FEMALE FOUNDER: WHAT IT REALLY TAKES TO BUILD A SHELTER, APP AND CHARITY

Welcome And Meet Blake

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Welcome back. Today we have our wonderful guest, Blake, who has run a dog shelter and helped foster thousands of dogs. So I kind of want to just take a look back at kind of your high school years. Did you have a job back then? Was there anything did you have this in mind when you thought of what you were going to do with your future?

Early Jobs And Media Career Path

SPEAKER_00 0:18

Well, I did not have this in mind when I was in high school. I worked at a convenience store all during high school. So I didn't really know what I was going to be doing. But when I went ended up going to college, I wanted to be a TV reporter. So I studied in college to be a TV reporter. And I worked in radio sales in this or actually radio promotions in the summertime. And you went to ASU? No, that's not a wild cat.

SPEAKER_01 0:47

Oh, UV.

SPEAKER_00 0:48

Yes, I'm a wild cat. Okay. I love that. Did you like UV? I loved UV. It was my happy place, and it still is my happy place because I have two boys, one that's um no longer there, and one that is uh sophomore. So I love my wild cats.

SPEAKER_01 1:06

Wait, that's so fun. That's like high up on my list. But they have like four essays, so it's a lot. They have four essays for UV? Well, I think they have two, but I'm doing like, or they have one. But then I'm doing honors, so it's two, but then I'm doing a pro specific program, so it's four. It's it like multiplies the more you want to do it in college. Oh it's really bad. Um but kind of getting back on you. Um, so what did you study in college? So I studied media arts. Media arts. Yeah, okay. And you wanted to be a radio host?

SPEAKER_00 1:37

I wanted to be a reporter. And so I did that. I worked at some um TV stations in Tucson, and then in the summertime I worked in San Diego and radio, and I worked in their promotions department. And then I decided I wanted to do radio promotions. And then once I started applying for jobs and promotions, I figured out that the sales team makes a little bit more money than the promotions team. So I joined um uh the sales staff at a uh radio station in San Diego.

SPEAKER_01 2:04

Um, for radio sales, um, I did you like go all over? Why did you decide to stop doing radio sales?

SPEAKER_00 2:12

Well, I would I traveled, I met my husband in San Diego and we started dating. San Diego. How's San Diego? It was great. That's where I was working in radio. Okay. And um, and then we decided to um to get married, and so I um traveled with him to Cincinnati, Ohio, and I worked in radio until we had our kids. And then once we started having kids, then I stopped working.

SPEAKER_01 2:39

And you decided to move back here when?

SPEAKER_00 2:41

We moved back to Tucson um 25 years ago, and then we moved up to Phoenix 20 years ago.

SPEAKER_01 2:52

Okay, and you opened

The Chihuahua That Started It All

SPEAKER_01 2:55

the shelter 14 years ago. Am I right?

SPEAKER_00 2:57

Yeah, about 14 years ago. We um John Jay's my husband, and he was on the radio, and one day a listener called in and um said that they found a chihuahua and they were moving and they didn't weren't really sure what to do with it. And so they um John Jay said, Hey, well, my wife will come pick it up. And so I went and picked it up and brought it home, and he started posting it. And from there, people are like, Can you take my dog? Can you take my dog? Can you take my dog? And so we had it in the shelter for, or I'm sorry, we had it in our house at the um the dog rescue in our house for seven years, and um our kids were very much a part of it, and then I decided, hey, I think I want to have a shelter. And so four years ago we built

Running A Rescue Inside The House

SPEAKER_00 3:45

a shelter. How was it like having a shelter in your house? Like you It was a lot of chaos.

SPEAKER_01 3:49

I because imagine you have 20 dogs on one side of the house, three kids running around on the other.

SPEAKER_00 3:53

That cannot be dogs and kids everywhere. At one point, I think we had like 32 dogs in our house at one time. It was just completely chaotic. But you know what? At the end of the day, it was so great for the dogs because the dogs were able to figure out what was right and what was wrong. And when we placed them, we had great homes for them because they had already stolen the peanut butter and jelly sandwich off the counter and done all the naughty things that they would just learn from each other, yeah. And they learned to live in a pack, which was great.

