Professionals & Animal Lovers Show

Who would’ve thought that a brilliant attorney who researches and analyzes issues such as Iranian criminality & terrorism is also a great karaoke singer and bigtime animal lover?!!!

As if that’s not enough to keep him busy, he is also a candidate for the 4th Councilmanic district in the Town of Hempstead. improving the conditions at the highly mismanaged, ill-reputed animal shelter is one of his top priorities and core values.

Today, we will get to know Aaron Eitan Meyer, Partner of Ostringer, LLP, father of three adorable kids, devoted husband and loving furdaddy to his beloved cat “Blakeny”.

Let’s learn about his experiences with helping the animals, what else people can do to help and also his vision/ideas for the voiceless should he win this November 2nd.

‍Tune in for this heart-felt conversation at TalkRadio.nyc or watch the Facebook Livestream by Clicking Here.

Tommy starts the show by giving us a recap of what PALS is about. Valerie also mentions that there is a new sponsor, their web developer! Aaron Eitan Meyer is today's guest! He is an animal lover, and he is also running for town council in Long Island! Aaron says that he hated politics. He never thought he would go into politics. 

Aaron brings up a good point, saying that many people think that owning a pet is enough education on animals. But Aaron says that is not the case. There is a difference between owning an animal and wanting to actively go out and help animals. 

Valerie says that animal welfare is 100% a political issue. Drawing us back to Aaron's run for office. Aaron says that a lot of the problem is that we don't see political empathy. We see a lot of political capital but not political empathy

Valerie mentions that every township/municipality has to have a shelter. All the municipality shelters are government-funded. Many of the jobs are often given to people based on their connection, not their merit. For example, in Hempstead, the shelter needed an animal evaluator. The person they chose, In Valerie's opinion, was the least qualified. Aaron brings up the point that it is not just the shelters but in all government sectors. Unfortunately, nepotism is way too common. 

Tommy asks what can be done to divert nepotism. Valerie chimes in, saying that they should review the history and resume of all the persons applying.  

Valerie says it is complicated and a lot more complex to hire candidates now because the shelter has a lawsuit against it. The taxpayers have to pay for that mistake. 

Aaron says that it comes down to the priorities. The animal shelter has a budget of $5.5 million, and most of that goes to salaries. Aaron comments that he can't accept that things can't be done because of staffing issues because there are no excuses for that. He insists that when you have to allocate resources, one needs to do it and do it properly. For Aaron, as a lawyer, telling people that things are fine when they are not is irresponsible. The animals are the victims of poorly made decisions. Like the horrific video, "Kill the Kitty," that came out of Hempstead.

"Transparency, accountability, and representation. Without those three things, elected officials do not merit their positions. We have an uncaring and inhumane local government, and that is something that I cannot abide by"-Aaron Eitan Meyer.

Tommy starts the segment with the quote above and transitions into what those three words represent for Aaron. 

Before getting into that, though, Tommy asks Aaron to share the story about the dog that shows up in the picture with Aaron. 

Aaron begins by saying that Cosmo was his wife's dog. She rescued him when he was a puppy, years before she and Aaron met. He was a "Katrina dog" who had made his way up to Michigan, where his wife lived. Aaron mentions that when he and his wife met, their date was interrupted three times because she had to go home and check that Cosmo was okay. Aaron says that he was the best dog; the kids loved him, and the cat loved him. Aaron says that Cosmo was why his kids keep asking for a dog now; unfortunately, Aaron is still a little bit allergic to dogs, but he says they will eventually get one.

Aaron says that people don't care because they don't have to care. It is easier to say nothing or speak in generalities or say, "thank you, we'll get back to you." This sort of behavior is a function of having a unified board. For example, when things keep getting voted on 7-0, Aaron says that is not open government. 

Valerie details an account of a woman from Oceanside who would go to the town board meetings and was then treated with a cold shoulder when she asked for something to be done about her missing cat. After much insistence, there was a meeting held with the shelter staff and director. What came out of the meeting was the following: it is not in the shelter's policy to show you every animal that is there if you lost your pet.

Valerie says that a year after the woman's cat was missing, she found out that she was not shown every cat every time she went to the shelter looking for her pet. And it's heartbreaking stories like the one above that Valerie thinks the local government does not want transparency. 

