Talking Animals

Ellie Phipps Price—executive producer and co-writer of “American Mustang,” a film exploring the round-ups of wild horses by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)—discusses her lifelong love of horses, which began in childhood. She recalls when she first became aware of the round-ups, and that an essential part of that growing awareness was Deanne Stillman’s book “Mustang: The Saga of the Wild Horse in the American West.” She explains how she and her co-writer (and “American Mustang” producer) Henry Ansbacher decided weren’t interested in pursuing a conventional “talking heads” documentary. Instead, they preferred to fashion a film that blended elements of a doc with those of a feature narrative, involving a 14-year-old girl who’s enamored of horses, wild horse history (including the pioneering, pivotal Wild Horse Annie, who campaigned for various pieces of legislation that protected wild horses) and a newly-captured mustang that two cowboys are starting. Price notes that the BLM is a gigantic agency with an equally gigantic slate of responsibilities, including overseeing 245 million acres of land, and that improving the lot of wild horses does not appear to be a priority—for instance, taking the significant step of introducing birth control to the mustangs. She offers an explanation of how, lacking major distribution, the “American Mustang” team is relying on so-called Tugg screenings to get the film seen across the country, highlighting the Tampa screening Aug. 25 at the AMC Westshore 14, at the Westshore Plaza in Tampa. Tickets and info on screening: www.tugg.com/events/10265 (www.americanmustangthemovie.com, http://wildhorsepreservation.org)

ALSO: We paid tribute to Narobi, the rescue turned dressage champion, who had retired and become the companion at our house of Sir Jearly, the retired dressage champion we adopted a few years ago. On Saturday morning, Narobi apparently re-injured his leg and it was determined that there was no alternative but to euthanize him. Once the veterinarian arrived, Sir Jearly laid down near Narobi, joining the love circle that was saying farewell to this beautiful horse. R.I.P., Narobi.

 

COMEDY CORNER: Eddie Izzard’s “Horse Whisperer” (portion) (http://eddieizzard.com)

MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme,” John Doe’s “There’s A Black Horse,” Friends of Dean Martinez’s “All The Pretty Horses,” instrumentals

NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE: The Rolling Stones’ “Wild Horses”

AUDIO ARCHIVE:

Listen Online Now: http://www.talkinganimals.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/TAaug13-.mp3

Tom Junod—two-time National Magazine Award-winning journalist and Esquire writer-at-large—discusses the impetus for writing “The State Of The American Dog,” his extended examination of the plight and perception of the pit bull that appears in the August issue of Esquire. Drawing on a wealth of reporting and research for the story, Junod also wove in his personal experience with pit bulls, and in this “Talking Animals” interview addresses two pivotal scenes in the piece involving his pit Dexter, including what he and his family learned from those episodes, and how they connect to some of the article’s key themes. He also responds to some of the other significant elements presented in “The State Of The  American Dog,” including the sobering statistics (among them: that in American shelters, as many as 3000 pit bulls are killed per day), the serious challenge—folly, really—of identifying which dogs actually are pit bulls, how the irresponsible behavior of a relatively small contingent of pit bull owners have greatly complicated the lives of other pit bull owners, such as making homeowner’s insurance policies far more expensive or impossible to get, etc. Junod explains the thinking behind his editors’ decision to include with his article the gallery of photos of pitbulls, acknowledging the stellar work of photographer Michael Friberg and noting that many of the dogs pictured ended up adopted. (www.esquire.com/features/american-dog-0814)

COMEDY CORNER: Aziz Ansari’s “Lady With The Puppies”   (http://azizansari.com)

MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme,” Steely Dan’s “Monkey In Your Soul,” instrumentals

NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE: Willie Dixon’s “Little Red Rooster”

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Listen Online Now: http://www.talkinganimals.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/TAaug6.mp3

Ashley Mutch, the Philadelphia Manager of Pets For Life—a nationally-expanding outreach effort that, relying on an array of strategies, and offering a variety of resources, seeks to help pets and their humans in low-income communities–recounts growing up loving animals, and deciding early on she wanted to make working with them her occupation. She recalls her pre-Pets For Life stint as an animal cruelty officer, outlining what the work involved and what constituted the biggest challenges, as well as the most rewarding aspects, of the job. Mutch describes in some detail how Pets For Life functions, what sorts of information, resources and services it offers, emphasizing a nonjudgmental approach when engaging clients and potential clients. As one measure of the effectiveness of this intervention, she cites the percentage of pets in these households that are altered prior to visits by Pets For Life (15%), and the percentage afterwards (70%). Mutch notes that Pets For Life has full-fledged locations in Chicago, Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia (where Mutch oversees the enterprise) under the auspices of The Humane Society Of The United States, and operates in a somewhat different form in 18 other cities across the country, with five more to be added in the coming months. (www.humanesociety.org/about/departments/pets-for-life/)

ALSO: We spoke briefly with Blanca Hernandez, the founder and president of Furever Yours Pet Rescue, about the mission and work of this relatively new Tampa-based rescue. She goes on describe various facets of their adoption event slated for Aug. 24 at Dogism in Oldsmar. (www.fureveryourspetrescue.com)

COMEDY CORNER: Joe Zimmerman’s “Animal Attacks”   (http://www.zimmermancomedy.com)

MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme,” Danielle At The Sandwich’s “Pet Store,” instrumentals

NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE: Black Sabbath’s “Rat Salad”

AUDIO ARCHIVE:

Listen Online Now: http://www.talkinganimals.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/TAJuly30-.mp3

David Grimm—author of “Citizen Canine: Our Evolving Relationship with Cats and Dogs”—recalls his formative years, always feeling an affinity with animals, and at one point thinking he wanted to become a veterinarian, a notion he was disabused of after spending time in a vet clinic. He discusses earning a PhD in genetics from Yale, deciding he didn’t want to be anchored to a lab, and going on to become deputy news editor of Science. In fact, Grimm explains, feeling dogged (sorry!) by limited opportunities to write about cats and dogs at Science served as part of the impetus for “Citizen Canine.” He addresses a core tenet of his book: the concept of animals transcending the definition of “property” and entering the realm of “personhood”—and some of the figures and entities who both support and oppose this shifting status. Grimm also touches on a variety of field trips he undertook for the reporting in “Canine,” underscoring the book’s premise—including a nursing home in Westfield, New Jersey, where therapy cats enliven a room full of otherwise disengaged Alzheimer’s patients, and a visit to Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, where much of the military dog training (and post-deployment treating; some develop symptoms of PTSD) takes place. (http://davidhgrimm.com)

COMEDY CORNER: Rocky LaPorte’s “The Zoo” (portion) (http://rockylaporte.com)

MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme,” Neko Case’s “I’m An Animal,” Royce Hodge’s “Little Brown Dog,” instrumentals

NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE: Warren Zevon’s “Werewolves Of London”

AUDIO ARCHIVE:

Listen Online Now: http://www.talkinganimals.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/TAJuly23.mp3

Kevin Fulton—the owner and operator or Fulton Farms, a 2800-acre organic farming and grazing operation in central Nebraska—discusses his unusual background and career path, starting with growing up on the […]