Lifestyle Medicine in Veterinary Care: Melyssa Allen's Story

How to become a marine mammal trainer ... Melyssa Allen did it and became a Sea World Trainer, a dream many might imagine after seeing a marine mammal for the first time! And little did she know that her career would evolve to supporting the veterinary profession in a very unique way by combining her education and enthusiasm in psychology and counseling and lifestyle medicine. Melyssa Allen, MA, NBC-HWC, DipACLM is a double board-certified lifestyle medicine coach. She is the author of "Healthy Living Doesn't Have to Suck". She has a podcast by the same name. She is also the founder of Veterinary Wellbeing Buddy, a veterinary-centric resource to support wellbeing in the veterinary profession built around lifestyle medicine principles.

Resources:
Book: Healthy Living Doesn't Have to Suck
Podcast: Healthy Living Doesn't Have to Suck
Melyssa's website
Veterinary Wellbeing Buddy website

Note that some links may be affiliate links, which by using you support the podcast without any additional charge to you. 

Transcript

megan-sprinkle: [00:00:00] The wonder of animals often captures the heart of young children. It makes them dream of spending their life and career with them. Zoos and aquariums can be a commonplace for this infatuation to initiate and grow. It was for me, and it was for our guest, Melyssa Allen. Melyssa is one of the few who made the dream of becoming a marine mammal trainer come true, but this was just the start to an impactful mission driven career path to supporting the veterinary industry in a unique way. 

As you'll hear, Melyssa now combines her love for animals and those that serve them with her own experiences of how lifestyle medicine and counseling Made a difference in her life and put that in her company, Veterinary Wellbeing Buddy. She is a double board certified lifestyle medicine coach, which she explains what that means. 

she's an author of Healthy Living Doesn't Have to Suck, which also has a podcast by the same name. She's here at VMX right now, if you are as well, listening in real time, leading puppies and pilates. [00:01:00] In the beginning of this episode, I have Melyssa dive into details of how she became a marine mammal trainer, because I hear this question frequently. If for some reason you want to jump past that part, I'll put a timestamp on the screen for YouTube and the timestamps in the description below. I want to thank Melyssa for her vulnerability in this episode. 

She is an incredible human being who I'm glad we have in veterinary medicine. We discuss emotional resilience, the importance of self compassion, the value of mentorship in supportive relationships in pursuing an entrepreneurial path, and so much more. So let's get to the conversation with Melyssa With a "why" Allen. 

melyssa-allen--she-her: my story, uh, actually starts way back in the day when I was four years old and my parents took me to SeaWorld San Antonio cause we were living near Houston at the time. 

And, , saw all of the educational presentations and got to touch a dolphin for the first time. And I really have this really cool picture of my mom, like holding me over the wall while I'm like reaching over and touching the [00:02:00] dolphin. And that was the moment I was like, all right, I'm going to do this someday. 

And I was one of those crazy kids that was actually able to make it happen. And there was only a brief time that I kind of steered towards veterinary medicine. And then, uh, it just came right back to the marine mammal training. So animals have definitely always been a huge piece of my life. also had a golden retriever growing up named Ranger. 

that we rescued, when I was about five years old, and he made it through to my senior year of high school. So yeah, he was like my brother growing up, because I don't have any brothers or sisters. I'm an only child. Um, so Ranger was like the one constant through my childhood. 

megan-sprinkle: Yeah, seriously, from kindergarten 

to, you know, high school. That's, well, um, well, and I think I can vest to you as well that, you know, the dolphins were my original dream very early on. And I went to see world career 

camps and all of that. [00:03:00] So completely understand the dream. And in fact, I think I told you the story too, at. 

One of those career camps, they take you to one of the big pools where the dolphins are normally there, the dolphins were back. 

Right. But they, they walk you by the pool and there's this big diving board that is super, super high. And they say, if you want to be a dolphin trainer, you have to dive from that into the water. 

And I, in an instant said, well, I guess I better look at something that's a little adjacent because that terrified me. 

melyssa-allen--she-her: Yep. Yep. You're like, nope, that's not for me. Thank you. 

megan-sprinkle: but I do know it takes a lot of physical skill, , to be a dolphin trainer and a lot of other things. And this is a really common dream, I 

think for, you know, you said you were one of the few that actually become a dolphin trainer. In fact, I just saw a post on the DVM moms, Facebook 

group about, , her daughter who just like has her heart set 

on this and they're like, tell me, [00:04:00] help me guys, how do I get her to be the 

trainer? So. If you don't mind, I would love to spend a little bit of time, you sharing your story 

about becoming a dolphin trainer, how that happened and kind of up until, , you know, of course we transition a little 

bit in your, career journey, but yeah, please share 

how'd you make it 

melyssa-allen--she-her: Oh, man, I mean, whenever our family would go on vacation, I would look at like, where's the nearest aquarium? Like, where can I go to , see the animals? and I was always the dolphin girly, you know, kind of, uh, when I thought about seeing my future career in animal training, it was, you know, either with a killer whales or with the dolphins. 

but I'll share that the sea lions really won me over as I started getting into the industry. So I went to high school in Austin, Texas, and obviously that's very landlocked. , SeaWorld San Antonio is there, but in terms of education, one of the things that the trainers always told me, because we have this, , common misconception that we should be studying marine science [00:05:00] or marine biology, when in actuality, psychology is the biggest part of the job. You have to understand the animal behavior, um, understanding behavior, modification principles, operant conditioning, classical conditioning, like all of those different segments that they don't talk about in marine science or marine biology. So that was the first thing was I started looking at. 

