Talking Animals

Jo-Anne McArthur—the acclaimed photojournalist who specializes in documenting animals and their stories—explains how her work, compared with that of most other photographers with similar specialties, is informed by more than just a love for animals, but a profound concern for them. As part of this distinction, McArthur discusses how, just as she sees animals differently, she aims to present a different narrative with the images she shoots, hoping to educate, in one way or another, those viewing her photographs. She recounts how the idea for “Captive”—her new book exploring the interaction between humans and animals in captivity, featuring 148 images she shot in zoos and aquaria in more than 20 countries, along with some bits of text she wrote—came about (a request from the Born Free Foundation), and how the project went from that Born Free inquiry to published book within a year. She elaborates on an observation she makes in the book that most zoo visitors, on average, spend one to three hours there, but in carrying out the shooting for “Captive,” McArthur spent multiple hours—in some cases, multiple days—at zoos, which presented a much more sweeping, profound perspective on the boredom, inactivity and stereotypic behaviors that characterize the days of zoo animals. As much as “Captive” clearly reflects a critical look at zoos and comparable facilities, McArthur addresses a notable exception she briefly proifles in the book: Ron Kagan, longtime Executive Director of the Detroit Zoo, has run that park with a distinctive (some might say: visionary) approach, most notably when he decided about a dozen years ago that it was inhumane to continue displaying the zoo’s two elephants—given the attributes of their enclosure and elephants’ fundamental needs for space and to roam, not to mention the challenges of Detroit’s climate for pachyderms—and relocated them to the ARK 2000 sanctuary in Northern California operated by PAWS. Additionally, McArthur spoke to other topics—including a special video piece, “Promises,” released that day–and fielded some listener calls. (www.weanimals.org, www.facebook.com/WeAnimals)

ALSO: I spoke briefly with Ali MacLean, a writer-producer who, with her writing partner, Tony Camin, has created a new TV program, “Wags To Riches,” a comedy series about dogs. It stars dogs, as well as comedians and actors like Mark Fite and Samm Levine, while other comics—and their dogs—have said they will make guest appearances if “Wags” goes to series. MacLean and Camin have launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise money to shoot the pilot, and some proceeds are earmarked to go to Best Friends NKLA, the no-kill shelter in Los Angeles. (www.facebook.com/wagstorichesshow/)

COMEDY CORNER: Jeremy Hotz’s “Bronx Zoo” (portion) (www.jeremyhotz.com)

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

NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE: Joni Mitchell’s “Coyote”

AUDIO ARCHIVE:

Listen Online Now: https://talkinganimals.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/TAAug23.mp3 | Open Player in New Window

Consumers are asking companies to kill chickens as humanely as possible. Sam Litzinger has more on Talking Animals.

Losing a pet is hard. Here's how you can cope on Talking Animals.

Jason Meltzer—co-founder and Chief Dog Officer of Wag, the on-demand dog walking app—describes being a dog guy since childhood, growing with dogs around and, foreshadowing his later adult careers, making a few bucks walking the neighbor dogs during junior high. Meltzer recounts how, after first holding some post-college corporate positions, he launched a dog-walking business, Surfdog LA, which became a thriving enterprise, with multiple walkers working for him, and earning various kudos. He explains how the Surfdog LA success story segued into the first part of the Wag narrative: He was contacted by Joshua Viner, a super-swamped tech entrepreneur, who’d taken notice of Surfdog LA’s achievements and popularity, while having pangs about his childhood dog, yet his family felt his punishing work schedule precluded him from owning a dog. Viner proposed an-demand, Uber-like app that would help provide dog walking and sitting services for folks like him that would otherwise be too busy for a canine companion. A few months later, Meltzer and Viner launched Wag in the L.A., expanded slowly into San Francisco, then New York, and earlier this summer, rolling out to 25 additional markets. Meltzer also provides a step-by-step description of how it works booking a dog walk through the Wag app, and the prices. He also notes that the client can access a GPS feature enabling her to track exactly where the walker took the dog, plus there’s a report that includes whether the dog peed or pooped and other important information. While Wag began as a dog walking business, and that remains the focus, Meltzer noted they also offer sitting services. (https://wagwalking.com)

ALSO: I spoke briefly with Jamie Katz, a Fort Lauderdale-based private investigator specializing in finding missing pets—yes, she’s a pet detective—who’s become increasingly concerned about the way county code enforcement throughout Florida tends to remove Lost Pet signs not long after they’re posted. This greatly reduces the prospects of all pets being returned, so Katz has started an online petition, hoping a bill can be introduced in the next legislative session to remedy this problem. (www.jamiekatzpetdetective.com)

 

COMEDY CORNER: Matt Braunger’s “Owls/Dalmatians” (portion) (www.mattbraunger.com)

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

NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE: Kid Creole & The Coconuts’ “Stool Pigeon”

AUDIO ARCHIVE:

Listen Online Now: https://talkinganimals.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/TAAug16-.mp3 | Open Player in New Window

Whales in New York City? Find out on Talking Animals.

