🎉 International Women’s Day Series – Pt 4

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Next in my Women’s Day series – an industrious and thoughtful business leader, just ask Throne who is enjoying the sample box Chelsea so generously shipped to him; she leaves me gobsmacked!


Meet Chelsea Rusche – Founder, Breaker of Norms, and all-around kind person

For the Sake of Dog! or FTSOD! (“Fort Sod”) came into being as a business model that founder, Chelsea Rusche, has always wanted to build: a truly circular business to offer a beneficial impact to each member of the “value chain” for the improvement of wellness for the end consumer; from manufacturing to the communities our products are sold to.

Chelsea’s exposure in the canine industry as an operations consultant helped make it all possible, creating a reliable, premium dog treat that benefits dogs, their pup parents and the communities that support them.

She discovered many opportunities for improvement in American dog products such as: human-grade or premium quality ingredients, hedging an enormous amount of wasted product due to routine production or buyer limitations, and how to sustainably give back to the nonprofits that support the very people and pets that make businesses possible.

Chelsea started making some calls and connecting some dots to create what has now become FTSOD! A sustainably-sourced, artisanal recipe, human/premium-grade ingredient dog treat service that gives back by allocating a portion of each sale as a claimable commission for nonprofits who want to support FTSOD!’s mission. Or in other words, a truly circular business.

We’re just getting started and how we grow will lead to a greater positive impact by upgrading American dog treat standards, economic accessibility to premium pet products, curated recipe matching based on your dog’s needs, stimulating bonding activities for human-pet mental wellness, and offering a sustainable growth solution to communities who share in our mission and vision. New flavors, shapes, scents, and colors release every quarter to keep dogs’ noses stimulated and palates diverse while enabling pup parents to discover what is best for their doggo through small-scale taste-testing.

For the Sake of Dog! order some treats for the special pups in your life as the tail-wags await…

Chelsea Rusche

P.S.  You can find FTSOD here, and I have to say, the MYSTERY Box has the potential to be one of the best BIRTHDAY🎂 gifts EVER!
https://inspirecanine.myshopdot.com/

🎉 International Women’s Day Series – Pt 3

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Continuing with my Women’s Day Series…

I feel privileged to have the opportunity to introduce and share with you Founder AND Innovator – Michelle Huie!

Originally from New York and now based in Missoula, MT, Michelle Huie launched her first woman-owned company, VIM & VIGR, in 2013 to address the demand for stylish, functional compression legwear. VIM & VIGR has been included on Inc. Magazine’s 5000 list of the Fastest Growing Companies as well as its Best Workplaces list. Over the last decade, VIM & VIGR has contributed over $250,000 in product to frontline healthcare professionals and nurses directly through the company’s annual scholarship program.In 2024, Michelle launched her second company, ShopDot Pet, the first retail solution that makes it possible for pet service-based businesses to build an online storefront and sell curated products to their customers without the inventory costs. ShopDot empower groomers, trainers, rescues and shelters to generate additional revenue by selling products that complement their services and mission. Michelle comes from a family of small business owners and is excited to help local businesses better serve their community by becoming a source of trusted and recommended products.

~ Michelle Huie

Founder, VIM & VIGR (www.vimvigr.com) stylish compression legwear
Founder & CEO, ShopDot Pet (www.shopdotpet.com) retail operation management software for pet service-based businesses

🎉 International Women’s Day Series – Pt 2

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Continuing with my Women’s Day Series…

Next, I would like to introduce to you a phenomenal client, loving guardian of the most handsome, Bruno, and all-around ray :sun_with_face: of sunshine!

Meet Kiersten Bushnell – Business Owner and Skin Guru :lotus:

As a passionate esthetician, I am dedicated to enhancing natural beauty through personalized skincare solutions. I specialize in tailored facials, advanced treatments, and skincare guidance to help my clients achieve radiant, healthy skin.
My approach goes beyond surface-level care—I focus on education, customized treatments, and a holistic approach to skincare that nurtures both beauty and confidence. Whether you’re looking to refresh your glow, address specific concerns, or simply indulge in self-care, I’m here to create a skincare experience just for you!

~Kiersten

https://www.afterglowskinca.com/

🎉 International Women’s Day 2025 Series – Meet Diane OKeefe Co-Founder and Co-Owner of Ulti-Mutt

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With Saturday, March 8th being International Women’s Day – this year, I decided to do something special to commemorate 🎊

Each week, I want to share with you a different woman business owner that I know – celebrating their individuality and contributions to the lives around them. A series of solidarity, because honestly, how do you contain the magic that women bring to just one day…

Meet Diane OKeefe – Co-founder and Co-owner of Ulti-Mutt, the ❤️ behind the business:

Ulti-Mutt started as a way to provide my own training clients with products that helped to meet pets’ needs better and on the pet parent side, be cost effective, easy to use and long lasting. Dave and I started the business about 4 years ago as restrictions were starting to loosen up from Covid. We started with just making our Snout Rollers- a slow feeder toy made of medical grade PVC that is adjustable to the difficulty level your pet needs. Originally they were just one offs Dave was making for me in our garage, but over time we started getting people asking where they could buy them. By focusing on improving the lives of dogs and standing by our products, instead of just selling cute stuff. We have built a community who trusts us and we take their feedback seriously. Our commitment is always to pets, but also to people. We believe all beings deserve to be treated with kindness and given what they need to thrive.

