Kindness is Everything

Episode 87:  Kindness Is Blankets For Baby Rhinos

September 22 is World Rhino Day and to mark this special day when the world recognizes these incredible beings who are critically endangered, Anitha chatted with Elisa Best.

Elisa is originally from South Africa and works as a small animal veterinarian in the UK. Elisa talks about the plight of rhinos and her desire to help them, and how this evolved into the creation of Blankets For Baby Rhinos (BFBR).

This lovely group began by knitting blankets for orphaned rhinos, who are often both emotionally and physically traumatized when their mothers are killed by poachers. Rhino rescue groups discovered that baby rhinos find comfort when wrapped in these blankets.

BFBR has now grown to provide blankets for other animals such as injured and rescued pangolins, lions, leopards, as well as the dogs and humans who are part of anti-poaching units. These dogs and humans work bravely to protect rhinos from poachers.

To find out more about Blankets For Baby Rhinos and how you can support this incredible group, check out their website and their Facebook Page:

Website: Blankets For Baby Rhinos

Facebook: Blanket For Baby Rhinos FB


Elisa talked about an amazing place called Care For Wild Rhino Sanctuary. This is one of the rhino rescue groups, Blankets for Baby Rhinos supports. Care For Wild rescues, rehabilitates, releases, re-wilds and protects orphaned rhinos. In 2016, Anitha's daughter had the privilege to volunteer at this sanctuary. Her daughter's experience with the baby rhinos at Care For Wild inspired Anitha's debut picture book, A Family For Faru. Care For Wild will always hold a special place in Anitha's heart.

To learn more about Care For Wild Rhino Sanctuary, please click on this link:  Care For Wild Rhino Sanctuary

Elisa also mentioned the importance of the anti-poaching unit to protect rhinos and the personal risk these brave men, women and dogs face every day. She mentioned a feature length documentary called RHINO MAN. This film focuses on the life of Anton Mzimba, who was the Head of Ranger Services at Timbavati Private Nature Reserve. Anton dedicated his life to protecting and conserving South African wildlife, and made great sacrifices to himself and his family to do so. Sadly, he was murdered in July of 2022. To learn more about this film, check out the following link:
Rhino Man

As a thank you to Elisa for sharing her story, Anitha donated to Blankets For Baby Rhinos.

Clarissa Dery, a certified canine nutritionist joins Anitha to talk about what motivated her to create healthy supplements for dogs.

Clarissa not only creates products to help dogs, but after volunteering at a wildlife rehabilitation centre in South Africa, she decided to donate the profits from Clarissa Clover to help wild animals in South Africa.

Clarissa talks about her time in South Africa, the animals she worked with, such as hippos and pangolins, and how this experience affected her

To learn more about Clarissa and the products she makes, check out these links:
clarissa's website
Clarissa's instagram

As a thank you to Clarissa for sharing her story, Anitha donated to Umoya Khulula Wildlife Rehab Centre. This non-profit rehabilitation facility in Limpopo, South Africa is dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation and release of local wildlife that have been orphaned, injured, displaced or confiscated from the illegal trade.

To learm about this wildlife rehab centre, please check out their website:
umoya khulula wildlife

Episode 85: Kindness Is ASK A DOCTOR About FEVER

Anitha and the Kindness Is Everything Podcast welcome listeners to the second ASK A DOCTOR session. In this back-to-school session, Anitha and her husband, Dr. Matthew Robinson, talk about children getting fevers.  

If you’ve ever wondered about—

1. What is a fever
2. Causes of fever
3. When to worry about a fever
4. Antibiotics- Yes or no?
5. Advocating for your sick child

—then this episode is for you!

**DISCLAIMER**  THIS EPISODE IS MEANT FOR GUIDANCE ONLY AND NOT MEANT TO PROVIDE A SPECIFIC MEDICAL DIAGNOSIS. ALWAYS SEEK ADVICE FROM YOUR OWN MEDICAL PROVIDER

If you have a medical issue you’d like discussed on the podcast, please send Anitha an email through her website,anitharobinson.com

If your question is selected, Anitha will donate to a registered charity of your choice* as a thank you.

