Animal Radio®

Tips for Selling Your Pet-Friendly Home Chicago Realtor Jason Feldman specializes in selling homes to and for pet-owners. If you're trying to sell your home after many years of "pet-life," he'll have tips for making it more appealing to the buyer. He says sometimes pet-owners become immune to the smell, so it's advisable to bring in a third party to assess the situation. Listen Now Accessorizing Your Pet Joey Villani (The Dogfather) reviews the last grooming trade show and the strange accessories including fake eyelashes for your dog, fingernail polish and wigs. Some might think this is for the hardened pet lover who may be just a little nutty for their pet. And they're probably right. Listen Now Couple Makes Extra Large Bed for Themselves AND Their Pets Have you ever known an animal that didn't want to sleep in the bed with you? Neither do we. So how lucky are this couple's five cats and two dogs? They made a gigantic 11-foot wide bed that takes up most of their bedroom, but is big enough to share with all of their pets! Listen Now Another County Bans Puppy Mill Sales at Pet Stores Camden County, New Jersey has voted unanimously to prohibit pet stores from selling animals from puppy mills. The representatives say they are standing up for animals of their county and want to ensure no one is profiting off the inhumane treatment of puppy mills. Several other counties and towns have inquired about the legislation and enacting it in their areas. Listen Now Infants Exposed To Pets Have Less Allergies A study has found that, infants who share a home with furry pets were found to share some of the animals' gut bacteria - which might possibly explain why exposing children to animals early in life may protect kids against some allergies. Listen Now Read more about this week's show.

Crimes and Lies Against You Every time you enter the pet food aisle, manufacturers are vying for your patronage and their share of the 21 BILLION dollar pet-food sector. They will do just about anything to get your business, except make a truly human edible food. No wonder, only four companies account for 67% of the marketplace. Susan Thixton will tell you the lies the pet-food companies want you to believe. Listen Now Pets Make Us Happier, Richer & Healthier Blue Cross pet charity conducted a survey of pet owners and found that they tend to earn nearly $5,000 a year more than those without an animal and are more likely to work full time. They are also happier in general, spend more time with their families and have jobs they enjoy. Lori Brooks reports on this new research and has some illuminating results. Listen Now Cat Survives 2-Month Move In Mattress Moosie a 2-year-old gray tabby cat has been reunited with his family after he miraculously survived a two-month journey trapped inside a mattress when his owners moved from Texas to Alaska. A moving company left with the military families belongings while the family stayed behind and spent three more days in Texas searching for Moosie. Turns out, Moosie was already en route to Alaska— inside a futon mattress. Listen Now Pet FBI Harnessing the power of the Internet for good, Maresa Fanelli pioneered the pet lost and found database for Columbus, Ohio in 1998. Today she's the driving force behind Pets Found By Internet, reuniting lost animals all across America. She explains how it works and families she's reunited. Listen Now Read more about this week's show.

Steve Garvey Guests Legendary first baseman Steve Garvey is back for his third time to explain his relationship with his 140 pound Rottweiler, among other things. Steve is now working closely to help the Lucy Pet Foundation score a home run. He won't be talking politics! Listen Now Using Cats to Fight Cancer Everybody loves cat videos. Rachel Gitlin figures that her creation, Cats vs. Cancer, will use the power of cat videos to raise money, through advertising, to help assist in the fight against human cancer. She'll explain the model and tell you how you can help too. Listen Now Pet Law Attorney Debra Hamilton gave up practicing litigation law to focus on the animals. As a mediator, she negotiates peaceful resolutions to pet-related discourse. Besides the obvious, divorce and pet-custody issues, she also deals with bad breeders and pet trusts. Listen Now Links Between Cats and Human Schizophrenia Looking for a link to help explain mental illness, new research shows that growing up with a family cat is a commonality among people who develop schizophrenia. Listen Now Germans Allows Adjoining Cemetery Plots and Urns The German Cemetery Association is offering pets and people adjoining urn spaces. The cost is between $1,100-1,600. Although the ashes of pet owners and their animals will now have the chance to sit side by side, cremations are still legally required to be carried out separately. Listen Now Dogs Help Mourners At Funeral Homes Dogs are used in all kinds of ways to help humans feel better, emotionally. Funeral directors say dogs, especially trained therapy animals, can lighten the often awkward, tense atmosphere at a wake or funeral service and sometimes seem to know exactly who needs their help. Listen Now Read more about this week's show.

