Kindness is Everything

Kindness Is Theo & 3 Sisters—How one couple took the phrase ‘adopt don’t shop’ to heart and welcomed a family of four kittens into their lives.

What could be better than chatting about one adorable kitten— chatting about four! Anitha is joined by Lindsay Fortune who shares why she and her partner adopted four kittens all at once and how their life has changed. Theo, Sadie, Bailey and Stella, went from tiny feral babies, whose bodies stiffened when touched, to healthy, happy and oh-so playful kittens.

Lindsay credits the kittens' foster mom, who goes by @soccercatmom on social media, for the incredible transformation.

Lindsay talks about each of the kittens personalities—including who dominates the coveted honey pot!

An uplifting conversation for anyone who needs a smile!

To follow Theo and his super cute sisters, check out their Instagram: Theo.and.3sisters

As a thank you to Lindsay for sharing her story, Anitha donated to Motley Zoo Animal Rescue.Despite its name, Motley Zoo is not a zoo at all. This non-profit is a volunteer-run, foster-based, no-kill animal rescue dedicated to rescuing and rehabilitating animals in need. To learn more about them, check out their website: Motley Zoo Animal Rescue

Animal advocate Liz Wheeler has been drawn to animals her entire life. She talks to Anitha about Secondhand Stories, a non-profit sanctuary for chickens she and her husband founded in 2022.

In the short time since inception, Secondhand Stories has rescued and cared for numerous chickens and is currently home to 22 very special birds.

Liz talks to Anitha about the importance of seeing chickens as individuals. She shares stories of some of the fortunate chickens who now call the sanctuary home.

Liz and Anitha also talk about what the terms ‘care-free’ and ‘free-range’ chickens really mean—and spoiler alert, they don’t mean ‘happy, free running chickens’.

A super fun and interesting conversation where listeners are sure to fall in love with chickens like Bubba, Oscar, Ezra and Hershey.

To learn more about Secondhand Stories Chicken Sanctuary, check out these links. Perhaps one day, you might even be lucky enough to visit the sanctuary and meet one or more of these loving and full of personality chickens.

Website—Secondhand Stories
Instagram—Secondhand Stories

Email: [email protected]

As a thank you to Liz for sharing her story, Anitha donated to Secondhand Stories.

Kindness Is Saving 25 Cats From Qatar

Filmmaker Mye Hoang joins Anitha to talk about her latest documentary, 25 CATS FROM QATAR. Mye is a cat lover who shares her home with five cats so it makes sense that a visit to a cat café in Milwaukee, USA lead to her filming a documentary about the owner of the café, Katy McHugh. Mye films Katy's rescue mission to Qatar where she brings 25 cats back to the US and finds them their forever homes.

Mye shares what it was like being a part of this incredible journey to Qatar, a country with so much wealth yet at the same time filled with so many suffering animals. The cats are not native to Qatar. They were brought in years ago to help control the rat population. Sadly, the cats weren’t spayed or neutered and their numbers increased to the point that local rescuers are overwhelmed and cannot care for all the cats.

This was such a privilege for Anitha to speak with Mye, who donates profits from the documentary and from the sale of merchandise to local rescues.

The film is being shown throughout the United States and Mye hopes to take the film to other countries.

To learn more about 25 CATS FROM QATAR and find out when it’s coming to your area, check out their website and these social media links.

25 Cats From Qatar website
Instagram
Trailer on YouTube

As a thank you to Mye for sharing her story, Anitha donated to 25 CATS FROM QATAR so Mye can continue to support local rescues.

Kindness Is Being Friends Of Bonobos

Anitha fell in love with bonobos when she first learned about these magnificent apes many years ago, and she is absolutely thrilled to have Ariel Rogers, the executive director of Friends Of Bonobos as a guest to talk about all things bonobos.

Ariel talks about the incredible characteristics of bonobos, the reasons they are critically endangered and the remarkable work being done to save them.

One of the many special facts Ariel shares about bonobos is that they are the only animal who can’t survive without love and affection. All the other apes, including humans can survive without being hugged and loved, but not bonobos—they will die. That’s why it’s so important to have Lola Ya Bonobo, the only sanctuary for orphaned bonobos, where human surrogate moms dedicate years to caring for and loving these babies.

