1 00:00:00,560 --> 00:00:03,360 Welcome back pet parent, I have something a little bit different 2 00:00:03,360 --> 00:00:08,800 for you today, but something that is kind of passionate for 3 00:00:08,800 --> 00:00:13,120 me because y'all know I am a long time cat lady. 4 00:00:13,120 --> 00:00:17,480 I have had at least one cat in my life since the day I turned 5 00:00:17,480 --> 00:00:21,840 18, the day I moved out. And I still have cats today, 6 00:00:21,840 --> 00:00:25,360 even though most of you know me for dogs. 7 00:00:25,360 --> 00:00:27,880 And that's OK. I am a canine nutritionist. 8 00:00:27,880 --> 00:00:30,520 I'm a holistic pet health coach, but I work with both dogs and 9 00:00:30,520 --> 00:00:32,439 cats because I love them both equally. 10 00:00:32,439 --> 00:00:37,320 And today's guest is Sally Williams, and she's here to talk 11 00:00:37,320 --> 00:00:42,640 to us today about a really cool nonprofit called Mission Meow. 12 00:00:42,640 --> 00:00:46,720 And I just please stick in for this because I think this is 13 00:00:46,720 --> 00:00:50,280 going to be this is yes. I'm probably going to ask you to 14 00:00:50,280 --> 00:00:52,640 check it out and donate at the end. 15 00:00:52,880 --> 00:00:56,080 But I promise you, this is not gonna be like a sales pitch. 16 00:00:56,320 --> 00:00:59,520 We're not gonna be like playing the Sarah McLachlan song for 17 00:00:59,520 --> 00:01:01,840 you. That's not how I roll. 18 00:01:02,040 --> 00:01:05,239 But I am very curious. First of all, thank you so much 19 00:01:05,239 --> 00:01:07,120 for being here with me today, Sally. 20 00:01:07,120 --> 00:01:10,440 It has been such a pleasure to just kind of know that you're 21 00:01:10,440 --> 00:01:14,960 out there in my sphere of people that I know because you have 22 00:01:14,960 --> 00:01:18,440 such great energy and I appreciate what you do. 23 00:01:18,440 --> 00:01:22,160 So if you wouldn't mind starting off by just telling me a little 24 00:01:22,160 --> 00:01:26,840 bit about like you and I know you have a big history and in 25 00:01:26,840 --> 00:01:29,120 the nonprofit space. And so I just like to learn a 26 00:01:29,120 --> 00:01:31,640 little bit about like how you got into all of this. 27 00:01:32,560 --> 00:01:34,200 Sure. Hi and thank you Jessica for so 28 00:01:34,200 --> 00:01:37,120 much for having me. I'm thrilled to be here and be a 29 00:01:37,120 --> 00:01:41,240 guest on the show and introduce Mission Meow to more people as 30 00:01:41,240 --> 00:01:44,000 we were talking before we started recording. 31 00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:48,680 It is honestly the greatest joy of my life along with my family 32 00:01:48,680 --> 00:01:51,000 and my my kitties and I like you. 33 00:01:51,120 --> 00:01:55,880 I may have 3 cats but I am a true animal lover and I've had 34 00:01:55,880 --> 00:02:01,080 dogs and cats my whole life but I feel like my mom. 35 00:02:01,160 --> 00:02:03,320 It was the beginning of all this. 36 00:02:03,520 --> 00:02:09,520 When my mom was pregnant with me, our cat Sandy slept on me on 37 00:02:09,520 --> 00:02:13,800 her belly. And when I was born, Sandy slept 38 00:02:13,800 --> 00:02:16,360 in the bassinet with me, and that was it. 39 00:02:16,360 --> 00:02:20,880 It was like this unbreakable bond with cats was formed. 40 00:02:20,880 --> 00:02:24,200 And we had a dog at the time too, this gorgeous Basset Hound 41 00:02:24,200 --> 00:02:27,960 named Callie, who I adored. But Callie couldn't make it up 42 00:02:27,960 --> 00:02:30,600 into the bassinet with me. You know, Basset Hound and all 43 00:02:30,600 --> 00:02:30,960 that. She. 44 00:02:30,960 --> 00:02:32,360 Wanted. Yeah, yeah. 45 00:02:32,360 --> 00:02:35,520 And. That bond just just grew and 46 00:02:35,520 --> 00:02:38,560 grew and grew and grew. There's never been a point in my 47 00:02:38,560 --> 00:02:40,240 life where there wasn't a cat with me. 48 00:02:40,240 --> 00:02:44,400 Even in in college, I broke the room rolls and had a cat in my 49 00:02:44,400 --> 00:02:48,680 dorm room. So cats have just always been a 50 00:02:48,680 --> 00:02:52,080 big part of my life. I think I was a pet sitter at a 51 00:02:52,080 --> 00:02:54,360 very young age. I was one of those kids who went 52 00:02:54,360 --> 00:02:57,040 around to the neighbors and said if you ever need somebody to 53 00:02:57,040 --> 00:02:59,200 feed your cats, I'm happy to do it. 54 00:02:59,200 --> 00:03:02,360 And I always just wanted to be around cats. 55 00:03:03,200 --> 00:03:06,840 And then my career took me a different way and worked retail 56 00:03:06,840 --> 00:03:10,560 for many, many years. And then something happened in 57 00:03:10,560 --> 00:03:13,440 my late 30s where I started to not feel well. 58 00:03:13,440 --> 00:03:16,160 And this all ties into how all of this started. 59 00:03:16,160 --> 00:03:19,520 And I couldn't work. I got sick with multiple 60 00:03:19,520 --> 00:03:25,920 autoimmune disorders but had an amazing Doctor Who said to me, I 61 00:03:25,920 --> 00:03:28,960 think you should volunteer. Volunteering is very healing. 62 00:03:29,400 --> 00:03:31,880 Find something where you don't have to have a set schedule. 63 00:03:32,000 --> 00:03:34,040 Without thinking, tell me what you would do. 64 00:03:34,040 --> 00:03:36,840 I'm like, well, I would want to pet cats, he said. 65 00:03:36,920 --> 00:03:39,120 So go find a place where you can pet cats. 66 00:03:39,400 --> 00:03:42,120 And I did that. And I went to a local shelter 67 00:03:42,120 --> 00:03:46,560 and became a volunteer and then became an adoption counselor and 68 00:03:46,640 --> 00:03:52,560 inevitably studied behavior, studied animal Reiki, just 69 00:03:52,560 --> 00:03:55,520 really immersed myself in that world. 70 00:03:56,160 --> 00:04:01,640 And then one of my cats was diagnosed with cancer and I, we 71 00:04:01,640 --> 00:04:04,240 decided to treat. He had a nasal tumor. 72 00:04:04,240 --> 00:04:07,040 We knew with treatment we would get the gift of time. 73 00:04:07,360 --> 00:04:08,760 And that's really what we wanted. 74 00:04:08,760 --> 00:04:12,960 Brody was 13 years old and we just really wanted more time 75 00:04:12,960 --> 00:04:15,520 with him, Good time. We were very mindful. 76 00:04:15,520 --> 00:04:18,079 This wasn't about us, but we thought he could get good 77 00:04:18,079 --> 00:04:21,720 quality of life. But when I was at the vet's 78 00:04:21,720 --> 00:04:25,000 office, I was hearing all these conversations and for the first 79 00:04:25,000 --> 00:04:28,560 time, I heard the term economic euthanasia and was horrified 80 00:04:28,640 --> 00:04:32,320 that people might have to put a cat or a dog to sleep, even 81 00:04:32,320 --> 00:04:35,280 though the cancer could be treatable or they would get 82 00:04:35,280 --> 00:04:36,960 time. And that's where the first 83 00:04:36,960 --> 00:04:39,560 nonprofit came from. I founded something called the 84 00:04:39,560 --> 00:04:43,120 Brody Fund, and for eight years we gave grants to families that 85 00:04:43,120 --> 00:04:44,760 couldn't afford cancer treatment. 86 00:04:45,240 --> 00:04:52,240 And it was amazing until I just, I didn't realize I've been in, 87 00:04:52,240 --> 00:04:55,480 you know, a volunteer in the cat sector for a long time, 88 00:04:55,480 --> 00:04:58,960 volunteer with in different ways with local nonprofits. 89 00:04:58,960 --> 00:05:01,800 Never experienced burnout. Did not know that it would 90 00:05:01,800 --> 00:05:06,400 happen as a nonprofit director, but I was so immersed in the pet 91 00:05:06,400 --> 00:05:09,640 cancer world. It became overwhelming and sad. 92 00:05:09,640 --> 00:05:13,200 And we as a board got together, made the very challenging 93 00:05:13,200 --> 00:05:15,960 decision after a long period of time that we were going to close 94 00:05:15,960 --> 00:05:18,480 the Brody Fund. It had done amazing work. 95 00:05:18,800 --> 00:05:22,200 We threw it off and quite a fashion, had a big party, gave 96 00:05:22,200 --> 00:05:24,640 legacy grants. We made it very proud. 97 00:05:24,760 --> 00:05:27,800 And then I took some time off and I thought it was 98 00:05:27,800 --> 00:05:29,880 interesting. I was listening to podcasts like 99 00:05:29,880 --> 00:05:32,040 crazy at that point. So we were just coming out of 100 00:05:32,040 --> 00:05:33,720 COVID. Everybody, I think, was 101 00:05:33,720 --> 00:05:35,720 listening to podcasts to that point. 102 00:05:35,760 --> 00:05:37,800 And there were two that really changed my life. 103 00:05:37,800 --> 00:05:41,520 When was the J Shitty one about burnout where I could recognize 104 00:05:41,520 --> 00:05:44,800 what was going on and this was normal, what I was experiencing? 105 00:05:45,120 --> 00:05:49,520 And the second one was a Brené Brown one where the the guest 106 00:05:49,520 --> 00:05:53,080 kind of took over the interview and told her that she was doing 107 00:05:53,080 --> 00:05:57,240 too much and she needed to take time off and get bored. 108 00:05:58,480 --> 00:06:02,680 That really struck me as something bored. 109 00:06:02,680 --> 00:06:06,680 And she said, I don't mean antsy bored, bored, like your mind is 110 00:06:06,680 --> 00:06:08,920 clear. And I thought, gosh, I can't 111 00:06:08,920 --> 00:06:10,480 remember the last time that happened. 112 00:06:10,480 --> 00:06:12,880 And I did it. And I took this time to myself. 113 00:06:12,880 --> 00:06:14,840 Lucky. I have a very supportive 114 00:06:14,840 --> 00:06:18,120 husband, and I spent a lot of time outside in nature. 115 00:06:18,120 --> 00:06:21,640 And one day it hit me. I miss running a nonprofit. 116 00:06:21,760 --> 00:06:24,920 That's what I'm missing. There are so many other things I 117 00:06:24,920 --> 00:06:26,720 could be doing. I could go back to work in the 118 00:06:26,720 --> 00:06:30,280 traditional sense, but I really missed a nonprofit. 119 00:06:30,280 --> 00:06:33,600 And I recognize at that point that's my calling. 120 00:06:33,760 --> 00:06:36,680 This is what I should be doing. It's very purpose driven. 121 00:06:36,680 --> 00:06:39,680 That's not financial driven. It's not going to make me 122 00:06:39,680 --> 00:06:44,200 $1,000,000, but it feeds my soul in a way that nothing else did. 123 00:06:45,600 --> 00:06:47,840 That was it. OK, so now I know that's what I 124 00:06:47,840 --> 00:06:49,560 want to do. And then it becomes who do I 125 00:06:49,560 --> 00:06:51,320 help? OK, I have a lot of experience 126 00:06:51,320 --> 00:06:53,560 in the cat world. I have a background in behavior. 127 00:06:53,880 --> 00:06:56,960 I'm volunteering for organizations, one in particular 128 00:06:57,280 --> 00:07:02,120 that had a very successful Cat Cafe adoption center. 129 00:07:02,120 --> 00:07:06,480 They hosted conventions and yet COVID really impacted them and 130 00:07:06,480 --> 00:07:09,320 they had to downsize, move to a different location. 131 00:07:09,320 --> 00:07:12,440 And I thought, well, if an organization that's that well 132 00:07:12,440 --> 00:07:16,960 known that well run is dealing with these challenges, where 133 00:07:16,960 --> 00:07:20,880 else is it happening? So I became a keyboard warrior 134 00:07:20,920 --> 00:07:25,440 and just start playing New York State Cat Rescue, closing 135 00:07:25,440 --> 00:07:29,160 Colorado Cat Rescue, just going state by state by state with 136 00:07:29,160 --> 00:07:32,280 different, you know, changing the words up a little bit, but 137 00:07:32,280 --> 00:07:36,200 still the general idea. And it was clear that this was 138 00:07:36,200 --> 00:07:38,040 happening all across the country. 