Former Smashing Pumpkins Bassist Ditched the Touring Life to Start an Animal Rescue · Kinship Leave a comment

Once we attain Nicole Fiorentino on a Thursday afternoon, she is positively beaming. “Oh my god, it’s been a six-week mission,” she says, without delay excited and relieved. In a former life, by “mission,” she would’ve meant taking part in a satisfying present to a buoyant viewers in an area. (She’s performed bass for Smashing Pumpkins and Veruca Salt, amongst others.) However as of late, it means volunteering to rescue a litter of seven kittens, fostering and adopting them out, then trapping and spaying or neutering the mother and father — all of the whereas operating her personal dog-walking and pet-sitting firm.

In 2015, Fiorentino, who’s a pet mother to her canine Nina Simone and cats Thom York and Polly Jean Harvey, ditched life on the street to dedicate her life to serving pets. Leveraging her expertise in caring for animals for more money when she wasn’t on tour, she began The Pet Groupies.

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“I used to be beginning to get to the purpose the place I used to be like, ‘I actually need to be residence and get a canine,’” she recollects. All of my musician buddies and quite a lot of my household and buddies have been like, ‘You’re on the peak of your music profession — you’re quitting now to begin a dog-walking enterprise?’” 

At this time, The Pet Groupies is a dog-walking and pet-sitting firm for musicians, of us in TV and movie, and different pet mother and father that has earned a stellar fame in each Los Angeles and Portland, Oregon. Getting up to now has been a wild trip, and Fiorentino has realized loads alongside the best way.

So, we met up together with her to talk about how her time in music has formed her enterprise. We additionally requested her for important tips about what to search for in somebody you’re trusting to maintain your bestie when you’re at work or on trip.

This interview was edited for size and readability.

How does your background within the business impression the way you run your small business?

I’ve been LA-based for nearly 10 years, so quite a lot of [my staff] finally ends up being musicians, movie business folks, and quite a lot of queer folks — as a result of being queer myself, I find yourself hiring throughout the “household.” They’re all inventive varieties. That’s the opposite factor I needed to do by beginning my enterprise: Each time I’d come residence from tour, that’s type of the facet gig that I at all times had. So, I needed to have the ability to supply that to different artists. I perceive them getting a last-minute tour or an audition, however they’ll at all times have a job after they come residence. 

Do your purchasers find out about your music background?

I keep in mind I did meet a brand new consumer, and her canine’s title was Starla, which is a Smashing Pumpkins tune. And I used to be like, “Are you a giant Pumpkins fan?” And he or she’s like, “Oh, yeah, they’re my favourite band from highschool.” I used to be like, “I performed with them for, like, 4 years.” Her jaw simply fell to the ground. It’s such an LA second when your canine walker was additionally within the Smashing Pumpkins.

You could have some attention-grabbing approaches to animal-rescue fundraising that leverage your music background, too.

Properly, I’ve performed quite a lot of native fundraisers with the bands I’ve been in and with my band, Bizou, that I’m at present in. It’s mainly fundraising and fostering [events] for rescues like Pups With out Borders, and I’ve additionally performed quite a lot of rescue work with Watts Challenge. There’s a bar in Highland Park [in LA], Hermosillo, that enables us to do adoption and rescue occasions. A portion of our merch gross sales or our music gross sales would additionally go to a shelter.

Considered one of Pet Groupies’ superpowers is that you’ll work with so-called “troublesome” canine. How do you strategy these eventualities?

You already know, quite a lot of canine are simple, and I can ship any of my employees at that time. But when canine have particular wants and may solely have, , one to 2 walkers for no matter cause — they should take time and heat up and get comfy — that’s one thing that we positively supply. And I’m not simply gonna throw anyone into that state of affairs. I’ll ship one among my walkers that I do know has extra expertise with reads like that. And I’d require there to be a number of conferences with the proprietor current. You already know, at all times convey treats into the combo. We take it actually slowly.

What about canine who’re scared to depart residence?

Lots of people are working from residence now, and it may be arduous to get [a dog] to depart residence in the event that they know that their proprietor’s there. So, with canine like that, we’ll often decide them up within the automotive, and drive even simply down the road. We don’t attempt to stroll them from their home. It’s determining easy methods to accommodate the wants of all these totally different canine and their little idiosyncrasies.

What are your ideas for locating a superb canine walker, particularly for a brand new pet mum or dad?

To start out with, the corporate must be vetting and doing background checks on all of their workers or impartial contractors. You need to be sure that they’re insured and bonded as nicely, in case there’s any accidents. Additionally, the larger corporations don’t actually ship a supervisor or a consultant to do an preliminary session. They’re identical to, “That is who you’re going to get.”

I at all times do the preliminary meet-and-greets myself. I stroll your canine myself, at the least for the primary week or so, as a result of they’re all so totally different. I need to get all their little quirks down and their routines down, and get to know them earlier than I go them off to anyone else. After which it’s at all times going to be the identical three to 4 folks within the combine, so your canine is attending to know them via walks. 

There’s solo strolling, after which there are group ones. Which is healthier?

