Are You Too Attached To Your Pets? - Parrots Helping Veterans with P.T.S.D.

Parrots Helping Veterans with P.T.S.D. Dr. Lorin Lindner founded Serenity Park, a unique sanctuary on the grounds of the Los Angeles Veterans Administration Healthcare Center. She noticed that the veterans she treated as a clinical psychologist and the parrots she had taken in as a rescuer quickly formed bonds. Men and women who had been silent in therapy would share their stories and their feelings more easily with animals. Listen Now Are Americans Too Attached To Their Pets? Psychological Scientist Dr. Clay Routledge believes young adults may be bonding with animals at the expense of vital human relationships. While the Animal Radio team may be divided on the health aspects of loving your pet "too much," there is one empirical fact: some of us have trouble prioritizing humans over animals. Listen Now Gone to the Birds We often celebrate our cats and dogs, but today it'll be about the birds. We'll focus on bad bird behavior and training your parrot or cockatoo. Dr. Debbie breaks the myths about bird food and explains the nutritional value of seeds vs. pellets. Listen Now Read more about this week's show.

Pet-Friendly Housing Standard Pacific Homes knows the 60-billion-dollar pet industry has a place for homebuilding. 27 of their developments now include pet accouterments, including a pet spa and TV exclusively for Fido. Standard Pacific's Danielle Tocco explains what they're doing to cater to pet owners. Listen Now Heartworm Medication Causes Deaths There are more worries about the dog heartworm medication Trifexis. So far, 965 complaints about dogs dying after taking Trifexis have been filed with the FSA over the last three and a half years. The drug's maker, Elanco, says it's sold 70 million doses and has found no link between the pill and any dog deaths. Listen Now No More Pet Piercing Assemblyman Carmela Garcia (Dem. N.J.) has written legislation that would outlaw piercings and tattoos on cats and dogs. Inspired by a lady who pierced her "gothic kittens," Garcia feels this ban would stop a burgeoning fad. Listen Now Pet Oxygen Masks Does one size fit all? The Animal Radio Hero Person, Debra Jo Chiapuzio helps supply fire departments with life-saving oxygen masks for dogs and cats. She loves her job and has a great passion to teach others pet first aid. Listen Now Moving With Pets Can Be Pricey! Apartments.com did the math in its Pet-Friendly Renting Trends Survey. It found that close to 80% of renters had to pay a deposit to have a pet, and it was more than $200 per year in more than half the cases. About 64% of the people asked said they had a hard time finding an apartment that allowed pets, even with a deposit. Listen Now Read more about this week's show.

The Dog Park Phenomenon Boston Globe TV Critic (a great gig if you can get it), Matthew Gilbert, investigates the dynamics of dog parks. He didn't like dogs. In fact, he was afraid of them until his spouse introduced him to a dog that would forever change his view. Matt shares stories about the nutty fellow canine-lovers at his dog park. Listen Now Flea Wars Animal Radio Vets Dr. Marty Becker and Dr. Debbie are armed with flea-ridding tactics. Did you know that there are over a dozen different kinds of fleas? There's a difference between "cat" fleas and "dog" fleas. Most importantly, how do we get rid of them for good? We've got answers. Listen Now Muffin's Halo Our Hero Person this week invented a bumper, or better described as a 'halo,' that protects blind dogs from bumping into furniture and other obstacles. Sylvie Bordeaux was tired of seeing her blind dog bash into stuff. With needle and thread in hand, she created a genius product that is helping vision-impaired pups from being discarded at shelters. Listen Now New Uses For Unwanted Fur Now, a national organization called Born Free USA has come up with a fantastic idea. It collected unwanted furs and sent them to wildlife rehab centers in Texas. California and Missouri, where they were cut into small pieces and used for orphaned babies and injured animals to snuggle in. Listen Now Declawing Is Major Surgery The American Veterinary Medical Association has amended its policy to clarify that declawing is a major surgery that should only be performed as a last resort to prevent destructive clawing, but it stopped short of suggesting a ban on it. The new policy stresses the importance of educating cat guardians about normal feline scratching behavior, alternatives to declawing, and that declawing is actually the amputation of the first digit of the cat's toes. Listen Now Read more about this week's show.

