Amy Castro with Starlight Pet Talk Podcast

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Houston, Texas. It’s time for Houston Business Radio. Now, here’s your host.

Trisha Stetzel: Hello, Houston. And Trisha Stetzel here bringing you another episode of Houston Business Radio. I’m really excited about my guest today. I have Amy Castro, who’s the host of Starlight Pet Talk Podcast. In addition to the work that she does on our podcast, Amy’s an active speaker and consultant in the pet industry, her dedication to animal welfare and her work with Starlight Pet Talk and Starlight Outreach and Rescue underscore her belief in the power of education to transform lives, both human and animals alike. Amy, welcome to the show.

Amy Castro: Thanks for having me here, Trisha. I’m excited to chat with you.

Trisha Stetzel: I’m so excited. Uh, we were just talking before we started the show that we haven’t seen each other in quite some time. Uh, we engage with each other at the Clear Lake chamber a few years ago and have had a little bit of interaction in the middle. And you have something amazing going on. Really like to focus on your podcast today. So what inspired you to start the Starlight Pet Talk podcast?

Amy Castro: Education has always been part of our mission at Starlight Outreach and Rescue, and as a speaker, it, you know, kind of comes naturally to me to to take those opportunities to get the word out about whatever it might be. And I found myself on a regular basis, fielding calls from people, many of whom were looking to surrender pets to the rescue. And instead of just taking that opportunity to say, well, no, we can’t, yes we can, and leaving the conversation at that, I always want to know why, why, why do you want to rehome that pet? What is going on with that puppy? What’s going on with your cat? And I found myself in, you know, 25, 30, 40 minute conversations with people walking them through their problems and trying to give them some solutions. And I thought to myself, well, if I can do that one on one with a dozen people a day, what could I do if I turn this into a public platform to educate pet parents? So that’s kind of how it got started.

Trisha Stetzel: Yeah, I love that. I think it’s fantastic and it’s so needed that education out there. And you know, what should parents be doing and what shouldn’t they be doing is part of that education? Um, I would think and it’s so important people just don’t understand sometimes. And then sometimes they’re making bad decisions. And being out there and being an advocate for these animals is so special. So thank you for doing that, Amy. Sure. Most appreciate it. So how does a podcast specifically contribute to Starlight Outreach and Rescue’s mission?

Amy Castro: Well, I think it’s just it’s another outlet to get the word out about things that we can do to help keep pets in good homes. You know, most people are the people that contact us. Most of them don’t want to give up their pet. They feel like they’ve come to the end of a line. They’ve tried what they know to try. They’ve tried. You know, people will post stuff on Facebook. What should I do about this? And the advice is not always good. And so, you know, I look at the podcast as being a resource to actually cut down on the number of people that want to surrender their animals to us, because, I mean, there are hundreds of rescues in the Houston area, and we’re just one of them, and we’re actually quite a small one in comparison to others. And all of us are just completely overwhelmed. And many have closed their doors to intake on a regular basis because there’s just no place to put these animals that people are trying to surrender. So if we can get a message out there that keeps one pet in a home, that’s something that’s, you know, that’s pivotal to our mission. We’d like to put ourselves out of business, actually, as Starlight Outreach and Rescue.

Trisha Stetzel: Wouldn’t that be nice? That’s probably. I’d like.

Amy Castro: To retire.

Trisha Stetzel: I’d like to retire. Uh, so people I’m sure are already interested about your podcast. Would you tell them where they might find and be able to listen to the episodes you’ve got out there already?

Amy Castro: Sure. We actually, I just realized today that we are at our 70th episode. Um, we started the podcast in February of last year, so it’s a relatively new podcast, but you can find it pretty much anywhere that you listen to your favorite podcasts. So Apple, Spotify, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and you know dozens of other platforms. And if all else fails, you’re welcome to check it out on our website, which is basically Starlight Pet Talk.com. And all of the episodes are there as well. We also have, um, a YouTube channel for the rescue, and under that is a podcast tab where you can watch videos. They’re not the greatest videos, but I started a podcast not to have to be videoed, but we do have videos, so if you’d rather watch instead of listen, you can check us out on YouTube as well.

