THE Cambridge Connection - Episode 60

But all in all actuality, I’m saving. So you’re doing that the day before Thanksgiving? Well, the morning of, no, I do that every other Saturday. Okay, so obviously not a great idea to shop the day before Thanksgiving because a lot of things might be out. And more importantly, prices probably are going to be higher than they are when you plan a little bit ahead.

Another tip I saw was to buy your canned goods after Thanksgiving, like in the weekend, because they’re typically going to be able to have a shelf life and an expiration date that’s more than a year. And they’re probably going to be on sale then because now they’ve got to push a lot of the inventory that’s specific to Thanksgiving, like pumpkin. He doesn’t say, do you see all the Halloween candy for sale? There you go. Same thing, same concept.

Tip three was buy cranberries and freeze them. Yes, I do that. You do? Yes, definitely. So you’re not a gelatin in a can?

I am not a gelatin, no, I actually add a little Grand Marnier to my cranberry sauce while making it. Absolutely, yep. m.? The night before with the Grand Marnier. Okay, all right.

Number four, obviously you have to shop turkey types, right? Sizes, how much per pound? Yep, they say a quarter pound per person is what you’re supposed to prepare for. What about leftovers? You know what, I’m glad you brought that up.

I’m going to put you on the spot. Yeah, give me, if you can, five items you can make with leftover turkey. Ready, set, go. Open face turkey sandwich. One.

Fried stuffing balls. Okay, two. Yam casserole. Yam casserole with turkey? With turkey.

Okay, we’ll give you that, three. Four. Marcus for the turkey soup. Four. And pumpkin pie?

No, we’re not going to give you that. Pot pie, what about a pot pie? Pot pie, that’s awesome. Yes, well you did good. And you know how I feel about pumpkins, so we’ll move on.

Introducing pet expert guest

But again, we’ll give these tips for people to start thinking in the spirit of holiday spending, keeping it down, staying within the budget. Yes. Speaking of budgets, our special guest today is Donna French from Almighty Pet Connect. We talk about scams on this show all the time, and a lot of people have great ideas and ideas, but we’re going to give you a little bit of advice on how to keep your budget within the budget. Speaking of budgets, our special guest today is Donna French from Almighty Pet Connect.

to start thinking in the spirit of holiday spending, keeping it down, staying within the budget. Speaking of budgets, our special guest today is Donna French from Almighty Pet Connect. Yes. Speaking of budgets, our special guest today is Donna French from Almighty Pet Connect. We talk about scams on this show all the time, and a lot of people have great hearts in taking in animals as pets, but there’s a great expense to that.

Certainly a budget line item that can fluctuate. So we’re going to talk about all of those things with Donna when she comes on. Nice. So we’re going to talk about all of those things with Donna when she comes on. With that said, we’re going to take a break.

We’ll be right back, this is The Cambridge Connection. Are you having trouble paying down credit card debt? Cambridge has been helping people safely pay down their debts for more than 25 years without settlements or bankruptcy. Call us at 1-800-CAMBRIDGE. Welcome back, everyone.

This is The Cambridge Connection here the Saturday before Thanksgiving with my co-host Tina Marie, and we have our special guest, Donna French, who is the owner of Almighty Pet Connect. Donna, welcome to The Cambridge Connection. Thank you. I’m so excited to be on your show. We’re excited to have you.

Guest background and choosing a pet

This show is all about financial wellness, financial wisdom, financial smarts, if you will, and obviously the work that you do is tremendous. So let’s start by talking a little bit about you, what got you to where you are today with your career, and what you do in Almighty Pet Connect. Great. Great. Great.

, and for many, many years just have been involved in the animal world, was a 4-H leader for eight years, been involved with 4-H for over 20 years, ran the horse rescue fundraiser for Blue Star Draft Horse Rescue, was on another rescue board for a long time, taught dog obedience, and I’ve been raising and showing Holland Locks and Lionheads for over 20 years, since my daughter was two. Wow. So I have, and I used to breed Chinese-crusted hairless years ago, so I also helped run the pharma-rama at the Big E, so I have a lot of experience, and I have contacts all over the world from what I’ve been doing. So you’ve gotten to see the world’s smallest horse? Yes, I have.