SPEAKER_01 4:23

So we yeah, but how was like how was it? Did your kids help out with the yes?

SPEAKER_00 4:29

Our kids absolutely had to walk dogs and cleanup poop and everything, yeah. And then we had for a time we had volunteers come and then uh COVID came, so we couldn't have volunteers. So our kids were very much a part of it.

SPEAKER_01 4:43

Oh, so it was just the little family all on your own doing all of that. Yes. Okay, well, now that you um you've opened the shelter, do you still go a lot? Um, do you have a lot of outside help that helps you out

Building Staff And Volunteer Support

SPEAKER_01 4:55

with this? Yes, yes, yes, yes, you guys.

SPEAKER_00 4:57

So great. So we so I love the shelter. I'm there a lot. Um, we have a shelter manager, which is great. She's the one that runs all the operations and brings the dogs in and takes them to the vet and just makes and works with our events and stuff. And then we have a vent coordinator who you know works on our bigger, larger events, and then we have an executive director who kind of oversees all the sponsorship opportunities and and those kinds of the business side of and social media side of the shelter.

SPEAKER_01 5:31

So there's a lot going on over there.

SPEAKER_00 5:33

Yeah, and then we have volunteers. We love volunteers.

SPEAKER_01 5:36

You guys have junior volunteers too, right?

SPEAKER_00 5:38

We do. We have a lot, and we have groups that come in, like Boys Team Charity and um National Charity League, and and companies come in, they'll do like a takeover day. We'll have Namon Marcus or Target or Meet those brands come in and they get to see the dogs and play with them and do do the things around the shelter that we don't get to do all the time. So different cleaning and stuff.

DIY Adoptions And Euthanasia Pulls

SPEAKER_01 6:01

When you were running the shelter out of your house, did you um kind of have to get it like licensed and everything? Or kind of was it just you just had all the dogs and you would kind of just word of mouth kind of we just find people to dogs.

SPEAKER_00 6:16

I don't know if there's any laws or regulations. We just had all the dogs and then John Jay would look through the people's social media and pick um, you know, the appropriate person for that dog, and then we would go to the bank to the Chase bank and we'd be in their parking lot and we would deliver the dog. Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_01 6:35

And you did that for seven years for seven years worked. Yes. How did you get the dog? Was it dogs? Was it just like random dogs people found on the side of the road?

SPEAKER_00 6:43

Well, mostly at that time it was mostly people reaching out to John Jay saying, Can you take my dog? And so we did that. But now we spend a lot of time getting dogs out of the county shelter, Maricope County.

SPEAKER_01 6:55

So they go from the shelter to your shelter? Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_00 6:58

Because if they're on the if they're on the euthanasia list, we'll pull them from that so they don't get euthanized so we can find homes for them.

SPEAKER_01 7:05

Wait, that's so sad. Yeah. Oh my gosh. But it's a good thing you guys take them in. Yeah. That's so cute. Um, was it hard when you opened your own shelter to like figure out how to get it licensed and everything?

SPEAKER_00 7:18

No, you know what? We could it was it wasn't that hard. I mean, we just had a building and we already had, you know, we already had a business license and we already had a trademark and and those kinds of things. So it wasn't, it wasn't really that hard. I mean, we had to we have to raise money to pay rent and do those kinds of things. So that was like the challenge of the day is to

Fundraising Through Festivals And Sponsors

SPEAKER_00 7:40

figure out, okay, how are we gonna pay staff? How are we gonna pay for rent and the things that we needed to do?

SPEAKER_01 7:45

So we yeah, is it because how do you even like get money for your shelter? Is it kind of just like people donate or because you're paying for the chips, like you're paying you guys are paying for a lot of stuff, like raising dogs, the food, everything. And how do you guys bring money in when you're kind of doing this all just for free?

