Southern Charms of the PetSafe Summit
I’ve just returned from the 3 day PetSafe Pawprint Summit in beautiful Knoxville, Tennessee courtesy of the lovely folks at PetSafe. They invited me and ten other pet bloggers to experience the PetSafe brand hands-on adding southern hospitality and culture. Bloggers live much of their lives online so the opportunity to connect in person with fellow bloggers while being validated and appreciated by our hosts was truly inspiring.
PetSafe, the largest manufacturer of electronic pet training products in the U.S. and owner of Premier Pets (my favorite cat toys and water fountains) is all about safe pets = happy owners and I loved seeing many of the 350 employees working in the open plan office with their dogs happily at their feet.
It was my first time visiting Tennessee and attending a small pet summit. I worried how the mostly dog blogger contingent would accept me, the 110% cat person. From the moment I stepped into the hotel lobby and met Gina, of Oz the Terrier blog my fears melted away. By the time I met Jake the pitbull and mom Beverly, Sugar the golden retriever and mom Rosalyn, and Rocco the Havanese and mom Diane, Gretel the dachshund and mom, Jessica I felt fully embraced by doggy blogger love. Well, actually all kinds of love, 24/7. We were treated royally by the awesome PetSafe marketing team of Jessie, Jessica and director, Jason. A special shout out goes to PR whiz Meredith Schneider of Fetching Communications who acted as our mother hen and head counter before and after every expedition on our chartered bus. We had way too much fun and yes, rounding us up was like herding cats.
Besides being wined and dined at a serene lakeside restaurant, an iconic Icon restaurant with the sweeping 360 view high above Knoxville plus a down home BBQ, we were treated to a tour of the outstanding University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine. The facilities and cutting edge research left me in awe. I will be following up with a separate blog post and interview or two from UTCVM.
A personal highlight was a private breakfast and tour at Scripps, the media family of HGTV, Food Channel, DIY etc. I’m a huge fan and the stunning campus where over 1000 employees work is breathtaking from every angle.
The purpose of any summit is to learn and to gain insights. I was pleasantly surprised by the transparency of the PetSafe brand’s values and huge giving back to the pet-loving community from dog parks to shelter programs. Renowned dog trainer Robin MacFarland gave an eye-opening presentation on e-collar training her with her own dog and a lively Jack Russell terrier belonging to Jim, the director of Animal Welfare Initiatives. Fellow blogger Larry Kay, volunteered to try what the sensation of an e-collar felt like. To my surprise it was subtle and not shocking. Although I doubt I’ll be using e-collars on my cats anytime soon, the electronic smart pet door is intriguing.
Another highlight was having a very casual lunch with the affable and approachable PetSafe CEO Randy Boyd. He embodied a grounded and friendly vibe many CEOs would benefit cultivating. In this case, proving nice guys do finish first.
We ended the summit in the rolling hills of Rockford at the home of musician Jay Clark who treated us to an evening of live Bluegrass and BBQ by a bonfire. The waxing moon twinkled and I had my first taste of moonshine with strangers who had transformed into friends. I confess, I didn’t want to leave. No one did so we lingered and savored the moment.
Golden purrs of thanks to SugarTheGoldenRetriever for the images of me. Click on the link can see her post about the summit. I posted an extensive album of my summit experience at G+.plus some stunning horses. My artsy photos (not posted here) will turn up at my other blog as sources of inspirational photo quotes down the road.
AND you can bet we’ll be having a special PetSafe giveaway real soon.
35 Comments
Oz the Terrier
Oh Layla, it was such a pleasure to meet you at the Summit. We had the best time! I was so overwhelmed by the whole experience…you are right, the transparency of PetSafe is something many can learn from. I sure hope we get to see each other in person again soon. What a blast! And what terrierific photos you took! Love the post.
Gina
Layla Morgan Wilde
Missed you! So wonderful spending time. Let’s reconnect after BarkWorld.
maggie
What a cool and interesting event. Adventurous Merlin is on the Cats of the CB Calendar today.
Layla Morgan Wilde
Thanks for reminding me!
Sheba's Life Story
That sounds and looks like great fun.
Sheba.
