DOG TALK® (and Kitties Too!) on
Compassion Please for Shelter Workers and Volunteers
#823B: Victoria Wells spent decades working in animal shelters, especially as a dog trainer for years at the ASPCA in NYC. She asks the question: Who should be responsible for lifting the burden of emotional trauma from people doing the hard work in shelters?
Basepaws Wants to Use Cat DNA to Improve Their Health
#823A: Dr. Ernie Ward sings the praises of the DNA test Basepaws — what it means for cats now, and how in the near future it will be able to identify genetic markers for disease and improve feline health long term.
Wiggle-Butt Cuddle-Bug Ex-Puppy Mill Breeder
#822C: At 76-years-old, Margaret in Virginia was mourning the death of her beloved companion Cocker Spaniel, Oliver. Then her nephew Matt Cox (yes, Peter Pan’s Search & Rescue handler, who I interviewed about his trip to Turkey after the earthquake) told her that the local Oldies But Goodies Cocker Rescue had taken in discarded breeding moms from puppy mills. Here’s a story of Kylie Rae, a dog transformed by love — from fearful to adoring.
How a Vet in Crisis Was Saved by the Homeless & Their Pets
#822A: Dr Kwane Stewart created Project Street Vet [eventually backed by Fetch by the Dodo] when he was at a personal low, euthanizing dozens of pets every day at a municipal shelter. Now he tends to the needs of the people living on the streets in Los Angeles — and their pets — and is inspiring other veterinarians to follow his lead and become Project Street Vet doctors themselves.
Helping the Homeless Even Before She Became a Vet
#822B: As a young student, Kristin Schmidt used to bring food to people living in Philadelphia alleyways. So it was only natural that once she became a veterinarian in Georgia, Dr. Kristin would minister to the needs of the pets of the unhomed population as a Project Street Vet in Atlanta with her husband by her side.
Veterinarian to Those That Slither & Fly
#821B: Dr. Doug Mader wrote the surprising story of how he started out as a vet by opening a clinic in a dodgy neighborhood in “The Vet at Noah’s Ark: Stories of Survival from an Inner-City Animal Hospital” — as an exotic pet specialist, with the rollicking tales of his challenging patients, the human as well as animal ones!
Peter Pan to the Rescue from Fairfax VA to Earthquake in Turkey
#821A: After the Turkish earthquake, Matt Cox [Battalion Chief of the Fairfax (VA) Fire Department & Canine Specialist] was deployed with his brilliant Labrador Peter Pan to help with Search & Rescue in Turkey. Matt explains the very specific talents of his dog Peter Pan — a “live find” “concrete specialist” in “confined spaces” — and describes the process of how he and the team of 80 Americans got to Turkey and spent two weeks helping in the rescue effort.
The Other Family Doctor
#820C: Dr. Karen Fine talks about her poignant memoir, “The Other Family Doctor: A Veterinarian Explores What Animals Can Teach Us About Love, Life, and Mortality.”
Earth Animal is Everything a B-Corp Should Be
#820B: Stephanie Volo, the Chief Impact Officer at Earth Animal, explains what it means for her company to become certified as a B Corp and “use business as a force for good, benefiting all.”