139 00:07:38,360 --> 00:07:42,800 And the reality is that a lot of these groups, the small feline 140 00:07:42,800 --> 00:07:45,920 centric nonprofits, they're the grassroots organizations, they 141 00:07:45,920 --> 00:07:47,880 are really at the heart of the problem. 142 00:07:47,880 --> 00:07:51,080 Many of them are doing TNR and many of them are taking the 143 00:07:51,080 --> 00:07:53,080 senior cats, the special needs cats. 144 00:07:53,160 --> 00:07:57,480 Many of them have the contracts with the counties in the towns 145 00:07:57,800 --> 00:08:01,600 for the stray cats coming in to have the, you know, to have the 146 00:08:01,600 --> 00:08:03,920 ferals coming in to be doing the TNR. 147 00:08:04,520 --> 00:08:08,560 If these organizations are struggling, we the cat community 148 00:08:08,560 --> 00:08:12,240 are in big trouble. So I had, all right, here's my 149 00:08:12,240 --> 00:08:14,960 nonprofit. Now I know who I want to help. 150 00:08:14,960 --> 00:08:17,280 And then it became, how do I help? 151 00:08:17,280 --> 00:08:20,000 And I thought, well, it can rule out the things I don't want to 152 00:08:20,000 --> 00:08:22,000 do. When I had the Brody Fund, we 153 00:08:22,000 --> 00:08:25,440 were very event driven and fundraising in the very 154 00:08:25,440 --> 00:08:27,920 traditional way of individual donors. 155 00:08:27,960 --> 00:08:31,200 And it's a lot of work. The parties are fun, right? 156 00:08:31,200 --> 00:08:32,960 When you have events, there are a lot of fun. 157 00:08:32,960 --> 00:08:35,960 But I will say this, they cost money and the outcomes are 158 00:08:35,960 --> 00:08:37,720 unpredictable. The ones that you think are 159 00:08:37,720 --> 00:08:40,039 going to be fantastic sometimes can flop. 160 00:08:40,360 --> 00:08:43,200 And the little ones you think might not do anything end up 161 00:08:43,200 --> 00:08:45,960 being a really a gem of a fundraiser. 162 00:08:46,680 --> 00:08:50,160 But I thought, well, all right, let's eliminate those. 163 00:08:50,480 --> 00:08:54,600 How can I hit the ground running fast and raise a lot of money 164 00:08:54,600 --> 00:08:57,000 quickly? Because if my mission now as I 165 00:08:57,000 --> 00:09:00,560 know who I want to help, these small orgs don't, they don't 166 00:09:00,560 --> 00:09:03,880 need a $500 grant. They need a big grant that can 167 00:09:03,880 --> 00:09:06,920 really change things for them and help them grow. 168 00:09:06,920 --> 00:09:09,000 Because that's they don't get those. 169 00:09:09,000 --> 00:09:11,960 When you do your research, you find out they get small 170 00:09:11,960 --> 00:09:13,920 community grants, which are wonderful. 171 00:09:14,200 --> 00:09:18,440 They'll get a occasionally a larger chunk of private donor 172 00:09:18,440 --> 00:09:22,000 will give them a nice size, but nothing like 10,012. 173 00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:25,520 They they don't get those again back out in the backyard, 174 00:09:25,520 --> 00:09:28,800 swinging in the hammock with my cat, thinking, OK, you know, now 175 00:09:28,800 --> 00:09:31,080 I I've got got The Who I want to help. 176 00:09:31,080 --> 00:09:34,240 What's the name and how do we get to the big money? 177 00:09:35,440 --> 00:09:38,080 My cat when I kept putting out there, what's my mission? 178 00:09:38,080 --> 00:09:41,000 What's my mission? Just let out a tiny little meow. 179 00:09:41,200 --> 00:09:42,640 There it is. We're mission meow. 180 00:09:42,720 --> 00:09:47,320 That's the name came and then it was OK. 181 00:09:47,640 --> 00:09:50,600 Now how do we get started? I reached out to two people in 182 00:09:50,600 --> 00:09:54,280 the cat world, said I need 2 board members to be able to form 183 00:09:54,280 --> 00:09:57,200 a fancy three. They agreed, had my foundation 184 00:09:57,200 --> 00:09:59,560 of the organization and then it was OK. 185 00:09:59,560 --> 00:10:01,440 Fundraising. The thing that nobody wants to 186 00:10:01,440 --> 00:10:04,560 do, nobody wants to talk about. I'm actually quite passionate 187 00:10:04,560 --> 00:10:09,360 about it and oddly it came to me and it's a sad situation, but it 188 00:10:09,360 --> 00:10:11,440 nevertheless it was the inspiration. 189 00:10:12,040 --> 00:10:15,600 The town next to me had a family that had had a fire. 190 00:10:15,600 --> 00:10:18,480 They lost their house, lost everything, and you know what 191 00:10:18,480 --> 00:10:20,720 happens when the communities come together. 192 00:10:20,920 --> 00:10:23,600 But what I found really interesting is, was it just the 193 00:10:23,600 --> 00:10:26,720 community members? It was the local businesses and 194 00:10:26,720 --> 00:10:30,440 they had a whole weekend. They did sipping shops, they had 195 00:10:30,520 --> 00:10:33,920 private parties. They gave a percentage of sales. 196 00:10:34,280 --> 00:10:37,400 That raised a lot of money. And I thought, that's it. 197 00:10:38,000 --> 00:10:42,840 I can business crowdfund, I can reach out to businesses in the 198 00:10:42,840 --> 00:10:46,200 cat community and ask if they will contribute and be the 199 00:10:46,200 --> 00:10:49,960 foundation of our organization. So that was kind of the genesis 200 00:10:49,960 --> 00:10:51,680 of it. And then it became OK. 201 00:10:51,680 --> 00:10:53,720 Then there's the details. How often are we going to 202 00:10:53,720 --> 00:10:56,320 collect this money? How often are we going to give? 203 00:10:56,840 --> 00:11:00,560 And we just came up with a very, a very simple way of doing it. 204 00:11:00,600 --> 00:11:04,320 We give quarterly, we give in January, April, July and 205 00:11:04,320 --> 00:11:07,160 October. And we do that for two reasons. 206 00:11:07,160 --> 00:11:10,520 One is it's less stress on anybody you're asking. 207 00:11:10,720 --> 00:11:13,240 Only need to give 4 * a year. That's it. 208 00:11:13,320 --> 00:11:16,040 The rest of the time you could be helping local organizations 209 00:11:16,040 --> 00:11:18,680 or not help at all. If you're a small business, 210 00:11:18,680 --> 00:11:20,400 maybe you don't have the bandwidth to do more. 211 00:11:20,400 --> 00:11:23,880 So just 4 * a year. It also allows Michigan meow the 212 00:11:23,880 --> 00:11:27,360 downtime we need, right? So we have a big fundraising 213 00:11:27,360 --> 00:11:31,920 month, then we reorganize, we give the grants, we do check 214 00:11:31,920 --> 00:11:34,600 ceremonies, that takes a whole month. 215 00:11:34,600 --> 00:11:36,600 Then we start the grant process again. 216 00:11:36,600 --> 00:11:38,360 We take applications for two weeks. 217 00:11:38,360 --> 00:11:42,120 We vet them for almost 2 weeks. We choose it, and we start that 218 00:11:42,120 --> 00:11:45,880 fundraising all over again. And probably in your mind, 219 00:11:45,880 --> 00:11:47,800 you're thinking, well, why do you have to fundraise if you 220 00:11:47,800 --> 00:11:51,400 have business partners, They are the foundation. 221 00:11:51,600 --> 00:11:55,760 We know that we now we have 82 business partners that are going 222 00:11:55,760 --> 00:11:59,280 to be contributing. But to give a really big grant, 223 00:11:59,320 --> 00:12:01,720 we need individual donors as well. 224 00:12:02,080 --> 00:12:05,840 So in the fundraising month, which we just had in April, we 225 00:12:05,840 --> 00:12:08,600 tell the story of the organizations we pick. 226 00:12:09,280 --> 00:12:12,760 So let's use this example. We had two in April. 1 was LIC 227 00:12:13,120 --> 00:12:16,560 Feral Feeders which means Long Island City Feral Feeders and 228 00:12:16,560 --> 00:12:21,400 they are a TNR organization founded and run by women and 229 00:12:21,400 --> 00:12:25,360 they are an urban organization so you can imagine what TNR 230 00:12:25,360 --> 00:12:28,480 looks like there. They find themselves in alleys 231 00:12:28,480 --> 00:12:32,600 and then situations that are not ideal and they are out there 232 00:12:32,600 --> 00:12:36,920 doing this hard work and they needed a safe place to have cats 233 00:12:36,920 --> 00:12:41,120 pre surgery, post surgery and before they are released and 234 00:12:41,120 --> 00:12:43,200 they needed cameras and some equipment. 235 00:12:43,200 --> 00:12:46,680 So that was 1 grant. The other grant is Tomato Foster 236 00:12:46,680 --> 00:12:49,680 Club in New Orleans which I just think I don't. 237 00:12:49,680 --> 00:12:52,320 I never even asked them where the tomato part came from and it 238 00:12:52,320 --> 00:12:54,520 may be in their grant application but I think it's a 239 00:12:54,520 --> 00:12:57,160 call name. Probably is a cat named Tomato. 240 00:12:57,800 --> 00:13:01,240 Their focus are special needs kittens and their grant 241 00:13:01,240 --> 00:13:05,720 application was for 8 incubators and the oxygen so that they can 242 00:13:05,720 --> 00:13:11,840 save the neonates, the special needs orphan kittens that, you 243 00:13:11,840 --> 00:13:14,960 know, without an incubator, you're, you're piecemealing 244 00:13:14,960 --> 00:13:17,040 things together. You know, you have a bottle 245 00:13:17,040 --> 00:13:19,120 warmer, you've got all these little things for under a 246 00:13:19,120 --> 00:13:23,080 blanket like the old school, you know, those little yeah, rubbery 247 00:13:23,080 --> 00:13:25,440 warmers. I mean, you're doing it that way 248 00:13:25,440 --> 00:13:29,040 and you can do it, but having incubators is priceless. 8 249 00:13:29,040 --> 00:13:31,200 incubators. That's going to save a lot of 250 00:13:31,200 --> 00:13:34,080 lives. So what we do in that time frame 251 00:13:34,080 --> 00:13:37,400 is we tell all about these organizations, what makes them 252 00:13:37,400 --> 00:13:40,520 so special. We interview people, we'll share 253 00:13:40,520 --> 00:13:43,600 adoption stories, all these different things. 254 00:13:43,600 --> 00:13:47,960 And now our individual donors get to see the heart of these 255 00:13:47,960 --> 00:13:51,200 organizations and what makes them so special. 256 00:13:51,920 --> 00:13:55,360 And that's kind of how that's how the whole process works for 257 00:13:55,360 --> 00:13:56,800 us. And then there's a whole other 258 00:13:56,800 --> 00:13:58,920 side that I can tell you, but you might have questions. 259 00:13:59,000 --> 00:14:01,560 I can tell you about the business partners side of things 260 00:14:01,560 --> 00:14:04,600 too. But my favorite part is telling 261 00:14:04,600 --> 00:14:08,520 their stories because I want people to know how special they 262 00:14:08,520 --> 00:14:10,680 are. So the support continues well 263 00:14:10,680 --> 00:14:13,360 beyond after Mission. Meow gives them the money. 264 00:14:14,200 --> 00:14:17,840 Yeah, Well, that so storytelling, marketing is 265 00:14:17,920 --> 00:14:20,640 something I'm very actually passionate about. 266 00:14:20,640 --> 00:14:23,160 I love it. I think, you know, organic 267 00:14:23,560 --> 00:14:26,360 content creation stems from storytelling. 268 00:14:26,360 --> 00:14:29,400 And I just love that you kind of embody that. 269 00:14:29,440 --> 00:14:32,200 And I do have questions but really quickly I'm just feeling 270 00:14:32,200 --> 00:14:36,280 really called to say this because I think I don't know who 271 00:14:36,280 --> 00:14:39,760 else out there may need to hear this, but apparently I needed to 272 00:14:39,760 --> 00:14:41,840 hear this today. And so I'm just going to tell 273 00:14:41,840 --> 00:14:44,200 the story really quickly. Sally and I were supposed to 274 00:14:44,200 --> 00:14:49,400 record 3 days from now and I messaged her and I was like, is 275 00:14:49,400 --> 00:14:51,960 there any way you can record tomorrow instead? 276 00:14:52,000 --> 00:14:55,160 And she was amazing. Was like of course we can record 277 00:14:55,160 --> 00:14:58,120 tomorrow. And so you just told the story 278 00:14:58,120 --> 00:15:01,200 about listening to J Shuddy and Brené Brown. 