~ Diane

If interested, you can find her Snout-Rollers here:
https://inspirecanine.myshopdot.com/

Clover… and pickleball?!?

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Finally checking out Dali’s Sniffspot. It’s a very cool spot! And we had an active pickleball game next to us with a dog in the court. She did great!

 

Edith… and her 1 yr vet visit

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Hi Paula, I know I will be seeing you on Saturday with Edith but wanted to give you a running report on her visit to the vets last night. I got there quite early ~4:15 for a 5pm appt. I waited in the car with her for a good while (15mins) to help her and her arousal level. I would say she was in orange when we arrived and was able to have her dunk some feet into Green/yellow. There were a lot going on outside the car and she was able to at least sit and just look. She was very good about waiting in the car once I opened her door, she let me change her leash patiently etc. She was also very patient about getting out of the car but the blacktop was hot and so I had to move her quite quickly to a shaded area. We stood there for 10mins and she was very good. She basically sat and watched her little world go by. She didn’t take any kibble from me but she was happy to sit. Once it was time for her appointment I went into the waiting room area where there was one other person with a cat. Edith was interested and pulled on her leash a little but no barking etc. She then sat by me until it was her turn.  She was very unsure about the scales but we took our time and she slowly walked on after following me. Once in the room I let her sniff everything. A dog was barking in the waiting room and she barked a couple of times and then she actually did OSR with me. She was very cautious with the Vet tech but I explained to her not to push Edith and to take everything slowly with her so we first put her on the table and let her have a sniff etc and did a little OSR although at this point I think she was genuinely scared. I let Edith know everything I was doing-“Up” “off”, “Help” etc. When the Vet came I again explained that we just needed to go slowly and inform Edith everything that we were doing. The vet was my old boss so she was very understanding. Edith was scared but slowly she relaxed. I had been practicing with Edith a lot at home with saying “eyes” when looking in her eye, “ears” “teeth” etc, etc. And after telling the vet, she let Edith know everything she was going to do, and you could physically see Edith relax slightly. She was such a good girl.  I am sooooooo proud of that little lady!!

Edith… and the walkabout

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I wanted to share with you my walk with Edith this morning. I have taken Edith out for a “walk” every day since she was approx 4mths old. She is now 14mths old and today was the first day I was able to go for a walk WITH her! I let Edith dictate how far and for how long I walk her. Sometimes I can’t even get out of the driveway with her due to her arousal level being at octane levels and sometimes I can get past the gate and up to the road before I have to turn around with her but each day I watch her arousal level and see if she can “hear” me. Today she asked to step past the gate and just calmly walk across the driveway so we just continued down the driveway. Now and then I would  inform her I’m stopping and she would eventually come and ask me to carry on moving. Today I was able to walk a complete loop of my neighborhood (~3miles) we walked past 4 humans, 2 had a dog each. Not only did Edith completely ignore the humans she just looked at the dogs for 2-3 seconds and then just kept moving on. She did not pull me, and checked in with me frequently. It was an absolute delight to be out with her. Never in a million years did I think I would get to a point whereby we could enjoy her walk and for her to be calm and laidback. Tomorrow is a new day but I will take the small victories.

Clover… and the sleepover

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Hi Paula! Just a quick update. My niece is hanging with the girls this week due to an unexpected summer camp mixup. When Lily came over we started by doing the usual process (having Lily come thru the front door, clover in crate) and it was apparent very quickly that clover remembered her. Once clover was calm and relaxed in her crate, we let her out on leash and then soon after let her be off leash. She has been as relaxed with Lily as she normally is with us. She’s not doing appeasement behaviors, she’s mostly doing her own thing and saying hi when she wants to. They’ve been snuggling today

Edith… and the brunch date

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Edith is doing amazing, we took her to our local deli and had some lunch and after OSR she was really good. No one spoke to her, thankfully, and she was quite calm. Norman is still struggling with Lukas going outside, no matter which door they leave through. But if I can catch him before Lukas leaves OSR really helps him.

Ava… and the Christmas Miracle

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Merry Christmas and again, thank you for all you do. We appreciate you so much!  And by the way, this is huge, my brother surprised us again and came in yesterday when I got home from the sniff spot. This morning Ava was manic with her toy and I did OSR and she just laid down on the couch and chilled after that. AMAZING!!!  :heart: