Why Do Pets Matter? Hosted by Debra Hamilton, Esq.

Melissa Supernor, Founder of EDAVT (Educational Advocates for the Veterinary Team) and good friend of "Why Do Pets Matter?" joins us again to discuss how journaling helps her gain a deeper understanding of what's going on and how listening for understanding and accepting that people have different perspectives and perceptions has helped her do her work in the veterinary industry.

Melissa J. Supernor is founder and president of Educational Advocate for the Veterinary Team (EdAVT). 

You can learn more on her website: 

Here's the link to Part One of Melissa's interview:

You can listen to her pre-pandemic interview right here:

Melissa Supernor, Founder of EDAVT (Educational Advocates for the Veterinary Team) and good friend of "Why Do Pets Matter?" joins us again for an indepth conversation about how veterinarians and their teams have survived the pandemic while providing client services.

Melissa J. Supernor is founder and president of Educational Advocate for the Veterinary Team (EdAVT). 

You can learn more on her website: 

You can listen to her pre-pandemic WDPM interview right here:

Dr. Chris Blazina and I had a fascinating conversation about the psychological role companion animals play in our lives -- especially men's lives -- during this episode of "Why Do Pets Matter?" 

Through his work, Chris has found that our pets take on the role of "unwavering friend and constant companion" during our lives. And, this is particularly true for men -- especially later in life -- as their network of friends diminishes.

Societal norms can sometimes make it difficult for men to become vulnerable and feel comfortable expressing how vital their pets are to them. Kudos to all the "Macho Men" and their "Teacup Pups"! This gives ample evidence of the emotional intelligence that is cultivated by owning a pet!

Dr. Chris Blazina is a licensed psychologist, retired professor, and award-winning author. He has been in practice for nearly 25 years, focusing on men and their depression, anxiety, life transitions, grief & loss, relationship problems, and pet bereavement. In his work, Chris has found dogs to be an important companion and part of a male's life that cannot be found in the same way as with any human.

• Website - http://www.chrisblazinaphd.com

• When Man Meets Dog: What a difference a dog makes! on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/When-Man-Meets-Chris-Blazina/dp/1845848799/

Kent Kruse, DVM joins us for a "don't miss" episode of "Why Do Pets Matter". Kent is a retired small animal veterinarian, management software creator for the veterinary industry, and an authority on pet insurance. We're talking about the human-animal bond and why pet insurance is so important for your pet and you. 

As a former practicing veterinarian, Kent recognizes that veterinarians are often stymied both ethically and economically by their client's inability to pay for required medical care because of the lack of the necessary discretionary cash.

Because of the lack of funds, pets are too often euthanized, the human-animal bond ruptured, and revenue opportunities are lost. 

For the past 19 years, it has been Kent's passion to help veterinarians understand the value of pet health insurance, and to advise them how to evaluate available products to recommend to their clients.

Jeremy Cohen, Esq. from Boston Dog Lawyers, returns to "Why Do Pets Matter?" with a powerful conversation about breeder contracts, the questions potential owners must ask before they sign a breeder contract and what breeders should put in their contracts to protect themselves while fostering communication, transparency, and collaboration.

 A lawyer for nearly 20 years, Jeremy Cohen has been handling cases for dog owners since 2008. By opening Boston Dog Lawyers in 2015 he is growing a law practice specializing in representing dog owners and pet owners.

Prior to working for animals, Attorney Cohen worked in the insurance industry. He rose from a claims adjuster to manager of global claims on behalf of The General Electric Company. He founded a general practice law firm in 2007 and sold it in 2014 so he could focus on defending companion animals.

While he still handles some civil litigation outside of pets, each day his practice becomes more and more about what he loves to do.

You can learn more at his website: https://www.bostondoglawyers.com/index.html

Tom Van Winkle, CEO and Executive Director of the Hinsdale Humane Society in Chicagoland, IL joins us during this episode of "Why Do Pets Matter?". He's chatting with us about how pets and their potential people are screened for adoption, the language you need to use when you're screening, how to help people foster animals, and helping our deploying servicemen and women find a home for their pets when they deploy.

Tom Van Winkle brings more than 20 years of animal welfare industry experience to his position as Executive Director of HHS since 2017. Beginning with his early experience as a volunteer and board member of a small humane society in 1997, Tom also served as executive director for a humane society in the Chicago suburbs in 2005. 