Our Hero Saved 400 lb. Drowning Bear What would drive Adam Warwick to jump in alligator filled waters to save a bear that was drowning? Adam is our special guest this week and he tells an adrenaline filled rescue story. When he's done telling you what he did for this bear, you'll ask yourself if you would've done the same thing. Listen Now 5 Must Know Things About Your Dog Pet World Insider Robert Semrow has done the research. He's come up with the 5 things you should definitely know about your dog. Before you embark on training your favorite pooch, check out theses tips for training the untrained. Listen Now What to Do With The Poo Rose Seemann is the author of "The Pet Poo Pocket Guide" and our guest. She has some shocking realities about our pet's waste. There's more poo than we think accumulating in landfills and polluting our environment. She'll be using the gold standard of monumental measurement, the football field. And you'll need a lot of them to house all our pet's poo. Listen Now Building A Dog Treat Business Bri Bradley is co-owner of a brand new dog treat business. What makes her business so different than the hundreds of other dog treats? She customizes the treats for your dog. You tell her what flavors, carbs, proteins and vegetables to put in and she'll bake them and deliver them right to your door. Listen Now No Jerky Is Safe It was thought that China was the source of the jerky that's making dogs sick across America. But new research shows that even US sourced jerky is a problem. The FDA is scratching their head. Nobody seems to exactly understand what part of the jerky is making animals sick. At this time, the best advice is to stay away from all jerky treats. Listen Now Allergies for You and Your Pet Did you know your pet can have a host of allergies this time of year? That might explain the itching, hair loss, and eye issues. Dr. Debbie will try to help you determine the source of your pet's allergies and how to resolve them. Listen Now Read more about this week's show.

A Flight Attendants View of Service Animals Since there is no real certification for service or emotional support animals, anything goes. Flight attendant Heather Poole is fed up with trying to make everybody happy. She questions the credibility of "emotional support" pigs, horses and monkeys. Yes, these are animals she's had the pleasure of accommodating on her LA-NY route. Listen Now Airline Apologizes to PTSD Sufferer Former U.S. Marine Eric Calley suffers from (PTSD) Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. He is quite thankful for his service dog, "Sun." Calley had a run-in with a US airline when they denied proper seating for his service dog and berated him with insults. Listen Now Homeopathic Drugs Need Regulation No matter how hyper your dog is, you would never give it an alcoholic drink to help it relax? You might have been doing just that if you used the product Good Dog made by Pet Organics. It turns out that among those 'natural ingredients' is 13% alcohol, about the same amount that is wine. Listen Now Disabled Vet Evicted Over Unpaid Pet Fee We've been seeing more and more stories about the fees landlords charge people who move in with pets. Now, an unpaid pet fee has resulted in a disabled Army Veteran and his service dog being evicted from a mobile home in Bandera, Texas. David Palasek refused to pay the pet fee, citing Section 504 of the Fair Housing Act that states service animals are not pets, so are not subject to a pet fee. Listen Now Read more about this week's show.

Dogs With PTSD Former Navy Seal Michael Ritland created a non-profit to help military dogs transition to civilian life. Just like our human soldiers, dogs need help acclimating back into a normal environment. Small noises can cause extreme emotional distress in our enlisted canines. Listen Now Unique Adoption Ideas The Aloft Hotel in Asheville, North Carolina is helping the local shelter find homes for adoptable dogs with their unique program. So far they've found homes for almost two-dozen dogs. Wait until you hear how they're doing it. Listen Now Police Dog Removed From Force A Florida Police Dog is being kicked off the for for biting a Dunkin' Donuts worker in the calf. "Renzo" had been a police dog for about a year. This is his second bite incident. Listen Now Jerky Treats Update Most stores are no longer selling jerky pet treats made in China. The treats were connected to thousands of dogs getting sick and at more than one thousand deaths. But the FDA could never determine WHAT it was in the treats that were causing the issues. With the treats off the shelves, for the most part, the number of complaints to the FDA has gone down dramatically, but the agency says it still plans to continue it's investigation. Listen Now Read more about this week's show.