Since most people ignore their local government, the government can get away with omitting information. 

Valerie adds by saying that the story, like the one above, is not the first occurrence. There was a couple's dog that went missing and was on the shelter's premises. But because of the ridiculous policy, the owners didn't find their pet sooner. 

The importance of FOIL is tremendous, and it is available to every single taxpayer. FOIL, Freedom Of Information Law, is a vital part of how the government is supposed to work. Valerie says that there can be no accountability if people lie and do not abide by FOIL.

Tommy starts this last segment by saying that people can find today's guest on the Facebook page "Aaron Eitan Meyer for Homestead Town Council-4th District."

Valerie said that there was a hoarding house that the town, Hempstead, refused to help for years, there were almost a hundred cats in that house, and the town of Hempstead ignored all the neighbors' complaints. The neighbors went ignored for about 4-5 years, and the town finally got involved when the house was condemned. And the cats in that house went to the shelter. Valerie then asks why can't the Hempstead shelter help a kitten that is need when they have boasted on their Facebook page that they have gotten almost all of the cats that were hoarded adopted. Valerie emphasized that this sort of thing happens all the time when the shelter does not get involved. 

This is why, when she met Aaron earlier this year, and he helped get the TNR program reinstated in Hempstead, Valerie was amazed that a politician did something for the animal-loving community. Aaron says that he does not need political capital, nor does he want it. He just wants to see the right thing get done. Aaron finishes by saying that representation is about being accountable, being accountable to the people, and working with the people because you are working for them. And he says that is what they don't have, and that is what he wants to bring. 

Kamp K-9 Jax Bch - We do canine behavioral training for people and work with all ages, all breeds, all issues. I travel nationwide to provide this service.

Greg DiFranza owns and operates Kamp K-9 Jax Bch (Founder/President/Lead Instructor) and his clients have included professional sports figures, Grammy award-winning artists, dot-com millionaires, nationwide rescue groups, and dog lovers galore.

He has trained with Cesar Millan – the Dog Whisperer – and returns to Cesar’s ranch to assist in training sessions. Since 2013, he has helped more than 5000 dog owners with everything from human and dog aggression to puppies and senior dogs and brings the training to you at your house

‍Tune in for this heart-felt conversation at TalkRadio.nyc or watch the Facebook Livestream by Clicking Here.

Long Island Orchestrating for Nature (LION) is Long Island's leading animal advocacy organization and farmed animal rescue, fighting to end the exploitation of animals in New York and beyond and leading the fight for domestic waterfowl in the Northeast.

John DiLeonardo is an anthrozoologist and president of Long Island Orchestrating for Nature. He has successfully led campaigns to stop a slaughter house from being built in Islip, an aquarium from being built in Massapequa, and ended numerous animal circuses, rodeos, and exotic animal acts from New York City to the North Fork as well as stopped the slaughter of thousands of Long Island’s wildlife.

Formerly, John managed day programs on Long Island for people with developmental disabilities and drove the Horseless eCarriage, a humane alternative to New York City’s cruel horse-drawn carriage industry.

‍Tune in for this heart-felt conversation at TalkRadio.nyc or watch the Facebook Livestream by Clicking Here.

We will be talking about how circuses have evolved, and some have disappeared altogether. Once again, Val reiterates that there is a compassionate network that comes along with the PALS community.

Val and John met at a circus protest. 

John studied psychology for his bachelor's and worked with people with special needs, "a group who was exploited in the circus long before the animals."

When he graduated, he pursued a master's degree in anthrozoology, is certified by the state of NY in wildlife rehabilitation, is certified as a trapper (NWCO), and is currently in school for ornithology. 

"How does one go about getting the NWCO designation?"-Val

"It's just a state test, open book, usually the license that pest control workers have to exterminate mammals and birds."-John

What is the mission, and what is LION?

They are the leading advocacy organization in Long Island, and they are the biggest farm animal rescue. Rescue a lot of chickens; they treat, foster, and rehabilitate domesticable animals. And there are a lot of abandoned animals and/or neglected.     

Tommy needed clarification as to what composed the chicken family, a hen is a female chicken, and the rooster is the male chicken. 

There aren't a lot of homes for animals such as chickens, ducks, rabbits; the animal sanctuaries are "filled to the brim," as John mentions. 