He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from the University of Illinois and an MBA in Finance from Loyola University. Tom credits his upbringing in a family filled with compassion as a source of constant inspiration as he guides HHS to become one of the premier animal shelters in the country.

Email: [email protected]

The Hinsdale Humane Society operates the Pet Rescue and Resource Center which serves the entire Chicagoland region. The primary focus of their mission is to eradicate animal homelessness by providing a temporary safe haven for homeless animals until a forever family can be located and operating programs to keep pets from becoming homeless in the first place. 

They accomplish their mission in many ways including pet adoptions, low-cost spay/neuter services for other rescues, humane education, pet therapy, and obedience classes. Their experienced staff can help you find a new family member or assist with issues your current pet may be experiencing.

The most important part of our job is to repair and strengthen the bond between humans and their pets. We believe in a humane world for all living beings.

Website: https://www.hinsdalehumanesociety.org/

My good friend, colleague and fellow Irish Setter breeder, Karolynne McAteer, joins us during this episode of "Why Do Pets Matter?" to share her 40 years of expertise and experience about purebred dogs and what everyone needs to know about choosing the right dog bred from them. 

She very generously shares information about how dogs are bred, what's important to breeders - especially preservationist breeders, how the way we live with our companion animals has shifted over the years and how that shift has become really apparent during the COVID epidemic. 

Karolynne was born into Irish Setters and has never been without one at the foot of her bed. Today her dogs compete in Conformation and in the Field.

Born in Boston, raised in Bermuda, and educated in the U.S., she graduated from college with a major in English and a minor in Broadcast Journalism.

She is a second-generation Irish Setter breeder, starting as a junior handler, exhibitor of the family dog, breeder, breeder of merit, breeder/judge, and now AKC judge of the Sporting Group and Field Trials.

Karolynne sits on the Board of the Irish Setter Club of America and is the AKC Delegate to the breed.

Additionally, Karolynne sits on the Board of the American Kennel Club and several of its entities.

Karolynne directs daytime streaming at the AKC National Championship and for Westminster Kennel Club.

She is also the Director for Public Relations at Assisi Animal Health, a science-based company committed to improving life’s journey for animals, their owners and veterinary professionals.

When not dealing with something that barks, she can be found conjuring up something good in the kitchen.

We're talking about pets and how mediation can be exceptionally beneficial when people are in conflict over a pet, what it takes to have a successful experience with mediation, and how mediation can help people move from a right or wrong, high conflict situation to a conversation that leads them to a better resolution for their dispute while preserving their future relationship.

Gary Friedman has been practicing law as a mediator with Mediation Law Offices in Mill Valley, California since 1976.

Prior to his work as a mediator, he practiced law as a trial lawyer with Friedman and Friedman in Bridgeport, Connecticut. After several years as an advocate, he sought a new approach to resolving disputes through increasing the participation of the parties in the resolution of their differences. At that time, he and his colleague, Jack Himmelstein, began to develop the Understanding-based model that is now practiced extensively in the United States and Europe. As one of the first lawyer mediators and a primary force in the current mediation movement, he has used this model to complete over one thousand mediations in the last two decades, including numerous two-party and multi-party disputes in the commercial and non-profit realms, in the area of intellectual property, real estate, corporate, personnel, partnership formations and dissolutions, and family law.

Through the Center for Mediation in Law, Gary has trained lawyers, law professors and judges in the Center’s method of mediation and a mediative approach to lawyering and collaborative practice. Since l989, he has been training lawyers, judges and psychotherapists in the United States, Europe, and Israel. He has taught courses in negotiation and mediation at Stanford University Law School and the New College of Law and has taught at Harvard Law School’s Program on Negotiation and at the World Intellectual Property Organization in Geneva.

Gary has written extensively about mediation and conflict resolution and is the author of A Guide to Divorce Mediation, (Workman Publishing, l993) and is the co-author, with Jack Himmelstein, of Challenging Conflict: Mediation Through Understanding (published by the American Bar Association and Harvard’s Program on Negotiation, 2008).

https://understandinginconflict.org/our-teachers/gary-friedman/

https://www.linkedin.com/pub/gary-friedman/6/453/14b

High Conflict: Why We Get Trapped and How We Get Out  by Amanda Ripley

A Guide to Divorce Mediation: How to Reach a Fair, Legal Settlement at a Fraction of the Cost

Challenging Conflict: Mediation Through Understanding

Dr. Marty Greer, DVM, JD, joins us during this episode of "Why Do Pets Matter?" She's a fantastic veterinarian, repro-vet, attorney, and breeder.