279 00:15:01,240 --> 00:15:05,640 And when you started talking about the guest taking over and 280 00:15:05,640 --> 00:15:08,640 telling her that she needs to be bored, I, I don't know if you 281 00:15:08,640 --> 00:15:10,560 saw me, I was literally over here crying. 282 00:15:10,880 --> 00:15:14,280 And it was. What are you doing but OK? 283 00:15:15,400 --> 00:15:19,120 And it's so random, but I think the universe works in really 284 00:15:19,120 --> 00:15:20,680 strange ways. And so I just want to 285 00:15:20,680 --> 00:15:25,000 acknowledge that like I received that message and I feel like I 286 00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:29,040 feel like maybe all of this happened and we rescheduled and 287 00:15:29,040 --> 00:15:31,320 you were supposed to tell me that and I'm supposed to call 288 00:15:31,320 --> 00:15:34,200 this out because I don't know if anybody else needs to hear this. 289 00:15:34,520 --> 00:15:37,720 But I feel like for me, like I needed to hear that message. 290 00:15:37,760 --> 00:15:40,640 I listen to Bernie Brown, but not regularly. 291 00:15:40,640 --> 00:15:43,400 And I didn't, I didn't hear that particular podcast. 292 00:15:43,800 --> 00:15:46,440 I feel like I needed to hear that with like everything going 293 00:15:46,440 --> 00:15:48,840 on in my life and what I'm doing right now. 294 00:15:48,840 --> 00:15:53,000 I feel like that's exactly, I don't know, it just hit me and I 295 00:15:53,000 --> 00:15:55,880 it literally, I was like trying so hard not to cry. 296 00:15:55,880 --> 00:15:58,080 I'm like, I'm crying right now and this is. 297 00:15:58,880 --> 00:16:03,840 Fine. It was such an awakening for me. 298 00:16:03,840 --> 00:16:07,960 It was like I was meant to hear that. 299 00:16:08,160 --> 00:16:11,360 I mean, look what happened. I don't think any of this would 300 00:16:11,360 --> 00:16:16,000 have happened had I not been listening that day and really 301 00:16:16,160 --> 00:16:21,160 felt it, like Raw felt it and was this is what I need to do, 302 00:16:21,360 --> 00:16:25,600 this is what I have to do. You have to listen to these 303 00:16:25,600 --> 00:16:28,480 messages. I mean, I've had so many in my 304 00:16:28,480 --> 00:16:32,040 life that when I was going in One Direction and something 305 00:16:32,040 --> 00:16:35,280 happened in a door shut that pushed me in another way and I 306 00:16:35,280 --> 00:16:38,880 ended up where I was supposed to be and I was fighting for some 307 00:16:38,880 --> 00:16:41,480 reason going one way and there. Were. 308 00:16:41,760 --> 00:16:45,000 Roadblocks that I kept like, Oh no, I've got to push past that 309 00:16:45,000 --> 00:16:48,600 when no, those roadblocks were there so that I would move in 310 00:16:48,600 --> 00:16:53,440 another way. Yeah, I believe that so much. 311 00:16:53,600 --> 00:16:56,280 Glad that you that you've received something that you 312 00:16:56,400 --> 00:17:01,360 needed to beyond just having a wonderful conversation about a 313 00:17:01,360 --> 00:17:04,800 world that we care deeply about. Yeah. 314 00:17:04,800 --> 00:17:07,839 So I just, yeah, I just wanted to put that out there in case 315 00:17:07,839 --> 00:17:11,880 somebody listening also, I don't know, maybe you heard, maybe you 316 00:17:11,880 --> 00:17:13,680 heard that message the same time I did. 317 00:17:13,680 --> 00:17:17,440 But I want to acknowledge that it it's, it's a pretty powerful 318 00:17:17,440 --> 00:17:20,040 message. And I think it's very certainly 319 00:17:20,040 --> 00:17:25,200 in our society today, like counter culture to do that to to 320 00:17:25,200 --> 00:17:27,200 pause. Like we're definitely live in 321 00:17:27,200 --> 00:17:31,240 like a whole hustle culture, which I feel especially for 322 00:17:31,240 --> 00:17:35,080 women is, is not healthy at all. Yeah. 323 00:17:35,080 --> 00:17:37,560 So being bored. Goodness. 324 00:17:38,240 --> 00:17:42,240 I love the way that it that she explained it that not, you know, 325 00:17:42,240 --> 00:17:44,360 when you get bored and you just get uncomfortable. 326 00:17:44,600 --> 00:17:48,640 But yeah, antsy bored. This guest said no, I'm talking 327 00:17:48,640 --> 00:17:53,920 about past that past that point to where you're completely your 328 00:17:53,920 --> 00:17:58,320 mind is completely freed up and the space is available for 329 00:17:58,320 --> 00:18:00,720 what's supposed to come next to come in. 330 00:18:00,720 --> 00:18:04,280 And when it does, you're going to be like, and I reached, I 331 00:18:04,280 --> 00:18:07,560 mean, I hadn't read a book at that point. 332 00:18:07,560 --> 00:18:10,200 I couldn't even tell you. I was so busy all the time. 333 00:18:10,200 --> 00:18:13,160 I wasn't reading books. I wasn't going to parks anymore. 334 00:18:13,160 --> 00:18:17,960 I wasn't getting out in nature. I wasn't really giving my cats 335 00:18:18,040 --> 00:18:21,040 what they needed. They're being met either. 336 00:18:21,040 --> 00:18:25,040 And all of that happened. And now I have this amazing 337 00:18:25,040 --> 00:18:29,280 gift, which is also now taking up an enormous amount of time. 338 00:18:29,280 --> 00:18:31,200 And I'm back in that hustle world. 339 00:18:31,560 --> 00:18:35,520 But that's always back here. I'm taking some time off coming 340 00:18:35,520 --> 00:18:39,600 up because I said I need for me to plug in and recharge means to 341 00:18:39,600 --> 00:18:41,800 actually unplug. And that's what I'm going to be 342 00:18:41,800 --> 00:18:44,360 doing soon. And if we don't do that, I feel 343 00:18:44,360 --> 00:18:48,040 like I know for me personally that I've had health issues when 344 00:18:48,040 --> 00:18:52,240 I pushed and pushed and pushed and mission meow gives me so 345 00:18:52,240 --> 00:18:54,720 much more than I could ever imagine. 346 00:18:54,720 --> 00:18:58,320 I get very emotional when I get really deep talking about it, 347 00:18:58,640 --> 00:19:03,720 but it still needs me to take time off and, you know, take 348 00:19:03,720 --> 00:19:06,920 care of myself so that I can. Especially these days, I feel 349 00:19:06,920 --> 00:19:08,720 like the world is more complicated. 350 00:19:08,720 --> 00:19:14,320 At least I, I'm 58, I'll be 59 this year and then my 59 years. 351 00:19:14,320 --> 00:19:18,080 I feel like this right now has been a very the most challenging 352 00:19:18,080 --> 00:19:22,600 time externally too. Yeah, just mean I've had, I've 353 00:19:22,600 --> 00:19:25,640 had lot, you know, losses in my life and all that, but just I 354 00:19:25,640 --> 00:19:29,160 felt so much heaviness in the world recently and as a 355 00:19:29,160 --> 00:19:33,320 sensitive person, it's it's a challenging space to navigate 356 00:19:33,360 --> 00:19:38,360 because I want to be giving so much to the organizations and 357 00:19:38,360 --> 00:19:40,880 that now they're in need more than ever. 358 00:19:40,880 --> 00:19:44,880 But on the flip side, we have our business partners who are 359 00:19:44,880 --> 00:19:47,400 also experiencing challenges too. 360 00:19:47,720 --> 00:19:52,360 And this is a unique place to be that I have two sides that are 361 00:19:52,360 --> 00:19:57,480 both being tested right now and we want to support both of them 362 00:19:57,960 --> 00:20:00,520 because my our business partners are like family to me. 363 00:20:00,520 --> 00:20:04,280 I feel so incredibly lucky that they are. 364 00:20:04,920 --> 00:20:07,560 If you're thinking everybody needs to buy things for your 365 00:20:07,560 --> 00:20:10,920 pets, this is not to push any businesses. 366 00:20:11,880 --> 00:20:15,000 But seriously, our business partners are partners because 367 00:20:15,000 --> 00:20:18,920 they love the cat community, they love the animal community, 368 00:20:19,120 --> 00:20:21,880 they love giving back. They don't have to. 369 00:20:22,280 --> 00:20:25,640 They made a choice to do this and I am. 370 00:20:25,640 --> 00:20:30,120 So I just love them all so much. And I have really, I honestly, 371 00:20:30,120 --> 00:20:33,200 if I was to have a conversation with a business and I didn't 372 00:20:33,200 --> 00:20:37,280 feel like we're not quite aligning, I don't think they 373 00:20:37,280 --> 00:20:41,720 would be a part of Mission Meow. Yeah, the energy of that is 374 00:20:41,720 --> 00:20:45,800 really important to me and I don't know how to do anything 375 00:20:45,800 --> 00:20:49,040 other than lead with my heart and have a very personal 376 00:20:49,040 --> 00:20:52,000 relationship with somebody. So if that's not something that 377 00:20:52,040 --> 00:20:54,640 fits for them, probably Mission Meow is not the right 378 00:20:54,640 --> 00:20:57,680 organization for them. It's just the fact of how we 379 00:20:57,680 --> 00:21:01,480 are. Yeah, so with Mission Meow, I 380 00:21:01,480 --> 00:21:04,080 actually, and I don't know if I've ever told you this, I 381 00:21:04,080 --> 00:21:08,280 started in this world, this pet space with doing TNR. 382 00:21:08,320 --> 00:21:12,720 That's how I started and it was. I'm also a very empathetic 383 00:21:13,080 --> 00:21:17,240 person who feels everyone's energy very intensely. 384 00:21:17,240 --> 00:21:22,720 I've actually had to work very hard at trying to not 385 00:21:22,720 --> 00:21:24,360 internalize other people's energy. 386 00:21:25,400 --> 00:21:28,640 It's, yeah, it's, it's it's a thing that I'm still working on, 387 00:21:28,640 --> 00:21:32,120 quite honestly, especially if I meet somebody new that I'm. 388 00:21:32,400 --> 00:21:34,840 Challenging because you don't want to completely shut 389 00:21:34,840 --> 00:21:36,440 everything out like I don't believe in. 390 00:21:36,440 --> 00:21:39,560 Like if, if people understand Reiki, you can set a protective 391 00:21:39,560 --> 00:21:43,200 bubble and keep everything out. But keeping everything out to me 392 00:21:43,200 --> 00:21:45,560 isn't good either. So it's finding that balance of 393 00:21:45,560 --> 00:21:50,200 letting enough in where you remain human and empathetic and 394 00:21:50,200 --> 00:21:52,520 kind, but also it's not hurting you. 395 00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:54,120 Right. Yeah. 396 00:21:54,480 --> 00:21:58,680 And so, you know, this was back in my early 20s when I was doing 397 00:21:58,680 --> 00:22:02,120 TNR and I got burnt out really quickly just because. 398 00:22:02,680 --> 00:22:06,040 TNR is hard work. It's it's, I don't mean just 399 00:22:06,040 --> 00:22:08,200 physically challenged. It's emotionally very 400 00:22:08,200 --> 00:22:11,040 challenging. It is and honestly that first 401 00:22:11,040 --> 00:22:15,920 time I had to let cats back outside, I was like, that killed 402 00:22:15,920 --> 00:22:17,200 me. Killed me. 403 00:22:17,200 --> 00:22:20,040 Cuz I'm like, I understand logically that these are not 404 00:22:20,040 --> 00:22:25,040 adoptable animals, but like you care for them so much even 405 00:22:25,040 --> 00:22:27,240 though you've never, they've never let you touch them. 406 00:22:29,640 --> 00:22:34,760 Yeah, but I'm so I have, I've always had a soft spot in my 407 00:22:34,760 --> 00:22:38,400 heart for cats and so. And it is definitely I also 408 00:22:38,440 --> 00:22:43,080 always talk to people anytime I do like a cat centric episode, 409 00:22:43,080 --> 00:22:45,720 which I don't, but I mean, I try to do at least a few times a 410 00:22:45,720 --> 00:22:50,080 year because it is, it's important for me that I do that 411 00:22:50,080 --> 00:22:52,680 because I feel like that's like it grounds me a little bit back 412 00:22:52,680 --> 00:22:54,920 to my roots and, and where I came from. 413 00:22:55,240 --> 00:22:59,120 I mean, the fact that I do still have cats, but it is, I think a 414 00:22:59,120 --> 00:23:02,680 lot harder. I think there are certainly like 415 00:23:02,680 --> 00:23:04,440 cats rule the Internet. Don't get me wrong. 