The Future of Pet Care Technology
Join Isabel and Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca, Chief of Staff of Mella Pet Products, for a conversation about the many ways Mella Pet Products helps veterinarians and pet parents learn about their pets' health.
The epitome of fear-free pet care, Mella creates non-invasive diagnostic tools that allow humans to evaluate pets without crossing lines with them. We all know our pets would never consent to a rectal thermometer and Mella is giving pet lovers better, more intelligent diagnostic options that allow for consent and cooperative care.
Listen to Episode #107 Now:
BIO:
Daniella Morgan-Pascualvaca combines her love for animals with her business savvy at Mella Pet Care. Fueled by a background in biology and economics, she's on a mission to revolutionize pet wellness through innovative technology. Previously, Daniella aimed to become a veterinarian while managing a pet sitting business. Now, she leverages her experience to empower pet parents and improve pet healthcare at Mella.
Transcript:
00:00:01.820 --> 00:00:03.480
Announcer: This is Pet Life Radio.
00:00:03.920 --> 00:00:05.040
Announcer: Let's talk pets!
00:00:22.682 --> 00:00:26.582
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Welcome to Covered In Pet Hair, a boozy show for pet lovers on Pet Life Radio.
00:00:26.862 --> 00:00:35.722
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I'm your host, Isabel Alvarez Arata, and today I have the pleasure of having a drink and a chat with a young entrepreneur who is here representing an amazing brand.
00:00:36.082 --> 00:00:39.582
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Don't go anywhere, I will be right back after these messages from our sponsors.
00:00:42.962 --> 00:00:44.902
Announcer: Take a bite out of your competition.
00:00:45.482 --> 00:00:49.922
Announcer: Advertise your business with an ad in Pet Life Radio podcasts and radio shows.
00:00:50.242 --> 00:00:57.162
Announcer: There is no other pet-related media that is as large and reaches more pet parents and pet lovers than Pet Life Radio.
00:00:57.442 --> 00:01:04.162
Announcer: With over 7 million monthly listeners, Pet Life Radio podcasts are available on all major podcast platforms.
00:01:04.502 --> 00:01:13.642
Announcer: And our live radio stream goes out to over 250 million subscribers on iHeart Radio, Audacy, TuneIn, and other streaming apps.
00:01:13.782 --> 00:01:22.822
Announcer: For more information on how you can advertise on the number one pet podcast and radio network, visit petliferadio.com/advertise today.
00:01:25.162 --> 00:01:28.282
Announcer: Let's Talk Pets on petliferadio.com.
00:01:38.097 --> 00:01:39.657
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Welcome back to Covered In Pet Hair.
00:01:39.657 --> 00:01:50.517
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I'm your host, Isabel Alvarez Arata, and today I have the pleasure of having a drink and a chat with a recent college grad, an entrepreneur, an adventure seeker, road tripper, and a foodie.
00:01:50.737 --> 00:01:53.337
Isabel Alvarez Arata: She's a fitness fanatic, an adrenaline junkie.
00:01:53.677 --> 00:01:57.357
Isabel Alvarez Arata: She was born in Washington, DC., and currently lives in Chicago.
00:01:57.817 --> 00:02:01.857
Isabel Alvarez Arata: She's a second parent, she says, to a calico cat named Star.
00:02:02.057 --> 00:02:09.777
Isabel Alvarez Arata: She's host of the Mella Moment Pet Health Podcast and Mella's Chief of Staff, Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca.
00:02:10.037 --> 00:02:11.157
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Welcome, Daniella!
00:02:11.177 --> 00:02:12.797
Isabel Alvarez Arata: It's so good to have you on the show.
00:02:13.357 --> 00:02:16.777
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Well, thank you for that introduction, and it's so good to be here.
00:02:17.017 --> 00:02:22.457
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: I have actually, I don't think I've ever had anybody introduce me with so many words and so many descriptors, so this is awesome.
00:02:22.817 --> 00:02:36.937
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I'm sure I didn't even get to half of the things that you bring to the table, and I want to get to know your whole trajectory with Mella and your podcast and everything that you do, but before I do that, I want to introduce our drinking game today.
00:02:37.137 --> 00:02:40.497
Isabel Alvarez Arata: For anybody participating in our drinking game today, anytime you hear this word.
00:02:41.137 --> 00:02:43.557
Announcer: The secret word is technology.
00:02:44.377 --> 00:02:50.517
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Make sure you take a drink of whatever you're enjoying, whether it's alcoholic, non-alcoholic, a coffee, a beer, whatever it is, just take a drink.
00:02:50.677 --> 00:03:09.237
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Whenever you hear that word, we won't know what it is, so it's just kind of like a little fun play along so that while you're following our conversation, but please be sure whatever you're drinking, if it's alcoholic, do not drink and drive and always drink responsibly and wherever you're joining us from, just make sure you meet that age minimum for alcoholic beverages.
00:03:09.477 --> 00:03:11.517
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So what are you having today, Daniella?
00:03:11.777 --> 00:03:22.297
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Yeah, so I'm having something that I kind of came up with because I went into my fridge today, and it looks great because I took some raspberries that were going bad and I just spushed them a little bit.
00:03:22.717 --> 00:03:23.657
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: And I also had a…
00:03:24.377 --> 00:03:30.017
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: I call it my spring cleaning fridge time because it's, you know, spring cleaning era.
00:03:30.837 --> 00:03:34.557
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: And so I had my raspberries going bad and I said I have to do something with those.
00:03:34.577 --> 00:03:39.237
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: And then I had a little bit of that, the Costco Kirkland like pre-made margarita mix.
00:03:39.517 --> 00:03:40.577
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: It's fantastic.
00:03:40.577 --> 00:03:41.777
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: It's usually golden.
00:03:41.797 --> 00:03:44.837
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Now it's not golden because I put it in with my raspberries.
00:03:45.037 --> 00:03:45.817
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: But I mixed it in.
00:03:45.837 --> 00:03:51.497
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: I also put my favorite tequila at the moment, favorite only because I like my cheap stuff.
00:03:51.737 --> 00:03:53.337
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: And it's also from Kirkland.
00:03:53.337 --> 00:03:58.137
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: So all of the Costco stuff right in here, mix it all together and yeah, it's not bad.
00:03:58.157 --> 00:04:00.537
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I love it, spring cleaning fridge drink.
00:04:00.657 --> 00:04:06.357
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I'm having a little bit of Liquor 43 today, a very traditional Spanish liquor.
00:04:07.677 --> 00:04:08.737
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: I love that glass.
00:04:08.757 --> 00:04:09.537
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: It's beautiful.
00:04:09.577 --> 00:04:11.397
Isabel Alvarez Arata: It's so pretty, isn't it?
00:04:11.417 --> 00:04:14.017
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And I love that you love Costco stuff.
00:04:14.457 --> 00:04:15.977
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I am obsessed with Costco.
00:04:15.997 --> 00:04:18.397
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So cheers to you and all that we have in common.
00:04:19.097 --> 00:04:19.677
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Cheers.
