Welcome to the Kids and Pets Issue!
Kids and Pets are probably two of my favorite things. They both can be so cute, cuddly and hilarious (at times). The energy levels and ability to learn new things is always exciting to witness from both. I am really excited about this issue to share some great local businesses that are all about kids and pets!
If you haven’t heard of the OAC, it’s a magical place. The DNR Outdoor Adventure Center, at the edge of the Dequindre Cut on the Detroit Riverfront, is designed to provide interactive experiences. It gives kids a taste of Michigan’s great outdoors in the heart of the city.
You’ll meet Dr. Alex Schechter and his team at Burrwood Vet. A vet who understands that getting on the floor is the best way of earning trust with animals. A modern-day vet’s office looks like a design showroom, but feels like home. The homey feeling is carried throughout the practice with intention, from the custom wallpaper of the staff’s pets to the windows that give peace through viewing.
New Beginnings Animal Rescue run by Lisa Hill and Jen Fritz is a place with free roaming rooms for the cats where no appointment is necessary. You can walk in any day they are open and move about the facility. You can connect with a potential cat–where you can let the cat distribution system choose you.
When you think of the Salvation Army, do you think about kids’ programs?
There are so many unbelievable programs that are available, and Majors Jennifer and Steve Woodard embrace the understanding they become like extended family. The Majors have a legacy Salvation Army background and listening to the Godgiven direction to serve generations between them. Royal Oak’s location is one of the largest in the nation, not just the region.
Here’s to giving kiddos and doggos the best experiences,
August 2026
PUBLISHER
Amy Gillespie | amy.gillespie@citylifestyle.com
MANAGING EDITOR
Marshall Zweig | marshall.zweig@citylifestyle.com
PUBLISHER ASSISTANT
May Azzow
SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR
Sophie Emmi
Corporate Team
CEO Steven Schowengerdt
President Matthew Perry
COO David Stetler
CRO Jamie Pentz
CoS Janeane Thompson
AD DESIGNER Josh Govero
LAYOUT DESIGNER Kirstan Lanier
QUALITY CONTROL SPECIALIST Megan Cagle
Proverbs 3:5-6
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Weston Meekhof of Allendale, and Grady and Audrey Martin of Howell, practice archery at Detroit’s incredible Outdoor Adventure Center.
Photography: Amy Gillespie
Your Next Move Is Worth The Cruise
Step inside a building designed to connect children with the outdoors
BRINGING UP NORTH TO DOWNTOWN
The first thing most kids interact with at the Outdoor Adventure Center isn't the tree, the snowmobile simulators, or the fishing experience built to make you feel a tug on the line.
It's the bear.
Just inside the entrance, there's a small den with a motion sensor. Get close, and the bear wakes up. Kids run in and out for the better part of an hour, shrieking with delight and going back and back for more.
"I hear the screaming in my cube," says Missy Sharp, the center's director, "and I know that they're in the bear den."
Almost nothing in this building is the real version of itself. The snowmobile doesn't go anywhere. The fishing rod's tethered to a tank. The bear's not alive.
But the building isn't trying to replace the outdoors; it's trying to get people to go find it. "You ride the snowmobile here for the first time," Missy says, "and then go on the trails up north and try it."
Missy came to the Outdoor Adventure Center after twelve years in parks and recreation, where she says the work tended to repeat itself: the same programs, year after year, with only the date changed. Here, she says, "every year is something new, something nobody ever thought of." This fall, for example, the center will add a "ship's bridge" exhibit, where kids navigate Michigan's waterways — in a building that once built the ships themselves.
Decades before Missy arrived, the venerable Globe Building had already practiced that kind of reinvention. Built originally for steam engines (Henry Ford worked there before founding his car company), the building sat empty for years before becoming the OAC in 2015.
Missy and the OAC reinvented the space further. A windowless conference room, "the one room in the building that nobody but staff
ever saw," she says, is now the wildlife lodge. Its stone fireplace and wood beams frame a wall of aquariums where the center's animals live in public view. A bathroom exhibit in the sustainable house, the room she used to consider "my least favorite spot," is now a recycling-andsolar-power exhibit with touchscreen games.