416 00:23:04,440 --> 00:23:07,400 Like, you know, there are cat memes everywhere and everybody 417 00:23:07,680 --> 00:23:10,560 likes, you know, laughing and sharing cat memes. 418 00:23:12,200 --> 00:23:17,440 But there is a very different feeling, I think for not all 419 00:23:17,440 --> 00:23:22,040 people, of course, but for a lot of people in in our society that 420 00:23:22,040 --> 00:23:25,120 like, we just, we care for dogs and cats differently. 421 00:23:26,720 --> 00:23:30,960 And so it has to be really it, it, it has to just have an extra 422 00:23:30,960 --> 00:23:33,320 layer of challenge, I guess is is. 423 00:23:33,360 --> 00:23:36,600 Where I'm going, we work very hard in the cat community 424 00:23:36,920 --> 00:23:40,400 because yes, it's true. You can, you can find any kind 425 00:23:40,400 --> 00:23:44,640 of meme, any kind of anything. But when it comes to veterinary 426 00:23:44,640 --> 00:23:51,240 care, it's not the same. I, I am always challenged with 427 00:23:51,240 --> 00:23:55,640 that offices that practices. It's very easy for, you know, we 428 00:23:55,640 --> 00:23:59,440 have a a beautiful new hospital nearest that was built and they 429 00:23:59,440 --> 00:24:02,480 have a space that's supposed to be where the cats come in. 430 00:24:02,760 --> 00:24:06,640 But it's this little tiny space and the walls don't go up to the 431 00:24:06,640 --> 00:24:08,080 ceiling. There's no door. 432 00:24:08,080 --> 00:24:12,560 The dogs are still coming in. And all the money in the world 433 00:24:12,560 --> 00:24:15,240 didn't make this a good space for cats. 434 00:24:16,240 --> 00:24:21,320 You get into a vet practice, it's not set up very cat 435 00:24:21,320 --> 00:24:23,800 friendly. You can walk into any of the 436 00:24:23,800 --> 00:24:28,360 Super pet stores. The cat stuff is not the dog 437 00:24:28,360 --> 00:24:32,840 stuff is one whole aisle and then you'll have like fish, 438 00:24:32,840 --> 00:24:35,840 reptiles, bunnies, and then they make us go all the way to the 439 00:24:35,840 --> 00:24:40,960 back for cats. And yet we're spending tons of 440 00:24:40,960 --> 00:24:44,880 money. So there's there's some sort of 441 00:24:44,880 --> 00:24:47,840 disconnect. I think it's changing. 442 00:24:49,040 --> 00:24:51,960 I think there's still work to be done. 443 00:24:52,640 --> 00:24:56,320 Yeah, But I do think, I do think it's changing a lot and 444 00:24:56,320 --> 00:25:04,360 especially in the in the area of holistics, I think that cat 445 00:25:04,560 --> 00:25:08,800 folks are really driving that. That to me is an area where 446 00:25:08,800 --> 00:25:11,640 you're where we're talking all the time. 447 00:25:12,000 --> 00:25:16,000 I mean, I knew for me all my cats have an integrative 448 00:25:16,000 --> 00:25:20,800 approach to veterinary care, especially having lived through, 449 00:25:21,080 --> 00:25:23,000 you know, having had four cats with cancer. 450 00:25:24,440 --> 00:25:29,080 It was all, all that and you know, I'm very much into things 451 00:25:29,080 --> 00:25:33,000 being, you know, I, it's interesting because I'm a Reiki 452 00:25:33,000 --> 00:25:35,040 practitioner. I'm very careful with what I 453 00:25:35,040 --> 00:25:38,520 eat. I have autoimmune disease, but 454 00:25:38,520 --> 00:25:41,640 I'm also that person where I understand not everybody has the 455 00:25:41,640 --> 00:25:44,720 money to be feeding. I mean, the really healthy 456 00:25:44,720 --> 00:25:47,960 foods, a lot of them are very expensive and you put a roof 457 00:25:47,960 --> 00:25:49,640 over their head. You love them and you do the 458 00:25:49,640 --> 00:25:53,080 best you can. That's the space I come from, 459 00:25:53,200 --> 00:25:55,120 right? There's, there's, there's 460 00:25:55,120 --> 00:25:57,040 wonderful things happening in the cat world. 461 00:25:57,040 --> 00:25:59,560 Let's just say that I think things are really, really 462 00:25:59,560 --> 00:26:02,240 changing. And I, it should be that way for 463 00:26:02,240 --> 00:26:04,240 both. I love dogs. 464 00:26:04,240 --> 00:26:07,200 The only reason I don't have a dog is because, and I did this 465 00:26:07,200 --> 00:26:09,840 should have something I should have asked before we got 466 00:26:09,840 --> 00:26:11,960 married. I just assumed because my 467 00:26:11,960 --> 00:26:14,600 husband grew up with dogs that he would want to have a dog too. 468 00:26:14,600 --> 00:26:18,040 And then the conversation came. We were, I don't know, probably 469 00:26:18,040 --> 00:26:21,560 in our 30s and we had two cats like, all right, let's go get 470 00:26:21,560 --> 00:26:22,960 the dog. These cats are great. 471 00:26:22,960 --> 00:26:25,520 They're they would be wonderful. I don't want a dog. 472 00:26:25,760 --> 00:26:31,240 We mean you don't want a dog. So we never got a dog. 473 00:26:31,320 --> 00:26:34,280 You know what we did? I went out two more cats because 474 00:26:34,280 --> 00:26:37,080 two more cats equaled the size of the dog that I would like to 475 00:26:37,080 --> 00:26:37,480 have. Oh. 476 00:26:37,600 --> 00:26:39,640 My goodness, that's. That's funny. 477 00:26:39,880 --> 00:26:43,640 Yeah, so funny. Yeah, cats are. 478 00:26:43,800 --> 00:26:46,720 And this is another conversation I have often when I have cat 479 00:26:46,720 --> 00:26:49,080 people on. In fact, the first time I ever 480 00:26:49,080 --> 00:26:52,480 said it on this podcast was with Jay and Adrian. 481 00:26:52,480 --> 00:26:56,440 And they were like appalled with me because I was like, cats are 482 00:26:56,440 --> 00:26:58,160 so much harder to take care of and dogs. 483 00:26:58,760 --> 00:27:01,520 And this is just my experience, but I think. 484 00:27:02,120 --> 00:27:03,800 A lot of people say the other thing. 485 00:27:03,800 --> 00:27:06,640 They say, Oh my gosh, it's so easy to take care of a cat. 486 00:27:06,640 --> 00:27:10,720 You just put food and litter. No, no, all animals it, it 487 00:27:10,720 --> 00:27:13,560 doesn't matter. Cats, dogs, some are easier than 488 00:27:13,560 --> 00:27:15,240 others, some are harder than others. 489 00:27:15,240 --> 00:27:18,640 They're I mean, they're all different personalities. 490 00:27:18,680 --> 00:27:20,400 It's. Yeah, yeah. 491 00:27:20,840 --> 00:27:23,240 And it's also put into it, right? 492 00:27:23,600 --> 00:27:28,320 I mean, it is well, and that's the thing that so many people do 493 00:27:28,320 --> 00:27:32,960 have that mindset of the cats are easy, put food down, clean 494 00:27:32,960 --> 00:27:36,080 the litter box, hopefully clean the litter box and that's all 495 00:27:36,080 --> 00:27:38,920 they need and it's absolutely not all they need. 496 00:27:40,600 --> 00:27:43,040 And guess what? The humans are missing out on 497 00:27:43,040 --> 00:27:47,360 the all the really fun stuff. They really are. 498 00:27:47,360 --> 00:27:50,480 I think so too. The way you engage with a cat, 499 00:27:51,680 --> 00:27:55,440 the way that you provide them enrichment is very, I mean it's 500 00:27:55,440 --> 00:27:58,400 similar but in some ways, but very different from a dog. 501 00:27:58,400 --> 00:28:00,640 You just to see them like they are. 502 00:28:01,080 --> 00:28:05,760 They are like apex predators and living in your home end. 503 00:28:06,040 --> 00:28:09,040 Up going and doing that whole prey sequence. 504 00:28:09,160 --> 00:28:12,080 Yeah. It's it's so, you know, they get 505 00:28:12,080 --> 00:28:15,680 going, they get the butt wiggle and then they go and I don't 506 00:28:15,680 --> 00:28:17,960 know. And here's the because I had a 507 00:28:17,960 --> 00:28:22,000 behavior business for seven years, the contented cat working 508 00:28:22,000 --> 00:28:23,680 with people and talking about enrichment. 509 00:28:23,680 --> 00:28:26,600 One of the things I heard all the time was that my cat doesn't 510 00:28:26,600 --> 00:28:28,240 like to play. And my answer is, well, you 511 00:28:28,240 --> 00:28:30,800 haven't found the right toy yet. That's all. 512 00:28:30,880 --> 00:28:33,240 Yes, you need to find out what they like. 513 00:28:33,640 --> 00:28:37,080 Some, like I am a huge fan of the bird and it's got these big 514 00:28:37,080 --> 00:28:40,800 long feathers, but I have a very shy cat who doesn't like it 515 00:28:40,800 --> 00:28:43,840 because that one moves in a way that he doesn't like so much 516 00:28:44,160 --> 00:28:49,040 where a wand toy that has a little mouse on the end that I 517 00:28:49,040 --> 00:28:51,680 just tug along the floor. He's all about that. 518 00:28:52,800 --> 00:28:54,840 Some would rather I have thatchers. 519 00:28:54,840 --> 00:28:58,200 I have one cat that will fetch all day long, you know, get a 520 00:28:58,200 --> 00:29:00,240 nice softball, throw it up the stairs. 521 00:29:00,640 --> 00:29:04,120 He'll run up and down until finally he's just done just 522 00:29:04,120 --> 00:29:06,360 panting. So they all have their thing and 523 00:29:06,360 --> 00:29:10,960 all mine are harness trained too, so all mine go outside and 524 00:29:11,040 --> 00:29:13,960 I here's a shout out. Thank you Jay and Adrian. 525 00:29:13,960 --> 00:29:16,920 Their flea and tick formula is a godsend. 526 00:29:17,000 --> 00:29:19,640 You know, my lawn doesn't have any pesticides on it. 527 00:29:19,640 --> 00:29:22,000 So I feel very safe going out there with them. 528 00:29:22,000 --> 00:29:26,320 I just, I had had one experience with a cat and personally with 529 00:29:26,320 --> 00:29:30,880 the topical flea treatment. So it's just my personal choice 530 00:29:30,880 --> 00:29:33,800 not to use it and their flea and tick. 531 00:29:34,040 --> 00:29:37,360 I can spray it in my hands and I have autoimmune disease and I, I 532 00:29:37,360 --> 00:29:39,040 don't spray it on them because they don't like that. 533 00:29:39,040 --> 00:29:41,640 So I spray it in my hands and then it becomes a grooming 534 00:29:41,640 --> 00:29:44,720 session, you know, just rubbing it all over them. 535 00:29:44,720 --> 00:29:47,920 Then we take them outside and that just, it's a hunt. 536 00:29:47,920 --> 00:29:50,680 It's been 100% and I love it so much. 537 00:29:50,720 --> 00:29:54,640 And I, you know, it took some time to train them on harnesses 538 00:29:54,640 --> 00:29:57,480 and I do it the right way. Anybody who says just throw it 539 00:29:57,480 --> 00:29:59,520 on and take them outside, please don't do that. 540 00:29:59,960 --> 00:30:02,600 Them inside, start them with just a collar and that collar 541 00:30:02,600 --> 00:30:05,880 might last 2 minutes and then give them some treat and try 542 00:30:05,880 --> 00:30:08,240 again the next day and then extend it and then eventually 543 00:30:08,240 --> 00:30:10,760 make it the harness. And then you can leave them 544 00:30:10,760 --> 00:30:14,080 through the house by dropping treats or holding a churu and 545 00:30:14,080 --> 00:30:16,920 leading them through the house. And then and then you can get 546 00:30:16,920 --> 00:30:19,400 them outside. Because I know a lot of people 547 00:30:19,400 --> 00:30:21,280 want to do, if they're like, my cats hate it. 548 00:30:21,280 --> 00:30:24,560 We'll go back to square 1. And there's great resources out 549 00:30:24,560 --> 00:30:26,480 there. I mean, we have a couple 550 00:30:26,480 --> 00:30:29,360 companies that have great resources if anybody wants to do 551 00:30:29,360 --> 00:30:30,440 that. Yeah. 552 00:30:31,120 --> 00:30:33,800 So if somebody out there does have a business and they're 553 00:30:33,800 --> 00:30:37,920 interested in potentially, you know, sponsoring. 