00:04:19.697 --> 00:04:24.277
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I am so excited to get to know you a little more socially.
00:04:24.297 --> 00:04:30.597
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And I was so impressed that you were from Washington, DC, born and raised, which is not something that happens a lot.
00:04:30.677 --> 00:04:36.777
Isabel Alvarez Arata: A lot of people are born in Virginia, Maryland, but not everybody is from Washington, DC.
00:04:36.797 --> 00:04:38.677
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So are you from Washington, DC proper?
00:04:38.697 --> 00:04:40.117
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: I'm proud to say that I am.
00:04:40.617 --> 00:04:47.257
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: For anybody who knows Washington, DC, I am from the DuPont Circle neighborhood, born and raised right there in the center.
00:04:47.477 --> 00:04:55.917
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: So I am glad that you asked that because there are a lot of people who kind of get away with saying they're from Washington, DC, but they're really from across the border, Maryland or Virginia.
00:04:56.317 --> 00:05:02.217
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: But yeah, I was right there very close to downtown DC, and that was my home for many, many years.
00:05:02.637 --> 00:05:08.177
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So is your family in any way related to like the embassy or any kind of world banks and things?
00:05:08.197 --> 00:05:10.757
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Is that how you ended up in DC or your mom ended up in DC?
00:05:10.957 --> 00:05:13.997
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: No, actually, we have no government connection, no diplomacy.
00:05:14.857 --> 00:05:16.857
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Both of my parents just kind of ended up there.
00:05:16.877 --> 00:05:20.497
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: They both have yet non-governmental jobs and just kind of love the city.
00:05:20.517 --> 00:05:24.317
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: There's a big Spanish international community there for whatever reason.
00:05:24.337 --> 00:05:26.397
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: I guess it is just a very international city.
00:05:27.037 --> 00:05:28.257
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: They stayed, they're still there.
00:05:28.637 --> 00:05:31.697
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Yes, I worked at Jaleo for very many years.
00:05:31.977 --> 00:05:38.237
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I worked for Jose Andres and I worked in Bethesda and Washington DC proper on 7th Street.
00:05:38.737 --> 00:05:41.257
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I lived in the DC area for 15 years.
00:05:41.277 --> 00:05:43.637
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I went to Maryland, so I started in College Park.
00:05:44.037 --> 00:05:46.697
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Then I moved to Alexandria for work.
00:05:47.017 --> 00:05:50.877
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Then I moved into Capitol Hill for a while with my then-boyfriend.
00:05:51.617 --> 00:05:53.637
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Then we moved back to Northern Virginia.
00:05:53.657 --> 00:05:59.437
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Then I moved out and I moved into an apartment in Alexandria again and now I'm in El Paso, Texas.
00:05:59.837 --> 00:06:02.957
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: I honestly– okay, after this podcast is over, I need to ask my parents.
00:06:02.977 --> 00:06:04.757
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: I'm pretty sure you guys probably know each other.
00:06:04.777 --> 00:06:06.837
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: We're really good friends with Jose Andres' family.
00:06:07.657 --> 00:06:09.057
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: So there's gotta be some connection.
00:06:09.077 --> 00:06:11.517
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: I bet you guys have seen each other passing at some party.
00:06:11.537 --> 00:06:12.677
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: So that's fantastic.
00:06:12.697 --> 00:06:17.417
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I am sure I've waited on your parents at Haleo because I worked there for many, many years.
00:06:17.437 --> 00:06:20.817
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So if they love that place, that's probably where they would know me from.
00:06:21.097 --> 00:06:25.897
Isabel Alvarez Arata: It's such a small world that we met in Vegas at Super Zoo and we have like this DC connection.
00:06:26.217 --> 00:06:29.477
Isabel Alvarez Arata: But I want to invite you to play a game because I know DC.
00:06:29.497 --> 00:06:32.017
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I love DC, but I don't know much about Chicago.
00:06:32.217 --> 00:06:34.657
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So I want to invite you to play a game with me.
00:06:34.677 --> 00:06:35.777
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Indulge me in this game.
00:06:36.037 --> 00:06:39.137
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And it's called Who Does It Better, DC or Chicago?
00:06:39.237 --> 00:06:40.377
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Are you ready to play?
00:06:40.397 --> 00:06:41.197
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Of course.
00:06:41.217 --> 00:06:42.017
Isabel Alvarez Arata: All right.
00:06:42.037 --> 00:06:47.857
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I only have seven categories, but these are kind of high on my list of important things about cities.
00:06:50.797 --> 00:06:54.517
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So the first one is, who does it better for weather?
00:06:54.897 --> 00:06:56.777
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: OK, this is actually…
00:06:56.777 --> 00:07:00.197
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: So if you had split it off, I would have had a dead answer for both.
00:07:00.717 --> 00:07:03.117
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: But Chicago does summer like no city.
00:07:03.257 --> 00:07:04.737
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: I love Chicago summer.
00:07:04.757 --> 00:07:08.717
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: I think DC summer, the swamp is just very unbearable.
00:07:08.777 --> 00:07:11.297
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: I don't leave my house in the summer in DC.
00:07:11.397 --> 00:07:12.497
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: I stay inside.
00:07:12.677 --> 00:07:13.237
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: I love the AC.
00:07:14.617 --> 00:07:18.457
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Chicago, during the summer, I spend every day, all day, every day outside.
00:07:18.917 --> 00:07:22.137
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Winter, I bet you've heard about the dreaded winters in Chicago.
00:07:22.617 --> 00:07:29.217
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: They are as bad as they sound, or if you've even experienced them for a day, a week, they're bad.
00:07:29.617 --> 00:07:34.697
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: So DC winters are fantastically mild compared to Chicago.
00:07:35.137 --> 00:07:43.137
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: So honestly, a complete 50-50 split, if I had to choose, I would probably go Chicago just because the summers are insanely beautiful.
00:07:43.457 --> 00:07:46.697
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Yes, so I remember living in DC, but going home to Miami.
00:07:46.777 --> 00:07:53.697
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I grew up in Miami, and it was cooler in Miami than it was in DC because we had at least the ocean breeze.
00:07:53.717 --> 00:07:54.697
Isabel Alvarez Arata: DC has nothing.
00:07:54.717 --> 00:07:57.457
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And now I live in El Paso, and people are like, it's so hot here.
00:07:57.477 --> 00:07:59.857
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I'm like, at least it's not as humid as DC.
00:08:00.357 --> 00:08:01.237
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: It's the swamps.
00:08:01.297 --> 00:08:05.037
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: People decided to build a city on top of just marshland and mosquitoes.
00:08:05.057 --> 00:08:09.537
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Exactly, and it's steamy for those who aren't familiar.
00:08:10.057 --> 00:08:10.517
Isabel Alvarez Arata: All right.
00:08:10.697 --> 00:08:15.457
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So I know you are not on the market, but you probably have friends that are dating.
00:08:15.477 --> 00:08:19.337
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So what city is better, DC or Chicago, for dating?
