Pet-Powered Purpose: Giving Back with Parish Pets

Dixie: 00:00:02

Welcome to Animal Posse, the podcast dedicated to the

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people and rescues making a

difference in the lives of animals.

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Today on the show, we're talking

with Nikki from Parish Pets.

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She started out as a hobbyist and

an animal lover, but her vision

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grew into something much bigger.

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She's proven that business can be a force

of animal welfare and community support.

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We're so excited to sit

down with you today.

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Nikki, welcome to the show.

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Nikki: Thank you so much for having me.

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Dixie: Yeah, I wanted to talk to

you because I got to meet you a

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couple of weeks ago and I got to

tour your store and you were telling

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me the story of how you got started

and then also how you give back.

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I wanted to talk more about that because

I thought it was very interesting.

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I love that you're in a business

for animals, and then you're

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also giving back to the community

and helping animals in need.

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Nikki: Awesome.

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Yeah.

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We loved having you at the store and

thank you guys so much for visiting.

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And I love to share our story

with anybody who wants to hear it.

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Dixie: Yeah.

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I know a little bit about it.

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So tell my audience how you got started

and what your store is like today.

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Nikki: So basically I used to

work in the medical field and I

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had to take some extended time

off of work because of a surgery.

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And I bought a sewing machine

with the thought of just.

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Filling some of my time and taught myself

how to sew dog collars because I wanted

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my dog at the time to have something fun

and interesting that nobody else had that

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was just, off of the shelf at any store.

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And basically.

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Friends and family started asking

me for some, and then I opened

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a Etsy shop and then I started

doing local markets around town.

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And after a couple of years of

that, I made the decision to take

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a leap of faith and do that as

my full-time job out of my house.

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And after a few years outta my house

it started taking over my home.

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And at that time I started making treats.

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I was in about 13 different retailers.

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Around Baton Rouge and Gonzales and

Prairieville and surrounding areas.

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And I just decided if we had a

storefront we could offer other things

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like treats and toys and but also

with the thought of they could be.

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Good things for animals.

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Healthy food, healthy

treat things like that.

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Dixie: I met you because you were able

to do the grant check presentation from

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the Mission Meow Grant that I received.

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Yes.

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You are a partner with Mission Meow.

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How did you come to partner with

them and how did you find them?

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Nikki: One of the things that I'm pretty

passionate about in the store besides

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just having good options for pets is

having local or handmade and other small

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businesses because that's how I started.

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I definitely wanna highlight.

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Them.

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And at the time I was carrying

a brand called for Mu Cat toys.

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And my customers loved her toys.

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They were always so cute.

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And cats went crazy for 'em.

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And she actually introduced

me to Mission Meow.

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And there's.

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Usually a lot more opportunities

to give back when it comes

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to dogs for the most part.

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And I wanted to make sure when I

started Parish pets, that's why I

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made sure to include the name pets

and not, dog or anything like that.

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'cause I wanted to include

cats and other animals.

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After she explained mission meow to

me I really loved what they were doing

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and how they were going about it.

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And reached out to them

about partnering with them.

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And that was probably, I think about I

feel like it's been at least three years

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that I've been a partner with them.

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Dixie: That's amazing, and I know it's

because of people like you that they

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can afford to give these grants out.

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Nikki: Yeah, I'm just, honestly thankful

that my customers continue to shop

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with me and I'm able to donate to them.

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I think their organization

is so important.

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What they're doing, they're

helping so many different rescues.

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Just their whole entire platform and

how they go about it is so amazing

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to me just because their reach is

so big and they can do so much.

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Dixie: What kind of pets

do you have at home?

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Nikki: I have two dogs.

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And, but we're excited because we are

talking about partnering with one of

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our local rescues and having some foster

cats available in the store as a little

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bit of a shop pet for us but also so

they can get a little more exposure.

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And hopefully, find a good home for them.

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Dixie: That's awesome.

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Now I know the place that I

visited, it was really spectacular.

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Like you have the most amazing yard.

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Thank you.