Flea Facts and Tick Talk Animal Radio Veterinary Correspondent Dr. Marty Becker is back to help you keep your pets flea-less and tick-less. The good doctor has the ugly truth about how ticks infect you and your pet with a multitude of nasty viruses. And are fleas becoming resistant to spot-on preventatives? Listen Now APPA Releases Pet Spending Figures The American Pet Products Association (APPA) released the yearly numbers of dollars spent within the pet industry. APPA says we spent 58 BILLION in last year on 397 million pets, including everything from freshwater fish and reptiles to cats and dogs. We spend over 20 billion on pet-food alone. No wonder the business is so cutthroat as many compete for our dollars. Listen Now 8 1/2 Year Old Hero Our Hero Person this week lives in Johannesburg, South Africa and she's 8-and-a-half years old. Alyssa Carter parlayed her love for Rhinos into fundraising to keep them from being poached. So far, she has been able to raise $23,000 by selling candy and trinkets to schoolmates and family. Listen Now To Vaccinate Or Not To Vaccinate Dr. Debbie teaches us all about the Titer test. The test determines the amount of antibodies in your pet, and ultimately if it is really necessary to vaccinate. She'll tell you why you should vaccinate and what types of animals should avoid vaccination altogether. Listen Now Amtrak On Track To Become Pet Friendly Amtrak is one step closer to becoming pet friendly. The House of Representatives has approved 8 billion in funding for a pilot program for people traveling with pets. At least one car per train would allow pets in kennels as long as they meet size requirements. The bill now goes to the Senate and then to the White House, where it reportedly is being supported. Listen Now Read more about this week's show.

Quit Your Crappy Job If you've ever thought of quitting your job to work in the pet industry, you'll should hear this week's guest. Jamie Migdal created a website to match you with the perfect pet-related job. From Dog-walking to Marketing, the jobs pay quite well. Listen Now Sewer Trolling Hero This week's Hero Person definitely goes above and beyond for animals. His latest rescue was a small Chihuahua dumped into a sewer. Dusty Showers probably needed a few showers after crawling through raw sewage to find this pup that everyone else had given up on. This isn't his first heroic stunt. Besides the long list of animals he has rescued, Dusty also rode his bike across the country to raise funds for Cancer research. Listen Now Owner and Dog Receive Similar Pacemakers Catherine Pipon was diagnosed with a condition known as heart block. Doctors inserted a pacemaker. Recently, her five-year-old Cairn Terrier Molly was diagnosed with the same condition. Catherine spent over $5,000 to get a pacemaker for the dog. The pacemakers are nearly identical and their conditions are so similar that Catherine and Molly share the same doctor Jersey General Hospital. Molly goes in after hours, so other patients don't get upset that a dog is being seen at a people hospital. Listen Now Read more about this week's show.

Better Living Through Pheromones Animal Radio Veterinary Correspondent Dr. Marty Becker is back with the scoop on pheromones. Can the synthetically produced smell be helpful in calming cats and dogs, or is it a waste of money? Listen Now Pedigree vs. Mutt It's long been thought that mutts are much healthier, both mentally and physically, than those pure bred for pedigree. While there may be some truth to this, it is not always the case. Author Michael Brandow describes how the quest for status has harmed man's best friend. Listen Now Man Finds Dog 18 Months Later Richard Brower's German Shepherd, Dozer, was stolen 18 months ago. He looked everywhere. After a year-a-half, Richard decided to share his home with a new dog. He did an online search for 'German Shepherds for sale,' which led him to the local animal rescue and right there was Dozer on the front page. Listen Now Therapy Ducks? Former Ohio National Guardsman Darin Welker uses ducks to treat his PTSD. The town council says he hasn't presented enough evidence that the ducks serve a medical need and that he would face imminent harm without them. Listen Now Zombie Cat in Custody Battle Last week, we had the story of Bart the cat that was hit by a car and buried but was actually still alive. Bart dug his way out and made it to his neighbors yard. Bart is now officially, and fondly known, as the Zombie Cat. If you think his story couldn't get stranger, think again. Listen Now Read more about this week's show.

