Mark E. Hauber—professor, ornithologist, and author of “Bird Day: A Story of 24 Hours and 24 Avian Lives”—recalls becoming seriously interested in birds at age four or five. This was in his native Hungary, where, as that little boy, he dragged his mother to view...
Carey Theil, executive director of GREY2K USA Worldwide, the largest greyhound protection organization in the world, and Rory Goree, who for many years ran the largest industry-funded greyhound adoption group, Greyhound Pets of America, explain how--as former...
Pete Walsh--who lives in Tasmania, where he found himself becoming deeply concerned about the plight of local platypuses in the capital city of Hobart, part of narrative that unfolds in “The Platypus Guardian,” a documentary kicking off the new season of the PBS...
Ann Paul--an organizer of the Florida Birding and Nature Festival, a multifaceted, multi-day extravaganza, scheduled to take place Oct. 12-15, in and around Apollo Beach, Florida—revisits, at my request, the story of her first real foray into birding, and how...
As we’ve done seven times prior—spanning about two years–today’s program involved setting aside the usual “Talking Animals” format in order to present the show-length feature, “Ask The Trainer.” Listeners are invited to call or email questions about their dogs or...
Dr. Catherine Macdonald--a marine conservation biologist and assistant professor at the University of Miami, who conducts, and oversees, research on sharks—recalls a childhood less enamored of the sea, at first, than of mud. This, Macdonald says, was part of being...
Susan Hanus--executive director of Cat Depot, a unique feline-only shelter in Sarasota—recalls when she first became a cat person. Hanus has remained staunchly feline-friendly ever since, though, she explains, she stopped living with them when it turned out one of...
Kathy Finelli--the director of Gainesville Rabbit Rescue (GRR), a nonprofit organization founded in 1998 by two University of Florida students—recalls how her involvement with GRR began 20-plus years ago, when she sought their help after finding a domestic rabbit...
Valerie Benka--the Director of Programs for the Alliance for Contraception in Cats and Dogs (ACC&D)—recalls being someone who was nuts about animals from the time she was a kid, growing up in a family amidst a veritable menagerie. This early pet passion created...
Susan Tellem--executive director of American Tortoise Rescue (ATR), a nonprofit established in 1990 for the protection of all species of turtles and tortoises—recalls that she began helping animals in cat rescue. Some years later, she recounts, she and her husband...