00:08:19.357 --> 00:08:21.497
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: I'm going to take DC for that one.
00:08:21.917 --> 00:08:27.117
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: DC has more just diversity and more international people.
00:08:27.337 --> 00:08:28.717
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Chicago is Midwestern.
00:08:29.117 --> 00:08:30.177
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: I'm not going to lie.
00:08:30.197 --> 00:08:34.477
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Everybody here is just like, they probably grew up outside of Chicago in the cornfields.
00:08:35.277 --> 00:08:38.057
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: If they've left Illinois, it's because they've gone to Michigan.
00:08:40.317 --> 00:08:42.637
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: It's just not a lot of variety.
00:08:42.657 --> 00:08:49.557
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: I think DC is just fantastic because yes, you do get the stereotype of everyone's a staffer, but that's only if you're a transplant to DC.
00:08:49.677 --> 00:08:58.157
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: If you're actually from DC, if you know DC people, if you're really ingrained in the DC community, it's just so international, it's so diverse, it's so cultural.
00:08:58.337 --> 00:08:59.377
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: There's so many people.
00:08:59.397 --> 00:09:03.417
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: You don't have to hang around Capitol Hill to try to find those White House boys.
00:09:03.437 --> 00:09:03.717
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: You don't.
00:09:03.737 --> 00:09:05.457
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: There's other ones out there.
00:09:05.697 --> 00:09:07.137
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Yes, they're true.
00:09:07.537 --> 00:09:15.617
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Well, you know what's funny is I always ended up dating people who were somehow related to government, and I married my husband, who is military, and I met him in DC.
00:09:15.917 --> 00:09:22.077
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So I've dated a lot of military in DC, but I will say that I love how diverse DC is.
00:09:22.097 --> 00:09:25.597
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I left Miami as a 20-year-old going to college.
00:09:26.097 --> 00:09:31.217
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I transferred from FIU, which was all Miami people, Cuban Americans, all that.
00:09:31.557 --> 00:09:36.517
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Went to Maryland, where it was like 35,000 students, and they were from all over the world.
00:09:36.537 --> 00:09:38.077
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And I loved that so much.
00:09:38.097 --> 00:09:43.437
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And I'm sure you're familiar with my favorite club or like bar that is super international.
00:09:43.457 --> 00:09:44.877
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And it's called Cafe Citron.
00:09:44.897 --> 00:09:46.497
Isabel Alvarez Arata: It's right by your neck of the woods.
00:09:46.837 --> 00:09:47.377
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Of course.
00:09:47.617 --> 00:09:47.997
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Yeah.
00:09:48.837 --> 00:09:50.417
Isabel Alvarez Arata: That is my old stomping grounds.
00:09:50.537 --> 00:09:55.597
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I spent so much time at Cafe Citron, and you would meet people from like the Middle East.
00:09:55.617 --> 00:09:56.837
Isabel Alvarez Arata: You would meet Russians.
00:09:56.857 --> 00:09:58.637
Isabel Alvarez Arata: You would meet the like French.
00:09:58.657 --> 00:09:59.357
Isabel Alvarez Arata: You would meet Latinos.
00:09:59.577 --> 00:10:01.717
Isabel Alvarez Arata: You would meet everybody from all over the world.
00:10:01.737 --> 00:10:02.397
Isabel Alvarez Arata: It was so cool.
00:10:03.257 --> 00:10:10.417
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Now, the most important one, because I'm a big foodie and eater just like you, dining out, which city does it better?
00:10:10.437 --> 00:10:12.937
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Okay, dining out, I'm going to have to go Chicago.
00:10:12.957 --> 00:10:15.657
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Ooh, them fighting words.
00:10:16.097 --> 00:10:20.177
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Yeah, no, I think Chicago has fantastic food options.
00:10:20.557 --> 00:10:23.617
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: And what it really is, is just like a variety of different budgets.
00:10:23.637 --> 00:10:28.937
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: And I say this because like when I was growing up in DC as a child, you know, you're like 12, you have your allowance.
00:10:28.957 --> 00:10:31.357
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: You don't have money to spend on food places.
00:10:31.377 --> 00:10:33.737
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: So you go to the same places over and over and over again.
00:10:33.757 --> 00:10:36.637
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: I literally only went to the same two restaurants with my friends.
00:10:37.237 --> 00:10:42.677
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Here, you can be on a budget, you can be balling, and there's options that are fantastic.
00:10:43.157 --> 00:10:48.757
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: And they're just like, I don't know, it's such a sprawling city that there's different neighborhoods for different types of food.
00:10:48.757 --> 00:10:50.977
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: And so I think, yeah, Chicago is going to have to win there.
00:10:51.537 --> 00:10:52.997
Isabel Alvarez Arata: That is so cool.
00:10:53.017 --> 00:10:55.077
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I love that because that's such an important part of it.
00:10:55.097 --> 00:10:58.517
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Not everybody has the budget for a Michelin star restaurant.
00:10:58.537 --> 00:11:00.677
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So yes, let's make it accessible.
00:11:01.117 --> 00:11:01.717
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And good.
00:11:02.117 --> 00:11:04.517
Isabel Alvarez Arata: All right, so this one was going to be wine.
00:11:04.537 --> 00:11:07.697
Isabel Alvarez Arata: But now that you said you like tequila, who does tequila better?
00:11:10.177 --> 00:11:10.657
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Yeah?
00:11:11.177 --> 00:11:12.917
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Yeah, we're going to go back to DC for that one.
00:11:13.057 --> 00:11:18.957
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Because I would say so, restaurants, yes, Chicago wins on restaurants, but DC wins on bars.
00:11:19.717 --> 00:11:27.297
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: So just like the plethora of rooftop bars and outdoor bars and everything from like Barcelona Wine Bar, I think.
00:11:27.317 --> 00:11:31.297
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: I know it's not tequila, but one of my favorite gastropubs ever.
00:11:31.417 --> 00:11:33.957
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: DC's got gastropubs down packed.
00:11:34.337 --> 00:11:36.937
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: So yeah, I think tequila is back there.
00:11:37.657 --> 00:11:39.337
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Absolutely, I love that answer.
00:11:39.357 --> 00:11:41.037
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Okay, live music.
00:11:41.537 --> 00:11:42.537
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Live music.
00:11:42.917 --> 00:11:44.277
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Now we're going to go back to Chicago.
00:11:44.877 --> 00:11:54.557
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: And this is also because Chicago hosts the infamous Lollapalooza, the Pitchfork Festival, all of the outdoor festivals.
00:11:54.577 --> 00:11:55.737
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Those happen in Chicago.
00:11:55.757 --> 00:11:56.757
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Those don't happen in DC.
00:11:56.777 --> 00:12:03.877
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: They had the landmark for, I think, five years in the early 2000s, and that was it.
00:12:03.897 --> 00:12:05.757
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I used to go to the Black Cat a lot.
00:12:06.037 --> 00:12:08.257
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Yeah, there are individual venues.
