The People, Knowledge, and Professional Standards Shaping Pet Care
As quickly as this year is moving and somehow time does seem to move faster as we get older, I have been looking back at the people who have joined me on The Business of Pet Care. The first interview aired in July 2025 with Tori Levitt, and since then, the show has welcomed people from so many different areas of the pet care industry.
The Business of Pet Care, presented through NowMedia Television and NowMedia Radio, was created to put people who are at the heart of pet care a place to share their experiences, explain their work, and help the rest of us understand what they have learned while building their businesses and serving animals and families.
The interviews have taken us into pet end-of-life care, grooming education, veterinary pricing, animal quality of life, functional nutrition, leadership, technology, marketing, professional health, mobility, equine training, and many other areas of the industry. The range of subjects and topics is one of the things I love the most about the show.
Pet care is not one job, one service, or one kind of business. It is a professional industry made up of people whose decisions affect animals, families, employees, clients, and one another every day. When we listen across specialties, we begin to see how closely connected our work really is.
Trust Begins With Better Information
Trust becomes especially important when a pet owner is facing a difficult decision, an unexpected expense, a concern about risk, or a product claim they do not fully understand. In those moments, pet owners depend on professionals to explain their options honestly and communicate with care.
Mike Harris and Andrea Dunadee Harris of Pet Passages showed us the level of responsibility involved in pet end-of-life care. Their conversation brought both the human and business sides of this work into view. It reminded us that compassionate care must also be supported by thoughtful communication, reliable procedures, and professional responsibility.
Pietro Kabeya, founder of FareVet, examined the cost of veterinary care and why greater transparency can help pet owners better understand the choices available to them.
Kristina Michelle Weigand of Honest to Dog Grooming discussed grooming liability, consent forms, and client risk, showing why documentation and communication are not simply administrative tasks. They are part of responsible professional pet care.
Joe Meyers of Share Marketing Agency explained how referrals and reviews are shaped by the entire client experience, including the way a business responds when expectations are not met.
Marcy Lambert-Pellegrino, founder and partner of Marcy’s Pet Kitchen, helped us look more closely at what is really in dog treats. Her discussion of functional pet nutrition showed why ingredient education and honest product information matter to the relationship between pet brands and pet owners.
These guests work in very different parts of the industry, but each demonstrated the value of giving people enough information to make informed decisions. Trust does not come from making the strongest claim. It develops when professionals communicate clearly, act responsibly, and help clients understand what is happening.
Visibility Must Be Supported by Substance
Pet professionals can be highly qualified and still have difficulty explaining their work in a way that clients, media outlets, and industry partners understand. Visibility without substance does not create lasting professional recognition.
Beth Lambert of Fuzzy Face Media showed how video can support learning, retention, and care. Her interview demonstrated that the way information is presented can directly affect whether people understand and remember it.
Mary Tan of Whisker Media explained why strong pet brands may still have difficulty receiving media coverage and what makes a story useful to journalists and publishers.
Bobbie Abdallah of Cold Noses News explored the relationship between content, branding, and client trust, showing how the way a business presents its work influences how that business is understood.
Aven Tedros, founder of Magtania, helped us see email marketing as more than a promotional tool. Email can educate clients, strengthen trust, and maintain a professional relationship over time.
Britt Kascjak of Kas Creative Works introduced us to artificial intelligence, large language models, search, and the changes affecting how people find businesses and information online.
KJ McGlinn added another perspective through her work in pop culture, media, and live events. She showed what pet brands can learn from larger cultural moments that attract attention, create community, and give people an experience they want to be part of.
Together, these interviews reminded us that marketing is not separate from professional standards, it is how knowledge, personality, values, and expertise are communicated to the people deciding whom they can trust.
Growth Requires More Than More Clients
Business growth is discussed in terms of gaining clients, hiring employees, or adding services. Our leadership conversations took us further into what must happen behind that growth.
Jennifer Edwards, DVM, ACC, CPC, ELI-MP, Conscious Leadership Coach and founder of The CORE, taught us about the internal side of leadership. Her interview examined how a leader’s thinking, responses, and decisions affect the people and organization around them.
Nancy Hassel helped us look at business growth, industry blind spots, and what pet professionals need right now. Her experience brought attention to the issues that can be difficult to recognize when someone is focused on the daily demands of running a business.
Tori Levitt of The Association of Pet Professionals added a practical perspective on responsible pet business growth and the value of professional support while building a company.
As a business grows, the informal practices that once seemed manageable often become harder to maintain. Expectations must be communicated. Training must become consistent. Responsibilities must be understood, and professional standards must be repeatable across the team.
Growth is not only about bringing in more clients. It is also about developing the structure, leadership, and education needed to serve those clients responsibly.
