Furball Confidential

To a lot of people, Anna Maria Tremonti is known as a hardnose journalist unafraid to ask the tough questions. A former foreign correspondent for CBC News and longtime host of The Current on CBC Radio, Henry Kissinger famously once hung up on her because he didn’t like the question she asked. But to see another side of Anna Maria, look no further than “her puppy” Zuzu - her now 4-year-old golden retriever who happens to have Anna M...

As a writer, how do you know when the work day is done? For Dean Koontz, it’s when a golden retriever throws your hand off the keyboard at exactly 5pm. A self-described “workaholic” who has written more than 100 books, Dean says adopting his first dog Trixie transformed his schedule and his life. Dean opens up about Trixie’s mystical side, what it’s like to care for a “perfect soul” and the jealous rage he felt when her debut book ...

They’re belligerent. They talk back. They scheme. And if you’re a husky person like Jonathan Brinksman, that’s all part of the furry appeal. Jonathan grew up with two huskies, and is now proud husky dad and “crazy dog mom” to Archer and Leia, known to their millions of social media fans as Siberian Derpskies. In this super fun conversation, we get into the good, the bad and the hilarious when it comes to living with huskies, and wh...

Haviah had her heart set on adopting the underdog. Or, undercat, as it were. Black cats are often overlooked in the rescue world and as a young Black woman growing up in Canada, the experience of being an underdog resonates deeply with Haviah. But in the end, after a long back and forth at her local rescue, the award-winning rapper realized that the cat who most needed saving was not black. It was Buster. Haviah tells the whole sto...

Sit. Stay. Safely jump through a fake glass window with dozens of people watching you. Ok, maybe that last command is best reserved for the pros. And it doesn’t get more pro than Sherri Davis.

Sherri wears many hats but her main gig is Executive Producer and Lead Dog Trainer for Hudson & Rex, the police drama that stars a crime-solving German Shepherd named Rex. Rex was originally played by Sherri’s beloved dog Diesel, who w...

Meant to be. That’s really the only way to describe the trio of doggos that Adrienne C. Moore - star of Orange is the New Black and Pretty Hard Cases - calls her family. We dive into the remarkable origin stories of all three pups; from the photo of one little black and one little brown dog that Adrienne had up on her fridge long before she ever met Lola (small and black) and Mowgli (small and brown), to rescuing Dodson from the si...

When they met at Second City about 15 years ago, Naomi Snieckus and Matt Baram  each came to the table with a dependent. Matt had Murphy, a 100 pound black golden labradoodle (yes, they exist). Naomi had Rufus, a little cockapoo. And as she says, they “Brady bunched.” It’s been a dog’s life pretty much ever since for the actor-writer-improviser duo who adopted Alfie this past year. Our conversation is a long dog walk down memo...

When Chef Susur Lee commits to something, he truly commits. I mean you don’t become a world famous Chef by taking things lightly. So when Chef took over caring for his son’s dog Nyla, he made a full commitment to honour her true nature as a husky and to feed, walk and respect her accordingly. Yes, there’s a lot of discipline involved. But there’s also a ton of silliness and freedom - a sharp contrast to the pressure of Chef life in...

Let the record show that Natasha the cat was supposed to be “just a foster.” But by the time Baroness von Sketch Show star/co-creator Carolyn Taylor finally coaxed her out from under the couch, there was really no other choice but to keep her. A self-proclaimed “cat apologist”, Carolyn goes deep on feline lessons in humility and what keeps cat lovers coming back for more despite the possibility of scratches (emotional and physical)...

Kwane Stewart has loved and been surrounded by animals his whole life and knew he wanted to care for them from a young age. But working as a vet at a shelter during the recession - and having to decide which animals lived and which were euthanized - almost made him walk away from the profession altogether. Dr. Kwane shares the life-changing encounter with an unhoused man and his dog that inspired him to create the non-profit Projec...

Before comedian Sabrina Jalees had sons Wolfie and Rowan, she and her wife Shauna had another son - their French bulldog, Cowboy. According to Sabrina, he was their first born, and taught them a thing or two about parenting humans. Cowboy has also become fast friends and mischievous co-conspirators with her toddler. And who knew - until this conversation - that Cowboy kind of wasn’t meant to be. That’s all in this action-...

Think you know someone? Wait until you hear them talk about their pets. Furball Confidential is a new podcast that takes a gleeful swandive into one of our most intimate - but least talked about - relationships - the one we have with our pets. Join veteran podcaster and rescue dog mom Jen Moroz as she sits down with some of your favourite actors, authors, musicians and influencers to explore a side of them you've never heard before...