Brigid Wasson—the president of Mission Reunite, a nonprofit organization that aims to assist pet owners whose animals are missing—describes her personal and professional involvement with animals, including growing up with cats (but not dogs), and her two stints working at Northern California shelters, the first, in San Mateo, starting as a teenager, the other, years later, in Santa Clara.
Wasson describes joining Mission Reunite in 2014, the organization’s rationale upon its founding in 2004 and how its mission evolved, and the importance of shelters learning techniques for identifying and returning missing pets, given the high proportion of animals who end up in shelters are strays and other lost pets. She outlines the most common reasons pets go missing, first addressing dogs, whose reasons and circumstances tend to be quite different from those of cats, when they go missing. Wasson spends a hunk of time 
discussing the important components to include in any sort of Pet Missing flyer or poster, including simple language, a photograph of the missing animal, and key details, including contact information. She notes some of the traits of missing cats that are generally unique to them, including that indoor cats are often still in the house, just hidden, whereas cats that spend part of their time outdoors are often very close by (in contrast to how far away missing dogs usually roam). Wasson also provides some tips for pet owners in helping prevent their pets from going missing. (https://missionreunite.org, https://www.facebook.com/missionreunite/)
COMEDY CORNER: Richard Jeni’s “Fred Robster” (https://www.richardjeni.com)
MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme,” Neko Case’s “Last Lion of Albion,” instrumentals
NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE: The Everly’s Brothers’ “Bird Dog”
AUDIO ARCHIVE:
Listen Online Now:
