0230: Melissa's Second Chances with Kaitlin Thompson

Kaitlin Thompson, Marketing and Public Relations Manager at Melissa's Second Chances in Shawnee, Kansas tells how a growing business spun off a rescue group to serve their community and save animals.

Melissa’s Second Chances online:
MSCRescue.org
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Twitter

From the Dog Words archives:
0216: Mixed Mutt Creamery with Sherri Corwin

Celebrate 5 years of Rosie Fund by supporting our campaign to sponsor 50 dogs. You can donate at RosieFund.org or through our Facebook page. You can contribute by making a purchase from the store on our website or buying a t-shirt at Bonfire.com. Also check out our page on BarkYours, the online mall with gifts for people who love their dogs.

Music for this episode is provided by alternative string duo, The Wires. Visit them at TheWires.info. Learn fiddle and cello-fiddle online — even if you've never played before — from Laurel Morgan Parks and Sascha Groshang at FiddleLife.com. Join The Wires as they explore new music on their show Sound Currents.

The transcript for this episode is available on the Dog Words Buzzsprout page: Buzzsprout.com/840565.

Make a donation at RosieFund.org or through our Facebook page. You can contribute by making a purchase from the store on our website or buying a t-shirt at Bonfire.com. Also check out our page on BarkYours, the online mall with gifts for people who love their dogs.

Rosie Fund online:
RosieFund.org
Facebook.com/rosiefund
Instagram.com/rosiefund
YouTube.com/rosiefund

Transcript

KAITLIN  0:03 
The great thing about adopting a dog from a shelter or from a rescue is that the staff and the volunteers, whoever's helping at the shelter, they want that dog to be as successful just as much as you do.

PHIL   0:17 
I'm Phil Hatterman, and this is Dog Words presented by Rosie Fund.

Today, Kaitlin Thompson, Marketing and Public Relations Manager at Melissa's Second Chances in Shawnee, Kansas tells us how a growing business spun off a rescue group to serve their community and save animals.

If you're new to Dog Words, in each episode, we explore the world of dog care and companionship. "We save each other," is the motto of Rosie Fund, which simply means the more we do for dogs, the more they do for us. And they already do a lot.

If you love dogs, you'll love Dog Words. We welcome your comments, questions and suggestions. Go to the podcast page at RosieFund.org to share your thoughts. Please download, follow, rate, and most importantly, share Dog Words.

Thank you to everyone who voted in the Best of KC poll and helped Dog Words become a runner up for Best Local Podcast. And congratulations to Things I Learned Last Night from Jaron Meyers and Tim stone for winning Best Local Podcast.

Celebrate five years of Rosie Fund by supporting our campaign to sponsor 50 dogs. You can donate on our website or Facebook page. You can also contribute by making a purchase from the store on our website, buying a t-shirt at Bonfire.com, or buying our note cards and shirts on BarkYours.com. Links are in the description. Your donations and purchases help fund the Rosie Life Starter Kits that make sure these senior and harder-to-adopt dogs have some of the items they'll need in their forever home.

Please follow Rosie Fund on social media. Subscribe to the free Rosie Fund YouTube channel that offers great videos of Rosie, Peaches, and shelter dogs, including some exclusive content like the sweet KC Pet Project dog featured in our latest post.

Next time on Dog Words we learn how the Morris Animal Foundation is promoting research that's saving the lives of animals around the world.

The mission of Rosie Rosie Fund is to provide humans with the resources and education they need to give senior and harder to adopt dogs a better life. Thank you for joining our mission.

I'm delighted to welcome to Dog Words Kaitlin Thompson, the Marketing and Public Relations Manager for Melissa's Second Chances. Kaitlin, welcome to the show.

KAITLIN  2:31 
Thank you so much. I'm super excited to be here.

PHIL   2:34 
First of all, tell us what is Melissa's Second Chances?