Climate change is affecting the penguin population. Sam Litzinger learns more on this week's "Talking Animals."

Yuan Wang—co-founder of American Marine Research Company, essentially a quartet of young engineers (recent graduates from M.I.T., Cornell, and Olin College of Engineering; Wang is a young mathematician from Princeton) who are in Pensacola developing underwater drones to target lionfish, a rampant invasive species in the Gulf of Mexico and elsewhere, with no natural predator—discusses how he became intrigued by the lionfish problem, and how he recruited his three colleagues to tackle it. As part of this process, Wang notes, after his initial stages of reading and research about lionfish and the challenges they present, he recognized that his effort was not suited to be a hobbyist project—hence, founding American Marine Research Company, enlisting the three co-workers, and settling in Pensacola. The conversation with Wang was notable in a few ways, including that it was one of the rare instances where a “Talking Animals” guest may have learned as much from the interview as the listeners and host did. This revelation and re-examination was sparked by Wang commenting—in response to a listener email wondering if there was a way to solve the lionfish problem without killing them—that as a Christian, he views human life as sacred, but not so animal life. This elicited at least one listener call and some email. Beyond that, he describes important traits about lionfish, including that a female can lay as many as 2.3 million eggs per year, which combined with facing no predator to speak of, accounts for the species’ unchecked population growth. Wang also provides some general information about the drones he and his colleagues have been developing, and explains how the drone identifies a lionfish and distinguishes it from a grouper, red snapper or other fish commonly found in those waters. (https://americanmarineresearch.org)

ALSO: I spoke briefly with Carlos Munoz, a staff writer at the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, who’s been covering the controversy that’s erupted over the drowning death of Snooty, the 69-year-old, much-beloved manatee, who died July 23rd after becoming trapped in a maintenance area at the South Florida Museum’s Parker Manatee aquarium. (www.southfloridamuseum.org, www.heraldtribune.com)

COMEDY CORNER: Eddie Izzard’s “Parrots” (www.eddieizzard.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/2017/08/TAAug9.mp3 | Open Player in New Window

Obesity is a problem in America -- but not just among humans. Plus -- some good news for our national bird. Sam Litzinger features pieces from Don Dahler and Chip Reid on this week's Talking Animals.

Shawn Flynn—author of “THE KITTY Who Rescued Me After I Rescued Him”—recalls growing up in a household that had dogs, but not cats, and how he really didn’t have prolonged exposure to any cats, until forging a relationship with the titular feline of his book. Flynn discusses the market-research career he maintained for more than a quarter century—chiefly in the insurance industry–and what it involved, before deciding to step away from that work order to pursue writing, including various efforts to promote “THE KITTY.” He recounts how the relationship with Kitty was built slowly—they were both a bit wary—but how a confluence of factors, including growing fondness and colder temperatures in Connecticut, sparked a breakthrough: Kitty moved all the way in. Flynn also describes how, after writing an account of the transformative impact Kitty had on his life, chronicling the other cats he took in after him, he opted to self-publish the manuscript—doing so twice, to better reflect the lessons he’d learned about more effectively publishing and marketing your own book. It’s worked out pretty well, Flynn explains, including “KITTY” drawing enthusiastic reviews and being selected as an award-winning finalist in the “animals/pets: narrative non-fiction” category of the 2017 International Book Awards. He says he plans to write more books, noting he has plenty more cat stories to tell. Flynn also addresses the more profound lessons he has learned from Kitty and his cat colleagues. (www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100014654500859&ref=br_rs)

ALSO: I spoke briefly with Claire Wray, of Friends of Strays, about the organization’s multi-faceted event Aug. 19 to mark International Homeless Animals Day, at the Flying Boat Brewing Company in St. Petersburg. One notable element of this event, Wray explains, is that—in conjunction with 24PetWatch—Friends of Strays is offering a free microchip clinic, chipping the first 50 pets at no cost. (www.friendsofstrays.com, www.facebook.com/FriendsofStraysAnimalShelter)

 

COMEDY CORNER: Ellen DeGeneres’ “Cat In Heat” (www.ellentv.com)

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

NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE: Pink Floyd’s “Dogs”

AUDIO ARCHIVE:

Listen Online Now: https://talkinganimals.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/TAAug2.mp3 | Open Player in New Window

Taiwan has banned the euthanasia of stray animals. Now -- shelters around the world are trying to follow suit. Sam Litzinger reports.