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Dr.

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 Amber,

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 I can really tell that my dogs really feel my emotions.

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 They mirror me.

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 Yeah,

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 I can definitely see in my dog,

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 like,

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 when I'm,

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 you know,

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 more excited,

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 then she's like,

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 oh,

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 what's going on?

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 There's something exciting happening.

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 And when I'm like,

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 okay,

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 calm down,

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 then she just lays down like,

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 all right.

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 Welcome to Unleash Curiosity by Vital Pet Life.

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 I'm Dr.

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 Amber Da Silva.

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 veterinarian and advocate for integrative pet care.

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 And I'm Donnie Yamamoto,

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 founder and CEO of Vital Pet Life.

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 We're so glad you're here.

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 This is a space where curiosity,

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 compassion,

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 and science converge,

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 where we explore the powerful mind-body connection that supports your pet's health and your own.

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 Each week,

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 we'll dive deep into the world of pet wellness,

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 breaking down myths,

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 exploring ingredients,

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 and learning from expert voices across the industry.

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 From nutrition and sustainability to transparency and advocacy,

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 we're here to help you feel more confident,

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 connected,

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 and informed in your care choices.

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 Let's get into it,

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 because when we know better,

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 we do better.

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 This is Unleash Curiosity.

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 Welcome back to Unleash Curiosity,

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 the show where we dig into the science,

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 the stories,

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 and the straight talk behind pet health.

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 I'm Donnie Yamamoto,

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 and with me is Dr.

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 Amber.

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 Hi,

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 everyone.

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 Today,

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 we're talking about consciousness.

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 specifically how researchers figure out which animals actually feel things.

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 That sounds like a philosophy class,

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 but stick with us because every pet parent has had this moment.

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 Your dog does something and you wonder,

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 does he really feel that or am I just projecting?

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 Oh,

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 Dr.

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 Amber,

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 the question that nobody could agree on.

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 Can you,

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 can you like discuss this with me?

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 Yeah.

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 So there's a new study out of Michigan State University.

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 A researcher...

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 built what he calls a decision tree for animal consciousness.

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 So here's the idea.

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 Scientists look for markers,

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 things like brain structure or complex behavior,

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 to guess whether an animal can feel things.

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 Enough markers,

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 and they'll say it's probably consciousness.

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 The hard question is,

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 what do you do when an animal shows few or none of those markers?

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 Does that mean it doesn't feel anything or just that we haven't found the right test yet.

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 This is a fish and the hook argument,

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 basically.

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 I mean,

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 people love debating whether a fish feels pain.

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 Yeah.

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 So the study actually uses hermit crabs as an example.

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 So crabs don't have much of a brain and they don't check a lot of the usual boxes,

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 but they pick their own shells,

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 which is really cool.

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 In May's test,

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 they'll actually swap shells to get around better.

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 So do they fail the test or is the test just not built?

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 to see them.

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 Researchers split into two camps here.

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 So camp one says no markers,

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 no proof,

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 probably not conscious.

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 And camp two says missing markers don't prove anything either way.

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 Maybe we just haven't found the evidence yet.

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 This is exactly what pet parents wonder too.

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 But to me,

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 I feel like my dogs are very conscious.

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 They're always like feeling,

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well,

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 because I love my dogs,

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 I guess what I feel like.

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 They know,

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 they are aware,

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 like,

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 the moment that,

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 you know,

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 other than just,

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 like,

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 routines or,

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 like,

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 you know,

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 stuff that they remember that you do or stuff that they do every day with you.

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 I feel like they're pretty aware,

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 like,

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 before the fireworks even blowed up or started,

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 they're already,

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 like,

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 hovering around,

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 walking around.

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 And I can feel,

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 like,

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 I can see Martin's ears because,

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 you know,

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 I think they sense his way better than us.

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So,

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 I mean.

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 a feeling or it's just a habit he's learned i don't know to me i feel like they are yeah well when i was in vet school i got a dog his name was bootstraps and he was you know a really old like we have no idea how old he was little pickanies yeah

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 and every time i went to feed him like he was on a special diet because he had gi issues so i and he was on a canned diet so i'd be dishing out his canned food.

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 And he'd sit there and he'd sneeze at me.

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 Achoo Achoo

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 Achoo And he did it every single time,

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 every single meal.

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 And never,

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 you know,

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 he wasn't like,

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 he didn't sneeze normally.

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 So it was like,

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 oh,

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 that's when I was feeding him.

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 Yeah.

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Yeah.

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He would just,

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 and he was so food motivated.

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 He loved his food.

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 And so

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 I just,

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 yeah,

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 it was just so funny.

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 So I really think.

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 that he,

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 you know,

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 he was definitely like feeling something when I was dishing up his food.

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 Honestly,

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 you know,

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 we can't say for certain,

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 but here's what's telling.

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 In the

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 1990s, people were still debating whether chimpanzees were conscious and to debate.

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 And today,

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 the debate has moved on to whether plants are conscious.

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 I think that bar keeps climbing higher,

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 not lower.

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Well,

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 what does this mean for dogs and cats or maybe animals?

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 Like,

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 you know,

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 can you bring this home for us?

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 Like,

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 nobody's asking about crabs,

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but they're asking about their dog's face when the vacuum comes out,

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 right?

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 Like,

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 they don't.

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 Yeah.

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 Yeah.

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 Good news there.

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 Dogs and cats aren't really in question the way crabs or insects are.

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 They clear almost every marker.

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 Complex brains,

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 social behavior,

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 real personality.

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 The takeaway for pet parents is pretty simple.

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 Trust what you're seeing.

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 If your dog's behavior is telling you something's wrong,

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 that's real information,

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 even before science catches up to explain why.

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 That's why we started paying closer attention to joint stiffness in older dogs in the first place.

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I mean,

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 nobody needed a study to tell us or to tell me that my dog's tuxedo was uncomfortable when he stopped jumping on the couch.

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 Like,

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 I kind of knew that there was something wrong.

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Right.

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 The science is just catching up to what pet parents already notice.

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 Good reminder today.

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 Science is taking animals'

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 experience more seriously,

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 not less.

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 So trust what you see in your own pet.

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 You know them.

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 better than any decision there is.

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 That's it for the episode of Unleash Curiosity.

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 Share it with a pet parent who needs to hear it and see you next time.