Conversations For The Animals

Topher Brophy (@topherbrophy) is a New York-based Dog Dad artist who gained international attention due to the socially conscious and wildly imaginative photos of him and his son, Rosenberg The Dog (@rosenbergthedog), in elaborate matching outfits.

Before he became a father, Topher had been going through a difficult time. He realized his emotional void was caused by a desire to care for someone else, which is when he adopted Rosenberg, who, unknowingly, bore an uncanny physical resemblance to him.

On this episode of Conversations For The Animals, the dynamic duo join podcast hosts Tena Lundquist Faust and Tama Lundquist to discuss the meaningful connection between humans and animals.

Animal cruelty, abuse, neglect and abandonment are serious crimes that happen daily in the City of Houston.

On this episode of Conversations For The Animals, Houston Police Department's Commander Ron Borza dives into the work that he and his one sergeant and six officers face regularly. Monthly, Commander Borza and his team receive 50-80 animal cruelty reports, and his unit is also a part of the Harris County Animal Cruelty Taskforce.

To report an animal-related crime to Houston Police Department Major Offenders division please call 713-308-3100 or file a report online at 927paws.org.

When Great Day Houston's Deborah Duncan was starting her journalism career in Austin, she was asked to report on a local animal shelter that was euthanizing animals. After almost witnessing one of the dogs being put down, she learned that day that cities in our area have an enormous homeless animal crisis.

In this episode of Conversations For The Animals, hosts Tena Lundquist Faust and Tama Lundquist speak with Deborah about the roots of the issue of animal homelessness, her relationship with her own pets, and her role as emcee at the upcoming Fierce & Fabulous Soiree.

Some of life's greatest lessons are learned from our family, friends, and social networks, and the same can be said for our dog companions. In this episode of Conversations For The Animals, hosts Tena Lundquist Faust and Tama Lundquist speak with Houston Dog Ranch founder Matt Bryant. Together they dive into Matt's dog training method of alloparenting, in which he teaches canines how to better behave through the social family language method.

Do you know what's in your pet's food?

On this episode of Conversations For The Animals, podcast hosts Tena Lundquist Faust and Tama Lundquist speak with Xee and Rudy, the co-founders of Drooly Dog Food. In this discussion, we learn why Rudy and Xee created their nutritious, human-grade pet food, how they established a business during the pandemic and their vision for the future of their brand #ForTheAnimals.

To many in the animal welfare community, FOX 26 Houston's Randy Wallace is known as the broadcast voice for animals in need. In this episode of Conversations For The Animals, hosts Tena Lundquist Faust and Tama Lundquist speak with Randy about how he began reporting on issues affecting animals in Houston, how his stories have impacted the community and his unconditional love for dogs.

You can catch Randy reporting live on FOX Monday through Friday during the 9PM broadcast.

Did you know that there are very strong correlations between animal abuse and crimes against humans? A 2001-2004 study by the Chicago Police Department found that of those arrested for animal crimes, 65% had been arrested for battery against another person. With crime on the rise across Houston, podcast hosts Tena Lundquist Faust and Tama Lundquist sit down with Crime Stoppers of Houston’s CEO Rania Mankarious to discuss the topic further and they address the important role animals play in our community.

Claire Goodman is a Senior Reporter with the Houston Chronicle and she is also a dedicated Houston PetSet foster. In this episode, podcast hosts Tena Lundquist Faust and Tama Lundquist speak with Claire about her experience writing about animal welfare topics, the value of animals and how fostering has impacted her family, especially her young boys.

On today's episode of Conversations For The Animals, hosts Tena Lundquist Faust and Tama Lundquist speak with longtime partner and friend of the animals, Reverend Greg Han, Director of Interfaith Relations and Education at Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston. In this 30-minute discussion, Reverend Han touches on the moral and ethical responsibility we have in caring for and respecting the companion animals in our community.

In the Greater Houston area, rescue dogs are often survivors of abuse, neglect and cruelty. In her role as Director of Healing Species Texas, Joy Southard brings these resilient animals into local schools and youth detention centers to demonstrate lessons of compassion and courage. Through its programming, Healing Species Texas teaches kids a process from which to understand and overcome abuse, neglect, and grief, while also educating them about self-esteem, conflict resolution, anger management, respect for the feelings of others, and in gaining success through acts of compassion and responsibility instead of returning "violence for violence."