Just Say No To Big Cats Actress Tippi Hedren (The Birds) is back to talk about the big cats at her sanctuary and legislation to stop the breeding of lions and tigers. She comes clean about her daughter's (actress Melanie Griffith) relationship with "Neil" the lion. Listen Now Pets Can Give You A Tax Break If you foster an animal, you can deduct some of the associated costs. Things like vet bills, food, grooming; they qualify as charitable donations, which are deductible up to 50% of your adjusted gross income. But once, you officially adopt the animal, that animal is no longer considered a foster, so you will lose the deductions. Listen Now Saving Elephants This week's Hero Person is rescuing elephants from circuses and zoos. Often mistreated, the gentle giants are exploited for our entertainment. Scott Blais, co-founder of an elephant sanctuary in Tennessee, Skypes with us from Brazil, where he is currently rescuing 50 elephants. Listen Now Body Art Is Not For Animals It will soon be a crime throughout New York State to pierce or tattoo a companion animal. There is an exception for markings one under a veterinarian's supervision. The laws were prompted by people showing off what they did to their animals on the Internet, including a woman who was piercing kittens and selling them as 'gothic.' Listen Now Pet Owners Get Emotional Distress Award in Death of Pet The Maryland Court of Appeals has ruled that a jury can award damages to pet owners for the emotional distress they suffer following the injury or death of a beloved animal due to gross negligence. The Court let stand a $200,000 award to Roger and Sandra Jenkins. Their Labrador retriever was shot and killed by a Frederick County sheriff's deputy. Listen Now Read more about this week's show.

Genius Idea For Shelter Pets Actress Kim Sill is back to tell us about her latest project. She's putting adoption stores inside malls. Kim is saving hundreds of death row cats, dogs and bunnies by changing their adoption venue to the more appealing atmosphere. Listen Now Valentine Dangers While you may not associate Valentine's Day with pet dangers, Doc Halligan from the Lucy Pet Foundation thinks you should be extra cautious. She see more animals the day after Valentines (only third after Christmas and Halloween), usually because pets swallow something they shouldn't have. Listen Now Using Dogs To Treat Cancer Author Arlene Weintraub explains how vital the roles of dogs are in the search for a cure for cancer. Veterinarians and Oncologists are working together to discover new treatments for Cancer. Listen Now Few Pet Friendly Rentals in Los Angeles Have you ever searched for a home or apartment to rent that allowed you to have pets? Yes, it's nearly impossible to find in Los Angeles where 62% of the rental units do not accept pets. Now, the LA City Council has voted to make some changes in hopes of making landlords more open to accepting pets at their properties. Listen Now 15-Year-Old, 3-Legged Dog Saves Family - Twice A small, 15-year-old, three-legged dog might not seem like much of a threat, but this dog took a bullet for his family in Wisconsin and saved them from a man who had broken into their home and attempted to rob them. A bullet grazed the top of the dog's head and became lodged in his neck. Listen Now Read more about this week's show.

Road-kill Clothing Pamela Paquin is an "ethical designer." She collects road-kill to turn into "Petite Mort," or stoles, collars and coats. The average price is $1000 for one of her creations. Many of her clients are upscale and affluent. Pamela says this is a tribute to the animals. Listen Now Petco Stops Selling Treats From China Petco has kept it promise and removed all dog and cat threats made in China from the shelves of it stores nationwide. Last May, the chain became the first national pet retailer to say it would stop selling the treats after reports began showing up Chinese-made treats were making animals sick, and worse. The move includes pet treats made for the Petco Brand 'unleashed' and those sold online. Listen Now Top Dog Names Next time you go to the Dog Park, you're likely going to hear someone calling for Max or Bella. Those are the top two names bestowed on puppies in 2023. Vetstreet.com says other popular names for boy dogs after Max were Charlie, Rocky, Buddy and Cooper. Rover.com says there was a 37% increase in food-themed names like Coconut, Ginger, Kale, Peanut, Guinness, Vino, Mochi and Whiskey. Listen Now Young Heroes This week's Hero Person is 9-year-old Orly Sedransk. After a visit to her local shelter, she was moved to do something to make a difference. Through a 50/50 raffle, she was able to raise enough money to help the municipal shelter purchase cages to hold cats. Listen Now Pet Food Stamps Program Shuts Down When Pet Food Stamps, Inc. was formed, it got attention from all over, including being featured on CNN, CBS, ABC and Animal Radio. Founder Marc Okon raised $65,000, enough to handle the nearly 200,000 people who'd asked for help. He resigned last April, saying he was overwhelmed with applications and closed the program. Listen Now Read more about this week's show.