00:12:08.277 --> 00:12:16.217
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: But I just feel like from a festival and concert and bigger deal with live music, Chicago definitely wins there.
00:12:16.897 --> 00:12:18.977
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I'm not surprised by that answer at all.
00:12:19.337 --> 00:12:21.317
Isabel Alvarez Arata: All right, fitness, who does it better?
00:12:21.337 --> 00:12:23.837
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Fitness is a very interesting one.
00:12:25.057 --> 00:12:27.957
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: When I lived in DC, I was not into fitness.
00:12:27.977 --> 00:12:29.877
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: I was actually a big couch potato.
00:12:29.957 --> 00:12:36.817
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: I did not start doing anything until I came to Chicago, but as an absolute rowing lover.
00:12:36.897 --> 00:12:39.057
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: So I did row all throughout college.
00:12:39.437 --> 00:12:42.557
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: I'm currently taking a break, but I will definitely go back to that.
00:12:43.177 --> 00:12:46.797
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: DC has some of the most fantastic rowing clubs in the US.
00:12:46.817 --> 00:12:48.997
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: So DC definitely takes it.
00:12:49.357 --> 00:12:53.417
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: If I ever move back to DC, I will find a home in one of those rowing clubs for sure.
00:12:53.777 --> 00:12:57.997
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Yeah, I loved running in DC, even though it was the humidity or whatever.
00:12:58.017 --> 00:13:06.577
Isabel Alvarez Arata: But there was such a running, so much running, so much biking, so many trails, just so much outdoorsy stuff you could do.
00:13:06.597 --> 00:13:10.197
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And because the winter is pretty mild, you could still do them pretty much all year.
00:13:10.257 --> 00:13:11.657
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So, yeah, I agree with you.
00:13:11.677 --> 00:13:13.057
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Fitness in DC is kind of nice.
00:13:13.077 --> 00:13:16.817
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And that's another thing that helps the dating, because everybody looks pretty good to me.
00:13:19.357 --> 00:13:22.637
Isabel Alvarez Arata: All right, the last and most important one is pet friendliness.
00:13:22.657 --> 00:13:23.617
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Who does it better?
00:13:23.637 --> 00:13:33.377
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Ooh, now that one's a very good question, because I've tried to run through all of the places in my head right now, and I can't find a single difference.
00:13:34.017 --> 00:13:35.357
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Because we're quite okay.
00:13:35.697 --> 00:13:38.717
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Dog parks, a fantastic amount in both places.
00:13:38.977 --> 00:13:42.917
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Dog-friendly restaurants, just a plethora, both places.
00:13:43.757 --> 00:13:47.637
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Bars, yeah, like everywhere that's dog-friendly, I think this might be a draw.
00:13:47.877 --> 00:13:49.117
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Ooh, I love that so much.
00:13:49.137 --> 00:13:50.617
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I don't know if that's allowed.
00:13:50.637 --> 00:13:52.037
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Everything's allowed, it won't even work.
00:13:53.057 --> 00:13:54.097
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Everything's allowed here.
00:13:54.177 --> 00:13:59.097
Isabel Alvarez Arata: All right, so I want to know about you and how you joined the Mella team.
00:13:59.197 --> 00:13:59.977
Isabel Alvarez Arata: When did that happen?
00:13:59.997 --> 00:14:03.017
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Of course, yeah, so this happened my second year of college.
00:14:03.037 --> 00:14:04.297
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: This was three years ago.
00:14:07.617 --> 00:14:13.157
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: And I worked at a vet clinic all throughout high school, kind of went into college with this idea that I wanted to go to vet school.
00:14:13.877 --> 00:14:20.597
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: But because I had worked at a vet clinic for four years, once I came to college, I said, OK, I want a new job that's not necessarily being a vet.
00:14:20.617 --> 00:14:26.097
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: So again, I wanted to branch out, try something else, but definitely still in the pet industry because I love pets.
00:14:26.517 --> 00:14:37.637
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: And so my mom and I sat down one day, we started Googling just cool pet tech startups, just companies in the pet world that were making a big difference.
00:14:37.817 --> 00:14:42.377
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: And we stumbled upon some article, if I remember the name of it, no idea.
00:14:42.797 --> 00:14:45.197
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: And one of them was Mella and it looked super cool.
00:14:45.717 --> 00:14:52.857
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: And I reached out to Mella, threw in my cover letter, and lo and behold, what I did not know, we found this completely on Google.
00:14:52.877 --> 00:14:56.817
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: I had no idea that Mella already had a relationship with my college.
00:14:57.137 --> 00:15:05.237
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: And so completely just like randomly, because Mella is a Chicago-based startup, they had a relationship with the University of Chicago.
00:15:05.517 --> 00:15:09.597
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: And so they were already hiring interns just from my school, picking them up.
00:15:10.137 --> 00:15:18.097
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: And so almost as soon as I set that cover letter, I got a phone call from my current boss saying, all right, so what are you going to start?
00:15:18.357 --> 00:15:20.617
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: And I was like, questions for me?
00:15:20.817 --> 00:15:21.597
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Interview?
00:15:22.037 --> 00:15:22.637
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Zoom?
00:15:22.757 --> 00:15:23.277
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Nothing.
00:15:23.297 --> 00:15:25.137
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: It was like, do you want to start tomorrow?
00:15:25.157 --> 00:15:25.797
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: We need you.
00:15:26.417 --> 00:15:28.857
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: And so I joined the team and I loved it.
00:15:28.857 --> 00:15:30.777
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: And we were remote back in the day.
00:15:30.797 --> 00:15:32.117
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: This was 2020.
00:15:32.117 --> 00:15:34.157
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: So we were already remote before COVID.
00:15:34.837 --> 00:15:37.137
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: And so honestly, COVID came.
00:15:37.157 --> 00:15:40.537
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: I think COVID hit like a month after I joined the team.
00:15:41.137 --> 00:15:43.797
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: And because we were already remote, I was like, all right, cool.
00:15:43.817 --> 00:15:45.937
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: We'll just keep making out our remote stuff.
00:15:46.017 --> 00:15:51.477
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: And I've been with the team ever since joined full time after my graduation last year.
00:15:51.577 --> 00:15:53.017
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: So yeah, it's been great.
00:15:53.437 --> 00:15:54.437
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Congratulations.
00:15:54.457 --> 00:15:56.357
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Well, tell me what Mella is.
00:15:56.357 --> 00:15:58.797
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So for those who aren't familiar, that might be tuning in.
00:15:59.137 --> 00:16:07.517
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Yeah, so Mella is just a complicated little company because I used to say that Mella Pet Care created the world's first accurate underarm thermometer.
00:16:07.797 --> 00:16:10.017
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: And that's totally true for dogs and cats.
00:16:10.397 --> 00:16:15.297
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: But now I can't explain it like that anymore because that's when we had one product.
00:16:15.537 --> 00:16:19.657
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: And now we have seven in varying stages of production.
00:16:20.077 --> 00:16:23.537
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: And so now I have to stop myself and I have to say, we're not a thermometer company.
