Dog Talk ® (and Kitties Too!): Recent Episodes
Tracie Hotchner
DOG TALK® (and Kitties, Too!) originated on the only NPR station on Long Island, WLIW-88.3, where it has been on the air for 13 years and numerous consecutive shows. This Gracie® Award-winning show (for “Best entertainment and information program on local public radio”), is produced and hosted by pet wellness advocate Tracie Hotchner. Each show features Tracie’s interviews with authors and pet experts from around the world, discussing far-ranging topics involving practical and philosophical issues regarding our relationships with dogs and cats.
The show broadcasts from the East End and reaches all across Long Island, into Southern Connecticut and Westchester.
The show's theme song is "Mmm My Best Friend" by Sophie B. Hawkins from her album TIMBRE.
999B: Sue Adams (a licensed veterinary technician at Ellevet Sciences in Maine, who supports veterinarians and dog owners calling for guidance on the right product and dose-by-weight for mobility and anxiety issues) talks about the life-changing positive effect their CBD has had on Tracie's 11-year-old Weimaraner, Wanda — who now runs and plays like someone half her age.
999A: Dr. Shany Dror's research at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna has shown that the learning vocabulary of some extraordinary dogs who can learn the name of a vast number of different toys is like that of an 18-month-old toddler — plus they are good eavesdroppers and can learn the name of objects just from listening to two people talk!
998B: Dr. Juliane Brauer from the University of Jena in Germany led a team of researchers across every continent to study differences in relationships between people and their dogs — yet they found striking global universal similarities in that bond beyond our Western culture (countries which are academically referred to as “WEIRD” — Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich & Democratic.)
998A: Michael Bond's book “Animate: How Animals Shape the Human Mind” looks at the earliest depictions of the way animals affect human thinking in the cave paintings of Southern France, trying to understand Ice Age people through "visual paleo-psychology."
997B: Jennifer Palencia — the Director of Operations at the Penn Club of New York — has a culinary degree from Johnson & Wales, skills she has put to good use home-cooking for her little Chi-Chi Freida, who now gets a truly balanced healthy diet with the addition of IVI blend, formulated by two veterinarians renowned for their nutrition wisdom, who support home cooking.
997A: Peggy Frezon’s book of support and wisdom “Goodbye to a Good Dog: Healing, Comfort, and the Hope of Heaven After the Loss of Your Dog” comes from years of adopting senior citizen Golden Retrievers and learning how to accept the Rainbow Bridge awaiting them.
996A: Deni Elliott’s memoir “Catching Sight: How a Guide Dog Helped Me See Myself” is a touching saga of someone losing her sight, fighting against it, then discovering how Guiding Eyes For the Blind dogs change their peoples’ lives on the inside and outside.
996B: Dr. Jennifer Fletcher Eckenrode, a canine rehabilitation veterinarian at her own Paws in Motion clinic in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, discusses her extensive expertise in pain management and rehabilitation, in particular her firsthand experience treating her own dog, Murray, with Synovetin OA, which is supposed to give relief from joint pain for up to a year — and lasted 22 months on Murray!
995B: Dr. Heather Davis explains how hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) was previously untreatable in cats until they developed Felycin®-CA1, the first weekly therapy developed for cats with this heart problem affects one-third of senior cats.
995A: Dr. Dino Martins speaks from Kenya about his book “Hidden Creatures: Luscious Leeches, Bashful Botflies, and the Wondrous, History-Shaping World of Parasites,” and his extraordinary life discovering these creatures and more around the world.
994B: Dr. Erin Troy is a Certified Veterinary Pain Practitioner, who has many tools in her toolbox to lessen or even cure canine pain. The one-time Synovetin OA injection is her gold standard when it is appropriate for a dog with joint issues, but she has many other ways for people and their vets to lessen pain in dogs.
994A: Hanna Mandelbaum, the co-founder and owner of Evermore frozen cooked dog food explains how special Mary’s turkey is and how they came up with a delicious, nutritious way to use the organ meats of the turkey they use to become Evermorsels treats.
993B: Dr. Michelle Dulake discusses the holistic supplements she has created at Fera Pets to help your dog through the shivers and trembles of July fireworks and the thunder and lightning of summer storms.
993A: Dog trainer Melissa McCue McGrath discusses her book “Misadventures of the World’s Okayest Dog Trainer,” which is intended to guide other dog trainers through sticky situations, but at the same time illuminates for the rest of us the variety of funny and intense canine personalities and issues.
992B: Tracie welcomes veterinarians Joe Wakshlag and Justin Shmalberg — renowned for their knowledge about nutrition and the company they created, Integrative Veterinary Innovations, that gives simple recipes to use with their IVI Blend to naturally balance home-prepared diets.
992A: Scott Simon’s charming memoir “Ulysses S. Cat and Other Animals I Have Known” looks back at his life with a succession of funny and tender recollections of the animals who have shared his journey.
991A: Camille Perri talks about her new novel, “Social Animals,” and what she discovered about the people and their pooches in dog parks through her own experience as a first time "puppy mama" during Covid.
991B: Dr. Angela Lennox has so many letters after her name they barely fit on a page! She is triple board certified — in addition to her DVM she has DABVP (Avian Practice), DABVP (Exotic Companion Mammal Practice) and DECZM (Small Mammal Medicine). She owns the Avian and Exotic Vet Clinic in Indianapolis and when she isn't looking after the non-traditional pets, she’s doing pro bono work in wildlife rehabilitation with her non-profit called Rewilding Indiana.
990B: Janet Scott discusses how she and her husband Jim founded the pet food industry’s first truly “natural” food decades ago — so when they returned with a new company, Rawz, after both their sons had devastating accidents, they decided to give 100% of their profits to charities! They wanted top shelf preparation for their premium ingredients — and thus their kibble is “air dried.”
990A: Thomas W. Laqueur talks about how he gathered the magnificent images of dogs in art in his beautiful book “The Dog’s Gaze: A Visual History,” which gives a sweeping view of how closely the two species have been connected across time.
989A: Rick McIntyre talks about a lifetime of being the most prolific watcher of wildlife in National Parks — from grizzlies to moose to wolves, for which he is most well known, as he describes in his memoir “My Life With Wolves: How I Became the Storyteller for the Yellowstone Packs.”
989B: Dr. Maggie Placer, the Science Program Manager for EveryCat Health Foundation, discusses how their nonprofit financed a study of the genetic changes in tumors from 500 cats in five countries. Scientists found similarities in human breast cancer, suggesting this research might become a building block in treating people.
988B: Hannah Palcic adopts special needs dogs and makes it seem not all that difficult, relating it to being a type I diabetic herself and how you can accommodate gracefully to physical challenges.
988A: Greger Larson, Director of the Paleogenomics & Bio-Archaeology Research Network in the School of Archaeology at Oxford University, discusses recent discoveries about how much earlier humans lived alongside dogs, and how that changes scientific understanding of how and when wolves diverged into ancient dogs.
987A: Clair Linzey, Deputy Director of the Oxford Centre of Animal Ethics, and Professor of Animal Theology at the Graduate Theological Foundation, was raised by a chaplain father who was renowned for his work promoting animal ethics and our moral obligation to consider animals. Clair Linzey oversees a department that explores human behavior and attitudes towards animals around the globe.
987B: Eleanor Lerman’s short stories in “King the Wonder Dog - and Other Stories” include dogs in the lives of all her characters, who are grappling with isolation, ill health, old age, or just being human — and how these dogs are witnesses to their lives and often their salvation.
986B: Dr Kevin Toman in California specializes in evidence-based solutions to pain and aging and helps people anywhere seeking those interventions — highly recommending Ellevet CBD and Rapamycin among other treatments.
986A: Canadian novelist Thomas Wharton has put his fertile imagination and historical knowledge to work in his newest book, “Wolf, Moon, Dog,” inventing scenarios from the wolf’s perspective throughout chapters in human history.
985A: Dr. Erin Troy who owns the Muller Animal Hospital in Walnut Creek, California, is a Certified Veterinary Pain Practitioner who shares her extraordinarily successful experiences using the one-time injection Synovetin OA — both personally with her 18-month-old Lab (who suffered from joint arthritis even so young), and in her clinic with numerous dogs whose lives were turned around from this once-yearly injection with no side effects.
985B: Oliver Starr, known as "The Wolf Guy" to 300,000 followers actually shares a wolf habitat in Lake Tahoe with a pack that he and his wife have raised and live amongst. His book "The Wolf Lover’s Guide to Raising Dogs” sheds fascinating light on how we can get closer to our own dogs.
984B: Dr. Elaine Ostrander, a canine genomics expert at the National Human Genome Research Institute at the NIH, talks about the study of dog genes, her appreciation of Citizen Science and the international community of scientists studying how to keep dogs (and possibly humans?) healthier for longer.
984A: Dr. Sean Wensley in England talks about his book "Through a Vet's Eyes: How to Care for Animals and Treat Them Better," which describes the many ways people are unaware of suffering of the animals around them — and the ways we could avoid or alleviate those discomforts.
983A: Lorin Lindner runs the Lockwood Animal Rescue center north of Los Angeles, where they are full to capacity with wolves and wolf dogs brought when people discover that they should never have been pets in the first place.
983B: Dr. Stephanie Clark, board-certified companion animal nutritionist, licensed animal technologist, and assistant director of special services at BSM Partners (which formulates and manufactures pet foods for companies seeking their expertise) talks about how much misinformation is floating around about the various modalities of pet food on offer in the marketplace and the burden on pet owners to make sense of the marketing claims about the benefits of the various versions of pet food.
982A: Peter Abrahams (the real name of author Spencer Quinn) is back with another catchy title for his most recent Chet & Bernie K-9 mystery and explains how he's able to channel the interior voice of Chet the dog, from whose perspective all 16 books in the series are told, and put himself inside the mind of this stream-of-consciousness pooch and his gumshoe human partner, Bernie.
982B: Nev Fisher, Executive Director of the Coalition for Pet Progress in St Louis, discusses the importance of shelters working cooperatively — which often they do not, to their own detriment. Nev discusses how multiple shelters in one area all share the same goal — the rescue and rehoming of pets — but unfortunately often find themselves in competition for community support and funds. She talks about how her organization has turned this around in St. Louis.
981B: Dog trainer Ineke Vander Aa in Belgium wrote “Dogsitivity: A Guide to Living With Highly Sensitive Dogs” because she is what is technically called “highly sensitive” in people (which leads to her theory on why goats appeal to her so much!)
981A: Dr. Michelle Dulake discusses her Fera Pets collagen supplement — how much it helps the body but also knowing the reliable purity and potency of the sources of bovine and chicken breast cartilage that it is made of.
980A: Jay Ingram displays a smorgasbord of ideas in his book “The Science of Pets,” making clear why he is so highly celebrated in his native Canada, with his particularly sassy style of combining deeply researched science with highly personal ideas and conclusions about what pets are, why we keep them and what they can tell us about our own species.
980B: Ric Browde is the CEO of Wings of Rescue, a nonprofit that organizes charter flights to rescue thousands of dogs and cats a year and transport them to places of safety and adoption. It's a complex and challenging business, for which his former career as a songwriter and record producer prepared him because there was constant traveling for tours — but he says pets are better behaved than rock stars.
979B: Sean Wensley's lyrical book — “Through a Vet’s Eyes: How to Care for Animals and Treat Them Better” — describes the wonders of animals in nature as juxtaposed with a clear-eyed examination of how humans must improve the way we raise captive animals as pets or products. His book is not yet available in the US but can be ordered from Blackwell's [https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/Through-a-Vets-Eyes-by-Sean-Wensley/9781856754750] in England with free shipping.
979A: Dr Bob Menardi talks about Synovetin OA, a treatment for osteoarthritis in dogs and cats that involves a one-time radioactive injection into the joint, providing relief for up to a year. He explains that Synovetin OA was developed based on human treatments in Europe, where it has been used for knee arthritis, and is now available in the United States for veterinary use.
978A: Dr. Linda Rhodes's “Breaking the Barnyard Barrier” is a memoir that is a fascinating chronicle of the pushback and misogyny that confronted her as a young veterinarian determined to get hired as a dairy cow doctor.
978B: Dr. Annie Valuska, a behaviorist with a PhD in animal behavior, talks about how Purina is funding three research projects on the human-animal bond, with two of the grants going to studies being conducted in Hungary.
977A: Dr Carmela (Carrie) Britt — board certified in sports medicine and rehabilitation for dogs, focuses not just on her canine athletes but on improving mobility for aging pets by first addressing their pain which is usually under-managed or not controlled at all.
977B: Julie Hirt is a professionally trained animal communicator who explains what her training as an intuitive taught her about how animals are able to connect with her — allowing peoples’ pets to speak through her.
976B: Kathleen Donnelly talks about her newest National Forest K-9 thriller, “Buried Lies,” an engaging novel focused on the extraordinary way these dogs work with their human partners in solving crimes.
976A: Dr. Joe Wakshlag is a research veterinarian (who also has a Ph.D in pharmacology and teaches at Cornell University) who is an expert on CBD and recently lectured at the annual veterinary conference VMX about the enormous healing value of cannabinoids for pain management in dogs and cats — and why other veterinarians need to trust Ellevet, the leader in the field.
975A: Patricia McConnell is renowned for her ground-breaking theories of dog training in her famous book “The Other End of the Leash.” Now she has aimed for the moon — writing fiction for the first time in her 70's — and opened up a whole new world in the glorious novel “Away to Me,” a murder mystery set in the world of sheep herding dogs.
975B: Dr. Bonnie Wright — one of only 200 board-certified veterinary anesthesiologists in the U.S. — is also an acupuncturist, who explains the medical science behind the centuries-old practice of acupuncture in what she calls “evidence-based acupuncture.”
974B: Every Anglophile (British or otherwise) loves the magazine "Country Life,” which takes readers inside grand country estates across the UK. The publication’s Deputy Features Editor, Agnes Stamp, talks about the huge delicious book she has created called “The Country Life Book of Dogs,” which brilliantly juxtaposes views inside these houses and the dogs who live there — in life and in art.
974A: Holistic veterinarian Dr. Robert Silver has spent decades studying and using functional mushrooms to treat many pet ailments — just as Chinese medicine has employed them for human healing over centuries. His book “There’s a Mushroom for That!” gathers his lifetime of knowledge about mushrooms and cannabis for other veterinarians and pet owners to reference.
973A: Kennedy Green was the #1 Junior Pekingese handler in the USA in 2025 (having just turned 12), working with Dr. Kelly Fishman, an integrative sports medicine veterinarian, who both talk about what it takes to keep Lincoln, a special breed of toy dog, in top physical condition, to compete in the 150th Westminster Dog Show.
973B: Elaine Ostrander, a canine genomics expert, was on the team that sequenced Tasha’s genome, the first purebred dog studied twenty years ago. She and her colleagues at the NIH have been studying the DNA of many dog breeds since then, discovering which genes are responsible for what physical and health characteristics, allowing them to guide dog breeders in making decisions to avoid naturally occurring diseases, knowledge which is valuable for human disorders, too.
972B: Brad Bolman’s book “Lab Dog: What Global Science Owes American Beagles,” takes the long view of the Beagle dog, chronicling its whole history as a breed and how people turned what they had bred as a hunting companion into a “lab rat” to be turned out in the tens of thousands for research.
972A: Marc Bekoff, the renowned ethologist, talks about his long personal and professional relationship with the late Jane Goodall, and how important it is that we hold on to her messages of hope and perseverance in caring about animals and the planet, especially through the Roots and Shoots program of the Jane Goodall Foundation.
971A: Dog trainer and author Ineke Vander AA in Belgium discusses how she developed her scientifically-backed theory of “highly sensitive” dogs in her groundbreaking book “Dogsitivity: a Guide to Living With Highly Sensitive Dogs.”
971B: Greger Larson, the Director of the Paleogenomics & Bio-Archaeology Research Network at the School of Archaeology at Oxford University, returns to discuss whether wolves were ever introduced into the breeding of German Shepherd Dogs — which was adamantly opposed by early breeders around WW II in Germany. They were purists against hybridization with wolves — although it would have been to the dogs’ health advantage.
970A: Jonathan Balcombe, a biologist and ethologist with a doctorate in animal behavior, has studied and written books about all manner of non-human creatures: “Pleasurable Kingdom,” “Second Nature,” “The Exultant Ark,” “What a Fish Knows” and “Superfly.”
970B: Dr. Doug Mader explains the different ways that pet owners can fill prescriptions for and why they need to understand the value of backup support if their pet has side effects from a drug or gets better before all the pills are taken. Is it best to fill a prescription at the vet clinic? An online store? The local pharmacy? How many pills are necessary? What about refills?
969B: When Sherri Franklin first rescued old dogs from the San Francisco city shelter and brought them to her own home, nobody wanted senior dogs. Now, two decades later, she is stepping down as the leader of Muttville, arguably the nation's most vibrant and successful rescue nonprofit for senior dogs, leaving behind 600 regular volunteers, 80 foster homes, thousands of oldster dogs happily adopted from its own cage-free campus, vibrant with senior humans hanging out in Cuddle Club along with visitors from around the world.
969A: Greger Larson, Director of the Palaeogenomics & Bio-Archaeology Research Network of the School of Archaeology at Oxford University, tells the amazing true history of how cats found their way into human society in Egypt, where travelers making a pilgrimage to the tombs needed to present a mummified cat as an offering — so local entrepreneurs bred them on an island in the Nile in order to mummify them and sell them to the pilgrims.
968A: Dr. Elsey started his company on behalf of cats, who cannot speak for themselves. He innovated litters to solve Out-of-Litter-Box problems and then created a revolutionary food called CleanProtein to meet their health and nutritional needs — a lifetime of work on behalf of the kitties.
968B: Sindhoor Pangal in Bangalore India — anthrozoologist and author of "DOG KNOWS: Learning How to Learn From Dogs" — laments about the current crisis for the "streeties" — also called Free Living Dogs — who are facing wholesale extermination in a misguided bureaucratic legal attempt to control rabies by destroying millions of dogs who people care for and care about across the vast country of India.
967A: Tracie shares her awe and admiration for Dwayne Betts, who, as a result of being incarcerated as a teenager, discovered the power of reading in prison. He came out to become a lawyer and a published poet, founding Freedom Reads in 2020. The nonprofit has put custom made wooden libraries into over 560 prisons nationwide, transforming the lives of many prisoners. His pandemic puppy Taylor, a little Jack Russell Terrier, became Dwayne’s bridge to connect with people in his community with dogs being their common ground. Tune in to hear what Tracie discovers when she boldly proclaims her belief that Dwayne should win a MacArthur “Genius” Grant. NOTE: Donations to Freedom Reads help finance his ongoing libraries, and purchases of his book of poetry Doggerel allow his publisher WW Norton to send the paperback edition to the libraries.
967B: Rebecca Van Laer's memoir “Cat” is a slim little book that speaks volumes about the life the author spent as a child feeling closer to cats than to humans and explores how her relationships with her cats have been the through line in her life. She also shares her opinion that referring to a kitty as your “baby” does a disservice both to cats and human children.
966A: Katya Lidsky, author of “Be Your Dog’s Best Friend: the Benefits of Mutual Bonding and Relationship Building,” discusses what we can learn from our bond with dogs to improve our interactions with humans.
966B: Dr. Lisa Radosta, one of the rare board certified veterinary animal behaviorists, discusses the issue of early spay/neuter and how it affects both physical and emotional development — and what is lost when a dog does not have the opportunity to fully grow mentally and physically.
965A: Melanie Kaplan wrote “Lab Dog: a Beagle and His Human Investigate the Surprising World of Animal Research” after adopting Hammy, a Beagle “retired” from being a research subject. She wanted to find out how tens of thousands of Beagles were bred for often pointless and cruel experiments — done at University veterinary colleges, funded by US government agencies — and how all humans can contribute to reducing (eliminating?!) the use of dogs in research facilities.
965B: Sy Montgomery’s fourth book about octopuses (yes, not “octopi!”) “Secrets of the Octopus,” is filled with stunning National Geographic photographs and brimming with anecdotes and scientific discoveries about the multitude of abilities and superior intelligence of these otherworldly creatures, who are having their moment in the sun.
964A: Sherrie Hines is an animal welfare lawyer — and professor at the University of Georgia Law and new director of the Practicum in Animal Welfare Skills (PAWS) — discussing legal solutions and remedies in cases involving dogs and how they differ from state to state.
964B: Dustin Crummett is the Executive Director of the Insect Institute and co-author of research that questions the economic, environmental and animal welfare concerns of farming insect protein for pet food.
963B: Taylor Waters from the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics, who also teaches animal law and policy at the Vermont Law & Graduate School, worries about the "infantilization of animals” and the public desire for breeds like French Bulldogs, chosen for their big round eyes and round, flat faces like human babies — when the health of these overbred dogs has become a serious concern. She wants dog owners to ask themselves why they have chosen a particular dog — and what price is that dog paying for your desire?
963A: Jen Danna — writing "Deadly Trade" as Sara Driscoll — takes the team to Hawaii in her newest thriller in her FBI K-9’ series, which is focused on protecting endangered birds from deadly poachers.
