Maria's Mutts & Stuff

Maria chats with returning guest Victoria Shaffer, CEO & Founder of Pup Culture Rescue . Based in Pasadena, Pup Culture Rescue is a female-founded non-profit who has rescued and homed over 1300 dogs!  They recently went through a challenge with distemper and parvo "the Pup-demic" as they call it, and can really use any help financially. Click here to donate or volunteer, and follow Pup Culture...

Maria chats with Warrior Canine Connection's Mar Leifeld, Assistant Director of MBTR--Mission Based Trauma Recovery--programs.  They discuss how veterans with PTSD help train puppies to become service dogs for veterans who need one. Warrior Canine Connection says: "One dog can help more than 80 warriors" so give a listen and learn! (This is their third time on Maria's Mutts & Stuff!) To find o...

Maria chats with Co-Director and Producer Vicki Topaz and Director MIchael Collins about their documentary By My Side ; the story of three veterans suffering from PTSD and how their service dogs  gave them back their life.  By My Side has been in 46 film festivals and has won 16 awards (with more to come I'm sure!) To learn more about the film, bymyside.com If you would like to host a screening of...

Maria chats with returning guests Adrienne, Ursula and Jane to talk about Nylabone's 70th birthday!! (Today's the day November 4th!) They discuss 70 years of chew happiness; the CHEWS for Good campaign; their partnerships especially with Best Friends Animal Society; how you can donate a chew AND how you can win prizes and so much more! Learn more at NYLABONE.COM! CLICK HERE for Info on NYLABONECAR...

Maria chats with global activist and journalist Nina Jackel, the founder of Lady Freethinker , the international non-profit animal protection organization. Their mission is to end pet abandonment; expose puppy mills; advocate for animal legislation and so much more!! Learn more at LADYFREETHINKER. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Maria chats with host and producer Gemma Smith about Catbaret Presents:  Meowloween, a one-night-only cat-themed variety show on Halloween (Friday 10/31) at Caveat (21A Clinton St in NYC)! It's a variety show with comedy, music and burlesque! Wear a costume, there are prizes! (Weruva is sponsoring the show and donating to RESCUE NYC . For tickets:  catbaretshow.com. See omnystudio.com/listener for...

Maria chats with Wildlife SOS Executive Director Nikki Sharp about the 300,000+ animals they've saved; the elimination of "dancing bears" in India, the process of eliminating "begging elephants" and more!!  Learn all about the organization, and you can make a donation too at WILDLIFESOS.ORG See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Maria chats with Explore.org's Naturalist (and former park ranger) Mike Fitz about Fat Bear Week (Chunk the Hunk is the winner!) which just ended, and all the cameras around the world that let us into the world of animals and nature. Explore.org brings us to places that most humans could never encounter. As Founder Charles Annenberg Weingarten said Explore.org is the "Netflix of Nature"! Check the...

Maria chats with author Beth Evans about her first book Jake the Country Cat ! The book idea came to her in a dream, a very elaborate dream with a cat and Blake Shelton! Beth is a huge advocate for animal rescue and black cats/dogs. And hopefully this is the first of a children's series. You can find Jake the Country Cat wherever books are sold! And #adoptdontshop See omnystudio.com/listener for p...

Maria chats with elementary school teacher (30 years as an educator!) and children's book author Lori Skala about her books The Road To Rosie and The Hair Tie . Proceeds from Lori's books go to animal rescue and pediatric cancer, her two passions. Give a listen and learn about Lori and her mission. Lori can be found on IG at storyloribooks or visit her website storyloribooks.com. See omnystudio.co...

Maria chats with returning guest Operation K9 Beethoven 's VP & Co-Founder Brian Reyngoudt! They are a charity organization for veterans that includes Pet Therapy Programs and Psychiatric Therapy Dog Programs. They provide service dogs to veterans at no cost to the vets. And the best part?  Their service dogs come from rescues and shelters so it's Win Win for both the vets AND the dogs!! Give...

"Learn Practice Master Begin Again" is Linn Boyke's motto when it comes to dogs. Linn runs The School of Dog Psychology. I first saw Linn when he was on Cesar Millan's Dog Whisperer TV show--he was one of his students. Linn also indirectly helped me with my dog Fredo many years ago. Give a listen and learn about Linn's path. Recently, he learned that he needs quadruple bypass heart surgery.  I'm i...

