On The Road with Mac and Molly - Pet Life Radio Original

On The Road with Mac and Molly - Pet Life Radio Original

Thirty years ago -- in the second year of our marriage -- my husband Gene and I (with our toddler Brooke in tow) took -- what turned out to be -- a glorious two month motor trip across Canada and Alaska -- starting in Quebec and winding up in British Columbia. I still smile as I think of Gene shaving in our motor home’s rear view mirror on a cool morning by a pristine lake in Yukon Territory. I still cherish the extraordinary kindness of a farmer in Saskatchewan who rescued us from a ditch when our vehicle slid down an embankment. I still fill up with awe as I recall the staggering beauty of the Canadian Rockies. I still feel the excitement of the chuck wagon races at the Calgary Stampede, still ooh at the kick of the kitsch in Dawson’s Creek, still savor the aroma of Montreal’s culinary delights, still cherish my familial connections to Nova Scotia, still marvel at the enduring culture and artistry of the Tlingit, still delight in the metropolitan flair of Ottawa, Canada’s capitol city. Two years prior to this journey, Gene and I made our way -- in a Chevy Blazer -- across the United States stopping to applaud the precise timing of Old Faithful at Yellowstone, to laugh at the delightful antics of the black-tailed prairie dogs near Devil’s Tower in Wyoming, to estimate the miles to the next grain silo on the Great Plains, to marvel at all the wares (a jackalope?) on offer at Wall Drug . . . another wonderful adventure!ow we’ve auctioned our home and most the contents and are making the final preparations to hit the road again but -- this time -- in a truck with a 38-foot fifth wheel trailer and with Mac and Molly, our sibling pair of four-year-old Old English Sheepdogs, along for the ride. With no specific itinerary, we'll travel about the United States and Canada reporting from the well-traveled thoroughfares and lightly-traveled lanes on the joys and challenges of sharing the open road with two-hundred-plus-pounds of dog. We’ll give you a heads up on what's dog-friendly along the way and we'll seek out the usual and the unusual, the celebrated and the hidden. We’ll report on fascinating places and events, intriguing trends, creative artists, unusual hobbyists, hard workers, odd jobbers, cutting-edge technology and old-time pleasures. Listeners may expect the light-hearted and the serious, entertainment, information, insights, passion, a fresh eye . . . all depending on the subject matter for each particular show. So come along as we head off . . . On the Road with Mac and Molly! Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/on-the-road-with-mac-and-molly-pet-life-radio-original--6670936/support.

Episodes

August 1, 2015 47 mins
In this final episode in the series, Donna recalls savored moments from nine years of life with her sibling pair of Old English Sheepdogs. In the first segment, we walk with her through the love-at-first-sight day of Mac and Molly’s adoption to M&M’s abysmal performances in puppy kindergarten. We hear about the dogs’ tug-of-warring with and trashing of furniture, toys and monogrammed dog beds at Gene and Donna’s country home in...
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Gary 'Montana' Robert is a multi-award-winning stuntman and stunt coordinator who has worked on more than 700 TV shows and films from CHiPs and The Dukes of Hazzard to Forrest Gump, Platoon, Underworld, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, and Fast and Furious.

In this episode, we’ll hear from Gary "Montana" Robert about life in stunt work and life with his dearly loved service wolf, Sage.

Questions or Comments? Send them to: don...
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Mark Twain wisely noted that: "twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

In this episode, Donna will share some of what it can be like to answer the call of, what John Steinbeck referred to as, 'the call of bumdom.' More than four years ago, she...
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Regarded as one of the rarest birds in the world, the California Condor is the largest land bird in North America with a wingspan of up to 9 ½ feet and a weight of up to 23 pounds. At one point, only 22 of these magnificent creatures remained in the world. Now, through Herculean efforts in reintroduction, there are more than 400 and more than 70 of these are flying over southern Utah and northern Arizona.The Mexican Spotted Owl is ...
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There is no such thing as a typical day for a wildlife biologist especially for one whose 'office' is Grand Canyon National Park. A day’s agenda might find you discouraging a bobcat kitten from 'entertaining' hikers along Bright Angel Trail OR studying Mexican Spotted Owls deep in the Canyon OR helping native fish species reach recovery in the waters of the Colorado River OR leading volunteers in conducting a count of the elk popul...
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Two-thirds of Americans and Europeans won’t ever live where they can see the Milky Way- their own galaxy, their own solar system- because two-thirds no longer experience real night- that is, real darkness- and nearly every person in the world lives in areas considered polluted by light. In this episode of On the Road with Mac and Molly, we hear from Paul Bogard, author of The End of Night: Searching for Natural Darkness in an Age o...
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The Adventures of Salt and Soap at Grand Canyon is the true story of two puppies who wandered into the Canyon and maneuvered their way into some great escapades--multiple rim-to-river hikes, a white-water rafting trip, and even a helicopter ride-all while ultimately snuggling their ways into park rangers’ hearts.

