Talking Animals

What exactly does it mean to be a livestock sitter, and, why does such a job exist? Nikki Battiste went to Massachusetts to find out. Plus -- Sam Litzinger discusses obesity in household pets in "Ask a Vet." This and more on this week's Talking Animals.

This morning, I once again tabled the usual “Talking Animals” format to present my Annual Christmas Animal Song special—that is, a show entirely devoted to Holiday-oriented animal tunes. Once again, as we make no bones about in the opening of the program, to effectively pull off this conceit, I’m required to fashion the program with a liberal sprinkling of “Rudolph”-related songs, from Butch Walker’s somewhat boozy new take, from his recently-released (and aptly titled) collection, “Over The Holidays And Under The Influence” to Keith Richards’ classic fiery rendition, a must-include track. I also played some far less obvious nuggets and possible future classics, including Sia’s “Puppies Are Forever,” probably the best new Christmas song (especially in the “Talking Animals” realm) on probably this season’s best new Christmas album, the quirky, if wordy “Dominick, The Italian Christmas Donkey” by the also-wordy Vinnie Bonofici And His Italian American Band, Kacey Musgraves’ rendition of “I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas,” EELS’ propulsive fave, “Christmas Is Going To The Dogs,” and a slice of Dirk Keysser’s novelty reading of “Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer” (it sounds like a brood of chickens singing). I took a brief break from playing cool yule songs to read what I call the Dorothy Strauss Christmas message, as I do every year. That message, whose author has always been unknown to me and my family—growing up, my Mom hung a poster of it each Christmas season—may have been written by Howard W. Hunter, according to a Google search conducted by an enterprising “Talking Animals” listener.

Listen Online Now: https://talkinganimals.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/TADec21-.mp3 | Open Player in New Window

Could the woolly mammoth make a comeback? Plus - Manuel Bojorquez reports on the latest efforts to save Florida's coral reef. Sam Litzinger features his piece and more on this week's Talking Animals.

The Trump administration's reversal -- then re-reversal of an elephant trophy ban has sparked a worldwide debate. Don Dahler reports. Plus -- is it normal to feel guilty when it is time to put a pet down? Psychology Today's Adam Clark joins Sam Litzinger on this week's Talking Animals.

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Officials at Yellowstone National Park have recruited grizzly bears to test the strength of garbage cans and coolers - which have been destroyed by bears looking for food. Carter Evans reports. Plus - a rare butterfly species is making a comeback in the Bay Area. John Blackstone has the story. Sam Litzinger features these pieces and more on this week's Talking Animals.

Scott Hardy—co-founder of Hardy Hayes Refuge, a mom-and-pop rescue-rehab operation with sizable ambitions, and accomplishments to match—outlines his lifelong love of animals, describing a childhood where the insights gleaned from trying to treat a locust as a pet helped shape his sensibilities more than the family’s beloved beagle. Hardy (the “mom” to his “pop” is his wife, Christine Hardy-Hayes) recalls that owning and running Wagging Tails, a pet supplies shop in New York, represented another key step along the path that led him to the work he does today. Hardy makes clear, though, that a profoundly pivotal precursor to Hardy Hayes Refuge was his two and a half year stint at the Austin Zoo, which is not a zoo in the conventional sense, but a non-profit rescue and sanctuary. Hardy recounts his work there as a keeper, primarily caring for the primates, but also looking after other animals, including a wolf hybrid named Kayla, about whom he shared an affecting story about an understanding they came to when changing the bandage on her infected duclaw and her signaling to him when the process became too painful. Hardy talks about meeting Christine—at a dog park, not surprisingly; she had five dogs, even less surprisingly—and how they landed at an eight and a half acre-spread in Bastrop, Texas, from which they operate Hardy Hayes Refuge. Hardy notes that the organization, which focuses on fostering dogs with challenging circumstances—including those with medical issues and victims of cruelty—is a 501 (c ) (3) that welcomes donations, but is also funded by such unusual sources as the Uncle Mullet You Tube Channel and Gladys Hardy’s website, Gladys being the spirited old gal famous for her on-air phone conversations with Ellen DeGeneres. (https://unclemullet.com, (https://www.facebook.com/yappytrails/, https://www.gladyshardy.com)

 

COMEDY CORNER: John Mulaney’s “Baby Grandma” (http://www.johnmulaney.com)

MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme,” Robert Plant’s version of “Bluebirds Over The Mountain,” (featuring Chrissie Hynde), instrumentals

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

AUDIO ARCHIVE:

Listen Online Now: https://talkinganimals.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/TADec13-.mp3 | Open Player in New Window

The pandas at The National Zoo might have a better health care plan than you do. Sam Litzinger features Chip Reid's piece on this week's Talking Animals.

There's a program in San Antonio, Texas that is helping pit bulls shed their bad dog image. Sam Litzinger features Omar Villafranca's piece on this week's Talking Animals.

Kathy Stevens—founder and director of Catskill Animal Sanctuary, which sprawls over 148 acres in New York’s Hudson Valley, providing refuge to about 300 farmed animals rescued from cruelty, neglect, and abandonment—recalls a childhood growing up on a horse farm in Virginia, forging an intense connection with animals early on. The passion for animals, she explains, has been a vital through line of her life, and along the way, she also developed a powerful interest in education—going to grad school, teaching high school English, and so on. Stevens recounts being at a career cross roads, realizing the professional opportunity offered wouldn’t be a good fit for her, and deciding instead to combine her two chief interests (animals, education), and head down the path of creating Catskill Animal Sanctuary, which she did in 2001 at a small property in Kerhonkson, NY. In the ensuing years, Catskill has expanded to its present size and grown into what Stevens calls “the pre-eminent educational animal sanctuary.” The focus, she notes, is to encourage sanctuary visitors to directly participate in what she describes as a major social movement for humans to change behavior toward other species, adding that there are 300 critters on hand to help underscore that effort—observing that when visitors are “licked by a cow or when a turkey falls asleep in their lap,” the message tends to resonate in a more powerful way. Stevens describes the tours they offer, ranging from those for adults to those tailored for school kids. She makes it clear Catskill receives requests daily to take more animals, and addresses the criteria for saying Yes or No to such requests, by way of mentioning why they declined the previous day to accept three pigs needing a home, partly because that might compromise the life of the 22 pigs currently living there. While on this topic, she outlines the colorful story and unusual daily routine of one of those 22–a potbellied pig named Sister Mary Frances. (https://casanctuary.org)

ALSO: I spoke briefly with Jennifer Lockwood, a St. Petersburg-based pilot (she previously lived in St. Croix), who has coordinated–and in many cases, executed—the rescue of hundreds of cats and dogs that were abandoned in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, in the wake of the hurricanes. Many of these animals have been adopted stateside, including in and around the Tampa Bay area. (http://usvirelief.org, https://www.facebook.com/compassionkindfoundation/)

COMEDY CORNER: Nate Bargetze’s “How To Get Bitten By A Snake” (http://www.natebargatze.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/2017/12/TADec6.mp3 | Open Player in New Window

The MGM lion is not the only wild cat in Hollywood. Carter Evans reports.

Plus -- Sam Litzinger learns why it is important to spay and neutered your pets.