LION is foremost an animal advocacy organization. They want to stop people from getting "these animals" (chicks, bunnies, ducks) to be used only for props for the holidays.

What happens to the baby chicks after they are born in the classroom (for school lessons)? 

"There aren't great endings for the ducklings or chicks that come out of the hatching projects. They can get sent back home with a student or go back to the hatchery. And when they go back to the hatchery, they are often macerated to reduce the risk of contagion."-John.

We need to teach children more humane education; that animals don't belong in the classroom. "There are so many virtual resources to learn about the hatching process, or they can go on field trips to the animal sanctuaries." 

"Another outcome for the animals is an abandonment to the wild. There was a huge influx of birds abandoned into the wild last year because people did a lot of home-hatching projects. In Baldwin Harbor, alone, they had to rescue more than 100 ducks and chickens."

They rescued a goose who had been injured with a crossbow, and it took them three days to catch him and his partner. The poor animal had the arrow go through his esophagus, going from the back to the front. But they were eventually able to catch him in someone's backyard with a net gun. They got him and were able to let him go three weeks later, after rehabilitation.

If people want to volunteer, can they expect to jump in the water as you did with the goose?-Val

John says absolutely. Waterfowl is mainly John's thing, so Tommy asks, what should people do if they have waterfowl in their front or backyards? Who should they call? Animal control? 

First, determining the type of animal the creature is, is important. Then contact LION. It's best to stay with an injured or lost duck until help arrives. LION tries to respond very quickly. Val can attest that their response time is impressive. 

Wild animals belong in the wild, and we will then talk about circuses after the break

John says that if you really want to save bulls, you can go vegan. Doing so nearly saves 200 animals; meat, dairy, eggs. All the animals we consume in our society are babies, like chickens, 6-8 weeks. The dairy industry and egg industry are some of the worst. In the egg industry, the roosters don't have much meat on them. The facts are bothersome, but you can contact LION to get help getting started. 

There are bodybuilders, NFL players that go vegan. The movie Game Changers represents ripped, athletic guys that are extremely buff without eating meat.

The Cole-Brothers Circus have officially closed off for business. Val and her friend JoAnn assisted an anti-circus protest in Oceanside when Val was living there. Finding common ground with people is the best way to get a message across.

What happens in circuses? What is the pain?

The animals participating in the circus are beaten; they're shocked, the bullhook is used to beat the elephants into submission. The bullhook is there to remind the elephant of the pain behind the scenes. Baby elephants are ripped away from their mothers. They can see them, but they can't touch them, and then as they grow older their bound with heavy metals, chains, and ropes. The abuse starts when the elephants are babies. 

The simple message is that the wildlife should remain in the wild. As long as activists are speaking up, the horrible contracts will be revoked. 

How do we help John?

Supporting them monetarily is the biggest support they can receive right now. For more information visit LION‍

Humane Society

They work to:

• End the cruelest practices toward all animals.
• Care for animals in crisis.
• Build a stronger animal protection movement.

‍Tune in for this heart-felt conversation at TalkRadio.nyc or watch the Facebook Livestream by Clicking Here.

How to become an animal advocate?

1.) It begins with your love for animals; volunteer

Passing the bill on the ban of puppy mills on a federal level, in JoAnn's opinion, will improve the lives of many animals.

"People that own the pet stores will flat out lie"-Val

Pet store owners will say that they don't buy from puppy mills but it's not true.

Tommy-"JoAnn what got you into the legislative side?"

JoAnn-The humane lobby day taught her a lot about animal agriculture and puppy mills; the maltreatment of animals that are grown for food really stuck with her and motivated her to speak up.

"Any little change in the consumption of animal products is great! Adopting Meatless Mondays, choosing organic, going vegan, any little change is great!"-JoAnn

There are plenty of documentaries that show what animal abuse is like in the different industries.

(The 3 R's) Reducing consumption of animal products, refining your diet (look for the certain buzz words) (cage free, free ranging, organic eggs, for example) (chickens are the most badly treated animals in the industry and they are the ones that get slaughtered the most) (it's true that you are what you eat), replace, there are a lot of different alternatives to animal products nowadays (Veganism, lots of products at grocery stores like Trader Joe's).