You know, where were some good, psychology programs with opportunities for internships, and I ended up, getting an out of state scholarship to the University of Central Florida. So, UCF, go Knights, charge on! came out here from Texas and studied, both biology and psychology. still a science geek at heart, so I, I loved the biology piece of it too. 

And Uh, it was fun, you know, really seeing how those things kind of interconnected when they're usually looked at very separately. So through the biology department, they had an internship at Shamu Stadium here in Orlando. looking at, you know, [00:06:00] the behaviors of the whales and tracking them on these little PDAs and stuff. 

So we got to be like, backstage with the trainers watching the shows from like behind the scenes, and it was just such a cool opportunity to even connect with the trainers and continue to pick their brains. , what is a swim test like? What do I need, you know, to have on my checklist to make sure that I'm, um, that I'm qualified as a candidate. 

So it was things like having your scuba certification, being a strong swimmer was obviously one of them. So lots of them encouraged getting a job like as a lifeguard or in some sort of, you know, animal care capacity. So throughout college, I had all these jobs as a lifeguard on campus. I was a part time barn assistant at a horse farm for a while. 

And, uh, and then I started into, you know, looking at internships throughout the rest of my college career. Was lucky enough to have gotten, , the Navy's Marine Mammal Training opportunity, or the Navy's Marine Mammal Program opportunity out in San Diego, California, [00:07:00] and just continued to expand, you know, my experience in terms of, that was the first actual training internship that I have. 

And that was where I fell in love with the sea lions. So, yeah, I mean, from there, I just actually, I have to share about the program really quick because it's so cool and lots of people don't know that it exists, but they actually have the dolphins and sea lions that are trained on different tasks to help support like naval and military operations. 

So there's a couple of different branches. Some of the dolphins are trained in like swimmer detection. So if someone was like trying to infiltrate the Navy base through the waterway, the dolphins detect it. Um, they can also dive, you know, hundreds of feet to attach, , grabbers to military equipment. So that way it could be retrieved. 

Same thing with the sea lions. Lots of very similar tasks So it's just a really cool experience to be part of. , they've got some cool videos that are declassified on YouTube. So I'll point you [00:08:00] there. So that way people can, if it's piqued their curiosity, they can look into it a little bit more. , but once I graduated, I had gotten a professional internship at Disney's, , Epcot, The Seas with Nemo and Friends as an aquatic research intern. 

So I was helping with some of the aquarium research projects, the dolphin cognition projects that they had going on. And my first big girl job after graduation was with the Navy's Marine Mammal Program in Kings Bay, Georgia. I was a trainer out there and, , about a year and a half in was when I got my opportunity to, get hired at SeaWorld as a part time associate trainer. 

So as low man on the totem pole, I was lucky enough to start off at Shamu Stadium, which I basically classified myself as a marine mammal custodian, because at that level, you don't get any animal interaction, you're helping supporting behind the scenes, but it definitely, um, Started, you know, my SeaWorld career and I was lucky [00:09:00] enough to be there for almost five years and move from Shamu Stadium to, , Key West Dolphin Cove. 

And I finished my time at Sea Lion and Otter Stadium, which is actually where I met my now husband. So very grateful that I was able to have that part of my life to, you know, find my partner for the rest of my life. 

megan-sprinkle: Now, is he a trainer or was he part of 

melyssa-allen--she-her: Oh, gosh, no, he, 

he is very much like the animal care, animal keeper side of thing. You know how they say opposites attract. I was the one who like wanted to be on stage and all the shows and everything. He was very much behind the scenes. So it took a massive round of layoffs for both animal care and animal training to start working a lot more closely. 

And yeah, so I would always joke around and be like, Oh, we're going to go feed the seals now. I'm like, Cause, uh, you know, we, I had always said I wasn't going to date anyone that I worked with. And so when I found out I got into graduate school, I [00:10:00] was like, well, he's always been kind of cute and he's not really my type, but maybe it'll be a fun summer fling before I go meet a future doctor in my graduate program. 

And from our second date, I was like, oh man, no, this is, this one's a keeper, 

megan-sprinkle: never say Yeah. 

melyssa-allen--she-her: It's so true. 

megan-sprinkle: Very cool. So you, you talked about, you know, finding a program. So do you mind sharing a little bit about, you know, you had the dream job of SeaWorld. Why transition into a new program? 

melyssa-allen--she-her: Yeah. I've definitely always been, like I said, a nerd at heart. I love school so much and for, for the animal training career, I was lucky enough to have worked with a lot of different species of animals, the walrus, the otters, the. The seals, the sea lions, the dolphins. And I had trained a lot of different behaviors, everything from husbandry and voluntary blood draws and ultrasounds all the way up to like a smile behavior. 