KAITLIN  2:39 
Melissa's Second Chances is a 501(c)(3) rescue and nonprofit shelter that's in Shawnee, Kansas. So we love us some dogs and we rescue a lot of dogs at Melissa's Second Chances and we also rescue cats. And then we do small mammals as well. So bunnies guinea pigs, hamsters, and there's no discrimination. We'll take 'em all.

PHIL   3:04 
And your website is MSCRescue.org as in Melissa's Second Chances rescue.org. I will link to that in the description for this episode along with your social media. I see you have Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. So I'll make sure that it's easy for people to like, follow, share, and all those things that we want them to do. How did Melissa's Second Chances get started?

KAITLIN  3:33 
So Melissa, our founder, has essentially been working with animals her entire life. She worked at city shelters in her 20s when she was younger. And then moved into more of a private sector of animal care later in life. So she started a doggy daycare and boarding business, a home sitting business. And she was doing that operating those and she still does. But she kind of always missed rescue. And so when her business was growing and expanding, and so she was going to be moving her doggy daycare and boarding business into a larger facility. And she kind of thought this is the perfect time to take this building that's already set up to house dogs and turn it into an animal shelter. And then I'll move my business across the street. And so that's how Melissa's Second Chances was born, her kind of seizing the moment and taking a good opportunity. And we're very lucky because she moved her daycare and boarding business across the street. So now we have our shelter and then the daycare and boarding business right across the street that helps support us.

PHIL   4:38 
You said you have a variety of species of animal. Are there particular cases that are the target of Melissa's Second Chances?

KAITLIN  4:48 
Yes and no. I think that the leadership at MSC, we have kind of the philosophy that a life saved his life saved. You know, like if somebody wants to surrender a lot of puppies to us. And we know that we can get those puppies fully vetted, vaccinated, spayed and neutered so they're not making any more babies and out into our community, you know, that is a big win for us just as much as you know, taking a senior Chihuahua off the streets of KCK would be a big win for us that might require more rehab and more attention. So our focus is we don't have much of one. We just want to save as many animals as possible. And so we're kind of always coming at an angle that we can save more and provide them with the best care while they're in our system. The only thing that we really target focus on is working locally. We will take animals, especially from rural Kansas, from shelters out there, where they have a really hard time getting adopted. But we don't do transports from other countries, or from Texas, or from really far away. We kind of focus more in our area.

PHIL   5:53 
We have some great shelters in the Kansas City area. The well known ones, obviously, KC Pet Project, and Great Plains SPCA and Wayside Waifs. But that sort of small niche community shelters serve a vital purpose. They can be more accessible for, obviously, your local neighborhood, community members. But it's also, I think, an opportunity for volunteers. Because there's people who want to volunteer at KC Pet Project. They want to be a part of that big team. They want to be able to work with a large group, or sometimes it's the anonymity of working in a large group that I can just drop in whenever and put in an hour. How is the volunteer opportunity different in a smaller shelter as compared to Great Plains?

KAITLIN  6:46 
Yeah, that's a great question. And it is vastly different. I'm a volunteer. The shelter doesn't pay me at all. I volunteered normally about 25 to 30 hours a week, which is a lot and more than most people want to put in. But obviously, if I was at a big city shelter, I wouldn't have the opportunity to do what I think is what I'm best at, which is telling animal stories, taking photos of them, and promoting them online so that I can help them get adopted. So being a volunteer at a small shelter, there is a greater need to fill a larger number of roles. The only thing that we really have paid staff for is taking care of our animals in the building. And then some of our adoptions counseling and our adoptions processing of applications that's done by a paid staff member. But everything else is done by volunteers. So if you've always really wanted to run an adoption event at a pet store, Bar K or any of these awesome places we get to go, volunteers do that. Or if you love taking pictures, you can definitely call me because I will set you up with a bunch of dogs. You can go take fun photos and videos of or the larger shelters do this, as well. But we love to utilize people for walking the dogs and getting them out and giving them a day out of the shelter. And we love people who will come mow our yard. We don't have anybody who on our staff with the extra time to do that. So what's really cool about a smaller shelter is just that there's a lot more needs that need to be filled. Because there's not the same budget for staff and there's not the same quantity of animals coming through, you know, like KC Pet Project. I know they have over 1000 animals in their care right now. We have 200. Both are very noble causes. But obviously if you have more than 1000 animals and you have government funding, which they do, you have more budget for staff than a little local shelter that doesn't have that.