00:16:23.557 --> 00:16:26.477
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: We're an ecosystem of digitally connected devices.
00:16:27.557 --> 00:16:33.717
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: So we just make these non-invasive products that get your pet's most important vital signs without harming them.
00:16:33.977 --> 00:16:35.637
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: They won't even notice they're getting it.
00:16:36.017 --> 00:16:39.917
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: And it's all these Bluetooth products they write back into an app.
00:16:40.237 --> 00:16:43.077
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: If you're a vet, they write into your practice management system.
00:16:43.477 --> 00:16:52.417
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: And so now it's just all about collecting vital signs in a way that doesn't make everybody uncomfortable and then just sharing that data in a way that just hasn't been done before.
00:16:53.017 --> 00:16:54.017
Isabel Alvarez Arata: That is amazing.
00:16:54.037 --> 00:16:54.957
Isabel Alvarez Arata: It really is.
00:16:55.137 --> 00:17:02.277
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I learned about Mella before I went to Super Zoo and I stopped by your booth because I was so impressed with what the press release had said.
00:17:02.637 --> 00:17:05.857
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So what is your favorite part about working with Mella?
00:17:06.277 --> 00:17:11.457
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Honestly, I think it's the fact that we have all of these products and all of this innovation that's coming down the line.
00:17:12.157 --> 00:17:14.437
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: When I first joined the team, it was just one product.
00:17:14.517 --> 00:17:20.757
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: And while that's cool, it kind of would have hit that dead end, really, where we say, OK, we've launched the product.
00:17:21.177 --> 00:17:21.637
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: We're done.
00:17:21.657 --> 00:17:22.657
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: And then we back away.
00:17:22.957 --> 00:17:32.117
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: What I love about the team is just it's constantly, we just come up with new ideas and we'll say, you know what, there's no way to take your pet's oxygen saturation.
00:17:32.337 --> 00:17:34.037
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: OK, let's make a product for that.
00:17:34.397 --> 00:17:36.137
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: And so it's just it's not slowing down.
00:17:36.157 --> 00:17:38.217
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: And that's something that I love.
00:17:38.237 --> 00:17:41.117
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: I think, honestly, in this day and age, there's no use in slowing down.
00:17:41.137 --> 00:17:42.957
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: If you have an idea, make it happen.
00:17:43.497 --> 00:17:44.277
Isabel Alvarez Arata: That is true.
00:17:44.297 --> 00:17:52.297
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And you guys are doing stuff that not many other companies are doing, or at least not at the scale and the speed that you guys are doing it.
00:17:52.617 --> 00:17:59.517
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I want to take a break right here, and when we come back, we're going to talk more about Mella specifically and those products that Daniella is hinting about.
00:17:59.537 --> 00:18:04.817
Isabel Alvarez Arata: We're going to learn all about that product line, what's in production, what already exists, what's coming down the line.
00:18:04.837 --> 00:18:07.777
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I want to learn all about it, so please don't go anywhere.
00:18:07.797 --> 00:18:10.177
Isabel Alvarez Arata: We will be right back after these messages from our sponsors.
00:18:15.892 --> 00:18:17.592
Announcer: Molly, here's your dinner. Zeus, that's not your food!
00:18:22.112 --> 00:18:24.192
Announcer: Don't let that happen to your precious cat.
00:18:24.412 --> 00:18:27.632
Announcer: Elevate your cat's eating experience with the Cat Tree Tray.
00:18:27.912 --> 00:18:33.272
Announcer: The Cat Tree Tray keeps your cat's food off the floor and conveniently located on the cat tree.
00:18:33.692 --> 00:18:35.692
Announcer: It's the perfect way to eat.
00:18:36.212 --> 00:18:43.612
Announcer: It's a beautiful wrought iron tray that easily attaches to your cat tree and keeps dogs and other critters out of your cat's dish.
00:18:43.992 --> 00:18:45.872
Announcer: A must for multi-pet households.
00:18:46.132 --> 00:18:50.132
Announcer: There's a 6-inch tray for large bowls and a 4-inch tray for smaller bowls.
00:18:50.552 --> 00:18:53.252
Announcer: Purchase your Cat Tree Tray today.
00:18:53.572 --> 00:18:56.012
Announcer: Go right now to www.cattreetray.com.
00:18:56.312 --> 00:18:58.152
Announcer: That's www.cattreetray.com.
00:19:22.059 --> 00:19:24.469
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Welcome back to Covered In Pet Hair.
00:19:24.469 --> 00:19:36.029
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I'm your host, Isabel Alvarez Arata, and today I'm having a fascinating and fun conversation with Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca, who is the chief of staff at Mella Pet Care.
00:19:36.309 --> 00:19:39.509
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So I am actually super fascinated by this company.
00:19:39.509 --> 00:19:41.369
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I met Daniella at Super Zoo.
00:19:41.569 --> 00:19:46.729
Isabel Alvarez Arata: We had a little quick chat because she had a lot of people waiting to check in with her and see her products.
00:19:47.109 --> 00:19:49.869
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And I want her to very quickly play a game with me.
00:19:49.889 --> 00:19:51.669
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Daniella, are you open too?
00:19:51.769 --> 00:19:56.069
Isabel Alvarez Arata: In two minutes, telling me about Mella's product line?
00:19:56.469 --> 00:19:57.049
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Of course.
00:19:57.069 --> 00:19:58.249
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Yeah, you can time me.
00:19:58.669 --> 00:20:00.089
Isabel Alvarez Arata: All right, I'm going to time you.
00:20:00.189 --> 00:20:02.669
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I call this game The Mella Lineup.
00:20:03.269 --> 00:20:05.329
Isabel Alvarez Arata: One, two, three, go.
00:20:05.349 --> 00:20:08.109
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: All right, we have our Mella Pro Underarm Thermometer.
00:20:08.349 --> 00:20:12.949
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: It is made for veterinary professionals and it is an underarm thermometer for dogs and cats.
00:20:13.049 --> 00:20:14.969
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Brights back into your patient record.
00:20:15.289 --> 00:20:17.669
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Then our second product is the Mella Home.
00:20:17.949 --> 00:20:19.409
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: It's exactly what it sounds like.
00:20:19.429 --> 00:20:23.029
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: It's the same as the Mella Pro, but it's made for home use, a lot smaller.
00:20:23.269 --> 00:20:28.629
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: That data can then be sent to our partner app and can be sent to your veterinarian in real time.
00:20:29.009 --> 00:20:39.509
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Our third product is the world's first scale that can take your pet's BMI, or body composition score if we're talking vet terms, body fat percentage, as well as weight.
00:20:39.609 --> 00:20:43.949
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: It's designed more for vets so that they can have a less awkward conversation about weight.
00:20:44.309 --> 00:20:46.749
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: That comes actually with our complimentary fourth product.
00:20:46.769 --> 00:20:48.209
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: It's the Tabby Tape Measure.
00:20:49.189 --> 00:20:56.729
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: All we ask is to get a few morphometrics of your pet, a few quick measurements, head circumference, and more to get a more accurate body condition scale.