Emotional Support Animals Often confused, there is a major difference between Emotional Support Animals and Service Animals. Lori Brooks has the lowdown on what this means for you and your Emotional Support Tarantula. Yes, he'll be able to get on a plane, but he may be legally turned away from your favorite restaurant. Listen Now Dog-napped! Stolen pets are on the rise. It doesn't matter what breed you have. An estimated two million pets were stolen last year in the United States. That's up 32% according to the American Kennel Club. And the number of actual dogs stolen could be potentially much greater. You need to be extra careful with your furry-family or they might end up in the ugly under-belly of human nature. Listen Now Welcome the Pets in Bed Many experts say "keep the pets out of the bed." But a recent study from the Center for Sleep Medicine at the Mayo Clinic in Arizona could change some minds. Researchers surveyed 150 sleep center patients and found that more than half of pet owners allowed their pets to sleep in the bedroom. One out of five described their pets as disruptive, but 41% said their pets were quiet and even beneficial to their nightly sleep. Listen Now Zika Virus and Animals The big question this week is about the Zika Virus - and if our pets can be affected. While there is no evidence yet that they can carry it or transmit it, the relevant question is if they can be sickened by it. Listen Now Read more about this week's show.

Can Pets Commit Suicide? Dr. Nicholas Dodman (Program Director for the Animal Behavior Department at Tufts) researched several alleged cases of pet suicide to see if it's possible. He's here to report on his findings and to answer the provocative question. Listen Now Laws to Protect Pets Left Out in the Cold While many states mandate that pets are not allowed to be kept outdoors in extreme weather for extended periods of time without insulated housing, others barely consider hypothermia deaths to be animal cruelty. Fortunately, some states and local governments are now enforcing harsher punishments for people who allow their pets to perish in weather extremes like the recent blizzard on the east coast. Listen Now Get the Smell of Fresh Cat Head in a Bottle Do you think the back of your cat's heads smells wonderful? A Japanese company has researched that scent, recreated it, and is now bottling it. The head of Yamamoto Perfumery spent four months doing research, sniffing many cat's heads to replicate the smell. The result? Fluffy Brow Scented Fabric Water. It can be sprayed on fabrics or anything to give them a lovely cat-head smell. A bottle sells for 1,200 yen or about $10 each. Listen Now Cold Weather Tips Doc Halligan and Dogfather Joey Villani have incredible tips for helping your furry-friends through the winter. Everything from their coat to their diet change when the weather gets frigid. Listen Now Woman Has 1000 Cats A woman in California has 1,000 cats. But she's no hoarder. Lattanzi runs Cat House on the Kings, the largest cat sanctuary in the country. It all started when she volunteered to bottle feed kittens for a rescue back 25 years ago. Today Cat House on the Kings has 45 paid personnel who help to care for the cats and maintain the property including a veterinarian and seven vet techs are also part of the team. Listen Now Read more about this week's show.