Trisha Stetzel: Fantastic. Maybe they just want to see faces. I know people’s faces, right? Even if they’re just having a conversation, right? Congratulations, by the way, on 70 episodes. That is fantastic. So many people, I’m sure you know. And we’ll talk about this in a few minutes. I’ve got a question for you around. You know, the whole idea of podcasting. Uh, but so many people start and don’t follow through. And congratulations for continuing to fill that pipeline with so much education that pet owners and pet lovers, uh, can get to and easily get to. So thank you for that. It’s awesome. So can you share a success story or a particularly impactful episode from your podcast?

Amy Castro: There are. There are many. But when I think about direct impact, where somebody has come back to me and said, that episode made me completely rethink some, you know, rethink things about my pets. It was an early on episode that we did about, um, you know, basically selecting a right fit pet. That’s a theme that runs through the podcast because too many times people are influenced by personal needs and desires that may not be a match for the pet. Or my neighbor got a blah de blah de doodle, and so therefore I want to have a doodle or whatever it might be, you know, miss misunderstandings about pets and this is kind of tied to this specific episode, is people think that, well, I should get a puppy, because that way I can raise it a certain way and turn it into a certain type of dog. But maybe if it hasn’t been. But you know, if it’s been 15 years since they’ve had a puppy, they forget how much work they are. So anyway, this particular episode of, uh, was about making those right choices. And one of the decision factors was also about how old am I and where am I in my life? And is a puppy a good choice? And I actually had a listener reach out to me after the fact and say that, you know, not only and they’d already gotten the puppy, so they were they were committed.

Amy Castro: But it really got her to thinking about, you know, what am I going to do if something happens to me? It was an older lady and her husband’s older as well. What am I going to do with this puppy if I if something happens to one of us and they hadn’t thought about that, and that was something we mentioned in the episode, is what is your plan if you are older and it really got her to, you know, basically knocking down family doors to say, okay, if something happens to my husband and I, you know, who would be willing to take in this puppy? Because the puppies, you know, they’re pushing 80 years old and the puppy could live 15 years. And it’s, uh, you really do need to have a plan.

Trisha Stetzel: Yeah, absolutely. And, you know, those who think small dogs are going to take less energy and less interaction can sometimes be wrong. Exactly right. Exactly. And really paying attention and being able to utilize the education that you’re putting out there, I think is wonderful that people have a resource that they can come to and say, okay, let me find an episode on and, well, there’s 70 to choose from and lots of education out there, and then they should subscribe and And just this is all the episodes, right? Uh, yeah.

Amy Castro: One every week the you know, that’s our that’s our goal. We are we are very consistent in putting out a new episode every Tuesday.

Trisha Stetzel: So how do you decide on the topics and even the guests that you’re bringing on to your podcast for these episodes?

Amy Castro: That’s a great question. So the initial the initial process began with a brainstorm, but also going back in my mind to those conversations and looking through emails that I had received where people had specifically asked questions or had a particular problem. So that started the initial list, and then it kind of expanded from there to say, okay, if if our goal is to have people keep their pets and live their very best lives for them, what factors play into that? So it’s, you know, problem solving. Yes. But it’s nutrition. It is, you know, lifestyle elements. It is health care and and a variety of topics. So that allowed us to take that initial brainstorm and break it into categories that we try to hit on a regular basis. And the lifestyle thing was sort of a surprise to me because we’ve, you know, we’ve done episodes on dog dancing, we’ve done episodes on photography with pets, traveling with your pets, and those have been very popular with people because it really is for people who are dedicated to their pets. It is a 360 degree lifestyle. It’s not just one thing that they’re that they’re focused on. And then as far as the the, the guest, I mean, it has ranged from my best friend because I feel like she might have a particular insight into a topic to nationally renowned veterinarians like Doctor Gary Richter and pretty much everybody in between. So it’s really a matter of selecting a topic and then trying to find out who I feel like is going to be the best person to represent that topic and provide the most up to date, current useful knowledge for the people that are listening.

Trisha Stetzel: Yeah, absolutely. If you don’t mind, I want to visit just a little more about Amy because of your background. I know you’re an animal lover. You’ve opened a rescue. You’re also, uh, a speaker. Do you think all of that really led you to this podcasting, this educating through a podcast?

Amy Castro: Yes, I think it’s, uh, it was kind of a natural progression on how I could use, you know, it’s it’s really a it’s been a combination of a passion, which is the animal side of things and a skill, um, which is not necessarily always a passion, but being able to take that passion and put it with a skill that I have, it just makes it. It’s probably the most enjoyable thing that I spend my time on during a week because it’s, you know, I know it has impact. I know I can deliver the message, but then it’s about something that I truly, in my heart of hearts, believe is critically important to people who are listening.

Trisha Stetzel: Yeah. That’s wonderful. And it’s awesome how everything that you’ve done in your life and your career has really led to this moment where you’re out educating people on how they can care for these animals that they may already have in their care, uh, or which ones they should choose as they go out to get a pet, um, or decide to adopt. And I just I think that’s just wonderful. Thank you for doing that hard work of getting all of our humans educated for what’s to come. Right? Yeah. And what’s around the corner. So do you have some upcoming topics or guests that you’re going to be featuring anytime soon that you’d like to give a sneak peek to?

Amy Castro: Sure, sure. Um, and I’m not exactly sure when you’re going to air, but one one that’s that’s coming up is on vaccinations. It’s a it’s a very interesting topic with a doctor, Jeff Grognet from, uh, from Canada. He’s a holistic veterinarian. So he takes a very different view from the traditional view about get your pet all of these vaccines every single year. And it was a really interesting conversation that I think will help pet parents navigate navigate those decisions, because people are look, kind of scrutinizing the traditional beliefs about vaccines and really looking at what is actually needed and what is best for my pet. So that’s that’s a big one. That’s that’s coming up that I’m super excited about. And then another one, especially being here in the Houston area, um, is with I’m going to be interviewing a couple of folks from the National, uh, from the Red cross and talking about disaster preparedness for pets. And with hurricane season coming up, it’s a not only a timely topic, but I find I learn something new on every single episode. Like one of the things in just the pre-conversation with the Red cross folks, I did not realize that the number one disaster that they respond to is not tornadoes and hurricanes and things like that. It’s house fires. And so we’re actually as a spin off of that episode where we talk generally about disaster prep. We’re going to do an entire episode on house fires and, you know, prevention and responding because it is such a huge issue, 60,000 house fires a year. They respond to.

Trisha Stetzel: Oh my gosh, I had no idea.

Amy Castro: Me neither.

Trisha Stetzel: Here in the Houston area. You think it’s, you know, rain, tornadoes, flooding. Something to do with water? Not necessarily fire. Wow. Yeah. That is a really big, uh, a big topic people think about, you know, what do I do on a daily basis? But what if you had to gather everything up and get the heck out.

Amy Castro: In two.

Trisha Stetzel: Minutes? Exactly.

Amy Castro: And two minutes is what they said.

Trisha Stetzel: Wow. That’s crazy. So having all of that. All right, everybody who’s listening, make sure that you tune in to those two episodes. I think the vaccination space is a really fascinating area. And there are. So I think even more these days than ten years ago, really talking about is it necessary, do we need to. And then there are laws that many of us have to abide by because we take our animals into facilities or, you know, fill in the blank. We’re taking our animals out in public. And the state law says you have to have these vaccinations and you have to have them every single year. So good. All right. So tune in to that one. And then we’ve got to tune in to the one about, uh, disaster plans and the special one beyond that just about house fires and being aware of what you need to do when those types of things come up for you. Um, how can listeners get involved or support your show or even the outreach and rescue for Starlight?

Amy Castro: Well, we have a pretty strong social media presence, especially for the rescue, you know, and Facebook is one of our primary sources. So we do a lot of information updates about pets, fundraising, things like that. So we’re always looking for people to, you know, share our posts about adoptable pets or donate if they feel called to do so for a particular animal or a particular particular need that we have. We do have a separate Facebook page for the podcast as well. And as far as we’re always looking for input and show ideas, I get, I, I get, I get the greatest show ideas. We did one recently on raising guide dog puppies for the blind, and it was directly from a person who was blind who messaged me through Facebook and said, hey, it’s going to be National Guide Dog Day in on this date. And, and, uh, you know, have you thought about doing an episode on that? So reach out to us either through Facebook and there’s multiple methods to reach out to me directly on the Starlight Pet Talk.com website. You can leave a voicemail message, you can send a contact and I will respond personally to all of those contacts.