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You had some incredible ideas of

what you wanna do with that yard.

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So can you tell everybody a

little bit about your new place?

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And I thought the story on how you

got your place was interesting too,

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if you wouldn't mind sharing that.

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Nikki: Yeah.

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So I was in another building for

almost right at four years at,

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not far from our new building.

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It was basically not even

a mile down the road.

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But I really needed to expand.

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I wanted to be able to just offer

more to my customers and be a

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little more visible because I've.

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Wanna hold events, wanna

hold adoption events.

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And where I was, it just wasn't, didn't

have the visibility I wanted for that.

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And there was this one building

that was probably sitting empty

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for a good three to four years.

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And I really loved this building.

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I just loved, it was a mid-century

modern looking building.

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It's one of my favorite time

periods for stuff like that.

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And I just always really liked it.

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And I was actually supposed to go look

at it for a showing finally, the week

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I was supposed to go someone else put

a contract in on it and bought it.

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And I was super devastated.

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Could not get over it because the person

who bought it ended up not doing anything

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with the building and it sat empty

for another, almost a year and a half.

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And so that hurt my feelings way more.

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And.

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We kept looking.

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And I just happened to be at another

place one day looking with my real

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estate agent and I wasn't even inside.

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I was outside looking around and the

guy who was in the current building I

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was looking at, just randomly happened

to mention to my real estate agent

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that he had a friend that had a piece

of property that he was about to need

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to get rid of and put on the market.

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It was on Government Street

somewhere around the post office.

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And , this building is right next to

the post office on Government Street,

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and I had to go to work, so I left.

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And as soon as my real estate agent left,

he called me and was like I think it's

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the building you've been waiting on.

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And so he ended up

doing some research and.

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We figured out who owned it and

the rest is kind of history.

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We ended up with it.

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But it just almost feels like

we were meant to be there.

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It's crazy how it worked out.

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And we've been.

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Opened there since the end of

November last year . It has a yard

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that we fenced in to make secure

and we're super, super excited.

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We actually have our first pet centered.

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Vendor market this weekend on Sunday.

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So we partnered with a market

that was already established in a

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different city and we're bringing

them to Baton Rouge in our space.

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And we're gonna have like vendors but also

keeping it pet centric with the vendors.

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So we have some local treat makers,

dog food some boarding places coming

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out, some vet clinics some trainers.

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We're gonna have adoptable dogs out there

from apaws the rescue that we're working

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with to have the foster cats in-house.

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And, we're, we'd love to keep the

space open for events and just over

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the next year or so, wanna kind of

figure out what we want to do with it.

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We have, thoughts of possibly turning it

into a really nice neighborhood dog park.

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We have thoughts of just really not

doing anything with it and leaving

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it like it is so we can continue

to host pet friendly events.

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And, we have plans with some of the local

yoga and Pilates studios to eventually

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do yoga and Pilates with adoptable pets.

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So many.

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I feel like the possibilities are

just so endless in that space.

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And that's what we're super

excited about with being there.

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Dixie: Yeah, that's amazing.

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And congrats on having your first

event too, 'cause I know you were

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telling me a little bit about it.

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How many vendors are you

gonna have out there?

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Nikki: I think we have.

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Between 12 and 13.

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And then we have the adoption

agency on top of that.

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We're super excited to have that many

people out 'cause it's definitely a

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trial to see, how it all goes, how

everybody fits in the backyard and

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and it's gonna be a beautiful weekend.

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So also very thankful for that.

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Dixie: Yeah, I did hear it's

supposed to be really nice

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this weekend, so that's great.

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Another thing that you did in your

store too, you have a section where

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you had pet food for the community.

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Nikki: Yeah.

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Honestly, I took that idea from the

community fridges that we have in a lot

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of different places around Louisiana.

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We have a we have one in Baton Rouge

that's pretty close to our store.

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And I do, a few things with the place that

the community fridge is located at the

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Red Shoes and they're great organization.

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And I just wanted to take that same

model because they even told me they

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had some people asking for pet food,

sometimes looking for pet food.