PHIL   8:43 
They're answering to different people. It's a different energy, a different vibe, your environment versus their environment. One's not better than the other but...

KAITLIN  8:52 
Absolutely not. And we're really lucky. We have a great rescue community here in Kansas City and we all work together.

PHIL   8:57 
Yeah, everybody cooperates. It's great collaboration. I would make the analogy that I've heard photographers say when asked what's the best camera? I'm going to buy a new camera, what's the best camera to buy? The best camera to buy is the one you're gonna use and professional photographers will have a dozen cameras. But when they go on vacation, or they're just running out the door quick and, "Oh, I want to take a camera with me." That go to camera, the one that they're gonna use, that's the best camera. If you're gonna volunteer, the best place to volunteer is the place you're gonna go. If you don't enjoy going to Melissa's Second Chances, you're not gonna be a good volunteer there. Or KC Pet Project. I'm just not comfortable there. There's so many great opportunities to volunteer if you want to be involved in animal rescue in Kansas City that you can find someplace that's a fit. And getting to know the people that Melissa's Second Chances and that's a great point about mowing. You may want to help but it doesn't fit my schedule to come for a few hours a week to walk dogs or I'm not a engaging social personality. So talking to adopters about what's great about this dog, I would just be uncomfortable with that. But I've got a lawnmower. Or I've got a couple of teenagers who need something to do with their time. I will hook them up with a lawnmower and send them over to mow at Melissa's, or any number of volunteer opportunities in Kansas City. So it doesn't have to be directly hands on with pets. I'm sure there's office work that you need done, maintenance, you name it, there's an opportunity for people to help.

KAITLIN  10:36 
There absolutely is. Yeah, and I mean, most of what I do isn't hands on with animals. And we're always looking for people to help answer voicemails messages. Even if you want to volunteer remotely, there's definitely an opportunity for you on our rescue and add a lot of the rescues in the city. And we are, we're so lucky. We have a great rescue community in Kansas City. And we all work together really well. I'll never forget when like COVID was first a thing. And everybody was like, "Well, what are we gonna do?" And KC Pet Project, they take dogs from us sometimes, you know, if they were originally adopted from there, we'll send the dog back. But they needed help to get some dogs out because they didn't know how much staff they would be able to have in their building. And it was so cool to see all the rescues in Kansas City say, "Oh, I have a foster. I have a foster home. Send that dog to me." I mean, I'm always proud of Kansas City. In our rescue community, we do a great job. We have a great no kill community. But those are cool moments. I really enjoyed that a lot.

PHIL   11:38 
I interview people all over the country for Dog Words. And I'm very proud when they talk about something that they're trying to get done in their community. And we're already doing that in Kansas City. And I try not to look down my nose at them. But it's like we're so fortunate to have the rescue groups we have and the way our large shelters operate and collaborate. You mentioned foster. Is fostering a volunteer opportunity that's available to people through Melissa Second Chances?

KAITLIN  12:08 
The answer to that is, "Heck, yeah it is!" Most of our animals are actually living in foster homes and not at our shelter building. And so we're always looking for fosters. Or if you're not really ready to commit to a long term foster commitment, we have another opportunity we call furloughing, where you could just take the dog for a weekend. Let him get some couch time. Take him to an adoption event. And then, you know, bring him back on Sunday night. And you can foster any species, any age. If you like to foster senior toothless Chihuahuas, we've got one. If you want to foster a couple of six week old puppies, while they get their vaccines and grow big enough to be spayed and neutered in adoption, we have that opportunity for you, too. And you know, the same kind of goes for cats and kittens, rabbits, guinea pigs, all of the above. So it's a great way to volunteer. It's a great way to learn a lot about animals as fostering. And it's an awesome way to, you know, if you've been thinking maybe you want a kitten to join your pack of dogs. If you want to foster a couple of litters and see if that's a good option for you moving forward, it's kind of a great way to get your feet wet.

