STRESS. FOR NEARLY two years, it has been even more of a constant in your life, both professionally and personally. A global pandemic will do that. Whether you have experienced significant growth, struggled at times to stay in business, or existed somewhere in between, you all have this potentially harmful physical response in common.
There are those of you, though, who manage stress quite well, and also help team members and human customers find balance. You generously share here the self-care and support practices that make that possible, so your peers in the pet industry may benefit from them. The entire PETS+ community thanks you. With supply-chain and other pandemic-related issues ongoing, we will continue to rely on each other in 2022 and beyond.
(If you are not yet a member of the PETS+ reader advisory group and would like to contribute to stories like these, join at petsplusmag.com/brainsquad.)
AdvertisementWhat constitutes self-care varies by person, as these examples will show. But to be most effective, you should practice it daily. Alysa Slay, owner of Camp Dogwood in Lake Delton, WI, has special insight on the topic thanks to her 25 years as a licensed clinical psychologist. “Most people view self-care as an isolated event or experience. For business owners, we may wait until we are at our breaking point, and then take a bath, go for a hike, get a massage or have a night out with friends in the service of self-care.
“Genuine self-care is making a deliberate choice to invest in one’s mental and physical well-being by developing consistent, daily practices. This is critical for those of us in stressful leadership roles. Self-care is often associated with indulgences like a massage, which can be relaxing and stress relieving, but the effects are often short lived. Daily practices and habits that allow business owners to maintain awareness of how they are feeling and what they are thinking (mindfulness), setting boundaries on time, and creating systems and processes to reduce the amount of mental and physical energy one expends to get through the day are forms of self-care that have more long-lasting effects.”
Why? She continues. “When it comes to your brain, what fires together wires together. This means, the more times our brains automatically fire behavioral, emotional, physical or cognitive reactions, the stronger that neural pathway becomes. A good analogy is tire ruts in mud or snow: the more cars that pass through, the deeper the rut and the more difficult to maneuver out of the rut. This is part of why bad habits are so difficult to break and good habits (consistent self-care practices) so difficult to form. You need a lot of repetition to strengthen a new neural pathway. This is why establishing daily habits to support one’s role as a business owner is so important in promoting mental and physical health.”
Alyssa Slay and Stella Blue make 30 minutes of intential movement one of their daily self-care practices.
Slay highly recommends turning inward as a daily practice. “One of the best ways to create neural pathways that support a sense of inner calm is mindfulness and meditation. Like self-care, meditation is often viewed as something you do to relax. Feel stressed or angry? Go meditate. The reality is that taking just 10 minutes every day to breathe, be mindful and meditate will nurture the development of positive neural pathways that can be beneficial when faced with a disgruntled employee, an angry customer or frustrations with a distributor.”
Katherine Ostiguy of Crossbones in Providence, RI, agrees and uses the Headspace mindfulness app daily, for both meditation and to improve the ultimate downtime, sleep. “It’s been a godsend, effectively retraining me to fall asleep promptly instead of lying awake with my thoughts racing. I generally get eight or nine hours of sleep each night. I find that this amount lets me hit the ground running when I wake up. I’m alert pretty quickly and not groggy throughout the morning, and I don’t have a late afternoon crash. I stay productive all day long.”
Slay says, “A significant amount of research has demonstrated that just 30 minutes a day of gentle exercise such as walking can reduce feelings of anxiety and depression.”
Barbara Clemmens of Aardvark Pet Supplies in Thornwood, NY, takes her dogs, Olive and Geordie, through the woods daily, rain or shine. “The walk puts me in a good frame of mind to start my day. I’m happy I’ve gotten some exercise, I’m relaxed, and the dogs can snooze away at the store.”
Activity need not be gentle, though, to help provide balance. Paige Elder of Buzz n’ B’s Pet Shop in Erie, PA, hits the gym and plays rugby for the Presque Isle Scallywags. “It makes a big difference in anxiety and stress levels for me. Tackling is always great to get out some frustration! Personal wellness is huge in being a better person all around and then, in turn, a better business owner.”
Even exhausting activities can be effective. Samantha and Kim Youngblood of Youngblood’s Natural Animal Care Center and Massage in Wilkinson, IN, compete in a variety of dog sports with pups Psycho, Caution, BZRK and Finale. “It is so nice to get away from ‘real life,’ and this is a fun way to do it,” Samantha says. “I would not call dog sports relaxing or rejuvenating, as we usually come home more exhausted than before we left, but that is our choice… so I can’t complain. We love to see our dogs doing what they were bred for and enjoying sports. They are so happy to play, and that fills our hearts with much happiness.”