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And I donated to it a few times.

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But it's hard.

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It's like I don't wanna bring a.

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Whole bag, a 30 pound bag of dog

food and only one person gets it.

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And unfortunately at our last

location, we just didn't have the

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space to do anything like that.

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So we just made sure when we moved,

we kept a little area and made a

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little shelf and we, put everything

in Ziploc bags, label it and people

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can bring unopened stuff to us

and we'll, put it on the pantry.

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We've even had some customers that

are in the store and they've bought

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a bag of dog food right off the shelf

and told us to put it, towards the

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pantry which was extremely touching.

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That people just really care in the

community about things like that.

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And we have, a little.

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Basket where we'll take gently

used toys, people have brought

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blankets, all kind of things.

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And it, it gets used a good

bit and everybody, everyone

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is super respectful of it.

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They take what they need,

leave enough for others.

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It's been, a really, I think it's just

really awesome to have it in the store.

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Dixie: Do you have a lot of

people coming in to get it then?

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Nikki: We do honestly, we

have a good bit of people.

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I've even had customers that come

in and regularly buy dog food from

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me and, there's a little bit of

a tight month and they need to

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grab a couple bags off the shelf.

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It's you just never know

when somebody might need it.

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The one thing I will say, we

usually have a lot more dog food

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available on there than cat food.

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So we're usually, a little more

short on the cat side, but we

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do have quite a few people.

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Who use it.

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And we put a sign at the Baton Rouge

community fridge letting people

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know that it's at our store in

case they're looking for pet food.

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Dixie: Yeah, I was just gonna

ask you that, how people were

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finding out that you had that.

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Nikki: Yeah, the the, we spoke, with

the red shoes and like they let us

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put a little sign 'cause they have.

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A shed built around their fridge.

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So we have a sign with our hours and,

where we're located about the pet pantry

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in their community fridge, and then

we, try to post it on social media and

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have it up there as much as we can.

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Dixie: Yeah, I think that's such

an important thing to have too,

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because a lot of the times when it

comes to people having to rehome

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their pets or keep their pets.

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It's a matter of being able to feed them.

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So having that resource for them

is so incredibly helpful because it

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does allow them to keep their pets.

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Nikki: Yeah, for sure.

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I mean it.

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And like I said like we

definitely have some people who,

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are regular customers of ours.

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I mean there are definitely people,

it comes down to sometimes it's

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just a few weeks that you know they

need help and yeah, I mean there

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are people that definitely have

had to rehome a pet or something

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to that, just because they can't.

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Feed 'em at that time.

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And that's terrible.

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People love their pets.

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They're a part of the family.

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I think it's definitely important

if we're able to help people in

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any kind of situation like that.

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Dixie: Had you always

helped pets prior to this?

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Nikki: I've always loved animals.

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We had animals growing up.

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We always had dogs and cats.

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My best friend growing up, her family

always had everything, all the dogs,

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all the cats, all the reptiles.

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And I actually, when I

was younger, wanted to.

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Be a vet tech and I wanted to be in

an animal related field because I

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wanted to do something helping animals.

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And I was also interested in the.

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Surgery or medical part of it or whatever.

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And I ended up taking a turn

and going into the surgery

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world with people instead.

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And that was great and it was

a very interesting career and

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I loved my job for a long time.

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But it's funny how when I had to step

back from that, I ended up, taking a turn

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back towards animals without even really

meaning to or trying, just by making

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my own dog a dog collar at my house.

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So it was crazy how that worked out.

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Dixie: Yeah.

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Yeah.

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It is.

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And I think that's what

I liked about your story.

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When you were telling me just

about how you started and then how

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you got the building, it was like

everything fell into place so that

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you could, in a way help animals.

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Nikki: Yeah.

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I love thinking about it that

way, I hope honestly, if that's

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the only way people think about

parish pets, I would love that.

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Obviously we want to be here, given.

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People, fun toys and, good

treats and those sort of

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things to give their animals.