554 00:30:37,920 --> 00:30:39,960 Being a business partner, yeah. How? 555 00:30:40,000 --> 00:30:42,280 How does that work and how what do? 556 00:30:43,040 --> 00:30:47,080 You it's so easy. It is so easy and so inexpensive 557 00:30:47,080 --> 00:30:50,840 and so impactful. You can be a small, small 558 00:30:50,840 --> 00:30:53,040 business or you can have a big business. 559 00:30:53,040 --> 00:30:55,760 And if you look at our partners, you will see all of them. 560 00:30:56,640 --> 00:30:58,720 I use an example. I love Pam Webster. 561 00:30:58,720 --> 00:31:01,280 She has the, she's the crocheting cat behaviorist. 562 00:31:01,320 --> 00:31:06,080 It is a small, newer business. So she figures out what she can 563 00:31:06,080 --> 00:31:08,040 contribute and she can contribute that. 564 00:31:08,360 --> 00:31:13,400 There's no set expectation. Is it easier in some ways to 565 00:31:13,400 --> 00:31:15,680 manage when everybody has a set amount? 566 00:31:15,680 --> 00:31:17,800 Sure. But we want people to feel good 567 00:31:17,800 --> 00:31:21,360 about giving and we want them to feel no pressure about giving. 568 00:31:21,680 --> 00:31:24,720 I don't want somebody to say, I'm going to give you $500 a 569 00:31:24,720 --> 00:31:28,400 quarter and then their quarter comes and they're like money's a 570 00:31:28,400 --> 00:31:32,200 little tight right now. So the bigger companies are more 571 00:31:32,200 --> 00:31:34,640 apt to say we're going to pick an amount. 572 00:31:34,840 --> 00:31:36,800 That's what we're going to give every, every quarter. 573 00:31:37,480 --> 00:31:40,520 Smaller businesses, some do percentage of sales, some do 574 00:31:40,520 --> 00:31:44,520 special events, some picked a product and the proceeds from 575 00:31:44,520 --> 00:31:47,880 that product go to us. We do not tell our business 576 00:31:47,880 --> 00:31:50,800 partners how much and we don't tell you that you have to pick a 577 00:31:50,800 --> 00:31:53,040 set amount. We do say give quarterly. 578 00:31:53,040 --> 00:31:56,920 Some set it up so money comes in every month that makes it easier 579 00:31:56,920 --> 00:31:59,640 for them, harder for our bookkeeping, but easier for 580 00:31:59,640 --> 00:32:01,680 them. So we encourage people to give 581 00:32:01,680 --> 00:32:05,160 quarterly if they can. You determine the level that you 582 00:32:05,160 --> 00:32:07,360 want to come in on and that's where you go. 583 00:32:08,040 --> 00:32:12,680 We try to get the businesses and you'll probably be like what to 584 00:32:12,680 --> 00:32:17,200 start around 202 fifty 1/4. So even the bigger companies 585 00:32:17,200 --> 00:32:20,600 that's only 800 to $1000 a year. And people like, well, that 586 00:32:20,600 --> 00:32:23,400 doesn't seem like a lot of money, but when you have 82 587 00:32:23,400 --> 00:32:28,080 partners, it is a lot of money. And it's, it's not about the 588 00:32:28,080 --> 00:32:31,000 individual give, although that's what we need. 589 00:32:31,000 --> 00:32:34,600 We need the businesses to give. It's about how much it is coming 590 00:32:34,600 --> 00:32:36,960 together. We do not tear. 591 00:32:37,280 --> 00:32:39,520 Nobody gets more on social media. 592 00:32:39,520 --> 00:32:41,760 No one gets a bigger space on the website. 593 00:32:41,760 --> 00:32:45,400 It's not about that. It is truly about coming 594 00:32:45,400 --> 00:32:47,960 together. As far as the partnership part 595 00:32:47,960 --> 00:32:51,480 of it, we give what we call is the business partners perks 596 00:32:51,480 --> 00:32:55,720 package and they in a fundraising month get benefits 597 00:32:55,720 --> 00:32:59,000 back to them and set number of social media mentions, blogs, 598 00:32:59,000 --> 00:33:02,640 emails, all the different things that we do to highlight them. 599 00:33:02,640 --> 00:33:05,640 And it's easy to highlight companies that you're 600 00:33:05,640 --> 00:33:09,840 supportive, right? This is that we, I use their 601 00:33:09,840 --> 00:33:12,080 products that I'm passionate about. 602 00:33:12,080 --> 00:33:14,480 So my cats have a surfer cat harness. 603 00:33:15,440 --> 00:33:20,800 We have a litter robot upstairs that Desmond that's his go to 604 00:33:20,880 --> 00:33:22,680 and we have options. We have three. 605 00:33:22,680 --> 00:33:24,760 No, we have four boxes and three cats. 606 00:33:24,760 --> 00:33:28,800 And so we have options. I have sheer fun. 607 00:33:28,800 --> 00:33:32,360 I just highlighted them. That is one of my favorite go to 608 00:33:32,360 --> 00:33:34,600 toys. And if people do not have a 609 00:33:34,600 --> 00:33:36,800 sheer fun, you should have a sheer fun. 610 00:33:37,400 --> 00:33:40,360 And I knew them before I started missing me out. 611 00:33:40,360 --> 00:33:42,280 And so these are the things like these are products that 612 00:33:42,280 --> 00:33:44,920 initially I reached out to. Who did I know at conventions, 613 00:33:44,920 --> 00:33:46,920 when I was at conventions for the Brody Fund? 614 00:33:47,480 --> 00:33:49,760 What products in my house do I love? 615 00:33:51,040 --> 00:33:55,080 And you know, because I want to feel, I want to feel I've had 616 00:33:55,080 --> 00:33:58,480 some sort of investment in them. I wouldn't, I don't like the 617 00:33:58,480 --> 00:34:01,520 idea of, oh, we're just going to pick a random business. 618 00:34:01,520 --> 00:34:03,800 I like knowing something about the business. 619 00:34:03,800 --> 00:34:07,160 Or if a new company comes along and we find out about them and 620 00:34:07,160 --> 00:34:10,800 we're really excited about them, we want to bring them on board. 621 00:34:11,120 --> 00:34:13,560 And they also have to get that mission. 622 00:34:13,560 --> 00:34:16,120 Meow feels like a family. If you're not comfortable with 623 00:34:16,120 --> 00:34:18,520 that, you might not be the right fit for us. 624 00:34:18,920 --> 00:34:21,159 Do we have an attorney? Do we have an accountant? 625 00:34:21,159 --> 00:34:22,920 Do we do all the things the right way? 626 00:34:22,920 --> 00:34:24,280 Yes. Do we have full transportation? 627 00:34:24,800 --> 00:34:28,760 Yes. But until maybe we're, you know, 628 00:34:28,800 --> 00:34:33,400 a multi $1,000,000 nonprofit and even then I still think I would 629 00:34:33,400 --> 00:34:36,239 struggle with it. I I like that personal feel. 630 00:34:36,520 --> 00:34:39,239 I like that I have a personal relationship with all these 631 00:34:39,239 --> 00:34:41,840 businesses. It makes me feel good about 632 00:34:41,960 --> 00:34:45,040 especially right now we're doing something called the Summer 633 00:34:45,040 --> 00:34:49,040 Mission Meow Summer of support because the economy has been a 634 00:34:49,040 --> 00:34:52,080 little unsettled and because some of our smaller and medium 635 00:34:52,080 --> 00:34:54,679 sized businesses are really feeling the impact of the 636 00:34:54,679 --> 00:34:57,200 tariffs. I mean, this is a real thing 637 00:34:57,240 --> 00:35:02,560 that it's not it's not I don't I don't get into the minutiae of 638 00:35:02,560 --> 00:35:05,600 politics. It's just a fact that a lot of 639 00:35:05,600 --> 00:35:09,760 the smaller companies, even the bigger companies, they, even 640 00:35:09,760 --> 00:35:12,960 though the products are made here, they're getting bits and 641 00:35:12,960 --> 00:35:16,640 pieces from other places because they wouldn't be able to afford 642 00:35:16,640 --> 00:35:18,880 having a business if they did not, right. 643 00:35:18,880 --> 00:35:21,280 So we know they're feeling the impact now. 644 00:35:21,280 --> 00:35:25,560 So we decided to take the entire summer and highlight our 645 00:35:25,560 --> 00:35:27,600 businesses. So you're going to see in our 646 00:35:27,600 --> 00:35:30,480 social media, and I wish I had it right here. 647 00:35:30,560 --> 00:35:33,080 I would show you sheer fun because I love it so much, but I 648 00:35:33,080 --> 00:35:35,040 don't want to get up and walk out on your interview. 649 00:35:35,120 --> 00:35:36,320 That's OK. Look up. 650 00:35:36,320 --> 00:35:40,120 Sheer fun. Yeah, it's this sheer fabric 651 00:35:40,440 --> 00:35:42,520 that has a border that. You know what? 652 00:35:42,840 --> 00:35:45,920 I wonder if I do? Oh, my. 653 00:35:46,120 --> 00:35:48,280 In my office. Perfect timing, right? 654 00:35:48,280 --> 00:35:52,600 I keep Sasha's choice. Can actually show you. 655 00:35:52,600 --> 00:35:54,200 Awesome. This is so cool. 656 00:35:54,200 --> 00:35:57,320 I swear to you I had no intention that I looked over to 657 00:35:57,320 --> 00:36:00,400 grab something and there it was. This is sheer fun. 658 00:36:01,320 --> 00:36:05,360 OK, Yeah. And so it crinkles. 659 00:36:05,680 --> 00:36:08,440 Yeah. So they love the border. 660 00:36:08,520 --> 00:36:13,000 And what you can do too is throw it over a box and now they're in 661 00:36:13,000 --> 00:36:15,960 the box and trying to get out from underneath that. 662 00:36:15,960 --> 00:36:17,680 You could hide toys underneath it. 663 00:36:18,080 --> 00:36:21,760 You can put it over a cat and then they're the 2 cats, one's 664 00:36:21,760 --> 00:36:25,760 under it. It's genius. 665 00:36:25,760 --> 00:36:30,520 It's so simple, It's so genius. And she makes a product for 666 00:36:30,520 --> 00:36:34,440 shelters too, that you can hang this up outside a cage and it's 667 00:36:34,440 --> 00:36:38,000 a privacy screen. It's like. 668 00:36:39,360 --> 00:36:41,520 I. Know favorites and I just order 669 00:36:41,800 --> 00:36:45,080 I have so much over in my I just got this from another one of my 670 00:36:45,080 --> 00:36:47,600 business partners Princess dreams. 671 00:36:47,920 --> 00:36:52,360 She hand makes cat toys, not just her she has a team but I 672 00:36:52,360 --> 00:36:55,360 just this was a new one that I got from her and I love it so 673 00:36:55,360 --> 00:36:56,360 much. Look at this. 674 00:36:57,040 --> 00:37:01,120 It's an ear of corn. And it it crinkles. 675 00:37:01,120 --> 00:37:02,560 Doesn't have to. Yep, it crinkles. 676 00:37:04,000 --> 00:37:06,040 This is one of our business partners as well. 677 00:37:06,040 --> 00:37:09,240 I mean gosh, she sent me this. This is 1 new one of hers too. 678 00:37:09,240 --> 00:37:11,080 She's made these beautiful flowers. 679 00:37:11,080 --> 00:37:12,720 Oh. My goodness. 680 00:37:13,560 --> 00:37:16,960 But if you if you go to our website, you will see our 681 00:37:16,960 --> 00:37:19,640 business partners. I couldn't be more proud of all 682 00:37:19,640 --> 00:37:21,480 of them. And and they are like we have 683 00:37:21,480 --> 00:37:25,280 behaviorists. Michael Delgado is, is a member. 684 00:37:25,920 --> 00:37:29,480 I think we have 5 or 6 behaviorists they're so 685 00:37:29,480 --> 00:37:30,680 passionate about. We do. 686 00:37:30,680 --> 00:37:32,840 I mentioned Michael Delgado easily because she's a board 687 00:37:32,840 --> 00:37:35,560 member too. So she's very involved in our 688 00:37:35,560 --> 00:37:38,440 organization. We have very small toy 689 00:37:38,440 --> 00:37:40,600 companies. We have very big, you know, toy 690 00:37:40,600 --> 00:37:42,840 companies. We have Doctor Elsies who's been 691 00:37:42,840 --> 00:37:46,000 in with us. We just signed on Litter Genie 692 00:37:46,000 --> 00:37:48,880 recently. So it really there's and it's so 693 00:37:48,880 --> 00:37:51,160 cool. It's like we have, I've received 694 00:37:51,160 --> 00:37:53,200 emails at the holidays. Thank you so much for your 695 00:37:53,200 --> 00:37:54,880 website. It was one stop Christmas 696 00:37:54,880 --> 00:37:56,880 shopping. I had no idea. 697 00:37:57,400 --> 00:38:01,400 That's amazing. And we're also connecting people 698 00:38:01,400 --> 00:38:03,320 because we have brick and mortar stores. 