The center's sturgeon, snake, and turtles aren't domesticated animals, and the staff is careful to say so. "These are not pets," is how Missy says educators frame it. "This is an educational tool... that's their habitat." It's a careful line to walk. As Missy puts it, the hardest part is "keeping nature natural" — even for an animal living inside a building built to simulate the outdoors.
That line matters outside the building too. Missy tells me families release non-native animals at Milliken State Park or Belle Isle when
they decide they no longer want them. That can have consequences for the ecosystem that outlast the decision. Teaching children the difference between wild and domestic, she says, is "a message that we're always really careful about relaying."
Missy says a family with ninety minutes inside the building can do pretty much everything: try the fishing experience, ride the ATV,
…EVERY YEAR IS SOMETHING NEW. THIS FALL, FOR EXAMPLE, THE CENTER WILL ADD A “SHIP’S BRIDGE” EXHIBIT, WHERE KIDS NAVIGATE MICHIGAN’S WATERWAYS — IN A BUILDING THAT ONCE BUILT THE SHIPS THEMSELVES.
check out all the exhibits. The fishing boat is her favorite to watch: kids cast real poles, and their ‘catch’ plays out on a monitor. For a kid who's never held a rod, that first simulated tug lights something up in them. "Their excitement is pretty amazing to see," she says.
The fake bear in the den wakes up for every kid who gets close enough, today and every day after. The real sturgeon in the tank is on its way to becoming one of the hundredyear-old fish swimming in the Detroit River just outside.
Real or imagined, every exhibit inside the OAC is a rehearsal for something waiting outside. The center’s job is simply to make sure a kid leaves wanting to find it.
The DNR Outdoor Adventure Center is located at 1801 Atwater St., Detroit. For hours, programs, and summer camp info, visit michigan.gov/oac
On The Floor With Them
FOR DR. ALEX SCHECHTER, VETERINARY MEDICINE BEGINS ON THE GROUND
ARTICLE BY MARSHALL ZWEIG | PHOTOGRAPHY BY AMY GILLESPIE
Before he was a doctor, with a staff of twelve licensed nurses and a visiting cardiologist, Alex Schechter was a boy in Franklin who wanted to be a dog.
Not just a veterinarian. He was three when he knew that. At five, he decided to become an animal.
He lived on the floor. He crawled. He barked. His parents called him Dog Boy.
By the time he was nine, he’d worn his parents down: they brought home a Bernese Mountain Dog, a creature who lived on the floor… right where Alex liked to be.
"I always loved animals," he says simply.
There's a particular kind of person who’s always known what they're meant to do. Schechter is that person. He went to Michigan, then Michigan State for his veterinary degree, then to New York City, where he trained in emergency medicine, then launched a concierge house-call practice. There, he saw people treat their animals as full members of the family. Like the dog he once saw flown to London for a heart valve replacement.
Alex understood.
“…I think [the glass walls] ease people’s minds. The alternative is imagination. And imagination in a waiting room is rarely kind.”
COVID brought him home to the suburbs of Detroit, where he wanted something specific: to practice medicine where he grew up. He wanted to see clients at the grocery store, at the gym. “I want to run into people,” he says.
His clinic, Burrwood Veterinary, is people-friendly too. The walls are glass. A dog came in the morning of our conversation with heat stroke, in critical condition, rushed straight to the back — and the owner watched everything through the glass. Watched five people working on his dog.
"He was part of that process," Schechter says. "And I think that eases people's minds. The alternative is imagination. And imagination in a waiting room is rarely kind.”
I understand. “You can't make up a story in your head if you're seeing what's happening right in front of you,” I say. He nods. It's the same instinct, he tells me, behind the five remote receptionists on staff: when you call, a human answers. "I don't want a critical situation," he says, "and you're trying to go through a menu to get ahold of someone."
Kids especially love the windows, he tells me. Whether they're witnessing vaccines and treats and a wagging tail, or stuff that's harder to watch, they press against the glass.
"Maybe we're sparking the next set of veterinarians," he adds, and I believe him. After all, he was once a kid pressing his nose against exactly this kind of world, trying to get closer.
