Terry Simons— a veteran, internationally-recognized dog agility trainer who founded the CLEAR (Canine Lymphoma Education Awareness & Research) Foundation—recalls how he initially stepped into the world of agility training. He mentions some of the dogs that have...
Michele Raffin— founder and CEO of Pandemonium Aviaries, a Northern California conservation organization dedicated to saving birds—recounts how rescuing an injured dove she spotted on the side of the road some 15 years ago launched her on the long, winding road she...
Ryan Tate—co-founder and president of Veterans Empowered to Protect African Wildlife (VETPAW), which employs military veterans to combat poaching of elephants and rhinos in African nations—discusses growing up in Tampa in a family that prized animals, and later...
Ed Stewart—co-founder and president of the Performing Animal Welfare Society (PAWS)—recalls what prompted he and his late partner, the indefatigable Pat Derby, to launch PAWS, now marking its 30th anniversary. In answer to a question about what ways the PAWS...
Jon Katz—the New York Times bestselling author of 26 books, most recently “Saving Simon: How A Rescue Donkey Taught Me The Meaning Of Compassion”—discusses how he came to place the titular donkey at the center of the new book. In response to my noting I’ve called...
Myriam Parham—the co-founder and president of Florida Voices For Animals (FVA)—traces the history of the organization, which she formally launched with her mother, Elena Flanagan, in 1989, but was functioning informally some years before that. Parham recounts the...
Kate Benjamin—the cat style expert extraordinaire, founder of the cat design website Hauspanther.com and frequent collaborator with Jackson Galaxy on his show “My Cat From Hell,” helping him create cat-friendly environments for his clients—explains her lifelong...
Well, as these show summaries go, this is certainly an unusual one. Quite fitting, really, given how unusual this show was, to say nothing of the morning this show aired. WMNF is in Tampa and as many listeners know, I live on the opposite coast of Florida. Which...
Frank Hamilton and Ken Donofrio—co-founder and president of Animal Coalition of Tampa (ACT) and ACT’s marketing and events coordinator, respectively--discuss ACT’s history and evolution, the multiple challenges posed by its building being set on fire by an...
Glenda Smith—founder and president of Equestrian Inc. Horse Rescue—discusses becoming besotted with horses as a little girl, starting to ride at age five. She recalls how, as an adult, she underwrote her horse habit—which soon became her horse rescue habit—by...