962A: Sean Sheer created his blog UrbanDogNYC about living with dogs in NYC ten years ago. The calendar shows all the places and events to which dogs in the city are welcome, as well as dog-centric events for humans. Sean’s articles about many canine topics are well written, informative and fun for dog owners, even if you live in a different urban area!
962B: Travel writer and cat lover Jeff Bogle wrote the book “Street Cats & Where to Find Them: the Most Feline-Friendly Cities and Attractions Around the World,” to inspire cat lovers to plan a trip to almost anywhere in the world to include visiting community cats.
961A: Jennifer Mowdy (The Literary Cat Bookstore and Cat Lounge) brings books and reading to people in a lower socio-economic environment (Pittsburg, Kansas) who otherwise might not have access to it.
961B: Internationally celebrated DNA specialist Ludovic Orlando wrote “Horses: a 4,000-Year Genetic Journey Across the World,” illuminating his collaboration with hundreds of other scientists worldwide to discover where, when and how horses have been part of the human story, but also how science will write the future of The Horse — whether through the (ongoing) cloning of whole strings of Argentinian polo ponies or the manipulation of the DNA of English Thoroughbred race horses.
960B: Filmmaker John Semper made the charming animated tale "The Singular Affair of the Missing Ball," which delighted the NYC audience at the recent premiere of the 10th Annual NY Dog Film Festival. After decades of producing and writing shows, particularly the iconic Spiderman series, using AI was a fun artistic experiment for him. Semper discusses general fear and confusion about AI and how people have historically resisted change and pushed back against new technology — but since the Motion Picture Academy (that gives out the Oscars!) embraces AI animation, so should the Dog and Cat Film Festivals!
960A: These are the actual names of some of the 60 sea creatures Cara Giaimo describes in her gorgeously illustrated precious little book “Leaving the Ocean was a Mistake: Life Lessons from Sixty Sea Creatures,” from whom she has extracted great nuggets of wisdom like “Don’t let anyone tell you your relationship is weird” (White’s Seahorse), “Dress up, whether or not anyone can see you” (Bloody-belly comb jelly) or “Don’t forget to take your little walk” (Sea toad).
959B: Krysta Fox talks about developing her unique, award-winning pet store Pug & Hound Apothecary with her husband as a place pet owners can come to find the most natural and pure products she has curated.
959A: Dr. Mark Mamula at the Yale School of Medicine is part of a team developing an immunotherapy vaccine that can cure cancer in dogs — the way it has similarly revolutionized human cancer treatment. Information about their work (with trial sites) is available at https://therajan.com/joomla/, a company that will ultimately manage this therapy.
958B: Alan Fausel, the Curator of the AKC Museum of the Dog, talks about the delightful collection of original New Yorker magazine covers that is now a special show on display at the museum.
958A: Margaret Mizushima talks about "Dying Cry,” the newest member of her Timber Creek K-9 Mystery series, this one as edge-of-the-seat dramatic as any we've come to expect from her brave heroine Mattie, and valiant search and rescue dog Robo.
957B: Paulina and Andi Canalizo are “tied at the hip” sisters who do unique dog portrait sketches from their signature angle — from below the chin! They are bringing their @the.dogObsession [https://www.instagram.com/the.dogobsession/?hl=en] skill to the Pooch & Pussy Cat Party to celebrate the premieres of the NY Dog and NY Cat Film Festivals.
957A: Jonny Maderson, the co-director of the charming documentary “Hustle & Run” in the NY Dog Film Festival, talks about the sport of Flyball as either “the F1 of dog sports or a posh game of fetch,” as his film follows a ragtag team of whippet owners who go after the biggest brass ring in the dog show world at Crufts.
956A: First time film director Carphi von Limburg talks from his native Germany about the physical rigors and challenges of co-directing “Jamtland Dogs,” his documentary about a sled dog race which is featured in the 10th Annual NY Dog Film Festival.
956B: Karen Dendy Smith and Meredith Tollison — founders of The Animal Communication Collective, who have been practicing animal communication for decades — give Tracie some messages from her pooch Sky, a sneak preview of the readings they will be giving for guests at the Pooch & Pussy Cat Party October 25th in New York City to benefit Animal Lighthouse Rescue, the partner of the NY Dog and NY Cat Film Festivals.
955A: Victor Hurtado is the veteran with PTSD in the winning Dog Chow Service Dog Salute film ONE MIND, who describes his relationship with his life-altering dog, Holly as being "her 19th puppy," because before being paired with him she had two litters of 9 puppies each, all of which went on to become trained service dogs themselves.
955B: Jerry D. Moore discusses his captivating historical nonfiction book “Cat Tales: A History: How We Learned to Live with Them," which required years of research to uncover fascinating aspects of history that cats share with humankind.
954A: Film director, screenwriter and author Cathryn Michon talks about the groundbreaking way she turned her book "I'm Still Here: a Dog's Purpose Forever" into an innovative film for the 10th Annual NY Dog Film Festival, which is why she'll be flying to NYC for the premiere October 26th — where her film will be the closing one in the program.
954B: Dr. Lisa Radosta DVM, DACVB is a world-renowned board-certified veterinary behaviorist, who talks about when — and which drugs — might help peoples' pets with Separation Related Disorders adjust and cope better in stressful situations.
953A: Kathy Alexander’s film of that title in the upcoming 10th Annual NY Dog Film Festival is a charming spoof on the reality TV show of a similar name.
953B: Brian Nolan “rescued” the Australian brand Darren & Philipp, and now has a cult following for the matching comfy clothes and throws for the whole mutli-species family.
952A: Shannon Walker talks about founding and running Northwest Battle Buddies, where they train and pair service dogs specifically for veterans with PTSD — and winning the Purina Dog Chow Service Dog Salute prize with “Following Flame,” a film from the dog’s perspective about one such pairing.
952B: Susan Groeneveld in Calgary, Alberta Canada founded https://www.sylvester.ai, with tech experts and feline veterinarians, a smartphone-enabled app that can detect pain on your cat’s face with proven “grimace scales” that you and your veterinarian can use to evaluate whether your cat is suffering and find a solution.
951A: Dr. Elizabeth Hodgkins discusses how the veterinary community is stuck in decades-old (since disproven) studies about the negative effect of protein in diets for cats with kidney disease — so Tracie recommends everybody buy two copies of Dr. Elizabeth’s book “YOUR CAT: Simple New Secrets to a Longer, Stronger Life.” One copy for themselves, one for their vet.
951B: Tracie salutes filmmaker Kim Best, who yet again has two films in this year’s NY Cat Film Festival (as she has in every one of the 8 years Dr. Elsey’s has been sponsoring the Festival). One film is about an amazing older lady in North Carolina who runs a cat rescue that has adopted out over 3,000 cats.
950A: Christopher Berry, the Executive Director of the Nonhuman Rights Project, celebrates a milestone victory on behalf of pet owners whose dog was killed — and for the first time the court recognized that dogs are family members, worth more to their people than the original cost.
950B: Rob Downey’s memoir of a lifetime passion for sled dogs and the racing sport is filled with adventures and misadventures — reminiscent of the tales of the great explorers in history, who risked everything to fulfill their dream of conquering the wild.
949A: Dr Elizabeth Hodgkins rejoins Tracie to set the record straight about the extreme harm of feeding carbohydrates to kitties, because an old [flawed] study of carb-heavy cat foods is being trotted out to promote and defend carbohydrate-based foods for obligate carnivores. Could the pet food industry finally be reacting to their years of advocacy against "kitty krack?"!
949B: Emma Sloley “The Island of Last Things” a novel set in the dystopian future, centered on a friendship between two women at the Alcatraz Island zoo, the last zoo in the world, who have different ideas about managing the animals.
948B: Dr. Andy Roark, the “relentlessly optimistic” philosopher veterinarian (The Cone of Shame podcast and Dr. Andy Roark blog) talks about optimizing communication between pet owners and doctors for the best medical and personal outcomes.
948A: Helen St Pierre, co-author of “Old Dog, New Dog: Supporting Your Aging Best Friend and Welcoming a New One,” talks about her sanctuary Old Dogs Go to Helen and advice about making a senior dog’s life more comfortable with or without the addition of a puppy, and practical considerations about euthanasia.
947A: Andrew Rowan, whose Wellbeing International publication covers the world of animals globally, talks about the wildly exaggerated numbers of community cats and how collaboration between cat lovers and environmentalists is needed, instead of high emotions and misinformation.
947B: Chas Worthy talks about how he and his brother founded the pet food company Birdie & Louie with the intention of bringing premium pet food that is affordable and accessible to “everyday people” like themselves — putting high quality ingredients inside top shelf design and packaging — to reach people who shop at big box stores and 7-11.
946A: A story of triumph over tragedy. Jim Scott and his wife Janet sold Wellness pet foods (the very first truly holistic recipes) to look after their sons, who both had been in life-altering accidents — but then created an even more premium pet food — RAWZ — so they could give away 100% of their profits in gratitude for all they still had.
946B: Dr Cynthia Otto [Director of the Penn Vet Working Dog Center and Professor of Working Dog Sciences & Sports Medicine] knows a thing or two about the dangers of heatstroke for dogs, particularly ones who are active outdoors as military or Search & Rescue working dogs. But for pets, when the ground and air outside are really hot for you, it’s too hot for dogs! No hiking! No jogging! Dogs can collapse (and die) from heatstroke. Dr. Otto did a study on the best way to cool down a dog in a heat emergency: Dunk their head!
945A: Dr Evan Zhao talks about developing Pacagen with his wife, Dr. Siyang Han, who turned out to be allergic to their "pandemic pussy cat,” which inspired the two scientists to look for an effective anti-allergen — and they found it in the unique immune system of Alpacas!
945B: Stella Hayward’s novel “The Good Boy” sets up the problem of how to put the genie back in the bottle if your wish for a boyfriend as great as your Golden Retriever comes true — and now you have a naked blonde man in your dog bed?!
944B: Sue Delegan, the co-founder of Brutus Bone Broth, realized that goat milk was another delicious way to supply fluids and nutrients to pets, especially kitties who often need encouragement to stay hydrated. So they developed a shelf-stable container for easy use.
944A: Dr Patrick Pageat in Provence, France — the “grandfather of pheromones” developed to calm pets — has invented a new technology to deliver these substances more effectively for each species with sprays and diffusers for stress and anxiety: Secure Cat, Secure Dog, and Secure Bunny.
943A: Aimee Gilbreath, President of PetSmart Charities, discusses the Gallup poll they commissioned, which discovered that half of all Americans skip or refuse veterinary care due to financial considerations, while most did not get treatment options that were more practical or affordable.
943B: Kathy Callahan discusses “Old Dog, New Dog - Supporting Your Aging Best Friend and Welcoming a New One," which she co-wrote with Helen St. Pierre, about the challenges and wonderful surprises of overlapping an old-timer and a newcomer, with practical suggestions on how to make the transition work for all ages of canines.
942B: Dr. Don Harris was called in to reduce the explosive population of invasive peacocks in the Pinecrest neighborhood of Miami — because the birds are protected and even their nests cannot be disturbed. But you cannot neuter them or they lose their big beautiful fan tails.
942A: Stewart “Brittlestar” Reynolds calls his book "the little book that might just save democracy," because cats are intrinsically "little fluff balls of resistance." Tracie says this handbook of feline wisdom should remind us that if we do not remember history (for example Hitler's rise to fascism, which current events bring to mind) — that we might just be on the road to ignoring the wisdom not to repeat history.
941A: Tracie has long advocated for quality supplements for people and pets, so she was thrilled to have a conversation with Dr. Michelle Dulake, the veterinarian behind Fera Pets, a company dedicated only to the purposeful formulation of pet supplements to maintain wellness and address illness, with the first supplements created specifically for cats.
941B: Andrew Rowan — President of Wellbeing International and renowned animal welfare advocate — talks about the book he facilitated, written by Arnold Arluke, called “Underdogs: Pets, People, and Poverty” which looks at free-roaming dogs in communities worldwide.
940B: Vivian Zottola, author of “Being a Good Dog in a Human’s World,” discusses some of the philosophical aspects of having a dog and whether words make a difference when you use the phrase “owner” or “pet parent” instead of “guardian.”
940A: Joan Dalton's book “Second Chances” chronicles a program for youth in Oregon’s toughest juvenile detention facility, where they pull the least adoptable dogs from the local shelter and let these young men train them for adoption. Miraculously, 95% of the participants were never incarcerated again.
939A: Charles Hood, the naturalist photographer, talks about his full-of-surprises book “Nature at Night: Discover the Hidden World That Comes Alive After Dark,” and how you can turn your cell phone into a bat detector.
939B: Nicole Navarro — founder of Pawsitive Beginnings, located in Key Largo, Florida — describes her sanctuary for foxes rescued from the fur trade, partners with organizations like the Florida Keys Children’s Shelter, using the foxes’ stories of survival and resilience as therapeutic tools to help youth on their own paths to healing.
938A: Lorie Westhoff from Purina’s Purple Leash Project talks about their partnership with Red Rover, the non-profit that is working to have more pet-friendly domestic violence shelters able to accept pets, since not being able to take the family pet(s) is a barrier to leaving an abusive relationship.
938B: Tracy Kinney in Batavia Illinois says if she were a canine she’d be a bully type dog — meanwhile she has trained 9 of her 13 rescued Bullies to be registered therapy dogs (English Bull Dog, Pit bull, Boxer, French Bulldogs, Pug, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Bull Terrier). Getting them to line up for a yearly group photo is a Facebook feat!
937A: Chloe Dalton's illuminating and luminous memoir "Raising Hare,” describes with poetic delicacy the powerful yet fragile bond she had caring for a wild hare, which became "semi-domesticated" of her own volition.
937B: British dog trainer Mark Bridger-Prescott — the owner of Bone Canis and canine behaviourist with a degree-level qualification in Advanced Canine Behaviour — says the problem with aggressive dogs begins with people ignoring signs of a dog’s discomfort. “When a dog growls you need to say, ‘Sorry, Mate. Thank you for growling and letting me know you needed space.’”
936A: Sy Montgomery’s ground-breaking, award-winning book “Soul of an Octopus” is even more relevant now than when it was first published, as we discover that everything depicted in the bestselling novel called “that octopus book” (“Remarkably Bright Creatures”) is factually-based on the wily brilliance of these multi-armed creatures.
936B: Aditya Siroya explains how rePurpose Global has funded projects across Asia, South America and Africa to recover 30 million pounds of plastic waste from nature, while supporting more than 2,000 Waste Workers at the front lines. And what happens to all the plastic bags with our pet foods in them?
935A: Dr. Eleanor Raffan [Assistant Professor in Systems Physiology in the Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience at the University of Cambridge] has made a breakthrough discovery of the gene in Labrador Retrievers that makes them insatiable and drives them to overeat, confirmed with her “Sausage in a Box Test.”
935B: Investigative journalist Gail Eisnitz talks about her new memoir “Out of Sight: An Undercover Investigator's Fight for Animal Rights and Her Own Survival,” which is an expose of how inhumanely animals are slaughtered and the health consequences to people doing the slaughter as well as to consumers, suggesting that supporting the Humane Farming Association (https://www.hfa.org/) is one way to raise your voice for a better system.
934A: Janet Scott explains how she and her husband, Jim, founded the renowned pet food company Wellness, which they had to walk away from, but were able to re-emerge with a new super premium high meat pet food — RAWZ — which astoundingly gives 100% of their profits to non-profit dog organizations with a total donated so far of $33.75 million.
934B: Christina Couch wrote “Innovative Octopuses, Half-Brained Birds, and More Animals With Magnificent Minds” for MIT Kids Press, specifically for geeky kids like she says she once was herself — although curious adults will equally love learning about the brains of many non-human creatures.
933B: Holly Molinaro talks about having just received her PhD from Arizona State University, at the Canine Science Collaboratory, where she studied dog owners’ perception (and misperception) of dog feelings and body language.
933A: Renowned New Yorker cartoonist Harry Bliss talks about his book “You Can Never Die - a Graphic Memoir,” which celebrates his 17-year love of his dog Penny — often-depicted in his drawings — discussing his deep grief over her death in the context of his complex, fascinating life, seen in magnificently drawn and hand-written journal entries in the book.
932B: Harry Eckman, internationally known animal welfare advocate, discusses population control of dogs and acts worldwide to protect them and the people they live amongst.
932A: Kyra Sundance’s updated book “The Dog Tricks & Training Workbook: a Step-by-Step Interactive Curriculum to Engage, Challenge and Bond with Your Dog” shows us all the things we could do for fun with our dogs, as well as point out all we have to be grateful for.
931B: Dr. Ernie Ward’s own non-profit — the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention (APOP) discusses the importance of using non-shaming vocabulary when speaking about overweight pets; and that veterinarians unconsciously have a bias (as do doctors in human medicine) towards patients that “have obesity” — which is a clinical condition requiring medical intervention.
931A: Annie Phenix (author of Positive Training for Reactive & Aggressive Dogs) discusses the horrible phenomenon in England of dogs with the moniker American XL Bully (a “breed’ not recognized as such in the U.S.), a type of dog which is now banned in the UK because of maulings of people by these massive powerful dog.
930B: Tanya Guerrero (who now lives on a hillside outside Manila in a home constructed of shipping containers with her husband, their daughter and a clowder of cats) reads from her Brooklyn-based novel “Cat’s People,” the heroine of which is a stray cat who works to bring disconnected people together.
930A: Brandy Kuentzel talks about her Ease Pet Vet (winner of an Innovation prize at the VMX veterinary conference) a platform that gives pet owners and their own veterinarians access to one of the hard-to-reach Board Certified Veterinary Behaviorist doctors to get a treatment plan for their dog's or cat’s behavior issues.
929B: Suzanne Rogers, co-director of the non-profit Human Behaviour Change for Animals, talks about the book she edited: "Canine Behaviour in Mind: Applying Behavioural Science to Our Lives with Dogs.”
929A: NYC cat behaviorist Stephen Quandt (Cat BehaviorHelp.com) talks about how he was part of a delegation many years ago to help manage and study the 1,000 dogs left behind when the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded in 1986. What has become of them?
928B: Fred Levy wrote and took the photos for his book “Black Dogs - Stories of Love and Friendship,” because of the “black dog syndrome” at shelters — where they get overlooked and euthanized at a higher rate — and explains why it is hard to photograph a black dog.
928A: Federico Rossano — Associate Professor of Cognitive Science at UCSD — conducted an international study of people using the "buttons" to communicate with their dogs — and took a lot of professional flak for doing the study, and the conclusion that the dogs do seem to be "saying" something, despite Tracie's unwavering skepticism about the whole concept!
926B: Emma Grigg — who is an Assistant Professor at the University of Arizona, focused on Companion Animal Behavior and Comparative Biomedical Sciences — discusses her book “The Science Behind a Happy Dog.”
927A: Cara Giaimo discusses her book “Atlas Obscura: Wild Life: An Explorer's Guide to the World’s Living Wonders” and how she managed to collect such a cornucopia of information and beautiful images about flora and fauna around the world.
926A: Kristyn Vitale (of www.maueyes.com, Cat Behavior, Science & Training) has been studying cat sociability — how much is influenced by how social the humans are towards the cats?
926B: Adam Spencer explains how www.Furlanthropy.org is the first not-for-profit platform for crowd funding to help with veterinary costs, eliminating fake appeals, making sure it is a legitimate fundraiser so the money raised goes directly to the vet, and providing charitable tax receipts for donors.
925A: Shelley Fraser Mickle's memoir “Itching to Love” explores why she and her dog developed such a deep bond.
925B: Elinor Karlsson (who holds the Chair in Biomedical Research Genomics and Computational Biology at University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School and is Director of Vertebrate Genomics at the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT) talks about her big "citizen science" project called Darwin’s Dogs — with Darwin's Cats soon to follow.
924A: Annie Phenix, author of “Positive Training for Aggressive and Reactive Dogs” discusses dangerous dogs bred for aggression, who are then encouraged on that path by dangerous owners, like the college professor who wrote a book unapologetically describing how he used his students to practice his obedience skills with his vicious German Shepherd who wanted to “attack to kill.”
924B: Michael Schneider founded and flies the plane for Pilots to the Rescue, flying dogs and cats to new homes, along with social media influencers onboard to keep “telling the story” because keeping a nonprofit financially healthy depends on engaging with an audience — “Sell the sizzle, not the steak” as his father taught him and he hopes shelters will do.
923B: Cara Achterberg started a non-profit called “Who Will Let the Dogs Out” and has written a book of that title about the challenges facing animal shelters in the South, with innovative solutions to solve the geographic challenges around unwanted dogs.
923A: Marc Bekoff talks about the many ways dogs can use tools to achieve their goals, not unlike chimpanzees studied by his colleague, Jane Goodall, and described under “tool behavior” in his book “Dogs Demystified: An A to Z Guide to All Things Canine.”
922BA: Dr. Christopher Little in Scotland talks about his book “The Dog Care Handbook — Things I Wish My Vet Had Told Me” and how after forty years in practice he hopes people will communicate and collaborate better with their dog’s veterinarian and that his book will help.
922A: Sarah Gentry’s German Shepherd “Besa” won the ACE Award from the AKC in the “Search & Rescue Dog” category because she is a rare multipurpose search & rescue dog certified in human remains searches both on land and in water, live persons searches through area search and trailing, and is the first dog in the USA to test and receive USPCA Human Scent/Human Trafficking certification.