Well, that’s awesome. Incredible work. And one of my listeners, you said, was it 4-H that you said that you’re a part of? What is that? Yes, 4-H.

4-H is a community that started years, many, many years ago, I think back in the late 1800s, and it’s for children. A lot of, most people who know about 4-H are people that homeschool their kids, so it’s a part of their curriculum that they either raise animals or they have a science program. It’s anything to do with agriculture and living, and I just remembered when I, I always wanted to be in 4-H, but there was no 4-H when I was growing up in Wilbraham years ago, so I, when I was living in Wilbraham and my daughter was little, I started my own 4-H group, worked with Tom over at UMass, who’s the head of 4-H. You guys can Google 4-H, and it’s a great community that teaches children responsibility, that teaches children general care. It doesn’t matter if it’s animals, science, you know, there’s a rocket program.

And there’s a sewing program. It’s all aspects of life and to be better citizens as they grow up. Awesome. It’s a wonderful community. So do the H’s stand for something?

Is it for H? Yeah, hands, heart, health, and help. Nice. Sounds like a perfect program to obviously teach these skills. And more importantly, as some people may be asking, why are we having someone that does pet pairing and distribution?

Because, Tina Marie, I’m sure you’ve done budgets where the expenses in the budget for pets are extreme. I have a six-month-old Shih Tzu, and she’s not very cheap. Again. Her grooming expenses are more than mine. And that’s what it comes down to, right?

And we even have a co-worker that breeds huskies. And I mean, there’s just major expense in this. As we’re talking about that part of it, you have, in your line of work and in your heart of hearts, work with families to make sure that you’re helping them pair up with the proper animal, what they’re looking for, that it’s healthy. So can you tell us, for people that are considering bringing in a pet into the household, what kind of advice do you have? Because again, this can become a major expense if mistakes are made.

Right, right, right. First and foremost, it’s a lifelong commitment. So it’s a family choice. So I get a lot of families. They’ll come, and they’ll ask me questions, and then they get the whole family on board.

Other things to consider is allergies. A lot of children, a lot of even people, more so now in the last 15 years, have more allergies. So there again, what type of dog. And there’s a lot going into any type of pet, whether it’s a rabbit, dog, cat, turkey, chicken, horse, cow, llama, alpaca, hamster. I had a guinea pig.

Don’t forget guinea pigs, please. Yeah, guinea pigs, birds, parakeets. That’s what I do. And I just get into details, because somebody might want a standard golden doodle, but live in a two-room apartment in Cambridge. That’s not a good choice.

So there’s many aspects that I help people. They can go to the AKC online, and there’s a great questionnaire that you put in your family’s info and what you do, your activity. And it’ll help you also find breeds of dogs. You know, it’s funny. You should bring that up.

Lifestyle was something big with us, because we like to travel a lot. And I adopted a Shih Tzu, as I said earlier. And hotels are much more expensive when you bring your pet. And even boarding the pet, right? Absolutely.

Boarding is a great expense with that, too. I’m going to be quite honest. It wasn’t anything that I considered previously before adopting, and an unexpected expense that was thrown at me. So no regrets. I made do with what I had to.

Costs of pet ownership and insurance

But yeah, definitely, lifestyle is huge when you’re adopting a pet. So Donna, that said, let’s talk about some of the general expenses that come along, right? What do you think, if you have just one dog, what do you think the monthly spend is just on food alone? What do you think that would be? It depends.

Some people will feed raw food, which is a lot more expensive. And dog food’s expensive now. It’s not even cheap. I know. If you can find it.

50 pounds of proprion is like $48. But if you have a, you know, it depends on the size of your dog also. And the flip side of the allergy conversation, right? Sometimes you have to get special food, right? That is more expensive.

For the dog. For the dog, right. So the dog could have allergy. Right, so for people that are listening to this conversation, and you are in the market to get a pet, you certainly, Tina, when you’re putting your budget together, you’ve got to take some research on what these expenses are going to be. Because again, I talk about this all the time.

There is no relationship like having a relationship with your pet or your animal. It becomes a family member. And you have to know what that expense is going to be. Because like you said, this is a lifetime commitment once you bring a pet into the household. And again, these expenses can completely add up.