I ask Alex how he builds trust with a frightened animal. "I always get on the floor at the beginning of the visit," he says, "as a sign of respect, to put them at ease." When they start taking treats from his hand, he knows he's in.
He’s long since had a dog of his own, a rescue named Cy. And Cy’s getting old. The dog’s been present for his engagement, his wedding, and the arrival of both his kids. “The human-animal bond,” he says, “brings so much joy, and pain — only because you've experienced so much joy."
Not long ago, a family came in with a Shih Tzu who was fourteen and declining. Schechter had the conversation he's learned to navigate with care: do you want to bring your child? Do they want to be involved? Is it too much for them?
The child came.
"He was crying," he recalls, "saying, 'I'm not ready to say goodbye.' This dog's probably older than him. He has never lived in a world where this dog wasn't there."
Alex falls silent.
"In those moments," he finally says, "you have to find comfort in the fact that you're helping them through this." He pauses. "That's what keeps you going."
Helping through endings. And beginnings. And the crisis moments nobody plans for.
He was three years old when he knew. He's been getting on the floor ever since.
Burrwood Veterinary ( burrwoodvet.com) is at 4245 W. 14 Mile Road in Royal Oak, just east of Woodward. They see dogs and cats for everything from wellness visits to urgent care, with same-day surgery, an in-house lab, and specialists who come to them, including a cardiologist and a mobile surgeon.
Grown Up GrownBookUpFair Book Fair
ARTICLE BY MARSHALL ZWEIG | PHOTOGRAPHY BY AMY GILLESPIE
NO APPOINTMENT NECESSARY
NO CAGES, NO CLOCKS: JUST A BLACK-DOORED SANCTUARY THAT’S OPEN TO ANYONE WHO NEEDS IT
Every morning, before anything else, Lisa Hill goes to the quarantine room.
These are the new arrivals: cats who just got here, who don’t know yet where they are or what comes next. Lisa checks on each one. “Hi, new friends,” she says.
It’s a small gesture, but it says something about how New Beginnings Animal Rescue works. Nobody here is in a hurry. Nobody’s on a clock. And nobody — cat or human — is turned away for being a little difficult to love.
Inside NBAR, as it’s known, there are no cages. Two free-roam rooms let cats move, climb, choose their own company, and decide at their own pace whether the humans coming through are worth their time. A quieter condo room serves cats who find the open space overwhelming. The whole operation runs on volunteers, donations, and (as the website cheerfully notes) cat hair. There’s no paid staff.
And here’s the part that surprises most people: you don’t need an appointment to walk in. You don’t even need to be looking to adopt. You can simply come in during open hours, find a bench, and let a cat decide whether you’re interesting.
Adults come in after brutal days at work and decompress in a pile of purring cats. Kids learn to be gentle with something smaller than themselves, to read another creature’s moods, to offer care without being asked. The cats, meanwhile, get socialized by a steady stream of people of all ages and temperaments — which makes them better prepared for whatever home eventually claims them.
Lisa and co-founder Jennifer Fritz have watched the place build community. A man came in once carrying his late cat’s belongings to donate. Lisa asked if he wanted to spend some time with the cats. He said no. She said sometimes it helps. He sat down — and has never really left. He visits at least once a week, and he’s adopted three cats since.
feed. So they started NBAR as a pet food pantry. Foster volunteers came next, then adoption events, then the building with the black door on Rochester Road.
“…IT’S KIND OF LIKE A DATING SERVICE. THERE’S A CAT OUT THERE FOR EVERYONE. IT’S NOT HYPERBOLE OR CLICHÉ. WE SEE IT.”
Lisa’s the self-declared dreamer of the duo. “I’m always like, ‘there’s the star and we’re going for it,’” she says. Jen’s the logical one, the keeper of the foster manual and the spreadsheets. “Being here… it’s just good for my soul,” Jen says.
Of course, some visitors do fall hard enough to take one home. And that's where Lisa's other specialty kicks in: matchmaking. “When people come in wanting a cat, the first thing I say is: ‘what are you looking for?’ Because it’s kind of like a dating service.”