699 00:38:03,320 --> 00:38:07,240 We have several of those that in different States and they have 700 00:38:07,240 --> 00:38:10,960 gone to our site and they found wholesalers and now they're 701 00:38:10,960 --> 00:38:14,360 carrying products in their stores because of their 702 00:38:14,360 --> 00:38:16,560 connection to Mission Meow. I love that. 703 00:38:16,880 --> 00:38:19,760 I love that. So much I didn't expect, right 704 00:38:19,760 --> 00:38:23,080 there are there are so many things in the past 2 1/2 years. 705 00:38:23,080 --> 00:38:28,680 So it's been 2 1/2 years, 23 grants given and think we give 706 00:38:28,680 --> 00:38:34,120 quarterly 23 grants given for $186,000. 707 00:38:34,680 --> 00:38:37,840 That's amazing. I love that. 708 00:38:38,120 --> 00:38:44,840 And all to small organizations. And what I think it's it's 709 00:38:44,840 --> 00:38:48,720 really important for people to know is that these groups are 710 00:38:48,720 --> 00:38:52,560 the foundation of rescue, whether it was on a dog side or 711 00:38:52,560 --> 00:38:56,240 the cat side, the small organizations are really the 712 00:38:56,240 --> 00:39:01,640 ones doing just the tough stuff. I mean, right now they're the 713 00:39:01,640 --> 00:39:05,000 ones taking in these teeny tiny kittens and finding them all the 714 00:39:05,000 --> 00:39:07,360 time because they're the really ones doing most of the trap 715 00:39:07,360 --> 00:39:09,520 neuter returns. So they're the ones finding 716 00:39:09,520 --> 00:39:12,800 these tiny kittens and tomato foster club that we work with, 717 00:39:12,800 --> 00:39:14,960 they're one of the ones that taking special needs. 718 00:39:14,960 --> 00:39:18,040 Special needs kittens are more expensive, you know, and some 719 00:39:18,040 --> 00:39:21,480 people say, Oh, well, you know, maybe we shouldn't be trying to 720 00:39:21,480 --> 00:39:24,400 save them. You could be saving more if you 721 00:39:24,400 --> 00:39:25,840 were putting that money somewhere else. 722 00:39:25,840 --> 00:39:28,000 So guess what? There's enough room for 723 00:39:28,000 --> 00:39:30,160 everyone. I love their mission. 724 00:39:30,280 --> 00:39:34,080 You go to their page and see the faces of these beautiful 725 00:39:34,080 --> 00:39:37,040 kittens, you wouldn't think twice about doing it. 726 00:39:37,040 --> 00:39:38,720 And guess what? They're in New Orleans. 727 00:39:38,880 --> 00:39:41,680 There are plenty of other organizations around them doing 728 00:39:41,680 --> 00:39:46,760 TNR, doing foster, having the traditional rescue build. 729 00:39:46,760 --> 00:39:50,320 There's plenty of that. This is their mission, right? 730 00:39:50,320 --> 00:39:53,760 So there's room for everybody. And I love what they do. 731 00:39:54,320 --> 00:39:59,280 So I just especially right now, this is kitten season for people 732 00:39:59,280 --> 00:40:01,760 that really are not immersed in the cat world. 733 00:40:01,800 --> 00:40:04,680 There's a small part of the country down South that really 734 00:40:04,680 --> 00:40:08,560 has kitten season non-stop. And I don't know how they do it, 735 00:40:08,720 --> 00:40:11,600 I really don't. But for most of the country, it 736 00:40:11,600 --> 00:40:16,200 happens when we hit that 50° mark and the female cats start 737 00:40:16,200 --> 00:40:18,400 going into heat and next thing you know. 738 00:40:18,920 --> 00:40:22,240 We have lots of kittens being born outside and I wish, I wish 739 00:40:22,240 --> 00:40:25,560 I could tell you the pyramid right now of what 1 cat turns 740 00:40:25,560 --> 00:40:29,560 into, but it's pretty darn fast. Because if one cat could be four 741 00:40:29,560 --> 00:40:33,040 months old, has a litter of four kittens, if three are females 742 00:40:33,040 --> 00:40:35,600 and they're not fixed those females in four months while 743 00:40:35,600 --> 00:40:37,960 having babies and on and on and on. 744 00:40:37,960 --> 00:40:42,760 And it happens very quickly. TNR is the humane solution for 745 00:40:42,760 --> 00:40:45,840 this. So we really need to be 746 00:40:45,840 --> 00:40:49,640 supporting our trap neuter return organizations as much as 747 00:40:49,640 --> 00:40:53,680 possible. Because if we understand a bit, 748 00:40:53,760 --> 00:40:56,040 because I think it's talked about more the veterinary 749 00:40:56,040 --> 00:41:00,080 community, we talk about burnout all the time and a lot of people 750 00:41:00,200 --> 00:41:04,040 in this community know that it's the highest suicide rate of a 751 00:41:04,040 --> 00:41:07,040 career. Now our veterinarians that 752 00:41:07,040 --> 00:41:10,680 translates to rescue. It is happening in rescue, 753 00:41:10,800 --> 00:41:15,560 suicide, burnout, compassion fatigue, organizations closing 754 00:41:15,560 --> 00:41:17,520 to take a break because it's too much. 755 00:41:17,560 --> 00:41:20,120 It is that way because their hearts are so big. 756 00:41:20,920 --> 00:41:23,800 They're so big. The organizations that we help, 757 00:41:23,800 --> 00:41:26,680 these people have full time jobs. 758 00:41:26,880 --> 00:41:28,880 They are not being paid to do this. 759 00:41:28,880 --> 00:41:32,560 There's not these huge salaries in these organizations. 760 00:41:32,560 --> 00:41:35,200 They do it because they believe in the work. 761 00:41:35,360 --> 00:41:39,400 They know the impact it's having and it has to be done and they 762 00:41:39,400 --> 00:41:42,320 love cats and so they do it. But it doesn't mean they still 763 00:41:42,320 --> 00:41:45,480 don't struggle. They put on a brave face. 764 00:41:45,480 --> 00:41:47,640 I see them, I talk to them all the time. 765 00:41:47,640 --> 00:41:51,800 They're amazing. Then we also have mission Meow 766 00:41:51,800 --> 00:41:54,160 has a Facebook group for everyone. 767 00:41:54,160 --> 00:41:57,760 So everyone we give a grant to, we invite them into our Facebook 768 00:41:57,760 --> 00:42:01,680 group and I see the communications, you know, I'm 769 00:42:01,680 --> 00:42:06,840 talking to them all the time. We try to zoom every month or as 770 00:42:06,840 --> 00:42:09,880 often as possible. Right now it they're in it, 771 00:42:10,000 --> 00:42:12,920 they're they're in. And so we didn't get to zoom. 772 00:42:12,920 --> 00:42:17,960 It would have been this week, but they're I just, I can't 773 00:42:17,960 --> 00:42:23,920 stress enough how amazing they are and how we owe them so much 774 00:42:23,920 --> 00:42:26,320 more than we give them. Because here's a here's a 775 00:42:26,560 --> 00:42:29,920 another. We can go off on another topic. 776 00:42:29,920 --> 00:42:32,760 So I was talking about business partners and I ended up back on 777 00:42:32,760 --> 00:42:34,000 my. OK, no. 778 00:42:34,160 --> 00:42:38,680 Organizations we help, but we we gave a surprise grant one month. 779 00:42:38,680 --> 00:42:41,760 It was very early on and we picked an organization that we 780 00:42:41,760 --> 00:42:43,760 wanted to help that was launching a foster program. 781 00:42:43,760 --> 00:42:46,280 But there was another group that we really wanted to help. 782 00:42:46,560 --> 00:42:49,200 We didn't know yet if we could give two grants in the month. 783 00:42:49,320 --> 00:42:51,280 They didn't know if we had that kind of money. 784 00:42:51,800 --> 00:42:54,440 But one of the things they were looking for was a fire alert 785 00:42:54,440 --> 00:42:56,640 system and not just really stuck with me. 786 00:42:56,640 --> 00:42:59,200 I thought, Oh my gosh, how am I going to sleep knowing that 787 00:42:59,200 --> 00:43:02,120 somebody, you know, and that I don't want people to think that. 788 00:43:02,120 --> 00:43:03,840 Oh, well, how could they not afford that? 789 00:43:05,160 --> 00:43:08,600 Being small means that you're paying for food, litter, rent, 790 00:43:08,600 --> 00:43:11,800 medical bills, all that. And the fire alert system may 791 00:43:11,800 --> 00:43:14,840 sound obvious, but it's expensive and it has to be 792 00:43:14,840 --> 00:43:17,160 installed. And there's a cost to that, too. 793 00:43:17,160 --> 00:43:20,080 And all their money needs to go for the care of the cats. 794 00:43:20,280 --> 00:43:24,240 That was the thing so that their, their grant was for that 795 00:43:24,240 --> 00:43:26,960 and they needed to replace some ceiling tiles and some lights. 796 00:43:26,960 --> 00:43:28,520 There had been a leak in the ceiling. 797 00:43:28,520 --> 00:43:31,680 And you know, but the fire alert system was the big deal to me. 798 00:43:31,680 --> 00:43:34,800 So I reached out to my business partner, sent emails to some of 799 00:43:34,800 --> 00:43:38,400 my donors and saying if minimally we can just raise the 800 00:43:38,400 --> 00:43:41,960 money for the fire alert system and not even the whole 6000, 801 00:43:42,640 --> 00:43:46,920 I'll be happy with that. In a week we had the $6000 and 802 00:43:46,920 --> 00:43:49,960 at the end of that month, I was able to get them on the Zoom. 803 00:43:49,960 --> 00:43:52,920 I didn't tell them why, but I got them on the Zoom and told 804 00:43:52,920 --> 00:43:55,360 them we have the money, we're surprising you. 805 00:43:55,360 --> 00:43:58,480 We're giving you a $6000 grant. You're going to get everything 806 00:43:58,480 --> 00:44:00,760 you wanted. First of all, they're crying 807 00:44:00,760 --> 00:44:02,960 because they can't believe this has happened because all the 808 00:44:02,960 --> 00:44:07,040 money goes down the road. 15 minutes to the shiny bigger 809 00:44:07,160 --> 00:44:09,960 organization. But wonderful that they're doing 810 00:44:09,960 --> 00:44:13,560 that work. But this group, the very next 811 00:44:13,560 --> 00:44:16,360 day, the director of this organization called me and said, 812 00:44:16,360 --> 00:44:18,680 Sally, you have no idea what you've just done. 813 00:44:18,680 --> 00:44:20,800 We were going to close at the end of the year. 814 00:44:21,560 --> 00:44:25,080 And I was blown away because I I'm Privy to their budgets. 815 00:44:25,120 --> 00:44:27,880 I see their budgets. They had the money. 816 00:44:27,880 --> 00:44:31,320 It wasn't about that. They thought nobody cared. 817 00:44:32,360 --> 00:44:36,080 They thought nobody saw them. All the money goes down the road 818 00:44:36,080 --> 00:44:39,320 to the shiny shelter. We're always, you know, we have 819 00:44:39,320 --> 00:44:42,560 enough, but never to do more, never to buy the fire alert 820 00:44:42,560 --> 00:44:47,200 system or to have a safety net if, like, a washer or dryer 821 00:44:47,200 --> 00:44:48,720 breaks. Like, we're always able to care 822 00:44:48,720 --> 00:44:51,080 for the cats and do all the things we need, but not more 823 00:44:51,080 --> 00:44:53,960 than that. And secondarily, isn't it nice 824 00:44:53,960 --> 00:44:58,560 to be recognized they're working their butts off and nobody is 825 00:44:58,560 --> 00:45:01,600 telling them? Good job amongst each other they 826 00:45:01,600 --> 00:45:05,120 are, but it's nice for them to hear it from somebody else. 827 00:45:05,120 --> 00:45:08,840 So when Mission Meow says good job, it's me, it's my board, 828 00:45:08,840 --> 00:45:13,400 it's my volunteers, it's the business partners, they now look 829 00:45:13,400 --> 00:45:16,600 at the list of businesses and say they all know who we are, 830 00:45:16,920 --> 00:45:20,440 they care about us, they see the work that we're doing. 831 00:45:20,920 --> 00:45:24,360 They are still around today. They move to a bigger building. 