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Better With Pets

Michelle Maskaly//December 6, 2013//

Better With Pets

Michelle Maskaly //December 6, 2013//

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I’ve never been to a TED talk, event or conference, but Purina’s Better With Pets summit held last month in New York City is what I would expect it to be like.

It was informative, collaborative, though-provoking, educational, fun and inspiring.

The pet food giant brought together a diverse line-up of speakers for a full day of talks geared toward showing how people and pets are better together. The packed auditorium was filled like-minded individuals from all walks of life including writers, bloggers, corporate employees, pet industry distributors, marketers and more.

Four-time Emmy Award winner and three-time Peabody Award winner, John  Hockenberry, hosted the event, which featured speakers such as their genomics expert Dr. Steve Hannah, who spoke about the importance of studying the canine genome for the welfare of dogs and humans alike;  animal advocate Beth Stern, who talked about the rescue work she does with local shelters and Simon Tofield, the creative force behind Simon’s Cat, an animated cartoon series featuring a hungry house cat who uses increasingly heavy-handed tactics to get its owner to feed it.

Each speaker was engaging, smart and supported the theory that life is better with pets. They put a spotlight the interaction, and relationship, between pets and people.

For me, it was an affirmation of the way I feel about animals and the pet industry. People are better with pets, and our industry, through products such as toys, food, treats and more, helps foster that relationship to make it the best it can be.

Purina has set up a page on their website, where you can watch video of the speakers and watch their complete talks. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

Here is short glimpse of what the event was like: