FOLLOW US ON TWITTER!
@ISpaDoYou
LIKE US ON FACEBOOK!
International SPA Association
l
l
l
l
l
Sniff out opportunities and follow your instincts.
Don’t bite when a growl will do.
Keep digging until you find what you want.
Learn new tricks no matter your age.
Wag more, bark less.
How about you? Have you been adopted by a pet before? What life lessons have you
learned?
—MAE MAÑACAP-JOHNSON, EDITOR
@ISPAPULSEEDITOR
6
PULSE
■
May 2016
MARION PHOTOGRAPHY STUDIO
I
’d like to think that humans do not adopt pets. Instead, pets adopt their humans.
After all, given the remarkable lessons that pets teach us and the unconditional love
they give, they offer a lot more than we could imagine. The first-ever pets that
adopted me were Bravo and Blossom, both deeply loyal Japanese Spitz breeds.
Blossom was smart, sassy and sensitive. Bravo was simply spoiled rotten—but I
loved them both to bits and pieces anyways.
Privileged that I had been loved and adopted by a pet before, I can certainly empathize
why many pet-lovers demand that businesses, including spas, become more welcoming
to pets. Several spas and resource partners, highlighted in “Making Spas Pet-Friendly”
(page 48), have started to see the business advantage and customer service value of
offering pet-specific spa services and products as well as supporting organizations that
help raise awareness for animal welfare.
The feature mentions research that indicates how having a pet could help improve
one’s ability to adapt to stress and, in the process, improve one’s overall well-being.
“Petting a dog helps relax people and has shown to reduce blood pressure. A wellmannered dog can be a great conversation-starter when a new client comes
into your business and helps you to start a relationship off by discussing
something fun!” says Association of Professional Dog Trainers Board of
Trustees Chairperson Robin Bennett.
Given this information, it’s not surprising that a growing number of
companies have “Bring Your Pets to Work Days” to help employees manage
stress and prevent work burnout. In the article “Tell-Tale Signs of Employee
Burnout (page 42),” exhaustion caused by chronic stress at work is believed to
be a modern-day workplace epidemic—and the spa industry is not immune to
it. Thus, there’s an even bigger challenge for those in management to help their
teams manage work-related stressors to prevent burnout in the long run.
Whether one is a pet-lover or not, there’s no denying that pets remind us that,
when work or life gets tough, we pause to enjoy the simple joys in life, like an afternoon
walk in the park. Here are a few more lessons I’ve learned from my furry friends:
Playtime is a family
affair at home.
Blossom and Bravo
(foreground) with
nephews Karl and
Mark with their
furry best friends.
WANT TO SEE THE ISPA
STAFF’S FURRY FRIENDS?
CLICK HERE to see many
more adorable pets and find
out how we spoil them.