Every year JoAnn has hosted a vegan barbecue.

There are a lot of people in the slaughterhouses that are traumatized. The factory farm reality is harsh like the male chicks that get thrown into the meat grinder and become animal byproducts for products such as dog food.

How can people get involved in legislative action?

Go on the Humane Society website and the ASPCA website and go on the take action section. Usually an email and form where you're filling out your basic information.

There are a lot of local senators in NY to reach out to. 

Animal advocacy is a bipartisan issue, it doesn't matter what you identify with but at the end of the day it is supposed to be non-partisan. 

People have to get involved to make changes because there are hundreds and hundreds of bills that need attention. If elected officials get a lot of phone calls or emails about a certain topic they will listen because at the end of the day these officials want to get elected.

We need to make sure that we are registered to vote! October 8th is the last day to update voter registration. Don't forget to look up who your Congress person is. Bark and Brunch, the refuge restaurant, allows for dogs in their patio area, as well as Tito's Vodka is open to dogs on their premises. Legislative advocacy is how you get places to be dog-friendly!

Abigail Welhouse is a riding instructor at GallopNYC. She is an experienced horsewoman and seasoned therapeutic riding instructor.

James Wilson joined GallopNYC as a volunteer in 2011, before making a career change to join GallopNYC fulltime in the newly created role of Director of Operations in January 2014. James has an extensive background in retail; both buying and planning, full-line department store and off-price. His love horses and horsemanship goes back to his hometown in Texas, where he first learned as a young adult how powerful horses can be.

GallopNYC uses the proven benefits of therapeutic horsemanship to provide measurable benefits for people with developmental, emotional, social, and physical disabilities. Through weekly riding sessions with PATH-Int’l.

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Tune in for this heart-felt conversation at TalkRadio.nyc or watch the Facebook Livestream by Clicking Here.

James Wilson and Abigail Welhouse joined us today! Gallup NYC uses the proven benefits of therapeutic horsemanship to provide measurable benefits for people with developmental, emotional, social, and physical disabilities. Through weekly riding sessions with PATH-Int’l. Path International is their governing body. Professional Association of Horsemanship. The certification process was very similar to applying for a driver's license.

When GallupNYC first started, they were not certified, but they were determined to do more and earned the certification. This has allowed them to work with hundreds of riders every week. They always need therapeutic riding instructors!

James started off as a volunteer in 2011, and now he is the director of GallupNYC. They bought the Forest Hills location in 2017. Abigail started volunteering in 2009. They both say that volunteers become enamored with the community.

"What is therapeutic horseback riding?"

It covers a broad range of things; the main goal is getting students to learn how to ride a horse; learn social skills, strengthen muscles, improve attention span; all those things can be worked on by learning how to ride a horse. They are not just horse riding skills. We (James) partner with the horses to help improve people's life skills; improve patience, improve talking to people, increase verbal ability (ex: teach verbal queues, there is so much that riders understand that instructors may not know they understand). Their motto is Believe in Ability, and they support a culture of yes!

"Do you hear about approvement?" (Tony to both guests)

Yes, because riding requires you to be present and get off your phone. Teachers would say that the students would be able to pay attention more after riding in the morning.

Abigail said, "it is awesome to see how riders come in w/ big dreams." Learning how to achieve those dreams comes with learning how to manageably break down the steps needed to get to those dreams. "Small steps to achieve big goals."

Are there other Gallups?

They are primarily focused on NYC. They were founded for riders with disabilities in NYC. 12 different districts ride with them, mainly district 75.

Their mission is to be inclusive and have horses for everyone! Horseback riding has a stigma.

Originally it was founded so that anyone with disabilities in NYC could ride a horse if they wanted to and learn about horses to first get involved with them. If someone doesn't understand what is going on in the barn, GallupNYC wants to teach the students anything they question. They believe riders should have their lives changed by riding horses. 

During COVID, they weren't offering lessons, but the barn was still open. The people around the horses every day felt better during the pandemic. One of the things amazing about volunteering is that you can be riding horses for a discounted price! 

What can volunteers do?

They have 4 locations:

Open for volunteers! Covid protocol! 

Support riders, help in the barn, help with special projects, serve on the board of directors at all levels. 2 miniature horses, basically pets. You don't need to have horse experience! Ducks, chickens, and geese roam around the barn.