M. K. Clinton
That sounds like such an amazing time. Pet people are so much fun! I’m glad that you were able to attend and look forward to hearing more. We are big fans of PetSafe Dental Bones & Sticks. ☺
Sometimes Cats Herd You
It sounds — and looks — like a fantastic experience, and a great group of bloggers to share it with.
The Island Cats
That looked like a great event. How cool that you got to go. Were there any other cat bloggers there?
Brian Frum
WOW! Y’all had one heck of a good time!
Deztinee High
Sounds like a good time wuz had by all. 🙂
Lu ya’
Dezi and Lexi
Denise DiBetta
This sounds like an amazing experience! The food, the camaraderie, the showcase of products, not to mention The Food Channel (I’m addicted to that channel!) and moon shine! The pictures are all fantastic, and as always, you look absolutely stunning in them! Talk soon my dear friend…purrs! xo
Layla Morgan Wilde
Denise you would have loved the Food Channel cafeteria! Thanks and purrs.
Skeeter and Izzy
Welcome to the South!!! We are just up the road (I81) a piece in Virginia. It sounds like your group was treated with true Southern hospitality! I know how you really meant the comment about the shine and people that had became your friends but you have to watch that stuff because it can have that effect on you if you drink too much of it and aren’t in the company of such great people…..MOL! We are glad that you had a great trip and experience with the “Dog” people and the PetSafe folks. It sounds lovely from all angles.
Luvs
Skeeter and Izzy and the Feral Gang + Twig & Peanut & Romeo >^..^<
Layla Morgan Wilde
It was the purrfect introduction to the South. LOL, I only had a few sips of the shine and it was plenty.
Darlene Arden, C.A.B.C.
I’m glad you had so much fun! I really enjoyed it last year. Of course the dog bloggers would embrace you!!
Love the photos and your creative use of them. Brava! I don’t have your skill for that so I paint word pictures accompanied by pictures. LOL
Layla Morgan Wilde
I would have loved it even more if you’d been there!
Kathryn
Wow, what a great conference. Not too many decades ago, people didn’t care that much about this.
When is Merlin going to be 20? That is simply amazing.
Emma Peel lived to be 10 and 10 months.
Kathryn
20 years and 3 months. May 1, the same day our son was born on. Such a coincidence.
I see that Merlin is an October baby.
Layla Morgan Wilde
It’s a testament to the social media influence of bloggers. Merlin turned 20 on Oct. 2.
Angel AbbyGrace
What a great summit!!!
jansfunnyfarm
Sounds like you all had an ocean of fun.
Layla Morgan Wilde
yes 🙂
Caren Gittleman
Absolutely fantastic recap! I am not surprised that you were “warmly embraced” by the doggy bloggers! Rosalyn, Gina, and Diane are three of the most GENUINE people I have had the pleasure of meeting. They are gems! Jessica is as well and there are a number of other doggy bloggers who are the same!!! Nothin’ “catty” about them! 🙂
Layla Morgan Wilde
Caren, thanks so much and you’re right. The only thing that would have made it better was if YOU’d been there.
Random Felines
Sounds like you had a great time. I have family in Knoxville and the area is lovely. Unfortunately can’t share the love for PetSafe – bought a fountain from them that broke…twice. And their customer service was TERRIBLE!
Layla Morgan Wilde
There were issues with some fountains which were fixed. I’m sorry to hear about your experience with customer service. It’s not been my case. I would follow up.
Golden Woofs: Sugar
It was a great summit! FUN chatting with you. Great recap with your wonderful photos. Can’t wait to see the G+ photo album. Golden Woofs
Layla Morgan Wilde
Thanks and I had so much fun with you!
easyweimaraner
It’s great to hear more about this event. I’m a fan of the pet door, maybe that’s a chance to get more sleep when Easy is sleepwalking :o)
Layla Morgan Wilde
Easy, you would have had so much fun with your friends! Europeans are bigger fan of pet doors for cats and they had an amazing large smart door perfect for you.
Sammy
WOW…..what a wonderful event that was….sounds like lots of fun and most interesting at the same time!
Pam
Layla Morgan Wilde
Yes, it was the ideal way to learn and have fun.
Summer
This sounds like a really cool event! How awesome that you got to go.
Layla Morgan Wilde
Summer, I felt honored to be selected.