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Pets get stressed at the vet. They get upset in the car. Being home alone isn’t always a picnic.

And of course animal shelters can be one of the most stressful environments for pets, with the noise, smells, and constant activity—and the stress can lead to behavior that makes it harder for pets to get adopted, and can even put their lives at risk.

Enter Derrick Garrett.

Derrick is a successful music producer and engineer who’s worked with Bobby Brown, the Spin Doctors, Chantay Savage, K-Ci & JoJo, and many other artists. He also founded a company that specializes in what he calls “music architecture”—creating playlists and sounds for luxury hotel lobbies and other special spaces, and for corporate use by Fortune 500 companies.

When Derrick learned from a veterinarian friend about how stressful trips to the vet could be, his three “passion points”—music, pets, and entrepreneurship—were triggered.

He went deep on research about how music could soothe pets’ frayed nerves in various circumstances, and founded a company to do just that: Zoundz Music For Pets.

In this episode of People, Pets, and Purpose, our interview series about the human-animal bond and what really matters, host Diaz Dixon speaks with Derrick about how his background in music for people, now informs his work for animals.

You’ll learn about what music works for cats and dogs (they’re very different sounds!), and hear about the company’s shelter partnerships, as well—along with Derrick’s ambition to get Zoundz into more shelters, to help more pets get into homes.

Do you have a suggestion for a topic or guest for People, Pets, and Purpose? Drop a line at podcast@americanpetsalive.org!

Source: Human Animal Support Services