City of Dogs

In this episode we talk with Jessica Dolce about her work as a compassion fatigue educator (and a dog walker and shelter volunteer) and what we can do to provide self-care as we help with others.  Whether we self-identify as "helpers" or not, we are all playing a role in the lives of other people and animals, but we also need to take care of ourselves to keep from burning out.  Jessica shares some of the key points of her...

In the City of Dogs book, we visited Monet with her mother Alfreda and daughter Jamila in the Fort Greene neighborhood in Brooklyn, where they share a house next to the BQE with a number of dogs, large and small.  In this episode, we talk to Monet from Long Island, where she's caring for her mother during the Covid pandemic, and Jamila in Fort Greene.  Among the topics: how growing up with dogs shaped their lives, what to do w...

Dogs bring people together, but what does that mean when a pandemic forces all the public dog parks to close?  New York City Dog Trainer Garrett Rosso of Village Dogworks joins Ken Foster to talk about the history of Tompkins Square's First Run, what it is like to be back in Manhattan after quarantining in the country, and what the future of dog walking and dog parks looks like, including the annual Halloween dog parade, which...

Author and Host Ken Foster is joined by Broadway Animal Trainer Lydia DesRoche and special guest photographer Traer Scott.  Together, they talk about Lydia's lifelong love of animals and her unexpected journey from a New Orleans childhood to top Manhattan fitness instructor and her unexpected turn to animal training, rescue and coaching dogs, rats, goats and chickens for work on the Broadway stage.  This wide-ranging discussio...