SPEAKER_00 8:04

So so we do uh there's several ways of of donating. And so we do sponsorships like at our events. We have the um we have three key events. We have Cars and Canines, we have Dog Mom's Day, and we have um and we have um Love Pup Family Fest. And Love Pup Family Fest is our biggest fundraiser, and that's coming up on November 7th at Vertuccio Farms from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. And we have sponsor activations, we have a huge um adoption center there, and then we have artists that come in. So we this year we have Gavin de Gras, which is super amazing, we're very excited about. We have the Rich Barra band, and then we have Gino. Um, I don't remember how to say his last name from Plaguer. Plaguer, he's a magician, he was the runner up um from America's Got Talent. So so that's kind of fun. So we that's where we raise money at our events on sponsorships. And then we have people that just donate to the shelter out of the kindness of their heart, which is amazing. And then um, and then we sell merchandise, we sell shirts and those kinds of things at our events.

SPEAKER_01 9:15

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 9:16

So that's how we raise the money.

SPEAKER_01 9:18

Well, yeah, what does a typical festival look like? So it's the artist. Do you guys have other things that you do at the festivals?

SPEAKER_00 9:23

Artists, and then there's sponsor activation. So um so McCarthy's there and they have a 10 by 10 booth and they they do something at their booth, and Toyota brings trucks, and Learner and Row sponsors the stage, and um LoveEt gives us bags, and LoveEt also gives us a sponsorship um with their vets. They have 22 locations, so we get a grant every year um with LoveEt, which is amazing to

Microchips That Send Dogs Home Fast

SPEAKER_00 9:52

help our help our dogs.

SPEAKER_01 9:53

Do they like do the microchipping and all that stuff?

SPEAKER_00 9:56

So we sponsor the microchips. We have a program. Maybe I'll tell you about our program. So we have a program with Maricopa County um for the last five years, and we microchip every dog that gets adopted there. And that's sponsored by Learner and Row. They give us the money to pay for the microchips. And we have armed the animal control officers with scanners. So if your dog gets out and it has a microchip, they'll scan it right there. So the dog doesn't have to go to the shelter. It'll the dog will go directly home, which is awesome. So everybody needs to make sure to keep their microchip information up to date.

SPEAKER_01 10:32

Wait, yeah, my dog is not microchipped yet.

SPEAKER_00 10:34

Yeah, yes, you need to do that immediately. And then um, and then so we pay for that, and then we also are partners with them. So we pull dogs from them and we do this event uh that's gonna be November 21st, where this year we're gonna serve 2,000 dogs and we're gonna give them vaccines, microchips, and um uh rabies, registration, and um spay neuter certificates to get their dogs. So this is all for community-owned dogs. So it'll it'll soon be out um on the Maricopa County website where you can go and sign up. And so that's a huge community event that you could go and get yourself a microchip. Oh, wait, but you don't want to wait for that.

SPEAKER_01 11:19

No, we're paying a lot to get him like in a couple of weeks. We're gonna pay a lot to get him like microchipped and like spayed. He's a dick, I think the guys get spayed.

SPEAKER_00 11:26

The the boys get neutered and the girls get spayed. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:31

That yeah, we still have to he's has all his vaccines, but we still have to get him spayed and neutered. So that's great. We're paying a lot of money for what kind of dog is he? He's okay, so he's a random little mutt. I love him. Um, I got him at Target parking lot.

SPEAKER_00 11:44

Oh wow, did you find him?

SPEAKER_01 11:46

No, some leaders at the back of our car, like, here's puppy. Oh so I got a puppy. I was in a lot of trouble, but um, so he's adorable. But we got him DNA tested. He's a chihuahua, 40% pug, like 14%, or maybe 20%. Chihuahua pug, um, miniature pincher, um, German Shepherd, and Pomeranian. German Shepherd, how did that fit in there? I you know, he's like 14 pounds. The German Shepherd was not very strong in him, but he's adorable. I literally I wanted to bring him up, but I was like, no, you're just gonna get distracted.

SPEAKER_00 12:26

No, you should have brought him. That would have been super fun. And I could have told you, well,

Keeping Dogs With Families And New App

SPEAKER_00 12:30

I'll still tell you. There's so along with all the things that we do with the shelter, we also have a program that is um that helps people keep their dogs in their home. So we'll pay for light training or medical stuff. It's called The Dog is forever.

