Dog Talk ® (and Kitties Too!)

#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.

#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.

#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.

#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. 

#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.”

#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...

#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.

#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.

#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. 

#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.

#865A: Paula Munier’s newest mystery “Home at Night” featuring Mercy Carr and her dog Elvis is really spooky!

#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.

#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.

#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.

#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!

#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.

#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. 

#863C: Jeanne Selander created a sanctuary called Rivers Wish for senior chihuahuas in Key West, where they have a loving home forever

#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.

#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. 

#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” 

#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.