832 00:45:25,080 --> 00:45:28,120 I mean, these are the kinds of things we now we just made A1 833 00:45:28,120 --> 00:45:30,760 pager that we're going to put out called the Mission Meow 834 00:45:30,760 --> 00:45:33,840 Ripple Effect. Because I started taking notes 835 00:45:33,840 --> 00:45:36,800 about all the things they're getting new board members, 836 00:45:36,800 --> 00:45:41,480 they're getting more volunteers. The impact it has on the 837 00:45:41,480 --> 00:45:45,960 volunteers, like they just feel so proud of the work that just 838 00:45:45,960 --> 00:45:49,840 to be recognized, you know, to be validated for the work that 839 00:45:49,840 --> 00:45:53,320 you do. They get looked at more often 840 00:45:53,320 --> 00:45:57,240 for grants when they apply. Once you've gotten a big grant, 841 00:45:57,600 --> 00:46:01,520 next time you apply, you list that on that grant application 842 00:46:01,520 --> 00:46:05,520 that is going to help you. It helps you get more donors. 843 00:46:05,640 --> 00:46:08,720 You know, we highlight them, they get their social media 844 00:46:08,720 --> 00:46:11,960 grows. It's so much more than just the 845 00:46:11,960 --> 00:46:16,720 money, and the money is so important, but the rest of the 846 00:46:16,720 --> 00:46:18,320 stuff is what really gets. You. 847 00:46:19,520 --> 00:46:21,040 I'm crying. Got you right? 848 00:46:21,520 --> 00:46:24,040 I'm crying again. Well, I mean, it's just so, 849 00:46:24,240 --> 00:46:27,360 well, I'm OK, I'm going to tell a story because I was just 850 00:46:27,360 --> 00:46:30,760 talking to a veterinarian yesterday who actually closed 851 00:46:30,760 --> 00:46:34,560 her practice seven years ago because, well, mainly because 852 00:46:34,560 --> 00:46:37,520 she had a child and wanted to raise that child. 853 00:46:37,520 --> 00:46:41,600 But she said at the same time, I couldn't stay in the system any 854 00:46:41,600 --> 00:46:44,040 longer. And she's, the reason that I'm 855 00:46:44,040 --> 00:46:48,320 connected with her is because she's now in a program, like I'm 856 00:46:48,480 --> 00:46:52,920 mentoring her through a program where she's learning integrative 857 00:46:52,920 --> 00:46:55,760 and holistic modalities for veterinary care. 858 00:46:56,040 --> 00:47:00,320 But she said to me after the first 100 times somebody 859 00:47:00,320 --> 00:47:03,120 screamed at me and told me I was going to hell because I was 860 00:47:03,120 --> 00:47:06,120 charging for my services, I became callous to it. 861 00:47:06,120 --> 00:47:07,760 And I'm like, I don't even hear it anymore. 862 00:47:08,040 --> 00:47:12,920 And it reminded me that like we talk on, on this podcast, at 863 00:47:12,920 --> 00:47:17,640 least about veterinarians a lot because I, I appreciate them so 864 00:47:17,640 --> 00:47:20,640 much. So a lot of, a lot of the things 865 00:47:20,640 --> 00:47:25,360 I say and a lot of the topics I have on this show kind of kind 866 00:47:25,360 --> 00:47:27,160 of put veterinarians in a bad light. 867 00:47:27,160 --> 00:47:30,520 And I, and it's not intentional toward veterinarians. 868 00:47:30,520 --> 00:47:35,760 It's just that there's so much more out there and, and there's 869 00:47:35,760 --> 00:47:39,680 a lot of fear around going outside of the medical 870 00:47:39,680 --> 00:47:41,280 establishment and things like that. 871 00:47:41,280 --> 00:47:43,400 And it's just a big, like listening to you. 872 00:47:43,400 --> 00:47:45,920 It's just a bit, it's a big reminder that it's not just 873 00:47:45,920 --> 00:47:49,320 veterinarians, it's everybody out there that is trying to care 874 00:47:49,320 --> 00:47:52,680 for animals in whatever way that they're trying to care for 875 00:47:52,680 --> 00:47:55,840 animals, because there are so many different ways that it's 876 00:47:55,840 --> 00:47:57,040 hard. It's it's hard. 877 00:47:57,040 --> 00:48:01,880 You know, somebody like that's potentially getting a grant or 878 00:48:01,880 --> 00:48:04,600 applying for a grant from Mission Meow. 879 00:48:04,600 --> 00:48:10,840 They are probably inundated with people who, and I've seen this 880 00:48:10,840 --> 00:48:15,000 so many times where it's like you have to put signs up because 881 00:48:15,040 --> 00:48:19,280 people won't even do the right thing and contact you and try to 882 00:48:19,280 --> 00:48:21,600 get an animal to you. And you're like, they literally 883 00:48:21,600 --> 00:48:24,760 just drop them off and leave them sometimes in plastic bags. 884 00:48:24,760 --> 00:48:28,160 You know what I mean? Like it's, it's like it breaks 885 00:48:28,160 --> 00:48:31,360 your heart in a million pieces to think about. 886 00:48:31,640 --> 00:48:33,560 But like, that's the reality of it is. 887 00:48:33,720 --> 00:48:38,280 The reality, it's why I can't, I can't do that. 888 00:48:38,440 --> 00:48:41,440 I can do that. Like you said when you talked 889 00:48:41,440 --> 00:48:44,640 about how, how TNR, how you felt about that. 890 00:48:44,880 --> 00:48:47,400 I can go out short term and do some trapping. 891 00:48:47,400 --> 00:48:51,240 Like I love to go out and just be a part of the day and have 892 00:48:51,240 --> 00:48:53,840 the experience. Not what I could do. 893 00:48:54,120 --> 00:48:56,720 I spent eight years in the in the shelter. 894 00:48:56,720 --> 00:48:58,760 I, I know I could never do it again. 895 00:48:59,040 --> 00:49:01,240 I know I can't. I can't foster. 896 00:49:02,240 --> 00:49:05,680 You just know, but I can do this. 897 00:49:05,720 --> 00:49:09,360 And I love the people and I love getting to know the 898 00:49:09,360 --> 00:49:12,240 organizations. That's selfishly, the Facebook 899 00:49:12,240 --> 00:49:16,080 group is just as good for me as it is for them because these are 900 00:49:16,080 --> 00:49:18,320 amazing people. Yeah. 901 00:49:18,600 --> 00:49:22,360 Met the most amazing, kind, generous people. 902 00:49:22,400 --> 00:49:26,040 And what we also need to recognize is and it's true in 903 00:49:26,040 --> 00:49:29,040 the vet profession, it's true in the tech profession is true in 904 00:49:29,040 --> 00:49:32,280 the rescue world. There are a lot of people that 905 00:49:32,280 --> 00:49:35,880 are a little bit awkward around people, but love animals need to 906 00:49:35,880 --> 00:49:40,240 also remember that that sometimes they may not they 907 00:49:40,240 --> 00:49:43,120 might be a little bit more on the introverted side, but 908 00:49:43,120 --> 00:49:45,000 they're really good at what they do with animals. 909 00:49:45,000 --> 00:49:47,920 So we we should be a little bit patient and we should also 910 00:49:47,920 --> 00:49:51,200 understand that in the veterinary world and in the 911 00:49:51,200 --> 00:49:55,480 rescue world, you don't know what situation they just came 912 00:49:55,480 --> 00:49:57,920 from before they are now in front of you. 913 00:49:57,920 --> 00:50:02,040 I mean, we should always extend that kindness to people in 914 00:50:02,040 --> 00:50:04,320 general. It's how I try to live my life. 915 00:50:04,320 --> 00:50:10,080 But in rescue and in veterinary medicine, somebody you know, 916 00:50:10,720 --> 00:50:13,680 that's often they come into an appointment after having just to 917 00:50:13,680 --> 00:50:16,840 euthanize a 15 year old family pet, right? 918 00:50:17,120 --> 00:50:23,440 In rescue, they might be having a foster at home who was doing 919 00:50:23,440 --> 00:50:27,120 well and just faded and passed. And now they're in front of you 920 00:50:27,120 --> 00:50:30,600 taking in more fosters. And maybe they're not fearing 921 00:50:30,760 --> 00:50:34,000 feeling they're most cheery. But this is this is what rescue 922 00:50:34,000 --> 00:50:37,240 is. So I think we just have to be 923 00:50:37,240 --> 00:50:40,520 mindful of that. And right now, people should be 924 00:50:40,520 --> 00:50:43,920 thinking about if I'm trying to reach out to an organization 925 00:50:43,920 --> 00:50:46,560 because I need help and they don't get back to you in a 926 00:50:46,560 --> 00:50:50,280 couple days, don't be angry. Understand that. 927 00:50:50,320 --> 00:50:53,440 That's the best that they can do right now because your phone 928 00:50:53,440 --> 00:50:57,840 call is one of how many others are coming in and they can't get 929 00:50:57,840 --> 00:50:59,440 to everybody as much as they want to. 930 00:50:59,440 --> 00:51:02,160 Especially the groups we work with, they're so small. 931 00:51:02,680 --> 00:51:05,520 There's one person maybe checking that e-mail who's also 932 00:51:05,520 --> 00:51:09,200 checking their social media, who is also out trapping, and 933 00:51:09,520 --> 00:51:12,360 they're doing everything so they're wearing all the hats. 934 00:51:12,360 --> 00:51:15,480 And it's important that people think about that. 935 00:51:15,480 --> 00:51:18,400 We want to support them, and supporting them means, yeah, we 936 00:51:18,400 --> 00:51:20,720 can be helping them financially like we do. 937 00:51:20,800 --> 00:51:23,880 But these organizations need volunteers all the time and 938 00:51:23,880 --> 00:51:27,480 people shouldn't discount anything that's possible. 939 00:51:27,680 --> 00:51:30,840 You don't have to physically be able to go into organization to 940 00:51:30,840 --> 00:51:32,480 help. What are you good at? 941 00:51:32,480 --> 00:51:35,800 What, what do you like doing? You know, get, pick up the 942 00:51:35,800 --> 00:51:38,200 phone, call them and say, I'd like to volunteer, but I can't 943 00:51:38,200 --> 00:51:39,360 come in. What else can I do? 944 00:51:39,360 --> 00:51:42,280 Well, what do you like to do? Well, you know, I love sending 945 00:51:42,280 --> 00:51:45,640 emails or making phone calls or, you know, I'm good at making 946 00:51:45,640 --> 00:51:47,720 graphics. I, I do graphic design. 947 00:51:47,720 --> 00:51:49,400 I could, I could maybe give an hour. 948 00:51:49,760 --> 00:51:51,600 So maybe every week give me the graphic. 949 00:51:52,120 --> 00:51:55,800 Everything makes a difference. These organizations always need 950 00:51:55,800 --> 00:51:58,800 help. Are really, they're, they're 951 00:51:58,800 --> 00:52:03,080 tiny, but so mighty. And it's so much more rewarding 952 00:52:03,080 --> 00:52:06,520 to me to be involved with those organizations. 953 00:52:06,600 --> 00:52:09,400 I mean, they're like these families whenever I meet them 954 00:52:09,400 --> 00:52:13,040 and we get to do the check presentations, it's incredible. 955 00:52:13,040 --> 00:52:16,920 I wish we try to, so if we can go out and give a check in 956 00:52:16,920 --> 00:52:20,040 person, we do that and we'll bring one of the big, big 957 00:52:20,040 --> 00:52:21,960 checks. And I try to get either a 958 00:52:21,960 --> 00:52:25,360 volunteer or business partner donor or somebody from my 959 00:52:25,360 --> 00:52:29,640 organization to come with me. And the stories even just like 960 00:52:29,640 --> 00:52:33,200 when you make the phone call, I've had people like, I got one 961 00:52:33,200 --> 00:52:35,160 woman on the phone. She's like, hold on, hold on. 962 00:52:35,160 --> 00:52:37,400 I can hear her. She puts the phone like, Oh my 963 00:52:37,400 --> 00:52:39,040 God, Oh my God. She's like, so sorry I had to 964 00:52:39,040 --> 00:52:40,280 pull over. I was on the highway. 965 00:52:40,280 --> 00:52:44,240 But Oh my God, Oh my God, you get them crying. 