Episode 44: Why Your Business Needs Pet CPR Training With Cara Armour

In this episode of "Bella In Your Business", Bella speaks with Cara Armour, Product Manager and Marketing Manager for ProPetHero, a pet CPR and first aid online training program for pet business owners. In 2003 Cara Armour co-founded Active Paws Inc., in the Boston, MA area. In 2009, Cara won Pet Sitter of the Year. She is decorated in many accolades and even expanded to opening a grooming and holistic pet supply store. Since 2003, Cara has been trained by the American Red Cross as well as several veterinarians in Pet First Aid and CPR. In 2011 she completed an instructor training course and became a certified Pet First Aid and CPR instructor. In 2015 she co-founded an online Pet First Aid academy and now works as a product and marketing manager for ProPetHero, the Pet First Aid and CPR division of ProTrainings. She is also a volunteer and foster home for The Boxer Rescue Inc, a health conscious breeder of Boxers. Bella and Cara talk about Pet First Aid and how to go about training you and your staff. They discuss the benefits of being trained which are: Being able to save the lives of your pets or pet clients. Learning to recognize potential issues with a pet and bring that to the owner’s attention. Using that trained status to stand out from your competition and create greater security among your clients. They talk about how an online training course, such as the ones available through ProPetHero are more useful than in-person training because: You can do them at your own pace and anywhere you want. The cost is significantly low compared to sending staff to an in-person training course You can monitor staff's progress and comprehension of the material. Topics & Key Points Pet first aid and CPR training with Kara Armor. Evolving from in-person teaching to online courses Pet sitting training and certification Pet sitting industry training and marketing strategies Pet sitting industry competition and marketing advantage Pet first aid training and its importance Importance of CPR/First Aid training for pet sitters Timestamps [2:08] From in-person teaching to online courses [4:37] Training and certification [9:20] Training and marketing strategies [14:06] Marketing Advantage [17:56] Pet first aid training and its importance [22:37] CPR/First Aid training for pet sitters Notable Quotes [1:34] " I knew if I had someone else's animal, my care, I had to know what to do when things go wrong because they do. " [6:26] "Because I have used CPR twice, I had a greyhound that was having a stroke. And I was able to bring him back, get him to the vet. " [18:53] " If you have CPR and first aid certification, you are going to stand above your competition that right there alone. I mean, it's one more accolade. " Resources There is even a special discount for “Bella in your Business” fans. You can get 10% off by going to here. Coupon code: CPR-petsitter Subscribe To The Show: Transcript Welcome to Bella in your business where Bella will discuss anything and everything about your pet-sitting business to help you land on target. So get ready Bella's God your shoot legs John, welcome to another episode of Bella in your business. My name is Bella Vasta from Jump Consulting and today I've got a guest that I've had on my show before but she was so excited and everyone loved having you on that I had to have you on again. Welcome, Kara armor. How are you? I'm doing fabulously although the weather is not it is boring. Well, that's what you get for being in Boston. For those of you who do not know Kara, Kara is the co-founder of Active Paws Inc., in the Boston area. In 2009, Kara won petsitter of the year. She's decorated with many accolades and even expanded to opening a grooming and holistic supply store. Kara is on today, because this month in April, is Pet First Aid Awareness Month. And Kara works with pro pet hero. And that's what we kind of talked a little bit about, but the last time I wanted to have you on again because not only is it just so timely right now, but I just kind of wanted to first take everyone back and explain how did you become a part of pro pet hero because I know your story starts with you starting something like that yourself. Right? Yeah, so I'm a go-getter. And when I started my company, I knew it was important for me to have pet first aid and CPR training. I knew if I had someone else's animal, my care, I had to know what to do when things go wrong because they do. So I kept returning to the Red Cross class, which was hilarious because the instructor finally after three years, told me they don't expire. So in 2009 When I wanted a pet to the year, I became aware of pet tech. And I wanted to be a part of sharing the knowledge I had become more advanced in it and I wanted to be an instructor. So in 2011, I became an instructor. And then I realized that geographical limitations. My