Animal Instinct

This week on Animal Instinct, host Celia Kutcher is joining the PupScouts! Welcoming guests Jennifer Jo-Moyer and Kelleigh Noftell, they share that PupScouts was started by Susan Godwin and Lela Hadick as an on-line social group and an excuse to wear the adorable Brownie and Cub Scout uniforms they found on line. PupScouts has since developed into a charitable fund raising organization who’s members are all over the US, Canada and even the UK. The ladies explain that the group meets in person and has forums on DPFamily. Complete with badges, doing good deeds, and with PupScout cookies in the works, Celia gets the scoop on this great organization! Tune in to hear details on joining a troop, their upcoming Oscar event, doggy fashion shows, and details on the many charities they support. This program was brought to you by Heritage Foods USA.

“Our pledge is ‘On our honor I will try to do my duty to help the dog community.'” [18:05]

—Jennifer Jo-Moyer on Animal Instinct

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Do you like coffee? Sweets? Cats? If so, tune in to this week’s episode of Animal Instinct with host Celia Kutcher who is chatting with Emilie Legrand, the ‘catrepreneur’ and co-founder of New York City’s first cat cafe, Meow Parlour. Celia gets the scoop on the city’s hottest new cafe, asking how they were able to bring this idea to life considering hurdles from the Department of Health, how exactly the cat interaction works, and a description of their adoption process if patrons want to take a cat home. Emilie explains that from one cat to another how they tend to adapt to the unique space and socialize with customers. After the break, Emilie shares that Meow Parlour does allow children on a special schedule and that the cats get every Wednesday off, as the cafe is closed. Check out the rest of the episode to hear all about Meow Parlour! This program was brought to you by Heritage Foods USA.

“Sometimes we have people who say ‘I think I’m allergic to cats. I want to come check if I’m really allergic.’ Good thing we have a really good pharmacy around the corner!” [23:55]

—Emilie Legrand on Animal Instinct

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We’ve all heard of landmine sniffing dogs, but how about landmine sniffing rats? This week on Animal Instinct, host Celia Kutcher gets an update from APOPO ( check out APOPO on Episode 13), the organization that trains rats to sniff out landmines as well as tuberculosis. Chatting with US Director, Charlie Richter, about what’s new and where the organization is headed, he shares the numbers of current working ‘hero rats’ and those that are in training to help those in need. He also reminds listeners how exactly the rats detect landmines and TB, all of which upon successful detection is rewarded with a treat. Charlie takes Celia through the life of a hero rat and shares the time he was ‘kissed’ by a rat! After the break, Charlie explains how dire the landmine situation is in the countries APOPO operates in and reinforces their life-saving work in these underdeveloped nations. This program was brought to you by Heritage Foods USA.

“They are pets doing great tasks at the end of the day.” [9:10]

“98% of our employees are from the countries they work in. It’s a very important part of our core value.” [12:55]

—Charlie Richter on Animal Instinct

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This week on Animal Instinct, host Celia Kutcher is chatting the truth about potbellied pigs with the Marcia Christensen, President of the California Potbellied Pig Association. The California Potbellied Pig Association was founded in 1989, making it one of the oldest potbellied pig clubs in the country. It began with a few new pig owners in the San Francisco Bay Area getting together to discuss this wonderful new pet. From just a handful of people, this club has now grown to be hundreds strong from all over California, the United States and Europe. A non-profit organization dedicated to educating people about potbellied pigs as well as a referral rescue for pigs in need of new homes, Marcie explains that through the organization she has seen the full run of bad and unexpected pig experiences brought on by either irresponsible breeders or uneducated owners. Celia and Marcie go through the basics of responsible pig ownership and agree that in order to own a pig one has to have a great sense of humor! Tune in for a wonderful show! This program was brought to you by The Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.

“Two pigs are much better than one… they do like companionship!” [21:40]

—Marcie Christensen on Animal Instinct

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This week on Animal Instinct, host Celia Kutcher welcomes the ladies from the HIppy HIve HoneyBee Co-Op to the studio. The co-op has created a community to become aware of the radical interdependence with honey bees and the imminent dangers to their existence and ultimately ours; to become familiar with time honored, hands on techniques of organic bee caring and mindful honey harvesting, and to share this knowledge and experience. Celia gets the scoop not only on how the co-op started, but also the basics on caring for and tending to bees in a responsible manner. After the break, the ladies share how they treat their hives differently than the average beekeepers, including fun details like naming each of their queen bees and smoking the bees with sage. Tune in to hear all about beekeeping from the ladies who know the trade best! This program was brought to you by Heritage Foods USA.