921A: Jessica Pierce — the author of “Who’s a Good Dog? and How to Be a Better Human” and “Run, Spot, Run: The Ethics of Keeping Pets” discusses the need for dog owners to recognize the harm of a “profound level of constraint” and asks “When did ‘crating’ become a verb? And an acceptable way to manage a dog’s life?”
921B: Jill Dempsey needed a seeing-eye guide dog and a seizure alert dog and got both with her black Standard Poodle Kissable Katie, who has helped her get back out in the world — to the point that Katie also stands by her side at Western reenactments, including the Cowboy Fast Draw competition (that Jill actually won in 2017, despite being nearly blind!)
920A: Dr. Treyton Diggs talks about the honor of being the WKC’s Veterinarian of the Year in 2024 and the added privilege now of being the first Westminster Kennel Club Resident Vet, and how he hopes to inspire children — especially children of color — to reach for the stars in their own lives.
920B: Allison LaField and her Old English Sheepdog Wallace won an AKC ACE award in the “Therapy Dog” category, not just because they volunteer at Brook Army Medical Center and the Natatorium where the military veteran community and amputees swim — but because Wallace jumped in to save Allison’s life when she accidentally fell to the bottom of her own pool at home.
919B: Winner of the AKC ACE Award in the “Uniformed Services K-9” division, Lt. John Haning of the Claremont Oklahoma Sheriff’s department talks about his Labrador Retriever Rosco, who works on the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (ICAC) and is on the Homeland Security Investigation Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation Task Force — finding the hidden electronic devices which will put the perpetrators of these crimes behind bars. Rosco is also a family dog who sleeps with Haning’s 13-year-old daughter, who pampers him with “spa days” she chronicles on Tik Tok.
919A: Dr Doug Mader talks about the sea turtles that are “cold stunned” in the waters of Cape Cod and flown by volunteer pilots down to The Turtle Hospital in the Florida Keys to be rehabilitated.
918B: Dr. Renee Schmid — senior veterinary toxicologist at the Pet Poison Helpline — discusses the many instances when pets ingest something they should not, which is where their specialized service comes in, to support the owner, the vet and the specialty hospital if they need to go there.
918A: Dr. Rick LeCouteur and Tracie discuss the history of pet foods formulated to help manage medical conditions but are often based on less-than-optimal ingredients for long term use — for which they were not intended anyway.
917B: Vanessa Woods, co-author with her husband Brian Hare of the delightful book “Puppy Kindergarten: The New Science of Raising a Great Dog,” immersed herself in the litters of service dog puppies from Canine Companions that they raised and studied — bringing them to life on the page as individuals you come to know and love — funny, annoying, delightful and sometimes baffling.
917A: Don Sturz, who is President of the Westminster Kennel Club [which has put on America’s most prestigious dog show every February for 149 years!] discusses what it takes to become a Best in Show judge at Westminster Dog Show — as he was in 2022, and how to make that decision. He talks about the three dogs who share his life currently, only one of whom has the “It Factor" to be a show dog — his champion Pekingese Fiona.
916A: In his book “Puppy Kindergarten: the New Science of Raising a Great Dog,” co-authored with his wife, Vanessa Woods, Brian Hare talks about how they helped to raise potential service dogs at their Canine Cognition lab at Duke University in order to discover how early a puppy will reveal his/her proclivity for becoming a successful service dog. They also ask the question of whether the way “regular people” raise their own puppies is good enough...or is there something more we should be doing?
916B: A philosophical discussion about how much sacrifice we “should” make for our pets. Tracie asks whether Dr. Doug’s desire to stay in Florida to keep his Tortoise Taxi going, outweighs the safety benefits of moving away from extreme weather with his wife and animal entourage to Oregon where the tortoises would have to live in an indoor herpetarium.
915B: Dr. Rick LeCouteur — a veterinary neurologist and surgeon — agrees with Tracie’s long-standing credo that dry foods for cats are “kitty crack” because the ingredients are biologically inappropriate for an obligate carnivore. So why do vets keep recommending them — and feeding them to their own kitty cats — when the facts and science show the harm of kibble for cats? (Rick is also the author of the beautiful children’s book “Nasty Names Are Hurtful” about the Australian white Ibis.)
915A: Dr. Carlo Siracusa, Chief of the Animal Behavior Service at Penn Vet at the University of Pennsylvania, discusses their study of geriatric cats, the role of inflammation in aging, and how this information might translate to human aging.
914B: Hannah Shaw talks about “Cats of the World,” the book she created with her husband, feline photographer Andrew Marttila, as they traveled the globe to celebrate the lives of cats everywhere. [The authors very kindly gifted a copy of the beautiful book to all the winning filmmakers who came to the NYC premiere of the 7th Annual NY Cat Film Festival in October.]
914A: Ettore FarrattiniPojani talks about his centuries-spanning novel “The Nine Lives of Tito d’Amelia,” imagining one cat reincarnated as a vital companion throughout history to influential individuals in the town of Amelia, Italy.
913A: Carol Borden [of Guardian Angels Medical Service Dogs] gives Tracie advice on how to best prepare and “protect” her senior dog, Wanda, from the "household invasion” by an 8-week-old puppy.
913B: Dog trainer Annie Phenix [of ChooseToTrainHumane.com] sympathizes with Tracie’s concern that the puppy classes she has tried with her young Viszla, Sky, have had a joyless, even harsh, atmosphere. Annie explains why lessons should be about building trust, safety, confidence, resilience and JOY! which matter so much more to a young or new-to-you dog than “training.”
912A: Don Sturz, president of Westminster Kennel Club, a widely respected dog breeder, handler, and judge (voted Judge of the Year in 2020 and chosen to be the Best in Show judge at Westminster in 2022) discusses a lifetime passion for dogs that began when he was an award-winning junior handler at 10, which gave him a chance to shine when he didn't fit it at school.
912B: Dr May Reed is a doctor and professor of geriatric (human!) medicine at the University of Washington, and talks about being an investigator for the Dog Aging Project trial of the anti-aging drug TRIAD.
911B: Lisa Milot, professor at University of Georgia School of Law, holds the prestigious Annie & Zack Stanton Distinguished Professorship in Canine Welfare Law (named after the benefactor’s Corgi Annie). Milot teaches animal welfare law, floating the idea that to reduce “bad breeding” a license could be required like hunters have to get — but Tracie points out the unintended negative consequences to responsible breeders.
911A: Rick LeCouteur — formerly a veterinary neurosurgeon — is the educator for Veterinary Expeditions, as well as being an illustrator/wildlife photographer and author of the children's book “Nasty Names Are Hurtful: An Australian White Ibis Responds to Name-Calling in the City.”
910B: Retired Air Force Brigadier General Scott Wiggins talks about being the subject of the documentary “The Wingman” — which was one of three finalists in the Purina Dog Chow Service Dog Salute — a new category of the NY Dog Film Festival. He explains how having his PTSD-trained service dog Bear — a Labrador from Patriot Service Dogs — has transformed his life.
910A: Sara Driscoll’s new FBI K-9 novel, “Summit’s Edge,” will have you at the edge of your seat as her protagonists navigate an avalanche while investigating a plane crash in the Colorado mountains with their dogs, who have to track the man who blew it up.
909B: Dr. Esther Eng, who is completing a residency at the Animal Behavior Wellness Clinic to join an elite group of board certified veterinary behaviorists, talks about having been an Asian American student at Tuskegee University College of Veterinary Medicine, a Historically Black College.
909A: Katherine Carver’s book “Abandoned: Chronicling the Journeys of Once-Forsaken Dogs” photo-documents a series of dogs in shelters and then revisits them again a year later after adoption — sometimes with new names, along with a new lease on life. She calls her own rehomed Sheltie Victory “my daughter’s fur sister.”
908A: Tom Turcich describes his epic journey, with Savannah, an adopted puppy, by his side in his book “The World Walk: 7 years, 28,000 miles, 6 continents. A grand meditation one step at a time.”
908B: Tracie’s co-host on CAT CHAT, Dr. Mikel Maria Delgado, discusses her scientific research paper about cats who retrieve objects and how common it is for cats to play fetch with their humans.
907B: Warren Booth, Associate Professor Department of Entomology in the Urban Evolutionary Entomology Lab at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, talks about the many topics he has studied, from bed bugs to reptile reproduction.
907A: Paul Koudounaris talks about the pet cemeteries he found and photographed all over the world in his book “Faithful Unto Death: Pet Cemeteries, Animal Graves & Eternal Devotion,” chronicling fascinating tales of how people have memorialized their beloved pets forever.
906B: Dr. Claude Beata (who is one of only 5 “animal psychiatrists” in all of France) discusses his psychological theories about bipolar disorder, ADHD and OCD in cats in his book “The Interpretation of Cats: Understanding the Psychology of Our Feline Companions,” conditions which he says are treatable with medications and behavior/environmental modification.
906A: Bruce Cameron’s novel “My Three Dogs” takes us inside a pack of three dogs who are separated after being put in a shelter when their owners die in an accident — but the hero is the Australian Shepherd who cleverly finds a way to reunite his pack.
905A: In her book “Rethinking Rescue: Dog Lady and the Story of America’s Forgotten People and Pets,” Carol Mithers did a deep dive into the life of Lori Weise, the champion of pets of the homeless in Los Angeles, offering a different perspective on how we approach pets and people experiencing homelessness.
905B: Annie Grossman, founder of School for the Dogs in Manhattan's East Village, has written “How to Train Your Dog With Love + Science,” which even those without a dog can enjoy because it is more than a dog training book — as funny as it is useful.
904B: Chris Buddle is a renowned entomologist (emphasis on arachnids) who has been chasing spiders throughout his academic career, while developing astonishing skills as a watercolorist of natural subjects. He has turned his work into a gorgeous book "A Portrait of Astonishing Nature" with pithy Haiku poems accompanying every drawing — with 100% of the proceeds going to a land trust in Canada, bordering the Great Lakes, to protect the wildlife.
904A: Margaret Mizushima has written another gripping Timber Creek K-9 mystery “Gathering Mist,” in which the forest is integral to the dangers confronting heroine K-9 Deputy Mattie Cobb and her tracking dog Robo.
903A: Shannon Walker, the Executive director of the National Association of Service Dog Providers for Military Veterans (and also the Founder of Northwest Battle Buddies, which trains and provides PTSD service dogs for veterans) talks about the Association’s support from Purina Dog Chow and now the NY Dog Film Festival, presented by Purina, featuring three finalists in a new Service Dog Salute category of films illuminating the life-saving effects of specially trained dogs for veterans with the invisible wounds of PTSD.
903B: Filmmaker Kim Best — who was awarded the Visionary Award from the NY Cat Film Festival for having at least one film in every year of the Festival — will be flying back to New York City again on October 15th to be applauded for having yet another two new films in the 6th Annual Festival.
902B: Ron Schmidt is a conceptual photographer creating iconic images of dogs that people hang on their walls — he and his wife Amy took the bold step of creating their first short documentary for the Purina Dog Chow Service Dog Salute category of the NY Dog Film Festival — and they wound up being one of only three prize-winning finalists!
902A: Zazie Todd’s newest book “BARK! The Science of Helping Your Anxious, Fearful or Reactive Dog” explains what can make dogs fearful or anxious (which are actually two different emotions!) and how to create a safe space to help him cope.
901B: Veterinary behaviorist Dr. Amy Pike of the Animal Behavior Wellness Clinic in Maryland talks about the ways you can help calm a thunderstorm-phobic dog, including a new anxiety medication called Sileo.
901A: Peggy Gavan’s book “The Bravest Pets of Gotham: Tales of Four-Legged Firefighters of Old New York” is a wonderful window on the animals that used to be essential to firehouses in the late 1800s — and to the men who populated them.
900B: Mustapha Khan, an Emmy-Award winning director and Brooklyn College Film School professor, talks about his film “Freddie Bear’s Lovely Day,” set to Bill Withers iconic tune, which he will be there to see in person at the 9th Annual NY Dog Film Festival premiering in NYC October 24th.
900A: Carol Borden of Guardian Angels Medical Service Dogs explains how dogs can distinguish the chemical components of emotions, particularly the scent of PTSD for which they can be trained as service dogs — about which her organization made a film for the Purina Dog Chow Service Dog Salute category of the upcoming NY Dog Film Festival.
899A: Jessica Pierce’s newest books focusing on dogs — “Dogpedia” a Brief Compendium of Canine Curiosities” — is a cornucopia of carefully curated topics, encyclopedia-style, that will delight and surprise even the most well-versed dog lovers.
899B: Cathryn Michon’s gorgeously illustrated prose poem book “i’m still here - a dog’s purpose forever” is a panacea for those of us who have lost a dog, with the assurance that while we still miss that dog so much, s/he never really left us. It is a most comforting, rewarding, uplifting, adorable, funny book.
898B: Joan Gratz is a pioneering film animator (who won an Oscar in 1992 for Best Animated Film) is coming to NYC to see her two of her innovative cat-centric films premiering at the 7th Annual NY Cat Film Festival October 15th.
898A: Marianne Leone’s memoir, “Five Dog Epiphany: How a Quintet of Badass Bichons Retrieved Our Joy,” relays how a series of adopted little white dogs helped her recover from the death of her son.
897B: Dr. Amy Pike, of the Animal Behavior Wellness Clinic outside Washington, D.C., talks about dogs who become thunderstorm phobic — ways to manage their environment and medications that can help calm the dogs, especially the oral gel Sileo — which works for Tracie’s trembling pooch, Wanda.
897A: W. Bruce Cameron talks about “Ripley, Fire Station Five,” the newest title in his “Dogs With a Purpose” series for school age children — seeing the world from their point of view, along with the dog’s eye view, for which Cameron is famous.
896C: Erin Jones, author of “Constructing Canine Consent: Conceptualising and Adopting a Consent-focused Relationship with Dogs,” explains that a wagging tail doesn't necessarily mean a dog is happy — it’ up top us to distinguish their body language that says “No” or “Maybe no.”
896B: Wendy Lyons Sunshine takes her knowledge about raising adopted children from difficult circumstances and applies it to meeting the challenges of bringing out the best in adopted dogs in her book “Tender Paws: How Science-Based Parenting Can Transform Our Relationship with Dogs.”
896A: Peter Abrahams is back with another dog-driven mystery novel in his renowned Chet & Bernie mystery series — as fun as ever!
895B: Linda Kohanov, author of “The Tao of Equus,” describes a similar magic of communication we can have with dogs, and how we can transfer her principles of Wu Wei (not doing, not forcing, not striving) from our relationship with horses to that with dogs.
895A: Director Les Owen discusses his short film “One Mind,” which celebrates the relationship between a veteran with PTSD and his specially trained service dog — one of the semi-finalists being considered for the new Service Dog Salute category of the upcoming 9th Annual NY Dog Film Festival, presented by Purina Dog Chow
89A: Dr. Andy Roark is what Tracie calls a Physician Philosopher, dispensing humorous insights to other veterinarians (and the rest of us!), with a weekly blog Tracie eagerly anticipates for his musings into the joys and burdens of being human — like his recent one “No One Cares About Your Broccoli” that they discuss. (Tracie knows she has a lot of company in Andy’s fan club — his podcast “Cone of Shame” has had over one million listens!)
894B: Anne Marie Farage-Smith’s book “How to Heal from Pet Loss and Different Forms of Grief” offers wisdom and support for coping with the often surprisingly powerful grief that accompanies the death of a pet.
893A: The role of horses in warfare throughout history [Hitler’s war had only 10% mechanized equipment — the rest was horsepower] is but one of the many amazing facts in Timothy Winegard’s riveting historical narrative “The Horse — a Galloping History of Humanity,” that shows how horses have been central to the entire arc of human history.
893B: Dr. Carolynne Joone, reproductive veterinarian and professor at James Cook University in Australia, discusses being surprised by the results of her own study of neutered Rottweilers (3,085 intact and 4,100 neutered Rottweilers) which showed that when neutered before one year of age, males died about 18 months younger and females one year younger than those left intact. Tracie adds that early spay/neuter also increases the risk of obesity, cancer and ACL/CCL tears in any dog desexed before fully grown.
892B: Melissa Stagnaro describes the fun of training for Search and Rescue competitions (vs. “real life” missions) that have different levels of competition, including one test that certifies you for “mission ready” qualification. Dogs [and people!] of all types and sizes can participate. Searchandrescuesport.org.
892A: Erin Jones, author of “Constructing Canine Consent: Conceptualising and Adopting a Consent-focused Relationship with Dogs,” questions why we expect our dog to do something he doesn’t want to? Where is the mutual reciprocity in the relationship? Are we missing the chance to truly respect and communicate with them?
891B: Hanna Mandelbaum, co-founder of Evermore pet food, is crowing because their company has made “chicken history” by receiving rare GAP 4 certification by exclusively using Mary’s Free-Range chicken — which are slow growth, heirloom birds raised on pasture (and happen to be the closest link to the Tyrannosaurus Rex dinosaurs!)
891A: Wendall Thomas explains how a dormouse drives the story in her London-based mystery "Fogged Off,” while an endangered Tasmanian Tiger does the same in Australia in “Drowned Under.”
890A: Jennifer Holland’s book “Dog Smart: Life-Changing Lessons in Canine Intelligence” takes a look at the “smartest of the smart” dogs who do extraordinary things for us with their natural abilities — and asks whether we shouldn’t be a little smarter in our dealings with them!
890B: Sara Goldenthal is a professional jazz singer, composer and dedicated advocate for cats in shelters, who wrote lyrics and sang “Angels Surround You” (free on Spotify!) which has ambient music in the calming frequency of 528 Hz to soothe shelter cats.
889A: Dr. Amy Attas talks about her memoir “Pets and the City: True Tales of a Manhattan House Call Veterinarian” and how three decades of tending to the pets of the rich and famous in their fabulous apartments has made her deeply appreciate the human-animal bond.
889B: Mike Gould runs K9 Behavior Experts and often gives testimony in court about dog aggression cases. He discusses what is meant by a “red dog” — an aggressive one — although he believes no dog is dangerous, it is how s/he is managed.
888B: Luiza Cervenka is a PhD behaviorist in San Paulo, Brazil, who is teaching veterinarians and owners what dogs really need — and how to see and empathize with pain in dogs that affects their behavior.
888A: Linda Kohanov’s groundbreaking book is out in a revised edition — “The Tao of Equus: A Woman's Journey of Healing and Transformation through the Way of the Horse,” which describes how thoughts and emotions are contagious between species.
887B: Karen Menczer is the Founder/Director of Animal-Kind International, dispensing grants to non-profits globally, often covering the salaries of shelter workers without whom animal rescue would not be possible.
887A: Dr. Treyton Gibbs is famous in the world of competition Beagles, where he’s an AKC judge of field trials and also competes with his own pack of 32 Beagles — which he has bred and raised himself and knows everybody’s name! Now he has won Veterinarian of the Year from the Westminster Kennel Club, which gave a $10,000 donation to Not One More Vet (NOMV) in his name.
886B: Kristina Bergsten, who runs The Animal Law Practice in Colorado [she can also practice in New York], talks about the kinds of situations where a lawyer specializing in animal law might be valuable when facing canine-related legal issues.
886A: What if in fact dogs are “running the show” and have gotten us to do what they want? Philosopher Michele Merritt has written “Minding Dogs: Humans, Canine Companions, and a New Philosophy of Cognitive Science” to explore her theory about how dogs read our minds all the time, if only we were open to seeing it.
885A: Dr. Amy Pike of the Animal Behavior Wellness Clinic in Washington D.C. explains that 75% of all behavior issues are the result of the dog being in pain, so “behavior modification” (“fix it through training”) is not the solution! The challenge: find out where the pain is and effectively treat it.
885B: Jeff Pohn’s very funny novel “Hounded: A Love Story,” features a neurotic, addictive protagonist whose loquacious witty dog is tasked with helping him make better choices.
884A: The extraordinary journey of Dr. Kevin Fitzgerald to becoming a veterinarian in Denver, where he also does stand up comedy to open for famous comedians, having spent his younger years as head of security for the Rolling Stones.
884B: Christopher Dale’s book “We Saved Each Other: How Rescue Dogs Help Us Through Hardship” chronicles the simplicity, directness and healing value of the canine relationship, especially for people like himself, struggling with addiction and clinical depression.
883B: Tracie talks to Susan, a listener in Connecticut, who cannot figure out why her dog, Shelby, has had episodes of sudden onset shaking and whining. Is it emotional? Physical? What is triggering it? How best to manage it?
883A: Marc Bekoff discusses his newly revised book “The Emotional Lives of Animals: A Leading Scientist Explores Animal Joy, Sorrow, and Empathy — and Why They Matter,” with a foreword by Jane Goodall, alongside whom Bekoff has spent his career advancing the idea that animals have inner lives — and outer relationships — of significance.
882A: Simon Van Booy discusses his newest novel “Sipsworth,” which enchanted Tracie with its depiction of a rare and beautiful relationship between an elderly lonely lady and the mouse who transforms her life.
882B: Tracie talks to dog trainer Annie Phenix — who specializes in aggressive dogs — about the immorality of asking her to help rehome a dangerous “Czech shepherd” dog that has shown aggression to other dogs and to people.
