Tibet and Brenda Kocher—respectively, Florida’s first courthouse dog and the Guardian ad Litem volunteer who serves as Tibet’s handler, under the auspices of Voices for Children of Tampa Bay—outline the extensive training Tibet underwent, in keeping with the dogs...
Paula Poundstone—the veteran comedian perhaps best known these days as a regular panelist on NPR’s quiz show “Wait, Wait…Don’t Tell Me”—returns for her third appearance on “Talking Animals,” and we engage in a sprawling conversation that touched on a slew of...
Michele Lazarow—a Hallandale Beach city commissioner and activist who has helped pass numerous laws across Florida preventing pet stories from selling dogs that come from puppy mills—recounts the dreadful experience she had in 2004 after buying her dog, Alfie, from...
Darcy Dennett—the director of “The Champions,” a documentary chiefly about the pit bulls rescued from Michael Vick’s dog-fighting ring—outlines her professional experience that served as a prelude to this, her feature film debut. She explains the passion that...
Laura T. Coffey—the author of “MY OLD DOG: Rescued Pets with Remarkable Second Acts,” which touts the virtues of adopting senior shelter dogs—recounts going to school (including college) in the Tampa Bay area and her extended stints at what’s now The Tampa Bay...
For today’s program, I opted to set aside our regular format, in favor of convening a panel discussion about service animals, propelled largely by the growing trend of people using bogus service animals and emotional support animals. Indeed, a key catalyst for...
Elias Weiss Friedman—the enormously popular photographer specializing in dogs known as The Dogist; at last count, he had 1.7 million followers on Instagram—discusses growing up in a family where there were always multiple dogs around, and photography was important:...
Dr. Lori Marino—founder and executive director of the Kimmela Center for Animal Advocacy, as well as a neuroscientist and expert in animal behavior and intelligence—explains exactly what a neuroscientist is, and how that academic orientation informs her thinking...
This morning, I once again set aside the usual “Talking Animals” format to present my Annual Christmas Animal Song special—that is, a show entirely devoted to Christmas-oriented animal tunes. Sure, as in the past, to pull off this slightly shaky conceit, I...
Lisa Bekiaris—founder of Raffle Rescue, which functions as a food bank of sorts, but in this case, we’re referring to pet food—recounts her childhood and formative years as a precocious animal lover, where she and her sister would raise and care for animals on...