You know, one [00:11:00] of the silly ones for the sea lions. and it started getting to the point where I noticed there wasn't a lot of upward movement within the company, um, is very bottlenecked because obviously like once you get in the job, people tend to stay there for the rest of their careers and kind of work their way up. 

So it was limited opportunity, but I also didn't see myself managing people. I was like, I kind of just want to, you know, keep doing the animal care and training thing. but I wasn't getting the same level of intellectual and mental stimulation as I was craving. And during my animal training career, I had gotten connected with some people through the UCF Alumni Association. 

They were working with, different populations of people on helping, through PTSD, through anxiety, and stress, and burnout, and things like that. So, the more that I learned about the program, I was like, wow, you know, this would actually be a really cool pivot for [00:12:00] me that I feel like I could more easily transition into than something in like the biology side of the world. 

And I really just love the idea of being able to, to help people through difficult times, because I had found a lot of value in therapy, you know, throughout my lifetime. And to, to think about being on the other side of that and helping to guide people through their challenges seemed really rewarding. 

megan-sprinkle: Yeah, I think I've heard someone once say we are best to serve the people that we once 

melyssa-allen--she-her: were. 

Mmm. Yeah. 

megan-sprinkle: And you mentioned you had gone through therapy. Do you mind sharing a little bit about, you know, why you went into therapy and some of the challenges that you were having before 

melyssa-allen--she-her: then? 

Yeah, absolutely. so, you know, just sensitive content warning for the listeners. I'm sharing vulnerably here. Um, but I did end up having a pretty abusive relationship in high school. So my very first experience was with the guidance counselor. uh, Jeannie [00:13:00] Lacey. I will never forget her. She was just so compassionate and warm and caring and of course I didn't recognize that I was in, you know, a really toxic relationship at the time. 

It was my first real relationship, first crush turned boyfriend kind of thing. and Yeah, I was just blown away by how much better I would feel after walking out of a session with her. And just thinking about the kinds of questions that she was asking me were things that I had never thought to think for myself. 

You know, kind of a good way to describe it, I guess. , and from there, you know, I, I sought out some additional counseling, Actually through my animal training career when I was having difficulty managing my stress, so it wasn't necessarily from anything crisis related, , but my body was letting me know that I was not managing my stress well, because obviously a lot of people will. 

Yeah. Can [00:14:00] relate that when you love your job, you know, you, you want to give it your all, you show up for sometimes other people in your life more than you show up for yourself. And that was definitely me during my animal training career. And in my mid twenties, I was relatively healthy, but I ended up with hand mouth and foot disease, which is common in preschool kids and shingles on the left side of my face. 

Which is common in the elderly, so these two opposite ends of the spectrum diseases for relatively healthy 26 year old female. They were both stress induced, and I didn't feel mentally or emotionally stressed, but recognizing that I wasn't letting my body get the rest and recovery that it needed from working out in the sun all day and, you know, being around people and talking all day, so that was the next time that I kind of stepped into to actively seek out services. 

, And then during graduate school, there was a period of time where, my [00:15:00] mom, she, she's so cool. She lives in Germany right now. She's moving back at the end of January, which I'm really excited about. But I jokingly say, you know, she's kind of a badass because she's got like a top secret security clearance and she, uh, yeah, she gets to, you know, live overseas and work on the military bases over there. 

So she works in government contracting, but I'm pretty sure I don't know everything that she does on a day to day basis. And, uh, when she moved out there, it was right when Matt and I had started dating. Um, and my dad stayed behind, just for, like, the house. And he, he got pretty intimidated thinking about living in another country. 

So, like, here was his safe space. but he had always struggled with alcohol use. And, uh, during the time that my mom was gone, and there's no one there at home with him, kind of like monitoring and stuff. Um, he had a pretty bad instance where he slipped and fell and was having a hard time getting up. 

So, he gave me a call and I [00:16:00] will never forget. It was St. Patrick's Day. I had met up with Matt at SeaWorld after his shift. and my dad called me when we were sitting at the bar, having a green beer together. And I was just like, Oh my gosh, you know, what, like, what do I do? And luckily I was in the graduate program at the time to where I had the resources that I could, you know, reach out to, um, with one of my faculty mentors who specialized with substance use disorder and get his, you know, insights and how to best kind of navigate it and where the best, you know, residential facility is for him to get treatment. 

Because a lot of people don't realize that alcohol withdrawal and detox can actually be a lot more dangerous than any of the other drugs and substances out there. So it has to be medically supervised. and obviously that, that hit me hard for a little bit and having to go in. Seek out some extra support during that time too, uh, was really crucial, but it also helped me [00:17:00] recognize that like the, I guess I didn't mention this part. 