A heartwarming conversation about the adorable bonobo.

To learn more about bonobos and the wonderful work being done by Friends of Bonobos, check out these links:

Friends of Bonobos on YouTube
Friends of Bonobos— Website
Lola Ya Bonobo - Instagram
Lola Ya Bonobo—Facebook
Lola Ya Bonobo tour on YouTube

As a thank you to Ariel for sharing her story, Anitha donated to Friends of Bonobos. 

Kindness Is Creating Jarjeer Mules

One of the highlights of Anitha’s time in Marrakech, Morocco was meeting Susan Machin and getting a tour of Jarjeer—the sanctuary she created for donkeys, mules and horses.

Anitha was thrilled when Susan agreed to be a guest on the podcast.

Susan talks about her journey from being a Barrister in the UK to moving to Morocco. She shares the ups and downs of those first few days, weeks, months of sanctuary life.

Susan also talks about the importance of community involvement and support in order to change the perspective of equines in a country where they are often seen as tools to accomplish tasks, and sadly treated and discarded as such.

An incredible conversation with an incredible woman who has dedicated her life to help sick and injured equines get the care they deserve.

To learn more about Jarjeer,  check out their website and Instagram:
Jarjeer website
Jarjeer Instagram

As a thank you to Susan for sharing her story, Anitha donated to Sunshine Animal Refuge in Agadir (SARA). This animal rescue was created in 2013 by Michele Augsburger in response to the dire living conditions of street animals in Morocco.  SARA is dedicated to providing animals a happy and healthy life by offering them refuge. To learn more about SARA, check out their website:Sunshine Animal Refuge- Agadir

Spencer Hitchen from Noosa, Australia is dedicated to saving the last remaining Glossy Black Cockatoos.

With Spencer’s help, these beautiful birds have finally been listed as Vulnerable under Australia’s Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. Well done, Spencer!!

This is such an inspiring story of how perseverance, passion and using your voice, can make a positive difference.

To find out more about Spencer and his efforts to help Glossy Black Cockatoos, check out these links:

Email
[email protected]

Instagram @savesunriseglossies and facebook @savesunriseglossies

If you’d like to sign Spencer’s petition to save the glossies, click here:

Petition
change.org/saveourglossies

As a thank you to Spencer for sharing his story, Anitha donated to Wildlife VOICE. This non-profit, gives a voice to the decreasing populations of animals and plants. Wildlife VOICE uses education, outreach and scientific research to inspire change.

To learn more about them- check out their website: https://www.wildlifevoice.org/

Kindness Is Pikala Bikes & More

Anitha met her guest Louisa Battioui in Marrakech, Morocco at an incredible bike rental place called Pikala. Founded by Cantal Bakker, a then 24-year-old from the Netherlands, Pikala is the colloquial Arabic word for bicycle.

Kindness Is Pikala Bikes & More Anitha met her guest Louisa Battioui in Marrakech, Morocco at an incredible bike rental place called Pikala. Founded by Cantal Bakker, a then 24-year-old from the Netherlands, Pikala is the colloquial Arabic word for bicycle. 

Louisa talks about Cantal, who created Pikala to fight the pollution from cars and scooters in Morocco with the goal of making Marrakesh the cycling capital of Morocco. Louisa shares her experience working at Pikala which offers so much more than bike tours—from employing youth, to educating children, to giving the women of Morocco an opportunity to gain independence by learning how to cycle.

In addition to Pikala, Louisa talks about using her background in education to take part in a novel approach to educating youth in Morocco. She also shares her journey to becoming a vegan in Morocco.

A conversation full of hope and positivity about making the world a more inclusive, kinder and healthier place.

To learn more about Louisa, check out her Instagram page: Louisa's Instagram

To learn more about Forum_2040 and its goals for education, check out their website Forum 2040 Website

As a thank you to Louisa for sharing her story, Anitha donated to Morocco Animal Aid. This team of volunteers, rescues and rehabilitates hundreds of street animals in Morocco. To learn more about what they do, please visit their website.

