By Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

Today, May 3, 2013 is National Specially-Abled Pets Day – celebrating amazing pets and their owners who care for them.  It’s not about what they can not do, what their aliment is, it’s about what they can do.  As someone who was an owner of a 3 legged Doberman – who lost her leg due to cancer at the age of 8 years old – she was an incredible tripod girl that lived another 4.5 years after her amputation.  Dogs adapt rather quickly and don’t look back on what was.  My dobie Shanna amazed people every day, every where we went with her 3-legged skills, and never concerned that she only had 3 legs.

So to celebrate these our amazing pets here are a few pictures below of local pets owned by wonderful people who see past the fact that their pet may be blind, deaf, need doggie wheels or is missing a leg or any other aliment.  If you have a picture you want to share about your specially-able LI Pet, post it on our Facebook page.

The 3 Aussies picture here are either Deaf or deaf and blind - amazing owner Kim!

Rain is a deaf happy girl!

Brooklyn is a deaf, super happy girl!

Shanna!

Shanna posing!

Share your Specially-Abled LI Pets on our Facebook page or make a comment below!

By Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

Do you want to learn how to save your pet in an emergency situation or how to prevent spring and summer pet injuries – sign up for a Pet CPR & First Aid class. If you live on Long Island, you are in luck, the next class hosted by Robyn Elman, President and Founder of In Home Pet Services, who is also a certified Pet Tech is holding her next class onSaturday, April 20, 2013. From 9:30 am – 1:30 pm at the Bid-a-wee Learning Center in Wantagh (3300 Beltagh Avenue, Wantagh, NY 11793). The class is limited to 15 people and a portion of the proceeds will go to Pet Safe Coalition (www.petsafecoalition.org).

This class is offered to pet owners, pet professionals, and anyone that wants to learn these very important pet life saving procedures. Every pet owner and pet professional will benefit from learning these techniques. Using a life sized stuffed animal dog, this class will teach participants how to: restrain an injured or ill pet; CPR and rescue breathing; bleeding injuries; heat element injuries; spring and summer dangers to pets and how to prevent them; bandaging; insect bites and much more. Attendees will learn life saving techniques for their furry loved ones and make is a safer holiday season by being educated in pet first aid and CPR.  

To register for this class, individuals can call (718) 347-7387 or send a check or money order for $85.00 payable to In Home Pet Services, Inc. and mail to: 88-25 247th Street, Bellerose, NY 11426. Each participant will receive a take-home reference manual and a certificate that they completed the course. For more information on this course or about In Home Pet Services, go to:www.InHomePetServices.com. Space is limited.

If you want to learn the truth about veterinary care and nutritional holistic treatment options you will not want to miss the next free Veterinary seminar with Dr. Michel A. Selmer. The South Huntington Library is presenting Dr. Michel A. Selmer of Advanced Animal Care Center, in a live and free educational library seminar for pet owners who want to know the truth about veterinary care and nutritional holistic treatment options. On Thursday, April 25 at 7pm pet owners can ‘Ask the Vet’ about pet nutrition and other questions they may have about their pet’s health.  

Dr. Selmer will be speaking about holistic and preventative veterinary medicine, as well as answer any questions from the audience. Pet owners that are seeking information about alternative options of veterinary care or just want to know more about veterinary treatment today, what may or may not work best for their pet are encouraged to attend this event. Often times, pet owners leave their vet’s office and are not sure if it’s the right course of treatment or feel that their questions went unanswered but may not have another way to get their questions answered. This ‘Ask the Vet’ event will help those pet owners that want to learn how to treat, take care of and help their pets live a longer, healthier life. Dr. Selmer will answer questions and give attendees information that most veterinarians will not want pet owners to know. This is a free library event and for humans only – no pets allowed! To register for this event email Catherine Schmoller at cschmol@suffolk.lib.ny.us or call (631) 549-4411.

Originally published on Long Island Examiner.com!

by Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

Top hat and all this Basset is ready to Pawty! Photo Credit: ThePuparazzi

by Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

From the Corporate Life to Zelda’s Song, how one business woman changed careers to create a thriving business in memory of her beloved dog Zelda.

I always find it fascinating how people have ended up in the pet industry whether it’s a pet business or rescue group.  A lot of pet professionals I talk to had a former life as a professional person in the corporate world in a completely different industry, and may have always had a yearning to get into the pet industry.

Last spring, in April of 2012, I was at the HH Backer pet trade show in Atlantic City, and at this point it takes something quite different, unique, or just plain fabulous to draw my attention.  I was walking with a friend and at the same time we both walked over to a booth in the new product section called Zelda’s Song.

