Scott Jr.

Jim Scott Jr. founded Wellness pet food in 1997, and is credited with helping drive the humanization of pet food, with his focus on natural ingredients.

After both his sons experienced life-altering injuries in the early 2000s, Jim Scott Jr. sold Wellness and Old Mother Hubbard in 2008.

However, as Jim Scott III recovered from his traumatic brain injury, and his brother, Andrew, recovered from his spinal cord injury, Jim Scott Jr. realized that he still had a passion for pet nutrition.

Building on the growing trend of raw and freeze-dried diets, Scott set out to create a kibble that would offer pet parents the health benefits of raw/freeze-dried, but with convenience of kibble.

The result was RAWZ, which the family describes as "the next best thing to feeding raw."

Jim Scott III became involved in the business, and the family launched the brand at Global Pet in 2015.

It uses no rendered meals, rendered fats, or commercial gums.

And best of all, the Scotts saw this new brand not only as a means of improving pet nutrition, but as a way to give back.

In honor of the immense support they received during their difficult times, they decided to pay it forward - RAWZ donates 100% of its profits to charity, focusing on service dogs, spinal cord injury, and traumatic brain injury.

Want to hear more? Join me on the latest episode of Petworking, as I sit down with Jim Scott III, and talk about his experience growing up in one of the "first families" of pet food, and RAWZ mission to improve pet nutrition and give back to the community.

Catch the episode and share with those who believe in changing lives, one pet at a time.

In the latest episode of Petworking, we had the pleasure of hosting Matthew Sherman, SVP of Marketing at PetPlate, for a deep dive into the rapidly growing fresh/frozen refrigerated pet food market.

We introduce listeners to Jessica Stewart, a Senior Manager at Maia Strategy Group, and a former Diagnostic Support Consultant at IDEXX. Jess will be supporting Petworking with her expertise in Animal Health Diagnostics.

One of the last things I do every night before I go to bed is brush Peony’s teeth. We’ve done this for almost 4 years now, and it’s very much a part of our routine.

This week on Petworking, we chat with Dr. Cade Wilson, DVM, a leading veterinarian with an award-winning practice in South Central Oklahoma. Dr. Wilson is also the founder of a company called Skoped Micro, which gives veterinary practices an affordable telecytology option, by attaching a smartphone to the clinic's microscope via a specialized phone case and eyepiece adapter.

Dr. Wilson positions Skoped Micro as a cost-effective solution for practices that can't afford more expensive solutions. It can be used to take images and videos from the microscope, and send them to pathology groups for diagnosis.

I'm particularly intrigued by Skoped Micro's ability to speed up the diagnosis process. Instead of waiting for a slide to be prepped, packaged up, shipped out, and sent to a lab, Skoped Micro allows for immediate imaging and sharing of results. This reduces the waiting time for both the client and the veterinarian, allowing for a quicker game plan for treatment. More critically, because of its low cost, this is an option that can be adopted by virtually any practice, assuming they have a smartphone with a high-quality camera, and a relationship with a pathologist who they can email/text images and videos for interpretation.

Additionally, Skoped Micro is also used for client education. It allows veterinarians to show their clients the cytology images on their phone, making the clients a part of the treatment journey, and helping them better understand the condition of their pet. This leads to them being more confident in the veterinarian's recommended treatment. Dr. Wilson discussed the importance of client education, and how it has been instrumental to his success as a practitioner.

Although we didn't get to it in the episode, I think Skoped Micro also possesses some tremendous potential as part of an AI-driven cytology solution, where a model is trained on the images submitted by veterinarians using the app. This could further reduce the wait time in the diagnosis process.

Check out the episode to hear more, including Dr. Wilson's thoughts on televet, and veterinary burnout. Enjoy!

This week's episode focuses on a heartwarming story from one of my oldest and closest friends.

I've known Andrew Stickney since I was 6 years old, in kindergarten. Andrew is a technology professional, and avid traveler and kitesurfer.

Earlier this year, he returned from a kitesurfing trip to Colombia, and told me about how he had rescued a senior stray dog he encountered on the beach, named her "Roxy," and was working to bring her to the United States, so he could adopt her.

Because I've known Andrew since kindergarten, I wasn't entirely surprised when he told me of his adventure and rescue mission, but I did think it was a story that is worth sharing with the Petworking audience (and the world).

Andrew's experience is a microcosm of the work that animal rescues do on a large scale on a daily basis, but it provides a first-hand look into why that work is so vital to the millions of animals that wind up in animal shelters each year. It also highlights a cause that Andrew is extremely passionate about: senior dog adoptions.

According to the ASPCA, approximately 3.3 million dogs enter U.S. shelters every year. Of those, about 670,000 are euthanized. Senior dogs (those over 7 years old) make up a significant portion of these euthanasia numbers. In fact, a study by the Humane Society of the United States found that senior dogs are euthanized at a rate of 2.5 times higher than younger dogs.

For every dog that lives its entire life with the same family, and grows from a puppy to a senior in the comfort of the same home, surrounded

Given dogs’ boundless capacity to love, and all that they do for us as humans, I think it’s the least we can do to try to make sure that as many senior dogs as possible are able to spend their golden years surrounded by love and care.

This is what drove Andrew to rescue Roxy. He saw that all she wanted was love, and he felt a special connection to that. I think that is a story worth celebrating.

Enjoy, and make sure to watch the video if you are able, as there are some great pictures and video of Roxy!