The Animal Control Report

Actor, producer, and lifelong animal advocate Billy McNamara joins Keep it Humane for a candid conversation about his remarkable journey from Hollywood to hands-on animal rescue. Billy shares how his passion for animals evolved into a lifelong mission, the unforgettable rescues that have shaped his perspective, and why he believes compassion should always come before convenience. We also discuss t...

The Fourth of July may be a day of celebration, but for animal control officers and animal shelters, it’s often one of the busiest—and most challenging—times of the year. Join Ashlee and Daniel as they discuss the impact fireworks and holiday festivities have on pets, animal shelters, and the professionals working around the clock to reunite lost animals with their families. They also share practi...

This week on Keep it Humane, we sit down with renowned dog trainer, behavior consultant, author, and speaker Melissa McCue-McGrath. Known for her wit, honesty, and practical approach to animal behavior, Melissa shares lessons learned from years of working with dogs and the people who love them. We discuss the realities of dog training, common misconceptions about canine behavior, and the challenge...

This week on Keep it Humane: The Podcast, we sit down with former St. Clair County Animal Control Director Melissa Miller following her recent resignation after a controversial vote by county commissioners to rewrite the county’s animal control ordinance. The changes shifted criminal animal cruelty investigations away from Animal Control and placed those responsibilities with local law enforcement...

In this episode of Keep it Humane: The Podcast, Daniel Ettinger and Ashley Bishop sit down with the team from Feral Fixers TNR Club to discuss the important role Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) programs play in managing community cat populations and improving the lives of cats and the neighborhoods they call home. We explore the realities of community cat management, the challenges faced by volunteers an...

In this episode of Keep it Humane: The Podcast, Daniel Ettinger, Ashlee Bishop and Ashley Bishop sit down with Dr. Sara Pizano, founder of Team Shelter USA, for a candid conversation about the current state of animal sheltering in America. From intake diversion and community-based programs to public policy, field services, and shelter operations, Dr. Pizano shares lessons learned from working with...

Daniel and Ashley are joined by Nicole Navarro from Pawsitive Beginnings to talk animal rescue, advocacy, and the realities of working in animal welfare. From helping vulnerable animals to supporting the community, Nicole shares the passion and challenges behind the work being done every day to make a difference. The conversation covers rescue efforts, public perception, collaboration in animal we...

Ashley Bishop takes over the mic solo for this episode of Keep it Humane: The Podcast as she sits down with the team from Anti-Cruelty, Chicago’s oldest and largest open-door animal welfare organization. Founded in 1899, Anti-Cruelty has spent more than a century evolving alongside the animal welfare profession while staying committed to the bond between people and pets. Ashley and her guests dive...

What started as a classroom demonstration about how quickly cats can reproduce without spay and neuter somehow turned into the CATTOO challenge, 27 tattoos, and now a Forbes article. In this episode of Keep it Humane: The Podcast, Daniel and Ashley break down the story behind the article, why the CATTOO challenge was created, and the bigger conversation around cat overpopulation, access to care, a...

In this episode, we sit down with the team behind Journey Home Animal Control, a community-driven organization redefining what animal control can look like. Built on compassion, education, and real-world problem solving, Journey Home is filling critical gaps in traditional services—helping keep pets with the families who love them while supporting communities in practical, humane ways. We dive int...

In this episode of Keep it Humane: The Podcast, we sit down with Deborah Felin McGaldi from Helen Sanders CatPAWS to talk all things cats, community, and compassion. Deborah shares how CatPAWS is transforming feline welfare in California through their trap-neuter-return (TNR) programs, low-cost spay/neuter clinic, kitten fostering network, and community outreach efforts across Southern California....

In this episode of Keep it Humane: The Podcast, we sit down with Genevieve Frederick, the founder of Feeding Pets of the Homeless, to talk about a mission that’s saving lives on both ends of the leash. Genevieve shares how a simple moment of compassion sparked a nationwide movement dedicated to providing food, veterinary care, and essential resources for pets belonging to people experiencing homel...

In this episode, Daniel and Ashley sit down with Dr. Kevin Tillman, a veterinarian with over 40 years of experience, to explore what it really means to help pets live longer—and better—lives. From the four pillars of pet longevity to the role of diet, early diagnostics, supplements, and emerging longevity drugs like rapamycin, Dr. Kevin breaks down practical, evidence-based strategies that challen...

