• Pets in the Media. We have always been fascinated by pets and ever since Sounder and Lassie, we want to see more and more “stories” featuring our furry friends.  Well, two more “stories” are coming soon – one in long form and one in short form.  The long form, “The Secret Life of Pets” will be in theaters July 8, 2016 and will give us a “behind the scenes” look at what happens when you leave your pets to go to work. (Perhaps having a PetChatz® can help with this – just sayin’).  The short form, “Downward Dog” is in the tradition of Mr. Ed, Baby Bob and those E-Trade talking baby commercials (my favorite can be seen here) and features a young lady and her pooch and how they each view the other – promotional trailer here: Downward Dog.  Will it take off?  Who knows – but it sure is nice to see our compadres getting some screen time!
  • newz-v1-2-inlineFrom our Internet of Things (IoT) department comes some information on how many folks are shopping for “stuff” using smartphones and tablets. This information from our friends at Nielsen shows that the comfort level of buying from a mobile device is increasing – as is using that device to research things.  The new PetChatz web site is under development – and will be very focused on creating a seamless experience for our mobile users.  You can read the Nielsen article here: Shop ‘til They Drop – the chart is to the right.
  • We all know “those people” – you know the ones who see their pets (it seems to be a bit more dog centric than cat centric) as entitled members of their family. Well, true confession time, we at PetChatz are “those people” (the Mad Chatter used to remind visitors that the reason it is called “fur”niture is that it is supposed to have dog hair on it).  BuzzFeed has a compilation of 21 signs you might be “one of those” people: Buzzfeed Pet Parents
  • A quick post from a friend of mine as a reminder during these hot months to not only care for your own animals (let’s not leave them in cars shall we?) but also keep an eye out for how you might be able to help a pet in need: Michael in Thailand.