881B: Kerry Nichols writes with exuberance in her book “PUPPY BRAIN: How Our Dogs Learn, Think, and Love,” about how puppies’ minds and feelings develop and our impact on them.
881AB: Helen Brown speaks from Australia about the healing power of a feline companion in her memoir “Mickey: the Cat Who Raised Me.”
880B: Amy Creel is a hilarious curmudgeonly TikTok presence [amymaurercreel] where she recounts her amusingly frustrating experiences helping dogs find homes through her Knine Rescue in Maryland.
880A: Bill Wasik [New York Times Magazine executive editor) and his wife Monica Murphy (Park Slope veterinarian and writer) collaborated on a sweeping history of how animals and people coexisted in the 19th century in their impressive book OUR KINDRED CREATURES: How Americans Came to Feel the Way They Do About Animals.
879A: Tommy Tomlinson talks about his book “DOGLAND: Passion, Glory and lots of Slobber at the Westminster Dog Show,” filled with wonderful canine anecdotes.
879B:Dr. Starr Cameron [Clinical Associate Professor in Small Animal Neurology, Department of Medical Sciences, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin at Madison] has been studying feline dementia and the symptoms like disorientation, changes in sleep/wake cycles, reduced activity and interaction with people or other pets, house soiling, anxiety and problems with learning/memory.
878B: Annie Abel explains how she happened to make an appearance at a Moth event and wowed everybody with the story in her memoir “Mattie, Milo and Me” - of never wanting a dog but then adoring the one she got for her son.
878A: Doctoral candidate Jemma Forman at the University of Sussex is co-author of a peer-reviewed study of 1,154 cats from around the globe who play fetch with their owners. Tracie asks: What does it mean for a cat to be “dog-like?”
877B: Dr. Stephanie McGrath, associate professor of neurology at Colorado State University College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, has been studying dog and cat dementia and discusses what they have learned so far.
877A: Brianna Madia’s memoir “Never Leave the Dogs Behind” describes the rollicking nomadic life she has led with her family — a pack of dogs!
876B: Lisa Rimmert’s memoir “Stay: My Forever Friendship with an Aging Dog” is a gentle tale of staying by a dog’s side as his muzzle becomes gray and they head into the twilight of their years.
876A: Tommy Hyde, the director of “Underdog” streaming on Amazon Prime & Apple TV, talks about the protagonist of his film, a “hanging-on-by-a-thread” Vermont dairy farmer with a pack of German Shorthaired Pointer sled dogs he dreams of racing in the Iditarod.
875A: Kathleen Donnelly talks about her newest National Forest K-9 thriller, “Killer Secrets,” featuring HRD (Human Remains Detection) dogs and other tracking dogs, trained and handled by volunteers, that can apprehend even a wily serial killer.
875B: Dr. Brian Bourquin, the new Board President of NOMV — talks about why “Not One More Vet” is needed because of the high suicide rate in the profession because of psychological pressures on DVM’s, who are naturally empathetic perfectionists, dealing with social media bashing.
874B: Dr. Ricky Walther is the Chief Medical Advisor at Pawlicy Advisor which offers an unbiased assessment of pet insurance companies — with an objective free personalized comparison of what each company can offer you.
874A: Alex Kava discusses “Midnight Creed” her 8th (!) book in the best-selling series, this one touching on social issues like homelessness while keeping us in suspense about Ryder Creed and his wonderful working dog.
873B: Stefani Cohen [MSW] dealt with her daughter’s fear of dogs, then has helped many patients and their families with easy to follow guidance in her book “Overcoming Your Child's Fear of Dogs: A Step-by-Step Guide for Parents.”
873A: Andy Roark is a veterinarian with a hugely popular blog and delightful podcast called “The Cone of Shame” about the pleasures, pressures and pain of being a vet — and advocates dancing in the clinic to counteract what they are carrying every day.
872A: Dog trainer Annie Phenix discusses the 24 documented bites inflicted by the Biden’s German Shepherd Dog on Secret Service personnel — and how positive reinforcement training can keep your own reactive dog from becoming aggressive and dangerous — so she doesn't trigger a lawsuit or wind up being put to sleep for other peoples’ safety.
872B: Jeffrey Burton talks about his newest thriller “The Dead Years,” about a serial killer, and the hero’s Human Detection Remains dogs, one of which is an English Springer Spaniel!
871A: Amanda Baity is co-founder of the non-profit Semper K9 Assistance Dogs, where she and her veteran husband train PTSD service dogs and place them with veterans at no cost. Amanda is also the co-founder of the Association of Service Dog Providers, the umbrella organization for many non profits like hers — all of which hope to submit short films for the 9th Annual NY Dog Film Festival in the new Purina® Dog Chow® Service Dog Salute category.
871B: Dr. Stacey Wilkinson is a board certified specialized reptile veterinarian, owner of the Avian and Exotic Animal Hospital of Georgia, who gives presentations to other veterinarians to debunk common myths about bearded dragons, the most popular reptile pet. She also talks about the need for more exotic animal veterinarians across the country.
870B: Savannah Boan — the Crocodilian Enrichment Coordinator at Gatorland in Orlando, and International Ambassador for Gatorland Global Conservation — talks about the rare newly hatched "white alligator" that joined their Gatorland family, along with suggestions about how to amuse, delight and interact with crocodilians.
870A: Dr. Lee Morgan talks about his book “Four Thousand Paws: Caring for the Dogs of the Iditarod” and his fascinating experiences traveling from his home and veterinary practice in Washington, D.C., to the wilds of Alaska as one of the volunteer veterinarians looking out for the welfare of the sled dogs and their devoted owners.
869A: Historian and professor Marcy Norton talks about her new book “The Tame and the Wild: People and Animals After 1492,” that shows that our complicated, paradoxical relationship with animals is nothing new. Our ancestors from many cultures always managed to live alongside animals as both their companions and their dinner.
869B: Harry Leff, the Chairperson of the Board of Animal Lighthouse Rescue in New York City, talks about the gratification of being able to bring dogs into eager adoptive homes (like his own!) in the New York area, straight from Puerto Rico, where many are left to die on the streets and beaches.
868C: Sally Williams talks about the “Marlin Nation” — people who supported her when her kitty Marlin got cancer. Now her lovely pussycat Mr. Jones has been diagnosed with cancer, too. He had surgery and chemotherapy, which gave her “the gift of time.”
868B: Stephanie Zolo from Earth Animal discusses the company’s support of the non-profit “Pets in the Classroom” and the benefits these dogs are bringing to the learning experience.
868A: Dr. Doug Mader (author of “The Vet at Noah’s Ark”) discusses the importance of “antibiotic stewardship” and why the FDA sent warning letters to Chewy and other online pet suppliers. See your vet for any medical issues — don't try to diagnose yourself and use antibiotics recklessly and in ignorance.
867C: Rikhil Bahadur, a filmmaker originally from India, via London, now lives in Vancouver where he extols the dog culture permeating every aspect of life there, right down to baby carriages filled with dogs on Sunday strolls. He discusses the scripted film set in Vancouver that he submitted to the next NY Dog Film Festival, which is called “Homeless” starring a magnificent pooch named Rocco.
867A: Dog trainer Annie Phenix (author of “Positive Training for Aggressive and Reactive Dogs”) discusses dogs that might snap at the vet. "Emotional contagion” can go down the leash if you are anxious at the doctor/vet and it’s your responsibility to prevent a bite. A basket muzzle is a really good thing for a dog who might bite.
867B: Feline specialist Dr. Elizabeth Hodgkins is concerned with a brand new (very expensive) (only partially effective) drug for cats with diabetes that comes with an FDA “black box warning” about its dangers, like you see on a cigarette package. She discusses how diabetes is an avoidable disease in cats if you stop feeding “kitty crack” (any dry food), urging everyone to feed only wet food in a can with high quality protein.
866B: Cat behaviorist Rachel Geller — whose nonprofit “All Cats, All the Time” offers free support and advice to people with cat problems — talks about the challenge of making peace with two newly adopted bonded cats who double-team attack Daisy, the unsuspecting resident dog.
866A: Legendary dog trainer Ian Dunbar talks about his new book “Barking Up the Right Tree: The Science and Practice of Positive Dog Training” and the value of teaching your dog ESL to communicate, always with positive reinforcement, which is his hallmark training style.
866C: Dr. Linda Rhodes discusses One Health and how animal drug companies have saved lives of many animals — including a vaccine created for bees — and how drugs for humans have migrated to dogs and vice-versa.
865B: Nina Jackel and her Lady Freethinker just won an award for exposing animal cruelty globally, whether in Thailand zoos or bringing dogs out of Ukraine to the U.S.
865C: Dr. Maciej Parys, veterinarian from the University of Edinburgh is CEO of CanCan diagnostics where they created a blood test to monitor the progress of cancer in dogs or help diagnose it, without having to do biopsies.
865A: Paula Munier’s newest mystery “Home at Night” featuring Mercy Carr and her dog Elvis is really spooky!
864A: Wendall Thomas’s hilarious mystery “Lost Luggage” takes her Brooklyn-based travel agent heroine to Africa where she finds out what could happen to your lost luggage if it became a tool in the smuggling of endangered animals.
864C: Ever wondered who embraces rats as their pet-of-choice? Meet Maggie Herskowitz, newly graduated with a degree from the University of Edinburgh Vet School, celebrating with her five “ratties” wrapped around her neck!
864B: Exotic animal veterinarian Dr. Doug Mader (the author of “The Vet at Noah’s Ark” and Tracie’s co-host on their show EXOTIC PETS) discusses how to navigate vet school, get the most out of it, and seek support for the psychological challenges that can come with it.
863C: Jeanne Selander created a sanctuary called Rivers Wish for senior chihuahuas in Key West, where they have a loving home forever
863B: Erica Messer created her pet loss grief support platform, Wolfies Wish, to help those struggling, as she did, with the death of their pet. Now she has designed “mindfulness” cards and messages for people anticipating their senior pet’s death while caring for them during the final stages of their life.
863A: Linda Rhodes, DVM PhD, created the nonprofit “Feather in Her Cap” to acknowledge the achievements of women in the animal health industry — something of which she is personally familiar with an impressive array of her own professional accomplishments.
862C: Chelsea Barstow talks about the fun (for people, too!) activities she has created for people to do with their dogs in her book “Happy Dog: 101 Easy Enrichment Activities for a Healthy, Happy, Well-Behaved Pup”
862B: Lisa Erixon’s charming book “No Ordinary Cats” tells the stories of all the kitties she has lived with, but seen from their perspectives in their voices.
862A: Celine Halioua is the CEO of Loyal, which has been developing a drug for large dogs that is expected to let them live longer with good quality of life — increasing their “healthspan” as well as their lifespan.
861A: Jim Dougherty’s book “Pet Project” tells the surprising and inspiring story of how he had a vision for a large supermarket style pet store that nobody understood. He struggled with just one store in Arizona and faced a mountain of challenges and impediments, but eventually proved everybody wrong and changed the face of the pet industry.
861B: Dr. Doug Mader, Tracie’s co-host on Exotic Pets (and author of the wonderful memoir “The Vet at Noah’s Ark”), talks about what it takes to become a veterinarian and get into vet school, a long path that some people may choose in midlife after another entire career.
860C: Trainer Annie Phenix talks about the challenges of a multi-dog household and how pack mentality can lead to escalating behaviors (barking, chasing, aggression). Her bottom line advice is only get another dog if you really want one and have the time to manage one more, but “Don't get a dog for your dog!”
860B: Pet food consultant Dr. Ryan Yamka shares Tracie’s frustration with veterinarians who cannot get past the erroneous mistaken belief that premium pet foods using peas and lentils have any relationship to DCM (dilated cardiomyopathy) in dogs.
860A: Jen Danna, writing “That Others May Live” as Sara Driscoll, explains how search and rescue teams navigate a building collapse with their highly trained dogs — and in this thriller how they get to the bottom of the cause of the disaster.
859A: US Navy Captain Risa Simon talks about why and how she created Leashes End, a home setting sanctuary for senior dogs and cats in Maryland (her “day job” is Deputy Senior Naval Intelligence Manager, Near East, assigned to the Office of Naval Intelligence)
859C: Jeanne Selander runs the Monroe County Prison Zoo on Key West — where she turned the hurricane-proof space beneath the detention center into an eclectic zoo that inmates maintain and work with the animals. Children and community members visit and learn about the local wildlife and exotic animals housed there.
859B: Heather LaHaise is a painter and dog portraitist who features dogs in almost all her art, which will be on display for three days from 11AM to 8PM — Dec 15, 16, 17 — at what she’s calling Dog Borough, 616 East 9th in New York’s East Village.
858B: Christine Dorchak talks about her book ”Brooklyn Goes Home: The Rise and Fall of American Greyhound Racing and the Dog That Inspired a Movement, which chronicles her career as an activist lawyer fighting to end greyhound racing worldwide.
858C: Dr. David Brodbelt discusses a UK study on cancer, which they based on the Morris Animal Foundation Golden Retriever lifetime study. Tracie asks whether there are differences between US and British Golden Retrievers in their genetic tendency to cancer.
858A: Wendall Thomas explains how she created the hilarious protagonist of “Cheap Trills,” a fashionista travel agent, who is on a quest to rescue endangered birds while dealing with a captivating cast of colorful characters.
857B: Dr. Melissa Shapiro — the veterinarian who raised Piglet, a tiny blind deaf puppy, who inspired the nonprofit pigletmindset.org, discusses how she took in Georgie, another blind deaf puppy who also enlarged her life and world view.
857A: Tracie is mesmerized by the all-encompassing world view of Alexis Devine, who discusses her magnificently architected book “I Am Bunny: How a ‘Talking Dog’ Taught Me Everything I Need to Know About Being Human,” a book that changed Tracie’s opinion about dogs “using” human vocabulary because Alexis learned to communicate with Bunny on levels far beyond the “talking buttons” that made her an online phenomenon.
856B: Renowned pet nutrition expert Dr. Ryan Yamka and Tracie make mincemeat (sic) of the recent press release that “vegan cat diets are better for cats” who are obligate carnivores. Sure they can, Dr. Yamka says, so long as the kitties can hunt, catch and eat birds and mice, the way they did in the “research study!"
856C: Tracie asks Ace Tilton, author of “The Little Book of Dog Care” who is non binary (and disabled) to help others accept and understand the whole he/she/they topic with nonjudgmental compassion.
856A: Jordan Holt from Camping with Dogs talks about the founder’s book “Every Dog Deserves an Adventure” which grew from a powerful Instagram page to a community of dog lovers with a shared lifestyle.
855B: Dr. Deborah Aronson is a veterinarian who is an end-of-life specialist, offering in home euthanasia and also professionally trained in pastoral care so she can tend to the emotional needs of her human patients while consulting on palliative care for “silver whiskered patients.”
855C: Sassafras Lowrey’s piece in the New York Times “What We Can Learn from European Dog Culture” makes some interesting points about cultural differences seen through a canine lens.
855A: Grant Hayter-Menzies talks about his memoir “Freddie: The Rescue Dog Who Rescued Me” and how their two-way street of unconditional love got them both through the tough times.
855B: Tracie talks to trainer Annie Phenix — author of “Positive Reinforcement for Aggressive and Reactive Dogs” — about dog-on-dog attacks and the horror of a pack of German Shepherds kept by a bookstore owner on the Upper East Side of New York, who allowed her dogs to terrorize small dogs and finally to kill one.
855C: Bob Bryant Mission discusses his K9 Rescue that rehabilitates, repatriates and [when appropriate] finds homes with former military K9 handlers for MWDs whose military service has ended.
855A: Ethologist Jessica Pierce’s new book “Who's a Good Dog? How to Be a Better Human” exhorts us to meet a dog where they stand. Accept them for who they are — appreciate the neuro-diversities of dogs as we now do with children.
853B: Nationally acclaimed pet nutrition expert Ryan Yamka debunks myths about pet foods — particularly that “senior” foods and “keto diets” have no basis in nutrition science, says the man who in 2020 won the Pet Science Pet Industry Disruptor Award.
853A: From England, Sarah Brown talks about her newest book “The Hidden Language of Cats: How They Have us at Meow” and how cats actually only meow to people, not other cats!
853C: Kate Foster in Australia discusses how she and her son are both autistic, which inspired her to write “All the Small Wonderful Things.”
852B: Wendy Wen talks about being a woman entrepreneur in the pet industry, carefully buying brands like Bocce's Bakery, Ark Naturals, and Super Snouts to infuse them with venture capital and help them grow to the next level, while retaining the original founders and team behind those companies.
852A: Widely respected political author and columnist Matt Bai talks about his recent opinion piece in the Washington Post entitled "Master and Commander: Biden's Dog Troubles Hint at a Larger Problem," about the multiple uncontrolled biting attacks by Biden's German Shepherd Commander, which Tracie views as irresponsible and immoral dog ownership and which Bai views as the danger and seduction of entitlement that can come with sitting in the Oval Office.
851B: Peta Hitchens in Australia talks about her movie "Filming Dogs" that will be in the upcoming 8th Annual NY Dog Film Festival, and the question she asks herself and others who have performing dogs: "Do they really want to be doing this or are you doing it for yourself?"
851A: Pilley Bianchi talks about her book "For the Love of Dog" and growing up as the "sibling" of the world's most brilliant dog — Chaser — who knew over 1,000 words. She encourages everyone to "use their dogs' brilliant minds to play," and magnify our bond and appreciation of them.
#850B: Francesco Marciuliano has written “Oh. It’s You. Love Poems by Cats,” another hilarious collection of poems inspired by (and theoretically penned by) his own cultured kitties. He is giving a copy as a gift to everyone who buys tickets for the Meow Party, as well as to the filmmakers coming to the 6th Annual NY Cat Film Festival premiere.
#850C: Lynn Hightower, the author of the thriller “A Beautiful Risk” — which is also a book about loss and grief — talks about how this book morphed into her column on grief for Psychology Today. [She generously bought copies of her book for the doggy swag bags for the filmmakers coming to the NYC premiere of the 8th Annual NY Dog Film Festival.]
#850A: Cate Conte is back with another cozy kitty-infused mystery, this time with ghosts, a psychic, and deaths in a haunted house on Halloween.
849A: Director Kim Best won the first-ever Visionary Award in 2022 for having had a film (and sometimes two!) in every NY Cat Film Festival since the first year. She talks about yet again having two of her films selected for this year’s 6th Annual Festival — “Insomnia” and “Seen at Last” — and what inspires her.
849B: Brian Patrick Duggan talks about his innovative new book, “Horror Dogs: Man’s Best Friend as Movie Monster,” and the years of research and passion that went into unearthing all the movies ever made in which dogs are depicted as you’ve never thought of them before: as “man’s scariest” friend.
849C: Kathleen Donnelly talks about her second book in the National Forest K-9 series and how her own experience with search dogs makes the human-canine bond so realistic (and the danger so scarier!)
848A: Hersch Wilson discusses the special ways that living alongside dogs can expand our view of the universe in his book “Dog Lessons: Learning the Important Stuff from Our Best Friends.”
848C: Rick DuCharme talks about the Community Cat Clinic he opened in Georgia — with more to come — that offers accessible services and fees to cat owners and community cat protectors who previously did not have affordable or geographically accessible care.
848B: Dog trainer Annie Phenix (author of “Positive Training for Aggressive and Reactive Dogs”) discusses the apparent ignorance of President and Jill Biden about what is acceptable canine behavior — since they now have a second German Shepherd that is repeatedly biting Secret Service members and other staff at the White House.
847B: Dr. Doug Mader — Tracie’s co-host on their podcast Exotic Pets — discusses the value of routine annual exams at the veterinarian whether for dogs, cats or snakes!
847C: Spencer Williams — the owner of the dog toy company West Paw — talks about the safety element to their toys being made of non-toxic, recyclable FDA approved material, and Tracie congratulates him for celebrating their 10th anniversary as a “B corp.”
847A: Pilley Bianchi talks about her book describing growing up alongside Chaser — probably the most famous dog in modern times, the Border Collie her father taught more than 1,000 words.
846C: Robin Joy Meyers talks about how she and her husband developed a brand new kind of fabric that captures pet hair and dirt - while being elegant and luxurious to the touch — and how they made it into Magic Fabric throws to protect furniture and beds from snuggling dogs and cats.
846A: Ross Scarbro from Wondercide discusses the products they have created with natural “plant power” to repel and kill fleas and ticks without exposing your pets to toxic chemicals.
846B: Dr Craig Clifford, who previously spoke about the Take C.H.A.R.G.E Registry, returns to consider whether food, environment, genetics or something else can be blamed for the ever-higher incidence of cancer in dogs.
845A: Tracie is so happy to catch up with Dr. Clive Wynn, who she interviewed years ago as author of “Dog is Love,” and who is the director of the Canine Science Collaboratory at Arizona State University, who is happy to have many other “canine scientists' following in his footsteps.
845C: Dr. Angie Johnston — Director of Boston College Canine Cognition Center & Social Learning Lab — returns to talk about how they are studying learning from watching how kids and dogs learn differently. And it may be that dogs are actually smarter than children at some things!
845B: Stephanie Volo, who is the Chief Impact Officer for Earth Animal, talks about how the toy company West Paw (one of the first pet businesses to be a B Corp) created the “Funnl” to hold Earth Animal’s unique No Hide dog chew — “a partnership for good,” as she describes it, “for the betterment of animals, people & the planet.”