SPEAKER_01 12:47

Is it like if they can't take care of them?

SPEAKER_00 12:49

Yes. If they want, if they come to us and they wanna they want to relinquish their dogs, we help them keep their dogs. And so because of that program and because of of the many years that we've been in rescue, I started an app three weeks ago. You heard about that? So yeah, so so I'm also a female entrepreneur, um, which is which has been fun and exciting and hard work and it's been a lot, but um, it's called Love Pup Plus. And it's you can find it in the app store on both Google Play and and Apple. And what you do is is we're your the dog people app, your pup parenting partner, if you will. And you go and you sign up for a profile, you download the app, you put in your dog's profile, and Ginger, our smart little animal helper who is amazing, she will answer all the questions to you specifically to your dog. So it's awesome. And then you can go like for the first three days, in the first three weeks, in the first three months, like what to expect, especially with the puppy. We give you all the ideas on what you need for products and all the things that we love as a shelter and as dog moms. I have two partners and it's just amazing. So you know, that's definitely benefit from Love Put Plus.

SPEAKER_01 14:10

How do you go about like developing an app like yourself? Was it really hard to like reach out to different people and we had to grow?

SPEAKER_00 14:16

We have to continuously raise money. We started with a website and then we had it, we raised the money to get it developed into an app. How long has it been a website? It's been a website for about a year and a half.

SPEAKER_01 14:30

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 14:30

And it just became an app three weeks ago. That's amazing. Yeah, so it was super fun.

SPEAKER_01 14:37

Wait, so like another thing I was wondering about earlier, you mentioned um like you have a lot of sponsorships with like Toyota, um the lawyers. I see on every I see on every billboard, so I should definitely know their name. Learner in Row. Yeah, how do you go about like getting sponsorships from all of these different companies? You just reach out, tell them.

SPEAKER_00 14:58

We reach out, we make presentations, we show them what we do, they come to the shelter, um all those things. We just create real relationships.

SPEAKER_01 15:09

That's amazing. How do you go about building these relationships?

SPEAKER_00 15:12

Well, we first, you know, we contact them and then we just start, you know, talking to them and getting them involved in the shelter and just continuing letting them know what we're doing and how we're doing it and them being a part of it. It's it's a great thing.

SPEAKER_01 15:29

Oh, I

Love Up Foundation And Foster Kids

SPEAKER_01 15:30

love that. Um, another thing is um I know you and your husband, you opened Love Up, which is your like program for foster kids. Can you go a little bit more in depth about that and just um kind of explain what it is what you guys do?

SPEAKER_00 15:45

Sure. So John Jane Rich Love Up Foundation, we serve primarily foster kids, but we also serve our community in in one-off situations too. If somebody needs something like we had a cheerleading group that needed um needed uniforms to compete in Disneyland, and so we pay for those kinds of things. But our programs on that side, we we work a lot with the Department of Child Safety and we have the Children's Heart Gallery. And the Children's Heart Gallery is a national program that we have here in Arizona. We six times a year, two times in Tucson and four in in Phoenix, we have a special day where we get pictures done of the kids that are readily available for adoption. And we usually go to like a special place. We'll go to the Butterfly Museum or to the Phoenix Suns Arena, or one time we went out to the Chandler Airport and they got to see the airplanes and all those kinds of things. And so the idea is to get their pictures done and get them up on the National Heart Gallery to get adopted, but also have a fun day that takes them away from thinking about what exactly they're doing. So we do that. We do a huge Christmas party um at the Ashley Castle. We have about 500 foster kids and we have the Chandler Polite, I'm sorry, Chandler Fire Department, and and we again raise money to have this party and lots of toys and those kinds of things. Santa, it's just a really nice event for these kids. And then we do Christmas Wish. Have you ever heard of Christmas?

SPEAKER_01 17:15

Is that the um the thing where they like have the wishes on the trees and then like you pick it off?