When I got into graduate school initially, it was a straight through PhD program. And so I was having a really hard time that first year and I realized like, this is not the right place for me. So I ended up transferring to the master's program. And it was through the work with my therapist to ask me those questions. 

powerful questions and really help me clarify what I want out of life and what's, you know, not aligned with my own personal values, um, and finding that better fit for myself to, to be able to make a difference that I wanted to in my life. 

megan-sprinkle: Thank goodness for mentors and coaches because 

those are so hard. We, I think, especially when we, we've decided to commit to something, it's really hard to stop and assess when we're in the middle of 

it, is this truly what I want to continue doing or not? And I think you shared with [00:18:00] me as well as I think one of the big signs of maybe this wasn't for you was actually some bad mentorship. 

melyssa-allen--she-her: Yeah. 

megan-sprinkle: Uh, That they, you know, it's so, it's so ironic to me because, I mean, you are in a psychology 

program and if I remember correctly, you were taking time to exercise for yourself and they were giving you a hard time that you were taking off time to, or taking time to do that. 

melyssa-allen--she-her: So 

megan-sprinkle: So, yeah. 

melyssa-allen--she-her: Mm-hmm . Uh, yeah, because that, that's another, you know, piece of my story too is during graduate school I fell in love with, fitness and teaching group fitness classes, and originally I sought it out because. You know, in my head, I was like, Ooh, I could get paid to work out. Like, that's a great way to, like, manage my time. 

And it would be so fun. and I, I think there was a big part of me that, you know, missed the stage piece of it. And, um, the energy that you get from being in front of an audience. from presenting at [00:19:00] SeaWorld to now teaching fitness classes, it's just such a really cool and rewarding thing to be part of. 

And I found that, again, like by being on the mic and kicking up the music and being a goofball in front of people and making them laugh and smile, but yeah, it, it came down to, uh, there was, I got hired part time, so I only had like a two or three hour shift on the weekend. And I was asked by the director of clinical training and she was like, well, shouldn't you be working on your thesis during that time? 

And I was like, I mean, I don't expect to be like giving my entire life over to this program, but it seemed at the time, like that was their expectation. and I know that You and I had kind of chatted before about like how, how sometimes you taking a step back and really identifying what your values are in that phase of your life can be important in guiding your decisions. 

megan-sprinkle: Very much so, [00:20:00] because things change or we think we want something and then we learn more about it and we're like, Oh, maybe not. Kind of like me and the diving. 

melyssa-allen--she-her: Right. Yes. 

megan-sprinkle: Oh, 

melyssa-allen--she-her: That is not aligned. Yeah. 

megan-sprinkle: Sorry to take that in a 

humorous way. But I mean, It is. It's really important to do that because we really do have to find the place that we thrive the best. And if we don't, we may not find the path like you, where you're doing awesome. You're doing so much good things. And I also, when you were talking, I just had the connection to, cause you're a speaker and it seems to come very natural. I've read some of your posts and you love 

speaking. I didn't think about back from your animal training days. You probably were on the mic. You're not afraid to be 

melyssa-allen--she-her: Yeah, and let me tell you, there is nothing like having to improv on stage in front of like, 4, 000 people while a sea lion is, you know, like, running around on their own accord and having to be like, okay, what do we do now?[00:21:00] 

megan-sprinkle: That was always my favorite show 

though. 

melyssa-allen--she-her: yeah. 

megan-sprinkle: And it was, it was all, it always seemed to be the sea lion too. It's like the sea lion just didn't want to do it that day. So I remember one in particular, he just wanted to swim back and forth in the moat. That was all he wanted to do. And at SeaWorld, you don't force them to do anything. 

They, if they don't want to play, they don't have to play. 

melyssa-allen--she-her: Exactly. And I always found it, you know, humorous when entertainment would try to give us like show notes about, you know, like, yeah, Gunnar took over the front pool during the lunch segment and it's like, I don't know what you want me to do, but he's a 700 pound sea lion. Like if he's not food motivated right now, he wants the pool and there's nothing we can do about it. 

So, 

megan-sprinkle: You guys did fantastic. It was always 

very humorous and we enjoyed it. So, 

melyssa-allen--she-her: I'm glad to hear that. 

megan-sprinkle: so also, you know, just comment, you know, again, You know, just because we do something different doesn't mean we don't take what we learned from those that time and move it forward with us into the [00:22:00] future. 

So just like you have improv skills, you know how to be on a mic like that has come with 

you. 

so, to highlight some of those things that are, I think are so applicable to us as we grow in our career journeys. 

But you know, back to your master's program, and I know you have letters behind your name. And I know one in particular is, you know, double board certified lifestyle medicine coach. Now I do know veterinary medicine board certified is like a A big, you know, term, but do you mind sharing a little bit about the, the double board certified part, but also like lifestyle medicine and lifestyle medicine coach, like all of this is really interesting and probably not something everybody understands. Do you mind sharing a little bit more about that background and what all that means? 

melyssa-allen--she-her: Yeah, definitely. And I'll share again quickly to go along with my story is, you know, I ended up transferring to the master's program with the intention to go down the licensed mental health counseling route. Because again, I was like, I found so much [00:23:00] benefit from therapy. Like, I'd love to be a therapist. 

but as I started getting more involved in the fitness world, I, I became more familiar with the fact that there are health and wellness coaches out there, um, that, you know, kind of, you know, pair nicely with my passion for fitness. So, yeah, I mean, it's one of those things where the coaching industry isn't the most regulated at the moment. 

