DOG TALK® (and Kitties Too!) on 
DOG TALK® features Tracie’s interviews with authors, pet experts and animal welfare advocates from around the world, discussing practical and philosophical issues regarding our relationships with dogs, cats, other pets, wildlife and the natural world.
The show broadcasts from WLIW FM 88.3 in Southampton, the only NPR station on Long Island, reaching from the East End across Long Island into Southern Connecticut and Westchester.
The show’s theme song is “Mmm My Best Friend” by Sophie B. Hawkins from her album TIMBRE.
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Crowd-Sourcing Bigger Donations to Cat Rescue
#832C: Sally Williams created MissionMeow (in which Tracie is a partner) to accumulate many smaller donations to a cat welfare group so that one larger donation could go farther to make a substantial material difference in their work.
If Cats Are Talking, Who Are They Talking To?
#832B: Jonathan Losos returns to discuss his book “The Cat’s Meow: How Cats Evolved from the Savanna to Your Sofa” and the unanswered question about when cats do talk. Is it to each other? To humans? Do we have any way to recognize what they are saying?
The Bull in the Darkness and the One-Eyed Dog
#832A: Dr Robert Sharp’s memoir “The Bull in the Darkness and the One-Eyed Dog: Scenes From the Life of a Country Veterinarian” tells you everything you want to know in the title — his was a wild, unpredictable and funny life.
Pedro & Petra, Living the Tortoise High Life in Mexico City
#831CA: Tracie learned about photographer Laura Cohen and her Tortoises Pedro and Petra, in Johanna Seigmann’s photographic book “In Good Company.” Laura found the tortoises at the huge live animal market in her town, Mexico City. Pedro was as big as a Bic pen and unlikely to live. Petra was in a cardboard box full of mice for sale. (With a lifespan upwards of 100 years, Laura said the tortoises will long outlive her, so her son has agreed to inherit them.) This interview was originally intended only for her new podcast EXOTIC PETS with Dr. Doug Mader, who himself has a pet tortoise with the surprising name: Traci!
Stop Funding Cruel Dog & Cat Labs at University of Pennsylvania!
#831B: Justin Goodman from the White Coat Waste Project discusses how the nonprofit is focused on stopping the flow of taxpayer’s money into the animal testing “industry” [20 BILLION dollars annually], currently working with PA Senator Doug Mastriano on a comprehensive new bill to defund over a dozen Pennsylvania animal testing labs, including at Temple University and (Tracie’s alma mater) the University of Pennsylvania, where many of Tracie’s veterinarian friends proudly graduated from the renowned veterinary college — which is sadly collaborating in this despicable testing.
“What It Takes to Save a Life”
#831A: Dr. Kwane Stewart wrote his memoir “What it Takes to Save a Life; a Veterinarian’s Quest for Healing and Hope” after feeling his own life as a veterinarian with suicidal thoughts was saved by a random act of kindness he did for a homeless man’s dog — giving new meaning to the concept that we save pets and they save us.
Rescue Dogs Rock NYC Finds a Home
#830C: Jackie O’Sullivan co-founded the foster-based dog rescue called Rescue Dogs Rock NYC with Stacey Silverstein. She talks about how they dreamed of having a physical location and what it took to make their dream come true [with the help of many]. Their renovation of what was once a boarding facility will open on Long Island in the Fall of 2023.
A Veterinary Guardian Angel for the Homeless
#830B: Dr. Nichole Weinstein, a veterinarian who owns her own clinic in Montclair, California, was already doing care for pets of unhoused people when she learned about Kwane Stewart’s Project Street Vet and wanted to join that tribe of veterinary angels.
The Cat’s Meow [and Much More]
#830A: Jonathan Losos, a nationally acclaimed biologist with special expertise in lizards, talks about how he turned his lifetime love of cats into his book “The Cat’s Meow: How Cats Evolved from the Savanna to Your Sofa,” which is a deep dive look into what and who cats really are.
Wolfie’s Wish — Support for Pet Loss Grief
#829C: Erica Messer created Wolfie’s Wish pet grief products — in particular her “grief cards” — when she was devastated after the tragic death of her kitty. With her mother’s support, she turned her grief into helping others with the same struggle.