00:20:56.989 --> 00:20:59.429
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Then number six is our Charlie Chip Reader.
00:20:59.729 --> 00:21:02.769
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: It is a chip reader, universal check-in for your pet.
00:21:02.969 --> 00:21:09.029
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: And so you don't even have to write in your pet's information at the vet, it's automatic check-in and it'll pull up their record.
00:21:09.409 --> 00:21:13.009
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Number seven, our last one is our Possum Pull Sock Submitter.
00:21:13.249 --> 00:21:15.829
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: It's a band, wraps around the hind leg of your pet.
00:21:16.029 --> 00:21:19.789
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: It'll take oxygen saturation, heart rate, and respiratory rate.
00:21:19.949 --> 00:21:24.129
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Wow, she did that in one minute and 15 seconds.
00:21:24.709 --> 00:21:27.229
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: It's almost like this is my job to talk about these things.
00:21:27.629 --> 00:21:28.909
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Almost, almost.
00:21:28.989 --> 00:21:40.689
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So one of the things that I love about Mella and one of the things that called my attention, and if anybody has tuned in to multiple episodes that I've done, is I am Fear Free Certified Professional.
00:21:41.089 --> 00:21:43.109
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I love the Fear Free organization.
00:21:44.269 --> 00:21:46.389
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I have just interviewed Dr.
00:21:46.409 --> 00:21:48.729
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Julie Liu with Fear Free Happy Homes.
00:21:49.129 --> 00:21:56.349
Isabel Alvarez Arata: She's a veterinarian that actually I met at the Texas Pet Sitters Conference when she presented about the importance of Fear Free and pet sitting.
00:21:56.809 --> 00:22:01.609
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So for me, Mella has become synonymous with Fear Free.
00:22:01.849 --> 00:22:06.629
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Can you talk about what relationship Mella has with the Fear Free organization?
00:22:06.649 --> 00:22:07.669
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Of course, yeah.
00:22:07.669 --> 00:22:14.569
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: So the Mella products are part of the Fear Free Preferred Product Program, and so back in the day, I actually had Dr.
00:22:14.589 --> 00:22:21.829
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Marty Becker, the founder of Fear Free on my podcast, and we sat down to talk about just the Fear Free movement.
00:22:22.309 --> 00:22:25.329
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: And halfway through this episode, we're kind of doing it unrelated.
00:22:25.349 --> 00:22:27.189
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: We're just talking about Fear Free and not about Mella.
00:22:27.489 --> 00:22:30.829
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: He just goes, you guys have the perfect product for Fear Free.
00:22:31.269 --> 00:22:36.269
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: And at that point, we weren't even certified or we weren't part of the Preferred Product Program.
00:22:36.449 --> 00:22:37.349
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: We said, wait a minute.
00:22:37.509 --> 00:22:38.689
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Yeah, he's so right.
00:22:38.929 --> 00:22:40.809
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: And so we kind of shut off that episode.
00:22:40.829 --> 00:22:44.749
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: We had a great time just talking to all of the team members.
00:22:44.769 --> 00:22:48.829
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: They're mostly a lot of the founders, I guess, are all family, which I think is really funny.
00:22:48.949 --> 00:22:53.129
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: But we said, OK, we got to get these part of the Preferred Product Program.
00:22:53.529 --> 00:23:00.949
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: And it's really just because we had always had the comfort of pets in mind, but we had never really put a label on it.
00:23:00.969 --> 00:23:08.349
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: So we always just called it non-invasive, comfortable, Fear Free, but without, you know, the tagline, too.
00:23:08.369 --> 00:23:17.369
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: We just said, yeah, you know, pets wouldn't be afraid because, you know, we were trying to take away this uncomfortable nature of taking rectal temperatures that everybody hates.
00:23:17.389 --> 00:23:21.669
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: And I hated it when I was a vet assistant back at one of the vet clinics.
00:23:21.689 --> 00:23:24.489
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: You know, I started at 14 years old.
00:23:24.509 --> 00:23:28.629
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: And last thing I wanted to do was put a rectal thermometer up a dog or cat's butt.
00:23:28.649 --> 00:23:29.809
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: I was like, I'm going to get scratched.
00:23:29.829 --> 00:23:31.129
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: I'm going to get bitten.
00:23:31.149 --> 00:23:32.649
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Everyone's going to be uncomfortable.
00:23:33.589 --> 00:23:35.209
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: And so as soon as Dr.
00:23:35.229 --> 00:23:39.309
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Barney Becker was like, this is such a product for Fear Free, we just hopped on that.
00:23:39.429 --> 00:23:42.529
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: And yeah, we've been just best friends with Fear Free ever since.
00:23:42.789 --> 00:23:46.589
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Yeah, you guys, it's like a marriage made in heaven for sure.
00:23:46.929 --> 00:23:50.529
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I'm shocked that it was such an organic kind of collaboration.
00:23:50.549 --> 00:23:52.549
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I think it's so wonderful.
00:23:52.569 --> 00:23:56.609
Isabel Alvarez Arata: You would have thought that it would have been much more intentional.
00:23:56.629 --> 00:23:59.369
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I love how it was destined for you all to collaborate.
00:23:59.689 --> 00:24:10.669
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So what to you, having been a vet tech, working with Mella and all the products you are creating, what does Fear Free mean to you specifically?
00:24:10.689 --> 00:24:25.309
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Honestly, to me, it means that your pet doesn't even notice that they're going into the vet or another uncomfortable situation, whether that's, yeah, another pet sitter's home that they're unfamiliar with, outdoors in a park that they're unfamiliar with.
00:24:25.669 --> 00:24:28.869
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Fear Free just really spans every aspect of a pet's life.
00:24:28.949 --> 00:24:33.189
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: So I know right now it kind of has that connotation of a vet, right?
00:24:33.209 --> 00:24:37.309
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: So vet clinics are certified, vet professionals are certified.
00:24:37.449 --> 00:24:49.329
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: But I do feel like it's just every aspect of that pet's life where situations that they feel uncomfortable in or generally fearful in, like the vet clinic, where honestly, they're not even going to notice.
00:24:49.349 --> 00:24:52.649
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: They, as a cat, they won't cower in the corner.
00:24:52.669 --> 00:24:55.869
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: They'll come out of their little cage.
00:24:55.889 --> 00:25:00.949
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Dogs will keep wagging their tails, where it's just going to be another aspect of life.
00:25:00.969 --> 00:25:07.029
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: And so that's one of the things with the thermometers that you know when you're getting your rectal temperature taken.
00:25:07.049 --> 00:25:08.069
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: You can feel that.
00:25:08.089 --> 00:25:09.089
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Of course you can.
00:25:09.469 --> 00:25:13.429
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: And the idea with this is that you can't feel the underarm thermometer.
00:25:13.449 --> 00:25:15.749
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: It's just like petting the dog.
00:25:15.989 --> 00:25:20.709
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: You just slide it right under the armpit, leave it there for about 10 to 15 seconds.