PHIL   13:17 
It really helps the animals get adopted, too. Because you learn information, whether it's a long term foster or just a furlough that you don't learn about an animal in the shelter.

KAITLIN  13:28 
It's so true. Yeah, there's nothing better you could do for a dog than to get them out of the shelter, take a couple of great photos of them and figure out what kind of family they're going to work best in. So I love furloughs. I think that in the rescue community as a whole, it's underutilized as a tool that really helps dogs get adopted. Because the people who are furloughing them are in love with them, and they're ready to be their advocate and help them find their family. And now we know what kind of family is best for that dog.

PHIL   14:00 
It also gives the dog more exposure in addition to whoever just happens to come to your shelter. They see this dog being walked in the park and playing in someone's yard. And you can start a conversation. With the dogs we own, both with Rosie and Peaches, occasionally, we have a little tether on that says "adopt." Which is a great conversation starter that we can tell people, "Yeah, we got this great dog through adoption. And there's more dogs available at the shelters in Kansas City," to encourage people to check out the shelters and find wonderful dogs. It's luck of the draw when you go to a pet store or breeder or maybe you know what you want. It has to be a specific breed. But when you go to a shelter, it's that opportunity to get picked by the dog. To make eye contact with something you didn't expect to fall in love with.

KAITLIN  14:58 
Yeah, I love — my favorite day is adoption day. I live for it. It gets me through all the hard moments. And there's absolutely nothing better than just watching an animal fall in love with their people. And the people fall in love right back. It's my favorite. Like I said, when I feel sad, I just know that tomorrow someone's going to get adopted that I've been waiting for and, and I'm gonna get the fuel kind of that keeps you moving. And it's my favorite. You just can't beat it, you really can't. And the great thing about adopting a dog from a shelter or from a rescue is that the staff and the volunteers, whoever's helping at the shelter, they want that dog to be as successful just as much as you do. And so they're going to really prioritize finding you the perfect fit. Because they want you to be happy with the dog, and they want the dog to be happy with you. And when you get a dog from a breeder, or from a store, it is different because it's about making a sale. It's not about making a family.

PHIL   16:02 
I've bought cars where I could tell they just wanted to get me in a car and get me off their lot. And I've bought cars multiple times from the same dealership that I will go to for my next car, where I could tell they don't want to just sell me one car. They want to sell me lots of cars. They want me to come back. They want me to be happy with this car. And that's what people want for the animals in their shelter. They want it to be a fit. They want you to come back the next time you're looking for a pet or when you're telling your friends who are looking for a pet. Go to Melissa second chances because they're not just trying to move animals out the door. You don't want to see that dog come back. You want to have to be in the right family.

KAITLIN  16:49 
Yeah, exactly. And that is such a unique thing about rescuing and that's especially unique for a rescue that operates with a lot of foster homes because there is so much understanding from that foster family about what family is going to be right for this dog

PHIL   17:07 
Is it good with kids? Is it good on the leash? How does it react to other dogs on the walk? Is it a resource guarder? Or does it kennel up well? Does it sleep through the night? Does it learn tricks quickly? Does it, is it treat motivated? You could go on and on all this stuff that you can learn...

KAITLIN  17:25 
Will it jump my four foot fence?

PHIL   17:26 
Yes.