Every cat moves at its own pace. Some take a month to let anyone touch them. One is currently back in the quiet room after ten years in a home, returned because the family’s new baby is allergic. “She doesn’t know where her family is, what’s going on,” Lisa says. “So she’s just back there, pissed off and chilling.” After three weeks, she finally let Lisa touch her.
“I think a lot of us in the animal world are a bit socially awkward,” Jen says. “We’d rather spend time with pets than people. Taking that first step into a strange place with strange people is a lot. But I’m so grateful to everyone who finds that bravery.”
During the 2010 recession, Lisa and Jen saw families come into the city shelter to surrender pets they could no longer afford to
NBAR has a forever return policy: no matter the circumstances, they take cats back. “Life happens,” Lisa says. “We understand.”
There are also the long-term residents, like Tum Tum. He was with them for three years. He’d let you pet him, briefly, and then he’d let you know you’d gone too far. Nobody could figure out what to do with him: he’d lived indoors his whole life and wouldn’t survive outside.
CONTINUED >
Then a man walked in from a Berkley retirement community and announced, “I’m a cranky son of a gun, and I want a cranky son of a gun cat.” Lisa introduced them and stepped out. The man returned shortly, asking for a band-aid. Lisa offered to show him some nicer cats. He wanted Tum Tum. Lisa refused to charge him anything; she was just relieved Tum Tum had found a home.
A week later, the man came back, put twenty dollars on the counter, and wouldn’t take no for an answer. “We had a bit of a disagreement,” he reported, “but we worked it out. He’s sleeping in my bed.”
“There’s a cat out there for everyone,” Jen says. “It’s not hyperbole or cliché. We see it.”
So whether you’re having a hard day, or you just feel called: walk into that building with the black door on Rochester Road. You’ll feel better.
And you just might make a new friend.
New Beginnings Animal Rescue is at 2502 Rochester Road in Royal Oak. Open Wednesdays and Thursdays from 4 to 6 PM, and Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 2 PM. The Pet Food Pantry runs Sundays from noon to 2 PM. To adopt, foster, volunteer, or donate, visit nbarmichigan.org or call 248-543-4070
ALREADY HOME
Two callings, one mission: build a place where kids can come home to
ARTICLE BY MARSHALL ZWEIG
PHOTOGRAPHY BY AMY GILLESPIE
Every weekday afternoon, a van pulls up outside three Royal Oak schools and kids pile in. The van doesn’t take the kids to their houses; instead, it goes to The Salvation Army community center on North Main.
But when they arrive, they’re already home.
That's how Majors Jennifer and Steve Woodard tend to describe what they do here: they focus on what a child feels when they walk through the door.
“[Kids] realize this is a safe place…we become part of the extended family.”
"They realize this is a safe place," Steve says. "We become part of the extended family."
During the Woodard’s time with The Salvation Army, they’ve overseen treatment facilities, housing programs for women and children with HIV during the epidemic of the late nineties, a shelter that served over a thousand meals a day. They've spent the better part of three decades figuring out what it means to show up for people in the worst moments of their lives.
And both of them grew up watching their parents do the exact same thing.
Jennifer's mother and father were Salvation Army officers; so were her grandparents. She was twelve years old when she felt her own calling — and immediately doubted it. A shy girl, Jennifer couldn't picture herself the way she saw her father, moving row by row at events, sticking out his hand to strangers,
watching their faces change. ”I didn't see myself as having what it took," she says.
At a church service not long after, the preacher came down from the pulpit to pray with her. He told her when God called him, he’d been twelve years old himself.
That was enough for Jennifer.
"It meant that God was going to equip me to do what he called me to do," she says.
Steve's parents were in ministry too, but the calling didn't come early for him. He graduated from Indiana University with degrees in psychology and criminal justice, and went to work as a counselor for incarcerated youth, trying to get the kids back into school, into jobs, helping them see that a bad choice didn't have to be the whole story. He was good at it. He had a house, a car, a relationship. His life felt stable.
Then one rainy night, everything changed. Steve described it simply: “God asked, ‘Are you done doing
what you'd like to do? Steve listened as the voice continued: I can bless you in a greater way: not just incarcerated youth, but families, generations, sharing the love of Christ in the worst moments of people's lives.