Pets In Space Celestis Pet will shoot your pet's cremains into deep space, or to the moon, or even into orbit around the earth. The rocket and space technology company has been launching satellites and human remains for over a decade. Now, they want a piece of the 58-BILLION-dollar pet industry. Top Dog Stephen Eisele explains what you get for your $1,000. It's pretty impressive! Listen Now The Language of Dogs TV Dog Trainer Justin Silver is back with his really funny friend, Dave Donnenfeld. Together they're 'righting' canine 'wrongs' wherever bad dogs and bad guardians need them. "Their book is the Rosetta Stone of Doglish," says Animal Radio host Hal Abrams. Listen Now Woman Does CPR on Bearded Dragon When you love your pet, you love your pet, no matter what breed or species he or she is. That explains the actions of a woman in Oregon. Sherrie Dolezal runs a bearded dragon rescue and came home the other day to see one of the lizards, named Del Sol, floating unconscious in the pool. She got him out, started pounding on her back, and doing chest compressions. She finally started CPR, and he started breathing again. Del Sol and Sherrie are now doing just fine. Listen Now Big Choices For This Week's Hero When his agent asked, " Do you want to act or do you want to save animals?" after he kept missing auditions, he chose to dedicate his life to the creatures. That makes Leo Grillo, the founder of DELTA rescue, our 'Hero Person.' He has over 1500 animals on 115 acres. He doesn't adopt out any of these animals because his statistics say owners keep their animals only 2.5 years on average. Listen Now Read more about this week's show.

An Emasculating Rooster When Brian McGrory moved in with his girlfriend, he also moved in with a Rooster that did not like him. If Brian were to "make it work," he would have to learn a lot about how to befriend a foul with ruffled feathers. He joins us and we have copies of his best-selling book, "Buddy, How A Rooster Made Me A Family Man." Listen Now Does Your Dog Know You? I Mean, Really Know You? A certain bark, a certain posture, a certain look. Your dog can tell a lot about you. They know when you're being unfair-to some extent. Researchers found that when dogs saw other dogs getting treats for a trick they'd been performing unrewarded, the uncompensated dogs became visibly distressed. It can even lead to depression. Listen Now I Don't Brush, Why Should Fluffy? Home dental care is one of the best ways to help keep your pet's teeth and gums healthy. And unlike us, not brushing could be fatal for your pet. Start as early as possible in your furry friend's life so he or she will become accustomed to having the mouth handled. Use a moistened, soft, pet or child's toothbrush, finger toothbrush, gauze around a finger, or even a cotton swab. Stay away from human toothpaste....unless your pet has learned to spit afterwards. Listen Now Read more about this week's show.

Trainer Teaches Dogs To Drive You may have seen the viral video of the rescue dogs that were taught to drive a retrofitted Mini-Cooper. Their trainer, Mike Vette of New Zealand, is our special guest with tips on how you can train your dog to do cool tricks. Listen Now Dog Tarot Cards Whether you take it seriously or as a novelty, there is no denying the best-selling success of the Dog Tarot Cards. Creator Heidi Schulman shares her inspiration and helps you understand why Fido insists on rolling in dead stuff. Listen Now Low-Income Pet Food Elizabeth DeMasellis' family is like many living paycheck to paycheck. Sometimes, when money gets tight, food for the family's furry friend is stretched a little, or she gets a hot dog. That is, until three months ago, when the 30-year-old Milford mother of three learned she could get dog food at Community Sharing Outreach Center. "I wouldn't get rid of her just because we couldn't afford to feed her. It's like getting rid of one of your kids," says DeMasellis. Listen Now Katherine Heigl Tucks Her Pets In At Night Bedtime at Katherine Heigl's house can take a while. As a mom of two daughters and seven other kids of the four-legged variety, she likes to give each one special attention. The Emmy Award winner says first she tucks in her girls, then she takes her seven dogs through their own nighttime ritual. Listen Now Parrots Have Personal Taste In Music It turns out that parrots are choosy about their music. Scientists have discovered that parrots have personal tastes in music. Dr. Franck Peron of the University of Lincoln, who headed the study, says that both birds enjoyed rock and folk music from such artists as U2, UB40, and Joan Baez. They even got into the music, bobbing their heads and squawking as if they were singing along. Listen Now Read more about this week's show.

