Working Like Dogs - Service Dogs and Working Dogs - Pet Life Radio Original

Rebecca Ascher-Walsh visits with Marcie and Lovey about her beautiful new book, Loyal: 38 Inspiring Tales of Bravery, Heroism, and the Devotion of Dogs. Listen in as Rebecca lovingly highlights some of the incredible working dogs in her new book and how these skilled canines changed the lives of their amazing human partners. Rebecca also talks about the Deja Foundation, an organization she founded...

Jennifer Erdogan, Director of Bell Environmental Services’ Canine Division and certified bedbug detection dog and adorable tri-colored beagle, Roscoe, stop by to talk with Marcie and Lovey. Jennifer explains how Roscoe works to sniff and detect hidden bed bugs in hospitals, hotels, homes, apartment buildings and other sites. Roscoe and their other certified bed bug dogs’ all have the ability to pe...

Blake Matray, Executive Director of Dogs for the Deaf drops in to visit with Marcie and Lovey about the incredible work they are doing to rescue dogs from animal shelters and humane societies throughout the western United States and train them as hearing alert dogs. Blake talks about how they identify, screen and recruit shelter dogs. The next step is to begin training them in a variety of “sound...

World-renowned animal behavior scientist/consultant, Dr. James Ha visits with Marcie and Lovey about the unique aspects of applying scientific research to canine and human behavior. Dr. Ha shares fascinating information about how assistance dogs and their handlers communicate and develop trust and why some dogs are simply not able to be assistance dogs. He discusses the unique human-canine bond, h...

Teresa Zurberg says her two-year old English Springer Spaniel Angus’ sense of smell is above and beyond anything we can even comprehend. Listen as she talks with Marcie and Lovey about Angus job at Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH), where he is a member of the hospital’s Infection Fighting Team. Teresa trained Angus to detect Clostridium difficile, or C. diff, a superbug often found in hospitals that...

Jeff Fink and his psychiatric assistance dog, Earl, talk with Marcie and Lovey about the inspiring animal-assisted therapy work they are doing to support people who are living with mental illness through their organization, Go Fetch Wellness. Jeff talks candidly about his own debilitating battle with depression and anxiety and how his relationship with Earl, a Golden-Retriever, changed his life fo...

What an honor it is to welcome Dr. Bonnie Bergin to the show! Bonnie has had such an impact on my life and so many others as the original mother of the assistance dog industry! Bonnie shares her amazing journey with us from the moment she had the idea that dogs could assist people with mobility limitations, to establishing the first service dog organization, and to creating the educational institu...

Listen in as Emily Zier shares her passion for raising puppies for Canine Companions for Independence Emily’s enthusiasm is contagious as she talks about the thrilling moment of receiving an 8-week-old future service dog, the lessons she has the joy of teaching to this young dog over the course of 12-15 months, the incredible gift of ultimately meeting the person with a disability who is placed wi...

Jennifer Arnold, NY Times best-selling author of Through a Dog’s Eyes and Founder and Executive Director of Canine Assistants stops by to talk with Marcie and Lovey about her ground-breaking new book, Love is All You Need: The Revolutionary Bond-Based Approach to Educating Your Dog. Jennifer discusses her pioneering bond-based approach and talks in detail about her belief that we can teach dogs to...

Wayne Pacelle, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Humane Society of the United States talks with Marcie and Lovey about his best-selling book, The Humane Economy: How Innovators and Enlightened Consumers are Transforming the Lives of Animals. He reveals his beliefs about the simple choices we make every day that can be life changing for animals. Wayne explains the rising tide of consciou...

We love it when working dogs get the recognition they so richly deserve! Gina DiNardo, Vice-President of the American Kennel Club visits with Marcie and Lovey and speaks about the AKC’s recognition of working dogs. Gina discusses the AKC’s newest award, the Paw of Courage. This award recognizes the sacrifices that working dogs make while serving and protecting our country. She also talks about the...

Best-selling author Melissa Fay Greene drops in for a visit with Marcie and Lovey to discuss her new book, The Underdogs. Melissa shares the story of remarkable founder of 4 Paws for Ability, Karen Shirk, and how the dogs they train continue to change the lives of children and their families living with autism, diabetes, seizures and other disabilities. You’ll experience firsthand Melissa’s genuin...