What drew me to the booth was the quality of the products, the uniqueness of what was being displayed.  I was both admiring Zelda’s Song’s bracelets and key rings – which was unlike anything I had seen before.  Not to mention how beautiful the dog collars and leashes are too.  The quality and craftwomanship was what really stood out.  I was intrigued and asked, how do you get the pictures of the dogs to pop out and look so good?  Sharon Herrman the owner and founder of Zelda’s Song starting explaining the process, that everything is designed by her, all materials made right here in the USA, (Rhode Island and upstate New York), and was so nice about her product, not a typical pushy sales person.  You could really hear her passion about her product while she was talking to me.

I remember saying to Sharon, “I definitely want to get a key ring, I love it.”  I took her card, checked out her website and really liked what I saw.  Fast forward a few months later to October 2012 and as I walked through the vendor spaces at BarkWorld in Atlanta – I spotted Sharon at her Zelda’s Song booth.  It was so nice to see a familiar face!  We spoke for a bit and her booth looked great and we talked about how we would get back to NY/CT with the impending Hurricane Sandy on the way.  I also said, “That’s right I wanted to get a key chain, I really love the quality and design of it.”  And the last day at BarkWorld I won a key chain, one of the many giveaways at the expo. (How cool, thank you universe!)

Since then, Sharon and I had correspondence and she was kind enough to be one of our sponsors for our 3^rd Annual Holiday Party & Pet Food Drive for Long Island Pet Professionals.

As I mentioned, it’s not every day or every time I go to a pet trade show that I get excited about a product and how it came about.  Sharon was kind enough to let me take time out her busy schedule to interview her – and maybe inspire those of you who are thinking of getting into the pet industry or have a product idea they want to launch.

Q. So tell me more how you got interested in starting Zelda’s Song?

A.  I also always wanted to run my own business – I was raised in a family of entrepreneurs, my dad built a multi-million dollar business and my mother ran her own pharmacy, so it’s been in my blood.   After loosing my beloved Bernese Mountain dog, Zelda, at the age of 6 due to cancer, the idea of starting a business in her memory would keep coming to me, and it actually helped me manage my grief of loosing Zelda.  I couldn’t stop thinking about the idea, it kept coming back to me and the creative process really drew me in.

Q. I love what you told me about Searching Amazon and how a book popped up, tell us about that:

A. Yes I was searching on Amazon one day and a book called ‘One Nation Under Dog’ by Michael Schaffer popped up as a suggestion, and it was odd since I had never bought a pet related book on Amazon.   But it caught my attention, and I purchased it after reading the first few pages they give you to read on Amazon.  The book was about how our mainstream culture is not that accepting of pet loss.  The idea I was thinking of doing, or creating really was nagging at me even more after reading this book.  I thought, it would be so nice to have a way that pet owners could either wear a picture of their actual pet as an emblem their pets mean to them.   I wanted a way to carry Zelda’s picture with me or wear her picture – and also have a beautiful piece of jewelry capturing her essence for others to see.

That is fascinating that the book popped up, almost leading you in the direction you were already thinking of going – love that! So I love the tag line, ‘Fetch Joy’ – how did you come up with that?

A.  Fetch Joy was to show a fun way of representing life and the joy our pets bring to us on a daily basis.  So while you can memorialize your pet with our jewelry, you can also create a piece of jewelry with your current pet, fetching joy if you will.

So great! I know my Max is always bringing me joy!  What did you do before becoming a pet entrepreneur with Zelda’s Song?

A. I had a great career in marketing with various Fortune 500 companies.  Mostly in consumer products companies, and I specialized in new product development.  And I was also a manufacturers representative right before starting Zelda’s song.  I have an MBA and also 2-year degree in architectural engineering.

Wow, that is some career history and great combo on degrees on what you do.  I love to hear backgrounds of our pet professionals, and having a career in marketing must have really helped you.  So tell us, how did you start getting the word out about your business?

A.  I started with the pet trade shows, like HH Backer’s spring trade show, and I started doing a blog on being a start up entrepreneur.  But I have to say that the trade shows really proved that was interest in the product.  I tried to combine traditional and online advertising; I placed ads with The Bark magazine, was on Twitter, (@ZeldasSong), from the beginning and of course Facebook.  I am also getting into Pinterest.  I find that our customers want to connect directly with me, since I do the framing of their photo that ends up in the bracelet or keychain.  That has worked well – the direct interaction. Customers seem to want to share the story of their life with their dogs, and I like to listen – it’s part of the personal service and helps me understand how to showcase the dog’s personality.  Often times, our product is an emotional purchase for the customer.