Education Must Prepare Professionals to Make Decisions
Several interviews brought us directly into the changing expectations surrounding grooming education, workplace health, animal behavior, and safer handling.
Jessica John, founder of Petswag Pet Grooming Academy, gave us an important view of grooming education in India and the need for stronger safety practices and standards as grooming continues to develop as a recognized profession.
Chrissy Neumyer Smith, MGBS, MCS, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA, CPG, FFCP, of Creating Great Grooming Dogs asked us to think beyond the haircut. Her work shows why animal behavior, safety, and the grooming experience belong beside technical skill when we are discussing humane grooming.
Nathalie Doare Ariey Jouglard introduced us to the global movement for groomer health. Her work brings attention to the physical demands of grooming and the responsibility we have to protect the long-term health of the professionals providing these services.
These guests showed why preparation cannot stop at watching someone perform a task. Modern grooming education must include safer handling, skin and coat education, workplace health, communication, judgment, and the reasoning behind professional decisions.
Technical skill will always remains essential, but salon situations do not always match the demonstration. The animal may respond differently. The client may leave out important information if the right questions are not asked. The environment will change, or a safety concern will appear without warning. Career-level education prepares groomers to recognize the differences and respond appropriately. This is where structured curriculum, formal assessment, recognized credentials, and continued professional development have an important role to play. A strong education pathway teaches not only what to do, but how to think through the work responsibly.
Quality of Life Includes More Than Physical Care
Several guests helped us examine the many factors that shape an animal’s quality of life.
Deb Hennen of Heart 2 Spirit brought us into the art of animal communication and the practice of listening beyond words.
Stephanie Barger of Calm the Chaos! taught us about separation anxiety and the need for more informed support for pets and their families.
Rachel Geller, Ed.D., explained the serious consequences of unresolved cat behavior concerns and how education, prevention, and empathy can help keep cats in their homes.
Janet Marlow of Pet Acoustics showed us how sound affects animal behavior and how pets respond to the environments around them.
Ivan Alvarez Paniagua, founder of PawVibesZ, showed us how cats, technology, and live virtual interaction can create new forms of stimulation, connection, and business.
Kate Titus of A Loyal Companion taught us about canine mobility and the practical support that can help dogs remain active and involved in daily life.
Marcus Rhatigan of Hillbrook Sport Horse Farm introduced us to the training of sport horses for confidence and longevity. His work demonstrated how thoughtful preparation can support both performance and long-term well-being.
These guests approached animal care from very different directions, but each asked us to look beyond an immediate symptom, service, or training session. Quality of life can be influenced by movement, sound, behavior, emotional security, environment, communication, and an animal’s ability to remain connected to the people and activities around them. Professional pet care requires us to see the whole animal, not only the task in front of us.
What We Need to Keep Learning as an Industry
The Business of Pet Care was created to give more people access to what professionals have learned through their work. Some guests work directly with animals, while others work in education, veterinary care, media, technology, leadership, marketing, nutrition, and business development.
Each interview conversation has added something different, but the knowledge does not remain inside one profession.
- Business decisions influence animal care.
- Education influences safety.
- Communication influences client trust.
- Leadership influences whether expectations are understood and followed.
- Marketing influences whether professional expertise is recognized.
- Product transparency influences the choices pet owners make.
These connections are worth paying attention to because the future of pet care will not be shaped by one specialty working alone. It will be shaped by professionals who are willing to learn from one another and who recognize that ethical care, strong businesses, safer practices, and professional standards support the same larger purpose.
The guests featured on the show have helped us see what stands behind responsible professional pet care: stronger education, informed decision-making, thoughtful communication, safer practices, responsible leadership, and standards that can be taught, assessed, and repeated.
This is also where modern grooming education has an important role to play. As grooming continues to develop as a recognized profession, career-level training and credentialed education pathways can help prepare professionals for the responsibility already present in their everyday work. WPGA certification pathway programs are part of this broader movement toward professional standards, recognized credentials, humane grooming, and industry respect.
I am grateful to every guest who has joined The Business of Pet Care and given us the opportunity to learn from their experience and voice. These interviews have introduced us to new areas of the industry, but they have also shown us how much we share. And we are not finished yet.
In the months ahead, I will be introducing you to more professionals, including thoroughbred racehorse trainer Rachel Sells, Sasha Riess, Michelle Huie, Eve Molzhon, BJ Adkins, and Wayne Hartley Jr., RVT. Each interview will bring another area of knowledge into the show and another opportunity to understand the people, animals, and businesses that make up the professional pet care industry.
I would love to know which interview has given you a new way to think about your work or the pet care industry. There are still more areas to explore and more people whose contributions deserve a closer look.
These are always conversations worth continuing.