SPEAKER_00 17:19

No, that's an angel tree. Okay. Christmas Wish is a program that we have where somebody writes into the radio station and says, Hey, my my friend Susie is having a really um tough time. She has three kids, she's been through a divorce, you know, she's not making ends meet, and she really needs help. And so um, so we go out and we go shopping for the kids, and we, you know, pay her rent for a month and and provide Christmas stuff for her. And um the nominator goes into the radio station and reads the letter to John Jay and Rich. And then John Jay and Rich tells the audience, we're getting her a Christmas tree and we're paying her rent, and we're we got Barbie dolls for the girl, and we got a massage for the mom and all the things. And then once they finish reading off the list, which is always amazing, they the recipient opens the door and we're all there with all the stuff. And so it's just so beautiful. Is it like on the radio or is it like you guys and it's no, no, no, it's on the radio, and we are there when the people open the door with all of their things. And so we've been doing that for 25 years.

SPEAKER_01 18:32

Wait, yeah. How do you guys go about like getting donations for this too?

SPEAKER_00 18:35

We is this just all we raise, we raise money for that the same way that we do with the with the um dog shelter. But um this time we we um we start in early November and we ask for nominations. So the nominations go to you go to the radio station and you see Christmas wish and you nominate somebody, but you can't nominate yourself or a family member.

SPEAKER_01 18:58

I mean, you can get like a friend to nominate you and then like whole roundabout thing.

SPEAKER_00 19:03

Yeah. Most of the time, though, it's people that genuinely want to help out, a coworker or a friend or somebody that's like sometimes it's a stranger that they've met recently or they know about that's in need.

SPEAKER_01 19:16

Is it just in Phoenix?

SPEAKER_00 19:18

Phoenix and Tucson.

SPEAKER_01 19:20

Okay, I love that. Um, how do you guys go about like I know you do donations for like both of your things? How do you go about like finding people to donate? Like, how do you market your um programs to other people?

SPEAKER_00 19:35

We market our programs on social media. So we have an Instagram, um Love Pup Foundation, Love Up Foundation, and Love Pup Plus. So we have found we have uh social media for all those for on Instagram, we have Facebook, we have TikTok.

SPEAKER_01 19:52

Yeah, I love it. Um kind of going back to an earlier thing, how was the transition going from like working to just opening your own foundation, like working under someone to kind of running this all yourself with you and your husband?

SPEAKER_00 20:06

You know what, we just kind of learned along the way because I'd been out of the I'd been out of working for quite some time. Yeah um, so it just honestly, it just happened. It wasn't even I wasn't even trying to get to where I am. It just happened. When did you kind of decide to go from the one dog to like just a ton? My husband kept bringing in dogs, and before you know it, we're like running a dog rescue out of our house. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 20:38

Um, were there any like really big challenges you faced along the way of going from just this out-of-the-house kind of foundation to a whole shelter?

SPEAKER_00 20:47

Yeah, that's a good question because it when you have dogs in your house and you have your kids taking care of them, and then you have volunteers coming and out, there's like lots of coordination. The kids have to help before you go to before they go to school. And my husband goes to work at very early in the morning and is you know wiped out by the time he gets back. So it's like to be able to count on everybody, a member of my family to be a part of it was a little difficult, which is why it was falling on me. And I was trying to take care of dogs and and take care of my family and take care of my kids and volunteer at the school and be a mom and all those things. And so it was it gets to be challenging. Now it's uh it's not as much because my kids are older and and I have a shelter and other people to depend on.

SPEAKER_01 21:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 21:38

But but I still am very

Compassion Fatigue Faith And Voting

SPEAKER_00 21:40

much involved in both foundations on a daily basis.

SPEAKER_01 21:43

Yeah. Where do you think you found all this strength to kind of like run all of these different things?

SPEAKER_00 21:50

Well, the strength comes from God and Jesus. So I'm a big believer in that he gives you what you can handle, and that's this is where I'm supposed to be. So That's where my strength comes from.

SPEAKER_01 22:02

That's amazing. That's so that's so cute. So, how do you think you've changed as a person? Kind of going from just someone. Um, I already kind of covered this, working under someone to leading a business, but how do you think that has changed like who you are as a person, like your personality, things like that?

