Best Bets For Pets

Listen to Episode #350 Now:

BIO:

Brooke Shields is a mother, entrepreneur, acclaimed actor, best-selling author, and founder of Commence. A two-time Golden Globe nominee and five-time People’s Choice Award winner, she has captivated audiences with her diverse roles and enduring presence in the entertainment industry. Beyond the spotlight, Brooke is a lifelong animal advocate—and now, she’s bringing that advocacy to Prospect Pet.

Julie Spencer is a senior Marketing and Communications executive at Prospect Pet, bringing nearly a decade of experience in the pet industry with a strong emphasis on clean ingredients and brand sustainability. Julie Spencer is proud to lead marketing efforts for Prospect Pet, a brand that reflects her commitment to setting higher standards in pet wellness and sustainability.

Transcript:

Hello Pet Lovers! Welcome to Best Bets for Pets. I'm your show host,  Michelle Fern. What an exciting show! We're going to talk about a line of products that their focus is on clean and transparent ingredients, which is so much better for your pet.

We're going to talk to their head of marketing and I have a special celebrity guest in my second half. So stay tuned, you don't want to miss it. We'll be right back.

You know the expression, cats have nine lives. Well, what if you can give them one more? The Give Them Ten movement is on a mission to help give cats an extra life. How? With spay and neuter.

Spaying or neutering your cat helps them live a longer, healthier life and it helps control free roaming cat populations too. Learn more about the benefits of spay and neuter and meet Scooter, the neutered cat at givethemten.org. That's give them ten.org. Let's Talk Pets on PetLifeRadio.com. Welcome back, everyone. I'd like to welcome Julie Spencer.

She is the Director of Marketing at Prospect Pet. Welcome, Julie. Oh, thank you so much for having me.

We're excited to really talk about the products to your listeners and educate them on cleaning conscious products. I'm so excited to have you on. Let's first talk about Prospect Pet.

It will be, but it's not quite a household name yet in the pet industry. What is Prospect Pet? Well, first of all, I like how you say yet. That's the key word.

Prospect Pet was born on a rural farm in Maine. It's grounded on our values of sustainability and stewardship. Those values still drive us today.

Even with every ingredient that we select is very purposeful. Our mission on the company and products resonated with Brooke. You could see about how her dog Pepper that was sick and her looking for products that were clean that she had it with her own regimen, but she wasn't finding it with her dog.

And so that's how we kind of came together. And so she really helped spread the word on a much bigger platform about clean and effective pet care while giving the voice and concern to pet parents. So with her help, we're hoping to inspire more families and make thoughtful choices that help support the pets for life.

And we didn't talk about this yet, but in the second half of the show, Brooke Shields is your brand officer and she got involved with Prospect Pet because of the fact that you're very transparent in your ingredients, use very clean product. Right. That's a big thing that makes us different that, you know, we believe that our pets deserve the same standard of care and safety and transparency that we deserve for ourselves.

You know, we're clean and conscious, not just a slogan. That's our entire approach. And we use ingredients that are clean, effective, third party tested.

Our approach even goes into our packaging that because a lot of companies, you can have good ingredients, but then they lose it on using a BPA plastic bottle. So we're aluminum bottles and FSC certified cartons. So it's about doing things the right way, even if it's sometimes a little harder because we care about pets and the planet.

I love that. Let's talk about the pet industry. Transparency has been around for several years, really strong in the last five to seven years in food, very transparent in ingredients.

And, you know, it's actually been around longer than that, but heavy in the last five to seven years, not so much in care product and wellness products. Why do you think that is? We're very correct with that approach. I mean, you look at what's happened for humans and USDA certified organic, we're eating better.

So we're looking for better things for our pets. So the pet industry is starting to pick up on those trends and the pet industry is going in the right direction, which is fantastic. And it is accelerated by the pet parents who are eating better, looking at the labels, which is key.

And they're expecting the same for their family pets. So the transparency and labeling is important because not only does it build trust, but it protects your pet's health and it empowers the pet parents to make better informed choices so they can be proactive on their pet's health and not just reactive. Yes, and that's definitely what we want to do.

How can clean products potentially increase your pet's lifespan? That's a great question. So clean products, I mean, they're really necessary and they reduce the exposure to harmful ingredients. They support the overall health as artificial ingredients and toxic fillers that can put a stress on your pet's liver, kidneys, immune system over time.

