Peggy interviewed Todd Dittman, Executive Director of IndiePet, a trade association representing independent and neighborhood pet stores. Todd explained that IndiePet was formed about 5 years ago to help small pet stores compete against mass merchandisers like Chewy and Amazon, currently representing 150 supplier members and 400 retailers with 1,600 store locations. They discussed the benefits of shopping at independent pet stores, including personalized product knowledge, ability to test products with pets present, and enhanced customer experience through services like grooming and self-bathing. Todd highlighted their annual Neighborhood Pet Store Day event happening September 25-27, 2026 which expects over 3,000 participating stores across the country, and mentioned that membership for retailers is only $50 per store per year. The conversation also covered upcoming trade shows like Global Pet Expo and SuperZoo, where new product innovations are showcased, and Todd shared his personal passion for working in the pet industry after previously working in retail and store fixtures.

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Peggy Hoyt interviewed Jamie Smith, CEO and co-founder of Innovative Pet Lab, about their at-home pet health testing services. Jamie explained that Innovative Pet Lab was founded by three former human diagnostics professionals who recognized gaps in pet healthcare testing, particularly for gut health issues. The company offers stool-based tests that screen for inflammation, immunity, leaky gut, digestion, microbiome status, detoxification, stress levels, and parasites, with results providing actionable recommendations for dietary changes, supplements, and lifestyle modifications. Jamie shared that their tests can help identify health issues before symptoms appear, allowing pet parents to address problems proactively rather than reactively. The company recently launched tests for horses and is working on partnerships with pet food and supplement brands to validate product claims. Jamie offered listeners a 25% discount code (GUTHEALTH25) for any test when visiting: https://www.innovativepetlab.com/discount/GutHealth25 , and encouraged them to sign up for the newsletter to learn about upcoming trials and brand partnerships.

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Peggy interviewed Anette Torjussen, founder of the Nordic School of Holistic Equine Therapy. Anette shared her 22-year journey from accounting to becoming an equine therapist, explaining how horses taught her humility and the importance of looking beyond symptoms to understand the whole horse. She discussed her comprehensive two-year education program starting August 14th at the Wild Horse Rescue Centre in Florida, which combines osteopathy, acupuncture, and craniosacral therapy approaches. Anette emphasized that horses constantly communicate through movement, posture, and behavior, and owners should focus on understanding what horses are trying to tell them rather than assuming bad behavior. The interview concluded with plans for Anette to visit Peggy's facility in Florida in December and potential collaboration on Peggy's horse sanctuary project.

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In this podcast episode our host, Peggy Hoyt, interviewed Austin Collins, CEO and co-founder of Five Strands, a wellness company that provides intolerance testing for both people and pets. Through their testing, they can help to identify dietary and envrionmental stressors. Austin explained how Five Strands has tested 500,000 people and pets over nearly 10 years, offering four main categories of testing: food intolerances, environmental sensitivities, nutritional imbalances, and heavy metal sensitivity, with results provided through a CLIA-certified lab using hair sample collection. The company recently released an updated mobile app and continues to focus on personalized testing rather than generalized DNA panels, with Austin emphasizing the importance of early dietary rotation and environmental awareness for pet health.

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In this episode of All My Children Wear Fur Coats, Peggy interviewed Garrett Bewkes, CEO and founder of Pet HSA, a financial wellness platform designed to help pet owners prepare for and manage rising veterinary costs. Garrett discussed the significant financial and emotional costs of pet ownership, highlighting how veterinary expenses have been increasing substantially. Garrett shared his personal experience with his dog Mia, who accumulated over $100,000 in vet expenses throughout her life, which inspired him to create Pet HSA after earning his MBA. The platform features a pet calculator that helps owners estimate lifetime costs based on breed, location, and care choices, along with educational resources and community support to help families plan for both routine and emergency veterinary expenses. Garrett discussed the challenges of pet ownership costs increasing up to 300% over recent years and the emotional burden on pet owners, emphasizing the importance of routine care and not skipping veterinary visits despite current financial pressures.

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This was an interview with Matt Terrell, founder and CEO of InnoVet Pet Products, discussing his latest innovation called ChefPaw, the world's first pet food maker designed to help pet parents create fresh, customized meals at home. Matt explained how ChefPaw addresses the challenges of fresh pet food preparation, including proper cooking temperatures, ingredient balancing, and cost efficiency, with machines capable of making 3 to 30 pound batches in under an hour at temperatures below 100°C to preserve nutrition. The conversation also covered Matt's other innovative products, including Purotic ear cleaner and Tracers scent markers for blind dogs, and his personal story of how his dog Maximus inspired the creation of his first product after struggling to treat ear infections. Matt emphasized that ChefPaw provides significant cost savings compared to fresh food subscription services, with economy recipes costing around $1.90 per pound including supplements, and noted that the product recently won a Purina Innovation Award and Best Overall Product at SuperZoo. For more information visit https://www.innovetpet.com/

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This was an interview episode of "All My Children Wear Fur Coats" with host Peggy Hoyt and guest Jackie Ducci, an animal advocate, philanthropist, and equestrian. Jackie shared her lifelong connection with animals, particularly horses which she started riding at age seven, and how animals taught her self-worth beyond traditional measures during challenging childhood experiences. She discussed her documentary film "Unspoken Bond" which premiered in March and explores how animals support healing and well-being, with plans for future screenings and a podcast series launching in September. Jackie also explained her nonprofit Human Animal Alliance, which operates as a private foundation granting funds to other organizations that prioritize the human-animal bond, including recent support for PAWS for People's prison program. The conversation covered Jackie's current animal family consisting of two bulldogs and two horses, and how horses serve as teachers while dogs function as best friends, with both providing different but equally valuable roles in her life.

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Peggy Hoyt interviewed Dr. Kevin Toman, known as the "longevity vet," about helping pets live longer on her podcast "All My Children Wear Fur Coats." Dr. Toman discussed how veterinary medicine lags behind human longevity science by about 20 years, explaining that while human drugs like rapamycin and acarbose show promise for extending pet lifespans, the biggest impact comes from dietary changes, lifestyle modifications, and supplements rather than prescription drugs alone. He emphasized that calorie restriction, improving dietary quality, and avoiding high-impact activities like jumping can significantly extend pet lifespans, while warning against overuse of certain supplements like glucosamine and chondroitin that have been disproven by recent research. The conversation also touched on vaccine practices, with Dr. Toman advocating for more judicious use of pet vaccines based on individual risk factors rather than universal recommendations.

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