The horses are the key to the organization, they are what make it possible. The dedicated horses the organization receives they attain through different ways. James said the horses have a job at the org. Horses don't like to just stand out and be bored. A lot of horses that were competitive, hunter jumper, etc., are therapeutic riding horses.

Many horses come from donations. They are horses that don't have any more jobs; for example, hunter-jumper horses; at least at the organization, the horses get to walk and trot quietly. The key is finding horses that have the right temperament for the job. GallupNYC takes really good care of the horses' aches and pains. There is a dignity to be able to work. And the organization is simultaneously creating job training for people w/ disabilities.

Heather Maltby is an attorney specializing in Estate Planning, which is drafting Wills and Trusts, such as Pet Trusts, and handling the probate process for clients.

She provides her clients with an easy and relaxed experience that provides them with the best results for their individual needs. Since becoming a member of the FL Bar, Heather has focused her practice solely on estate planning, guardianship and probate law. Heather provides legal counsel for individuals, families, and business owners in the creation of trusts, wills, financial and health care powers of attorney, guardianships and she assists families going through the probate process.

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Tommy DiMisa starts off the third episode of the show by emphasizing the purpose and mission of PALS- "professionals servicing communities!" He goes on by describing that the "bond between animal lovers is incredibly strong," which is why PALS mission is to build a community for these fur-baby lovers. Tommy further went on to say that PALS will try to promote the show by hosting more service and philanthropic events, as well as inviting more non-profits as future guests.

Val then chimed in, saying that being able to go back into podcasting has been one of her favorite things! She gave a little more info explaining how she came about forming PALS; she was working as a social networking events coordinator and found that amongst all the events she coordinated, the niche ones were always the best! Including, that the events generated a lot of business. Val noted "that there is a ripple effect in the communities" and how that could first-handily be seen as Tommy talked about taking his son to a service event.

Towards the end of the segment, they introduced and detailed the guest, Heather Maltby. Heather is a lawyer who specializes in estate planning, probate, and guardianship law. She is a part of the Florida Bar and practices virtually and in-person in St. John's County, Florida. Unfortunately, when she was 29, her mother passed away, and Heather's experience with the lawyer handling her case was terrible. Given the stressful experience, Heather wanted to ensure that other people would not have to struggle with the same treatment. She includes pet trusts as a service because "what happens if you die; what happens to your pet?" As someone who constantly fosters animals, Heather knows the importance of planning for a pet if something terrible were to happen to its owners.

After Tommy, "the non-profit sector connector," came back from the pause, we were able to hear a bit more of what Heather does. She said that most of her work is done remotely as only 15% of her clientele meets with her in person while the other 85% are virtual clients. Although she is a fantastic lawyer, she can only represent people in Florida, not just St. Johns County but from all over the state.

After the basic information was out of the way, Heather spoke more about the pet trust process. If an owner has designated a person to take care of their pet, the pet trust can help the pet caretaker cover essential expenses such as food and veterinary bills. That way, the "burden" doesn't fall on them. She did add that the pet caretaker could be a completely different person from the person who has access to the funds because it could be that the caretaker is great with the pet/s but may not be as savvy with money.

Heather explained a situation in which an owner does not have a designated person to care for their pet. In cases like these, owners can assign their money to an organization that will shelter their pet/s while they are in the adoption process. That way, the organization benefits from the donation while also ensuring that the person's pet goes into good hands.

After Heather shared this information, Val commented that "this" reminded her of the death of one of her neighbors. What essentially happened was that the owner did not have a pet trust established and was not prepared to die. His dogs were traumatized because they had witnessed their owner pass away and no one in his family wanted to take ownership of the pets. Val said stories like those are reasons to plan for your "fur-babies" properly.

Luna's Legacy is a non-profit organization run by a woman named Shiloh. This organization fosters cats while searching for their future homes. The organization, whose name inspiration came from a cat named Luna, who has now passed, covers medical expenses, living expenses, and all other materials the cats may need. Val explained what fostering a cat entails because she did not know until she began fostering. Both Val and Heather emphasized how the cat's socialization is vital; after all, it helps make a cat find a home or go back into the wild. Val mentioned that people do not necessarily need to be fostering a cat to do this they can go to shelters or kitty cafes to help cats socialize.Tommy, lastly, added that there is a great need for fostering and adopting cats because there are as many feral cats as there are in-door cats.