And hence, that's why the board certifications were so important to me, because it really is like evidence based gold standard approaches to health promoting behavior change. And lifestyle medicine in particular is really cool because I was introduced to it through an internship that I had at a local hospital and their cancer support community. 

Um, it was in the integrative medicine department at the time, but lifestyle medicine is very similar and it focuses on using our behaviors on a more therapeutic level and Almost to the point of like an intervention for lifestyle related chronic [00:24:00] diseases like type 2 diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and then even certain cancers. 

So the six pillars of lifestyle medicine are physical activity, so we can see why I love it. Um, nutrition, which focuses more on like a whole food plant based lifestyle, but not necessarily promoting veganism, vegetarianism. It's really the main message is. Just eat more plants. and we have effective stress management skills, uh, healthy sleep habits, positive social connection and reduction or elimination of risky substance use. 

So like tobacco, vaping, alcohol, illicit drugs, all those things. Um, so all of those six pillars come together to create lifestyle medicine. And with coaching, we really work in like a collaborative relationship with clients where when you typically go to see your health care providers, um, they're going to tell you what you need to do, right? 

Like, oh, you know, we're, we're facing a little bit [00:25:00] of, increased cholesterol here. Like, you have to eat foods with lower cholesterol. And then they only get like 15 minutes in their appointment time, so they don't have the ability to coach you on how to eat. You know, lower cholesterol foods or what those look like. 

And so that's really where health and wellness coaches start to come in and fill that gap in health care is to bridge the intention to change the knowledge to change and then actually implementing the behaviors to change. So yeah, I, I was really excited to discover Lifestyle Medicine because it really felt like it was the perfect marriage between the physical health component that I'm so passionate about promoting and then the mental and emotional side of things and really bringing it all together. 

megan-sprinkle: and I know you spent time in a couple of different areas, kind of finding where 

you liked the best. Yes. 

melyssa-allen--she-her: Spoiler alert, it was not in corporate. 

megan-sprinkle: Right. You know, it's okay to have the Goldilocks. You got to [00:26:00] find, you know, the right 

fit there. , and I thought it was interesting though, that you, you really did. You found a program where you were helping. 

and correct me from wrong, , human 

physicians. Um, And being able to support them, um, I think even there was a program called wellness and resilience 

program, which resilience seems to be kind of a, the new buzzword, 

I think, kind of going around right 

now. I think this is important one, because you understand a little bit of a doctor mindset before, you know, moving into the veterinary 

industry. but I'm sure there are. Definitely some differences as well in the human physician world and the vet world. So I'm curious to hear your thoughts there. so do you mind sharing how you transitioned over to vet? What was the kind of the catalyst there? 

And I guess while I, since I mentioned it, Do you mind sharing a little bit of some of the differences you've noticed so far from human physician space , versus maybe some of the unique challenges with veterinary medicine. 

melyssa-allen--she-her: Yeah, I think starting off with some of [00:27:00] the similarities, lots of type A perfectionistic personalities going on in these industries, which, you know, is sometimes is very helpful for the job functions that you have. You don't want a surgeon who's all willy nilly, right? You want them to be focused and zero in and perfecting the skills that they have to, you know, make safe decisions and everything like that. 

And for, for the occupational similarities too, uh, I would say that the stress level can sometimes be very similar, but it's very dependent on what kind of environment you find yourself in. So even with physicians, you know, they tend to have different little, you know, Columns that they're segmented into where like either their general practice primary care providers, maybe their OBGYNs You know, they have all these different little segments So they really get to focus on their specialty where what I've noticed in a difference is the general practices They get hit with everything. 

They've got emergencies coming in and sometimes they have to refer [00:28:00] out they get the the new puppy visits They have the difficult euthanasia visits. Like there's, there's a lot more emotional diversity that gets experienced within a veterinary clinic day than there is for human healthcare providers, because then you also have the subsections of that, right? 

You have pediatrics, you have like adult care, geriatric care, like all of those different things where physicians can kind of get in a little bit more of a routine of like how to manage the specific and unique. challenges that they face on a regular basis. Whereas in Vat Med it seems a lot more unpredictable and it's, like I said, a much wider spectrum of things that you could potentially see throughout the day in different cases. 

megan-sprinkle: That's a unique observation. I mean, I, I've known that how detailed. The human physicians can get like, even in my own pregnancy journey, 

I have seen it in like a single room. I was like, [00:29:00] these doctors, they really only care about my reproductive organs right now. 

melyssa-allen--she-her: Right. 

megan-sprinkle: Like this nurse just cares about the baby. 