I feel it relies upon loads on the breed and the wants of the precise canine. Like, among the questions I’ll ask persons are, “How previous is your canine? What’s their power degree? What’s their temperament? Are they well-socialized with different canine?”

And the way do you select canine teams, in the event that they’re strolling or mountaineering collectively?

I type of hand-select. I do know which canine are going to stroll [well] with different canine. As a result of I’m not gonna take, , a 10-year-old Chihuahua on a hike with, like, a two-year-old Husky. It’s going again to asking the correct questions, like, “Is your canine fearful of larger or a sure breed?” I type of attempt to make myself a doggie matchmaker.

How do you identify who walks a canine?

I’ll match up a walker who has an identical power to the canine. So I’ve some folks on my crew who’re, like, cross nation runners — and people are the those who have the two-year-old Husky. I feel it’s simply having a canine walker who asks all the correct questions and needs to get your canine into the correct mix. And should you’re doing group walks, they’re not going to only be going with any random canine.

Are sniff walks underrated? I feel quite a lot of new pet mother and father assume strolling your canine across the nook or taking them to the shop with you must suffice.

Yeah, I feel they will get out as a lot power on a sniff stroll as they will doing a hike. You simply must get to know your individual canine. Attempt various things together with your canine. Some canine wish to go on the identical route each day, they usually’ll information you this fashion. Different canine love to vary it up, as a result of they get to smell totally different scents. Some canine need to go on energy hikes and run, and different canine are good to only, like, go across the nook for quarter-hour and simply do some sniffing. So I feel it actually like is a matter of spending time to know your individual canine’s wants.

What’s your tackle off-leashing canine?

Canine clearly love nothing greater than not being on a leash. And that’s a really tough topic, since you hear about sure canine parks, and don’t know who these persons are, or why they’ve canine. I feel it’s actually essential to coach them, to ensure that your canine has wonderful recall earlier than you allow them to off-leash wherever, particularly in a state of affairs with different canine.

However I’ll by no means convey one among my consumer’s canine to a canine park, even when I do know canine their temperament rather well. I primarily don’t belief that everyone in there is aware of their very own canine’s temperament and understands a canine’s physique language.

What is a superb atmosphere for off-leash canine?

I often attempt to get off-leash play teams along with, like, buddies’ canine or a few of my purchasers’ doggies that my canine will get together with rather well. On the weekend, I’ll be like, “Hey, you need to allow them to run across the yard or no matter?” As a result of it’s so essential for them to get socialization as nicely. Or, , you rent somebody to take your canine in little pack-walks for socialization. I received’t put them on a stroll with 4 to 5 canine. I’ll take them with my canine first, and possibly one different canine that I do know rather well — and I understand how they’re going to reply — so I check them actually, actually slowly and punctiliously, particularly as a result of you are going to be bringing these canine collectively in a automotive.

What about in a single day dog-sitting?

I solely supply in a single day pet sitting to our common purchasers who use us commonly for walks. I feel it’s essential to have consistency for the canine attending to know the identical folks, as a result of issues can occur when homeowners exit of city, like conduct adjustments.

How do you put together your employees to deal with conditions that may require first support?

I prepare all of my walkers on easy methods to deal with these conditions, they usually’ve all had the first-aid check as nicely. I feel quite a lot of it’s intuition as nicely, like — you’ll be able to prepare anyone on these issues, however you don’t actually know till they’re within the state of affairs, how anyone goes to reply. So, I attempt to rent those who simply have a extremely calm power, as a result of the worst factor to do in these moments is freak out. The canine are going to select up on that power, and it’s going to escalate the state of affairs. The emergency vet addresses and telephone numbers [from pet parents] for emergency conditions ought to at all times be within the contract.

From a psychological well being perspective, how do you assume being round animals all day folks?

I imply, animal remedy is certainly actual. You already know, when [COVID] hit, the shelters cleaned out, which was unimaginable. So many individuals adopted, and I feel it was actually life-saving for folks, particularly throughout these darkish instances. My enterprise, in fact, was fully useless in the course of the pandemic. However as soon as folks have been going again to work, we have been slammed as a result of everyone had adopted animals.

Why didn’t you get an animal when you have been a touring musician?

Truthfully, I did not need to make that dedication once I didn’t have the time or the power — and I bodily wasn’t round sufficient to maintain an animal. That’s actually essential. I feel when you’ve got a companion or anyone residing at residence; it may be totally different. However it wasn’t one of the best match for anyone like me with out anyone at residence to maintain pets. I at all times had cats, as a result of they have been simply easy-breezy, however I actually needed a canine of my very own.

As soon as I knew that I used to be going to be residence and settled, I began that technique of searching for my little soul mate, which I ended up discovering via a rescue referred to as Pups With out Borders. They rescue quite a lot of canine in Mexico and convey them as much as California. I needed a Shepherd combine as a result of I had at all times had Shepherds rising up. 

Are you a go-to to your musician buddies after they go on tour?

We do servicing for lots of people within the music business. I’ve so many purchasers within the movie business, too. One time I had a consumer who was a producer for Ellen DeGeneres, they usually have been doing a bit a couple of canine — Ellen’s dog-obsessed. However anyway, my consumer’s canine was going to be a part of the phase, so she employed us to be the handlers on the present.