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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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Beth Soltysiak – Animal Friends of the Valleys

This week on All My Children Wear Fur Coats, we had the pleasure of speaking with Beth Soltysiak, Director of Development of Animal Friends of the Valleys (AVF).

Beth’s primary focus is to bring in funding for the nonprofit. Her sales, marketing, and fundraising background has allowed her to build a strong portfolio for the shelter.

Animal Friends of the Valleys is made up of people who are both animal experts and animal lovers! They want to be a resource for their community, helping their area become one of the best places in the country for pets and pet guardians alike.

As the nation’s largest sanctuary, Animal Friends of the Valleys aims to promote animal care through education and a humane, proactive animal services program. They provide adoption, animal control, spay/neuter, licensing services, and more. They look forward to the time when there will be no more homeless pets.

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Jayne Vitale and Thomas Frisina – The Mutt-i-grees Curriculum

This week on All My Children Wear Fur Coats, we had the pleasure of speaking with Jayne Vitale and Thomas Frisina of the Mutt-i-grees Curriculum, one of the programs supported by the North Shore Animal League America.

Jayne has a background in the fine arts and entertainment industry. She has worked in the educational department of the North Shore Animal League America since 2011. In her role, she creates partnerships with various organizations and develops experiential programs that promote and support the Mutt-i-grees Curriculum. She has collaborated with schools, libraries, universities, hospitals, animal shelters, and other community organizations locally and globally.

Thomas has a Bachelor of Arts degree and worked in the film and television industry before joining the North Shore Animal League America in 2019. He helped develop Mutt-i-grees curriculum programs in various organizations, including schools, libraries, summer camps, and youth groups. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he organized Zoom town hall meetings to enable students to connect and share ideas as part of the Mutt-i-grees global ambassador program.

The Mutt-i-grees Curriculum was launched in 2010. It came from the play on the word Pedigree. 

The Curriculum was developed by Yale University’s School of the 21st Century in partnership with North Shore Animal League America. Today, the versatile Curriculum is used in schools, afterschool programs, special education settings, and other venues. Additional versions are: “Mutt-i-grees in the Library,” “Cats Are Mutt-i-grees 2,” “The Shelter Guide,” and “Paws Down Tails Up,” a physical fitness application and Muttigrees At Home for parents and caretakers.

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Kristina Bergsten – The Animal Law Firm

This week on All My Children Wear Fur Coats, we had the pleasure of speaking with Kristina Bergsten, founder of The Animal Law Firm.

 

Kristina has been practicing animal law for about ten years and started her career in Media, in Pennsylvania. She was working for a family law firm and decided to take on environmental and animal law cases. in 2017, she moved to Colorado and started her own law firm. She started with just one office in Denver and has further since expanded to multiple states. This firm is focused on creative and innovative thinking to apply old legal doctrines to animal-related fact patterns.

 

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Phoenix Landing Foundation

Phoenix Landing is an all-volunteer 501(c)(3) parrot welfare organization. They serve states from Maryland to Northeast Florida through their adoption program. The Phoenix Landing Foundation has a multi-purpose mission that includes providing educational activities; facilitating adoption for parrots; helping veterinary students; sponsoring research and conservation for wild parrots; advocating standards of care for birds; building and maintaining a sustainable organization; and ensuring that birds adopted through Phoenix Landing are physically and legally protected.

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PET TRUST TO KEEP PETS IN LOVING HOMES

Protect your pets even when you can no longer care for them! With Animal Care Trust USA, you can do just that with a pet trust. According to Atty. Peggy Hoyt, founder of Animal Care Trust USA,
“[Pet trust] is a trust that you can create where the beneficiary of the trust is a pet—a cat, a dog, a horse, a domestic animal, usually—in all 50 states… So, there’s no excuse for a pet parent not to have a plan for their pets.” Read more

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Sterling “Trapking” Davis

We meet all kinds of interesting people on All My Children Wear Fur Coats.  It was a pleasure having the opportunity to hang out with former rapper, turned feral cat trapper, Sterling Davis.  He is a world traveler, former military, music lover and cat fanatic.  Growing up, he says he was the only guy in his neighborhood that loved cats – he felt he could relate to their plight.  His personal motto is, “You don’t lose cool points for compassion.”    Read more

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Ann Brooks – Phoenix Landing Foundation

Phoenix Landing Foundation, founded in 2000, is an all volunteer parrot welfare organization.  The adoption center opened in 2010.  They serve states from Maryland to Northeast Florida.  They have a multi-purpose mission that includes providing educational activities; facilitating adoption for parrots, from parakeets to macaws; helping veterinary students; sponsoring research and conservation for wild parrots; advocating standards of care for birds; building and maintain a sustainable organization; and ensuring that birds adopted through Phoenix Landing are physically and legally protected.  Needless to say, they are very busy.   Read more

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