Maria chats with Born Free USA' s Devan Schowe about the organization and all they do to prevent humans from exploiting wild-animals.  In 1966, Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers starred in the classic wildlife film Born Fre e. In 1984, they launched the charity Zoo Check which evolved into  Born Free; in 2002, Born Free USA was launched in the states! Their campaigns include the fur trade, trappin...

Maria chats with actor and animal advocate Brooke Shields about her partnership with Prospect Pet ; pet supplements and wellness products that carry the Clean and Conscious promise of products that are good for your pets and the planet! Check out the products PROSPECTPET . ***NOTE :  There were some technical difficulties with this interview, so you'll hear drop-outs and cut-offs. Please bear with...

Maria chats with Traps To Lap s Director Chiquita Taylor about this program which breaks the cycle of homeless cats and kittens.  TTL has a network of rescue groups, fosters, and volunteers who help get feral cats off the streets--especially kittens before they become feral--and then gets them ready for their forever home through fostering and socialization. It's a new and unique program that coul...

Maria chats with The Sultan of Garbage author Brian Belefant about how we can all do our part--even if it's small--to reduce waste in our everyday lives! Although fiction, the book shares four tips on how to reduce waste: repurpose materials (be creative!); create "free piles"; donate rather than throw away; think about your purchases. To learn more about Brian, go to BELEFANT.COM . See omnystudio...

Maria chats with Certified Clinical Pet Nutritionist & Bow Wow Lab's Chief Nutrition Officer Johnna Devereaux about preventing your pet from choking! Did you know there are CPR classes for animals? Listen and learn what to do and how to prevent your pet from choking. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Maria chats with Will Zweigart, founder of Flatbush Cat s and Flatbush Veterinary Clinic in Brooklyn NY.  Flatbush Cats focuses on solving the problem of cat overpopulation. Will has innovative ideas and solutions that will hopefully expand to all five boroughs in NYC and then be a model for other communities around the country. Learn more at flatbushcats.org. See omnystudio.com/listener for priva...

Maria chats with Jim Kessler, Director of Instruction and Training at The Seeing Eye in Morristown NJ. The Seeing Eye has been training and providing dogs to people since 1929, and celebrated their 95th Anniversary last year! Give a listen and learn all about this amazing organization. You can volunteer, donate, or other ways you can help:  SEEINGEYE.ORG. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy in...

Maria chats with naturalist Charles Hood--a poet, essayist and photographer, about his latest book Nature At Night:  Discover The Hidden World That Comes Alive After Dark . Charles takes us on a journey into the dark--as most of us are sleeping--and teaches us about the nocturnal world through descriptions and stunning photos. The night time awakens and we are there to observe it through  Nature A...

In-studio guests Kimberly Cassar and Adrienne Maglione from NYLABONE chat with Maria about Nylabone's 70th Anniversary and all that they're doing this year to celebrate!! For every Nylabone bought, another is donated to a shelter! Their goal is to help get shelter pets across the country adopted; they're partnered with Best Friends Animal Society. Plus you can win prizes from Nylabone too.   It's...

Maria chats with returning guest Ornithologist and bird expert Andrew Farnsworth about Spring migration from south to north; how you can enjoy birds this time of year and what you should do if you find a bird that fell out of its nest! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Maria chats with science writer and naturalist Ryan Mandelbaum about his book WILD NYC . As Ryan says everyone thinks of New York City as a concrete jungle, but "it's full of amazing wildlife"! Between the info, photos, amazing artwork by Chelsea Beck, and the chapter of Field Trips,  YOUR next trip should be to New York City! More info:  ryanmandelbaum.com See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy...

Maria chats with Pawsitive Beginnings founder Nicole Navarro. In existence for five years, Pawsitive Beginnings gives permanent homes to foxes rescued from the fur trade. (Many come from fur farms where they're deemed "inadequate") Btw 100% of donations go to the foxes! pawsitivebeginnings.org See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Maria chats with herb farmer, author and gardening expert Bevin Cohen about his latest book  Herbs In Every Season: 48 Edible and Medicinal Herbs for the Kitchen, Garden, and Apothecary , which just came out! Learn about herbs you eat daily or even ones that you never tried before with recipes, plus info about their medicinal qualities!  Learn more at smallhousefarm.com . See omnystudio.com/listen...