Talking Animals

Cathy Unruh—a co-founder of MEOW Now (the acronym stands for Managing & Ending Overpopulation Wisely), which is devoted to helping reduce the community cat population in Pinellas County—addresses the impetus for Unruh and her co-founders launching, in 2014, an organization with such a specialized focus. Unruh notes that, employing a long-trusted formula devised by Best Friends Animal Society, there’s a staggering number of community cats in Pinellas County that need to be spayed or neutered, and the daunting task of MEOW Now handling that, which is primarily done by way of TNVR (Trap, Neuter, Vaccinate, Return). She mentions the organizations that MEOW Now is affiliated with, including Friends of Strays, Humane Society Pinellas, and Humane Society of Tampa Bay, chiefly in providing the community cats they trap with spay/neuter services. Unruh outlines how, exactly, TNVR works, walking us through the process of what MEOW Now volunteers do in that regard—bringing the cat to one of those affiliated organizations—then returning the animal to the colony it was plucked from. She speaks to how MEOW Now is funded (strictly donations, at the moment), and talks openly about the crisis that the organization experienced recently, that threatened its very existence, noting that she and her co-founders (who had retired or otherwise reduced its involvement) returned more directly to steer it back on track. I acknowledge that a primary reason for conducting this interview now is that MEOW Now has been enormously transparent about its struggles—and its plan to turn things around, notably including two unvarnished, detailed posts on its website. Unruh concurs with that assessment, and expresses great optimism about MEOW Now’s future. (https://meownowfl.org, https://www.facebook.com/MEOW-Now-621035224645282/)

 

ALSO: I spoke with Michael Lloret, a wildlife biologist and crocodile specialist affiliated with Florida Power and Light (FPL) who’s a key member of a team that nurtures and studies American crocodile hatchlings that are born and at least initially live near FPL’s Turkey Point Nuclear Generating Station—in other words, a nuclear power plant—in Homestead, Florida. Lloret explains that the crocs are drawn to south Florida for the warmer temperatures (versus more northern parts of the state), and what he and his colleagues do with the hatchlings, including microchip them, partly to monitor their movements. Lloret recalls one croc had traveled as far as Tampa, which is unusual, and notes the animal would’ve need to move south at some point to avoid a problem in an area that’s cooler than the Homestead headquarters. Lloret says the data they collect is then made available to an array of scientists and other who study crocodiles.

COMEDY CORNER: Paula Poundstone’s  “Cats Puff Up”  (http://www.paulapoundstone.com)

MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme,” instrumentals

NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE:  Elton John’s  “Crocodile Rock”

AUDIO ARCHIVE:

Listen Online Now: https://talkinganimals.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/TAJuly24FINAL.mp3 | Open Player in New Window

John Doe—singer/songwriter/co-founder of the band X and author, most recently of “More Fun in the New World: The Unmaking and Legacy of L.A. Punk”—conducts this live interview from the Austin horse barn, where his horses Red and Sugar had just received a trim from the farrier. This provides a natural jumping off point to explore the current realm of the Bureau of Land Management’s wild horse and burro roundup program, and his continuing support, including financial, of the horse advocacy organization, Protect Mustangs. We spend quite a bit of time discussing “More Fun in the New World,” like its 2016 predecessor, is co-authored by Tom DeSavia and features potent, often poignant contributions from 20 or so denizens of the late-70s/early-80s punk scene, including Henry Rollings, Social Distortion’s Mike Ness, The Go-Gos’ Jane Wiedlin, Dave Alvin, and such aficionados of that scene as filmmaker Allison Anders and actor Tim Robbins. We touch on essays by The Go-Gos’ Charlotte Caffey (about being in the grip of a lengthy, severe drug addiction and breaking free of that addiction), and Doe’s revelatory, fascinating, and timely conversation with some members of Fishbone. Doe also addresses a number of other topics, including his move to Austin (and investing in a bar there, The Long Play Lounge), new material that X has recorded (first time back in the studio in 30-plus years), and spending time earlier this year in St. Augustine, Florida, shooting a remake of the film noir, “D.O.A.,” in which Doe is the lead. Red and Sugar generally stayed still and quiet during the conversation, apparently listening intently throughout.  (http://www.theejohndoe.com, https://www.xtheband.com, https://www.thelongplaylounge.com/)