The other thing I highly recommend, especially with certain breeds, but even is pet insurance. Nowadays, the vet offices, they have their own pharmacies in there now. So taking your dog to the vet, pet insurance is really good, especially certain breeds. The younger you get pet insurance on your dog, the cheaper it is. So as the dog gets older, just like a German Shepherd, they’re known for hip diseases.

Now, golden retrievers, definitely, if somebody is getting a golden retriever, there was a lot of what they call line breeding. And they’ve been now, golden retrievers over time have now more health issues. So just having pet insurance can help cover those unexpected costs as your dog gets older. No doubt about it. I have a family member that, again, you love your animal so much, did not have insurance, spent probably about $10,000 in testing to try to figure out a solution.

And her dog ended up passing away anyway. So insurance, we’re going to have a guest that’s going to talk about insurance for personal and pet. Perfect. Because that’s a protection of your income, right? You want to not have to spend so much money, but you want to take care of your animals.

So we’re up against a hard break. This is an amazing conversation. And the takeaway for everyone listening, you’ve got to budget. You’ve got to plan on these expenses. And insurance is a great way to prevent a major, major expense if something happens to one of the animals.

Spay and neuter options and costs

So what we’re going to do is we’re going to take a quick break. And on the other side, we’re going to talk about people, the process, and what to do to prevent getting scammed. Because that exists in this industry as well. This is Gordon Oliver with The Cambridge Connection. We’ll be right back.

If you’ve lost income during the pandemic and have fallen behind on your rent or mortgage payments, Cambridge Credit Counseling can help. Talk to one of our HUD-certified counselors at 1-800-CAMBRIDGE. Welcome back, everyone, to The Cambridge Connection. I’m your host, Gordon Oliver, here with my co-pilot, Tina Marie, and our special guest, Donna French, owner of All Mighty Pet Connect. Great conversation again.

The show’s about financial wisdom, financial wellness. We’re talking about if you are going to bring pets into the household, that there are expenses that come along. And Donna, I believe we missed a very important one. It’s spaying or neutering. And there’s two.

You can go to your vet. And most vets, I’ll tell you, if you’re west of Worcester, you can get it between $400 and $600. If you’re from Worcester to Boston, you’re looking anywhere from $600 to $1,000. And this is a national podcast also, so there will be people listening throughout the country. So this is research that needs to be done.

When in your area, find out what it costs. And every time you say spay and neuter, I can’t help but want to cross my legs, because it just sounds like such a terrible process. But I know it’s important, because we’ve had families that don’t do that. Let’s say their cats get out. All of a sudden, they’re mating, and now you’ve got 10 kittens all over the place.

And then what are you going to do with them, right? Right, right, right. So the other alternative, which is huge, and actually, my vet that I work with, when you have a vet, they know you personally. So he has clients that can’t So look for the Humane Society. The Dakin Humane Society in Springfield is $225 to spay or neuter your dog.

On a cat is $125. I highly recommend. I’m sorry, is that per income? I mean, do they go by your income? Nope.

It’s a flat rate. It’s a flat rate. OK. And you can go online and just book it. And then if you need extra shots, their pricing is so affordable.

In Springfield, well, actually, they actually did, for low income, they did a free Parvo shots and rabies shots just recently. So yeah, if you’re just looking, go to Dakin. They can really help you out. And I also recommending, please do not spay or neuter your dog until it’s six months old and older. Your animals need to mature.

You’ll get more health issues. I know a lot of rescues and shelters spay and neuter right away, but and spaying and neutering does not. There’s a myth that spaying and neutering stops cancer. It does not. I had my dog spayed and she died of cancer.

So I know a lot of people will say, oh, I got to spay my dog so it doesn’t get cancer. It doesn’t prevent cancer. And this is why you’ve got to do proper planning and with insurance. And we’ll get to this on another show. The earlier, the better.

Scams in the pet industry

Just like anything else. The earlier you buy that insurance, the lower the rate will be. So again, a good thing to look into while you’re doing your research to bring a pet in. Okay. So a lot of focus on this show goes to preventing people from getting scammed.