00:25:20.729 --> 00:25:22.409
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: They didn't even know that that was happening.
00:25:22.429 --> 00:25:27.889
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: And so we just want to get to a place where vet care is seamless.
00:25:27.929 --> 00:25:30.009
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: It just fits right into the pet's life.
00:25:30.029 --> 00:25:35.089
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: They walk out of the vet clinic or anywhere that they were feeling completely fine and happy.
00:25:35.569 --> 00:25:36.489
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Right, exactly.
00:25:36.509 --> 00:25:40.369
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I'm a big proponent for consent, whether it's with my children or with pets.
00:25:40.709 --> 00:25:44.629
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And like, what are the chances you'd really get consent for a rectal thermometer?
00:25:44.649 --> 00:25:47.969
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Like none, zero, like zero.
00:25:48.269 --> 00:25:51.489
Isabel Alvarez Arata: There might be a naughty pet out there that's like, yeah, this is fun.
00:25:51.509 --> 00:25:55.549
Isabel Alvarez Arata: But very few of them are going to be like, this sounds like a great idea.
00:25:56.029 --> 00:26:04.249
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So, I think that it's so important to come up with creative ways that we can get the information we need without assaulting our pets.
00:26:04.349 --> 00:26:05.049
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Like, really?
00:26:05.069 --> 00:26:07.689
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And that's why I was so drawn to your company.
00:26:08.009 --> 00:26:17.689
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So, to you, what is the most valuable thing that a pet parent can take from maybe purchasing one of your products for their home use?
00:26:18.269 --> 00:26:25.129
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Yeah, I think one of the biggest things is just that getting vet care is more affordable and accessible than you might think.
00:26:25.629 --> 00:26:38.669
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: I know so many, especially straight out of college, I know a lot of pet parents who don't visit the vet regularly, whether that's due to, you know, they don't want to put their cat on the metro, or it's just they can't afford an exam visit.
00:26:39.029 --> 00:26:40.769
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: And so it gets, you know, pushed back.
00:26:40.789 --> 00:26:44.649
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: And so maybe they take their pet to the vet once every five years.
00:26:44.689 --> 00:26:47.329
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Maybe it's just only when they're feeling ill.
00:26:47.729 --> 00:26:55.989
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: And so the reason why we made this homeland of vital signs devices is to say you can now take care of your pet's health at home.
00:26:56.449 --> 00:27:01.289
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: And that's so much easier because then maybe you can hop on a telehealth appointment.
00:27:01.309 --> 00:27:10.389
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Maybe you don't have to drive to find a new vet in the suburbs or maybe you don't have to try to figure out all of these other ways to take care of your pet.
00:27:10.609 --> 00:27:11.809
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: You can get their vital signs.
00:27:11.829 --> 00:27:13.209
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: You can figure out what's going on.
00:27:13.329 --> 00:27:21.769
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: And it just empowers them to be better pet parents at home without feeling the need to spend that extra money or find somewhere that's more accessible.
00:27:22.089 --> 00:27:25.469
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: So that's really what we're trying to do with our home line of products.
00:27:26.189 --> 00:27:32.789
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I love that you mentioned that there are sometimes not accessible veterinary offices for some people.
00:27:32.809 --> 00:27:38.149
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I think they call them veterinary deserts where like they don't have veterinarians nearby.
00:27:38.209 --> 00:27:43.109
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And so taking the vet, the pet to the vet is a long process.
00:27:43.129 --> 00:27:44.169
Isabel Alvarez Arata: It's time off work.
00:27:44.509 --> 00:27:45.949
Isabel Alvarez Arata: It's going to another city.
00:27:45.969 --> 00:27:47.169
Isabel Alvarez Arata: It's driving a long ways.
00:27:47.189 --> 00:27:49.889
Isabel Alvarez Arata: It's especially for a cat who's not used to its carrier.
00:27:49.909 --> 00:27:51.269
Isabel Alvarez Arata: It's so stressful.
00:27:51.589 --> 00:27:57.589
Isabel Alvarez Arata: It is not like a fun road trip that anybody wants to take, especially if it ends with a rectal thermometer being thrust up them.
00:27:57.789 --> 00:28:04.249
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So like I get, I totally understand that this is fear free and really like a matter of consent.
00:28:04.269 --> 00:28:41.229
Isabel Alvarez Arata: But it's also a matter of accessibility, which I think is so important because the investment might be initially a big one, but it can also be like a lifeline for a person that can't whether they are maybe in the part of the disability community or just in a place where they don't have veterinarians nearby, they can now have these vital signs tell them to the vet and the vet can prescribe medication or at that point recommend an emergency veterinary clinic if it's necessary and we're not taking our pets to the vet just because they had a little bit of diarrhea, which I think a lot of new pet parents can do.
00:28:41.869 --> 00:28:42.869
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: No, you're so right.
00:28:42.889 --> 00:28:46.749
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: And it is true that initially you do have to pay for a thermometer.
00:28:46.989 --> 00:28:52.929
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: The idea is that over time, this thermometer will help you know when to take your pet to the vet or not.
00:28:53.209 --> 00:28:58.929
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: You know, if they are having diarrhea, should you wait a few days or if they have a fever, you should probably take them in immediately.
00:28:59.209 --> 00:29:04.929
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: So then it does save you the time and energy and trying to find a vet, trying to go to the vet and all of that.
00:29:04.949 --> 00:29:05.249
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Yeah.
00:29:05.709 --> 00:29:09.329
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And the cost of just showing up for them to be like, monitor them.
00:29:09.709 --> 00:29:10.389
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Exactly.
00:29:10.409 --> 00:29:11.809
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Yeah, nobody wants that.
00:29:12.569 --> 00:29:12.869
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Yeah.
00:29:12.889 --> 00:29:14.229
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: You get charged walking through the door.
00:29:14.249 --> 00:29:14.969
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: That does happen.
00:29:15.409 --> 00:29:16.049
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Exactly.
00:29:16.069 --> 00:29:16.749
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Exactly right.
00:29:16.769 --> 00:29:19.129
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So tell me about the scale.
00:29:19.269 --> 00:29:24.549
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And I love that because pet obesity is becoming like a true epidemic.
00:29:25.089 --> 00:29:26.689
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I love that that's where you're headed.
00:29:26.709 --> 00:29:31.929
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: I mean, I don't know if you've ever had an obese pet, but if you go to the vet, it's very subjective.
00:29:31.949 --> 00:29:37.249
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: You know, their way of finding out a body condition score is, you know, one to five or the one to nine scale.
00:29:37.749 --> 00:29:41.789
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: And usually they have a chart up on the wall and it's like, where does your pet rank on that?
00:29:41.809 --> 00:29:43.769
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: And so there's all these subjective things.
00:29:43.789 --> 00:29:48.469
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: It's like, OK, well, I can kind of feel their ribs, but they kind of have a little bit of fat up here.
00:29:48.489 --> 00:29:51.129
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Like, what number is that?