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But I also want people to think about us

as a staple in the community of, giving

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back and helping and doing things for the

betterment of animals around our city.

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Dixie: Since you did start making dog

collars, do you still make your collars.

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Nikki: I do.

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So that's the one hill that I'll

die on in the store is I feel like

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since that's what started it all

like I still carry my collars now.

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They're the only place.

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In town that they are at.

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I don't have them in any

other stores or retailers or

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anything like that any longer.

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But basically I don't carry

many other collars in the store.

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I pretty much only carry collars

that like, I can't make myself like

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I don't do any kind of leather.

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Or anything like that.

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So I may have a few leather

options and stuff like that.

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But as far as everything else,

the majority of the collars in

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our store, probably a good 90%

of them are all made by me.

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Dixie: That's pretty cool.

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With the foster kittens that you

have coming in the store, when do

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you expect to get those kitties in?

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Nikki: Not sure about that.

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We literally just started

talking about that.

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So we're gonna get through this weekend.

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And then I also have a, another

busy weekend next weekend.

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Myself and one of my dogs are actually

on the Furball court which is an annual.

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Basically dog friendly ball that's held.

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It's a fundraising event for our like

big like Baton Rouge, like city shelter

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here, companion Animal Alliance.

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So myself and my dog Manny are

on the fur ball court this year

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and the ball is next Saturday.

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So we have a lot of fun.

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Planning to do right now.

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So I think once we get through these next

two weekends, we're gonna pick out a good

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spot for the cats and then hopefully get

them in the shop in the next few weeks.

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Dixie: That's awesome.

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What about for your little pet

show that you're doing too?

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Do you have any plans of doing

like more dog adoptions or

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more events using your yard?

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Nikki: We definitely do.

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We are talking with a couple

of people trying to get some

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rescues on a a schedule.

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And also one of the things that I

used to do at my old location, we

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used to have a yappy hour monthly.

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And I'd really love to bring those back.

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We just basically had a big dog party

once a month and we had a different

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theme every month and usually had an

activity for pet parents to do with their

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pets, a painting make an ornament around

Christmas time those sort of things.

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So hopefully I really wanna

work on bringing that back soon.

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Dixie: That's awesome.

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That's awesome.

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Thank you so much for coming on the show

to share all of this and I wish you the

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: 00:21:00

best luck too with your new building

and like I said it, it is awesome.

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: 00:21:04

The yard was so spectacular and

I'm so glad that you can use

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it to help animals in need too.

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: 00:21:11

Nikki: Thank you so much and

thank you guys for having me.

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: 00:21:14

It really means a lot.

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: 00:21:16

Dixie: Yeah, I'm just trying to spread

the word and see if we can inspire other

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: 00:21:19

businesses to do something similar too.

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: 00:21:21

'cause I do think it's important.

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: 00:21:22

A lot of the times people go into business

and they just think about that money

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: 00:21:25

aspect of it and they don't involve the

other side of it, which is giving back.

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: 00:21:30

And I love that you do that.

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: 00:21:33

Nikki: Yeah.

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: 00:21:34

I tell people, I'm like, if you're

trying to start up a small business,

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: 00:21:39

to make money, you're in a wrong reason

I feel that way about a lot of things,

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: 00:21:44

but yeah, it's such an easy platform

to be out in the community and be seen

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: 00:21:50

it's really should be used for good.

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: 00:21:55

Dixie: Absolutely.

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: 00:21:56

That's it for today's

episode of Animal Posse.

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: 00:21:58

If you love what we're doing,

please consider becoming a member.

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: 00:22:01

Your support directly helps us continue

highlighting the people and stories

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: 00:22:06

that save lives across the country.

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: 00:22:08

Just a quick reminder, the views

and opinions expressed by our

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: 00:22:11

guests are theirs alone and are

provided for entertainment purposes.

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: 00:22:15

They don't necessarily.

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: 00:22:17

reflect the official position of the show,

and this information should never replace

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: 00:22:21

the advice of your own veterinarian.

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: 00:22:24

Thanks for listening, and

we'll see you next time.