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Carol Podolak – Bark Butter

In this episode of All My Children Wear Fur Coats; we had the pleasure of speaking to Carol Podolak, co-founder of Bark Butter. Bark Butter is a pet-friendly peanut butter made for dogs by dog lovers.

Joy and Carol are two spunky Indiana soccer moms who were looking for a healthy nutritional product to sell at fund raising events for their kid’s soccer team. They found that product once they began making gourmet peanut butter. Their peanut butter journey started as a small endeavor, only selling it at small events, and it quickly caught fire. Suddenly parents and kids couldn’t stop asking, “When can I buy some peanut butter?” Carol and Joy sprung into action. In no time they had a cooking facility and local shelf space for their new product. Now their product is on shelves across the country.

Carol and Joy are on to the next step, creating a product for dogs across the country. BNutty is proud to introduce Bark Butter.

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Dr. Wendy Hauser – OraStipdx

In this episode of All My Children Wear Fur Coats, we had the pleasure of speaking to Dr. Wendy Hauser. Dr. Hauser is the President of Peak Veterinary Consulting and Chief Veterinary Consultant for OraStipdx.

Dr. Hauser is raising awareness of the dangers of Periodontal Disease and educating pet parents about the importance of pet dental care. It is the most common disease in pets around the world and it often goes undetected causing health and behavioral issues down the line. OraStripdx can help this issue.

Periodontal disease begins when a plaque biofilm, comprised of bacteria, attaches itself to the gum. As time passes, the bacteria make its way into the space between the tooth and the gums. Since the gums are an ideal space for anerobic bacteria, they begin to thrive and reproduce. These bacteria power their metabolism by producing a chemical called thiols. Thiols are toxic to the gum tissue and the gums begin to break down. These bacteria can then go into the blood stream and cause damage to the organs.

Early Periodontal disease is incredibly difficult to detect in animals that are not anesthetized and is usually only spotted when pets are receiving dental cleaning. Dr. Hauser states that less than 80% of all pets receive some sort of vet dental care in their lifetime. For this reason, it continues to go undetected by vets and pet parents alike.

To avoid any damage, the priority should be catching Periodontal disease to treat it before it does any damage to the teeth, gums, or organs. As of now there is only one screening test to detect the early stages of Periodontal disease, OraStripdx.

OraStripdx is the only screening test that can be used on pets that are not under anesthesia. A simple swab lets the user know whether Thiols have been detected. From there the pet parent should begin to take preventative action.

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Tanya Hart – Augie Bones

This week on All My Children Wear Fur Coats, we had the pleasure of speaking to Tanya Hart. Tanya Hart is the CEO and Founder of Augie Bones.

Tanya watched as her dog Augie destroyed toy after toy, every time with an increasing concern for Augie’s health. Tanya was worried that Augie was ingesting pieces of these nylon and plastic toys and feared that these materials would eventually damage Augie’s health. She decided to act. With her background in Polymer composites and her expertise in business development, the first Augie Bone was born.

The Augie Bone begs the question; what if there was a better dog bone? A dog bone that is not only safer for your dog, but also better for the environment. Tanya and her team settled on a bio-composite that closely resembles the toughest chew toys out there without any of the added chemicals or health risks.

Augie bones are 100% certified non-toxic, composed of plant-based materials, made in the USA, and most importantly; loved by dogs. But the goal for Tanya goes beyond just dog toys. Tanya is setting an example in environmentalism.

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Cara Achterberg – Who Will Let The Dogs Out

This week on All My Children Wear Fur Coats, we had the pleasure of speaking to Cara Achterberg. Cara Achterberg is the founder of Who Will Let the Dogs Out.

Cara is raising awareness for the influx of pets coming into shelters around the U.S as of late. She describes the current situation in our country as the “perfect storm.” Undeniably, shelters are being overwhelmed. There is an abundance of animals being surrendered for various reasons. The housing crisis, pet specific legislations, and the economy are some of the biggest factors playing into this growing issue, but there is one more issue.

On average, about 10% of all adopted animals return to a shelter for various reasons. During the pandemic, there was a quick and aggressive increase in pets being adopted. Fast forward to post pandemic and now 10% of all these animals are quickly returning to shelters that are not prepared for the overflow. Meanwhile adoptions have also slowed down because those who wanted a pet already got a pet during the pandemic. A perfect storm.

Cara does most of her work in the South. While the Northeast has a solid foundation for animal control services since it is more densely populated, it seems like the South has fallen behind in this regard.

The rural South has a lack of public shelters that are government controlled. Most shelters in the area are private nonprofits that are opened by people who want to shelter animals and help in any way they can. Dogs have always run loose in the South and that’s just the way it’s been, but that needs to change. As the South gets more populated, this lack of attention is becoming dangerous for both people and animals.

Who Will Let the Dogs Out helps independent shelters find the resources they need to stay open and care for their animals. They do all this while also shining a spotlight on this problem that isn’t being addressed. Cara gets local groups and press involved to bring these issues to the attention of those who aren’t aware of what’s going on.

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