00:29:51.409 --> 00:29:54.649
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: And then, of course, they're like, weight is a hard conversation to have.
00:29:55.149 --> 00:30:05.009
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: And especially if you don't have this data backing it, because it's so subjective, because it's so qualitative, a lot of times vets will underreport that number.
00:30:05.349 --> 00:30:17.189
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: And so whereas they mean to say, yes, your pet is obese, let's work on some meal plans, some fitness plans, they won't say that because they don't want to be offensive, because it's so subjective.
00:30:17.209 --> 00:30:23.089
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: But the idea with the scale, you put the pet on the scale, you get a number, and that's data right there.
00:30:23.129 --> 00:30:30.289
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: And so it's hard to fight data, and it should just make it so much easier for a vet to say, hey, the algorithm says this.
00:30:31.409 --> 00:30:36.789
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Yeah, like it's at this number, let's shoot for this number instead, and you're not really offending anybody.
00:30:37.049 --> 00:30:37.789
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Exactly, yeah.
00:30:38.109 --> 00:30:40.429
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I think that we do that for humans.
00:30:40.449 --> 00:30:43.029
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I was just at the doctor, and I stood on something.
00:30:43.049 --> 00:30:44.349
Isabel Alvarez Arata: They gave me my body mass.
00:30:44.369 --> 00:30:44.709
Isabel Alvarez Arata: What is it?
00:30:45.129 --> 00:30:46.509
Isabel Alvarez Arata: BMI, body mass index.
00:30:46.949 --> 00:30:52.889
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And it is an important number because even though it's not flawless, it's a good guide.
00:30:53.109 --> 00:30:56.809
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So I think that it's important that pet parents have that information as well.
00:30:57.709 --> 00:31:02.449
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And then there was something on your website about a pet bowl scale.
00:31:02.849 --> 00:31:03.669
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Tell me about that.
00:31:03.969 --> 00:31:09.729
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Yeah, so our maple scale, it's a little further down the pipeline, but this is going to be fantastic.
00:31:09.749 --> 00:31:20.489
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: It's using the exact same data and technology behind our scale, like our BMI scale, but it's a lot smaller, a lot easier to track fluctuations.
00:31:20.649 --> 00:31:23.969
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: And yeah, it's made so that it goes under your pet's favorite food bowl.
00:31:24.369 --> 00:31:32.609
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: It'll track fluctuations in food eaten and food given from your pet, and it will track just caloric intake, food intake.
00:31:33.189 --> 00:31:37.989
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: It does pair to our app, like all of our products pair via Bluetooth to our app.
00:31:38.189 --> 00:31:47.129
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: And so within the app, you'll say, you know, I'm having the Purina diet or the Hills diet, and the app knows the nutritional intake of that food.
00:31:47.509 --> 00:31:56.389
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: And so then once it changes or tracks, you know, the changes and fluctuations in the food eaten, the food given, it will just track that over time.
00:31:56.389 --> 00:32:08.169
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: And so it's a really good way to not only know how much your pet is eating, how much they should be eating, whether you didn't communicate with your partner about feeding them in the morning, just all of that.
00:32:08.189 --> 00:32:15.089
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: It's just like a little extra tool that also will help pair with the BMI scale, and it gives you that full nutritional intake.
00:32:15.409 --> 00:32:16.369
Isabel Alvarez Arata: That's amazing.
00:32:16.389 --> 00:32:21.089
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I love that because, again, the pet obesity epidemic, a lot of us are overfeeding our pets.
00:32:21.089 --> 00:32:28.349
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And when somebody tells you just watch their weight, like that's such a general thing to say, like watch his weight.
00:32:28.809 --> 00:32:38.409
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So once he's too fat, and I notice, then I have to scale it back, like I prefer me, my preference is always to be preventative and to prevent these issues.
00:32:38.429 --> 00:32:46.329
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Because even if he spends a little too long overweight, I think it affects his body and his longevity and his overall quality of life.
00:32:46.349 --> 00:33:01.669
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So I love that you guys are giving pet parents the power at home to be proactive, to be preventative, to be informed and aware and make decisions based on data rather than like, oh, he kind of looks a little chunky, you know.
00:33:02.129 --> 00:33:03.629
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Oh yeah, that's totally the idea.
00:33:03.789 --> 00:33:06.749
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Tell our audience how we can learn more about Mella Pet Care.
00:33:07.029 --> 00:33:07.769
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Yeah, of course.
00:33:07.789 --> 00:33:12.569
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: The easiest way is just our website, M-E-L-L-A dot A-I.
00:33:13.069 --> 00:33:16.289
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: And it used to be a very thermometer centric website.
00:33:16.309 --> 00:33:17.249
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: We said, that's no good.
00:33:17.269 --> 00:33:18.649
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: We have so many other products.
00:33:18.669 --> 00:33:21.469
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: And so now it's more about the entire ecosystem.
00:33:22.009 --> 00:33:23.529
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: And that's where you can go to learn.
00:33:23.729 --> 00:33:30.129
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Well, I just want to propose a toast to you for being my guest and for sharing all this awesome information, doing all the work that you do with Mella Pet Care.
00:33:30.149 --> 00:33:30.569
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Cheers.
00:33:30.869 --> 00:33:31.389
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Cheers.
00:33:31.409 --> 00:33:32.349
Daniella Morgan Pascualvaca: Thank you so much.
00:33:32.669 --> 00:33:33.429
Isabel Alvarez Arata: My pleasure.
00:33:33.449 --> 00:33:33.849
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Truly.
00:33:33.849 --> 00:33:35.749
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I've had so much fun chatting with you.
00:33:35.949 --> 00:33:38.849
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I also want to propose a toast to my executive producer, Mark Winter.
00:33:38.869 --> 00:33:39.609
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Thank you, Mark.
00:33:39.609 --> 00:33:42.469
Isabel Alvarez Arata: And to our audience for tuning in to our conversations.
00:33:42.489 --> 00:33:53.429
Isabel Alvarez Arata: I so enjoy bringing these awesome guests to you and bringing a little bit of my love of the pet industry to you on PetLife Radio, YouTube, and all the podcasting platforms.
00:33:53.429 --> 00:34:07.689
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Please remember to like, subscribe on YouTube and review our podcast on all of the podcasting platforms because it helps me to fuse this information, super valuable information, to more pet parents just like you.
00:34:07.969 --> 00:34:12.289
Isabel Alvarez Arata: So here's to a life covered in pet hair because there's no better way to live.
00:34:14.469 --> 00:34:19.849
Isabel Alvarez Arata: To learn more about covered in pet hair, please visit coveredinpethair.com or petliferadio.com.
00:34:20.189 --> 00:34:22.049
Isabel Alvarez Arata: Thanks for watching, and I'll see you next time.
00:34:22.769 --> 00:34:23.849
Announcer: Let's Talk Pets.
00:34:24.229 --> 00:34:25.889
Announcer: Every Week On Demand.
00:34:26.209 --> 00:34:28.149
Announcer: Only on petliferadio.com.