ALSO: I spoke with Allison McCulloch, who brings a distinctive wrinkle to the film reviews she writes for the movie-minded social networking platform Letterboxd: She laces her critiques with so-called “vegan alerts,” tips intended to caution fellow vegans to scenes or elements of scenes they may find upsetting or offensive. She discusses the inspiration for adding these alerts, along with her supreme passion for movies, which in earlier years might involve seeing seven films on a weekend day. McCulloch notes that she’s now down to a measly four flicks on those days. She says her vegan alerts have drawn a wide array of responses from Letterboxd readers. (https://letterboxd.com/, https://www.facebook.com/veganmoviereviews/)

 

COMEDY CORNER: Eddie Izzard’s “Horse Whisperer”  (https://www.eddieizzard.com/en)

MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme,” instrumentals

NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE:  John Doe’s  “There’s A Black Horse”

AUDIO ARCHIVE:

Listen Online Now: https://talkinganimals.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/TAJuly17-.mp3 | Open Player in New Window

Teo Alfero—founder and CEO of the Wolf Connection sanctuary, which specializes in rescuing domesticated wolves and dogs with varying degrees of wolf content, and author of “The Wolf Connection: What Wolves Can Teach Us About Being Human”—outlines three traits of wolves most people wouldn’t know that make them special animals. Alfero agrees with the observation that “The Wolf Connection” amounts to a medley of books—a memoir, a history of the sanctuary, a spiritual guide, and self-help tome—and describes the decision-making that preceded including all those sometimes-disparate elements. He discusses the history and evolution of the sanctuary, and what distinguishes The Wolf Connection from the other 15-20 wolf sanctuaries across the United States. He also shares information about the background of the 35 wolves currently residing at the sanctuary, among them three sisters—Annie, Bella, and Charlee—who were part of a group of 15 wolfdogs that were rescued. Alfero explains the tenets of WolfTherapy, a program he created, through recounting the way a visiting teenage girl, who was struggling with challenges beyond the usual adolescent travails (including suicidal impulses) experienced a transformation by way of time spent with wolves at the sanctuary. WolfTherapy tends to be most frequently provided to at-risk youth, as well as veterans with PTSD, among others. He also touches on plans to expand the capacity of The Wolf Connection—which occupies a 165-acre parcel of land in Acton, California, ultimately to accommodate as many as 90 wolves. (https://wolfconnection.org, https://www.teoalfero.com)

 

ALSO: I spoke with Hunter Miller, of Oceana about Barks For Sharks, an event taking place July 26 at the Dog Bar in St. Pete, through a partnership with Oceana and Pet Pal Animal Shelter. Something of a kick-off for Shark Week, the evening promises to include a wide array of elements, including a reminder of important pending legislation (the Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act H.R. 737) and shark advocacy. But, Miller says, there’s a number of far lighter, more entertaining activities planned for that night, including a Dog-Shark costume contest, shark photo booth, shark drink specials (sales of which benefit Pet Pal Animals Shelter), music provided by a DJ, and more. (https://www.facebook.com/events/422311495278708/,https://ocean.org, http://www.dogbarstpete.com, https://petpalanimalshelter.com)

COMEDY CORNER: Mac Takemiya’s “Punch A Shark In The Face”

MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme,” instrumentals

NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE:  Los Lobos’  “Will The Wolf Survive”

AUDIO ARCHIVE:

Listen Online Now: https://talkinganimals.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/TAJuly10.mp3 | Open Player in New Window

