This was a truly distinctive edition of “Talking Animals”: 
For starters, the show was part of WMNF’s full day of special programming devoted to celebrating
Juneteenth. Second, my two (in-studio!) guests were both stellar, veteran WMNF programmers: Harrison Nash, the universally-beloved DJ, in his 36th year at MNF, currently the host of “It’s The Music, Tuesday.” And Glen Hatchell, who spent 17 years at WMNF before leaving to fully pursue his passion for dogs, learning everything he could about training canines and their behavior. These efforts led to a job as the Behavior and Enrichment Manager at the Humane Society of Tampa Bay, as well as stints every 3-4 months on “Talking Animals,” presenting the show-length feature, “Ask The Trainer,” in which listeners are invited to call or email questions about their dogs or cats, particularly involving behavioral issues or training. Another trait that distinguished today’s show: It marked the 10th installment of “Ask The Trainer,” which we’ll summarize in a moment. We asked Harrison about his background and he briefly outlined his history at WMNF, having hosted shows that 
mainly featured the blues (usually including some zydeco) to the inherently more eclectic format of “It’s
The Music.” Naturally, we also dedicated some time to discussing Juneteenth, including the history and growing recognition of the holiday. In response to my admittedly-difficult-to-answer-question, Harrison rattles off some of his favorite music artists. As for this 10th edition of “Ask The Trainer,” the session began with someone who wrote in to Glen about their dog Cooper, a 4 ½ year old, female Lab/Brittany Spaniel mix, who won’t walk on a leash—”she pulls the second you start a walk.” The writer had tried a variety of solutions: assorted specialty leashes, stopping as soon as Cooper pulled, treats, etc.—all to no avail…Other questions for Glen included one about a dog who loved to eat Hibiscus flowers—and another pooch, Arrow, who loves to eat poop—the Golden Doodle named Louis who has the not-uncommon habit of jumping on people he doesn’t know, even a query about Florida’s latest bear legislation, seeking to loosen the criteria for when it’s permissible to shoot the animals…Glen also noted that he recently retired from the Humane Society of Tampa Bay, and is now on something of a sabbatical, pondering his next professional move, hinting it will likely involve multiple species.
COMEDY CORNER: There was no Comedy Corner today.
MUSIC: Rebekah Pulley’s “Talking Animals Theme, Aretha Franklin (ft. The Boys Choir of Harlem), “Never Gonna Break My Faith, Nina Simone’s “To Be Young, Gifted and Black,” instrumentals
NAME THAT ANIMAL TUNE: We didn’t play “Name That Animal Tune” today.
AUDIO ARCHIVE:
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