What if the challenges we’re facing in animal welfare today aren’t new at all? In this episode of Keep it Humane, we sit down with Audrey Lodato—Senior Director of Regional Programs at Best Friends Animal Society and creator of the animal welfare history blog Barking at the Knot—to uncover how the past continues to shape the present. From the early 1800s “War Against Dogs” to the fear-driven polic...

Daniel is out this week… which means Ashley Bishop and Ashlee Bishop have taken over the podcast. That’s right—no supervision. In this episode of Keep it Humane: The Podcast, the Ashleys talk about something that isn’t always easy to discuss in animal welfare: compassion fatigue. They dive into the emotional weight of the job, the stress that comes with working in animal control and shelters, and...

A recent large-scale animal seizure in Los Angeles County—where more than 300 animals were removed from a single property—serves as the backdrop for this episode. But this isn’t a breakdown of that case. Because the truth is… we don’t have all the facts. And neither does anyone else—yet. Instead, we use this moment to talk about what really happens when a large-scale impound hits an agency. From t...

In this episode, Ashley, Ashlee, and Daniel take a deep dive into the evolution of animal welfare by breaking down the Five Domains of Animal Welfare and how they differ from the traditional Five Freedoms. The team explores how the Five Freedoms laid the foundation for humane care—focusing on preventing suffering—while the Five Domains push the conversation further by emphasizing an animal’s overa...

In this episode of Keep it Humane: The Podcast, Daniel Ettinger and Ashley Bishop unpack a controversial and costly case out of Los Angeles that has many in the animal welfare field asking hard questions. A Los Angeles County jury recently awarded $5.4 million to a woman who was severely injured by a dog while picking it up from a city animal shelter for transport to a rescue group. The dog — a Be...

In this episode of Keep it Humane: The Podcast, Daniel Ettinger and Ashley Bishop sit down with Sam Amalsadwala, a Montreal-based dog behavior expert whose path into animal behavior is anything but traditional. Originally from India and trained as a chef, Sam shares how a career transition — and a deep curiosity about dogs — led him to build a unique approach to canine behavior grounded in observa...

In this episode of Keep it Humane: The Podcast, Daniel Ettinger and Ashley Bishop sit down with Dr. Doonerstag, DVM, for an insightful conversation exploring the critical role veterinarians play in animal welfare, shelter medicine, and community-based care. Dr. Doonerstag shares perspectives from the veterinary field on some of the most complex challenges facing animal control agencies and shelter...

Before Keep it Humane, there was The Humane Roundup — the show that started it all. In this special episode, we bring back two of the original hosts of The Humane Roundup — the voices who helped lay the foundation for the conversations we’re still having today. We revisit where it all began, why the show was created, what was happening in animal welfare at the time, and how those early discussions...

In this fun and heartfelt episode, Ashley and I dive into one of the most creative shelter fundraisers we’ve seen yet — the “Neuter Your Ex” campaign from Check out the “Neuter Your Ex” promotion and how it helps community cats . We break down how this playful idea raises funds for spay/neuter programs that reduce feral cat overpopulation, support Trap-Neuter-Return efforts, and ultimately save li...

In this episode of Keep It Humane: The Podcast, Daniel Ettinger, Ashley Bishop, and Ashlee Bishop sit down with children’s author Marshall Silverman. Marshall reads from his heartfelt book Can I Please Have a Dog and shares the inspiration behind the story. We talk about patience, responsibility, and the powerful connection between kids, animals, and storytelling. It’s a warm, family-friendly epis...

In this episode, we sit down with Wayne Pacelle — former President & CEO of HSUS and current leader of two powerful organizations shaping the future of animal welfare: Animal Wellness Action ( https://animalwellnessaction.org/ ) and the Center for a Humane Economy ( https://centerforahumaneeconomy.org/ ).Wayne joins us for a wide-ranging conversation about the current state of animal welfare f...

In this episode of Keep it Humane, Daniel and Ashley sit down with Douglas Starr, Professor Emeritus of Science Journalism at Boston University and longtime science writer, to unpack one of the most polarizing topics in animal welfare today: the no-kill movement and the influence of large national organizations like Best Friends Animal Society. Douglas joins the show to discuss his recent Smithson...