It's not just the holiday season, it’s also time for final exams for college students across the nation. In Orange, Calif., the Active Minds Club came up with a fun and furry way to alleviate some of their academic stress, they brought in puppies for students to play with in the quad area near the library and main class buildings. One of the project’s organizers, sophomore Jimbo Rozzano, explains the program, called “Furry Friends for Finals.”Plus, Emily provides a list of very helpful tips for pet safety around holiday time and talks about her visit to the Marine Mammals Center in Sausalito, Calif. (See Episode #41 for an interview with Jim Oswald from the Center.) And Steve, who brought in a pair of awful cute guests to the studio, is surprised that doggie life preservers and dog-sledding in Washington State exist.Web: ThePetcast.ComE-mail: [email protected]: @ThePetcast

REISSUE FROM 12/18/06Emily

gives a spooky, hilarious reading of a news story

about sea lions biting humans and then Jim Oswald

of the Marine

Mammals Center in Sausalito, Calif., discusses

that case and more. Plus, we play a clip of David

Letterman cracking wise about a Sea World orca

gone wild and could dolphins be used as emissaries

of nuclear destruction?Web: ThePetcast.ComE-mail: [email protected]: @ThePetcastSea lions and orcas and dolphins, oh my.

What would you do if you found a baby kangaroo? If you’re Christina Cooper, you turn your sweatshirt into a pouch, pick up the joey and begin work as a surrogate mom. Cooper, co-owner of the non-profit Global Wildlife Center near New Orleans, had to after one of the resident kangaroos abandoned her offspring. She explains that and the broader work of the Global Wildlife Center.Emily read up on medication for Archie and took Speaking For Spot’s Nancy Kaye’s advise and suggested it to her vet. The vet gave it to Emily and she filled it at Walgreens, which entertained Emily quite a bit. Web: ThePetcast.ComTwitter: @ThePetcast.comEmail: [email protected]

No 218: The USA's Oldest Pet Cemetery

Hartsdale Pet Cemetery owner Ed Martin joins the Petcasters to discuss

the oldest pet resting place in America, some of the more notable

animals and how the whole business works.

Emily discusses a story she did for the Las Vegas Sun about a

fundraiser for retired police dog costs and discusses that Vegas cops

teach their dogs to bark-and-hold, not bite-and-hold. She also related

a story of a police dog that a suspect thought was cute and tried to

steal him, too. Also, we learn about the Zhu Zhu pets, the IT toy for

2009 Xmas season, and FEMA certification for gude dogs.

Web: ThePetcast.Com

Email: [email protected]

Twitter:@ThePetcast

Is elaborate, decorative grooming of dogs some form of abuse? We don't think so, but commenters of Steve's PawNation.Com piece lodged just that accusation against Cat Opson, a California-based groomer who won $2,000 at the SuperZoo 2009 trade show. Opson joined the Petcasters to explain her craft and how much the animals usually love it.Plus, the Petcasters discuss ways to indicate for emergency personnel that there's are pets inside and Emily explains the difference between turtles and tortoises.Web: ThePetcast.comEmail: [email protected]: @ThePetcast

The Petcasters took on SuperZoo 2009 with video commentary, interviews and product demonstrations! See the Pet Tops, the Amazing Treat Machine, The Pink Gourmet, The Port-A-Poo, the remote-control cat toy, the crazy creative grooming competition winners and much more! Don't miss the montage of fun photos at the end, too!Web: ThePetcast.ComEmail: [email protected]: @ThePetcast

The

only subtropical wilderness in the U.S., the Everglades, is being taken

over by non-native former pets, in particular a variety of snakes that

cause eco-system problems. Jenny Novak Tinnell of the Florida Fish and

Wildlife Conservation Commission joins us to discuss an amnesty program

and to explain where all these foreign critters came from. Plus,

Emily’s dog, Archie, had a bad reaction to a rabies vaccine and now is

suffering a leg problem that could end his agility career.  Also, Emily

is Tweeting @ThePetcast!Web: ThePetcast.ComTwitter: @ThePetcastEmail: [email protected]

Today's guest is Corey Levitan, a columnist for the Las Vegas Review-Journal who does unusual jobs for his "Fear and Loafing" pieces. This month, he assisted at Heaven Can Wait Animal Sanctuary as they spayed and neutered cats. He came in to describe the experience which touched on some controversial topics, including kitty abortions. Plus, he brought his dog, Sammy, with him to the studio and Sammy wore a digicam on his collar to shoot photos of us!Steve is now a blogger for PawNation.Com, AOL's pet subsite, but decided -- yet again -- not to adopt a new dog to the home. Emily describes her sister's visit to Cronkite Beach near San Francisco where they saw the Sausalito Wildlife Animal Center folks push sea lions into the sea.

As most pet owners know, a well-trained dog is usually a happier dog. But what happens when owners can't manage the training on their own? That's when today's guest takes over, providing intensive intervention at the Lockwood Canine Training Center in Frazier Park, Calif. Julie Isles, the owner, has more than 25 years experience in the field and has authored a correspondence course used by the nation's largest dog training company.Web: ThePetcast.ComEmail: [email protected]: @ThePetcast

Note: This is our first show in our new studio at the Las Vegas Sun's studio, so the audio is a bit uneven.When 2-year-old mastiff-pitbull mix Sid started picking fights with other dogs, his owner knew there was a problem. And when conventional interventions didn't work, his owner took the unusual and expensive step of sending his dog away for training to a high-end bootcamp for wayward dogs. The owner of that center, Lockwood Canine Training Center in Frazier Park, Calif., will join us on Petcast No. 214, but first Sid's owner, Hunter Hillegas, is our guest.Plus, Steve relates his travels in the northeast where he covered the possible closure of the nation's first racetrack-plus-casino.Email: ThePetcast.ComSite: ThePetcast.com