Dr. Jennifer Conrad—a veterinarian and founder of The Paw Project, and a tireless crusader against declawing cats for many years; I first interviewed her about it on “Talking Animals” in 2005, and she’d already been working on the issue for some time—recounts the...
Dr. Dani McVety—the veterinarian, and Tampa native, who co-founded Lap of Love Veterinary Hospice in 2009—recounts the circumstances behind launching what has since become the nation’s largest network dedicated to end of life veterinary care, operating in 36...
Julie Castle—the CEO of Best Friends Animal Society, the national animal welfare organization, founded in 1984, and based in Kanab, Utah—describes the organization currently in broad strokes, offering notable contrasts to when she scrapped plans for law school and...
Dr. Valarie Tynes—Veterinary Services Specialist at CEVA Animal Health Limited, in Kansas, and a veterinarian slated to deliver two lectures at VMX, the then-forthcoming gigantic veterinary education conference held in Orlando (and virtually) June 5-9—traces the...
Babs Fry—a San Diego-based pet recovery specialist (she’s often dubbed a “pet detective,” but prefers the other term, and explains why), who for several years, has helped pet owners find their missing animals, never charging a dime for her services--discusses how...
Dr. Chris Pachel —a veterinary behaviorist who owns, and is the primary clinician at, the Animal Behavior Clinic, in Portland, Oregon—recounts how he’d wanted to be a veterinarian since childhood, though in some of those earliest years, he wasn’t quite sure what a...
For this edition of “Talking Animals,” we set aside the show’s usual format in favor of convening a panel of three veterinarians for a discussion of ethics and other topics. This approach was spurred, in part, by the news last year about that Virginia woman who was...
Dr. Sue Ettinger—a veterinary cancer specialist, aka “Dr. Sue Cancer Vet”—recalls her road to becoming a vet, after briefly entertaining the idea of pursuing a career involving art history. She describes how she traveled a somewhat serendipitous path that deposited...
Dr. Kathleen Schnaars Uvino—aka “Dr. Kit,” a professor of Biology and Ecology at the University of Jamestown, where she oversees the Tree Swallow Project, which is carried out in two countries: in Jamestown, North Dakota, and in Churchill, Manitoba—discusses her...
Rick Kriseman—the mayor of St. Petersburg, Florida, who, a year ago, signed a proclamation declaring St. Petersburg a pet-friendly city—recounts growing up loving animals, dogs in particular. Mayor Kriseman describes how he and his family got started as puppy...