As we came back to the last segment of today's show, we made sure to answer some critical questions. One of them is, "what does a power of attorney do in a pet trust?"

Heather mentioned that a power of attorney usually applies to writing people's checks to pay bills and other essentials, but for a pet, that looks a little different. In a pet's case, a power of attorney allows the pet to get veterinary care if the pet needs so after their owner has passed away. Since a veterinarian will not perform any medical procedures if the person bringing it in does not have any say in the pet's medical matters.  

Heather's firm donates 3% of its monthly earnings to help organizations like Luna's Legacy care for animals. If someone adopts a pet from Luna's Legacy, Heather's firm offers discounts to form a pet trust.

Tommy asked Heather what it takes to foster a cat. She said that it does not take a lot of space, they don't require too much attention, so they can be happy even if you play with them for just an hour, their food, litter, and all other essentials are covered by the organization. They just require a lot of pictures to be taken so that they can be adopted!

Tina Traster, is an award winning journalist, author and filmmaker. Tina directed the award winning documentary Catnip Nation which exposes 3 towns across the country for their political cruelties to feral cats. Oceanside, New York and specifically the Town of Hempstead are one of the 3 towns in the film. See our Facebook page here.

Catnip Nation, is a documentary that sheds light on the crisis of feral cats, TNR as one solution to deal with the issue, and the plights of individuals who devote themselves to these creatures but have to get to do their work in the political and legal arenas.

Tune in for this heartfelt conversation at TalkRadio.nyc or watch the Facebook Livestream by Clicking Here.

The show opens up with Tommy introducing himself and what the show is all about, animal advocacy. Valerie comes in by also introducing herself, Tina’s documentary, Catnip Nation, and reiterates the purpose of the PALS. Tommy then introduces Tina Traster and she comes in and clarifies what she wanted to discuss in today’s show: feral cats, Catnip Nation, and TNR. Tina offers some data about stray cats and the cause of how “colonies,” or groups of stray cats, are made. She then defines what TNR is, Trap-Neuter-Return, and how it can help these colonies of cats. They finish off the segment by touching upon a landfill in Oceanside, New York and red kayaks.

After the ad break, they come back to Tommy reading out Facebook Live comments and reintroducing the show. They return to the original topic of the situation in Oceanside where Valerie was first introduced to animal rights and caught the attention of Tina who was in the middle of making her documentary. Tina explains that her documentary is about the people who take care of the stray cats, how the feral cats crisis is hidden to the public eyes since feral cats are reclusive, and how there is no one leading the legal and political war against the government. Tommy interjects before the ad break to clarify the objective of Tina’s and Valerie’s point of view and discusses what he wants to talk about in the next segment, statistics.

Tommy comes back to ask Tina to describe a photo of a protest in Hempstead. Tina depicts the situation of armed protesters, police cars, and towing trucks. Tommy then asks both Valerie and Tina to describe to him what makes this feral cat crisis a political war. Valerie and Tina explain that it is about the money. Valerie talks about how good activism is when you frame it as a fiscal issue. She expounds with a rhetorical question, “What is the best way to use tax dollars?” Politicians realize that they don’t want to just euthanize the colonies, and they don’t realize that it would be efficient to invest in TNR since it would be the town supporting the shelter instead of the other way around. Tina talks about how politicians give shelter jobs to their political “cronies” instead of actual qualified animal professionals and they use the animal rights to gain votes.

To start off the final segment, Valerie talks about the stories of people who helped with feral cats and the statistics of cat reproduction. She then describes how it is very difficult to bring the crisis into the topic of national news because younger generations are disconnected from the problem; they don’t see it and therefore it doesn’t exist to them. We need a celebrity to bring this to the masses and raise awareness. They close out this week’s episode by shouting out some organizations that are dedicated to helping feral cats through TNR.

Regina Mendoza became involved in rescue in 2014 after I read about how they barbarically euthanize dogs in overcrowded, underfunded, under-staffed shelters across the country. In particular how a pregnant mama dog was euthanized via heartstick, unable to protect her unborn babies, then thrown into a trash bag and discarded.I knew that if I wasn't part of the solution, I was part of the problem. Aside from running Camp Happy Tails NYC, I am a single mother of a beautiful 23 year old daughter, a licensed massage therapist, and certified animal aromatherapy specialist.