Registered Charity must support animals, the environment, or people. And also, no religious organizations, zoos or marine aquariums please.

Kathryn Nicolai, the creator of the number one sleep podcast Nothing Much Happens® joins Anitha to talk about how she makes SO much happen for others.

With her soothing voice, her promise of holding on to your worries while you sleep, and gently tucking listeners in for the night, Kathryn has helped so many folks fall asleep

For many, including Anitha, the quiet of nighttime is not conducive to sleep, instead it’s a time for negative thoughts to spiral and past traumas to impose themselves. That’s where Kathryn and her stories step in. They give listeners something else to attach their minds to and amazingly fall asleep!

Kathryn talks about the gratitude and responsibility she feels knowing that sometimes her voice is the last thing someone in hospice care will hear, or how folks who have suffered traumas and unbearable losses and night terrors are finally able to fall asleep because of her stories and her podcast.

In addition to helping people through her podcast and books, Kathryn donates to a charity every week!

To learn more about Kathryn and her podcast, check out her website: nothingmuchhappens.com

As a thank you to Kathryn for sharing her story, Anitha donated to I Heart Dogs Rescue and Animal Haven, a no-kill shelter that rescues, rehabilitates, re-homes and provides a refuge for homeless dogs.

To learn more about this rescue, click here: Iheartdogs

Episode 83: Kindness Is Katy Brink & the dodo

The incredible, Katy Brink from the dodo joins Anitha to talk about her love for animals, fostering dogs, and being a part of an amazing organization all about animals.

Katy shares what it’s like working as an executive editor at the dodo, (which may be Anitha’s dream job) The dodo is a wonderful organization that highlights heart-warming stories about animals . . . and the stories always have happy endings

In addition to working as an editor, Katy generously devotes a lot of her time to fostering dogs. She talks about the devastating overcrowding situation at animal shelters and how fostering literally saves lives.

Katy has some wonderful stories about the dogs who are and have been in her life, including her current foster, a sweet girl named Cartier.

To learn more about Katy, Cartier and the dodo, click on the following links.

Katy's Instagram
Dodo Instagram 
Cartier's story 
Cartier's adoption profile

As a thank you to Katy for sharing her story, Anitha donated to Mr. Bones & Co.— a volunteer-run animal welfare non-profit. They specialize in helping dogs who face extraordinary challenges, such as extensive emergency veterinary care/surgery, unfair breed discrimination or those languishing in municipal shelters with behavioral issues that make them harder to place.

To learn more about this rescue, click here:
mrbonesandco

Episode 82: Kindness Is Our Honor

Dr. Crystal Heath, a veterinarian and animal rights activist joins Anitha to talk about the surprising dichotomy that exists holding both of these spaces.

Like a lot of listeners, Anitha assumed that folks who go into veterinary medicine are also strong advocates for animal rights, but that may not always be the case.

Dr. Heath shares her experience of what it was like speaking out for animals during veterinary school and why this inspired her to create Our Honor, a non-profit that supports veterinary students, veterinarians, and other animal professionals in speaking their conscience to create more ethical systems that consider the best interests of all species.

She was named one of Vox’s 2023 Future Perfect 50, which honors the scientists, thinkers, scholars, writers, and activists working on solutions to today's (and tomorrow’s) biggest problems.

She is also on the board of LEAP - Leaders for Ethics Animals and the Planet, known as the humane alternative to 4-H and FFA, which aims to transform today’s youth into the humane leaders of tomorrow who advocate for and work towards an equitable future for all living beings and the planet.