844B: Nancy Peterson of the National Kitten Coalition talks about the challenges and successes in groups across the country rescuing kittens, but she urges people not to disturb little kittens in a nest because their mother is surely looking after them — and it gives them a better chance of survival.
844C: LeeAnn Wagner from the Suitical company — which originated in the Netherlands — talks about the unique products that cover a dog or cat’s body for healing from wounds or surgeries instead of the dreaded “cone of shame” disliked by pets and owners alike.
844A: Tracie was surprised to learn that yet another prestigious college has dog studies — the Yale Center Canine Cognition Lab. She talks to Dr. Zachary Silver, who got his degree and is leaving to start a dog studies program at Occidental College, where he will be a professor, finding the study of co-evolution with dogs and awareness of their social cognition endlessly fascinating.
843A: Katie Haegele talks about her art-infused stories in her book “Cats I’ve Known: On Love, Loss, and Being Graciously Ignored” and also her Cat Zine series, creating some of the most delightful tales Tracie has encountered about the feline-canine bond.
843B: Dr. Rupal Tewari is a stem cell scientist and veterinarian who speaks to Tracie from her BioCraft laboratory in Vienna, Austria (via her professional progression from India to Italy) about the challenges and rewards of creating cultured mouse meat and chicken meat as future sources of protein for pet foods.
843C: Veterinary oncologist Dr. Craig Clifford talks about the Take C.H.A.R.G.E cancer registry and how doctors and scientists are doing comparative oncology research into similarities between some cancers common to children and canines to benefit both species.
842B: Tena Lundquist and her twin sister Tama are the heroines of this documentary about the terrible plight of tens of thousands of homeless dogs in Houston. Tenha talks about how they and a few determined animal-lovers are working to change animal welfare in their city.
842A: Lynn Hightower’s riveting thriller has a brave and valiant dog at the center, whose devotion gets the heroine through the deepest loss and grief — and jeopardy.
842C: Ace Tilton is a fascinating person, who worked in a mortuary before following their love of dogs into a home euthanasia business with their veterinarian husband. Then they wrote this book — “The Little Book of Dog Care: Expert Advice on Giving Your Dogs Their Best Life” — which grew out of a lifelong love of dogs, offering advice and anecdotes from a unique perspective.
841A: Dog trainer Megan Bunting tells Tracie all the ways she dislikes electric collar boundary fences — which she says cause rather than solve problems — which Tracie also concluded in “The Dog Bible.”
841B: Dr. Curtis Huttenhower, who runs the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, talks about the One Health comparison of gut biome in dogs, cats and people and what it can reveal about obesity.
841C: Dr. Geraldine Deitheim describes how she and other veterinarians use cold laser for pain control and healing in pets.
840A: Dr Angie Johnston — Director of Boston College Canine Cognition Center & Social Learning Lab — talks about how their work involves the participation of local owners and their dogs.
840C: The title of dog trainer Annie Phenix’s book helps answer that question: “Positive Training for Aggressive and Reactive Dogs: Proven Techniques to Help Your Dog Overcome Fear and Anxiety”
840B: Jen Glick is known as The Whisker Lady because she is the creative force behind the Etsy shop Volana Kote (which means Moon Kitten), where she makes jewelry out of her first love — whiskers — but people also send their pet’s ashes, feathers, fur, teeth and even snake skin!
Veterinarian-turned-novelist Brian Porter talks about his book “Dreams of Arcadia,” which follows a city veterinarian, who joins a country practice in Texas and learns how harsh it is out there.
Tracie just learned about the work of Dr. Sarah Byosiere, who has been director of the Thinking Dog Center at Hunter College in New York City — only to learn from her that the center is closing! But the Animal Behavior and Conservation department is still there.
Dr. Rachel Geller is a cat behavior specialist who founded her own non-profit All Cats, All the Time to provide non-judgmental advice, information and support to people having problems with their kitty cats. She has helped thousands of cats stay in their loving homes — all for free!
838A: Daniel Fine talks about the plight of pets that had to be abandoned during the war and his nonprofit War Animals Relief Fund. Tracie urges everyone to join her in helping the GoFundMe campaign to support his upcoming FIFTH volunteer mission to help unite the dogs and cats of Ukraine with their displaced owners.
838B: Dr. Geraldine Diethelm describes how acupuncture works for pain relief and healing, and the many ways in which veterinarians can help pets with acupuncture — even exotic animals, in addition to dogs and cats!
838C: Bri Golub, the Director of Programs NOMV (Not One More Vet) talks about the mission of the organization to support veterinary wellbeing — and the excitement around the gala planned for October with Temple Grandin as the speaker.
837A: Curtis Huttenhower is a Harvard professor and co-director of the Harvard Chan Microbiome in Public Health Center, who talks about their study [funded by the Morris Animal Foundation] of a cat’s gut biome and how that influences obesity. And they are looking for volunteers to send their cat’s poop and help answer the question.
837C: Kimberly La Russa describes how the Ten Lives Club has managed to save the lives of 3,000 cats a year.
837B: Wayne Pacelle, head of Animal Wellness Action, cheers the news that the Supreme Court upheld states’ rights to make their own rules about living conditions for pigs and hens. California Proposition 12 was upheld, despite efforts by the food industry to continue “cruelty tied to commerce.”
836B: Tammy Kaehler is a recipient of a grant from MissionMeow for her group Love Your feral Felines
836A: The marvelous ethologist Dr. Marc Bekoff — who has spent a lifetime watching and thinking about dogs, shares it all in his new book, “Dogs Demystified: An A-to-Z Guide to All Things Canine”
835A: Dr. Marty Becker spent years consulting with veterinary behaviorists to come up with the guidelines for vets, vet-techs and vet assistants to get certified in his Fear Free program — making the doctor visit much less stressful for your dog and cat.
835B: Dr Sharon L. Campbell, DVM, MS, DACVIM, is the Medical Affairs Lead on Canine Chronic Pain at Zoetis, where they have developed Librela, a once-monthly injectable monoclonal antibody treatment for the control of canine osteoarthritis, since 40% of dogs of ALL ages have signs of OA.
835C: Hanna Fushihara teaches people how to engage their cats' very sensitive noses in a fun pursuit that until now has been only for dogs. “Nosework for cats” could be a lot more interesting than just fishing wand play for both the human and the feline!
834C: Martha Frassica-Rivera runs the Everglades Outpost wildlife refuge and rehab, where Dr. Doug Mader --- Tracie’s co-host on EXOTIC PETS --- performs medical high-wire acts like jaw surgery on a 9-foot alligator --- which you can watch on the website video!
834B: Megan Bunting, a dog trainer in Branford, CT, talks about a client whose dog (who happened to be an otherwise sweetheart Pitbull, a breed hard-wired to fight) viciously attacked her canine housemate, who happened to be an Australian Cattle dog --- another high-drive breed.
834A: Dr Charles Garvin from the AKC Canine Health Foundation discusses grants they have funded for studies of innovative new ways to detect and treat cancer.
#833B: Terry Taflinger of the Animal Protection Association talks about the life-changing grant they received from MissionMeow --- the crowd-sourcing non profit --- and how they are putting the donation to work.
#833A: Wayne Pacelle, the founder of Animal Wellness Action, talks about the Belmont Stakes race next weekend and the travesty of young race horses dying needlessly as their owners chase Triple Crown glory and winnings.
#833C: Corrine Bourgoin --- adoption supervisor and shelter operations manager at the MSPCA Boston --- discusses how the shelter has achieved the highest return-to-owner rate of cats in the whole USA, 10 times higher than the rest of the country!
Sally Williams (MissionMeow) on accumulating many smaller donations to make one large donation go further, making a substantial difference in their work
Jonathan Losos (“The Cat’s Meow: How Cats Evolved from the Savanna to Your Sofa”) discusses when and how cats talk
Dr Robert Sharp (“The Bull in the Darkness and the One-Eyed Dog: Scenes From the Life of a Country Veterinarian”) on his wild, unpredictable and funny life
Photographer Laura Cohen discusses her Tortoises Pedro and Petra --- featured in “In Good Company” --- which she found at the huge live animal market in Mexico City
Justin Goodman (White Coat Waste Project) discusses bill to defund Pennsylvania animal testing labs, including at Temple University, and University of Pennsylvania
Dr. Kwane Stewart (“What it Takes to Save a Life: a Veterinarian’s Quest for Healing and Hope”) on overcoming suicidal thoughts after random act of kindness for homeless man’s dog
Jackie O’Sullivan (Rescue Dogs Rock NYC) discusses dream of finding physical location for her rescue, renovating former boarding facility on Long Island to make dream come true
Dr. Nichole Weinstein on caring for pets of unhoused people in Montclair, California, and joining Kwane Stewart’s Project Street Vet
Jonathan Losos (“The Cat’s Meow: How Cats Evolved from the Savanna to Your Sofa”) on his lifetime love of cats, his deep dive look into what and who cats really are
Erica Messer created Wolfie's Wish pet grief products after tragic death of her kitty, turned her grief into helping others with same struggle
Dr. Emily Tincher explains what “spectrum of care” means at Nationwide, an unusual philosophy for a pet insurance company, choosing palliative care rather than medical maximum
Tracie and Dr. Doug Mader discuss why they launched EXOTIC PETS, because an atypical human-animal bond is just as meaningful to people, owners need to be good stewards of unusual pets
Musical director Alex Rybeck discusses how he came to have as his non-human companion Petula, the corn snake, as featured in “In Good Company”
Dr. Robert Duquette (Veterinary Professional Services for Companion Animals at Merck) Street Dog Coalition, helping pets of unhomed people
Dr. Kwane Stewart (Project Street Vet) on challenges of being a minority in his field, joining Diversity Committee of California Veterinary Medical Board
How Ron King went from being That Guy who wears a Gucci swimsuit to sit by the pool (by himself!), to managing Oscar's Place Donkey Adoption Center & Sanctuary
Stephanie Boone (Wondercide founder) on creating natural alternatives to spraying chemicals on pets, property and people so they can be safely pest-free
Rowan Hisayo Buchanan on commissioning and co-editing "Dog Hearted: Essays on Our Fierce and Familiar Companions," which memorializes dogs in a very British way
Stacy LeBaron (Community Cats Podcast) celebrates 500th episode and how she started out to support one lonely TNR trapper and one cat needing rescue, which is still the mission
Jennifer Wheeler (NYC Doggies, author of "Whole Dog Parenting") on raising and training an urban dog, even those with more grass than concrete under their paws
Johanna Seigmann ["In Good Company (Notable People and their Pets)"] on celebrating human-animal bond in photographic essays, with dogs, cats, and other animals
Bob Galvin (Director of Animal Action Wellness for Vermont) on alternatives to wild animal trapping, which is cruel to those victims & has caused devastating deaths to pet dogs
Dr. Ari Aycock-Williams (Department of Animal Resources at USC, Project Street Vet) explains how animal research is done with oversight, honoring animals used
Francoise Malby-Anthony --- from her elephant sanctuary in South Africa --- discusses her newest memoir "The Elephants of Thula Thula" and and pandemic's effects on conservation efforts
Dr. Marie Sato Quicksall (Multicultural Veterinary Medical Association) on how diversity in veterinary professions encourages people of color into the field
Dr. Niccole Bruno (BLEND) on nuturing more welcoming environment for non-whites in the veterinary space
Lisa Greenhill (Senior Director, Institutional Research and Diversity at American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges) on demographics of veterinary schools/profession
Microbiologist Dr. Emily Stein on creating the award-winning TEEF, a water additive for pets because overall health starts in the mouth
Victoria Wells (former dog trainer at the ASPCA in NYC) on lifting the burden of emotional trauma experienced by shelter workers
Dr. Ernie Ward praises DNA test Basepaws, for the benefit of cats, by identifying genetic markers for disease, improving feline health
Mourning death of her beloved companion Cocker Spaniel, 76-years-old Margaret adopted Kylie Rae, a discarded puppy mill breeding mom, transforming the dog with love
Kristin Schmidt on ministering to the needs of pets of the unhomed population as a Project Street Vet in Atlanta, husband by her side
Dr Kwane Stewart (Project Street Vet) on tending to the needs of people living on the streets in Los Angeles and their pets
Dr. Doug Mader ("The Vet at Noah's Ark") on surprising story of how he started out as a vet by opening a clinic in a dodgy neighborhood, with rollicking tales, challenging patients
Matt Cox (Battalion Chief, Fairfax VA Fire Department & Canine Specialist) on search & rescue in Turkey after earthquake with his brilliant Labrador Peter Pan
Dr. Karen Fine ("The Other Family Doctor") on lessons animals can teach us about love, life, and mortality
Stephanie Volo (Earth Animal) on what it means to be a certified B Corp, using business as a force for good
Margaret Mizushima ("Standing Dead") on her latest Timber Creek K-9 mystery, which celebrates relationship between working dog and handler
Justin Goodman (Whitecoat Waste Project) reveals cruel, unnecessary NIH-funded animal experiment in which the Univ. of Iowa fed dogs to sand flies, then killed the dogs
Zazie Todd (author of "PURR" and "WAG") on Cambridge Declaration of Consciousness, the concept that all animals have emotions, awareness of surroundings, need positive experiences
Dr. Charles McMillan (owner of 3 GoodVets clinics in Atlanta) on advantages of offering veterinary care in neighborhoods where his clients live, looks like him, feel welcome
Jae & Adrienne (2 Crazy Cat Ladies) on their informational website and products developed to improve lives of kitties everywhere
Andrew Rowan (Wellbeing International) talks about battle between wildlife conservation biologists and animal protectionists when the real problem is humans
Joseph Hahn (Companion Animal & Equine Professional Services at Merck) on Merck underwriting 3 years of "Clear Blueprint" for Not One More Vet (NOMV)
Johnna Devereaux (Fetch RI) on her one-off, holistic boutique shop in Rhode Island, offering nutrition & wellness advice, curated products
Julia Geffner on how Heart + Paw veterinary centers emphasize emotionally healthy workplace for people, low stress for animals and owners
Carol Borden & Tracie discusses how dog walker was mauled to death by pack of dogs in England and what could have caused this tragedy
Stephanie Boone (Wondercide) on creating plant-based pest protection for pets & people, inside and outside the house
How Heidi Roberts (Friends of Beverly Animals) is still driving force behind saving one kitty at a time
Wayne Pacelle (Animal Wellness Action) on how changing laws is often the only way to protect voiceless animals
Johnna Devereaux (Fetch RI holistic pet store) on driving one of the country's most celebrated and successful independent pet stores
Darlene Bos (Executive Director, Not One More Vet) on emotional challenges and high rate of suicide of veterinarians
Andrew Rowan (President, Wellbeing International) on Australian government's continued poisoning of free-roaming feral cats
Karen Glass on how Merrimack River Feline Rescue Society (Salisbury, MA) began 31 years ago to cope with suffering feral cats, Cat Mobile clinic, free veterinary services
Dr. Peter Beaumont (Chairman, Veterinary Advisory Board of Trupanion Pet Insurance) on evolution of pet insurance, and how Trupanion is revolutionizing the field
Tracie's wrap-up of themes that emerged on her shows last year, giving dogs and cats respect and support they need to be their true selves
Angela Ardolino (mushroom specialist, creator of YourNaturalDog.com & CBDDogHealth.com) on non-toxicity of THC in marijuana for dogs
Wayne Pacelle (President of Animal Wellness Action & the Center for a Humane Economy) on challenges of protecting animals through legislation
Bruce Cameron ("A Dog's Purpose") on his irresistible canine character in "Love, Clancy" along with the hilariously dysfunctional people in Clancy's life
Jeff Flocken (President, Humane Society International) on CITES meeting in Panama, where countries decide which creatures put on endangered species, Glass Frogs addition
Dr. Bruce Elsey (Dr. Elsey's Precious Cat) talks about his company contributing millions to Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation to find cure for type of cancer his wife has
Congresswoman Nancy Mace (SC) discusses letter she wrote National Institutes for Health (NIH) demanding answers about their costly & cruel experiments on dogs
Dr. Renee Alsaraff ("Sit, Stay Heal: What Dogs Teach Us About Living Well") on relating to pet owners whose pets have cancer after long, successful battle against cancer herself
Barbara Natterson-Horowitz ("Zoobiquity: the Astonishing Connection Between Human and Animal Health") on overeating and obesity in the animal kingdom
Dr Julie Buzby ("Toe Grips" designer) on making life safer and more pleasant for our aging canine companions
Alexis Telfair-Garcia (Social Work Program Development Manager, Austin Pets Alive!) on bridging support for companion animals and their people, who face many challenges
Dr Sarah Cutler (The Behavior Clinic for Dogs & Cats) on making house calls for multi-cat problems, aggression against humans and, most frequently, "out of litter box" problems
Dr. Ernie Ward (Association for Pet Obesity Prevention [APOP]) on helping pet owners and pet food industry look at pet obesity, its effects on pet health & longevity
Filmmaker Gorman Bechard ("Old Friends, a Dogumentary") on the film's celebration of one special senior dog sanctuary
Stephanie Rousseau ("How to Raise a Puppy: a Dog-Centric Approach," co-authored with Norwegian dog behaviorist Turid Rugaas) on the book's life-altering philosophy
Ashley Hermans (Director of Animal Services, Bastrop County Texas) discusses her shelter, which is next to town incinerator, and how she's raising funds to buy 15 acres, build Animal Care Campus
Tracie's own vet, Dr. Linda Morris (West Mountain Animal Hospital in Shaftsbury, Vermont) discusses topic of Tracie's most popular blog, black gunk in dogs' ears
Tommi Wolfe (Executive Director, GRACE Gorilla Rehabilitation and Conservation Education Center) shares a webcam from Eastern Congo gorilla sanctuary
Annie England Noblin ("Christmas in Blue Dog Valley") on her novel about a Los Angeles veterinarian who buys a clinic in a rural area and the challenges she has to overcome
Dr. Sarah Cutler (Behavior Clinic for Dogs & Cats) cautions against using incorrect words like "aggressive dogs" that don't get to root of the problem, which is fear
Alison Watts (translator for Seishu Hase's novel "The Boy and the Dog") on challenges of interpreting another person's writing
Steven Mornelli (Waggle Foundation) on how his non-profit crowdfunding platform raises funds for medical care for animals at risk for euthanasia
Kim Best on how she invents and creates her films in a variety of styles, telling stories with documentaries
Sangkyung Lee (Humane Society International, South Korea) on how a government task force has failed to evaluate dog meat trade's part of economy, and how industrial level farming is behind the trade
Dog Talk (And Kitties Too!) (11-21-2022) #806C: Jen Danna, who writes as Sara Driscoll, talks about her newest book in the series, \"Still Waters,\" in which search and detection dogs from multiple government agencies participate in a water detection competition --- and several of them wind up dead.
Jeff Flocken (Humane Society International), discusses South Korean meat market, and 34 dogs brought to Washington, D.C. as ambassadors to shed light on dog meat trade
Jules Howard ("Wonderdog: How the Science of Dogs Changed the Science of Life") on "the L word," "heart dogs," and how canine scientists "feel" about love between dogs & humans
Melissa Jenkins (Operation Catnip) on how they worked for years in M.A.S.H. style clinics to perform up to 200 sterilizations of stray cats in a matter of hours
Shana Aufenkamp describes volunteer work in Ukraine with UK-based non-profit Breaking the Chains, providing care and evacuation for animals of war for U.S. adoption
Oliver Soden ("Jeoffrey - The Poet's Cat") discusses his imagined biography of renowned cat belonging to esteemed British poet Christopher Smart
Dr Sharon Eisen (Complete Cat Vet Clinic in Brookfield, Connecticut) talks about benefit to cats and their people of a clinic just for cats, and her passion for breeding British Shorthairs
Jeremy Cohen (Boston Dog Lawyers) on how to protect yourself legally when using a boarding facility, doggy day care or a dog walker, and consider legal ramifications
Suzanne Elshult ("A Dog's Devotion: True Adventures of a K9 Search and Rescue Team") on how volunteer search and rescue dog teams rise to the occasion
Sami Carroccio (Cat Cavorting) on challenges faced during height of the pandemic when veterinarians were unavailable to spay and neuter cats they trapped
An Heir(ess) to James Herriot (the veterinarian who wrote "All Creatures Great & Small")
Adam Parascandola (VP, Animal Rescue Team for Humane Society of US) on recent HSUS raid that shut down South Carolina dog fighting properties, rescued over 275 dogs
Sally Bahner ("The Art of Raising a Kitten") on fostering whole litters of kittens or adopting just one
Margaret Rockwell ("Faithful Friends: Norman Rockwell and His Dogs") describes the way dogs were woven through the life of iconic American artist Norman Rockwell
Dr. Barbara Natterson-Horowitz ("Zoobiquity: The Astonishing Connection Between Human and Animal Health") on altering the perception of mental and physical wellbeing
Director Alex Astrella ("Underdogs") on his film about the unusual program at the prison where convicted murderers work to train dogs to be service service animals
Carol Borden (Guardian Angels Medical Service Dogs) describes new non-profit teaching medical facility for their service dogs
Alexandra Horowitz (The Year of the Puppy --- How Dogs Become Themselves) on all the stages of puppy development and the individual way each develops
Tracie was blown away by "Adam," a stunning narrative film about a young girl and the old dog, which she discusses with the brilliant young actress, Ruth Smith
Sarah Jayne Portelli and Ivan Malekin ("The Cats of Malta") on how Malta inspired them to make their documentary film because the island's community cat minders are delightful
Dr. Amy Attas (City Pets) on her experience tending to Search & Rescue dogs brought to Ground Zero after the World Trade Center attack
14-year-old filmmaker Nathaly Orrego ("Super Pup," featuring in 7th Annual NY Dog Film Festival) on adopting a Pitbull, breed discrimination, challenges of having a Pitbull in public
Filmmaker Marcus Nunez speaks to Tracie from Santiago, Chile about his tongue-in-cheek film, "L'Histoire de Lilliput," chosen for the 5th Annual NY Cat Film Festival
Amy Fusselman ("The Means") on her social satire featuring a talking philosophical dog who lampoons the striving and material aspirations of his mistress
Dog Talk (And Kitties Too!) (09-26-2022) #798C: Tracie talks to Deepanjali, a young design student in New York from India (whose parents chose not to give first names to her or her brother so they are single-named people!) For a school project, she created \"Gone for Good???\" a deeply-felt animated film that will be in the 7th Annual NY Dog Film Festival on October 23rd --- and Deepnajali will be there herself! It depicts a mournful Pug who suffers when his mistress goes off to college and leaves him behind.