Jasmine Leyva—a filmmaker and actress, who directed, and appears in, “The Invisible Vegan,” a new documentary that explores various cultural challenges and implications within the black community when some decide to go vegan, or contemplate doing so—recalls her background growing up in Washington, D.C. and her early interest in the entertainment industry. This prompted her to relocate to Los Angeles for college, studying television and film, going on to get a master’s degree. She discusses her assortment of early showbiz jobs, including working on such TV programs as “My Black Is Beautiful,” noting that through stints on multiple documentary series, she saw up close how those programs got streamlined—invaluable experience, later, when fashioning “The Invisible Vegan.” Leyva cites some of the docs about going vegan she watched in preparation for making her own, and which ones affected and impressed her the most. She also addresses the rationale for deciding she would serve as an onscreen presence in the film—kind of narrator-meets-interviewee—acknowledging that she felt her story was emblematic of the overall narrative she wanted her film to deliver. Leyva touches on the attitude, not uncommon in the black community that going vegan is a “white people thing,” an attitude she admits film she wasn’t immune to—and the attendant lack of understanding of the cultural heritage inherent to that position. Leyva talks about the array of physicians (including Dr. Milton Mills), and nutrition experts who appear in “The Invisible Vegan,” as well as high-profile figures like Cedric The Entertainer, Stic Man of Dead Prez, and former NBA star John Salley, and how she secured their participation. She also notes the various avenues through which people can watch the film, most of which are detailed on the website. (https://www.theinvisiblevegan.com)

 

COMEDY CORNER: Wanda Sykes’  “Cooking Dinner” (https://www.wandasykes.com)

MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme,”  Dead Prez’s “Be Healthy” (portion), Aloe Blacc’s “Femme Fatale,”  instrumentals

NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE:  Rufus Thomas’ “Walking The Dog”

AUDIO ARCHIVE:

Listen Online Now: https://talkinganimals.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/TAJune19-.mp3 | Open Player in New Window

Rick Kriseman—the mayor of St. Petersburg, Florida, who, a year ago, signed a proclamation declaring St. Petersburg a pet-friendly city—recounts growing up loving animals, dogs in particular. Mayor Kriseman describes how he and his family got started as puppy raisers for Southeastern Guide Dogs, bringing home their first assigned puppy, Jim, when he was 12 weeks old, and returning him at 14 months. The process worked out pretty well for the family, Mayor Kriseman, notes, in that, not long ago, they welcomed their 10thpuppy to raise. Mainly, though, Mayor Kriseman joined us to discuss his proclamation and the initiative—St. Pete PAWS—he has since unfurled. He recalls that the idea for taking these steps was spurred by discussions while attending the U.S. Conference of Mayors, yet Mayor  Kriseman believes he and St. Petersburg were the first nationwide to introduce such a program. He outlines some of the key tenets of the St. Pete PAWS, including reducing pet homelessness in the city (and what measures are in place in order to achieve that), encouraging business to become more pet-friendly (ditto), among others. We also address a related art exhibit, “Woof, Meow, Chirp, and Slither: Artists Interpret The World of Pets,” which opened in early June at Florida CraftArt in St. Petersburg, and is on view there through Aug. 10 (and where Mayor Kriseman was due to give a talk the day after our interview.) Mayor Kriseman also fielded a handful of listener questions and comments via phone calls, emails, and texts. (http://StPete.org/PAWS, https://floridacraftart.org)

The interview with Mayor Kriseman streamed on Facebook Live. See below.

 

 

 

ALSO: I spoke with Dr. Jennifer Conrad, veterinarian and founder of The Paw Project, which played a pivotal role in the momentous news recently that New York lawmakers had passed a ban on declawing cats. If Governor Cuomo signs the bill, New York will become the first state to outlaw the procedure. If you’ve tracked this issue for a few years—I first interviewed Dr. Conrad about it on “Talking Animals” in 2005—you know that nothing of consequence gets done legislatively to ban cat declaw surgery without her. New York state Assemblywoman Linda B. Rosenthal, at left with Dr. Conrad, sponsored this bill. (https://pawproject.org)

 

 

 

COMEDY CORNER: Greg Fitzsimmons’  “Adopting A Dog” (https://gregfitzsimmons.com)

MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme,” instrumentals

NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE: We didn’t play “Name That Animal Tune” today.

