Max Chesnes--the award-winning environment reporter for the Tampa Bay Times—a lifelong Floridian, recalls growing up in Jupiter, where he developed an almost religious fervor for nature, spending endless days in (and on) the water, hiking across the terrific parks,...
Amy Munns--named the 2026 Pet Sitter of the Year by Pet Sitters International, (PSI), considered the world’s leading educational association for professional pet sitters and dog walkers—recalls that animals were always around while she was growing up in San...
Artist-photographer-writer Claire Rosen—who’s cultivated a long, lauded career, with much of her work reflecting a longstanding passion for animals, and celebrated for its sense of whimsy—traces the shaping of this sensibility back to her childhood, reading Beatrix...
As we’ve done 14 times before—spanning the better part of five years–today’s program involved setting aside the usual “Talking Animals” format in order to present the show-length feature, “Ask The Trainer.” In each session of ATT, listeners are invited to call or...
Dr. Holly Dutton--Medical Director at the Tampa and Clearwater locations of VEG ER for Pets, a national operation specializing in around-the-clock emergency care for pets—reviews some of the VEG ER distinguishing traits we covered in her June 2025 appearance on...
Steve Hindi--founder of SHowing Animals Respect and Kindness (SHARK), a national animal welfare organization concerned with halting and/or educating the public about pigeon shoots, rodeos, bullfighting, and canned hunts, among other issues—recounts the extended...
Joshua Lisbon--a researcher/educator/storyteller at the center of a new PBS/Nature documentary, “Willow: Diary of a Mountain Lion”—describes his background and experience (and academic training) before working on the 10-year study that formed the core content of...
Kirk Johnson—paleontologist, Sant Director of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, and onscreen narrator of “Walrus: Life on Thin Ice,” a documentary that airs Oct. 22 in the season premiere of the PBS series “Nature”—recalls a research opportunity...
Stephanie Boydston--founder and director of Love Life Animal Rescue & Sanctuary, a refuge in Myakka City, FL devoted to rescuing, rehabilitating and re-homing farmed animals—recalls a childhood in Long Island, NY amidst a string of foster animals, reflecting...
Father Andrew Heyes, Rector of St. Clement’s Episcopal Church in Tampa—a uniquely canine-centric man of the cloth, rarely going anywhere without his Doberman, Humphrey, at his side, sometimes including the altar—recalls growing up in Northwest England with the...