KAITLIN  17:26 
You know, like, it's amazing how many adopters are just like, "I just want to make sure I get a dog that doesn't jump my four foot fence." And I'm like, "Well I have this dog that lives in a foster home with a four foot fence and doesn't jump it." So it's, it's great. I love that part. Our fosters really get the opportunity to be advocates for their dog or cat, you know, whoever they're fostering, and it's so cool to see that. And then I love it. A lot of times and I foster. So I'm really fortunate that I have a great relationship with a lot of my adopters. And they send me pictures every year on their birthday. And I get to see how big they are and how they're doing. And it's great. If you adopt from a foster based rescue, it could be intimidating to meet a dog that already loves this person. But what's cool is that that foster, they're never gonna stop loving your dog or your cat. And so you're always gonna have like a cool aunt or uncle in your corner that's gonna want to help you and your new pet succeed.

PHIL   18:21 
I've also used the analogy that it's like raising a child that you want them to be independent and go out and start their own family, have their own life. But that doesn't mean you're done with them.

KAITLIN  18:34 
Right.

PHIL   18:35 
Well, I'll never see them again. Bye! Turning your room into a she den. It's the same way with a foster. They want that dog to be in the right home and they know their home isn't that home. That this is temporary, but I'm helping that dog be socialized and be a good dog for somebody else. And then I'll be very happy when it moves on to that forever family.

KAITLIN  19:03 
Yeah. Goodbye is the goal for the most part when you're fostering. And when we have new fosters, this is the most common thing people say to me when we talk about fostering is that they couldn't do it. Because they couldn't give them away at the end of it. It would be very difficult. And it is. I cry. I fostered over 100 animals. I pretty much cry every time one leaves my house. I just, I love them so much. But it gets easier after the first one because you know that you just did it. And this one's gonna be great, too. And then you're gonna do it again with the next one. So it does get easier. But that, you know...

PHIL   19:39 
Because you see the results.

KAITLIN  19:40 
You can see the results. And, you know, I'm in love with the cycle of rescuing. Like it's not just the animal, which I do love every single animal, too, but that cycle of them needing me, coming into my home, getting healthy, getting socialized. I usually foster tiny puppies and kittens that need a little bit of extra TLC from like somebody experienced. And so getting them what they need, helping them grow big and strong, and then seeing them off and watching them grow. And now my oldest foster is three and a half years old. And his mom sends me pictures every couple of months and, and it's the best. I love it so much.

PHIL   20:21 
You mentioned how we have a shelter community in Kansas City. Each shelter that offers foster opportunities, has a foster community. You're not in it alone. So you handle puppies and kittens. So someone else who fosters puppies and kittens for the first time, they have you as a resource and the other people who foster puppies and kittens as a resource. Likewise, with whatever you foster. So you're not in it alone. You don't have to figure it out on your own. You don't just show up and they throw a dog in your backseat. Send you on your way.

KAITLIN  20:51 
Yeah. Absolutely. We really prioritize making the easy transition for our fosters when they're taking their first animals home. So we provide all of your supplies. All of their medical care is always covered by the rescue. And then you will get a foster mentor. So I will mentor puppy and kitten fosters. And we have people who are great with young adult dogs, and they'll mentor people who are taking home their first young adult. And if you love seniors, we've got a mentor for that, too. And so it's nice. You have your mentor, and you have the support of the people that work at our shelter building. And then we have a volunteer foster manager. And her kind of whole job is finding fosters for our animals and then supporting our fosters through the process of fostering and then through the ultimate goal of getting that pup or cat adopted.

PHIL   21:43 
Well, there's lots of volunteer opportunities with Melissa's Second Chances, not just fostering you can help with events, you can help shelters, obviously, you can help with the mowing.

KAITLIN  21:53 
I was not kidding about the mowing.

PHIL   21:55 
Oh, I know you weren't!

KAITLIN  21:58 
It looks like a little bit of a jungle in the yard right now.

PHIL   22:01 
So that would be a good family project. Or hey, somebody out there part of a scout troop or something that's looking for a project or some youth group. This is a great volunteer opportunity that would probably be a lot more fun with more hands to tackle this.

