Dr. Kevin Fitzgerald—a veterinarian for 35 years, featured on Animal Planet’s “Emergency Vets,” which aired for 11 seasons—recounts his pre-vet, 25-year stint working security for Rolling Stones tours, and how that period ended when Keith Richards urged him to get...
W. Bruce Cameron — the New York Times bestselling author of numerous books, including "A Dog's Purpose," made into a feature film starring Dennis Quaid —discusses how he decided to make Breed Specific Legislation, or BSL (in this case, Denver’s ban on pit bulls) a...
Ginger Kathrens —wild-horse advocate, filmmaker, and executive director of The Cloud Foundation—discusses the mustang, Cloud, who is the focus of three of her films, and the namesake of the Foundation she founded, whose stated mission is dedication “to the...
Kim Skrovanek—founder of The Humane Education Connection—recounts growing up as a passionate animal lover, tending to all the sick and injured animals that she spotted in her North Florida neighborhood. (“Yes, I was that kid.”). That passion, Skrovanek explains,...
Lori Shepler—an award-winning former Los Angeles Times photographer who now presides over CityTheKitty.com, among the most informative and influential websites dealing with feline declaw surgery--traces that unlikely path. Shepler recalls how the cat who later...
Stephen Wells—the executive director of the Animal Legal Defense Fund ALDF)—traces his intriguing, sometimes colorful, career path before joining ALDF, particularly his years in Alaska, where, among other developments, he formalized his commitment to becoming a...
Moshow—the Portland, Oregon-based artist and online phenomenon who specializes in rapping about cats—recounts starting to rap at 16, but stopped because, although he grew up in the projects of Baltimore, felt his raps (heavily influenced by gangsta rap) were...
Alison Eastwood —the actress, director and animal advocate whose Eastwood Ranch Foundation recently launched FosterFurkids.com, a website that connects rescue groups and animal shelters with a nationwide network of pet fosters and transporters—discusses a childhood...
Dr. Tim Caro —a professor at UC Davis and wildlife biologist whose new book is “Zebra Stripes”—traces some of the arc of his academic career, including how he became interested in researching animal coloration. Caro goes on to explain how this focus led to...
For today’s edition of Talking Animals, I jettisoned the usual format and convened a panel discussion about the end of the Ringling Bros. circus. I was inspired to present the panel because I was struck by the array of reactions in the wake of the announcement by...
