DOG TALK® (and Kitties Too!) on

icon of side silhouette of dog and cat drawn inside the dog Tracie Hotchner the Radio Pet Lady

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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A Sweeping History of Cats and Humans

#955B: Jerry D. Moore discusses his captivating historical nonfiction book “Cat Tales: A History: How We Learned to Live with Them," which required years of research to uncover fascinating aspects of history that cats share with humankind.

The Veteran with PTSD Who is His Service Dog's "19th Puppy"

#955A: Victor Hurtado is the veteran with PTSD in the winning Dog Chow Service Dog Salute film ONE MIND, who describes his relationship with his life-altering dog, Holly as being "her 19th puppy," because before being paired with him she had two litters of 9 puppies each, all of which went on to become trained service dogs themselves.

Can Your Dog Benefit from "Psych Drugs?"

#954B: Dr. Lisa Radosta DVM, DACVB is a world-renowned board-certified veterinary behaviorist, who talks about when — and which drugs — might help peoples' pets with Separation Related Disorders adjust and cope better in stressful situations.

All the Dogs We've Loved Are Still With Us

#954A: Film director, screenwriter and author Cathryn Michon talks about the groundbreaking way she turned her book "I'm Still Here: a Dog's Purpose Forever" into an innovative film for the 10th Annual NY Dog Film Festival, which is why she'll be flying to NYC for the premiere October 26th — where her film will be the closing one in the program.

Matching P.J’s for the Whole Family — the Dog, Too!

#953B: Brian Nolan “rescued” the Australian brand Darren & Philipp, and now has a cult following for the matching comfy clothes and throws for the whole mutli-species family.

The Golden Retriever Bachelor

#953A: Kathy Alexander’s film of that title in the upcoming 10th Annual NY Dog Film Festival is a charming spoof on the reality TV show of a similar name.

Sylvester.ai is Changing How We Can Help Cats

#952B: Susan Groeneveld in Calgary, Alberta Canada founded https://www.sylvester.ai, with tech experts and feline veterinarians, a smartphone-enabled app that can detect pain on your cat’s face with proven “grimace scales” that you and your veterinarian can use to evaluate whether your cat is suffering and find a solution.

A Service Dog Salute film from the Dog’s Point of View

#952A: Shannon Walker talks about founding and running Northwest Battle Buddies, where they train and pair service dogs specifically for veterans with PTSD — and winning the Purina Dog Chow Service Dog Salute prize with “Following Flame,” a film from the dog’s perspective about one such pairing.

Two More Fascinating Films in the Upcoming NY Cat Film Festival

#951B: Tracie salutes filmmaker Kim Best, who yet again has two films in this year’s NY Cat Film Festival (as she has in every one of the 8 years Dr. Elsey’s has been sponsoring the Festival). One film is about an amazing older lady in North Carolina who runs a cat rescue that has adopted out over 3,000 cats.

Sorry, but Your Vet is WRONG about Kidney Diets for Cats

#951A: Dr. Elizabeth Hodgkins discusses how the veterinary community is stuck in decades-old (since disproven) studies about the negative effect of protein in diets for cats with kidney disease — so Tracie recommends everybody buy two copies of Dr. Elizabeth’s book “YOUR CAT: Simple New Secrets to a Longer, Stronger Life.” One copy for themselves, one for their vet.