KAITLIN  22:18 
WE can pay you in dog snuggles afterwards.

PHIL   22:21 
Oh, get dog kisses and then come back in a couple weeks and do it again. So there's volunteer opportunities. There's donation opportunities. You can find all of those on your website. What kind of events does Melissa's Second Chances host?

KAITLIN  22:37 
Man, I like to give us a little pat on the back because I think we are a very creative fundraisers and event planners. So the first type would of course be adoption events. And we have several a month. We have cats and kittens that live in three locally owned pet stores, which we're really proud of that relationship. So we have cats and kittens at Gardner Pet Supply, Pet Supplies Plus Lenexa and then Pet Supplies Plus Leawood. And then we host an adoption event at each of those pet stores once a month. We love to go to Bar K for adoption events. Mixed Mutt Creamery. Any kind of like good local shop that will host us.

PHIL   23:15 
And that's how I found out about you. Mixed Mutt  Creamery. We had them on Dog Words and they told us about Melissa's Second Chances.

KAITLIN  23:23 
We love them. We...

PHIL   23:25 
Yes, they're wonderful.

KAITLIN  23:26 
They really are so great. And my dogs are big fans. If we have an event there I have to like promise before I leave, "I'm gonna bring you home some ice cream, I promise."

PHIL   23:34 
And they have good ice cream for people, too. And lots of other just good dog products in addition to their ice cream. So everyone check out Mixed Mutt Creamery on 39th Street, just east of KU Med.

KAITLIN  23:46 
You really will not be disappointed. It's great. And then we do some fundraising events, as well. So we partner with a lot of local breweries who will donate like $1 of every beer sold that day. We've done that with Limitless and with Transport Brewery. And we bring adoptables for the day. We are very proud that during COVID we rolled out virtual bingo during the stay home where people would buy bingo cards, and I would call them virtually and we'd all be in a room together, you know. And then you would win and you'd get emailed an Amazon gift card. And when it started I promised people that once restrictions were lifted and people were being able to get vaccinated we would do it on site. So in June we hosted kitten bingo on site where we catered in a taco bar and had raffles and people got to come in and play bingo and then there was kind of free ranging kittens roaming around. And that was a great fundraiser. We raised $6,000 that night and we are planning to host puppy bingo this fall. We're hoping for October. And kitten bingo sold out in like five days. So I think we're gonna do puppy bingo. We're gonna do two nights of it. Because we want to give the people what they want. And they want puppets and bingo. So we do that. We do a lot of cool auctions and raffles fundraising type events, as well. And we're working on a vendor fair for this fall. If anybody's interested in a booth. And then we will definitely send out information for those wanting to attend. So people will be able to kind of come and get a head start on their Christmas shopping. And then we'll host the vendors in one of our spaces, and the money they pay to set up their vendor booth will come back directly to the rescue.

PHIL   25:39 
Again, links to all of your social media is going to be in the description for this episode. So it will be easy for people to keep up on all the events that Melissa's Second Chances is offering.

KAITLIN  25:51 
Yes, we do best at getting our events on our Facebook page. So if you're looking for some fun events to attend, to just go to that Events tab and you'll be able to find something good.

PHIL   25:59 
Could not be easier. We've talked about volunteer opportunities and a little bit about how animals come into your shelter.You just get contacted by,  "Hey, we found this stray." Or, "We have this senior dog." Or, "Someone can't take care of this hamster." Stray dog having puppies. The animals find their way to you. For someone wanting to adopt, you have adoption events. If someone's just looking, they're not waiting for an event, what would be the process? What should they do if they want to reach out to Melissa's Second Chances for adoption?