classes were selling out I had waiting lists. I wasn't willing to drive more than an hour because it's a lot out of your day, you know, for our class becomes a six-hour endeavor. And probably lugging all those stuffed animals and stuff to I imagine it was the tables. I was very lucky when I would teach in churches, they had tables and chairs. But when I would teach in daycares, they didn't. So I was traveling, I was traveling, traveling roadshow. Yeah. So I had a student in my class. And he said, You know, I was looking for an online class, I said, Oh, you can't teach this online. And he said, why not? So I started doing some research. And you can and there are a lot of studies, which I know we'll talk about a little bit later, that show that this information and lots of information can be portrayed better online. So I built my online course. And that was in 2015. And then in 2016, I found pro pet hero. And it was everything that I knew I didn't have. So they were an actual veterinarian teaching the course. And that's something that I thought was important. I felt confident in my skills and education. But I felt like this information should come from somebody who has saved hundreds of pet lives. And so I called them up and I said, guys, I know I built a course that's I guess your competition. But I want to be a part of your awesome because what they are doing is just awesome. And they have a similar story. Roy Scott and Paul Roy was an EMT, paramedic, he started the business back in 2003. As a paramedic, he was sick and tired of being traveling roadshows, he was tired of the geographical limitations. And so we had two friends who were able to help him get his classes online for humans. And then they opened up into the pet market in 2016. And I bar trading. Here I am, and I can picture that happening for you, Kara. probably love it. I, you know, you made a really good point there, the whole veterinarian-trained part. And I liked that story. And I wanted my listeners to hear that because I wanted to hear how your heart evolved. It wasn't like you all of a sudden just wanted a job and you got hired from this company. And now you're repping for them. It's so much deeper than that and more of an evolution than that. So thank you for sharing that. Yeah, I was able to take my pride and set it aside, I had built something that I wanted to succeed. Yeah. But when you know, there's something better. It's better to join it rather than fight it. And I wanted to join it. I love that. I love that I wish more people had that mentality. And that's why you're one of my favorite people. So let's talk more about this online learning thing. You know, when I was in college, oh my god, like 15 years ago, I felt old whose mind was just starting right. And it was kind of like this taboo weird thing. But as I prepared for this call, I heard that there's an increasing number of students selecting distance learning courses as a part of their regular college curriculum. And there's been a 150% increase between 1998 and 2008. Now one could say well, Kara Bella, we're talking about saving pets' lives. Hey, and Kara, I'm gonna tell you what I think about that. And I want to hear your thoughts because I know you have thoughts. My thought is, we're not veterinarians, we are not vet techs, we are pet sitters and dog walkers. And technically, if a client is out of town, we're only there for an hour and a half to three hours out of a day for doing three times a-day visits. So the possibility of something happening while we're there is pretty slim, for us to triage and start doing compressions and, and help this like, I don't know how many times you've done it in your petsitting career, but I don't know many pet sitters that have had to do compressions on a dog. I do know understand and appreciate the whole first aid element. You know, in Arizona, you get cactus in the paw or you get something up your snout or dehydration or heat exhaustion, you know, that kind of stuff. But when we're talking about the real hard triage and veterinarian kind of stuff, you're going to be getting the dog to the vet, right? So the whole like, you can't teach this online. I don't think applies. I mean, even veterinarians are taking their courses online. So why not pet sitters learn online for a fraction of the cost in the comfort of their own home and then be able to replicate it to their whole staff? Well, I sound like a little bit of a sales right now. And I don't mean that, but this is what's going on, in my mind. What do you think about all that, Kara, I think you bring up some really good points. Because I have used CPR twice, I had a greyhound that was having a stroke. And I was able to bring him back and get him to the vet. And then his parents did choose to say goodbye. And then I had unsuccessful CPR in a car with a cat that was alive and alert, but you know, tacky gums blue gums when I had arrived,