Samantha Youngblood competes in biathlons and flyball with her pup Caution. (Photo at right by Ambient Exposure)
Time away from work proves most balancing when uninterrupted. Deana Deitchler of Dogs Paw in Park Rapids, MN, understands this as does her team. “I learned that when I am out of town, my management team problem solves without me. When I learned that, I taught my managers that I am ‘unavailable’ on my time off. They have been trained to handle all possible situations, and I trust them 100%. Almost all are not emergencies and can be handled when I return.” In the case of a true emergency, she says, “Only managers can contact me for coaching when I am not working.” With friends, “I also have a hard boundary about discussing work while in social settings. I love my job and the work I do, however, it is not enjoyable to discuss it with people outside of work. I have become very good at redirecting conversations.”
A boundary Brianna Swanberg of Mutts + Meows Natural Pet Market in Mt Juliet, TN, recently set was to not open for business on Mondays. “I was getting burned out because I was there seven days a week. After looking at the numbers, it just made sense to close one day a week. We call them Mental Health Mondays, and it gives everyone a day to relax and hopefully not worry about anything related to work.
Healthy eating — from low-carb to plant-based diets — was a common answer when we asked about self-care practices that reduce stress and lead to a more balanced life. Diana Farrar of Fifi & Fidos Pet Boutique in San Antonio, TX, says she supplements with the same products she sells for pets. “I know and trust the people I buy my animal supplements from far more than I do the human supplement sellers. I have used several of the Animal Essentials tinctures at one time or another — slippery elm and apple cider vinegar in hot water is very soothing to the throat. I use CocoTherapy MCT oil for my skin, and the coconut chips are great to use as breading or in oatmeal. I use the coconut oil to cook with and to add into coffee. I routinely drink Answers kefir if I feel the need to switch up my probiotics or have had a course of antibiotics.” Farrar makes turmeric golden paste for herself, and sells kits so customers can make it themselves. “I credit that primarily for my dog Chica’s excellent mobility with arthritis, and for my insanely fast recovery from a bad sprain, and more recently, a bad cold.”
AdvertisementBusiness social media accounts typically tie into personal ones, which makes it difficult to check in with family and friends without being bombarded by work-related updates. Jeffrey Jensen of Four Muddy Paws in St. Louis, MO, limits management of his store pages to when he’s working. He also doesn’t get lost in main feeds, instead looking at group notifications. “This has helped me to maintain a healthy balance of social media consumption and stay more focused on what’s most important.”
Jennifer and Allen Larsen of Firehouse Pet Shop in Wenatchee, WA, also curate their social media. Jennifer says, “We hide anyone who posts negative or political views that add to our stress. We have close family and friends, and limited work groups/fellow pet stores that we follow. This way, we aren’t getting cranky at home after a long day, and we aren’t looking at people differently after reading their political rants. It keeps us ‘neutral’ at work and with our staff and customers.” They take the same approach to entertainment. “We haven’t had cable or dish in years, so we don’t really watch TV much. We do get a few digital channels so we can watch football, but we primarily watch positive and uplifting shows on Netflix, Amazon and Hulu.”
A practice that happens each week, on a set day, contributes to daily self-care efforts. For Liz Harris of Creatures Featured in Madison, FL, “Margarita Saturday is the official end-of-the week celebration at my house. I find it an excellent way to relax and reset.” She shares her recipe: “Rub the rim of a 12-ounce margarita glass with lime juice and dip in kosher salt, fill with ice. Add 2 shots Cuervo Gold, 1 shot triple sec, juice from 1/2 fresh lime, top up with Simply Lime lime juice. Stir, decide on toast of the week and relax!”
Leaders not only benefit from all of the above practices, but also from encouraging and helping their teams to engage in them. In Alight’s most-recent Employee Wellbeing Mindset Study, across generations 81% of employees said employer-sponsored wellbeing programs “Enhance/improve my overall employment experience,” 78% said “Help me to be as productive as I can be,” 74% said “Are one of the reasons I stay at my job,” and 70% said “Help me avoid getting sick.”
Bend Pet Express in Bend, OR, provides such support via a monthly reimbursement. Stephanie Wright says, “The program will reimburse an employee up to $50 toward a fitness program, including classes. The employee just has to show proof of purchase as well as provide logs of participation at least eight times a month.”
Pamela and Michael Modica of Lazy Creek Pet Food Center in Lexington, SC, take it a step further and offer team members and their families free access to an on-site gym at one of its locations. “Michael was a powerlifter years ago, so we’ve always had gym equipment,” Pamela says. “There was an underutilized room between the sales floor and office that we transformed into a small gym in 2019, complete with quality gym flooring, professional weights and even a squat rack. Perfect for a quick workout in downtimes or weekend workouts. During the pandemic shut down, it was a lifesaver.”
Earth Animal, headquartered in Connecticut, has multiple wellbeing efforts for its team. Head of People Elizabeth Wade shares that in addition to a monthly stipend for gym memberships and fitness classes, “Our wellness challenges encourage a consistent period of a healthy habit. One month was practicing meditation every day. Another was to drink 100 ounces of water and walk at least 15,000 steps a day, and eat at least two plant-based meals a week. We also have a recipe exchange and healthy cooking tips. Team members share their progress, and at month’s end, a participant is chosen at random to win a gift certificate to a healthy store of some kind — Whole Foods, Sprouts, etc.” The company also pays its team members to volunteer each quarter. Those locally based spent three hours in December at CT FoodShare, packing boxes for families in need. “Those not local are given the same window to volunteer at a local organization of their choice. We are continuously evolving our health and wellness programs to make sure everyone at EA has the tools and support they need to reach their full potential.”