Within a month, he’d enrolled in the Salvation Army's Chicago seminary. That's where he met Jennifer.
They've been together thirty-three years, raising three kids who now have kids of their own. Their working philosophy about marriage and ministry: divide by strength, yield by wheelhouse. “And,” Jennifer adds, smiling, “don't share an office. That’s our secret.”
The Royal Oak corps they now lead is larger than most places they've served, with a full community center and a gymnasium. The after-school program — that van at the top of this article — picks up children from three different schools and hosts them until their parents get home. There’s a winter basketball league where Steve tells me referees aren’t whistle-happy. “You travel, you double dribble… whatever,” Steve says, smiling.
Tuesday nights through the school year, kids can stay for music lessons or Bible study. There’s also a summer day camp, and a nearby overnight camp called Echo Grove that runs music camps, archery, ropes courses, and ziplines for kids ages three through seventeen.
And then there's the Pathway of Hope, a program for families who “have goals,” as the Woodards put it: they’re ready to break challenging cycles. A caseworker walks alongside them, connecting them to resources and helping them map a path forward.
I ask if any stories of lives impacted by their work stand out. "This side of heaven, we might not even know the impact of what we do,” Steve replies. But he tells me of a young man on staff now who grew up in Detroit, in circumstances that could have ended his story early. He found his way to Echo Grove as a camper, then as a summer staff member, then into the orbit of the Royal Oak congregation. A family here adopted him. He's married now. He just had a baby boy.
There’s a full community center, a gymnasium, an after-school program that picks up children and hosts them until parents get home, a winter basketball league, Tuesday nights music lessons or Bible study, and more.
And he works in the building that helped save him. Jennifer credits their staff and volunteers, who she says make “impacts that last a lifetime.” And she maintains we all can make that same impact — by doing what she learned from her father.
“All you’ve got to do,” Jennifer explains simply, “is say, 'How are you doing today?' and just really mean it.”
The Salvation Army Royal Oak Citadel is at 3015 N. Main Street in Royal Oak. Programs include after-school care, summer day camp, youth basketball, music instruction, and social services. For more info, or to volunteer or donate, call 248-585-5600 or visit centralusa. salvationarmy.org/royaloak
Homemade Dog Food
ARTICLE BY AMY TINNIN PHOTOGRAPHY PROVIDED
My two pugs are more than pets—they’re part of the family. That’s why I started making their food at home, and it’s been one of the most popular posts on my blog. You may be surprised just how easy this recipe is. I add all the ingredients to my slow-cooker to cook, and my dogs love it. If you decide to try this recipe for your pet, please consult your veterinarian. Every dog has different needs based on age, weight, and any health issues. You can even share this recipe with your vet to see if any changes are needed. The ingredients are flexible and can be easily swapped to substitute the turkey for chicken or beef, and even try different dog-safe vegetables. Making dog food at home isn’t hard—it just takes a little planning, and my dogs love it.
Slow Cooker
Homemade Dog Food
INGREDIENTS:
• 3 lbs ground turkey (85% lean)
• 1¼ cups frozen sweet potatoes
• 1½ cups frozen peas and carrots
• 1 cup frozen spinach
• 1½ cups uncooked brown or white rice
• 4 cups water
DIRECTIONS:
1. Add all ingredients to a slow cooker.
2. Break up the ground turkey and mix all the ingredients.
3. Cover and cook on High for 3–4 hours or Low for 6 hours, stirring occasionally.
Note: My dog food was ready in 3½ hours on High. Let cool completely before serving. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator or freeze for later use.
Recipe from Amy Tinnin - A Cup Full of Sass
TREY & KATIE KENNEDY
ON MARRIAGE, KIDS, AND THE COMEDY OF REAL LIFE
Trey Kennedy makes a living finding comedy in regular life. Marriage. Toddlers. Yoga pants. The Thursday-night scramble between school dropoffs, soccer practice, and whatever has to be done by morning. Twelve years in, it shows: millions of followers across every platform, three stand-up specials, a sold-out Relatable Tour, and a style of humor fans send each other captioned, “Are you watching me?” He delivers the kind of comedy that travels because everyone’s living some version of it.