Camp Happy Tails NYC Rescue is NYS recognized 501c3 non profit dog rescue organization. At CampHappy Tails NYC Rescue, we work tirelessly to provide a safe haven for rescued puppies and adult dogs, some requiring extra love, healing and care.

Rino DiMaria - The rescue I help out is Camp Happy Tails NYC. It is the most amazingly run rescue I've ever seen

Joannes Gourmet Pizza: We get asked all the time, "Who's Joanne?" The simplest answer is that she's our mother. She was and always will be the inspiration behind our success as the matriarch of la famiglia.

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In the premiere episode of Professionals & Animal Lovers Show one of the co-hosts Tommy D, explains what the show is about, and how the focus will be on the advocacy of animals and the non-profits and professionals that work with them. The other co-host, Valerie Heffron, continues the discussion of the themes behind the show as well, and thanks the sponsors of the podcast. Valerie explains the journey through working with animals, and how she was raised as an animal lover, and gives the example of as a child, her father renting records of bird recordings so she would be able to tell the different bird songs apart. She continues to explain how animals and animal advocacy has been such a large part of her life, and she has met many of her closest friends through protests and many other events. Valerie continues to explain that animal lovers are a huge community, and that animal lovers love to help each other help animals. She then introduces one of the guests of the episode, Rino DiMario. Rino volunteers at the Camp Happy Tails NYC animal rescue, and had met Valerie at a protest against a puppy mill. Rino tells his story about how he got assaulted by the “puppy mill thugs” as he was recording the puppy mill vans in an attempt to expose the company that was operating the puppy mill, as well as what about the vans tipped him off that they were puppy mill vans. Regina Mendoza, the other guest of today’s episode explains what puppy mills are for anyone who is unaware, as well as puppy mill statistics for the United States.

Rino continues retelling his story of when he was assaulted trying to expose a puppy mill, and how the employers and owner of the pet store that was making use of the puppy mill was encouraging Rino’s attackers to continue to assault him. Rino continues to explain how the pet store was shut down shortly after his assault, and explains that he would do it all again if it would shut down another store that makes use of puppy mills. Valerie discusses the anti-puppy mill bill that has been progressing through the government, as it made it to committee on the assembly floor in New York and everyone is waiting for the next session to see if the bill goes through. She continues to explain that the anti-puppy mill bill is not a party issue, it's a right or wrong issue and everyone from across all parties and political beliefs need to come together to get this bill to go through and ban puppy mills in New York. Rino discusses his personal experiences with rescue animals and how he often utilizes Facebook to post adoptions, and continues saying that Facebook has done so much for the animal rescue community. Rino details the different types of Facebook groups people can go to learn about animal rescue and animal advocacy. Rino introduces Regina and how the two of them met.

The four discuss Camp Happy Tails NYC, the animal rescue that Regina operates, with Valerie bringing up how difficult it is to run a rescue complimenting Regina on how well she operates Camp Happy Tails NYC. Regina discusses the issue of euthanization among shelter animals, as well as animals in homelesses, and abused animals. Regina retells a story she reaw on Facebook that got her into animal advocacy. The story was about a pregnant dog that was euthanized in an incredibly cruel way, which is a common way of euthanization among rescue shelters. Regina then continues to explain her journey through animal advocacy, and how she got into fostering animals. Valerie discusses fostering animals, and how fostering an animal works, specifically foster based rescues. Regina gives a quick overview of her rescue operations and gives a tour of her grounds. Regina also explains how many dogs she is able to foster in her rescue at a time, saying she can hold about twenty at a time.

Regina gives a detailed history of several of the dogs present in her rescue, as well as how she came across each of the dogs. Valerie discusses how important it is to adopt animals through rescues, and how this is one of the messages she wants to get out through this show. She explains how when someone buys an animal from a pet store they are supporting a horrendous industry, and are actually supporting people who genuinely care about animals when adopting through a rescue. The four discuss Rino’s restaurant, and Rino gives an anecdote about how he was challenged to create a pickle pizza. The four end the episode with giving their messages to the listeners that they want them to take away from the show.