I am currently a member of Purina Better with Pets and this post is part of my involvement. While Purina has provided me with materials and necessary resources to complete various activities, all statements and sentiment in Cheap Is The New Classy are my own.

On Monday I got to fly to New York City for the 4th Annual Purina Better With Pets Summit. This trip came with a lot of firsts for me. The Summit was held at the Brooklyn Expo Center and I spent the night before at the brand new William Vale, also in Brooklyn. I got to meet some of the cutest dogs ever and I also met several bloggers in real life that I have been following for years on social media. And I got to learn all kinds of fascinating things about Nestlé Purina, a brand I have trusted to take care of my dogs, Puppy Mister and Daisy Baby, for years.

At the Purina Better With Pets Summit, we heard from experts in the pet industry about the future of pet food, how ingredients are researched and all about quality and safety standards. We also learned about philanthropic and/or research endeavors by Purina and the companies they have partnered with like St. Louis Children’s Hospital, Petfinder, Mayo Clinic, North Shore Animal League of America and the Urban Research Institute. I can’t possibly share with you everything that I learned at the Summit as it was just so much, but I will share with you the things that really stood out to me.

Things I Learned At The Purina #BetterWithPets Summit

1. Heart Disease Is Not Just A Human Condition – Ok, so I knew that pets could suffer from heart disease but I had no idea how many do.

“1 in 10 cats has hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.” Lisa M. Freeman – Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine

That is a staggering statistic for any cat lover to read, but things can be done to combat heart disease in your pet. It starts with proper nutrition. As your cat ages, it’s nutritional needs change. You can learn more about how to properly meet your cat’s nutritional requirements here.

2. Proper Dog Food Can Support Cognitive Health In Your Senior Dog – Puppy Mister is almost 11 years old and Daisy Baby is almost 9 years old. Wow, time flies! I learned at the Purina Better With Pets Summit that restlessness at night and “accidents” can be things that appear in senior dogs due to the aging process and related cognitive impairments. Purina makes dog food especially targeted to combat these issues: Pro Plan Bright Mind Adult 7+. Though we have not seen these issues in Daisy Baby, we are starting to see them in Puppy Mister. We currently feed our dogs a different Purina formula but we will probably be switching to Bright Mind very soon.

3. People Often Don’t Seek Help With Domestic Violence Situations For A Variety Of Reasons – Most people assume that people who don’t seek help when they are being abused by their partner do so out of fear for themselves, monetary reasons, etc. However, almost half of domestic violence victims who don’t seek help choose not to for fear of leaving their pets behind.

The Urban Research Institute and Purina have partnered to try to change that statistic. There are now locations that can house domestic violence victims along with all of their family members – including their furry friends. This is truly ground breaking. I used to work in mental health and I have never heard of a domestic violence shelter taking pets before. I really hope that this is something that will spread across the country.

4. Hospitals Have Therapy Dogs – St Louis Children’s Hospital and Purina have teamed up to provide therapy dogs to children undergoing surgeries and other in-patient procedures. The hospital currently has 20 therapy dogs. I know that when I am sick, my dogs make me feel better so I imagine the children love seeing the little fur babies in what is otherwise a pretty scary time in their lives. Aside from the pets “on staff,” children can also reunite with their own pets at the hospital. Learn more about the Purina Family Pet Center here.

5. Purina Products Are Made In The USA – We have all heard about the risks of feeding our dogs food made in other countries. Currently, 99% of Purina products that are sold in the USA are also made in the USA. These foods are also formulated specifically with optimal animal health in mind, by leading animal experts and scientists with years of experience in the field.

6. Purina Is Family – Someone just celebrated their 50th year with the company at the Allentown, PA, plant. There are also several others who have been there 30+ years. Could you imagine working somewhere 50 years? Wow! I just couldn’t imagine staying somewhere that long unless I really loved the company and what it stood for and, perhaps most importantly, I felt I was treated well.

7. Pets Are Not Forgotten During Disasters – It’s awesome to help people during natural disasters, but our furry friends need help, too.

8. Purina Is On Snapchat – Snapchat is a social media platform that I am just starting to learn about how to use, so it’s nice to see that I can learn along with Purina. Be sure to follow them on Snapchat with the handle purinapetcare for awesome pet stuff!

9. You Can Customize Your Dog Food – Did you know that your dog can have their own special blend of food? With Purina Just Right, you can choose exactly what goes in your dog food. That way you can tailor your dog’s food especially to his or her tastes and nutritional needs. You can also name the food after your fur baby!

10. Flying Is Definitely The Way To Travel – Although it was not my first time in NYC {that was last year}, it was my first time flying, and it was also my first time going somewhere that far away for one day and coming back the next. I am still amazed at how fast we got there! It took 14 hours {with stops} for me to drive there last year as compared to the 1 hour and 10 minutes it took to fly back this year. Wow! I really hope that I get the chance to fly again really soon.

Some Very Cool Bloggers That I Met – Check Them Out If You Haven’t

I apologize in advance as I am sure that I will leave someone out. There were just so many awesome people at the Purina Better With Pets Summit!

Kimberly Conover Dickerson – Saving More Than Me
Beeb Ashcroft – Mom Start
Summer Len Davis – Dirty Floor Diaries {I actually met her once before but only in passing so I consider this the first “meeting.”}
Amanda Yantos – Dog Mom Days
Jenna Wood – Momma Told Me {the cute little white fluff above in the sling is hers…awwwww….}
Lori Pace – A Day In Motherhood
Brett Martin – This Mama Loves
Pam Wattenberger – Simply Southern Mom
Jennifer S. Mitchell – Comeback Momma

Also, be sure to check out Winnie the Therapy Dog on Instagram. Cute, cute, cute!

Check out the rest of my pictures from the Summit on Flickr.

How Do Pets Help You Live Big?

Let us know in the comments below and be sure to share on social media using #LetsLiveBig.

Get Social With Purina