Pet Health And Veterinary Care Episodes
Practical guidance to help pet parents understand health concerns, recognize changes, and make more informed decisions about veterinary care.
Episodes cover preventive care, symptoms and behavior changes, medications, nutrition, dental health, senior pet health, veterinary visits, supplements, chronic conditions, and questions to ask your veterinarian.
The Pet Parent Hotline does not replace veterinary care. These episodes are designed to help you recognize concerns sooner, ask better questions, understand your options, and work more effectively with your veterinary team.
Episodes cover preventive care, symptoms and behavior changes, medications, nutrition, dental health, senior pet health, veterinary visits, supplements, chronic conditions, and questions to ask your veterinarian.
The Pet Parent Hotline does not replace veterinary care. These episodes are designed to help you recognize concerns sooner, ask better questions, understand your options, and work more effectively with your veterinary team.
Sept. 6, 2026
8 DIY Pet Health Checks to Do Every Month
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 ...
Sept. 2, 2026
Is Your Pet Acting Differently? 3 Questions to Ask | Pet Parent Power Up
This month’s Pet Parent Power Up is a little different: no intro music, minimal editing, and recorded on the fly to follow up on an important question from Sunday’s episode. What should you do when you notice your pet doing something differently? Maybe your dog suddenly hesitates before jumping into the car, your cat starts sleeping somewhere new, or a pet who used to love a certain activity seems less interested. Before you panic or write it off as “just getting older,” Amy shares three ques...
Aug. 5, 2026
Do Special Pet Diets Do What They Claim? | Pet Parent Power Up
Sensitive stomach. Weight management. Hairball control. Urinary care. Pet food labels make these diets sound highly specific, but not every claim on the package means the same thing. In this Pet Parent Power Up, Dr. Angie Boyer explains the difference between formulas built around certain ingredient choices and claims that require more testing and scientific support. You’ll learn: What makes sensitive skin and stomach foods different How weight-management foods reduce calories Why hair...
July 19, 2026
What Really Happened Moving 2,200 Miles With Six Pets
What Really Happened Moving 2,200 Miles With Six Pets Moving six pets from Texas to Massachusetts in an RV sounded manageable on paper. Then came the delayed departure, Houston rush-hour traffic, tire-pressure warnings, a check-engine light, a crying cat, an unexpected campground wedding and a bulldog who created two separate crime scenes. In this follow-up to the lessons-from-the-road episode, Amy sits down with her friend Bev Brooks and daughter Kelsey Castro to share what actually happened...
June 14, 2026
What Your Vet Wishes You Understood About Them
Most pet parents see veterinarians during some of the most stressful moments of pet ownership: when a pet is sick, injured, aging, or facing an expensive medical decision. But what many people never see is the pressure veterinarians carry into those conversations. In this episode, Amy sits down with equine veterinarian, stand-up comedian, and author Dr. Matt Evans to talk about the human side of veterinary medicine and why communication can sometimes feel so emotionally loaded. We dive into ...
June 7, 2026
Found Kittens? Don’t Assume the Shelter Can Save Them
Most people who find tiny kittens think the shelter is the safest place to take them. But when kittens are newborns or bottle babies, the shelter may not have the staff, fosters, supplies, or overnight care needed to keep them alive. In this episode of The Pet Parent Hotline, Amy talks with Deborah Felin-Magaldi of Helen Sanders CatPAWS about what really happens during kitten season when neonatal kittens enter an already overwhelmed shelter system. This conversation picks up after the “wait a...
May 10, 2026
Should You Go to the Emergency Vet or Wait?
If your pet suddenly seems “off,” how do you know whether it’s a true emergency or something that can safely wait until morning (or Monday)? That decision is one of the most stressful parts of being a pet parent, especially when emotions, cost, uncertainty, and fear of overreacting all collide at once. In this episode, veterinarian Dr. Linda Atkins joins me to talk about how pet parents can think through those moments more clearly, what situations tend to get worse fast, and why “waiting and se...
May 6, 2026
Get Out The Door Faster in a Pet Emergency | Pet Parent Power-Up
If your pet needed emergency care tonight, would you be ready to get out the door quickly? When something goes wrong with your pet, the medical issue may not be the only thing slowing you down. Sometimes it’s the missing carrier, the dead phone, the leash you can’t find, or the panic of trying to decide whether things are getting worse. In this Pet Parent Power-Up, you’ll learn simple ways to prepare before there’s a crisis, so you can stay calmer, move faster, and make better decisions when yo...
April 19, 2026
7 Simple Things That Instantly Improve Your Pet’s Life
Feeling like you’re not doing enough for your pet, no matter how much you try? You’re buying the toys, reading the advice, trying to do everything “right”… but it still feels like something’s missing. Here’s the truth most pet parents don’t hear: better results don’t come from doing more. They come from doing the right small things consistently. In this episode, I break down 7 simple pet care tips that can instantly improve your pet’s life, support better dog behavior and cat behavior, and help...
April 15, 2026
In-Home Pet Euthanasia: What to Know Before You Need It
What does a peaceful goodbye at home actually look like, and what should you know before you ever need to make that call? If the idea feels scary or overwhelming, this will help you understand what really happens and why many families choose it. Hospice and end-of-life veterinarian Dr. Jack Murray explains how in-home euthanasia works, how it differs from a clinic or ER setting, and why many families find it calmer and less stressful for both pets and people. We also talk about why it helps to ...