AUDIO ARCHIVE:

Listen Online Now: https://talkinganimals.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/TAJune12-.mp3 | Open Player in New Window

Sally Williams—founder and director of The Brodie Fund, which helps pay for the treatment of pets diagnosed with cancer, when their humans can’t afford it, provided the animals are patients at specific veterinary hospitals in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and Colorado—acknowledges that she’s been a fervent feline lover all her life, going back to Sandy, the family cat before she was born. She elaborates, noting that she figures she’s lived with 11 cats over the course of her lifetime, and places the current population at four. She describes Brodie, the organization’s namesake, from first the first adopting him, to as a 12-year-old, how his sneezing at first seemed like it might be a garden-variety upper-respiratory ailment—until he began sneezing blood. This spurred further examination, and a cancer diagnosis, Williams says. Brodie underwent radiation, fared well, and lived another 13 months after treatment ended. But it was this process and the considerable costs involved, Williams recalls, that made her think that maybe she could help others navigating their way through similar challenges—and, maybe help with the often-significant expense of treatment. With those objectives in mind, she launched The Brodie Fund, starting first at a veterinary hospital in her home state of New Jersey. She’s slowly widened out to a few, select vet hospitals in Connecticut, New York, and Colorado (where, she says, she partnered with a like-mined organization there). Mentioning she’s embarked on this journey again with her cat Marlin, who’s nine months into chemo treatment, Williams explains that this purposefully gradual expansion has allowed The Brodie Fund to help many families, without capping the grants at a particular amount. (https://thebrodiefund.org)

ALSO: I spoke with Thomas Ponce, a guest on “Talking Animals” almost exactly three years ago, when he was 15—and already a veteran activist—and the founder, at 12, of Lobby For Animals, which reflects Ponce’s belief that lobbying is the most effective method to affect true, meaningful change for animal welfare.  He is at the center of a fundraiser, chiefly because his computer recently died, a development that prevents him from, among other things, doing his work for Lobby For Animals—including the software that tracks the status of various pieces of legislation.  (http://lobbyforanimals.org)

 

 

 

 

COMEDY CORNER: Erin Foley’s  “Three Cats” (https://erinkfoley.com)

MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme,” instrumentals

NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE: We didn’t play “Name That Animal Tune” today.

AUDIO ARCHIVE:

Jan Creamer—president and co-founder of Animal Defenders International (ADI), which specializes in educational efforts and campaigns internationally that tend to focus on animals in entertainment and other realms—recounts growing up with assorted pets, and a light bulb moment in her younger years when she was handed a leaflet about beagles being used in smoking experiments. Creamer recalls working in various capacities for the organization responsible for that leaflet, The National Anti-Vivisection Society of the U.K., which, in a sense, evolved into the new entity that she launched with her husband, Tim Phillips, Animal Defenders International. She addresses the re-introduction to Congress the previous week of the Traveling Exotic Animal and Public Safety Protection Act (TEAPSPA)—a bipartisan federal bill that aim to end the use of wild and exotic animals in circuses and other entities that travel across the U.S. Creamer explains that TEAPSPA has been brought to Congress multiple times, and doesn’t particularly expect it to pass this time around, either, but aspires to attract more Congressional co-sponsors for the bill, and generally build more awareness of it. The current effort, she notes, is undertaken against the backdrop of New Jersey and Hawaii now having statewide bands of wild animals in circuses, while a similar ban is under consideration in California—while some 40+ countries have passed national prohibitions on using animals in circuses. For these reasons, and others, including the palpable momentum, Creamer speculated that TEAPSPA may well pass during the nextsession in which it’s re-introduced, especially if folks who care about animals email, call, or—best of all—meet with their congressional representatives, using contact information provided on the ADI website. (http://www.ad-international.org/adi_usa/)