Cate Conte ("Gone But Not Furgotten") on her latest Cat Cafe mystery and serious mental health component of animal hoarding
Cara Giaimo ("Detector Dogs, Dynamite Dolphins, and More Animals with Super Sensory Powers") on use of carrier/homing pigeons to carry messages throughout history
Dog Talk (And Kitties Too!) (09-19-2022) #797C: Justin Goodman, Director of the White Coat Waste Project (which investigates the travesty of tax-payer dollars being thrown away on often pointless experiments, and studies which require animal cruelty) talks with Tracie about how massive millions of dollars are funneled from government funding to universities for research, lining the coffers of the universities, often via pointless and cruel experimentation on animals. The federal Office of Research Integrity (ORI) is now investigating falsification of results from experimental brain trauma inflicted on newborn piglets at the University of Pennsylvania (which happens to be Tracie\'s alma mater). Tracie and Justin suggest that alumni and students at any university question the administration whether \"indefensible science\" is being conducted that harms animals for profit.
British dog behaviorist Louise Glazebrook ("The Book Your Dog Wishes You Would Read") on seeing things from a dog's perspective
Dr. Bob and Susan Goldstein (Earth Animal) discuss their pledge to Better Chicken Commitment
Christina Thomas (co-director of "Free Puppies") discusses the new documentary, which details spaying/neutering dogs in impoverished areas in Georgia
State Senator Bill Stanley on putting a stop to --- and driving Envigo beagle breeding/experimentation facility out of Virginia
Veterinary nutritionist Ryan Yamka discusses what "crude protein" refers to in pet food and how that value is determined
Christina Couch ("Detector Dogs, Dynamite Dolphins, and More Animals with Super Sensory Powers") on detection dogs helping identify cause of killer whale declining health, population
Sue Bell (Homeward Trails) on taking 500 of 4,000 Beagles removed from Envigo Beagle breeding facility, helping expose/shut down U.S. Government funded Beagle breeding industry
Peter Abrahams (as Spencer Quinn) is back to discuss the newest installment of the Chet & Bernie mystery series, "Bark to the Future"
Lanie DeLong (K2 Solutions Canine Training Center) on breeding and training dogs for detection work with law enforcement, Special Operations Forces
Feline behavior expert Dr. Mikel Delgado of FelineMinds shares Tracie's consternation that the dog button-pushing craze has extended to cats
Aaron Hancox ("Running Wild: the Cats of Cornwall") discusses the problem of feral cats in Cornwall, Ontario, Canada, the work of volunteers, and lack of TNR program
Kathleen Donnelly ("Chasing Justice") discusses tracking dogs, co-owning and deploying Sherlock Holmes Detection Canines in Colorado schools
Author E.B. Bartels ("Good Grief: On Loving Pets, Here and Hereafter") on ways she memorialized her pets' passing, and history of end-of-life rituals for companion animals
David Pena-Guzman ("When Animals Dream: The Hidden World of Animal Consciousness"); Sindhoor Pangal (director of dog behavior training at BHARCS) on morality of crating "loved family member"
Don Argott discusses the glorious stories on Discovery+ TV's "The Bond"; dismay over teaching dogs to press buttons; are dog breeds genetically inclined toward certain behaviors
First-time novelist Kathleen Donnelly on canine thriller "Chasing Justice"; new concept of shelter with no chain link or metal cages; film on feral cat crisis in Los Angeles
Author Paula Munier ("The Wedding Plot"); is there such a thing as too many cats; Melissa Shapiro's children's picture book, "Piglet Comes Home"
Juliane Brauer (Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, "What Dogs Know"); handling international adoptions; importance of supplements, especially for senior dogs
Alexandra Horowitz discusses her "Off Leash" podcast; pet grief consulting; Iris Berrios (Bobbi and the Strays) on changes in rescue since 1998
Anjani Anand (rePurpose Global) on raising awareness of your plastic footprint; Jeffrey Burton ("The Lost"); veterinary acupuncturist Dr Xie
Traer Scott ("Forever Home: The Inspiring Tales of Rescue Dogs"); Kradle CBD products for 4th of July fireworks; Canine Cancer Initiative, Take C.H.A.R.G.E.
Mallory Kerley on 99.9% applicant acceptance rate at foster-based rescue Muddy Paws; dogs as individuals; AKC's Reunite Adopt a K9 Cop program
Scott Alan (Costa Rica Dog Rescue); rehabilitating neurologic conditions; Jason Morgan on meeting challenge of PTSD
Lynne Cox (Tales of Al) on Italian water rescue school for dogs; people feeding dogs same foods they eat; Diggs reinventing the dog crate
Roman McConn (Project Freedom Ride, and "Roman to the Rescue" on Disney); Jennifer Brooks's foster-based Second Chance Rescue; Liz Marshall ("Meat the Future")
Subaru gives back to pet rescues at auto shows across the country; Alex Kava (Fallen Creed); successful suicide prevention in veterans
Sending money to animal rescues in Ukraine; how Kradle's calming products are created; Earth Animal's new dog food uses invasive blue catfish destroying Chesapeake Bay
Tails & Tulips Project getting stigma off mental health issues; hospital unit dedicated to children's mental health; running Boston Marathon after training with canine athletes
Lynda Rutledge (West with Giraffes); Meredith May on her her memoir, The Honey Bus; Brandi Hunter on human narcissism behind feeding dogs the way people eat
Congresswoman Lisa McClain discusses Accountability in Foreign Animal Research act; breeding/training of detection dogs; enhancing/extending senior dogs' lives
Jackie Higgins (Sentient) on extraordinary sensory capacities of myriad creatures; Master Beekeeper Frank Mortimer (Bee People and the Bugs They Love)
White Coat Waste Project on US tax dollars paid to Russian laboratories to conduct cruel experiments on cats; Meredith May (Loving Edie); fraudulent organizations claiming to provide costly service dogs
Dog Talk (And Kitties Too!) (03-27-2022) #772: Featuring Lynn Hightower, Jessica Rubin, and Julie Forbes. Lynn Hightower talks about her supernatural thriller The Enlightenment Project, which is about satanic possession and includes the Golden Retriever, Tash, referred to as a Very Good Dog; Jessica Rubin, a clinical professor of law who teaches animal welfare at the University of Connecticut, discusses \"Desmond\'s Law,\" which allows courts to appoint legal advocates in animal cruelty cases; dog trainer Julie Forbes discusses what is meant by \"positive association\" in her video series \"Puppyhood with Julie Forbes\" and how to make and improve a dog\'s positive experience of a place or thing.
Travesty of the NIH funding cocaine experiments on Beagles; is it possible change a cat's personality; Julianna Carella (Treatables) discusses CBD soft chews for pets
Helen Humphreys discusses her memoir, And a Dog Called Fig; VETgirl, online veterinary continuing education service; Angela Staehling (How to Pet a Cat)
Jonathan Balcombe (Super Fly: The Unexpected Lives of the World's Most Successful Creatures); Greek cat sanctuary and public advocacy non-profit, Let's Be S.M.A.R.T.; Fern Watt (Adventure Dogs)
Working on behalf of undomiciled people living with their pets; Dr. Loretta Potts (Dr. Dan's Animal Hospital); "Pages for Paws" sending used children's books to Hindi's Library
Dr Keirsten Forsyth on use of rapamycin in Dog Aging Project; what's wrong with dog training industry; Laurie Zaleski (Funny Farm: My Unexpected Life with 600 Rescue Animals)
Patrick Aryee ("Evolve" series on CuriosityStream) discussesn biomimicry; Stacy LeBaron on upcoming United Spay Alliance online conference; Dr. Catherine Raven (Fox and I)
Dr. Candace Croney, visionary veterinary educator, on Canine Care Certified Breeders and how to produce happy, healthy litters from happy, healthy canine parents
Jonathan Balcombe ("Animal Sentience") on torturous reality of fish farming; alternative protein treat sources for dogs; Kimo Pokini (Ruff Haven Crisis Sheltering) on "Kimo and Jazz"
Laura Hobgood-Oster (Holy Dogs and Asses: Animals in the Christian Tradition); North Texas Spay Neuter Network; true stories of extraordinary assistance dogs
Justin Goodman (White Coat Project) on defunding NIH's cruel experiments on puppies; dog fighting on Long Island, Connecticut; ridiculousness cats using toilets
Julie Forbes (Puppyhood with Julie Forbes); Dr. Virginia Maxwell dedicating her work to animal cruelty investigation; helping sick neonate kittens
A philosophical discussion on changing our perceptions about dogs with Sindhoor Pangal (Dog Knows: Learning How to Learn from Dogs)
Rebecca Evans defends study questioning if cats have "psychopathic" gene; Tracie & Dr. Mikel Delgado question study vs. normal feline behavior; Kristin von Kreisler (A Reason for Hope)
Tara Parker Pope discusses her NYT article "Does ‘Dogsomnia’ Keep You Up at Night?"'; 5 foods you shouldn't eat; addictive qualities of dry food for cats
Stacey Weingarten ("Rescue Rue---a Musical Fairytale") on her puppet live musical; Kristen McKanagh (The Twelve Days of Snowball); sustaining The Cat Counsellor virtually during lockdown
What sustainability & being a "social mission company" means in pet industry; filmmaker inspired during Covid lockdown; problems with dominant/strict dog training approach
Tracy Beckerman reads from Barking at the Moon; new evidence about how dogs & people co-evolved; Dr. Bruce Elsey on supporting research on lesser-known cancers
Marc Bekoff (A Dog's World: Imagining the Lives of Dogs in a World Without Humans); Priscilla Dean's cat sanctuary, Purradise Ranch, and her YouTube films, Adventures in Purradise
Laura Hobgood (A Dog's History of the World0; Peter Abrahams' latest Spencer Quinn mystery, It's a Wonderful Woof; Mel Futorian on her NY Cat Film Festival film, "Mel & Bobcat"
Sindhoor Pangal (Dog Knows) on demands we should not be making of dogs; Companion Animal Wellness and Nutrition Institute; Barbara Nickless (Gone to Darkness, Blood on the Tracks)
Jenna Blum (Woodrow on the Bench) on devoting herself to aging dog; Great Dane doesn't like other dogs; award-winning groomer Gabriel Feitosa as contestant on Pooch Perfect
Catherine Raven (Fox and I: An Uncommon Friendship) discusses fascinating aspects of natural world; Christina Ha on Dr. Elsye's adoption initiative, the Power of Purrsuasion
Thiago Kocher ("Affection in the Streets") on homeless people and their dogs; Alice Mayn (Lily's Place) on Saving Senior Dogs Week; Marcel Heijnen (Shop Cats of China)
Mark Rivers (The Cat Flap); Jane Goldman's years of commitment to Muttville, joys of adopting older dogs; how Tal Anderson's cat helped her through Covid isolation
Matthew Salleh & Rose Tucker discuss their 2 documentaries in 6th Annual NY Dog Film Festival and Netflix series; do dogs recognize their names; Cate Conte (Claws for Alarm)
Cynthia Branigan's memoir, The Last Diving Horse in America; Kyle Scoble (The 2nd Time I Got to Know My Dog); Andrew Graham (Winston the Kitty Who Couldn't Pee)
"Marty's Place" senior dog sanctuary featured in the upcoming NY Dog Film Festival; lifestyle changes to mitigate decline in senior dogs; value of using pheromones when interacting with kitties
Dog Talk (And Kitties Too!) (09-12-2021) #744: Featuring James Gorman, Margaret Mizushima, and Clara Goh. Animal science writer for the New York Times, James Gorman, discusses his NYT article on the importance of cats to medical science (including the fact that remdesivir, an important drug in combating Covid, was first successfully used against a cat disease caused by another coronavirus); Margaret Mizushima reads from her newest dog-centric mystery thrilled, Striking Range; Dr. Clara Goh discusses her work teaching orthopedic surgery to the next generation of veterinarians at Colorado State University Veterinary Medical Center.
Leslie Granger (CEO, Bideawee shelters) discusses two upcoming fund-raising galas; Jeffrey Burton's new cadaver dog thriller, The Keepers; AVMA support of Healthy Dog Importation Act
Natalia Borrega (Animal IQ, PBS Digital) on social interactions of lions; rising popularity of exotics and fish as pets; bond between animal and children
Guillaume Daoulas in France discusses alternative protein source Ynsect is growing from larvae; nutrition and diabetes in cats; importance of having pet insurance
Responses to the question "Do All Dogs go to Heaven?"; Dr. Mikel Maria Delgado unravels the Mystery of the Shiny Shoes; Melissa Shapiro's most unusual pet adoption
Spencer Quinn reads from his newest Chet and Bernie murder mystery, Tender is the Bite; the long history of Catster; Dr. Chris Zink explains dog sports
Dr. Ryan Yamka explains why DNA testing of food is untrustworthy; senior dog & cat sanctuary Leashes End and perpetual care agreements; suggestions on finding a kitty
Chloe Shaw discusses her delightful first book, What is a Dog?; high mercury levels in pet food; the importance of written wishes for pets of people facing end-of-life issues
Henry Mance (How to Love Animals in a Human-Shaped World) exposes the ways our choices in how we live our lives (unintentionally?) affect animals, the environment and other people.
Amritha Mallikarjun discusses people trying to get dogs to "write" sentences; Kristi Jacobson on The Protector, featured in Dogs on Netflix; discussing illegal importation of puppies into the United States
Neil Berkeley on his film God's Little People, and Netflix series Cat People; why listener's cat is biting/attacking ankles; medical breakthrough for feline coronavirus FIP
Kerry D'Amato (Director, Pet Haven) discusses trip to White Earth Reservation; Martha Handler on Wolf Conservation Center (South Salem, NY); Shannon Falconer (Because Animals)
Laverdia CA1, the first pill to treat cancer (lymphoma) in dogs; health consequences of 6-month or earlier spay/neuter of dogs; the "slow blink," which Tracie calls a "kitty kiss"
Serious health consequences of spaying/neutering dogs too young; Marymac's Doggie Retreat, black-owned doggie daycare & grooming business; Pets on Q, animal media booking company
Amalia Bastos discusses dog jealousy and how dogs can imagine something they can't see; Are Cats More Socially Inept Than Dogs?; Senior Paws Rescue & Sanctuary
Jonathan Ames on his novel A Man Named Doll, featuring a deeply-loved Chihuahua; a cat behavior consultant on what 'adventure cat' means; Ralph Roland on the Roland Senior Dog Rescue
Best-selling novelist Bruce Cameron (A Dog's Courage); raising successful service dogs; Kristy Haley (Earth Animal) on creating natural remedies using essential oils
Veterinary college's collaboration with human doctors in treating brain tumors; Kylie Logan (A Trail of Lies); Airvet's contribution to NOMV, anti-suicide education and support group
Elisabeth Ignasiak (How to Make a Difference); how a ketogenic diet may help chronic pain; Dr. John Howie (YuMove) on finding highest quality extracts for joint supplement
Karl Stevens (Penny: a Graphic Memoir); Carol Borden conjectures people around Biden's dog Major were not managing his issues; Kenda Summers (Healing Solutions for Pet Loss)
Martha Teichner (CBS Sunday Morning) on her memoir When Harry Met Minnie; challenges & joys of caring for aging pooches; importance documenting pet's microchip number
Dr. Mikel Delgado discusses NY Times article "Cats Like People (Some People Anyway)"; Paula Munier (The Hiding Place); fostering an old dog with serious medical issues
Discussing "We Don't Deserve Dogs" documentary; dangers of chemical flea & tick products; Sterling Davis (The Trap King) on inspiring people to join the trap-neuter-spay movement
Pam Houston reads from Deep Creek; Carol Borden (Guardian Angels Medical Service Dogs) on training dogs to help those with disabilities; value of reading a dog's body language
The dangers, sometimes lethal, of tick & flea collars; author Nicholas Read with true stories of wild animal sanctuaries; running a certified organic and certified humane farm
Bruce Cameron (A Dog's Purpose) on his children's book series; Elizabeth Lo discusses making documentary "Stray"; Carol Borden on K-9 officer's violent punishment of canine partner
Discussing the shocking leaked video of Salisbury North Carolina policeman's assault on K-9 partner; is there a specific need for kitten food; "The Walrus & the Whistleblower" documentary
How purebred cats differ from regular domestic short hair cats; Marc Bekoff ("Do Dogs Know They Are Dying?"); Oliver: the True Story of a Stolen Dog and the Humans He Brought Together
Michael Shikashio (AggressiveDog.com) on dog attack suffered by New York Times journalist Susanne Craig; saluting World wildlife day March 3rd; tips for "winterizing your pet"
Pamela Houston reads from Sighthound; Hounds Town USA, a doggy daycare in Pt. Jefferson; Stacy LeBaron (Community Cats Podcast) on upcoming educational online conferences
Laura Clark (MEATME) on making Certified Organic/Certified Humane raw meals for dogs & cats, aggressive dogs on leash and off; Kerry D'Amato (Pet Haven) on cat rescue idea from pandemic
Dangers of unleashed dogs; Emily Larlham on her Guinness World Records title "Most Tricks Performed by 2 dogs in 1 minute"; matching volunteers with fostering & transport opportunities
Dr. Margit Muller (Your Pet, Your Pill) on dealing with negativity as a woman in United Arab Emirates; Dog Aging Project; CatWater: special drinking water for cats' urinary tract health
Belinda Alexandra dispels notion of "crazy cat ladies" in The Divine Feline; pet industry is forward-looking with sustainability and recycling; make guardianship plans for pet cat
Paul Koudounaris (A Cat's Tale: A Journey Through Feline History); train a cat to manage scratching, counter-surfing & litter box problems; Leah Lyman (Jaggers Journey Black Cat Rescue)
Zina Goodin (Homecoming Tales) on creating Old Friends Senior Dog Sanctuary; Kelly Conaboy (The Particulars of Peter); are pet adoption numbers during Covid-19
Fossil canine genomes reveal surprises about lives of dogs & humans in prehistoric times; Animal Lighthouse Rescue brought stray dogs from Puerto Rico to New York; practicing Reiki with cats
Dion Leonard (Lara the Runaway Cat: One Cat's Journey to Discover Home is Where the Heart Is); Black Cat rescue, Boston, Massachusetts; Cate Conte discusses "cat cafe mystery" A Whisker of a Doubt
Avery's Pawsitive Change sends $5 gift cards to shelters across the country; evolving legal rights of animals; "compassion fatigue" & high suicide rate in veterinary profession
How dogs grow and age may provide useful similarities to people; AlivePets.com's upcoming Italian dog-centric holiday; "Paws Across the Pacific" airlift of 650+ animals from Hawaii to U.S. mainland shelters
Steven Applebaum (Animal Behavior College CEO) on evolution in dog training; how "human-animal bond" concept has changed; Bassel Abou Fakher (Saving Stella: A Dog's Dramatic Escape from War)
Jackson Galaxy discusses free online Cat Camp, Dec 5; nurturing larger aging dogs at Marty's Place Senior Sanctuary; bringing pets into the lives of senior people
Simon Garfield (Dog's Best Friend) on the British view of the human-canine bond; Jeff Allen (Monkeys House Dog Hospice and Sanctuary); "Paws Across the Pacific" rescue flight
Anthony McGowan (How to Teach Philosophy to a Dog) on understanding philosophy through the eyes of his dog; Seniors, A Dogumentary; The Cat Connection "Whiskers & Whiskey" fundraiser
Kathy Callahan (101 Rescue Puppies); Lily's Legacy Senior Dog Sanctuary in Petaluma, CA; the lives & natural behaviors of "streeties," free-ranging dogs in India
Diane Kelly (Bending the Paw, Paw of the Jungle); Why Do Some Dogs Fear Strange Dogs & Unfamiliar Humans?; Overcoming Your Child's Fear of Dogs
Dean Nicholson discusses traveling the world on a bike with his rescue cat; Nicole England (Resident Dog); the need for emotional support for pets in medical situations
Teresa Rhyne's (Poppy In The Wild) devotion to dogs; Peter Abraham (aka Spencer Quinn) Queenie and Arthur novels for children; Grey2KUSA Worldwide's efforts to ban dog racing
Ernest Freeberg (A Traitor To His Species); switching carb-addicted, food thief kitty Levi to wet food; Cara Sue Achterberg (One Hundred Dogs and Counting)
Margaret Mizushima (Hanging Falls, Timber Creek K-9 mystery #6); keeping peace when you have multiple cats; Mark Cushing (Pet Nation) on changes in veterinary medicine
Explaining common cat behaviors and how to prevent/change unwanted ones; studying aging and diseases in dogs; Dr. Gary Weitzman on POUNCE & FETCH, his books for young pet lovers
Peter Abrahams (aka Spencer Quinn) on new Chet & Bernie mystery, OF MUTTS AND MEN; defunding VA's use of dogs for medical testing; Big Barker orthopedic bed for large dogs
Mark Cushing (Pet Nation: The Love Affair that Changed America) on shortage of puppies & dogs; Julia London discusses You Lucky Dog; health benefits of pumpkin for dogs and cats
Dr. RuthAnn Lobos (Merrick Pet Care) on AVMA's designation of obesity as a disease; Trevor Jones discusses his children's book, MAJOR: A SOLDIER DOG
Subaru fills Phila Union MLS stadium with life-size cut-outs of adoptable dogs. Is a dog's diet connected to cardiac disorder? Barney "Scout" Mann (Journeys North: the Pacific Crest Trail)
Harder-to-train dogs known as "primitive" breeds; ending dog experimentation/research by the U.S. Dept of Veterans Affairs; Fido Fixers: mobile spay/neuter vehicles
Tracie talks to JoAnn in Olympia WA about her carb-addicted cat; AirVet (telehealth & telemedicine app for pet owners); Making Good Work, promoting human-animal bond
America's VetDogs raises and trains dogs for a specific veteran's needs, at no cost to them; Dr. RuthAnn Lobos (Merrick Pet Care) on importance of oral care for dogs & cats
Anne Beall (Heroic, Helpful, Caring Cats) talks cats as emotional ballast for people; Space Cat Academy, teaching cats sport & tricks; cats as emotional support animals
Senior chihuahuas adopted from Muttville in San Francisco; keep post office employees safe from dogs; Mikael Lindnord (Rescue Dog Tales) on rescued dogs worldwide
How chiropractic treatments work for dogs; children's book shows community cats and TNR (trap-neuter-release) from cat's perspective; how animal cloning works
Jeffrey Burton's new novel features Golden Retriever cadaver detection dog; Stop Puppy Mills Campaign worst-of-the-worst report; make dog training fun on both ends of the leash
Prolific author Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson (Lost Companions: Reflections On The Death Of Pets) on the emotional life of pets & their people, and debates other controversial ideas
What Do Dogs Know and Feel About Death and Dying? Adjustments to fostering/adoption during pandemic; effects of pandemic on domestic violence shelters in NYC
Why Precious Cat has underwritten National Kitten Coalition's webinars for kitten caregivers; summer safety tips for pets; what VCA PetCancer Care offers cats & dogs battling cancer
A show devoted to extraordinary poet, essayist, and memoirist Mark Doty, who discusses dogs in his life and reads passages from his exquisite book Dog Years
Mark Semos (Seal Team, CBS) on NO ORDINARY DOG; heart-warming PSA on aging by Grey Muzzle Organization; Dr. Jennifer Conrad (The Paw Project) discusses declawing ban
Kylie Logan (The Secret of Bones); people/pets coping with COVID-19 in Beijing; social media sensation Madeline Traver on her French Bulldogs & pot-bellied pigs
Carlie Sorosiak discusses I, COSMO; K9s for Warriors helps train shelter dogs to be service dogs; free temporary foster care for deployed military members
Dr. Ebenezer Satyaraj on developing LiveClear cat food for Purina; a Tracie cat Q & A; Philippa Sandall (Trim: The Cartographer's Cat)
Beth Morrey discusses The Love Story of Missy Carmichael (a sensation in England); WAG: The Science of Making Your Dog Happy; the inspirational Texas school children who created a dog rescue
Carl Safina (Becoming Wild: How Animal Cultures Raise Families, Create Beauty, and Achieve Peace) on the meaning and value of beauty in the animal kingdom
Victoria Schade on Who Rescued Who; Liz Brown discusses Virtual Cat shows; emergency pre-planning for your pets in case you can't come home
A show inspired by Ann Patchett's New York Times essay about the power of the books of award-winning children's book author Kate DiCamillo, which changed Ann's life
Sarah Salva helped develop the unique dailydose dental chew and describes how each chew is a double dose of preventive wellness care.