Website:MoroccoAnimal Aid

Kindness is Being The Rebel Vegan

Former dairy farmer Todd Sinclair joins Anitha to talk about his journey from growing up on a Canadian dairy farm to becoming a vegan. Todd gives listeners the rare opportunity to find out what life on a dairy farm is truly like for the animals. Listeners may be surprised to hear that life for dairy cows is not all happy and carefree—like many dairy farmers want the public to believe when they falsely advertise smiling cows on products such as milk, yogurt and cheese.

Todd explores the reasons behind the relative low cost of animal-based protein compared to plant-based protein—Governments subsidize the animal agricultural industry with our tax dollars, allowing these industries to sell their products at a reduced price—A price that does not reflect the true cost of animal-based protein.

Todd also talks about the fun Instagram posts he shares every Monday where he showcases happy news about animals and animal welfare.

To learn more about Todd and to see his uplifting Happy Monday posts, check out these links:

Todd's Website
Instagram
Facebook

Todd has authored The Rebel Vegan Book Series. To find out about these books, click the following links:

Amazon Canada

Amazon USA

Amazon UK

As a thank you to Todd for sharing his story, Anitha donated to Animal Aid in the UK. This non-profit began in 1977 with a goal of ending animal cruelty. To learn more about what they do, please visit their website.

Animal Aid Website

Kindness is Everyone Is Welcome Here

Earlier this year, an Idaho middle school teacher was told by their school district to take down a classroom sign that said EVERYONE IS WELCOME HERE. The reason given by the district was that the sign was deemed “a violation of the district’s content neutrality policy”. The teacher refused to comply.

Upon hearing this story, Boise Idaho resident, Chris Stewart, wanted to support the actions of this brave teacher. Chris talks to Anitha about how his initiative to create t-shirts with the same words as the sign, EVERYONE IS WELCOME HERE, brought an entire community together.

Chris also talks about some of his other acts of kindness—

Buying a realistic doll and donating it to a nursing home—folks with dementia often find these dolls a source of great comfort.

Rallying his community together to help a 93-year-old war veteran. Chris shares the story of Mac, a war veteran who was out with his family when some teens threw eggs and several of the eggs hit Mac. Chris inspired his community to raise funds to treat Mac to a new wardrobe, a limo ride, and a dinner at a nice restaurant for Mac and his family.

An engaging conversation with someone who shows how our voices can make a huge difference in helping others.

To follow Chris and his acts of kindness, check out his Instagram account— instagram

To order your own EVERYONE IS WELCOME HERE t-shirt or sweatshirt, click on this link: Brigade Screenprinting

As a thank you to Chris for sharing his story, Anitha donated an EVERYONE IS WELCOME HERE sweatshirt to those who want a sweatshirt, but are unable to afford one at this time.

Kindness is Saving Pets One Click At A Time

Pet photographer Adam Goldberg joins Anitha to talk about his initiative, Second Shot, which helps shelter animals find their forever homes.

Shelter workers don’t always have the time or expertise to capture a photo of an animal that shows them in the best light—relaxed, happy, cute, adorable. Shelters can be a scary place for many animals, especially when they first arrive and their photo can reflect that fear. The result is often a stressed-looking animal, which sadly may not capture the attention of folks looking to adopt.

This is where Adam comes in. Using his marketing and photography expertise, Adam donates hours of his time every week to take beautiful photos of shelter animals to increase their chances of getting noticed—and it works!

Adam talks about the many successful adoptions that have resulted from the photos he’s taken.

Adam also talks about his wife, Mary, and how their shared love of rescue animals brought them together. So far, this incredible duo has raised over $250,000 for 50+ shelters and rescues!

A great episode for anyone who loves a good news story!

To learn more about Adam and his photography, check out his website: AGold Pet Photography

As a thank you to Adam for sharing his story, Anitha donated to Tampa Bay Humane Society. Since 1912, this organization has been dedicated to ending animal homelessness and providing care and comfort for animals in need.

To learn more about Tampa Bay Humane Society, check out their website: Tampa Bay Humane Society