ALSO: I spoke with Dr. Lincoln Parkes, a retired veterinarian, who is certainly not retired from his lifelong enterprise: building custom-made carts for paralyzed animals—a task he’s undertaken for more than 60 years. Now 92, Dr. Parkes described how he got started in this work, carts he’s created for some animals beyond the usual patients of dogs and cats—like chickens—and new cart designs he’s come up with that he hopes to execute soon with some help and/or investors. (http://www.k-9cart.com)

 

 

COMEDY CORNER: Eddie Pepitone’s “Dog Therapy” (https://eddiepepitone.com)

MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme,” instrumentals

NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE: Bent Fabric’s “Alley Cat”

AUDIO ARCHIVE:

Listen Online Now: https://talkinganimals.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/TAMay29-.mp3 | Open Player in New Window

Natasha Daly—a staff writer for the National Geographic, where she wrote the June cover story, “The Hidden Cost of Wildlife Tourism”—addresses her role as the magazine’s “wildlife crime reporter,” how she landed on that beat, and what sort of stories she’s written in that capacity. Daly outlines the approach that she and photojournalist Kirsten Luce followed, pursuing preordained animal encounters and countries, leaving enough slack in the game plan to improvise, veering off to report on new sorts of animal experiences they discovered/heard about. For example, Daly recalls that while in Russia, covering various attractions with bears and other animals they anticipated there, she and Luce got wind of an unexpected enterprise in that country: A traveling marine park of sorts—a pop-up aquarium constructed in an inflatable tent—featuring performances by beluga whales, caught in Russian waters, and trucked from one show location to the next. Daly also speaks about Meena, an elephant in Thailand who becomes a central character in her piece, in part because Meena has a spiked shacklewhen she’s chained, which her handler told Daly was to curtail her kicking and only applied during parts of the day, never at night. (Intrepid reporter that she is, Daly checked on Meena one night, and disproved that contention.) She also points out that, though rare, there are facilities that observe basic tenets of animal welfare, like Elephant EcoValley, where the animals are unchained and the human-pachyderm interaction is limited to snack time with a fence separating the participants. Daly also touches on a major theme of her article: the way travelers looking to post selfies and other pictures on their social media feeds have exacerbated the harsh conditions for countless animals across the globe that are part of the wildlife tourism trade. [Photos by Kirsten Luce/National Geographic]

 

ALSO: I played “Happiness,” a track from the new Rebekah Pulley album, “The Sea of Everything,” the sixth full-length studio recording by the Saint Petersburg-based singer-songwriter. Pulley is not only an exceptional, accomplished musical artist, she’s a notable and highly-appreciated denizen of the “Talking Animals” world.  That’s because Pulley composed and recorded the jaunty opening “Talking Animals” theme that kicks off the program each Wednesday morning.  (http://www.rebekahpulley.com)

COMEDY CORNER: Martha Kelly’s  “Animal Road Trip” (https://www.MarthaKelly.net)

MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme,” and her new song, “Happiness,” instrumentals

NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE: We didn’t play “Name That Animal Tune” today.

AUDIO ARCHIVE:

Listen Online Now: https://talkinganimals.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/TAMay22-.mp3 | Open Player in New Window

Dr. David M. Pena-Guzman—a philosopher and assistant professor at San Francisco State University, who wrote a scholarly paper for the journal Animal Sentience, entitled “Can Nonhuman Animals Commit Suicide?”—recounts how he had no pets during his formative years, and has none now, owing at least partly to the rental restrictions of apartments in San Francisco. So, his interest in animals, in all senses, is academic. He discusses the impetus for exploring the concept of animal suicide, which ultimately yielded the ambitious, dense, heavily-sourced, meticulously foot-noted piece that runs 24 pages, including all the sources, footnotes, and references. Pena-Guzman walks—well, talks us—through some of the broader contours of the paper, including some of the criteria that’s considered necessary for suicidal behavior (reflexive subjectivity, free will, awareness of death), refers to some of the studies he cites in the piece—and the part of “The Cove” where Ric O’Barry recalls having observed the dolphin Kathy kill herself by willingly choose not to breathe—and notes other relevant phenomena. He also addresses how the equation can be altered for animals in captivity, where with some (orcas, for instance) more than others, there’s more overt evidence of self-destructive, self-injurious behavior. Pena-Guzman also fields responds to some smart, probing questions and/or comments. (https://animalstudiesrepository.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1201&context=animsent,)