KAITLIN  26:33 
So the best thing to do is just get on our website, which is MSCRescue.org. And you will be able to sort by species. You can take a look at all of the animals. We do a pretty good job at keeping up to date bios on there. So you can kind of see, "Oh, is this dog whose picture I like, will there be a good fit for my family?" And even if they don't have a bio, that's totally fine. You can fill out an application on our website. Then our adoptions counselor will work with you via email. So she sees your application, she knows this dog, and she knows that this dog is a good fit for your family, then she'll be like, "Hey, your application looks great. I think you guys are going to be a good fit. Let me set you up with the foster mom." Or if the dog lives in the shelter, "I'll make an appointment for you to go to the shelter and meet the dog." You go to either your appointment at the shelter or your visit with the foster family. And then if it's a good fit, we send you adoption paperwork to your phone and in a text message. It's very easy. And you can go through the contract there. The foster or the staff at the shelter will go through it with you. You pay your adoption fee on your cell phone. And then you take your new family member home.

PHIL   27:42 
Yes, the website is very easy to navigate. You just click on adopt. And it's exactly what you described there. You can filter by species and then filter by, for instance, with the dog's age range and breed and size. And even before you start filtering, there's a big gallery of pictures. So something may leap out at you that you weren't thinking about a particular breed or had another breed in mind. But then just see something that you fall in love with at first sight and click on that picture and read their bio, and then just follow the steps that Kaitlin walked you through. And the website will walk you through the steps to. Could not be easier.

KAITLIN  28:21 
A really cool feature about our website, too. So let's say you really want to rescue a Great Dane mix or a Great Dane and we don't have any. If you go into our website and you search Great Dane as your breed, and we don't have any, then it'll prompt you to set up a pet alert. So then when we have one that becomes active in our system, you'll get an email. And then it'll be like, "Oh, they have Great Dane. Here's their profile." And you can choose to play at that time, if you wish. And so we have that work out a lot of times with people looking for a specific breed of dog or maybe it's, like, some people, you know, they really want to rescue a grey kitten. And maybe we don't have a gray kitten right at that time. But I can assure them that we will have one very soon. They can fill out that link and then they can apply when the right animal for them comes up.

PHIL   29:11 
Well, it's very exciting how Melissa's Second Chances has grown in just a couple years. And the great work that you're doing is really an inspiration to our listeners. And so thank you to your staff and volunteers for all the great work that you do. And thank you so much for joining us on Dog Words, Kaitlin.

KAITLIN  29:32 
Yeah, thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate the opportunity to talk about something that I love so much.

PHIL   29:47 
I'm Phil Hatterman and you've been listening to Dog Words presented by Rosie Fund.

Thank you to Kaitlin Thompson from Melissa's Second Chances for joining us today. There's a link to their website and their social media in the description. There also links to the Dog Words episodes we referenced in today's interview. If you find an old episode you like, be sure to share it with your friends.

Next time on Dog Words, we learn how the Morris Animal Foundation is promoting research that's saving the lives of animals around the world.

A big thank you to alternative string duo The Wires featuring cellist Sascha Groshang and violinist Laurel Morgan Parks for playing the wonderful music you've heard on today's and previous episodes of Dog Words. Supporting The Wires supports our mission. Now you can join Laurel and Sascha as they explore new music and delve into the inspiration behind each work as hosts of Sound Currents on 91.9 Classical KC, click on the Sound Currents link in the description for more information. Learn more about The Wires at TheWires.info and download their music on iTunes. Check out FiddleLife.com and learn to play fiddle and cello-fiddle online from Laurel and Sasha even if you've never played before.

Celebrate five years of Rosie Fund by supporting our campaign to sponsor 50 dogs. You can donate on our website or Facebook page. You can also contribute by making a purchase from the website store, buying a t-shirt at Bonfire.com, or putting some of our merch in your cart when you shop at BarkYours. Links are in the description. Your donations help fund the Rosie Life Starter Kits that make sure the senior and harder-to-adopt dogs have some of the items they'll need in their forever home.

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DISCLAIMER: This document is a transcription obtained through a third party. There is no claim to accuracy on the content provided in this document and divergence from the audio file is to be expected. Some content may be omitted, particularly when there is crosstalk.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai