Amanda Howland and Christian Kjaaer recently talked to TVGrapevine about their special pet project…..no pun intended! The dynamic duo are working with celebrities to help pets in need of services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Here are ten facts a bout them and the project.
1. Christian and I founded ElleVet Sciences in 2016. We have built it into a very successful CBD for pets company over the past 4 years. We were the first to do a clinical trial using our CBD on dogs with osteoarthritis in conjunction with Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. The study was hugely successful and the paper on the study was published in 2018. We have 5 clinical studies going on right now and are far and away the leader in science and research in the CBD for pets industry. We are very proud of having science and evidence backing up our products so we can provide the best possible CBD product for pets.
2. The Pets in Need Project came out of our concern for how people and their pets were affected by Covid19. We had always wanted to implement a giving back part of ElleVet but hadn’t yet decided what that would look like. When Covid hit and people were being laid off and we realized the homeless had even fewer resources, it all crystallized. We knew this was important and we knew we had to act quickly and help when it was most needed, so we rented an RV, had it wrapped, jumped on a plane to CA, stocked it with medical supplies and got veterinarians onboard to help.
3. Well, we saw this as an opportunity to realize the heart piece of our logo, The Heart and Science of Better Pet Health. We spent 4 years building the scientific foundation and now we can focus on the heart of our business. Pets and people needed help and we could do it and it is on the ground, direct help, which is important to us. We talk to hundreds of pet owners and hear their stories and have gotten a very real sense of how covid and life on the streets affects pets. We get to see the power of the human animal bond up close everyday and it is remarkable. Everyone loves their pets and economic status doesn’t matter at all.
4. It is fantastic working with celebrities! The celebrities we have worked with are wonderful human being and wonderful pet parents. Jane Lynch, Sarah Paulson, Amanda Schull, Judy Greer and many more have given their time to share stories of their own dogs and to support Pets in Need. We love them all!
5. The biggest challenge is not being able to help everyone who needs us. We were in one location for 3 days and worked early morning to evening with no breaks and still couldn’t see everyone who waited in line. Some people waited in line for 7 hours on multiple days to see us in the hot sun and we want to see every single pet. We make a huge difference and will see at least 1000 pets on this trip, but it is hard not to see everyone.
6. Favorite memories are probably the dogs that we were able to save, that would have died had they not had medical attention. Or the little dog that we were able to find a home for-that was a real happy ending. But also the wonderful people we have met. We’ve had the most positive interactions and met the most lovely and selfless people in all areas, from the pet owners to the times when a restaurant sends over a meal for us at no charge to say thank you for helping our community. It goes without saying that we love every single pet that we see!
7. Fun fact- I can ride a unicycle. Fun fact for Christian- he is from Denmark but spent a year attending high school in Mississippi.
8. We haven’t had a chance to watch much TV but my two recent favorites (aside from the news) are The Good Place and Brooklyn99. Not sure what that says about me!
Christian is a CNN junkie and likes the Blacklist
9. Thank you Sammi for sharing our story and thank you to everyone we have met along the way and thank you to all the celebrities helping to get the word out!
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