Katie, his wife of six years, is a former biomedical engineer who also built a modeling career. She’s now raising their kids and co-hosting Correct Opinions alongside Trey — the show where the two of them swap takes on marriage, parenting, and whatever came up that week.
Trey has been at this longer than people realize. An Edmond, Oklahoma kid who grew up playing basketball described himself as a “shy kid who never thought he’d be an entertainer.” He started making videos while attending Oklahoma State University. After building millions of followers on Vine before the platform shut down, he gave himself six months on Instagram and Facebook to see whether he could rebuild from zero. He did. Stand-up soon followed. His first special, Are You For Real?, streams on YouTube; the second, Grow Up, on Amazon Prime; the third, built around the Relatable Tour, wrapped earlier this year. “I’ve been trying to be funny every week for like twelve years now,” he says. A slow climb, made one bit at a time.
ARTICLE BY KALI KASPRZYK PHOTOGRAPHY BY JANIE JONES
“I’ve been trying to be funny every week for like twelve years now.”
Most of what Trey writes lately starts in his own kitchen. Thomas is three and a half, and he is, in his father’s words, “a movie.” He narrates his own life from the moment his eyes open and mispronounces words in ways his parents now repeat to each other because no one else would believe them. His younger sister, Eva, is what Katie calls “the calm one.” With a third now in the mix, the Kennedys are officially outnumbered.
After six years of marriage, Trey and Katie have learned that the partnership runs best when it gets its own time on the calendar. So once a week, they leave the kids with a sitter and go out for coffee. “You need a system,” Katie says. “It’s about taking time to look each other in the eye. Not the kids. Not the cameras. Just each other.”
The same instinct shapes the work. Most of Trey’s trial and error happens onstage or on Instagram, but the first read is always Katie’s. “There’s only been one time ever I’ve had to be like, ‘you’re not doing that,’” she says. The rest of the time, she just laughs first.
FEATURING TREY & KATIE KENNEDY
Trey and Katie talk about marriage, parenting, and the moments that don’t make the Instagram feed.
Watch or listen to the full conversation wherever you get your podcasts.
HAIR & MAKEUP BY MIKAYLA CRANE
AUGUST 2026
events
A SELECTION OF UPCOMING LOCAL EVENTS
AUGUST 1ST
Royal Oak Leprechauns Baseball
Memorial Park | 7:00 PM
Catch the collegiate summer team at Memorial Park. They wrap up their season in early August against teams like the Kalamazoo Growlers and Green Bay Rockers.
AUGUST 6TH
Summer Concert Series
Farmers Market | 5:30 PM
Come down and enjoy the summer concert series at the Farmers Market on August 6th and 13th. First show starts at 5:30 pm, featured band is 7:00 pm and second band is 8:30 pm. DJ sets are in between.
AUGUST 9TH
Social District Saturday
Downtown Royal Oak | 11:00 AM
From 11 AM to 10 PM, seven days a week, you may enjoy your to-go beverages. Enjoy the parks and walking around in the Social District.
AUGUST 12TH
The Psychedelic Furs
Royal Oak Music Theater | 7:00 PM
The legendary English rock band performs live at the Royal Oak Music Theatre. Founded in London in February 1977. Led by lead vocalist Richard Butler and his brother Tim Butler on bass guitar, the Psychedelic Furs are one of the many acts spawned from the British post-punk scene.
AUGUST 20TH
Chutney Festival
Royal Oak Farmers Market | 5:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Celebrate South Asian and West Indian culture at the Royal Oak Farmers Market. Enjoy vibrant music, incredible street food, a dessert station, yoga and henna at this indoor and outdoor family-friendly event. The event is hosted in collaboration with the Shanti Foundation.
AUGUST 22ND
Anniversary Celebration
28834 Woodward Ave. | 12:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Modern Supply is turning 5 this year and The Detroit Record Club is celebrating 7 years! Join them for an afternoon anniversary bash— featuring a live DJ, food and drink, unique offerings, giveaways, exclusive day-of discounts, and more.