That's it. You know, they get very, very specific. And so I guess there's. So a little bit more routine. There's, you know, very probably, um, specific stress, but you know, the way you, you explained it was so much better. Um, I think that's really interesting. And, you know, I, I think, I think a lot of people have a, a COVID story 

And And a lot of times it can be a, you know, something good comes out of it. 

I believe that yours does 

because you're, you're now here in the veterinary industry supporting us, 

but do you mind sharing your, uh, what you are kind of noticing in COVID and how it encouraged you to come back into the veterinary side and start, uh, some new 

melyssa-allen--she-her: programs? 

Yeah, of course. in my jobs within the hospitals, it was focused on providing support and, teaching about resilience strategies, burnout prevention, all of that kind of [00:30:00] stuff. And I found it very easy to go online and do like a quick Google search for resources and handouts and worksheets and free programs and like everything and anything that you could possibly think of that would be helpful for someone to have as a resource. 

There'd just be this plethora of things that would pop up from that one simple Google search of like doctor resilience toolkit or wellbeing toolkit or something. And I got curious because obviously from my, my time in undergrad, I was part of pre veterinary society. Cause they had all the cool animal volunteering experiences, made a lot of really amazing friends there that I stay in touch with today. 

throughout my animal training career, obviously working alongside a lot of veterinary professionals. They were just sharing, throughout COVID we like, we're struggling to like, people don't understand that when there's a PPE shortage for the human health care providers, there's also a PPE shortage for us when people aren't allowed to go [00:31:00] say goodbye to their loved ones. 

We're having to FaceTime people that have to put down their pets because they can't be in the same room due to the safety standards that have been trickled down from higher ups. And just that lack of recognition and awareness around the fact that these people who are so dedicated to helping our community's animals were, if anything, people were more hostile to them during these times. 

And Just to see that level of aggression and, um, the lack of gratitude for the people working in veterinary medicine was just mind boggling to me. So then of course I get curious and I'm like, you know, in my role, I can do this quick Google search, like what kinds of resources are available for vet pros? 

And it was. shocking the discrepancy between how many were available for human health care providers, and then maybe like a handful of really like comprehensive, [00:32:00] robust resources for veterinary professionals. And I really wanted to make a pivot in my business, which I originally started. From a faculty mentor saying, Oh, well, if you open your own business and start an LLC, you could do like pop up fitness events around Orlando. 

So I was like, Oh, I like that idea. Never, never did I think I would find myself down this entrepreneurial rollercoaster, uh, but I wouldn't have it any other way now because I, I just. Love what I do on a regular basis and it's so cool to, um, to be able to do things the way that I want to and to not have anyone, you know, telling me, oh, you can't do this. 

And even though some people still try to do that, I'm like, oh, now watch me because now I've got my resources. but yeah, I, I originally expanded my fitness classes to just include some lifestyle coaching on the side. And when I noticed that there was the need in the veterinary space, I [00:33:00] first had a lot of imposter syndrome because I was like, I have never worked in vet med. 

Like I've worked vet med adjacent, but I don't really know if people would look at me being like, why is she here? You know, she doesn't get it. And so I actually had a call with Dr. Cindy Trice, who is now part of Hound. And at the time, you know, she was kicking relief rover off the ground. So this was back in like 2022, I think. 

And yeah, I, I had a consultation with her because we were connected through mutual friend and she was like, there's a need and your idea is valid. So that was like all I needed to hear to really start to, you know, push this thing forward. And I applied for the VMX startup circle in 2022 and I got in there. 

And back then I was branded as the Mind, Body, Thrive lifestyle because I didn't know at the time I was going to specify or specialize with veterinary professionals. So since then, , we have gone through a rebrand because dear sweet [00:34:00] buddy, who is the heart and soul of the brand, Veterinary Wellbeing Buddy, uh, he was my dog for almost 13 years. 

And just last September, we sent him over the Rainbow Bridge. It was the most peaceful thing that we could have asked for. He had the best last day ever. But again, it just reinforced my mission to help support veterinary care providers because, this was my first time owning a senior dog as an adult and having to make those decisions and watch out for his quality of life and then get to the point where, you know, I had to have those discussions with his veterinary team to be like, is it time? 

and it just gave me even more respect to think about, you know, how people in this industry go through that on a regular basis. And honestly, it made me very upset to think about how poorly they're treated at times. And, uh, not that I wasn't upset about it already, but it was just more of, [00:35:00] like, the push that I needed, um, to really bring Veterinary Wellbeing Buddy to life and to start building out these programs and starting the membership and doing these engagements and presentations to try to Um, I say educate, empower, and engage veterinary professionals in lifestyle medicine habits and, positive psychology practices and just those things that are going to help contribute to, getting them to a state of flourishing and thriving while working in vet med. 

megan-sprinkle: Yes, and you, luckily you have the logo on your 

shirt right now, so for those 

watching on video, the paw print, I believe, is actually Buddy's paw print, and the hand is, is from you as well, 

so, super deep meeting 

there, which I absolutely love. 