And while people might not believe it, you, there is a dark side in your industry that has to do with scamming. So can you tell our listeners a little bit about that and how to prevent them from getting scammed? Yeah. So it’s, it’s about 70, get that number, 70% of the referrals that come to me are from people who have been scammed or were in the process and realized last minute it was a scam. 70%.

So there’s a 70% of my clients, the last four people that are picking up their puppies from my transport business today have all been scammed. Oh wow. So like it’s, it’s so high and then people don’t want to tell you that they’ve been scammed. So what are the identifying factors? And these scammers got really good.

They’re now doing it through rescue and shelter sites, fake websites. I 100% do not give a dime to like you fill out an online application. What they did was just changed one letter of the domain. So if you misspelled something, these scammers are good and you fill out the application, send $500. I have three people that went to a same rescue site and they got scammed out of $500 each.

Anytime you want to go to a shelter or rescue, go there because by the time you fill up that application, that pet is already gone. So if you want to rescue dogs, go to a shelter, see the dog, touch the dog. Number one, as far as even with breeders or it’s more Facebook, Craigslist, social media. If the dog’s too cheap, you know something’s wrong. If you can’t, if they won’t FaceTime you and you can’t see the dog.

There’s a woman that did a Facebook page with over a thousand followers. This woman went and created like and the puppies were cheap. But what happened is the woman felt she was being scammed. So she started clicking on the names of people who comment and it was all like fake people with no friends in common and all the admins, all the admins on that page had no friends. It was all just, they were all made up.

Spent a lot of time to make her look legit. Common theme in social media, it doesn’t matter what the product is per se, but that you’ve got to be very careful when you’re purchasing goods. Yeah, like a school teacher was scammed, a financial advisor. I mean, we are all smart, savvy people. My girlfriend that works with me, that helps me, she just got scammed on a go for $450 on Facebook.

I mean, they are so good and what they’ll do is you’ll send a deposit and then they block you. That’s incredible. That’s what, that’s what scammers do. They just continue to move and change and move and change. And with the new laws, I want to touch Massachusetts has that when you get a pet, it’s a two-day quarantine.

So a lot of rescues cannot bring animals to Massachusetts. So they meet people at the TNA truck stop off at 84 or Red Robin. So you’re thinking you’re getting a dog. You go to these truck stops in Red Robin, a so-called shelter, and they don’t show up and you’re sitting there. I had somebody from Martha’s Vineyard go to Logan Airport.

They paid for the dog, paid for the transportation. They got to the airport, no dog, and the person goes to them. They spent thousands of dollars. So these guys are good. Yeah.

So I helped take a scam out of it and I work with people all over the country. I have a great network, over 5,000 contacts in my phone. I love what I do and most of the time I can help people find a pet without putting a deposit. I can also, I have such a great influence, I can also take, whether it’s a dog or puppies, back here. You can meet the dog, then pay me, and I send the money back.

I get paid on the transport. I just love what I do and it doesn’t matter if it’s a dog, cat, horse, I can help. Llama? Llama? I got an emu for somebody, so.

Rehoming pets and finding help

Listen, so because you have a large network of people, right, if someone’s not in the area and they listen to the podcast, they can always reach out to you and you can help in your network, get them in touch with a person in their area. Maybe that could help? Yes, absolutely. 100%. Okay.

Real quick. I know breeders in Japan. See? I knew that. That’s why I figured I would throw that out there.

Canada. Personal family member got a dog from a rescue and the medical records were wrong. So is it advisable that when you get the animal to take it to your own vet and have them do a thorough checkup? Oh, absolutely. And also, I also work with shelters and rescues.

I help people re-home dogs, too, or pets. That’s awesome. I do a lot with the re-homing. And sometimes it’s best not to put a dog back into ... I’m off topic just for a second.

If you needed something re-homed, unless there’s a bite or somebody’s going to get hurt, that animal is best to stay where it is, not go into a shelter to get re-evaluated, to go into a foster, into another home. Some of the best things is just the less stress on an animal and you know the issues, we can find the right home. Yeah, and that can amount to expense. So go back to what we were saying? Yeah, that can amount to an expense anyway.

So it’s important to bring that up. That would be my question. If you’re getting a dog that you thought you were getting, you’re not getting, I mean, what does one do? Hopefully it’s a reliable shelter or rescue, because the last seven out of 10 dogs that I helped re-home came from shelters that would not take the dogs back. So really make sure that if you’re working with a shelter and rescue, bring your dog to the vet.