So we don't use ingredients that are the known allergens that can produce sensitivities. We take an intentional approach with our ingredients and they need to serve a clear purpose to supporting your dog's health, whether that's like joint function, skin resilience, digestive balance. There's no fillers.

We don't use any of the trendy add-ins. Just clean, functional ingredients that are designed to work together. What are the three products, the three debut products of Prospect Pet? Well, we have others and worse, but yeah, the three great ones that we are launching, that includes our Heaven Joint Wellness Booster to aid joint mobility and that's shellfish and gluten-free.

And we also have a skin and coat health booster that's rich in omega-3s that supports healthy immune response and skin comfort. And it's also Friends of the Sea certified. And we have a paw protector that helps moisturize dry and cracked paws.

It's a great year-round product. It's also beeswax free and it's made to food grade standards. So what's key about that is it's going to be safe if your dog licks the paw.

So our goal is really to provide products that are both effective and easy for pet parents to trust and use daily. Do you have a favorite? Yeah, my favorite right now has been the skin and coat. It's the salmon oil.

And I think it's particularly because we just adopted a rescue dog about a month ago. And so, you know, sometimes when you adopt a rescue, their coats aren't in the best of health. And so he had some patchy skin and you could tell he'd scratched.

And so now his skin is soft. It's manageable. It's just his coat looks great.

And I mean, it was even like his nose was dry and crusty. And so it's really helped from the inside out. And I could see those benefits in just a month.

Wow. What kind of dog in one four year ago? He is a boy and I would say he's the most spoiled little goodest boy. His name is Winston and he's a Border Collie and Border Collie Retriever.

Oh my God. That's my favorite breed. My favorite breed is the one that's usually right in front of me.

That's what I say. That's a good thing to say. And like Matt said, my last was Mr. Zeus.

It was a Border Collie and flat hair mix. He's in doggy heaven now, but he would have loved the Paw Protector and the skin and coat help booster because he always had a dry nose in his later years. The Paw Protector I use pretty routinely as well.

Cause it's like where I live, I have a lot of hardscape in Southern California and so it can tend to be like sandpaper. So it just roughs it up. And so, you know, as I've had him and he's been able to gain a little more trust, I'm able to kind of put the paw pad on the pads of his paws at night and see improvement with that.

Oh, that's great. Now for your three products, are they good for all dogs? Should people check with their vets before they use it? Oh, that's a couple of ways where I'm going to answer that. So yes, all the products are ideal.

Senior dogs really have an advantage with our products, you know, especially if they're slowing down, like with our hip and joint booster, but it's developed really for all dogs to aid them and supports health, mobility, aids development of joints as they have rapid growth or even just active working dogs. The skin and coat booster and the Paw Protector, the same. That helps dogs all ages, all breeds.

And the skin and coat, you know, as I mentioned, like with my own dog, it helps support the immune system, provides a shiny coat. That Paw Protector is that daily nourishment for any damaged terrain or the elements. And then you made a comment about vets.

So while our products are safe and known from allergens, you know, we do recommend, I think any responsible pet parent is going to check with their vet on that. Okay, thanks. What about products for cats or can your initial three products, can they be used for cats as well? Cats have a completely different endocrine system and they have a lot of sensitivities.

So currently our products are developed specifically for dogs and we've clearly labeled our products, the box packaging and the website that way as well. We've discussed developing cat products because we know that those feline pet parents really look for quality, safe products, but that's something that we'll do further down the line. Okay, glad to hear it.

Cats generally always run behind because, yeah, they are harder to develop products for, even food products because they're finicky. Well, and so many people think that the product that works for a dog is going to be for a cat and that's really not the same. So we want to make sure that when we do that, that we're creating it specifically for that breed.

Exactly. Yes. On my other show, Catitude, we talked over the years about the fact that cats are not little dogs.

So they're entirely different. What can we expect to see with Prospect Pets as far as new lines in the future? Well, safe to say, I mean, we do have several products that are in development that I'm excited about, and it'll still be in the pet supplement and wellness category. So we're looking at all the big heavy hitters that are in that area and kind of discussing what makes the most sense for us to roll out first.

That'll go into next year. Okay. You probably cannot, probably an embargo on this, but is there a chance you might go into food or grooming products? I would say food.

I don't see that we would get into food. I think grooming kind of gets into some of the wellness. So that is stuff that we are looking at.

So they can buy it online at prospectpet.com. We just developed a brand new website that's going to be dropping shortly. And it's going to have a lot of content, education and information, transparency with our ingredients. And then we'll also have product on amazon.com. Okay, wonderful.