Share Your Food With Your Dog The "Dog Food Dude," Rick Woodford is back. He says you should share your food with your dog. But doesn't that go against everything we've been taught about proper nutrition? No, not if you're doing it right. Listen Now New York May Be First State to Ban De-clawing If Linda Rosenthal has her way; New York will be the first state to make it illegal to declaw a cat. The Manhattan assemblywoman has introduced a bill to ban the controversial procedure sometimes called de-knuckling because it's actually the entire knuckle, which is the last bone in the cat's toe that is removed. Declawing of cats is already banned in many countries, including Australia, India, Spain and the United Kingdom, as well as seven cities in California, including Los Angeles and San Francisco. Listen Now The Comeback of the Doghouse Ask most pet owners and they'll tell you their dog sleeps in bed with them. The days of the doghouse seem to have all but disappeared. But Larry Hobbs has a booming business making high-end Eco-friendly doghouses. He'll explain why. Listen Now UK's Dogs Must Be Microchipped Beginning in April, all dogs in England, Scotland & Wales will have to be microchipped with their owners' details registered and kept up to date in huge database to encourage "responsible pet ownership." To help people get it done, Dogs Trust, the UK's largest dog welfare charity, is offering free microchipping. It's hoped that "Compulsory microchipping will help reduce the number of lost and abandoned dogs and it will allow authorities to directly identify dog owners and hold them accountable for their dogs' behavior and welfare. Listen Now Dog Loses 100-pounds At the beginning of a new year, everyone makes a resolution to lose weight. Well, Buddy the dog has a jump on all of us after losing more than 100 pounds. Buddy the 180-pound, 6-year-old, morbidly obese Australian Shepherd spent the last 9 months dieting and now weighs 71 lbs. He lost so much weight that he underwent skin removal surgery. Listen Now Read more about this week's show.

Pet Blood Banks Nicole Humphries runs a blood bank for companion animals. She'll answer the itching question, is dog's blood different than cat's, or is a German Shepard's blood different than a Pug's? And where does all this blood come from? You never see a pet blood-mobile in the neighborhood. Listen Now Cat Escapes Carrier on Delta Flight A mischievous cat escaped its carrier on board a Delta flight last week and to the horror of a cat fearing flight attendant, the cat roamed free in the cabin. Of course, someone caught the incident on video and it had some comical moments. The poor cat's owner fell asleep with headphones on and somehow it managed to get out of the carrier. Listen Now The Rising Cost of Cancer Treatment For owners of dogs and cats stricken with cancer, expensive treatments only adds to the emotional difficulties. Just the initial cancer diagnosis can cost $2,000. A standard course of chemotherapy costs between $3,000 and $5,000. A bone marrow transplant costs between $16,000 and $25,000 and the cure rate is only about 33%. These aren't just wealthy people. Some used their life savings, and even refinanced their houses to pay for the treatments. Listen Now It's a Crime To Insult The King's Dog Some really strict new laws there now make it a crime to insult the Thailand monarchy and now a factory worker could go to jail for 37 years for making disparaging posts on Facebook about the king's dog. Turns out that the man was charged after making a "sarcastic" Facebook post about the dog. The 88-year-old ailing King rescued Copper from an alley and in 2002 he wrote a best selling book about her. She is so revered there that the media must address the dog as ma'am. Listen Now Read more about this week's show.

Bringing Pets Into Hospitals Donna Jenkins is pioneering a movement to allow visitation of patient's personal pets during long-term treatment. She formed Zachary's Paw For Healing after her son passed from a terminal disease. During his final hours he requested a visit from the family pet but didn't want to sneak the dog into the cancer treatment facility. Listen Now Becker is Back Did you get a pet for the holiday? Dr. Marty Becker is back with tips that every new puppy or kitten owner should know. These tips could save you a lot of grief. Listen Now Michael Vick Lobbies for Bill to Protect Pets Former NFL quarterback Michael Vick got the celebrity treatment as he visited the Pennsylvania state Capitol last week to lobby for a bill to help protect cats and dogs from being left in unattended vehicles. Vick was a star quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons when he plead guilty to federal conspiracy charges in 2007 for his role in a dog fighting ring and served nearly two years in prison. He claims to have been reformed and spoke on behalf of animals saying, "The bottom line is that all animals thrive (on) kindness and respect. They depend on us like our children depend on us." Listen Now Tests Show No Safe Travel Seats Two years ago, in a first of its kind crash test, the leading pet harnesses, which were trusted by owners, failed again and again. Now, the Center for Pet Safety is testing pet travel seats. So are there any safe pet seats? Really, the answer is No. The Director at the Center for Pet Safety says they "do not recommend pet seats at this time for pet owners" to use for their pets in cars. Listen Now Read more about this week's show.