SPEAKER_00 22:20

I like that question because for me, I have found that I like dogs a lot more than people. I mean, for real. I mean, the human side of this is like it's unbelievable. Um, the reasons people, you know, want to want to give up their dogs or the way they treat dogs and and animals in general, it's like it's unbelievable. So I think I have a lot more compassion for dogs. I I feel bad for humans when they're in bad circumstances, but yeah, um, but I think a dog is forever, so you figure it out, right?

SPEAKER_01 23:00

They're yeah, and their love is unconditional, like they just love you for you. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 23:04

And on the on the other side, on the foster kids, I mean, obviously, like there's not a day that goes by that I don't think about those sweet babies. And when we're doing events and we're, you know, becoming a part of their lives, it's you feel grateful for what you have, but you also are like, wait a minute, like, why aren't we taking care of our kids? Why aren't why are these sweet babies in this position?

SPEAKER_01 23:31

Yeah, it's awesome.

SPEAKER_00 23:32

And that's why you need to go out and vote in November because it's very important that our foster kids get out of here. I can finally vote now that I'm 18. That's fantastic. Yes. And you should have a voice and you should be able to use it. But yeah, it's that part is really hard. And I think when we go to children's heart gallery, we get home where we have to kind of take a step back and you feel a little wrecked from it, but you realize that these are sweet babies and God has a plan for them, and and it's a good one.

SPEAKER_01 24:03

Do you think it's kind of changed how you like interact with and see the people around you? Like just all the experiences you've had with animals and people too.

SPEAKER_00 24:13

I think it probably gives me um like I said, like more compassion for people. And I I feel bad for their circumstances and and it gives me more patience, you know.

SPEAKER_01 24:30

Yeah. Do you think that's enough? Can we like do finishing little stories? Okay.

Rescue Stories That Still Stick

SPEAKER_01 24:35

Um, so um, now that we've gone through all the hard stuff, I just want to ask you, do you have any little fun stories about any of the animals you've had a chance to foster? Um, or like what's some of the craziest things they've done?

SPEAKER_00 24:48

Some wow, oh my goodness. That's a hard one. Um, like I can tell you about some of my favorites, like some of some things that have happened. So we had to um we had to amputate a puppy, puppy's leg because she had gotten um hit by a car and uh at a construction site, and her name's Gabby, and she is the most amazing dog that ever lived. She lives in Flagstaff and she has her best life, and we still hear from the um from her mama, it's so amazing. So I love that story. Gabby was one that just totally touched my heart. Um I'm trying to think of some others. Tinkerbell is a dog that we is an English bulldog that we got from the Humane Society. She was on the e-list because her female parts were on the outside. And so we took her in and we had certain had she had surgery, and she's one of the dogs that comes to our events all the time. She's the cutest thing that ever lived. And she's she's gotta be like eight years old now. She was two when it all happened. She's just a beautiful baby, but they're all so special to me. And I love when people come up to us at at our events and they're like, This is so-and-so, and this is so-and-so. Like, that is so great. It is so fun to see that they're doing good. They're doing great and they've touched, you know, people's lives. Another dog was another dog, Murphy. This dog, oh my gosh, this dog is having its best life. This dog was taken to a vet, and they um the owner didn't want to deal with the dog anymore and said that it had a cough that it couldn't take care of. And so they wanted it euthanized. And so the vet's like, I'm not doing that. And so called us and and we took took him in. Well, one of our board members took Murphy, and Murphy is just, oh my gosh, he's he's the most beautiful dog, and she loves him so much, and he lives such a great life. And he gets to go to New York for the summers, and he's just awesome. So it's fun to see those.

SPEAKER_01 27:01

Wait, are there is there like a any like trends, the types of dogs that like you

Adopt Dont Shop And Movie Effects

SPEAKER_01 27:05

foster?

SPEAKER_00 27:06

Like, you know what, not with us because we take in all dogs. We don't have we're not breed specific. Because that's the other thing is there's a lot of um rescues that are breed specific, which is awesome because people that want um, you know, purebred dogs, there's a golden retriever rescue, there's a husky rescue, there's you know, everything you can imagine. There's a rescue force. So you don't really need to go to a breeder anymore. You can just go to a rescue.

