The Pet Place Radio Show with Dr. Marie Hulett

Today, we’re going to touch on the topic of saying goodbye to beloved pets who have passed on.  We cover this topic periodically because as much as we hope our pets will live forever, they are only with us for a short time and this can be very difficult, emotionally.  There are a whole lot of people out there who don’t understand how difficult pet loss is, and will even try and make people feel bad for feeling bad about grieving over the death of a pet.  Well, to counter that whole mindset, we’ve invited Melody Jamali from Beautiful Life Urns to the program today.  She has some great ideas for celebrating the lives of our four-legged family members who pass on.  Then after our halftime break, Kim Sturla, the executive director and founder Animal Place will be checking in to discuss the very ironic practice of shelters and rescues having animals on the menus of their fundraisers!  It’s a topic that is definitely worth talking about.

It was Valentine’s day when we recorded this show!  We hoped that you all gave the four-legged loved ones in your lives lots of attention on that day, and maybe even a special treat.  In honor of the beautiful day, we invited Lorien Clemens of Pet Hub back to the show to tell us all about an exceptional Valentine’s themed photography contest!  You’ll need to take notes so you can enter your pet’s special photo next year.   Then after our halftime break, Dr. Andrea Sanchez gives you all the do-s and don’t-s to keep your pet’s smile shiny and bright!

As many of you know, we regularly talk about pet-related books on the show with our book reviewer, Maryanne Dell.  But sometimes, it’s fun to get an author on the show to explain first hand where his ideas came from.  Today, Michael Morse, the Author of Mr. Wilson Makes it Home, will be sharing a little about his journey in writing this book.  Then after our halftime break, Carolyn Merino Mullin, the founder and executive director of the National Museum of Animals and Society will give us the details on a museum animal lovers will truly enjoy.

We’ve got a great lineup of guests this morning. First up, we’ll be chatting with Aimee Gilbreath from FoundAnimals.ORG about some phenomenal projects her organization is working on to help lost animals get reunited with their families and to find homes for pets that need families. They've had some great successes and anyone who loves animals will be interested in hearing all about this. You might remember that Aimee was set to be on our show a couple weeks ago, but had some last minute scheduling problems. We’re super happy she can make it today. Then after our halftime break, Zahra Nealy from the Pasadena Humane Society has some terrific news about fun animal events that her organization has planned.

This morning, host Marie Hulett chats with Sarah Timms from LoveAnimals.org who has great news about a special crowdfunding site that is helping countless organizations do great humane work...all because people everywhere are pitching in to help animals. It’s a great success story.   Then, after our halftime break, our Pet Place Book Reviewer Maryanne Dell is bringing in a new batch of books that she said you will all love and she always picks out some great titles that animal lovers will enjoy cover to cover.

Happy New Year!  And welcome to the first new edition of the Pet Place Radio Show on KJAZZ, 88.1 FM. I hope you've enjoyed the last few “best of” segments we aired over the holiday season and that everyone had a wonderful couple of weeks.  I’m your host, Marie Hulett, for those of you who are new to the show and I am thrilled that you've started off your day, and your new year with us.   The tradition of the Pet Place is to promote pet adoptions from shelters and rescues, so this morning, I've invited Anabell Cabrera from Bichon Rescue of Orange County to stop by and talk about what her relatively new group is doing to match older dogs with senior citizens.  She’s got some great stories that you won’t want to miss.  Then, after our halftime break, our Producer Mike Johnson and I will discuss some dog training issues that he is having with Amber Good Dog.  It's always fun chatting with Mike!

The very last Saturday of 2014. This year has flown by so fast, we just can’t believe it. This morning, Marie Hulett talks with Jim Tedford, the Director of Animal Welfare Initiatives at PetSafe about a charitable gift giving program that benefits homeless pets that you can help with. Then, after our halftime break, our Pet Place Producer Mike Johnson will be chatting with me about some issues that have come up with his own dog due to the rainy weather. I think a lot of you might be able to relate to the problem he’s having and we’ll try to get to the bottom of it.

The holiday season truly does bring out the best, and unfortunately the worst in people.  Everyone must be on guard to protect themselves from scam artists that prey on those getting into the spirit of the season.  Some of those scams involve animals.  To help you determine what’s legit and what’s not, I’ve invited Derek Huntington, the president elect for the International Pet and Animal Transportation Association to the program. Then, after our halftime break, our very special Pet Place Veterinarian, Dr. Bernadine Cruz will be visiting with us and sharing some great tips for keeping out pets out of danger during the holidays, which believe it or not, is one of the most treacherous times of the year for animals.

Host Marie Hulett talks with Christy Oldham about her new book, the "Manual to a Happy and Healthy Dog."  And after our halftime break, Professor Thomas Kelch from the GAL project talks about new website to promote international laws that benefit animals.

This morning veteran dog rescuer Sylva Kelegian visits the program.  She’s an actress who you’ve probably seen in many of your favorite TV shows over the years and she is currently on stage in Los Angeles in the Pulitzer Prize-winning play called, “'night, Mother."  But in between acting on stage and screen and rescuing homeless pets, she’s managed to write a very cool book called God Spelled Backwards and we’re going to hear all about that shortly. Then, after our halftime break, Maria Dales will be sharing news about German Shepherd Rescue of Orange County.