 

ALSO: I aired the interview I recorded with Selena Schulz, who lives in Land O’ Lakes, FL, and who, over the last five years has published three books about animal shelters, fostering and pet adoption. She’s also donated more than $5000 in proceeds from the books sales to an array of shelters (mostly in Florida, but also one in New York, another in Canada), and created an organization—A Bed, A Buck, A Buddy–designed to encourage others kids (and adults, presumably) to donate to shelters and volunteer at them. What may make this string of accomplishments particularly notable is that Selena Schulz is 13 years old   (http://www.abedabuckabuddy.com,)

COMEDY CORNER: Tim Harmston’s “Seagull” (https://www.timharmston.com)

MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme, instrumentals

NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE: We didn’t play “Name That Animal Tune” today.

AUDIO ARCHIVE:

Listen Online Now: https://talkinganimals.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/TAMay15.mp3 | Open Player in New Window

John Cherwa—a sportswriter (or editor) for 40+ years, who covers horse racing for The Los Angeles Times—explains the scene before the race at this year’s Kentucky Derby, especially given the growing concern and scrutiny leveled at the racing industry, chiefly in the wake of the string of horse deaths at the Santa Anita track; that number now stands at 23, and Cherwa broke that story. Cherwa describes parts of the day, the conditions of the track in the wake of the rainfall (“sloppy”), and how quickly after the race he became aware there was a foul. He recounts what it was like during the 22 minutes when the stewards were reviewing the videotapes and other material before announcing Maximum Security was disqualified. He notes that among those truly knowledgeable about horse racing and the nuances of its rules, the uproar about that decision gave way to a consensus that the stewards’ decision had been correct—and that Cherwa himself changed his mind from Saturday to Sunday, ending up agreeing, as well. All in all, though, much of the conversation amounted to an assessment of the state of the horse racing industry, including Cherwa elaborating on his observation that the industry is undergoing a significant transition: the core constituency (old, white men, Cherwa says) is aging out, various companies operate the nation’s race tracks—and there are real fissures and philosophical conflicts amongst those entities; the parent company that owns Churchill Downs and other tracks is opposed to proposed racing reforms and legislation (the Horseracing Integrity Act, which would create a uniform national standard for drug testing in racehorses)—and strong, polarizing feelings about racing have developed, mirroring the way many people have become increasingly concerned about animal welfare, Cherwa says.

 

ALSO: I spoke with Patrick Rose, Executive Director of the Save the Manatee club, who outlines the Club’s history (founded in 1981 by Jimmy Buffett and then-Governor Bob Graham), and multifaceted mission. Rose also addresses the challenges facing manatees, significantly exacerbated by the recent red tide algae bloom. He also discusses the Save the Manatee 5K race taking place May 11 in Michigan, where there are some 800 entrants, and folks can participate virtually from anywhere in the world—at last count, there were 1200 virtual participants. The proceeds from the race benefit Save the Manatee club.  (https://www.savethemanatee.org, http://savethemanatee5k.com)

COMEDY CORNER: Kevin Nealon’s “Bear-Caught Salmon” (https://www.kevinnealon.com)

MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme, instrumentals

NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE: We didn’t play “Name That Animal Tune” today.

AUDIO ARCHIVE:

Listen Online Now: https://talkinganimals.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/TAMay8.mp3 | Open Player in New Window