SPEAKER_01 27:33

Yeah, that's a good thing. Wait, how do you feel about the whole like um adopt don't shop thing?

SPEAKER_00 27:38

Oh, I think it's important. Yeah. Because I mean, we're feeding the breeders, they're breeding more and more and more when we go out and shop for a dog. And there's so many dogs that are in um in shelters that need good homes that are great dogs. I understand if you're you're like tied to a specific breed and you can't find it in a shelter, but yeah, for the most part, I think you can get dogs, the dogs that you want and that are meant for you in the shelter.

SPEAKER_01 28:04

Yeah, I mean, the dog that was meant for me. Yeah, target parking lot. So we love him. He's so cutesy. Um, so there's a movie that recently came out, um, Heart of the Beast. And I was kind of curious about the impact that movies like that have on like people adopting dogs.

SPEAKER_00 28:21

That's interesting because um I I'm gonna imagine that um German shepherds will be in the shelters and people will be looking for German shepherds because they're super smart. There's another breed that's similar to a German shepherd called the Malamois, and that's what the police dogs are, most of the police dogs, and they're highly trained, highly smart, amazing. So hopefully that helps out um German shepherds. One of the things that comes to mind though is 101 Dalmatians. When that came out, now I wasn't in shelter work at that time, but when they came out, um a bunch of you know people wanted Dalmatians, right? And Dalmatians have have medical issues. You kind of have to be a Dalmatian person to to um to adopt a Dalmatian. But anyhow, um so after people went and got you know Dalmatian puppies because all the kids wanted that, they ended up in the shelters, and so the shelters had a ton of Dalmatians, and now you don't see very many Dalmatians, kind of like fizzled out. But yeah.

SPEAKER_01 29:25

I like I've I don't think I've ever like actually met someone with like an actual Dalmatian.

SPEAKER_00 29:29

Yeah, but I think the movies sometimes I mean they it it's it creates a awareness for brands, which is I in my opinion is great.

SPEAKER_01 29:38

Yeah, and for certain breeds. Yeah, that's really cute though. Yeah, it can lead to more of them being adopted. Okay.

SPEAKER_00 29:43

Which by the way, we have a Melmoir in our Oh, do you in our shelter right now?

SPEAKER_01 29:47

I feel like really, really big and fluffy.

SPEAKER_00 29:49

They're snow, they're very smart. They're they look like shepherds, but they're like skinnier and they're like more brown and black.

SPEAKER_01 29:57

Oh, I think I was thinking of like the really maybe I was thinking of a German Shepherd, actually.

SPEAKER_00 30:01

Yeah, German Shepherds are huskies are more thin.

SPEAKER_01 30:06

Huskies are thin.

SPEAKER_00 30:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 30:07

Oh, interesting. Fun facts.

Event Dates Final Plugs And Goodbye

SPEAKER_01 30:10

Yeah. Um, okay, thank you so much for being here. Um, if there's anything you want to like plug or anything like the festival coming up, like dates, names, everything. Sure, I would love to.

SPEAKER_00 30:20

We have Cars and Canines on October 17th from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. at D Pet Hotel Scottsdale. Super fun event. We'll have we have like seven rescues, luxury cars, Lamborghinis, Maseratis, Porsches, Rolls-Royce, all those beautiful cars. So come out on um November 7th at Vertuccio Farms from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., we have Gavin de Grasse sponsored by McCarthy, which is so fun. The Rich Barra Band, Gino Plaguer, um, lots of fun uh sponsor activations. It's at the farm. So the kids will have so much fun. If you bring a donation, you're you get in free, which is awesome for the dogs. And we'll have a huge um adoption center there. So, and if you want to download the Love Put Plus app, which will be is the Dog People app, which will be so helpful for you and your dog parenting, you can go to the Apple Store or Google Play and download that.

SPEAKER_01 31:24

Amazing. Thank you so much. It was such a pleasure to have you.

SPEAKER_00 31:28

Thank you for having me.

unknown 31:29

Yay.