UNLEASHED: Poems by Writers' Dogs. A whole show dedicated to UNLEASHED, featuring poems read by Jim & Karen Shepard, Honor Moore, Charles Baxter and Jill Ciment
Kate Spicer discusses her memoir Lost Dog: A Love Story; the Dog Aging Project at Purdue University; Gay Balliet-Perkins on paying tribute to our pets who have passed away
Honor Moore (Our Revolution: A Mother And Daughter At Midcentury); Alisha Navarro (2 Hounds Design) on no-pull harness; cloning of Bengal cat Prestige
Dr. Ernie Ward (Clean Pet Food Revolution) on future of man-made "meat," both for pets and for people; Carlyn Montes De Oca discusses the ways that pets can teach us forgiveness
Discussing facts & controversial ideas in "The Dog Doc"; connection between animal abuse & interpersonal violence; "Through a Dog's Ear" created to calm dogs
Ann Lewis on the Animal Care Sanctuary; Wendy Mitchell (Citizen Canine: Dogs in the Movies); how Earth Animal CBD gel gets into cat's or dog's bloodstream quickly
Marc Bekoff (Dogs are Not Love Muffins); the need for more puppy raisers; HSUS passed & pending legislation to release laboratory dogs/cats for adoption
Tamira Thayne (It Went to the Dogs); Ingrid Newkirk (Peta Founder), discusses her book, Animalkind; Barby Keel (Gabby: The Little Dog That Had to Learn to Bark)
Embracing and promoting concept of natural products for pets; Gwen Cooper (My Life in a Cat House); Melissa Starling (Making Dogs Happy)
The Paw Project wants to outlaw declawing cats in all states; Brigitte Schuster (ARCATTECTURE: SWISS CAT LADDERS); David Rosenfelt (Bark Of Night & Dachshund Through the Snow)
John Migdal (Master-at-Arms Petty Officer 2nd Class) on partnering with Military Working Dog; senior dog sanctuary; Victoria Stilwell (Ultimate Guide to Raising a Puppy)
Marc Bekoff examines if dogs are really pack animals; how overweight dog inspired author's weight loss; Best Friends Roadhouse, pet-friendly destination hotel
Spencer Quinn discusses Heart of Barkness; Marjie Alonso on how to choose a dog trainer; how Australian fires are affecting people and animals
Paralympic dressage rider Sydney Collier discusses her service dog; Adrienne McLean (Cinematic Canines: Dogs and Their Work in the Fiction Film); Zani’s Furry Friends
The case against using e-collars on dogs, and what can be done "red zone" dogs; Melinda Miller (Bravo pet foods), on nutritional value and safety of raw foods
Callie Shell (Barack Obama photographer) on Hope, Never Fear; Sarah Driscoll's newest canine thriller, No Man's Land; Colin Butcher (Molly) on his detective with canine partner
Bruce Cameron discusses his new novel, A Dog's Promise; how having dogs in an audience changes the experience; a permanent home for "unadoptable" dogs
Aimee Sadler discusses training techniques to save/rehabilitate "last chance" dogs at risk for euthanasia; whether marijuana cures cancer, using cannabadiol to treat bladder cancer
Why Best Friends Animal Sanctuary stopped collaborating with National Canine Center; Annie England Noble (St. Francis Society For Wayward Dogs); supporting pet owners through end-of-life issues
Marjie Alonso (International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants) on misconception dogs are pack animals; new version of Assisi Loop, Calmer Canine; Sue Pethick (Alaskan Catch)
Clive Wynn (Dog is Love) on how we share love with dogs; Alex Kava discusses her books, Desperate Creed and Lost Creed; keeping older dogs comfortable
Steve Smith (Pet Releaf) on finding reliably effective, quality CBD products for you and your pets; Tracie answers cat listener questions
Margaret Mizushima (Tracking Game: A Timber Creek K-9 Mystery); Maria Goodavage (Doctor Dogs - How Our Best Friends Are Becoming Our Best Medicine); sanctuary for senior dogs
National Geographic photographer Vincent J. Musi (The Year of the Dogs); Aysha Akhtar (Our Symphony with Animals); Michael Brandow (Gone Walkabout: Confessions of a New York City Dog Walker)
Alexandra Horowitz (OUR DOGS, OURSELVES) discusses socially relevant & disruptive ideas; director Sean Cassels describes his funny movie “Bitches at the Beach”
The serious problem of people getting rabies in India; filmmkaer of mind-bending film “Dog in the Woods”; Terri Markle travels the world to find animals in need
Is there a problem with purposely cross-breeding purebred dogs? The Mutual Rescue documentary “Keema & Her Pack”; a woman's life enriched by cats
Kitten Lady Hannah Shaw on caring for smallest, fragile kittens; Vancouver's quirky dog-centric lifestyles; veterinarian visits remote Alaska villages by boat
Dr. Elsey's #CatsAgainstCancer Campaign to Fund Mulitple Myeloma Research Foundation; Clive Wynn (Dog Is Love) on human-canine bond; Gary Weitzman (Complete Guide to Pet Health, Behavior and Happiness)
Cat Film Fest Preview: A Life Depicted Through Siamese Cats; a mass photoshoot (and adoption event) of dogs in Los Angeles shelters; Laurien Berenson (Bite Club)
Fallacy of drawing conclusions between grain-free diet and the heart condition DCM; Brianne Will (Girls and Their Cats); Backyard Breeding and Overpopulation in Shelters
Laura Vocelle (Revered And Reviled), on cats in human history; reducing transmission of feline infectious peritonitis (FIP); CATalyst council at Cat Hospital at Towson
A sanctuary for special needs senior dogs and cats; Rob Kugler (A Dog Named Beautiful) on veterans supporting each other; CBD bioavailability for people and pets
Discussing Pet Obesity and Proper Nutrition; making dog treats from alternative protein source: cricket powder; Susannah Charleson (WHERE THE LOST DOGS GO)
Companies want colonies of cats to keep down rodent population; Rachel Geller & Tracie address listeners’ problems with cats; private dog rescuers in Puerto Rico
The inner eyebrow muscle allowing dogs to make an expression to melt humans' hearts; Nick Trout (The Wonder Of Lost Causes); French Bulldogs Bred with H.E.A.R.T.
JazzyPaw, a volunteer-run, spay-neuter/wellness clinic; Adam Hobler on Purina's Pet Care Innovation Prize; Maricopa Shelter's enrichment for cats in shelter
Dr. Elsey’s Powers of Purrsuasion adoption event; Peggy Gavan (The Cat Men Of Gotham), on NYC history through mens’ relationships with cats; IAmMoshow, the Cat rapper
Dr Ryan Yamka on public’s misunderstanding of the FDA report on grain-free dry dog food; Susan Cohen (grief counselor) on veterinarian suicide rates; Polkadog Bakery hand-crafted dog treats
Rachel Geller & Tracie answer listeners' cat questions; Siri Zwemke (Rescue Meez: My Journey Through Siamese Rescue); Lauren Miele (The Catnip Times) on MeowMeetup gathering
Caticons: 4,000 Years of Art Imitating Cats; fear-mongering over commercial pet food, future of pet food ingredients; Wizsmart, innovative dog pee-pads
Katie Perez talks about the Guide Dog Teen camp; Cincinnati's low-cost vet clinic for low-income pet families; study of welfare of therapy and assistance dogs
Why dogs and carbs are complicated; Brian Duggan (General Custer, Libbie Custer and Their Dogs); devotion to older shelter dogs at Colorado's The Old Mutt Hut
New York poised to be first state to ban declawing; Marc Bekoff (Unleashing Your Dog) on power & pleasure of letting dogs run free; making alternative protein (non-meat meat) pet food
Pam Houston on WALTZING THE CAT and Truth I'd Dare; Nancy McKenney, on reactions to topics in NY Dog Festival films, defining/judging cruelty; Tracie answers a “cat question”
Setting "It's Bruno" in Brooklyn with its diverse and wacky characters; Jacky Corliss Harvey (The Animal's Companion); training a bilingual therapy dog
Dismissing "Unkind" Puppy Training Myths & Methodologies; PawsitivePawsibilities.org providing free service dogs to disabled; validity of current methods for studying canine sociability
Dave Barry reads from his new book, Lessons from Lucy: The Simple Joys of an Old, Happy Dog; Carol Novello (Mutual Rescue); Allie Andrukonis on “compassion fatigue”
Obesity challenge for dogs; Allie Larkin (Swimming for Sunlight); Bissell Foundation's “Empty the Shelters” initiative
Answering listener cat questions with Rachel Geller (Saving the World, One Cat at a Time); free kitten training classes; Paw House Inn welcomes dogs
Christina Ha (NYC’s Meow Parlour) on hosting inaugural location of Dr. Elsey’s 3-week adoption event; Metzger Animal Hospital, State College, PA; all-foster-homes rescue
Kim Dower reads from her poem collection, Sunbathing On Tyrone Powers’ Grave; determining which dogs have best sense of smell; inmates socializing feral cats
Marc Bekoff discusses his essay about dogs and death; dog ear infections and ear cleanings, Sarah Lillard's Sarah’s Fosters & live kitten cam Kitten Cuddle Room
HSUS's positive outcome in urgent situation of Beagles used for pesticide testing; cat questions answered; positive results with CBD oil
Using therapy dogs for children with autism; undercover investigator on research lab where Beagles force-fed pesticides, killed; feline non-profit, Tiny Kittens
HSUS undercover investigation of mistreatment of "Dow Beagles"; Maddie's Fund: supporting studies that increase pet adoption; home to home program
Woman who married her dog; Paula Munier (The Borrowing of Bones), nominated for Mary Higgins Clark Prize; providing shelter for Newark, NJ dogs
Providing vet care for homeless/low income families; laws that should protect those depending on working dogs; taking NYC dogs hiking
Starting Fresh Pet Food Company Without Venture Capital; success of recent HSUS Spayathon in Puerto Rico; Alley Cat Rescue’s Spring Spay Challenge
Jeopardy to turtles and tortoises around the world; Pam Houston (Deep Creek) on embracing nature with her dog; Brody Fund: helping those with pets with cancer
The health benefits of CBD oil products for dogs; the emotionally diverse relationships people have with pets; Wilma Melville (Hero Dogs)
Mary Oliver tributes from Diane Rehm (Life With Maxie, Diane Rehm Show), Brandon Hobson (prize winner, enrolled member of Cherokee Nation), & NY Times Bestseller Lalita Tademy
In Honor of the Death of Mary Oliver (1935-2019); Teresa Miller and Wade Rouse read their contributions from Love Can Be
Psychologist Chris Blazina (When Man Meets Dog); The Association for Human-Animal Bond Studies; about that extremely huge Holstein steer in Australia
Louisa McClune (Director, Kirkpatrick Foundation) on editing Love Can Be; animal rescue transporters; Susanne Schotz (The Secret Language of Cats)
Leslie Irvine (My Dog Always Eats First) on surviving without housing; a unique program of foster homes for dogs and cats awaiting adoption; The International Cat Association
Adopting morbidly obese Bronson Cat, social media star; Mimi Kirk (Plant-Based Dog Food Revolution) on making dog's diet healthy, eco-friendly; studying canine language abilities
Family Dog Project: All We Know of the Canine-Human Relationship; Rita Mae Brown (Homeward Hound) on history of fox hunting, foxhounds; Community Cats Podcast
Ryan Beauchesne (Crusoe the Worldly Weiner Dog); Dr Susan Ettinger lecturing in Norway, Oslo, finding cancer solutions; are pets the "new probiotic"?
Linda Case on her book Dog Smart, depth of dogs' cognitive abilities; Ellie Laks (My Gentle Barn); Sara Driscoll on co-authored Storm Rising: An FBI K-9 Mystery
Steven Rowley (Lily and the Octopus); Craig Grossi (Craig & Fred) on his book, years in Afghanistan, dog he brought home, war-zone-dogs; Japanese Dog Grooming
Perception of pet food influenced by owners’ emotions; Franklin: book about US commando dogs; powerful connection between people & dogs across all ethnicities and locations
An amazing multi-species sanctuary outside Seattle; challenges of bringing non-surgical castration techniques to vets worldwide; documentary film “Samantha and the Rock Cats”
Three filmmakers from the 4th Annual NY Dog Film Festival: managing grief after losing a pet; stray dogs in Aruba; family who moved to Bulgaria and created pet shelter
The calming effect on cats of synthetic pheromones; NY Philharmonic violist's stewardship of a colony of feral cats in NYC park; making feline cat show version of “Best in Show”
Theory of Mind: Can Dogs Make Choices? canine lullabies to soothe anxious dogs at home and in shelters; Ken Foster discusses his book, City Dogs
Dog Talk (And Kitties Too!) (10-13-2018) #592: Featuring Dr. Ernie Ward, Kristin von Kreisler, and Dr. Judy Morgan. Dr. Ernie Ward talks about the biotech start-up Wild Earth, that is developing clean protein pet food, particularly from the ancient Asian protein Koji, which is a member of the fungi kingdom; Kristin von Kreisler talks about her German Shepherd-centered novel, A HEALING JUSTICE; Dr. Judy Morgan explains her new book YIN & YANG NUTRITION FOR DOGS: MAXIMIZING HEALTH WITH WHOLE FOODS, NOT DRUGS, and how diets can be a solution to medical problems like pancreatitis.