Lulu and her handler, Matthew Fiorillo CEO of Ballard-Durand Funeral Homes take time out of their busy work schedule to visit with Marcie and Lovey about Lulu’s special job as a funeral home Comfort Companion. Matthew talks about how Lulu works to comfort families during their time of grief with unconditional love and support. Hear about how she was trained for her unique job and Lulu’s most heart...

Listen in as Marcie and Lovey welcome producer Taran Davies to the show to talk about his new 3D live-action movie for IMAX, Superpower Dogs This innovative film captures the magic of working dogs across the globe. Taran talks about some of the canine superheroes showcased in the film including dogs who brave avalanches, bring animal poachers to justice, protect us from danger and lift our spirits...

Christine Benninger, CEO of Guide Dogs for the Blind and David Cooper and Parnelli, one of Natural Balance’s Top Human-Canine Teams Who Make Us Believe honorees join Marcie and Lovey. They talk about guide dogs and the incredible work these dogs achieve every day to make their human partners who are blind or who have limited vision more independent and active! Christine shares behind the scenes in...

Marcie and Lovey welcome their good friend Richard Lord, Top Dog at Assistance Dogs Australia and Chair of Assistance Dogs International (ADI) back to the show. Richard shares all the latest information in the assistance dog industry. He talks about the innovative and successful Parents Autism Workshops (PAWS) program and the impact these dogs are having on children with autism and their families...

Victoria Stilwell dog trainer, author and television producer, stops by to visit with Marcie and Lovey about her latest projects and her positive approach to dog training. Victoria talks about her new book, The Secret Language of Dogs and her new YouTube series Guardians of the Night about first responder dogs! She shares some great advice about the human-canine relationship, what to do if you enc...

Airport K-9 Piper and his canine handler Brian Edwards join Marcie and Lovey to talk about their important job as a K-9 Wildlife Control Team at the Cherry Capital Airport in Traverse City, Michigan. Brian shares how he trained border collie Piper for his rewarding job--keeping people and animals safe on the runway. Piper has become quite the K-9 celebrity on Facebook and Instagram, and has been f...

Hollywood and Broadway animal trainer, advocate, and author, Bill Berloni makes his debut on Working Like Dogs to talk about his incredible 40-year career of training dogs for both the stage and silver screen! Bill shares his humble beginnings and the story of how he paid $7.00 for a rescue dog from the local animal shelter who would go on to become the famous Sandy in the long-running Broadway pr...

Listen in as Marcie and Lovey welcome Writer/Director Daniel Ferguson and Producer and Dog Rescuer Dominic Cunningham-Reid to talk about their major new IMAX film, Superpower Dogs. These innovative filmmakers and their passion for the incredible superpowers of working dogs are mesmerizing. Daniel and Dominic share their adventures traveling the globe to follow five canine superheroes and their hum...

Join Lovey and Marcie as they welcome Shelly Mizrahi and Amos the Wonder Horse to the show. Shelly talks about Amos' gratifying work as a miniature, therapeutic horse! Together, Amos and Shelly visit nursing homes, memory care units, schools and hospitals to bring smiles to everyone Amos meets! Shelly shares how she works with Amos to teach him many incredible skills such as how to play basketball...

Award-winning author and photographer, Tracy Libby, stops by to visit with Marcie and Lovey about her gorgeous new book, Reporting for Duty: True Stories of Wounded Veterans and Their Service Dogs. Tracy shares lots of inspiring stories of some of America’s greatest heroes and the canines that saved their lives. She also talks about incredible service dogs for veterans that were trained in Shelter...

Help us welcome Marcie’s new assistance dog, Lovey, to the show and special guest Linda Milanesi, Executive Director of Assistance Dogs of the West– the amazing agency that trained Lovey. Marcie and Linda talk about different types of assistance dogs. Linda explains ADW’s philosophy of One Dog One Person and One Dog Many People! They also talk candidly about the assistance dog placement process an...

We invite you to join in the celebration of Whistle’s retirement as Marcie’s service dog and co-host! It’s a special day when you meet your assistance dog and it’s also a special day when they retire from a job well done! Join Marcie and special guest, Franz Freibert (Whistle’s dad), as we reminisce about Whistle’s life as an assistance dog, share favorite stories and talk honestly about the issue...

Richard Lord, Top Dog and CEO of Assistance Dogs Australia visits with Marcie and Whistle about how they are working to change Australia one assistance dog at a time! Richard talks about the cutting-edge types of assistance dogs they are training. Did you know dogs can be trained to live with an individual or even a couple with dementia and provide a host of tasks to assist them in everyday activi...