966 00:52:44,240 --> 00:52:47,560 I got one group that was an Apple picking festival when I 967 00:52:47,560 --> 00:52:51,120 made the call and she's like you, I have to put you on 968 00:52:51,120 --> 00:52:52,760 speakerphone. Everybody's here. 969 00:52:52,760 --> 00:52:54,920 My board is here, my volunteers are here. 970 00:52:55,120 --> 00:53:00,200 They all erupt and are cheering. I, I wish everybody would have a 971 00:53:00,200 --> 00:53:04,960 chance to, to hear that, to experience that, because you'd 972 00:53:04,960 --> 00:53:08,080 want to get involved, whether it was with them or with us, you 973 00:53:08,080 --> 00:53:10,080 would want to be involved in some way. 974 00:53:10,080 --> 00:53:14,560 It's just, it's incredible. I love that, I love that. 975 00:53:14,560 --> 00:53:18,080 So you have the foundation of businesses, but individuals can 976 00:53:18,080 --> 00:53:20,800 still donate. And it's, and we need them to, 977 00:53:20,960 --> 00:53:24,440 it's important, we have to have both to really, because the 978 00:53:24,440 --> 00:53:29,240 reality is, so in a month, let's say this past month, we needed 979 00:53:29,240 --> 00:53:33,440 to raise $16,000. That is enough to pay the 980 00:53:33,440 --> 00:53:35,040 grants. We do that in the month. 981 00:53:35,040 --> 00:53:38,840 So we get the business partners and remember, they fluctuate. 982 00:53:39,120 --> 00:53:42,760 So sometimes the business partner might have given $400.00 983 00:53:42,760 --> 00:53:46,200 in the next quarter. No, it's tax time and tariffs 984 00:53:46,200 --> 00:53:47,800 hit. And next thing you know, they 985 00:53:47,800 --> 00:53:50,640 can only afford $50.00. So there can be a big 986 00:53:50,640 --> 00:53:53,600 fluctuation. We, so our, our individual 987 00:53:53,600 --> 00:53:57,960 donors, it's all the same. We need them both equally. 988 00:53:58,000 --> 00:54:01,840 And it's easy to donate. You can, you know, we even snail 989 00:54:01,840 --> 00:54:05,880 mail, we still get checks, checks from donors, but our, our 990 00:54:05,880 --> 00:54:09,720 websites, missionmeow.org and it says on the website, you can 991 00:54:09,720 --> 00:54:12,320 donate through PayPal. There's fees with that. 992 00:54:12,440 --> 00:54:14,720 Zell. We also send a Venmo. 993 00:54:14,800 --> 00:54:16,600 That's just the way the world is right now. 994 00:54:16,600 --> 00:54:19,320 So you can donate through Venmo to Mission Meow. 995 00:54:20,120 --> 00:54:24,040 And it's really important. And I know that you've people 996 00:54:24,040 --> 00:54:26,800 hear this all the time, but I cannot stress it enough. 997 00:54:26,840 --> 00:54:32,000 Every dollar makes a difference, $5 makes a difference. 998 00:54:32,000 --> 00:54:36,240 We have 100 donors that give us five, $5, that's $500. 999 00:54:37,080 --> 00:54:39,400 Yeah. It it all makes an impact. 1000 00:54:39,400 --> 00:54:42,800 I don't want anybody to think, well, I only have $5 this month, 1001 00:54:42,800 --> 00:54:46,120 what's that going to do? But if everybody thinks that 1002 00:54:46,120 --> 00:54:49,800 way, then nobody donates that. And if everybody really 1003 00:54:49,800 --> 00:54:52,960 understands the impact that that makes, you will donate it. 1004 00:54:52,960 --> 00:54:55,680 That $5 does make a difference every time. 1005 00:54:55,680 --> 00:54:57,680 I because I'm the one who sees them, I give all the 1006 00:54:57,680 --> 00:55:01,360 notifications. It's not like every single 1007 00:55:01,360 --> 00:55:03,800 dollar. I'm so excited that that money 1008 00:55:03,800 --> 00:55:06,120 came in because that's five more dollars. 1009 00:55:06,120 --> 00:55:09,520 It gets us closer to making our grants happen. 1010 00:55:09,720 --> 00:55:13,520 Plus we nobody likes to talk about this, but we have, we have 1011 00:55:13,520 --> 00:55:15,320 things we have to pay for as well. 1012 00:55:16,120 --> 00:55:20,040 Have a website, we have design programs so we can make 1013 00:55:20,040 --> 00:55:21,760 graphics. There are things that because, 1014 00:55:22,200 --> 00:55:26,040 you know, we in an ideal world, we would have volunteers that 1015 00:55:26,040 --> 00:55:27,680 could do everything. We just don't. 1016 00:55:27,680 --> 00:55:30,080 So some things we have to do in house. 1017 00:55:30,080 --> 00:55:33,520 And so we have bills too. We keep them very lean. 1018 00:55:33,640 --> 00:55:37,240 You can trust somebody who ran a pet cancer fund for eight years 1019 00:55:37,240 --> 00:55:39,920 to never want to spend more than they need to. 1020 00:55:40,600 --> 00:55:43,080 But we also, we go to conventions. 1021 00:55:43,080 --> 00:55:45,400 There's a cost to those. You know, we have to pay, get 1022 00:55:45,400 --> 00:55:46,920 there. We have to pay for hotels. 1023 00:55:46,920 --> 00:55:50,920 We have to pay for a booth, but it's important for us to be 1024 00:55:50,920 --> 00:55:53,600 there. It's how we get into communities 1025 00:55:53,600 --> 00:55:56,760 and introduce ourselves to potential grant recipients, 1026 00:55:57,280 --> 00:56:00,320 potential business partners, potential donors, potential 1027 00:56:00,320 --> 00:56:02,000 volunteers. It's everything. 1028 00:56:02,000 --> 00:56:04,120 It's not just out there looking for money. 1029 00:56:04,480 --> 00:56:07,600 The only way we can build an organization is by filling all 1030 00:56:07,600 --> 00:56:10,800 those roles, and there's just too many business partners. 1031 00:56:10,800 --> 00:56:13,040 But if we don't have grant recipients, who are we giving 1032 00:56:13,040 --> 00:56:15,040 to? And if we don't have volunteers, 1033 00:56:15,080 --> 00:56:18,480 none of this happens. Yeah, that's. 1034 00:56:18,840 --> 00:56:22,160 All of these things. And so yes, money comes in that 1035 00:56:22,280 --> 00:56:25,640 feeds Mission Meow too. So it's very important that our 1036 00:56:25,680 --> 00:56:30,480 our donors know that in a grant fundraising month, if we raise 1037 00:56:30,480 --> 00:56:33,760 more, you are helping Mission Meow make it through the next 1038 00:56:33,760 --> 00:56:37,880 few months for us to do the things that we need to do and 1039 00:56:37,880 --> 00:56:40,360 then go into the next grant cycle. 1040 00:56:40,960 --> 00:56:45,040 Yeah, Well, I just think, you know, this is such an amazing 1041 00:56:45,040 --> 00:56:48,240 thing that you're doing. I appreciate it so very much 1042 00:56:48,240 --> 00:56:50,880 because I know, you know, it's easy, especially around the 1043 00:56:50,880 --> 00:56:53,440 holidays. And it's like, you know, donate 1044 00:56:53,440 --> 00:56:55,440 to the Humane Society, blah, blah, blah. 1045 00:56:55,440 --> 00:57:00,160 And I like for so many years, I, I felt uncomfortable saying that 1046 00:57:00,160 --> 00:57:04,160 because I know how much with a lot of these, especially the 1047 00:57:04,160 --> 00:57:07,600 larger humane societies does that, you know, doesn't actually 1048 00:57:07,600 --> 00:57:11,080 go to the animals. And so I appreciate being able 1049 00:57:11,080 --> 00:57:15,560 to highlight an organization that is very lean and like, it 1050 00:57:15,560 --> 00:57:19,360 really is there for the animals and just appreciate so much of 1051 00:57:19,360 --> 00:57:23,600 what you do. And so definitely check out the 1052 00:57:23,600 --> 00:57:27,280 show notes, get all the links, go to social media, follow 1053 00:57:27,280 --> 00:57:31,920 Mission Meow, whatever you can do, please do that. 1054 00:57:31,920 --> 00:57:34,600 And again, just thank you so much for being here. 1055 00:57:34,640 --> 00:57:37,040 They can reach out to me. You know, there's, there's the 1056 00:57:37,040 --> 00:57:39,080 e-mail on there. If you have questions, you're 1057 00:57:39,080 --> 00:57:40,880 going to, you're going to come to me. 1058 00:57:41,280 --> 00:57:43,880 So if you want to find out how you can help, what you can do 1059 00:57:43,880 --> 00:57:47,000 more or how you can help in your community, we can try to always 1060 00:57:47,000 --> 00:57:48,840 connect you too, because we get those questions. 1061 00:57:48,840 --> 00:57:50,680 I want to help in my local community. 1062 00:57:51,040 --> 00:57:55,560 We've helped all across the US. If they see on our grant page, 1063 00:57:56,200 --> 00:57:58,560 you look at the organizations we've helped, they're all 1064 00:57:58,560 --> 00:58:01,680 looking for help too. There's always a way that you 1065 00:58:01,680 --> 00:58:03,080 can give back. I promise that. 1066 00:58:03,080 --> 00:58:05,480 And if it's not through Mission Meow, we can try to guide you. 1067 00:58:05,480 --> 00:58:07,640 I love. That of course I love dogs, but 1068 00:58:07,640 --> 00:58:12,960 I very much appreciate that it is cat centric because I think 1069 00:58:13,080 --> 00:58:15,320 as we talked about earlier, I think they get kind of lost 1070 00:58:15,360 --> 00:58:18,760 sometimes and. The reality is that in the US, 1071 00:58:20,280 --> 00:58:23,400 when we're talking about overpopulation and where there's 1072 00:58:23,400 --> 00:58:25,200 an issue, it's the cat community. 1073 00:58:25,240 --> 00:58:30,480 Sure, there are places in the US down South where we hear about 1074 00:58:30,480 --> 00:58:33,240 the dogs, and we know there's transports that bring dogs up 1075 00:58:33,240 --> 00:58:35,880 from the South to save them because, you know, it's just 1076 00:58:35,880 --> 00:58:38,000 different down there. But if we're talking about a 1077 00:58:38,000 --> 00:58:42,600 country as a whole, in the animal world, the population 1078 00:58:42,600 --> 00:58:44,480 issue is cats. Yeah. 1079 00:58:44,560 --> 00:58:46,720 And so we need to get a handle on this. 1080 00:58:46,720 --> 00:58:49,960 And by supporting these small organizations, the grassroots 1081 00:58:49,960 --> 00:58:52,880 ones, we're really targeting the root of the problem. 1082 00:58:53,640 --> 00:58:55,240 That's amazing. I love it. 1083 00:58:55,640 --> 00:58:59,680 Thank you so much for. Being here, it's been too long. 1084 00:58:59,760 --> 00:59:02,440 We got to talk about something I'm passionate about. 1085 00:59:02,800 --> 00:59:06,760 I know, I know, it has been too long and I can't wait to see you 1086 00:59:06,800 --> 00:59:10,360 again and hopefully that won't be too much longer. 1087 00:59:10,360 --> 00:59:16,320 But until then, I I'm actually I'm I've been looking at so my 1088 00:59:16,360 --> 00:59:19,760 do it, another podcast who everybody listening is very 1089 00:59:19,760 --> 00:59:21,640 familiar with because I posted here. 1090 00:59:21,640 --> 00:59:25,280 It's called the weekly pet roundup with Isabel Alvarez 1091 00:59:25,280 --> 00:59:27,480 Arada. I know, I know. 1092 00:59:27,480 --> 00:59:29,280 She's. Love both of you. 1093 00:59:29,480 --> 00:59:32,240 That's a great. I love that the two other. 1094 00:59:32,440 --> 00:59:34,160 Yeah. And I know she's one of your 1095 00:59:34,160 --> 00:59:37,080 business partners and I've been looking at that and I'm like, I 1096 00:59:37,080 --> 00:59:42,520 need to do that too. Join It's a big, wild, crazy 1097 00:59:42,520 --> 00:59:44,480 family. Yeah, much. 1098 00:59:44,920 --> 00:59:46,160 Fun. Maybe one day we'll have a 1099 00:59:46,160 --> 00:59:48,840 mission, meow convention and we'll all come together. 1100 00:59:48,840 --> 00:59:51,160 Oh. My gosh, let's just do a cruise. 1101 00:59:51,160 --> 00:59:55,400 Let's just all go on a cruise. I can't be on a boat that big, 1102 00:59:55,400 --> 00:59:58,240 but we'll figure it out. I'll mute you at the 1103 00:59:58,240 --> 01:00:01,160 destinations. OK, no cruise. 1104 01:00:01,200 --> 01:00:02,720 Got it. Well, yeah. 1105 01:00:02,720 --> 01:00:04,800 So, Sally, thank you so much for being here. 1106 01:00:04,800 --> 01:00:07,720 Thank you so much for what you do, for taking care of these 1107 01:00:07,720 --> 01:00:10,560 kitties and the best way you know how, which is a very, very 1108 01:00:10,560 --> 01:00:12,760 important way. And I just appreciate you. 1109 01:00:12,760 --> 01:00:13,920 Thank you so much for being here. 1110 01:00:14,120 --> 01:00:15,760 Thank you for having me as a guest.