Animal House w/Deborah Roberts

Daisy Fiore, Senior Education Coordinator for the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey, brings along Lance, an American Kestrel, the smallest and most common falcon in North America. She also talks about how they are preparing for the annual influx of baby birds, and what upcoming events they have to help support their work. To sign up for their summer camps and more, go to www.cbop. Audubon.org or ca...

Christina O’Donnell, Senior Animal Ambassador Keeper, and Sarah Hall, an Education Specialist with the Central Florida Zoo, are our guests today, along with Almond, an Amazon milk frog, and Carla, a Cane toad. Sarah shares how the Amazon milk frog is also referred to as the blue milk frog because their blood and bones are blue. Christina talks about how the Cane toad was brought to Florida for pes...

Darryl Payne from Pawfection Dog Training joins us once again to share both his knowledge, and how much their business has grown, with new locations and programs. Along with answering listeners’ questions, Darryl invites everyone to join their Group Training, as well as a new Therapy dog training course, starting Monday, February 27th, 2023. To sign up, or for more information, go to www.pawfectio...

Kathy Burns from the Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando once again joins us, this time on the road with a van full of dogs, including Offset, a young pup looking for a new home. Kathy shares how successful their Paws in the Park event was, with 15,000 people attending, raising close to $100,000. But she also talks about their need for dry dog and cat food donations for their community pantry, and how...

Dr. James Bogan brings with him Beauregard, a very large Eastern Indigo Snake from the Orianne Center for Indigo Conservation, the only captive breeding facility for this particular species. Dr. Bogan shares how this non-venomous snake loves to eat the venomous varieties, and is America’s longest snake, and now is only found in southern Georgia and Florida. To help support the critical work of the...

Jifu Jennings and Amanda Mossor from the Central Florida Zoo bring along PT Cruiser, a prehensile-tailed skink, also known as the Solomon Islands skink. Jifu shares some fascinating facts about PT, including that he’s the largest known species of skink, and has amazing adaptations for survival like scales that appear to shimmer. Amanda also invites everyone to the Indigo Bluegrass BBQ to benefit t...

Katie Warner, Center Director, and Daisy Fiore, Senior Education Coordinator at the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey, introduce us to Sanford, an Eastern Screech Owl. Daisy talks about how at only 3 inches tall and about the weight of half a banana, Sanford is one of the smallest birds in their care, but also one of the oldest at 11 years. Katie invites everyone to vote for Sanford, who’s made it...

Susan Nastasi and Stormy, the miniature therapy horse, join us from SOUL Haven Ranch in Winter Garden, Florida. At only 27 inches tall and about 100 pounds, Stormy is the smallest of their five miniature horses, and Susan shares how he provides therapy to kids, the elderly, and even vets with PTSD. To meet Stormy and for more information, go to www.soulhavenranch.com or call (407) 509-1981. See om...

Christina O’Donnell, a Senior Animal Ambassador Keeper, and Education Specialist Sarah Hall from the Central Florida Zoo, kick off the new year on Animal House by introducing us to ‘Chipotle,’ a Savannah Monitor. Christina shares how he is one of the largest lizards in their Ambassador Animal department, along with some of his amazing adaptations. Sarah reminds everyone that there are only a coupl...

Cigi and Molly join us from the Humane Society of Lake County and bring along Marley, a one-year-old American Bulldog, and Bruno, a 9-week-old puppy, and they’re both available for adoption. Cigi shares how their shelter is seeing more animals being surrendered than adopted, like other rescues in our area, and what the community can do to help. To give a dog or cat a new home, go to www.humanelake...

Amanda Mossor and Jifu Jennings introduce us to Percy, a Bearded dragon that is part of the Central Florida Zoo’s Herpetarium. Amanda shares how their docile nature makes them a good pet, and the purpose of their so-called ‘beard.’ And since Percy is a ‘dragon,’ he serves as the perfect reminder to get your tickets, only available online, to the Asian Lantern Festival’Into the Wild,’ taking place...

Whitney Boylston, Executive Director of the Lake County Animal Shelter, and Lavar Cooper, Public Information Officer for Lake County, introduce us to three adorable kittens available for adoption. Whitney shares the details of several upcoming events, including ‘Paws & Claws Adopt-a-thon,’ on Sunday, December 4, 2022, at Magnolia Closing Company in Eustis, Florida, from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm. For mo...