Wendy Megyese of Muttigans in Emerald Isle, NC, also encourages her team to grow and sponsors classes of their choosing. “They are allowed to take any class on a platform that works for them. Several have chosen classes from Udemy. They range from meditation to mediation. The only stipulation I make is that they must be able to tell me how this will improve their personal or work life. One of my team leaders used it as a partial payment for a life coach. As a general rule of thumb, they get up to $500 per year with $200 increases for every year spent with us. They have to have been with Muttigans for at least six months of full-time work to qualify.”
Having a gym on-site helps the Lazy Creek Pet Food Center team easily get in a workout before, after or even during a shift.
Team members at Bridger Animal Nutrition in Bozeman, MT, have similar opportunities. Kris Clawson says, “We offer to pay for our staff to attend activities that ‘fill their cup.’ It could be skiing, yoga, the gym, self-improvement classes. Most recently, we have a manager who started going to yoga, so we pay for that membership of $100 per month. If a manager wants a ski pass that’s $700, we will pick up half or three-quarters. Last year, we had a staff member that barrel raced around Montana, so we gave her a $200 fuel card and helped cover $100 in events each month.”
Pet Palette Distribution, based in Maryland, creates a work environment that supports a healthy work-life balance. Employees can bring their pets to work. “When you walk through the door, you will find several spoiled dogs sprawled on cozy beds surrounded by treats and toys, bringing the comfort of home to the workspace,” Marketing Manager Missy Limbeck says, adding that “Employees are also met with flexibility and encouragement to prioritize their family commitments and make personal time for themselves to avoid burnout. Lastly, PPD has created several remote positions and offers the option for employees to work from home where it’s appropriate.” PPD President and COO Ron Metzger stresses the importance of these policies. “Every great thing we do as a company starts with our employees. Recent times especially have shown us all how important it is to make sure we find ways to cultivate a healthy work/life balance in order to retain good employees.”
Self-care support also can be as simple as setting an example and putting a healthier spin on gifts. Becci Scott of Fetching Dog in Scottsdale, AZ, embraced healthy eating in 2021. “Putting my words into action and finally feeding myself correctly and with the guidance of my own integrative doctor, I have lost 56 pounds as of today and am more than one–third of the way to my final weight goal. I encourage my team to be healthy and always keep that in mind when planning events or gifts that have foods or treats involved.” She no longer picks up cupcakes for her team. “Now I make gifts that include organic loose leaf teas, tea infusers, essential oils, meditation sprays, bath bombs, etc.”
At Albany Pet Hotel in Albany, OR, one form of support involves scheduling. Team members get four or five days on, with three or two consecutive days off. Natalie Bosch says, and “I do everything in my power to give them the same two to three days off each normal week, even if it takes some major finagling or trouble shooting. It has certainly made our employees a lot happier knowing when they’re regularly expected to work and when they can plan activities outside of work. And I believe it has strengthened our workflow.”
Dog Krazy stores in Virginia take a different approach, but one just as popular with staff. Nancy Guinn says, “We believe in work-life balance, so we let our employees decide what type of schedule is best for them, whether it be a four-day work week, five-day work week, mornings or evenings. We also employ more than the industry standard when it comes to how many people are working at one time. We do this so that our employees don’t become overwhelmed with a large number of tasks every day.
And so there’s somebody to cover at all times if somebody does need a break or a mental health day.”
The Natural Pet Enrichment Center hosts animmal chiroptractic consultations, pet bereavement meetings and other supportive events in this area.
To create a warm, welcoming experience for customers, Christine McCoy of The Natural Pet Enrichment Center in North Royalton, OH, created its Paws and Relax area complete with comfy couches and a TV. “We decided to have a space where customers could sit down and discuss their concerns, deal with loss, enjoy a new addition to their family or have a place to relax. We have had animal chiropractor Dr. Sara Jerman see patients there, and it has proven to be a relaxing treatment area for both pets and their parents. It has been almost six years since I created this space, and I still love that we have it to offer. Customers say we are the only pet store that makes them feel like they are visiting friends.”
Jennifer Flanagan of Nature’s Pet Market in Sherwood, OR, also pays attention to the well-being of human customers and promotes some of her favorite self-care practices and products. “I take a hot bath every Sunday. We brought in Healthy Roots, a female-owned CBD brand. I tried a sample, and promptly brought in their soaps and bombs.”
AdvertisementPamela Mitchell is the Editor-in-Chief of PETS+. She works from her home office in Phoenix, AZ, with Ty the Boston Terrier as her assistant.
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