Five Hundred and Three

By Jamie Damato Migdal, CEO & Pet Industry Entrepreneur

Paulette and Sarah packed up Sitka and Sophie and spent three days at the Chicagoland Family Pet Expo at the Arlington Park Racetrack this past weekend. Over 200 pet product vendors and service providers covering animals from dogs and cats to birds, reptiles, and other exotics (hissing cockroaches! rose-haired tarantulas!) were manning the exhibit booths from Friday afternoon to Sunday evening.

It’s easy to get overwhelmed looking at products at these big expos (and I can tell you from firsthand experience that the giddiness resulting from so much choice can lead to some truly hideous clothing purchases). But it’s always fun to see the staggering range of goods and services available, from utilitarian items like dog food, collars, and beds to doggy dance costumes that rival anything in the wardrobe of a pre-school Disney-obsessed princess. (Did you know that spending on pets in the United States is on track to hit almost $60 billion in 2014?) There are always lots of free samples on offer as well, and both Sophie and Sitka would like to give big woofs to the chicken jerky treats from Cooper’s Way.

Mind you, we weren’t there just to stock up on dog food samples. Over the course of the weekend Sarah and Paulette talked non-stop to a LOT of people who were interested in what CanineLink has to offer. These fell into three broad categories: people who had always fantasized about working with dogs in some capacity, young people who felt that they needed more education and a way into the pet industry, and people who were interested in starting their own pet-related businesses. We’re looking forward to seeing some of these folks in our classes this summer, and we know a lot of them will be checking out the ever-expanding FetchFind job offerings.

Oh, and the title of this post? That’s how many times people asked about Sitka’s breed.*

*He is a Newfoundland/Malamute mix, in case you didn’t know that already.