And the website again? prospectpet.com. Okay, wonderful. Julie, thank you so much for coming on Best Pets for Pets. My pleasure.

Thank you for taking the time to speak with me today. I really appreciate your thoughtful questions and opportunity to share more about Prospect Pet. Stay tuned, everyone.

We're going to come right back with our special celebrity guest. Take a bite out of your competition. Advertise your business with an ad in Pet Life Radio podcast and radio shows.

There is no other pet related media that is as large and reaches more pet parents and pet lovers than Pet Life Radio. With over 7 million monthly listeners, Pet Life Radio podcasts are available on all major podcast platforms. And our live radio stream goes out to over 250 million subscribers on iHeartRadio, Odyssey, TuneIn and other streaming apps.

For more information on how you can advertise on the number one pet podcast and radio network, visit PetLifeRadio.com slash advertise today. Let's Talk Pets on Pet Life Radio. PetLifeRadio.com. Welcome back, everyone.

I'd like to welcome a special guest Brooke Shields to Best Pets for Pets. Thank you so much for coming on the show. Thank you for having me.

I'm so excited to have you. Now the public knows you as a mother, entrepreneur, acclaimed actor, best-selling author. By the way, I love the title of your new book, Brooke Shields Is Not Allowed to Get Old, and great reading.

And also the founder of Comments. But not everyone is aware of your passion for animals, which started when you were a teenager. You actually did an internship at the San Diego Zoo at 17.

What was that like? It was incredible. I was there for months working with all sorts of animals. I mean, I was doing everything that they needed.

And obviously, my favorite time was in the nursery where they were inundated with like 13 lemurs that had to eat at a certain time. And they were babies. And then there were some primates whose mothers rejected them.

And we had to find a way to keep them alive and then reintroduce them to the big kids. And then I mucked stalls and cut apples and fruit. And so it was just a very hands-on experience.

I don't think you could have that experience today. And I'm welcoming the changes because I think it is even better for the animals. But it was such a glorious experience that I had when I was 17.

And you said you did everything. I mean, you didn't do everything. Did you do like pick up poop? Oh yeah.

No, no. Mucking stalls. That's what I meant.

Every cage had like a huge portion of just put the boots on, put the wellies on, and get in there and just, yeah. You just do it. So much respect.

Come on. We all pick up poop. It's fine.

Let's talk about fur babes. How many dogs have you had over the years? So, okay. That were really my dogs? Five.

But in the interim, what my mom did when I was in high school is we would foster dogs all the time and then find them homes. And it didn't really make any sense, but people would be like, oh, this was Brookshield's dog. So we started this like little mini foster situation where people, because maybe it was because of the 80s, I don't know, but they would take the dog just because the dog had been my pet.

It was very odd, but it worked. I mean, we had little Jack Raffles. We had little Pitbulls.

We had like every possible dog. And my mom would be like, all right, okay. And then we would find somebody to take the dog.

So it was like a little adoption, foster adoption situation. Oh, nice. So with that experience and having all those types of dogs to foster, do you have a favorite breed? You know, I'm a bully breed.

Our American Bulldog was just heaven. And we had a Portese Waterdog. You know, they were all never really fully, they were given to me, which is always odd.

I think the dogs that I've gotten from ARF or the Pound or the cats that I've gotten at the ASPCA, there's something kind of the mixed breeds that have a little bully in them or have a little something in them. Like to me, there's something that I identify with, with the mixed breeds and they seem to be so loving and so sweet. And I mean, our dog now is like, we don't know what she really is.

Yes. I want to ask you about your dog now. I'm a fan of Mutt's too.

You have a new dog now. Her name is Lartuzzi. Susie? Yeah.

She's named after a restaurant in New York City. Oh, I was- Named Lartuzzi. And is she a rescue? She was found by my daughter online by this woman who lived in, was a nurse practitioner or something in North Carolina.

So we didn't go to the Pound to get her, but no one wanted her because she had this really messed up tail. Like she's got this really kind of crooked, weird tail and nobody wanted her. And so the woman was like, nobody wants this dog.

And we were like, oh, well, we're a very crooked tail family. So absolutely. And, you know, my daughter was just so obsessed with, she really combed the internet for dogs.

Well, I'm glad you rescued her. Not a breeder or anything like that, but- It's so funny how we rescue dogs sometimes and, you know, people don't like some weird quirk about them and they're perfectly fabulous dogs. Well, we can't give our husbands away that easy.