Trisha Stetzel: Hey, fantastic. Again that Starlight Pet Talk.com. You can also find them on LinkedIn and Facebook. All of that information will be in the show notes, so I hope you’ll take advantage. And just click on those links and see how you can get involved. So what I’d like to just talk about what you talk about on your podcast. If there was one thing that you could bring up on the show today that you want listeners to hear in the way of education? What would that message be?

Amy Castro: Don’t give up until you’ve exhausted all resources, whatever it might be. Um, if your pet is lost. We did a great episode with a basically a lost cat finder, a pet detective, and it was amazing. The things that are not common knowledge that you can do, and how long a pet can be lost before it gets returned. And we found that same thing with microchips. You know, the importance of having our pets microchipped and how pets can come back years later and dealing with problems, litter box issues with cats, whatever it might be. I think the big message is there is information out there. You’ve got to keep looking and don’t give up until you have exhausted all of the information and all of the resources that are available to you, and keep asking for help until you do.

Trisha Stetzel: Yeah, and you’ve got so much education out there that’s so easily available right now. So go check out the podcast, get the information that you need, and if you still have questions, reach out to Amy and her team on either the website. You can find them on Facebook and or LinkedIn. So just switching gears for a second, because you just started this podcast, you’ve had 70 shows. Amazing. What advice would you give to someone who might be looking to start their own cause based podcast?

Amy Castro: Oh, there’s there’s so there’s so many things. I think the, the biggest thing would be don’t get in your own way. I think too many times we worry about the what ifs, and I was the same way. And I think the only thing that allowed me to push through was the passion for the, you know, for helping animals, because otherwise I would constantly be second guessing myself. So don’t second guess yourself. Just just do it if you’re going to do it. Um, but but at the same time, I think doing some a little bit of homework up front to, to narrow in and decide on what it is, what is my goal or objective, because that’ll allow you to filter through all the noise, whether it’s the noise in your own head, whether it’s the noise of people coming at you with ideas for your show or guests that want to be on there. If you have a a goal or a mission that you’re trying to accomplish with that podcast, then you use that, like I said, as a filter to determine what directions you go in, who you have on the show, what topics you discuss, and it allows you to really establish a niche, um, that people will get get behind your listeners.

Trisha Stetzel: Yeah, absolutely. And it’s about that passion that you have that’s going to keep you moving forward in the right direction. And yeah, I know about the, um, the analytical overload where you just can’t move forward because everything needs to be perfect before you can go there. And sometimes it really is just about having a conversation like we did today, uh, you know, letting people know that this is out there because they may not know. Maybe they’ve never heard of this such a thing before. Uh, and they’re ready to go out and adopt an animal, or they need help with an animal that they’ve already adopted, and they’re at wit’s end, and they don’t know what to do next. The education is out there. And, Amy, you’re doing such a phenomenal job of putting that all together. And based on your background, I’m not surprised that you’re creating such an amazing space for people to go to and find what they need in the way of education. I can’t wait to hear more episodes of your show. So as we wrap up today, is there any final piece of advice or just something that you would like to get out to the audience before we close?

Amy Castro: I think just, you know, love your pets and, you know, support them in any way that you can, whether it’s consulting with your veterinarian, listening to a podcast, reading a book, whatever it might be. But the more knowledge that you can gain as a pet owner or a pet parent or however you refer to yourself it as, the more you can make better informed decisions that are good for not only your pet, but yourself.

Trisha Stetzel: Absolutely. Amy, thank you so much for being on the show today. It’s been amazing.

Amy Castro: Thank you so much for having me. I appreciate you, um, giving me a platform to share information about the podcast that I’m so passionate about.

Trisha Stetzel: Absolutely. And I have a feeling that you’ll probably be back to talk about some other things that you’ve got going on, too. Uh, so thank you for being here. And that’s all the time that we have for today’s show. Join us next time for another exciting episode of Houston Business Radio. Until then, stay tuned, stay inspired, and keep thriving in the Houston business community.