And a lot of these dogs have issues, and some of them ... we all have issues, but if we can find out the triggers ... No one’s giving me back. Well ... But 100% take it to your vet.

I work with trainers and groomers. I work with a lot of professionals, so when somebody picks up a pet from me, not only do you get my service, I also give you a list of referrals of groomers. Pet insurance, if you want stuff embroidered, any aspect of the animal world, I can help. Awesome. So that’s just part of my service.

So great to have you, important conversation for people in their finances, and more importantly, having a great experience with bringing a pet into the family. Before I let you go, where can everybody find you, Donna? On Facebook, my website is being built right now. It’s called All A-L-L Mighty Pup, P-U-P. It’s a page where it’s a private group, and you can post what you’re looking for, or you can see who has any animals available, because I vet people who post on my private group, so you know it’s a safe place to go.

Thank you so much for joining us today, and we’ll certainly have you back again in the new year, because that’s when a lot of people do these types of transactions. So I can’t thank you enough for joining us. We’re going to take a quick break to close the show. This is Gordon Oliver with The Cambridge Connection. We’ll be right back.

Closing thoughts and Thanksgiving wishes

If you need help finding any type of pet, from dogs to cats to hamsters, and even rabbits, horses, and chickens, then Almighty Pet Connect can help you. Almighty Pet Connect works with shelters, rescues, and responsible breeders, and even helps rehome an animal if needed. Almighty Pet Connect also specializes in pet transport. For more info, visit them on Facebook at Almighty Pup. Welcome back, everyone, to The Cambridge Connection.

I’m your host, Gordon Oliver, here with my co-pilot, Tina Marie. Man, that conversation went fast. That was a lot to absorb. Absolutely. That was a lot.

Good information. Gordon, before I forget, I really want to wish you and your family a very happy Thanksgiving. Right back at you. And I want to wish all our listeners as well. I hope everyone has a happy and safe Thanksgiving.

Eat, eat, and be thankful. And be merry. And avoid my leftover suggestions. With the sweet potato turkey something. And turkey, yeah.

Again, like our producer, I mix everything together and it’s okay. Mash it up. There you go. Put gravy on everything. So again, this conversation’s important for people listening.

If you’re going to bring pets into your household, there’s expense and responsibility that comes along with it. And even some of the food that’s out there is not good for animals. You’ve got to know that you’re going to have expense there to feed them. Some people, like she said, will do the raw option where they’re cooking their own food for their pets. So bottom line is, tight economy.

If you’re going to do it, you’ve got to do your research. Just because they’re cute and cuddly and all that, they cost a lot. And if someone’s researching, Tina, and they have their budget, once they come up with the number, it’s time to insert it even before you have the pet. Start planning right away and see how it feels in your budget. Put that money away for a little bit of a slush fund.

All right. Happy Thanksgiving to you as well. Before I let you go, what’s your favorite pie? Pecan. Banana cream.

And for our weekly quote, the world has enough beautiful- Wait, wait, wait. Not pumpkin. Not pumpkin. All right. I’m sorry.

Go ahead. Sold. The world has enough beautiful mountains and meadows, spectacular skies, and serene lakes. It has enough lush forests, flowered fields, and sandy beaches. It has plenty of stars and the promise of a new sunrise and sunset every day.

What the world needs more of is people to appreciate and enjoy it. To our listeners, to our family, to our friends, that quote is by Michael Josephson. Please give thanks to everything that you have. There are many of our family members and friends that have passed, and we don’t have the opportunity to speak and be thankful to have such a dinner with them. And there are some people in the world that are not even going to be able to enjoy a meal on Thanksgiving.

So please be thankful for everything you have. Huge, colossal thanks to our producers, Leah and Lisa. And look, this show proves it. We have guests that come on because we’re trying to give our listeners meaningful information to protect their budget and their finances. m.

com under podcasts or where you find your favorite shows. Tina Marie, my co-pilot, we’re always here for you. org to give us some questions or topics you’d like us to discuss, or feel free to call 1-800-CAMBRIDGE.