During the height of the pandemic, she wrote "Your Pandemic Puppy" -- a book covering your puppy's physical and mental well-being, as well as training and veterinary care. And, she also started a drive-thru vet practice called "Checkout Veterinary." 

She's very generously sharing information pet owners everywhere might find helpful during our conversation. 

Dr. Greer received her Bachelor of Science in 1978 and her DVM in 1981 from Iowa State University. 

She has a particular interest in Pediatrics and Reproduction. In 2002, she opened a Canine Semen Freezing Center, International Canine Semen Bank – Wisconsin (ICSB-WI/IL).

During her first attempt at using extended semen, she bred the practice's first litter of pups from frozen semen in 1998. 

She and her family raise and show Pembroke Welsh Corgis and Danish Swedish Farmdogs. They have raised 5 puppies for Canine Companions for Independence, a service dog organization.

Her practice has contributed to pharmaceutical and nutritional research as an investigator for Abbott Laboratory, Deprenyl Animal Health, Pfizer, Virbac, and Hill's Pet food Corporation. She has also been featured in articles in Veterinary Economics.

In 2010, she graduated from Marquette Law School. She practices law part-time with her law partner, Attorney Sheila Kessler, at Animal Legal Resources LLC.

In 2014, she wrote Canine Reproduction and Neonatology, a 470-page book about everything reproduction which was the Winner of Dog Writers Association of America's Dogwise Best Book Award.

In 2019 she became certified as a Fear Free professional. 

And, in 2020, she wrote Your Pandemic Puppy, which explains how to raise a well-adjusted puppy during a pandemic.

She is an active community member of AVMA, NEWVMA, AAVSB, APDT, AAFP, SVME, The Society for Theriogenology, the Fond du Lac Kennel Club, The Kettle Moraine Kennel Club, the Pembroke Welsh Corgi Club of America, Lakeshore Pembroke Welsh Corgi Kennel Club, and the Lomira Area Chamber of Commerce.

And, she serves on the Board of Directors for the Society for Veterinary Medical Ethics, American Veterinary Medical Law Association, and the Society for Theriogenology. She served on the Animal Welfare Committee and Education Committee for the Wisconsin Veterinary Medical Association. She is also president of the National Animal Interest Alliance.

She recently started working with Revival Animal Health as their Director of Vet Services. 

https://www.facebook.com/MartyGreerDVM/

https://www.facebook.com/Checkout-Veterinary-100856988730575

https://www.facebook.com/VeterinaryVillage/

https://www.smallanimalclinic.com/

https://www.checkoutvet.com/

Get The Book - Your Pandemic Puppy 

https://www.amazon.com/Your-Pandemic-Puppy-Well-Adjusted-COVID-19/dp/1943824509

My good friend and colleague, Karis Nafte, returns to "Why Do Pets Matter?" this week. She is a certified dog behavior consultant and a mediator. Karis is the BEST pet custody specialist you could ever hope to work with if you have pets and are getting divorced.

We work very closely together because we both understand that divorcing with pets is an emotional experience that often needs assistance to navigate through. 

Today, we are taking a look at three common speed bumps couples often hit when divorcing with animals:

1. Humanizing the animal

2. Weaponizing the animal

3. Bargaining with the animal

Animals are not possessions, nor are they children. They fall into their own unique category that requires a delicate and considered approach when it comes to the issue of custody. For couples who are divorcing and have pets, Karis provides a specialized service offering expert guidance about custody decisions for their dogs, cats, and other companion animals.

Karis brings twenty-five years of experience as a professional animal behaviorist; she provides a neutral, supportive position between the separating couple while keeping the animal's perspective in the forefront. Even for couples working amicably through their divorce, the emotional component surrounding beloved pets can complicate matters.

To learn more about Karis and the work she does, please visit 

https://whokeepsthedog.com/, and listen to her first interview on "Why Do Pets Matter?" 

You can also find her on: 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karisnafte/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Karis-Nafte-The-Pet-Custody-Consultant-101736361429277/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karis-nafte-b4b9b81a6/