Creating the Instagram sensation, WeRateDogs; rescuing Arbucke, an obese Beagle, now Social Media Celebri-Dog; Hillary Rosen's A Purposeful Rescue
Spay/neuter & return of feral cats to communities in L.A.; techniques for ACL repair in dogs; MuttleyCrew, Inc., Southern California's successful, all-volunteer dog rescue
A study exploring the “Lassie effect”; Margaret Mitsushima discusses Burning Ridge, her mystery novel; dog portraitist Karen Killian discusses her Watermark Studio
Ways to manage your cat’s unwanted behaviors; campaign to prevent obesity in dogs and cats; how to build things to enhance your cat’s life
Essay: biting commentary on dog ownership in New York City; fish oil importance to our pets’ overall good health; changing lives of caged dogs in shelters
Bringing carefully chosen shelter dogs into maximum security prisons; Santa Fe Animal Shelter by the numbers; Cattitudebehavior.com - most prevalent cat concerns
The Paw Project, anti-declawing non-profit group; Pick of the Litter movie: following puppies destined to become guide dogs; rough dog play normal
Developing a revolutionary vaccine to prevent cancer; Jen Deane from Pit Sisters; 24/7 critical care & emergency facilities for animals
Rachel Geller, Cat Behaviorist; Danny Robertshaw (Danny & Ron's Rescue), co-star of documentary Life int he Doghouse; Michele Caffrey (Bring Jade Home)
Are cats smarter than dog; use of pheromones in dealing with stress in cats; Dr. Duncan MacVean (My Patients Like Treats)
Rita Mae Brown discusses her latest mystery, Crazy Like A fox; The "Pets for Life" Project; Debra Finnerman, You Lucky Dog
Wolves are not dogs; crude protein: what it means, how it's measured; rights of tenants to keep pets
R& D of breeding, raising and training working dogs; Dogs Playing for Life - “open admission” county shelter; Belinda Jones on her canine travel adventure book, Bodie On The Road
Solving feline behavior issues; Pet Resource Center offers public interest legal counseling; "acquamation" alternative to cremation
Rita Mae Brown's latest feline thriller, Probable Claws; "Boundaries" starring Chrisopher Plummber, Vera Farmiga; Disturbing Truth About Puppy Mills
What You Need to Know About the H3N2 Dog Flu; Living With a Guide Dog for the Blind; Improvements in NYC Cat Shelter Adoption Process
Flying dogs where have better chance at adoption; furthering holistic medical care for pets; Dog Rocks reduce or eliminate yellow urine spots on your lawn
Laura Moss discusses Adventure Cats; East End Veterinary Center offering 24/7 emergency care to the Hamptons & East End of Long island; RedRover.com aids during natural disasters
How cats are only happy when they feel safe; Suzy Fincham-Gray (My Patients and Other Animals); choosing a dog based on compatibilities of lifestyle & personality
Running Marathons Blind With Guide Dog; Arin Greenwood’s futuristic novel Your Robot Dog Will Die; find the kind of dog to fit your personality & lifestyle
Author Sigrid Nunez on her new novel, THE FRIEND; Jamey Bradbury’s first novel THE WILD INSIDE about Alaska's Iditarod race; The Missing Link's innovative supplements
Cat Camp adoption event; Phillipa Sandal discusses Seafurrers; John Bradshaw (Animals Among Us) discusses our bonds with animals
How Lisa Senafe grew Bentley’s Pet Stuff to multiple locations; Under the Weather, freeze-dried bland diet for sick pets; Jeremy Cohen (Boston Dog Lawyers) on how law works for/against pets and owners
Marc Bekoff (Canine Confidential: Why Dogs Do What They Do); Dr Vicky Thayer (WINN Feline Foundation), on funding cat health research; spay/neuter clinics in Thailand, Africa & Puerto Rico
About the 107 Million Can Dog Food Recall; Turning Fierce Dogs Friendly; Universal K9 saves/trains dogs for law enforcement and veterans
Inequity in how cats vs. dogs included in medical research for human cancer treatments; 5th annual Saving Pets Challenge; positive effects of fostering cats on emotional/mental state of elderly
WINN Feline Foundation's 50 years of funding research into cat health problems; Feline Fix by Five Months; service dogs lower levels of PTSD symptomology and increase social participation of owners
How to choose the best pet insurance; addressing homelessness crisis & keep animal intake, euthanasia numbers down; the “wonder technology” of Thermowave for inflammatory conditions
The fight to save Cairo's lost war horses; first stand-alone full service pet boarding house attached to a domestic violence shelter; evacuation and safekeeping of pets during the California wildfires
Is it a good idea to use tranquilizers when traveling with dog; Grey Muzzle Organization; history of greyhound “production” & mistreatment around the world
Preventing heartbreak of surrendering pets; ending government-sanctioned slaughter of community cats in Australia; fix our ferals
Breeding and training of bomb sniffing dogs; Dog Training 101; a book of legal advice for pet owners
Animals with Disabilities foundation; Extraordinary novel Spill Simmer Falter Wither; how Wheels of Hope significantly raises pet adoption rates
Alexandra Horowitz (Being a Dog); Dr. Susan Roecker, Animal Chiropractor; Prison Greyhounds: inmate handlers get dogs ready for adoption
Should you let your dog lick your face; how to travel safely with animals; John Bradshaw, The Trainable Cat
Obesity in cats and dogs and how diet pet foods work; Dogtopia, doggy daycare; call for participants for new canine behavior study
HSUS undercover video of abuses at NYC puppy store; Wheels of Hope transport mission after Hurricanes Harvey & Irma; Author Annie England Noblin (Pupcakes)
Jackson Galaxy on TOTAL CAT MOJO; filmmaker Hilse de Groote on “Riders of the Arctic”; Kim Best on “Little Works of Art” and “Mittens from Kittens”
Overview of cats throughout human history; Scaredy, the Cat; beautiful look at Bahamas and indigenous Royal Bahamian Potcake dog
Exploring Greece's financial crisis via relationship of stray street dogs of Athens; pet friendly Algonquin Hotel; creative competitive dog grooming
Victoria Stilwell's The Secret Language of Dogs; Feral Cat Initiative and the amazing work of Linda’s Cat Assistance; Pura Natural's philanthropic work
Marion Zola (Romancing the Dog); attempt to save elderly elephants living in solitary misery in private zoos in Japan; director of “Samantha’s Acrocats,”
How Hawaii is most challenging state in which to navigate the tricky cats/wildlife issue; Dog Writers Association awards; advances in orthopedic interventions
New book changes way we look at canines & other creatures; facilitating wonderful pet adoptions; Emerald City Pet Rescue in Seattle benefits from Dog Film Festival
Helping senior dogs & seniors to make plans for their dogs after they're gone; Dr. Elsey’s annual fund raising for multiple myeloma begins; Britt Collins on Strays
Nicole Georges discusses her amazingly beautiful graphic novel FETCH; how Michelson Found Animals used Tinder for dog adoptions; professional cat grooming
Camp Feline takes cat daycare & boarding to whole new level; Shirley Rousseau Murphy on CAT SHINING BRIGHT; Margaret Mizushima on HUNTING HOUR
Puttin’ on the Dog in Greenwich, Connecticut; ArtForCatsSake.org in New Orleans to raise money and awareness for deadly feline diseases; do dogs have souls?
Forming play groups to improve quality of life for shelter dogs; challenges for adoption groups in China; unusual dental surgery to extract all of kitty's teeth
Dr Michael Moyer: “terrible paradox” in training veterinary students allowing dogs to die after surgery; Dog's Guide to Happiness; get "down & dirty" with your dog
About those hilarious “Pets Are the Best Medicine” mock-ad videos; vet-owned and directed clinics; veterinary nutritionist discusses crude protein in pet food
Steve Lawrence on “The Cat Rescuers” film in production; how Pet Food Institute works with FDA to manage pet food recalls; diabetic-alert service dogs change lives
Connecticut Humane Society's challenges and triumphs; lack of training & guidelines for emotional support animals; Furry Foundation saves cats in LA
Liz Stainitis on being a mushing enthusiast, mushing on dry land; animal cruelty prevention & education course for offenders; O.C. shelter intervention program
Amazing little dog who ran ultra-marathon with Dion Leonard through Gobi desert; SF shelter manages 10,000 animals yearly; BichonFurKids.org adoptions
How do we know what our dogs are experiencing/understanding from us? Ingrid King (Tortitude); dogs as doorway to empathy for young men on probation
Robin Olson (“Covered in Cat Hair” blog) on kitten raising /fostering; Buddy Foundation of MD: financial support for vet emergencies; Dogs Love Kale treats
Using genetic markers to identify individual dogs’ potential for illness; experiences of former chief vet of Los Angeles; why cats are underserved, undervalued as pets
Lauren Fern Watt (Gizelle's Bucket List); rescuing handicapped baby goats; Denise Flaim's beautiful photographic essays in Little Kids, Big Dogs
Rita Mae Brown's newest historical novel, A HISS BEFORE DYING; Blue Path service dogs for autistic children; how to draw dogs & puppies
Scotlund Haisley (Compassion in Action) on rescuing abused animals; licensed P.I. investigates animal cruelty; topical protection: pets and parasites
A conversation with poet Billy Collins about dogs who have shared his life as he reads numerous poems of a canine nature
Marc Bekoff discusses his book The Animals' Agenda; ASPCA forensic vet's work on behalf of animals; police K-9 web series, Guardians of the Night
Rebecca Ascher-Walsh (Loyal) discusses extraordinary working dogs; Roadie pet transport; Humane Puerto Rico program for animals in crisis there
Connecting dogs with foster families until they find forever homes; new branding/mission to long standing shelter; Suzanne Berne (The Dogs of Littlefield)
A Dog's Way Home, wonderful book from dog's perspective; faked controversy about training of dog in A Dog's Purpose; directing dogs for film/TV
Michelson’s Found Animals's free microchip registry; Yale Comparative Cognition Laboratory studying intelligence of dogs; importance of supplements
Jackson Galaxy on new season of TV show “My Cat From Hell”; growing importance of pet insurance; Lap of Love, home pet euthanasia
Kitten nursery manager; radioactive therapy used to treat cats with hyperthyroid disease; Jessica Pierce, Run Spot Run: The Ethics of Keeping Pets
Heather Owen (One Tail at a Time Dog Rescue) on “resource desert” communities; anxiety-reducing Adaptil pheromone dog collars; Laura Young (Pumpkin)
Do Dogs Go to Heaven?; learn public speaking with dog audience; celebrate Good News for Pets & NY Dog Film Festival partnership with contest/prizes
How Kansas City Pet Project made KC a No Kill city; Saving discarded Golden Retrievers (and Golden mixes) in Taipei; Norah Levine's advice from her book, Pet Photography
Optimal Selection cheek swab identifies genetic mutations so breeders can avoid breeding affected dogs; microchip reliability; omega-3 fish oils
CNN Hero finalist Sherri Franklin on Muttville, San Fran senior dog rescue; Miami-Dade shelter takes in 500 animals weekly; adventures of exotic pet doc
Abigail Tucker on how we live with cats; animal abuse by children; dogs sniffing out cancer, even from our breath, reveals lightest amount of cancer
Seafurrers: True Tales of the Ships' Cats blog; Amy Sutherland (Rescuing Penny Jane) on rewards of volunteering at shelter, Paw Pods pet caskets
BarkPost's Stacie Grissom on DOGS AND THEIR PEOPLE; canine liability insurance; cat guru Pam Johnson Bennett on her new book, CATWISE
Free dog food, veterinary care for pets of homeless; Challenge of having a baby when you already have a dog; An all-American success story
Ann Patchett reads essays from her collection This Is The Story of a Happy Marriage; discusses her choosing-dogs-over-babies lifestyle and her new novel, Commonwealth
Stray cats with bird flu virus echo plot of Just Life; author of book about designer Marc Jacob’s Bulldog Neville; author of Animal Madness on emotional state of animals
Why You Shouldn't Let Your Dog Lick Your Face; safe traveling with pets; The Trainable Cat: A Practical Guide To Making Life Happier For You And Your Cat
Pet and Women’s Safety (PAWS) Act explained; how foster families care for pets while women recover; continued relevance of Patricia Deny's Animal Magnetism
Dog Talk (And Kitties Too!) (01-07-2017) #506: Blair Braverman talks about her book WELCOME TO THE GODDAMN ICE CUBE: CHASING FEAR AND FINDING HOME IN THE GREAT WHITE NORTH, and the time she spent with sled dogs in a very challenging environment; Patrick Pittaluga co-founded Grubbly Farms in Atlanta Georgia, a tech start-up insect farm company using black Soldier fly larvae to consume the waste from the human food production chain, and then use the insects as a protein source for animal food; Maria Goodavage talks about her newest book focused on military working dogs: SECRET SERVICE DOGS: THE HEROES WHO PROTECT THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
How dogs experience the world through their amazing olfactory abilities; uplifting memoir, SIT, STAY, HEAL; PAWS Chicago director drastically reduced euthanasia
How Tracy (a listener in Batavia, Ohio) assembles her dogs for her annual Christmas card photo and the healing power of the love of dogs
Melissa McCue-McGrath, Consideration for the City Dog; Heather Green, To Catch a Cat; Julie Forbes (The Dog Show) on working with a dog as parental role
Discussions with three authors: Alex Kava, RECKLESS GREED; Brandon McMillan, LUCKY DOG; Diane Les Becquets, BREAKING WILD
NYC’s first pet-friendly domestic violence shelter; Ms. Wheelchair USA on life-altering value of service dogs; canine genetics and the origin of dogs
David Yaskulka (HALO) joins Tracie to celebrate the 500th episode of Dog Talk; breeding/training police dogs; Linda Howard on Goldens and her book, Troublemaker
Photographer finds “islands of hope in the midst of misery;” do good for animals while world traveling; Grey Muzzle's grants to senior dog sanctuaries/rescue groups
Jonathan Crown, Sirius: The Little Dog Who Almost Changed History; fresh, human-grade ingredients in Ollie dog food; dangers of cat scratch fever
Mindful purchasing decisions by choosing animal products with 3rd party certifications; Jonathan Unleashed; emergency homeless shelter & jobs making dog treats
The historical adaptation of free-roaming, un-owned dogs; why volunteers read to dogs; author Carl Safina discusses Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel
Extraordinary novel Spill Simmer Falter Wither; Animals with Disabilities foundation; how Wheels of Hope significantly raises pet adoption rates
“Love Unleashed”: people and their aging dogs; Guide Dogs for the Blind: pairing to form a team; adopting a dog who can't adapt to where you live
Film explores reactions, emotions dogs not believed to have; adoption of Little Red (Michael Vick fighting dog); Alliance for NYC’s Animals discussed
Skateboarding with a Samoyed (One Man & His Dog); "Dead Last" in the Iditarod; delayed spay and neuter benefits
Jennifer Sheridan on her film "Rocket"; Barry Stone on movie SNIFF, starring Amanda Plummer; K9S for Warriors, Service Dog Awareness Month
The Champions, film of dogs rescued from Michael Vick dog fighting ring; how disabled dogs live full lives
Pauls Toutonghi’s memoir, DOG GONE; "invasive biology", how humans and dogs drove neanderthals to extinction; One Health project
Private Pilots Who Fly Pets to Waiting Homes; partnership between people with disabilities & their assistance dogs; illustrator of House of Owls
Should psychologists certify emotional support animals; Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are; how a dog can be a safe bond
From Veterinarian to Author to Shelter Director; the new science of animal psychiatry; animals in need in New Mexico
Safe running with your dog; SAFE dog bite prevention program for school children; Colin Campbell (One Very Big Dog)
Bronwen Dickey (Pit Bull: The Battle Over An American Icon); Lollypop Farm & Penelope the Goat; Corinna Musuruanna bringing pet hair roller to US
League of Humane Voters influencing politicians to make world better; Adaptive surfer Patrick Ivison, star of “SURFice dog”; Robert Weintraub, No Better Friend (war dog)
Startling revelations from What Fish Know; animal companionship in retirement communities; Robert Berkelhammer (Pet Care Givers and Families)
World Animal News: promoting animal welfare issues/actions across globe; Cats in Residence show; Cate Folsom's nonfiction book, Smoke the Donkey
Rita Mae Brown (Tall Tail), James Rollins (War Hawk) & Neil Abramson (Just Life) discuss their latest novels with Tracie
Elizabeth Marshall Thomas (Dreaming with Lions); Boston Dog Lawyers to help people with pet custody cases; a specialist in handling exotic animals
How we are positively affecting change for animals & the planet; prep school students trains/shows champion Border Terrier; dog poems
Kids Against Cruelty; Alex Kleinkopf (The Rescue Dog Bucket List); dogs helping children & adults with emotional & physical disabilities
Outward Hound's dog toys, canine backpacks, etc; Artist Ron Burns on captures essence of dogs in portraits; Dog Film Festival sponsor, Saunders Realty
Cat-centric “Meow” Series at Worcester, MA art museum; bringing in POI dogs from Hawaiian islands; Julia Cameron (It's Never Too Late to Begin Again)
Vet services for pets of homeless in LA; The Dog Merchants; Why Does My Dog? Explaining dog behavior --- and misbehavior
Turning Your Pet Into a Therapy Dog; health similarities between humans and other animal species; teaching humane principles in schools
Inside of a Dog, young reader edition; Lollypop Farm receives Petco Foundation community effort grant; Afternoon Tea Pooch Party at Walter Mill estate
“For the Joy of Spring & Love of All Living Creatures” film festival (Sag Harbor); Author Alison Hodgson (The Pug List); Ellen Myers, Briard Breeder
Bringing unwanted dogs to the Northeast from Georgia; how words used influence dog training; house-call dog groomer on overcoming grooming fears
How your personality & behavior may be affect your dog; Lori & Shira helping pets of homeless; Voice of Westminster Dog Show plan for therapy dog work
Philanthropic pet-themed jewelry; emergency doghouses; The Dog Wedding (film); Marta Roca, creative director of Four & Sons (magazine)
Christine Kim on working with homeless pet owners; support and medical care for pets of homeless; Kansas City Pet Project Lifeline
Helping Homeless with Pets; Architects for Animals "Giving Shelter"; creating Ewegurt, a nutritious sheep's milk yogurt treat for dogs
Former attorney founded the Lifeline Animal Project in Atlanta; Really Important Stuff My Dog Has Taught Me; Crossing the Plains with Bruno
PETCO Foundation's mission to support rescue organizations; matching peoples' lifestyle to a breed of dog; pain relief for dogs
Finding homes for unwanted GA dogs in NJ; bringing adoptable dogs to mall for storefront adoptions; feral cat advocate
Debbie Clarke Moderow on competing in Iditarod with her dogs; Myra Vandenburgh, star of "Myra & Prince" documentary; Petsfly.com
Beautiful Poems About Dogs; Animal Rescue Fund's renovated medical wing, new transport center for rescued pets; heart problems affecting dogs
“Canines and Childhood Cancer" study; Hero Dog award winner stars in movie; Shannon Kopp (Pound for Pound) discusses bulimia recovery
Bernie Siegel (Love, Animals & Miracles); horrors of Akita attack on Havanese; Alison Levine (On the Edge)
Vaccine for dangerous new dog flu H3N2; best way to find reputable dog breeder; treating/curing cancer by human & vet oncologists working together
Open Farm Pet: dry dog food from ethically raised/sourced ingredients; dog trainer for canine movie stars; Arctic explorer featured in “Mystery of the Arctic Cairn”
Author Interviews: Margaret Mizushima (Killing Trail); Pamela Jane & Deborah Guyol (Pride & Prejudice & Kitties); Laura Coffey (My Old Dog)
Robert Crais on The Promise; Doug Green on The Teachings of Shirelle; Brian Bailey on Embracing the Wild
Revolutionary, life-saving heart valve for dogs; From Stray Dog to World War I Hero; advances in veterinary surgery and rehab
How dogs teach us about living and dying; Pets Are Welcome initiative; non-profit vet clinic, Mission Animal Hospital
Three authors with photo books: L. Douglas Keeny, BUDDIES; Elias, The DOGIST; and Lisa Rogak, CATS ON THE JOB
Three books/authors: Rescue Road (acts of kindness), 101 Doggy Dilemmas (dog training), Elle & Coach (dog and diabetic child)
Dr. Bruce Elsey on winning a Pet Age Icon Award; director, Something About Molly; author, Please Don't Bite the Baby
Canidrome on the island of Macau: death sentence for greyhounds; New Jersey Aid for Animals; ProjectUnconditional.info
Do Unto Animals (author); DogStar's TailTalk device; new cable TV panel talk show, Pet Talk seeking pet experts
The health benefits of bovine colostrum for dogs & cats; trading cards to promote humane attitudes; The Hand That Feeds You (thriller authors)
About the water-borne disease leptospirosis; Kittens Can Kill (author); Black Dogs Project (photographic essay book)
Sharon Seltzer (Lessons from a Paralyzed Dog); Dr Jerry Nepom on CATNIP cat allery study; Maddie's Shelter Medicine vet wants to go to Beijing
Real Happy Dogs (dog portrait company); Espoma Organic ("petscaper", pet-safe lawn treatments); Annie England Noblin (Sit Stay Speak)
BeyondBreed.org; outreach programs, Dogs of NY & Ruff Riders; The Dog Book: Dogs of Historical Distinction; Dog Soldiers: A Dogumentary
Adoptapalooza in Union Square; house call acupuncture for dogs and cats; Nicole Galland on her fun novel, STEP DOG
Author Alex Kava on Silent Creed; Kathy Jo Magan explains German ring sport, schutzhund; Diane Lovejoy. Cat Lady Chic
Living homeless with a pet; Anchor Animal Hospital; new SDMA test for early detection of kidney disease; eccentric NYC dog lovers
Camp Canine, Animal Lighthouse Rescue, Waggin' Train Rescue, Andrea Arden (Animal Planet) on normal dog behavior
Therapy Animals for "Reading Orphans"; caring for senior pets, senior pet products; Pet Protection Legal Care Plan
3 Authors: Spencer Quinn (Scents & Sensibility), mystery; Bruce Cameron (Dog Master), novel; Cathy Scott (Unconditional Honor), nonfiction
Hospice & Sanctuary for Senior Dogs; All Dogs Go to Kevin; bringing kids to family dog's euthanasia; Dogfella: mobster's life changed by dog
Razor Jane's music video for Dog Film Festival; how man has shaped animals; Kitty Bungalow Charm School for Wayward Cats
IDEXX kidney disease test; behind the scenes info from master groomer; feline mystery: If Kittens Could Kill
Inspiration for documentary, "The Poodle Trainer"; autism and companion animals; Peace Love Paws founder on origin
NYT Bestseller Rita Mae Brown (Rubyfruit Jungle) on importance of animals in her life; our evolving relationship with animals
Canine Styles dog boutiques; leaving pets behind due to job relocation; gourmet dog biscuits made from cricket flour
New Law coming to break car window, rescue dog in heat distress; Pawzaar.com profits fund scholarship; helping pets of the homeless
How to detect/avoid deadly canine flu, now in 13 states; treating dog allergies; What the Dogs Have Taught Me; funny dog films
How K9DisasterRelief.org formed post 9/11; The Bronte Cabinet (book); Cats, Inc., pet food pantry for low-income pet owners
Everglades rescue group; how to delight & bond with your dog; moral evolution from cruelty & corporal punishment
Focus on William Wegman, whose iconic and astonishing film “The Hardly Boys in Hardly Gold” will be featured at Dog Film Festival
A test for the deadly canine flu; That's Not English (book); cat care in UK vs US; Tracie's attempt to buy puppy backfires
Canine-human exercise classes; Abe Lincoln's remarkably forward-thinking attitude about animals; Pittsburgh Aviation Animal Rescue
Lyme disease: what you need to know; dealing with internal/external parasites; Ruby & Jack's owner on hosting Pooch Party at Dog Film Festival
De-stress with Cats at NYC Meow Parlour; all-volunteer Kitty Kind; Search & Rescue K-9 Handler's book: What the Dog Knows
Developing supplements; getting dog breed unsuited for NYC apt life; training Bull Terriers for the show ring
Track cat weight loss; evolution of death/burial ritual for pet owners; long-haired Chihuahua breeder invented disposable male dog diaper
Challenges of making raw pet food; plight of feral cats and kittens; plus, Tracie answers listener questions
Margo Rabb: differences between death of her mother and her cat; home-cooking for your dog; Majority Project: pit bull photo collection
Dog Talk (03-07-2015) #411: Should dogs be considered property? What's for Dinner, Dexter? (new cookbook); Around the World in 1909