Kathy Burns from the Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando introduces us to Cindy, a 3-month-old puppy who was rescued, along with her siblings, from an overcrowded shelter in Alabama. Kathy explains how shelters from across the country work together to move animals to areas where they are more likely to be adopted. She also shares some safety tips in time for the holidays. To give Cindy her forever hom...

Cora Berchem, Director of Multimedia and a Manatee Research Associate with Save the Manatee Club, joins us to mark ‘Manatee Awareness Month’ with some good news, bad news, plus a bit of fun. Cora shares how recent flooding from tropical weather may have displaced manatees into areas where they normally would not be, like a golf course pond, and how important it is for folks to let the FWC know so...

Amber Mayhew and Nathan Jordan join us from the Central Florida Zoo and brought along “Timmy,” a Millipede, and “Greg,” a Madagascar Hissing Cockroach. Amber discusses what differentiates a Millipede from a Centipede, while Nathan talks about what makes “Greg” hiss, and what it means. Amber also shares the exciting news of the return of the Asian Lantern Festival, ‘Into the Wild,’ an important fun...

Daisy Fiore, Sr. Coordinator for Education at the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey in Maitland, Florida, introduces us to Alina, a Merlin Falcon. She shares some truly fascinating facts about the Merlin Falcon, including how far away they can see their prey, and how they attack, and eat, in mid-flight. If you would like to meet Alina, and all the other birds at the Center, Daisy invites everyone t...

Kathy Burns from the Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando brings along Yanny, a beautiful 2-year-old dog from Grand Cayman, which was impacted by recent hurricanes, and is now available for adoption. She also shares how the economy has forced many families to have to surrender their pets and the resources they have to help. And if cats are your thing, Kathy announces that their Temporary Cat Shelter in...

Retired Orange County K9 Deputy Robert Ramos is joined by Deputy First Class Ashley Keller, along with Corporal Robert Lees and his K9 partner, Chico. Robert Ramos shares the special relationship a law enforcement officer shares with their canine partner, along with some rather unique challenges. He also talks how the organization, K9’s United, supports their important work by providing much-neede...

Richard Glover, CEO of the Central Florida Zoo, joins us to share the impact Hurricane Ian had on their animals and facilities. Richard also talks about how they prepared for Ian, where the animals rode out the storm, and the staff that stayed at the Zoo for 2 days during the worst of the weather. Unfortunately, Ian continues to affect the Central Florida Zoo with devastating flooding that will ke...

Christin Burford, the founder and Executive Director of the C.A.R.E. Foundation in Apopka, Florida, introduces us to “Ava,” a one-year-old Spider Monkey who started life as an exotic pet, before finding a home at the Foundation. Christin shares both the pros and cons of living with Ava, and her older brother, Amos, including some unique costs, like “monkey biscuits.” To meet Ava, Amos, and all the...

Deb Munini with The Animal League joins us along with the 4-month-old kitten she is fostering named ‘Clarice.’ She shares some of the history of The Animal League, which was founded in 1988, and its unique position in Lake County. Deb also invites everyone - especially golfers - to their 7th Annual Puttin’ Fore Paws Charity Golf Tournament on Saturday, September 24th, 2022, at Green Valley Country...

Christina O’Donnell and Jifu Jennings from the Central Florida Zoo return and this time, they brought “Indiana,” their red-tailed boa constrictor that is 14-years-old and about 7-feet long. They shared some cool facts about snakes, including how their forked tongues not only smell the air, but also help them figure out which direction to go. Along with the ‘Zoo Boo Bash’ coming up in October, Jifu...

Debbie Helsel, Executive Director of the Back to Nature Wildlife Refuge, shares the great news of investment funds finally being approved, so they can construct some badly-needed new buildings. She also talks about the large number of animals being brought in, and how the concern for more grows during hurricane season. Debbie also brought along Nicky, a dwarf opossum, and Fiona, a box turtle. To s...

Daisy Fiore, Senior Coordinator for Education at the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey, introduces us to a 5-month-old fledgling Barred Owl that has melanism, which turns his normally grey feathers into a dark brown. He fell out of his nest as a baby and broke his wing, so he cannot be released back into the wild, but now spends his days helping to teach people. She also invites everyone to the Aud...

Kathy Burns and Sally Edmonds from the Pet Alliance of Greater Orlando join us once again, and bring along Bialy the beagle, one of 4,000 beagles rescued from a mass-breeding facility in Virginia riddled with animal welfare concerns. The Pet Alliance rescued 15 beagles, and although more than half have found their forever homes, there are others still looking for theirs. You can see all of the ani...