The Secret Language of Dogs Accomplished dog trainer Victoria Stilwell returns to Animal Radio airwaves to help us decode our dog's behavior. She'll tell us what some common dog gestures mean. New studies show our dogs are much smarter than we give them credit for. Do dogs feel guilt? They sure look guilty when you catch them doing something bad. Listen Now Holiday Dangers for Pets Pet World Insider Robert Semrow has his list of the Top 5 Holiday Traditions That Can Land Your Pet on the Naughty List. Make sure you listen carefully so that you won't end up at the Vet Clinic. Listen Now Pet Gift Guide Judy-Claus continues her countdown of the greatest pet and pet lover gifts for the holidays. These are inexpensive and invaluable toys and gadgets that have been tested by the Animal Radio pets. We'll have giveaways of every single item to help you fill-out your gift giving. This week we're featuring a new tool for fast-eating dogs that will slow them down and improve on their foraging skills. We'll also give away a toy that combines a ball with Emojis. Listen Now Ripley's Weird Animals Edward Meyers is back for his yearly visit. He collects oddities for Ripley's and he'll be sharing his strange picks for animals that are a bit out of the ordinary, like the cat with BIG eyes and the dog that ate a round of gun ammunition. Listen Now InsPurrational Posters for Cats Mo Golden and Ross Cowman created a business of making motivational posters for cats. At first it was a novelty idea, but it turned into something truly beneficial for both cats and humans explains Ross. Listen Now Read more about this week's show. Looking for Holiday Gift Ideas for your pet?

High-Speed Rescue Mario Chiozza is this week's Hero Person. He couldn't believe his eyes when he saw a dog tossed out of the car in front of him on Interstate 40. Despite the 55 mph. rush-hour traffic, he managed to capture the dog and save her. "Savior" is the catalyst for Mario's mission. Listen Now Licensing Groomers Animal Radio's very own Joey "Dogfather" Villani is behind legislation to protect your pet while they're at the groomer. Currently, anyone with a scissors can groom your pet. This bill would mandate certification and a license, just like your barber. Listen Now Holiday Pet Tips Dr. Kathy Hillestad is here to help make your holiday safe and fun for your pets. She has the details about good and bad foods and plants. This year, as Lithium batteries become more prevalent in devices, more animals are swallowing them. Listen Now Do You Sleep With Your Pets? Research presented at the Sleep conference showed that 54% of pet guardians sleep with their pets and that 30% of those said they wake up at least once a night because of them. 63% said they have poor sleep quality. Some people though say they sleep better WITH their pets. Listen Now Santa Sent Packing after Pit Bull Incident An autistic 7-year-old girl and her service dog waited in line to see Santa at a SoCal Mall. Santa's elf told them they would not be allowed near Santa because the jolly man was afraid of Pit Bulls. The family complained and Santa was sent packing. Listen Now Read more about this week's show. Looking for Holiday Gift Ideas for your pet?

GOD Spelled Backwards Actress Sylva Kelegian not only guests this week, but she is also our Hero Person. Changing focus from acting to animals, she's on a mission to reduce the homeless population in LA. She wrote a book about her journey. Listen Now College Pet Therapy There is not much out there to make taking college finals fun, but Iowa State University found a way to make them a bit less stressful. Pet therapy. ISU set up a room at the library where stressed out students could come in and spend some time playing and petting a group of dogs. Listen Now Fat Pets - Fat Pet Parents Chances are your New Years resolution has something to do with weight-loss. We should also be thinking about our pets too. They become very sedentary during the winter and putting on the pounds is not uncommon. Animal Radio Veterinary Correspondent Dr. Marty Becker has a plan for you and your poochy-pet. Listen Now Movers Packed The Cat The Barths, were moving from Virginia to Hawaii. Just before they were ready to go their cat "Mee Mowe" disappeared. They postponed their move for three days hoping that she would show up. They finally had to go. They got to Hawaii and 36 days later their belongings arrived. They heard a very faint meow coming from one of the boxes. Yup, there was Mee Mowe. Listen Now English to Doglish Britt Savage has tips on naming and teaching your dog their name. Many dogs think their name is "Max get out of the trash" because we don't use it properly. Listen Now Read more about this week's show. Looking for Holiday Gift Ideas for your pet?