‘A Walk in the Park…With Animal Friends’ - the podcast for pet owners and animal lovers

Animal Friends, one of the UK’s largest pet insurance providers, is launching a brand new podcast for pet lovers and wildlife advocates - ‘A Walk in the Park…With Animal Friends’.

The podcast, to be hosted by Patricia Gardiner, Chief Marketing Officer at Animal Friends (accompanied by her faithful furry best friend, Skye, the German Shorthaired Pointer) provides a relaxed space to chat with special guests from the world of pets about the nitty gritty topics all pet owners love. Patricia also invites specialists from across the UK to share the amazing work done by partners and charities and discuss current affairs in the world of conservation and animal welfare.

The eight-part debut series is set to touch on a broad range of topics from keeping pet costs low to how we can expect AI to impact the veterinary and pet owner world with Dr Samantha Webster, Director of Clinical Operations at Vet-AI and Joii Pet Care.

There are also some incredible conversations covering subjects from ‘Bee-mania’ to the world of Canicross, tales of waiting room etiquette straight from the vet’s mouth (one ending in a marriage proposal!) to the more serious and powerful conversations on the credit crisis and the devastating strain this is having on the animal rescue sector.

Episode one is to be released on 2nd May across all major podcast listening platforms and will have a good go at busting all the mysterious myths and misconceptions we have about our pets!  Including, neutering - does it truly calm pets down? Do people assume a muzzled dog is a dangerous dog? Is it possible to actually take a cat for a walk, and do cats want to be worshipped?

Dr Samantha Webster is on hand to set us straight.  The following seven episodes will be available to stream weekly. 

Patricia Gardiner, Chief Marketing Officer at Animal Friends said: “We are so excited to launch ‘A Walk in the Park…With Animal Friends’ for pet owners to enjoy across the globe. In a world where we are all constantly on the go, being able to learn from trusted experts about the animals we’ve made part of our family and life isn’t always easy. I love talking about pets and all kinds of animals, hearing about all the weird and wonderful things they bring to people’s lives, and I want to be able to share advice and guidance with other owners out there who may not know where to start.

As an organisation that is also deeply committed to giving a voice to some of our most vulnerable pets and wildlife, in the UK and around the world, I also feel it’s incredibly important to also talk about the challenges we still face today when it comes to animal welfare. In our new podcast, we don’t shy away from the tough topics. It is our hope that talking them through with some incredible people and organisations that are on the frontline, shining a light on issues like pet abandonment, declining ecosystems and the impact of the cost of living crisis on pet health, we can help make people stop and think and hopefully encourage change.”

-ENDS-

Notes to editor

The eight episodes are set to cover the below topics (in order of release)

1. Myth-Busting – All things pet!
2. Canicross - A beginners’ journey.
3. Bee part of the change – Understanding our winged heroes!
4. Artificial Intelligence - What does it mean for our pets?
5. The Perfect Storm – How the cost-of-living crisis is hitting pet owners.
6. The state of the UK Rescue sector – With Birmingham Dogs Home.
7. What it takes to care your pet – The vet’s perspective.
8. Behaviour issues or separation anxiety? – What you need to know.