Everyday Pet Care Episodes

You see your pet every day, which means you’re in the best position to notice when something starts to change. The problem? Seeing them every day can also make gradual changes surprisingly easy to miss. In this episode of The Pet Parent Hotline, Amy walks through eight simple at-home pet health checks you can do about once a month to get more familiar with what’s normal for your pet and spot changes that may be worth mentioning to your veterinarian. This isn’t about diagnosing your pet at home ...

What happens when the person who usually answers the Pet Parent Hotline needs help from the listeners? Amy is finally in her new house (new to her, but built in 1957), but "moved in" might be a generous description. Most of the furniture and pet gear are still in storage, the floors and painting aren't done, she needs a new roof, and she's currently recording from an echoey bedroom furnished with a semi-deflated air mattress. More importantly, the pets are adjusting too. So this week, Amy is t...

Summer has a way of knocking routines loose and pushing pet care tasks to “later.” Before fall gets busy, this is a good time for dog and cat parents to catch up on the things that have quietly slipped down the list. In this solo episode, Amy covers the pet care tasks worth handling now, from vet appointments and grooming to pet boarding, pet sitting, holiday travel, and changing routines. The goal isn’t to create another giant checklist. It’s to take care of a few things now that could save you...

Bringing home a new cat and hoping your pets will just figure it out? That’s one of the fastest ways to create tension, hissing, and fights. A lot of cat introductions fail before they even start, and a bad first impression can take weeks or months to undo. In this episode, we walk through what your cats are reacting to, how to set up your home before they ever meet, and the step-by-step process for introducing them the right way. If you’ve been guessing, rushing, or hoping for the best, this wi...

Choosing a vet feels simple until you’re in a crisis and realize you’ve made the wrong choice. In this episode, Amy walks you through seven critical factors to evaluate before committing to a clinic, from ownership structure and care philosophy to accessibility, logistics, and psychological safety. This conversation is about finding alignment, not perfection, so you can function clearly when the stakes are high. Most pet parents don't catch their mistakes until after their pet is sick. Then t...

Do pets actually grieve, or are they reacting to routine changes and stress in ways we don’t recognize? And how much of what we label as “grief” is really our own emotion spilling over into the way we interpret their behavior? In this episode, Amy talks with Kate LaSalla, a pet behavior consultant, companion animal end-of-life death doula, and certified pet loss and grief companion, about what pet grief can look like, what might just be pet care routine disruption, and what to do when your dog ...

Ever feel like you’re doing a ton for your pets, but nothing actually feels easier? If you’re stuck repeating the same corrections, overcomplicating routines, or carrying a low-grade stress cloud all day, this Pet Parent Power-Up is for you. In this episode, I’m sharing the one question I use to snap out of autopilot and stop pouring time and energy into pet care that isn’t paying off: “Is this the best place to put my time and energy?” It sounds simple, but this question helps you spot what...

Ever hit January 10 and realize your pet routine resolution is already sliding? If you’ve promised yourself you'll focus on pet care - you’ll walk your dog more, train your cat, brush your pet’s teeth, or finally get consistent, and then real life blows it up, this episode is your reset. It’s not laziness, it’s a plan that was never realistic for your actual mornings. In this solo New Year kickoff episode of The Pet Parent Hotline, I’m sharing what 15 years in rescue taught me about why pet car...

Love your pets but hate what they do to your house? In this episode, award-winning designer Pamela O’Brien shares smart, practical pet-friendly home design tips to help you create a space that looks good, feels organized, and stands up to real life with pets. We cover everything from pet proof flooring and durable furniture fabrics to pet odor, clutter control, feeding station design, and the small upgrades that make your home easier to live in every day. If you are tired of fur, mess, scratc...

Stop Buying Useless Pet Care Supplies. Here’s What You Actually Need. Most “must-have" pet care supply lists focus on gimmicks and generic basics, missing the pet-care essentials that actually make daily life easier and safer. You probably have the basics for pet care, like bowls and a bed, but in this episode, Amy Castro and Bev Brooks share 10 rescue-tested pet essentials they can’t live without, five dog essentials and five cat essentials, plus a few bonus items pulled from decades o...