melyssa-allen--she-her: and, uh, we get his little cartoon, uh, so 

megan-sprinkle: that's so 

melyssa-allen--she-her: all of our branding, you'll see a digital version of him. And then our cat Jackie, who's two years old now, we've got a cartoon version of him [00:36:00] as well. But I like to say, you know, Another thing that I love so much about this brand and this business, besides the positive impact that I get to see it making in veterinary medicine, is that it really feels like I get to carry on Buddy's legacy through the brand, because one of the biggest things that he always did for people, um, especially when he was working as a therapy dog for a couple years at the hospital, He just had this incredible ability of like, making people laugh and smile when they saw him, and just, like, his goofy ways, and rolling on his back and stuff, and showing his belly, and just acting, you know, like such a goofball. 

But then, He could also just totally flip the switch and be able to comfort and support people that were going through like the most difficult times and just be that calming presence for them, letting them know he was there with them. And, and those are really the elements that I try to bring [00:37:00] into the brand as well. 

Like, obviously I love to have the positivity and humor aspect of what I do and, uh, when it comes to educating people, especially when I keep it entertaining where I can. but also, like, I am able to hold that space for people who might be going through really difficult times and, I'm just really proud that I get to, I get to have that honor of carrying on Buddy's legacy through the brand. 

megan-sprinkle: And I love how it sounds like you are able to really integrate all the things that you really love. Not only your, your, 

beloved dog, you're still doing fitness. 

You're going to be at VMX doing the, 

I think puppy yoga, 

melyssa-allen--she-her: and Pilates! 

megan-sprinkle: oh, Pilates, Pilates and Pilates. Yes. So everybody needs to come and do that as well. And you know, I, while I have you and, you know, You know, we really like to focus on the career aspect. you know, I, I honestly, I meet a lot of people, myself included too, who are interested in having an impact, being [00:38:00] entrepreneurial, and it's a hard road 

to be, especially a solo entrepreneur. And I mean, I see you doing well, you've had opportunities to be parts of different business 

programs and, was it Leap, the Leap 

fellowship as well, like those kinds of things. So, I mean, if you think back, right 

now, and really even been in this, uh, only a few 

years, what do you contribute your success? How were you able to connect and get reach and and grow. 

melyssa-allen--she-her: I honestly have to just give the biggest shout out to the people who have supported me along the way. And really, it's in the relationships that I've cultivated, you know, throughout this time that have helped me, you know, to one, believe that this was even possible and that there was a need for it in the world. 

It really is about having the support network because [00:39:00] there are times where you just want to enter like burn it all down mode and it's like this is this worth it like what am I doing am I crazy for not having like a nine to five and a steady paycheck and everything that goes along with that but it's so incredibly rewarding to like take some big risks and sometimes they pan out and other times you just learn from it. 

I, I don't consider myself having failed in any aspect of my business. It's always just an opportunity to look back and be like, okay, well, what can I learn from this to either avoid it in the future? Or, like, is there something that does need to change so that I don't end up here again? Which is a lot of what we do in coaching, right? 

Especially with behavior change. When we have a relapse, we look at, you know, what caused it and what can we learn from it, and we just get up and keep trying again. so I would say, like, some of the biggest elements To just the fact [00:40:00] that I haven't given up and like thrown in the towel are the people that I've surrounded myself with being part of other entrepreneurial circles because they're gonna get it. 

I can't really talk to my parents about it because then they'll be like, well, just go on LinkedIn and apply for jobs. I'm like, no, I don't want to, I don't want to go back. and so having that support network is huge. and I would also say, you know, just holding the vision, like really just staying connected to why you're doing what you're doing, because that's what's going to help you continue to get through the tough stuff. 

And that's just general life advice too, like you always want to stay connected to your why and your purpose and the meaning behind your actions so that it can help you overcome those inevitable challenges because they're going to happen at some point. 

megan-sprinkle: Yes. And I was listening to your podcast this morning and in one of the, I think it was the last episode that you did maybe. And it was talking about [00:41:00] the future and you had written something for either a grant or 

something. And you, you read this and it was basically your 

why, and it was very beautifully written. 

And I just want to encourage people to go listen to it because I think it's great to not only think about it, but to actually write it down too. It really solidifies. It makes it real 

and you can revisit it. And when you are struggling to remember it sometimes, you know, have it up. 

And also in one of those episodes I was listening to this morning, you had a great Line and it, it's, it sticks in my head. 

So I want to share 

it. And I think it's a good one. And that is, you know, that, that life can suck, just don't get stuck. And I was like, Oh, that's so good. Cause I think we are going to have 

challenge in our life. , even though we can be very positive 

people, we can, you know, Try to train ourselves to have the growth mindset and learn from things. There's going to be times [00:42:00] that it just 

sucks. Like, I think maybe it was, , when buddy was having a bad day or 

something like that, uh, that you were kind of talking about this and it's okay to kind of like, Have emotions, take it in. And the key is just not getting stuck in those emotions. 