The author of this charming book for children, interpretive ranger Lori Rome, adopted this pair of adventurers after mee...
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Four kittens. A crumbling English cottage. One touching tale of life in the British countryside. In Paw Prints at Owl Cottage, the sequel by Denis O’Connor to Paw Prints in the Moonlight, the author tenderly and humorously charts the ups and downs of days shared with feline companions. In his first book, then bachelor Denis detailed his life with his much-loved hybrid Maine Coon cat, Toby Jug.

In this episode, Donna chats with bel...
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In this episode, Donna chats with Kathryn Bertok, Curator of Animals at Carolina Tiger Rescue. The 55-acre Pittsboro, North Carolina facility has more than 70 animals in its care including tigers, binturongs, lions, cougars, bobcats, caracals, kinkajous, ocelots and servals. The organization is working toward the day when wildcats are not owned by individuals as pets; wildcats are not used for entertainment purposes; no trade exist...
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Donna chats with Rebecca Cagle, life coach and author of Grieving the Loss of Your Pet and Grieving the Loss of Your Horse. In this program, they discuss grieving the loss of a pet through trauma or illness; through natural causes - old age; through euthanasia; through loss in the event of theft or a pet’s wandering away or when a pet has to be given away or sold.

Questions or Comments? Send them to: donna@petliferadio.com.

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In this episode of On the Road with Mac and Molly, Donna chats with Karen Johnson, Director of the Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center and longtime friend of the Schulz family. We hear about the Peanuts Gang, its creator and the museum. And then we center, most especially, on all things Snoopy from his doghouse decor (a pool table, Wyeths and a Van Gogh . . . ); to his impersonations (from a moose and a pelican to Mickey M...
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In this week's episode, the focus is on the Pawsitive Partners Prison Program, which is operated under the umbrella of Monty's Home, a North Carolina-based organization that was inspired into being by the love and generous spirit of Monty, a dearly loved therapy dog and canine star who brought sunshine into the lives of many. After Monty succumbed to cancer, his human companion, Barb Raab, created an organization in his memory and ...
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After ministering to those shaken by the bombings along the route of the Boston Marathon, specially trained therapy dogs have been deployed to help those struggling to recover from the fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas.

Donna speaks with Tim Hetzner, who is leading the team in West, Texas and who was also on the team deployed to Boston. Tim shares stories from the ministry in these cities and recounts how the dogs have bee...
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In this episode, Donna adds a third installment to her occasional series on Threats to Pets. In earlier episodes, we heard from veterinary toxicologist Sharon Gwaltney-Brant and San Antonio veterinarian Rae Dishinger about dangers associated with external and internal parasites; infectious diseases; insects, wildlife; plants; and toxins.

Donna's guest today is Bill Converse, founder of Air Restore, Inc. and inventor of the Critte...
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In this episode, The Wild Life: Surprise Encounters, Donna, author of the forthcoming book, Rubber Hobos, shares stories from some of her adventures with wild animals. She takes you from a watering hole and savanna in Zimbabwe to the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, from the pine flatwoods and forested wetlands of Florida to the middle of Death Valley. In this program are stories about warthogs and wildebeest, a band of beggin' burros,...
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Of the 56,000 animals that came into city shelters in Los Angeles last year, 17,000 were killed. A newly-formed coalition, led by the Best Friends Animal Society wants to reduce that number - within the next five years - to zero.

In this episode, Donna chats with Francis Battista, one of the founders of the Best Friends Animal Society. This highly regarded animal welfare organization is known around the world for its no-kill progr...
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In this episode Donna visits with Kitty Terry, Executive Director of the internationally-known, Birmingham, Alabama-based animal-assisted therapy organization, Hand in Paw. HIP, founded in 1996, provides professionally trained animal-assisted therapy teams to help people heal physically and emotionally. These 120+ teams (which are made up entirely of volunteers) address abuse, disabilities, illiteracy, and chronic and terminal illn...
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In the second episode of a multi-part series on animals and art-making, Donna visits with Tifane Grayce, author of Fur in My Paint. Pictured and profiled in this full-color, hardcover, high-gloss coffee table book is the work of art-making creatures from scorpions to beaded lizards, from macaws to elephants, from rhinos to gorillas, from sea lions to white tigers. Donna explores with Tifane how the Fur in My Paint project came to f...
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In this episode, Donna launches into a new series on animals and art-making. Her first chat is with Ken Lytwyn, Curator of Marine Mammals at the Oregon Coast Aquarium Their focus: Lea, Max and Quill, the facility’s resident sea lion artists that paint on canvases using their flippers and mouth-held brushes. Ken describes each one's temperaments and talents and details what made these sea lions good candidates for art-making. We hea...
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In this episode Donna visits with Nevada Barr, New York Times Bestselling Author of the Anna Pigeon mystery series.

The Rope, Nevada's 17th book featuring the crime-solving park ranger, Anna, has just been released. The New York Times has called the Pigeon series, "Thrilling!" USA Today has deemed Nevada's books, "Extraordinary!" And the Boston Globe raves: 'Nevada Barr is one of the best!'

Each book in the series is set in one ...
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