You’re products are beautifully, handcrafted, here in the USA do you come up with the designs on your own?

A. Yes, so far I have created all the designs. Mostly they came about as I thought about designing jewelry that would hold Zelda’s photo and tags.  Then I just took it a step further to include the charm bracelet concept – something like a ‘Pandora’ bracelet for dog moms.

How long have you been in business?

A. We have been in business, creating, designing and getting everything in order to launch for 2 to 3 years, and started officially selling in June 2012. You know it takes a long time to get product to market, prototypes, manufacturing prototypes, etc. But the magic is when you are holding the first finished product in your hand – then you really know.

What is your goal of Zelda’s song moving forward?

A. Building my social media audience, get Zelda’s Song into more retail and gift boutique stores.  Part of my demographic is the older generation who are not on the internet – so focusing on getting more people who are not on the internet to know about Zelda’s Song.

What would you tell other business owners who are thinking of getting started in the pet industry?

A. I would say I am glad we went in to business, although it can continue to be scary, but the people we have met have along the way so far have been open and down to earth, generally very welcoming and helpful.   I would say to others in the pet industry or thinking about getting into it, if you have a tangible idea to go for it.  But do it the right way, and understand that not everyone in the pet industry will make money with whatever product they bring to market.  I know this from business in general from all my years working in marketing and being a manufacturers rep.  Do your due diligence in researching your idea or product and launch when you are ready – don’t rush it.

And lastly what is the song in Zelda’s Song?

by Nancy E. Hassel, LIPetPlace.com

My heart broke when I saw Queenie’s picture on Facebook.  I quickly read the caption, and thought she was actually dead from the horrific picture posted – her body being skin and bones.  I couldn’t look more than a few seconds at it, thinking who would ever do something like that to a dog?  Then I thought back to Joey, the 3 month old pit bull puppy who was thrown from a moving car last year, or the little puppy I met a couple years ago who had mangled back legs from being a bait dog for a dog fighting here on Long Island.  Or some of you might even remember Maximus the pit bull who was set on fire and chained up in Brentwood, who later succumb to his unimaginable injuries – his owner went to jail – he could be out by now.  The really sad truth is that these stories come up way to often in our culture, here on Long Island and throughout our country.  I always try to shine a light on those amazing people doing good in the world for pets – who make a difference locally in pet’s and human’s lives.  But seeing Queenie’s picture, made me so sad, sick to my stomach and incredibly mad – there is no longer a reason to remain silent on this issue.

Why does our society continue to let this happen?  We have laws in place against animal abuse – but obviously they are not scary enough consequences for people who are the scum of the earth to not do these things.  We have all read how studies of animal abusers often and most times lead to human abusers – so why isn’t more done to stop these people?

When will our society rise up and demand better solutions for animal abusers?  I am not talking about people who don’t know the best or proper care for their pets that need education on the matter, (that is a whole different topic).  I am talking about demanding more serious consquences for people who do things like they did to Queenie, Joey, Maximus and countless other pets who are killed, tormented and tortured.  Will her owner, once he is caught, get a year or two in jail then released?  Will he get fined, a slap on the wrist?  How will they track this guy from ever owning a pet again?

The fact that Queenie survived and is eating, and walking is a miracle and shows the sheer determination and depth of a dogs will to live and persevere.  Joey too, after months of rehabilitation, he now is doing amazingly well considering his injuries.  That is, as animal lovers what we gravitate towards – how resilient our pets are.

We know there are more good people in the world than bad, especially when it comes to our pets and animals, and many people want to help.  If you can’t directly help Queenie or Guardians of Rescue who stepped in to help save her, there are many great organizations on Long Island that can use additional volunteers, donations.  But the one thing I would ask you to do, is not to look away, not to turn your head – our society often ‘doesn’t want to know’ when it comes to animal abuse or horrible situations like this.  I get it, my first reaction was to not look, but mainly because I am in the pet industry and sadly see things like this more often then not via social media and the press.  But looking away or not wanting to know will not help solve the epidemic of animal abuse.  Think about how you can help make a difference so we start to see less of this.

Show this to your kids and show them how wrong it is and ask them what they think can be done to help turn around lack of respect for our pets, animals and world we share with them.  Call you local politician and demand better punishment for people who abuse animals.  Take a stand and work with local organizations to help protect our animals that depend on us.

Queenie. Photo Credit: Guardians of Rescue

Joey. Photo Credit: Veterinary Medical Center of Long Island (VMCLI)