Loving Animal Care

“Loving Animal Care,” the latest episode on “The Positive Fantastic” podcast, is a shout out to pet lovers everywhere. I interviewed my friend Kelly Costa about her pet care support offerings in Sonoma County, California. She recently formalized her offering in a business called “Loving Animal Care.” 

When I worked as a crew member for the Northern California Women’s Herbal Symposium, I’d spend a couple weeks a year hanging out with Kelly. We had special rituals in place over the years. We’d arrive on the land on a Tuesday night and all catch up on what had happened in the months between the gathering. We’d kick our butts working really hard for a week to produce the event, and also have a really fun time doing it. On our final day of bringing the gathering to a close, we would all dig into a watermelon that was saved as a kind of closer. 

I have so many fond memories of our times camped out at Black Oak Ranch. There’s these squishy sleeping pads that are used in the tipis on the site. Before everybody else would arrive, and we had the run of the place to ourselves for a couple days, I would make a floor of mats, and Kelly and I would do some aikido moves. She’s been studying for the entire time I’ve known her, and while I’m more a dabbler, she helped me get some rolls in during our down time. 

For years, she would share about the different animal anatomy classes that she was studying, show me cool photos in her textbooks, or talk about some of the animals she’d been meeting at work. 

I remember when Kelly adopted “Pumpkin,” her sweet Pitt bull mix, when she was just a young thing. I came to visit Kelly and Pumpkin was all about hanging out with me and getting some pets. I had brought my son with me, and Pumpkin also really seemed to like Osiris.

Pumpkin is now an elder dog. She lost an eye recently, and can only go on very short walks before she tires out. When I arrived at Kelly’s place to record this episode, Pumpkin decided that she wanted to take a siesta under the table. If you listen closely, you might be able to hear her snoring in the background of the podcast’s soundscape.

While I’ve been editing this episode with Kelly, I’ve been in the Bay Area, supporting a dear friend who just had her first child. In addition to postpartum care for her, I’ve been stepping up to make sure her dogs get fed, walked, and loved up. While she was in the hospital around the birthing time, I was at her home, taking care of her pups. She was so grateful that I was there for them —her furry first borns, if you will. 

Kelly does dog and cat sitting services. And, is available for a lot more. In this casual interview, Kelly shares about her love for animals and her commitment to the field of animal health for the last decade or so. She recounts some anecdotes about helping support people with their pets. And she describes some of her current offerings with her “Loving Animal Care” services. Without further ado, here’s our podcast together with all the dog and cat lovers in mind.