Trip to Boise

This week, I got the opportunity to visit Boise, Idaho on business. When I first learned that this was a trip I had to make, I was not thrilled. I don't particularly care for travel anymore since a significant amount of time over the last four years has been spent outside of the US. For me, getting on a plane has become a bit like a fork in the eye.

I'm not sure what I was expecting, potato farms perhaps, but Boise blew my mind.

It is a beautiful place, nestled into the foothills of the Rocky mountains. Being the capital of Idaho, Boise has all of the amenities that come with the government crowd. There are great restaurants, theatre, decent shopping and a good school system. The city has been planned well and traffic was a dream except for stop lights that seemed interminable. I didn't get to see much this time around so I look forward to a return visit. It's an easy place to like. Two or three people told me that they had first landed in Boise to attend a wedding or to go to school and they just never left. I completely understood why.

I went there to see Nutrivet, a client that I've had for a couple of years now. They are way ahead of the times with their approach to animal health. They firmly believe in preventative versus reactionary care, which is somewhat revolutionary in respect to pets. A lot of people feed and water their furry friends and take them to the vet when they are sick. They get the recommended vaccines and call it a day. As pet owners, we can be doing more, though. Just like we pop our vitamin C and take our flax oil, Nutrivet tries to prevent illness by offering a line of nutritional and problem-specific supplements designed to optimize pet health. Got a dog that eats his poop? They've got something you might try. Skittish cat? No problem. There's an aromatherapy diffuser for that.

I think that as medical costs for pets escalate like everything else, it will increasingly make sense for us to try to take care of our animals through more holistic means. Consider big breed dogs and their chronic issues with osteoarthritis. Instead of filling them full of nsaids, which is really hard on the lining of their stomachs, wouldn't it be better to start them on bone and joint supplements as puppies to try to prevent these issues? Our animals are subjected to the same environmental pollutants as we are. Their food is as heavily processed as ours. It's no wonder that cancers, auto immune disorders and allergies are on the rise in our animals. Why would they be any different than us?

Anyway, I like this company. The owners are dynamic, generous and passionate about their business. They want to make a difference. I respect that.

And if they really have found a way to lessen the odour of the litter box in my house, I will be eternally grateful. I'll keep you posted on how that product works out.

Which brings me to the PS of this post. On Mondays, I will begin posting a product review over at my sister site, "Wack-In-Review". I'm not sure of the exact format yet but check it out on Monday and tell me what you think.