Well respected in her field, Dr. Crystal Heath is quoted and featured in numerous articles about animals including:

• New York Times
• Vox
• The Guardian
• Los Angeles Times
•  Animal Liberation Hour
•  Vegan For the Animals
•  Modern Farmer

 To learn more about Dr. Heath andOur Honor, click on the following links:
Website: http://ourhonor.org
Twitter @drcrystalheath @OurHonorVets
Instagram @dr.crystalheath @OurHonorVets 
Facebook Crystal Heath  Our Honor

As a thank you to Dr. Heath for sharing her story, Anitha donated to Our Honor.

Anitha and the Kindness Is Everything Podcast welcome listeners to the first ASK A DOCTOR session. Once a month, Anitha and her husband, Dr. Matthew Robinson, will discuss a topical medical issue. In this inaugural episode, they talk about cognitive decline and aging.

If you’ve ever wondered about—

1. Normal memory issues as one ages versus early signs of dementia
2. Supports in the community to help someone who has dementia
3. Care options for those with limited financial resources
4. Extent to which hospitals can help care for those with dementia
5. How kindness fits into all of this

—then this episode is for you!

If you have a medical issue you’d like answered, please send Anitha an email through her website, anitharobinson.com

If your question is selected to be addressed on the show, Anitha will donate to a registered charity of your choice* as a thank you.

*Registered Charity must support animals, the environment, or people. And also, no religious organizations, zoos or marine aquariums please.

Ryan and Mallory Phillips were brought together by a mutual love for a tiny calf. They join Anitha to talk not only about their incredible ‘how did you meet’ story, which Anitha thought should be made into a movie, but also what it’s like to share a home with a menagerie of animals, such as pigs, chickens, cows and many other amazing beings, they call family.

Ryan also talks about his path to sanctuary life and how it all began when he received a call about a pig named Pumpkin, who needed a home, and needed one fast. Soon after, came Pumpkin’s daughter Charlotte, and thus began Ryan’s life with pigs.

An inspiring story of love and hope.

To learn more about Ryan and Mallory and their Life With Pigs Farm Animal Sanctuary, check out the following links:

Facebook  www.facebook.com/lifewithpigs
Instagram  www.instagram.com/lifewithpigsfarmsanctuary
Youtube  www.youtube.com/lifewithpigs
Website is lifewithpigs.com

As a thank you to Ryan and Mallory for sharing their story, Anitha donated to Life With Pigs Farm Animal Sanctuary.

Episode 79: Kindness Is Helping Parents Age With Compassion

Anitha’s sister, Shaila Rao, joins her to talk about the realities of life with aging parents. They share the heartache of witnessing their mom’s health decline due to a rare neurodegenerative disease that affects her mobility and cognitive function. They also discuss their concern and admiration for their 90-year-old dad's determination to be their mom’s primary caregiver.

A personal and honest conversation about the difficult and heartbreaking issues many of us face as our parents age.

To learn more about Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP), click this link: https://www.ninds.nih.gov/health-information/disorders/progressive-supranuclear-palsy-psp

As a thank you to Shaila for coming on to the show, Anitha donated to Oakville & Milton Humane Society. This organization is dedicated to protecting and making a better life for animals. To learn more about the Oakville & Milton Humane Society, click this link:

https://omhs.ca/

Episode 78: Kindness Is Making The Inside Scouts!  

Mitali Banerjee Ruths joins Anitha to talk about her journey from Medical Doctor to author to creating books about diverse characters, and how kindness intersects all these aspects of her life

A very fun and engaging conversation.

To learn more about Mitali and the books she writes, click on the following links:

https://www.mitaliruths.com/

https://www.instagram.com/mitaliruths/

As a thank you to Mitali for coming on to the show, Anitha donated to Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres. This international humanitarian organization was founded by doctors and journalists in 1971. They travel all over the world, where people’s needs are greatest to provide neutral, impartial, and independent emergency healthcare to those affected by disaster, disease, conflict and exclusion. 

You can learn more about MSF here: https://www.doctorswithoutborders.ca/