Talking Animals

Elaine West–the founder of Rooterville Animal Sanctuary, a refuge housing rescued farm animals she launched in Melrose, Florida, more than two decades ago—explains the origin of her lifelong love of pigs. West pinpoints a particular pig that a local Humane Society was about to send home with “adopters” she felt certain were planning to eat […]

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As we’ve done 13 times prior—spanning more than four years now!-–today’s program involved setting aside the usual “Talking Animals” format in order to present the show-length feature, “Ask The Trainer.”  In each session of ATT, listeners are invited to call or email (or text) questions about their dogs or cats. The Trainer these listeners have an opportunity […]

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Dr. Eleanor Spicer Rice–an entomologist by training, and author whose books have tackled topics ranging from spiders to microbes—responds to my observation that her new set of books, “The Deadliest Series,” appears to represent a redoubling of her commitment to writing for young readers. It felt worth exploring, in part because Spicer Rice holds a […]

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Marsha Panuce—founder of Donte’s Den, a distinctive sanctuary in multiple ways, including that it extends across 50 acres (in Myakka City, FL), and primarily houses dogs—recalls growing up loving dogs, including pilgrimages with her Dad every Father’s Day to the local shelter, to adopt a dog. This passion for pooches traversed her formative years and […]

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Nicci Wright–co-founder and co-chairperson of the African Pangolin Working Group (APWG), dedicated to the protection and the conservation of the pangolin, the world’s most trafficked animal—recalls her first encounter with a pangolin more than two decades ago. Echoing a response commonly experienced after individuals are introduced to these striking-looking animals, Wright felt compelled to help […]

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Adam Sugalski–who leads the efforts of Bear Defenders, a coalition dedicated to ending bear hunting across the United States; their singular focus currently is opposing the bear hunt that the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has proposed for 2025—recalls how information imparted in high school prompted some unexpected contemplation, and a life change, […]

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C. Annie Peters, president and CEO of Pet Partners—a Bellevue, Wash.-based national therapy animal organization focusing on improving human health and well-being through the human-animal bond—traces her path from once-aspiring engineer (who realized she didn’t really like engineering), venturing into an extended stint in the non-profit world, working at Special Olympics International before landing at […]

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Dr. Holly Dutton, Medical Director at the Tampa and Clearwater locations of VEG ER for Pets–a national enterprise that specializes in providing around-the-clock emergency and critical care services for pets—flips the script on my mention of the countless guests who work with animals in some capacity, grew up wanting to be a veterinarian, but for […]

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Tanya Smith–Founder and President of Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge, a 459-acre sanctuary in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, chiefly housing abused, abandoned, and neglected big cats—recalls a precocious first foray into big cat rescue…at age 11. She explains that this was the outgrowth of her parents—inveterate animal lovers—intervening in an odd, colorful situation where a lion cub […]

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As we’ve done 12 times prior—spanning just over four years now!–today’s program involved setting aside the usual “Talking Animals” format in order to present the show-length feature, “Ask The Trainer.”  In each session of ATT, listeners are invited to call or email (or text) questions about their dogs or cats, particularly . The Trainer these listeners have […]

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Jamie Katz–who’s worked as a Fort Lauderdale-based real-life pet detective for a decade—recalls growing up amidst a family that always lived with cats and dogs, as well as her initial efforts helping animals while regularly driving along a prescribed route. Katz notes that around this time, she thought to herself that an ideal professorial path […]

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Katrina Shadix–founder and executive director of Bear Warriors United (BWU), whose stated mission is to preserve and protect bears, and all of Florida’s natural resources and wildlife—recalls, as a second generation Floridian, the formative joys of growing up in rural Seminole County.Shadix explains how that experience forged a profound connection with Florida wildlife—very much including […]

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Occasionally, I jettison the chief component of the “Talking Animals” format–a long form interview with a single guest–to give voice to a broader array of animal organizations and leaders, concerned animal advocates, and others who simply care about animals. That’s what happened today, when I invited listeners to call in (or email) and briefly serve as the […]

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Veteran science journalist Stephen S. Hall–the author of several books, most recently, Slither: How Nature’s Most Maligned Creatures Illuminate Our World—recounts how he approached writing Slither, a strategy seeking to beckon even those amidst the sizable contingent of people who are creeped out by snakes, hate snakes, or are afraid of snakes. And while only […]

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Kate MacFall and Katherine McGill—longtime wildlife experts joining me for a discussion devoted to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), specifically, the FWC’s current effort to evaluate existing rules for wildlife trapping—address what for many may be the surprising prevalence of trapping in Florida. McGill and MacFall go on to speak to the […]

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Kari Bagnall–founder and executive director of Jungle Friends Primate Sanctuary, which offers permanent care to nearly 200 monkeys retired from laboratory research, who are former pets, or have been confiscated by the authorities—recalls the first monkey that entered her world, and forever altered her life. As part of this account, Bagnall describes creating the earliest […]

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Kelly McCormick and Glenn Maresca–co-founders of Florida Rescue Farm, a sanctuary in Duette, FL, devoted to rescuing, rehabilitating, and housing pigs, goats, geese, chickens, ducks, cattle, other critters, and no less devoted to cultivating a strong educational presence—described the remote community of Duette, and what prompted them to settle there. They make clear their original […]

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Jocelyn Stokes and Katie Schuler—co-creators of “In Her Nature,” a new digital series carried on the YouTube channel for the longstanding PBS program, “Nature”—retrace the path that led each of them toward their present filmmaking careers, specializing in natural history documentaries. Over the course of sharing their histories, they each recount a pivotal project early […]

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Michael Schneider, a pilot and founder of Pilots To The Rescue—which flies animals from shelters plagued by low rates of adoption (and, often, high rates of euthanasia), to rescues where foster or forever homes have been arranged—describes the career reinvention that preceded his taking flying lessons. Schneider remembers that, back then, like most new pilots, […]

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