Why would we give our dogs away? I'm going to rush along here. So thank you so much for sharing that information. So even though you've remained in the entertainment industry, you've always been a big animal advocate.

How did being a dog mom for such a long time and your love for your dog Pepper lead you to be a brand officer at Prospect Pet? Well, my dog got sick. Pepper got sick. And so I was lucky enough to meet the team at Prospect Pet and just talking to them and their passion for the animals and their belief in being, you know, very, very clean and conscious and all the, you know, the things that we really want to believe is happening for our pets, their passion for that.

I was so impressed with the farm in Maine and what they believed in and how every single product is designed purely for the health of your dog. And, you know, I didn't know things like shellfish-free or grain-free was important. I, you know, I didn't know.

I knew glycosamine helped with joints, but, you know, I didn't know how it was sourced or where it came from. Ours is not corn, you know. There were all these things that they sort of educated me on and I thought, God, I've been doing such a good job taking care of myself and I've been just throwing stuff in a bowl for my dog.

Like that was how I was raised and that changed everything. And so the more I got to know them, the more I wanted to facilitate getting their message out into the world because of the efficacy of the products. I now have a dog that every time she runs on the beach, her paws just bleed.

And thank God for the Paw Protector because I lather it on her. It's fine if she licks it. And then she can run like a maniac, which she does on the beach.

You mentioned one of the products, the Hipping Joint, the Skin and Coat, and Paw Protector. Is your Paw Protector your favorite product? I want to say the Hipping Joint because I think that that really kind of goes into their internal body. And, you know, obviously they're all important.

You know, their skin and coat is important too. Mine, she used to itch a lot and I didn't know and now she doesn't, you know. So I think the Hipping Joint and the Mobility Booster is just, it gives everybody peace of mind differently.

The skin and coat health is really important for me because I'm allergic to dogs and my dog, Toosie, is not a hypoallergenic dog. So I'm constantly with a puffer and take pills. But now her skin doesn't flake as much and she doesn't shed as much.

That is great to know. To wrap up, what would you like pet parents to know most about Prospect Pet? You can give them a couple of sentences of this is what you want them to administer it for your animal. It's very easy.

It's a pump. It's a liquid that you put on top of the food. It's the easiest way to administer.

The dogs, the animals love it. They love it. They look forward to it and I've noticed differences the way she runs up the stairs now.

You know, it's different. You'll see a difference rather rapidly and you're just doing something really good. It's very clean and conscious.

You can feel really good about giving it to your pet. Thank you so much for coming on Best Bets for Pets. Very nice meeting you again.

I appreciate all you do for the pets. Well, thanks for all you do for the pets. You're doing it every day.

I hope you all enjoyed this show. I had such a wonderful time with this show. Julie Spencer was amazing.

Great information about Prospect Pet and Brooke Shields couldn't have been more charming. I've been a fan of hers for years. She is an amazing woman and I just think it's amazing that she's going into the pet area and she's done so much to help pets already, but even more so, you know, with Prospect Pets.

So thank you, Brooke, so much for coming on Best Bets for Pets. Thanks to my cat crew, Dennis, Charlotte and Molly, who listened to me prepare for my show today. Thank you again to my guests, Julie Spencer and Brooke Shields for coming on Best Bets for Pets.

I really appreciate your time. Thank you to my listeners. I hope you enjoyed this show.

You know, clean and transparency in our wellness products for our pooches is so important. And of course, the show would not be the same without the magic of my producer, Mark Winter. Thank you so much, Mark.

And remember, you never know what we'll have next on Best Bets for Pets. Let's talk pets every week on demand only on PetLifeRadio.com.

 

Search Pet Life Radio

•  

• This Week's Guest:

  
  

  

  Brooke Shields

  BIO

  

  Julie Spencer

  BIO

• RELATED LINKS:

• Instagram

  Prospect Pet

Pet Life Radio
Official Merchandise

Get your paws on some really cool Pet Life Radio stuff --
T-shirts, pet bowls, mugs, water bottles, iPhone & iPod cases, calendars & more!

Shop Now >

Advertise on
Pet Life Radio!

There is no other pet related media that is as large and reaches more pet parents and pet lovers than Pet Life Radio! None. Not magazines, not newspapers, not other smaller radio stations or pet radio shows.

Learn More >

Social

• Twitter
• Facebook
• YouTube