—Susanmerrie Hellerer on Animal Instinct

“Hives can get up to nearly 100,000 bees in the height of summer.” [21:30]

—Sarah Shepherd on Animal Instinct

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This week host Celia Kutcher is kicking off 2015 with a brand new episode of Animal Instinct celebrating National Bird Day with Dr. John Marzluff of the University of Washington. Talkin’ all about crows, John answers many questions regarding the well-known bird such as the typical lifespan and social structure of the species. John goes on to relay that crows are exceptionally intelligent and possess social structures that aid in how they learn and communicate with one another. After the break, Celia and John discuss ways in which crows have influenced humans, including language, culture, and even burial techniques. Tune in to hear about the guest’s research and findings he has contributed to the ornithological field and why experts say that crows never forget! This program was brought to you by Heritage Foods USA.

“Social animals like a lot of crows, they learn both by direct experience and by social learning or observation.” [7:40]

—Dr. John Marzluff on Animal Instinct

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This week on Animal Instinct, host Celia Kutcher is giving tips on traveling with pets along with guest Dr. Patrick Mahaney, holistic veterinarian. Dr. Mahaney is a veterinary consultant for The Honest Kitchen pet food, contributes to PetMD among many other professional advocacy groups, and is a highly sought after VMD. He starts off telling Celia that taking animals on vacation should be considered on a pet by pet basis and sometimes might be best to be left out of the vacation fun. He goes on to give a rundown on international travel with pets and if vaccinations should be kept in mind, plus airline regulations for flying with pets. After the break, Dr. Mahaney gives tips on how to calm an anxious pet once the plane has been boarded and doors shut. Tune in for an informative episode! This program was brought to you by Heritage Foods USA.

“When you have a pet that’s eating a whole food based diet, it’s easier to transitions their food from one thing to another, versus pets that just eat processed food like kibble.” [25:25]

—Dr. Patrick Mahaney on Animal Instinct

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This week on Animal Instinct, host Celia Kutcher is talking the history of canines! Welcoming Mary Thurston, author of “The Lost History of the Canine Race,” she has explored fifteen thousand years of canine-human interactions reflected in art, photos, documents and artifacts created by generations of dog lovers. Telling Celia how she became inspired to write the book and what sparked her interest in the history of dogs, she shares that she still hears from avid readers even twenty years after its initial publication. Mary goes on to give listeners information about the first dogs and how for many generations archaeologists did not consider animal relics important enough to keep record of, until the subject of zooarchaeology came about. After the break, Celia asks Mary about the domestication of the first dogs and the evolution of the wild dog to the dog as we know it today. Tune in for a great show! This program was brought to you by Heritage Foods USA.

“Domestication, basically, is a form of arrested development in animals.” [22:30]

—Mary Thurston on Animal Instinct

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This week on Animal Instinct, host Celia Kutcher is talking to Scott Tarter of Twin Lakes Farm all about what it’s like to own an equestrian facility and what riding does for the horses and people. Scott Tarter is Twin Lakes Farms’ stable and general manager where he is in charge of daily horse care and operations. He has been a professional horseman for twenty years in the Westchester County area and holds an A.A.S. from Cazenovia College in Stable & Farm Management as well as a B.S. from The University of Connecticut in Animal Science. In addition to his responsibilities as general manager, Scott also travels with the USEF and IHSA teams and drives the horsevan and trailer. Talking to Celia about how he found himself drawn to the horse world and the history of Twin Lakes Farm, Scott divulges all that the facility has to offer and answers some questions along the way! This program was brought to you by Heritage Foods USA.

“It becomes a life long sport and it’s athletic and mentally, physically challenging.” [36:20]

—Scott Tarter on Animal Instinct

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This week on Animal Instinct, host Celia Kutcher is talking nutrition for pets and welcomes her mentor, Phil Klein, to the show. Phil and his wife began Whiskers Holistic in 1988, there were few if any, alternatives to traditional invasive, harsh, chemically-based animal care. Among the early pioneers of the alternative, holistic pet care movement, they are proud to have had some small responsibility for the growing number of people who understand the benefits of a more natural approach to animal healthcare. Phil is delighted that so many of customers have come to see that herbal remedies work, homeopathy is not just for “health nuts,” and that like humans, animals deserve the highest quality, most humane level of care. Tune in to hear Phil’s thoughts on being a pet parent and to learn about changing a pet’s diet for the better! This program was brought to you by Heritage Foods USA.

“Holistic means everything touches everything else.”

—Phil Klein on Animal Instinct

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