So do you mind sharing a little bit about maybe a story that comes to mind that kind of lives out that principle and how you kind of came up with 

melyssa-allen--she-her: Yeah, absolutely. , and I can't believe, I can't believe it's taken this long into the episode, but I did write a book, everyone. I forgot, I 

forgot to share that was part of, uh, the cool stuff that happened, you know, cause had I stayed in the PhD program, the book would have never existed. So, um, yeah, yeah. 

It gave me the opportunity to write healthy living doesn't have to suck, which is also the name of the podcast that Megan's referring to. And, uh, yeah, I think when it comes to emotions, It's so difficult because we don't just pop out of the womb knowing how to manage our emotions in a healthy [00:43:00] way. And then, especially as we're growing up, we tend to observe how others are trying to manage their emotions. 

And sometimes it's not in the healthiest ways because how we as humans want to avoid discomfort is by trying to escape, control, avoid, or numb. are difficult experiences. , that was one of the reasons why my dad had an alcohol use problem was because he used that as stress reduction after a long day at work. 

But then it just eventually became a habit and a crutch that he relied on for everything. Same thing with, I like to, you know, jokingly but truthfully say that I tend to eat my feelings. So stress eating is a big thing for me, and uh, and when I'm sad, you know, just grab me a pint of Ben and Jerry's and let me just go to town and don't judge me for it. 

Like, that's, that was one of the ways that I grew up, you know, kind of managing my emotions. But it really takes us to like, step back [00:44:00] and look at these choices that we're making and does it reflect the kind of person that we want to be in the world? And in that moment, it might be helpful for us, but is it really helping us or is it hurting us in the long term? 

So thinking about using alcohol to, you know, cope with grief or sadness or stress. Sure, it might numb you out in that moment, but it's literally a depressant. Like, it is going to make you feel worse and then you feel bloated the next day, you have brain fog. Like, it, it doesn't lead to the most productive version of yourself, the most adaptive way to cope with these emotions. 

So some of the biggest things that I've found helpful is really learning how to accept the emotion as it shows up. And I always like to say, acceptance does not mean approval. We don't have to be happy when grief [00:45:00] shows up for a visit, especially at the most inconvenient time possible. But we have to accept like, okay, grief is here right now, what do I need in this moment? 

And sometimes even just naming the emotion can be something helpful. So there's a common phrase in the therapy and coaching world that says, name it to tame it. So you name the emotion, it helps kind of tame it down a little bit to where it's not, , just consuming you, right? So acceptance, name it to tame it. 

And then just giving yourself some compassion. Because when we tend to experience challenges as humans, we're such funny creatures, we tend to become our own like biggest bullies and biggest critics during this time, and we end up making ourselves feel worse about feeling bad, right? What's that going to lead to? 

Probably not the most helpful choices. So if we can instead teach ourselves how to better comfort and support [00:46:00] ourselves like we would a good friend or a loved one that were coming to us with the same issue, that's going to help us better process through those emotions, and then be able to continue engaging in actions that support our health, our well being, our mental wellness. 

Um, and all of this is easier said than done, right? Like, this is why we call it self compassion practices and acceptance practices, because we have to practice them over time. And there's a, there's a bunch of different skills that you can look up from. Therapeutic frameworks like acceptance and commitment training is a good one. 

Um, cognitive behavioral therapy, there's just, there's so many different things. Mindfulness is a huge piece of being able to even, like, recognize the emotion as it starts to show up. Um, but then also giving your, yourself that space to better learn how to accept it, to ride out all that discomfort that tends to accompany the emotion, and just [00:47:00] remembering that it's temporary. 

Like it's not going to feel that way forever, and oh my gosh, I mean, I could go on forever, but the last, the last thing I want to say is like, there's duality that exists, right? It's not an either or, like you can either feel happy or sad, like those emotions can exist together. And so, um, that was something that I learned a lot from my grief journey with Buddy's loss. 

megan-sprinkle: Yeah. Well, people know why you're the expert and they knew to go to you. And I do find that one thing to kind of help with all of this, you know, when, when you are in the middle of chaos and you don't know what to do is really to kind of ground yourself with gratitude. So I love ending the podcast with what is something you're really grateful for right now? 

melyssa-allen--she-her: Oh my gosh, I am so grateful for my cat Jackie, first of all. He's usually sleeping in like this little hut right here, but um, he's at the window today. And he is just such a great reminder for me, like when I need to take a break, he'll come up and, you know, [00:48:00] if I've been in front of the computer too long, he lets me know. 

me know. So I'm grateful that he's my own little like self care check in reminder. But I'm also grateful to be embarking on a new chapter of entrepreneurship where I'm actually transitioning out of my part time job to go full time for myself. So it's again, another big leap of faith that's happening, but I'm grateful for having the means to even 

pursue this opportunity. Um, and grateful for all of the people within this industry that have supported me to this point. So lots of gratitude to everyone tuning in out there. 

Thank you so much for having me, Megan. Yes, I appreciate it. And my typical sign off is take care, stay healthy and be well.