Staying Together For The Pets Many pet owners treat their pets as if they were their own children, whether it be a dog, cat, turtle, or gerbil. For these owners, the pet is an integral part of the family. But owner beware, the pet that you love and cherish can easily be taken away from you in an instant if you are involved in a nasty divorce. Divorce Attorney Silvana Roso has the information you should know. Listen Now How Many Cats Do You Own? Residents in Wellington, Kansas, now have a limit on the number of their feline friends. As of January 1st, households in Wellington can only have a total of four cats. In order to cut down on the number of homeless cats, the town has also required that newly adopted cats be spayed or neutered. Listen Now Taking Great Pictures of Your Pet The Pawtographer Robert Semrow has a thing for taking cool pics with pets. In fact, he makes a living dressing up dogs (and cats) for photo shoots. He has tips to make it easier to photograph your furry-friend. Listen Now Read more about this week's show.

A Plan To Get Rid Of All The Cats Dr. Gareth Morgan wants to rid New Zealand of all the cats. He says they're damaging the bird population. Is he crazy, or does he have a point? We'll speak with him and find out what he's thinking and the adversity he's facing with his plan. Listen Now The Hard To Train Dog Peggy Swager has dedicated her life to the "hard-to-train" dog. She will tell us about her toughest cases and how to manage a dog that just won't behave properly. We'll have tips for overcoming problem behaviors and giveaways of her book. Listen Now Poison In Your House Dr. Justine Lee works at the Pet Poison Helpline. She says the top 5 pet toxins are probably in your house and accessible to your furry-friend. Dr. Lee will tell you what to watch out for and how to treat a pet that has eaten something poisonous. Listen Now Bully Sticks Condemned Turns out there's a lot more inside a popular dog treat than most pet owners probably imagine. They're called "pizzle" sticks or "bully" sticks, and a new study out of Canada says they're loaded with calories and bacteria. The treat is made from uncooked, dried bull penis, and researchers say it can contain things like E. coli and MRSA. Listen Now Iran Launches Monkey Into Space Iran said it launched a live monkey into space, seeking to show off its missile systems. "This shipment returned safely to Earth with the anticipated speed along with the live organism," Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi told the semi-official Fars news agency. However, comparative pictures of the monkey don't match. Listen Now Read more about this week's show.

America's Pet Obesity Problem Obesity is troubling about 3 out of every 5 pets. This week, we're tackling this problem with stories, tips, and tricks to keep your pet healthy and happy. You'll hear about the kitty that ate McDonald's every day, an inventor that created a cat-treadmill, and a 77 lb. Dachshund. Listen Now Top Behavioral Problem Separation Anxiety not only tops the list of dog behavior problems, but it's most often brought on by the dog's owner or guardian without knowing it. Alan Kabel has sure-fire ways to teach an old dog new tricks. Listen Now Dogs Going Postal Dogs go postal in Los Angeles more than any other U.S. city. The U.S. Postal Service released its rankings of the best and worst cities for dog attacks on mail carriers. Los Angeles recorded 69 incidents last year. San Antonio and Seattle round out the top three worst cities. Wichita, Kansas, is the safest city with just 20 attacks. Almost six thousand postal workers were attacked by dogs. Listen Now Worm Season With Mosquito season comes an increase in parasitic worms that could ultimately be fatal. Joey Villani tells you how to keep the skeeters away, and Dr. Joel Ehrenzweig tells listeners about over-the-counter products that are safe for your pets, but put a damper in any worm's day. Listen Now Dogs Good For Our Hearts The American Heart Association (AHA) has declared that pets, especially dogs, are good for a person's heart. Further proof that dogs are among the best friends a person could have. Dr. Glenn N. Levine, director of Baylor University's cardiac care unit, says, "Pet ownership, particularly dog ownership, is probably associated with a decreased risk of heart disease." Listen Now Plus, the Animal Radio Dream Team answers questions about your pet. Read more about this week's show.

Live From SuperZoo It's time again for our New Pet Product Special from the pet industry's largest trade show in Las Vegas. We'll be giving you great gifts for your pet before they're on the shelves in your pet store. Listen Now See our New Pet Product Gallery of Honorable Mentions. Flea Facts There is no doubt that this flea season has been one of the worst in recorded history. Now it takes a multi-modal approach to get rid of these little suckers for good. Dr. Debbie steps up to the plate with several great ideas. Listen Now Pet Insurance When is the best time to get pet insurance so you won't be caught with the ever-increasing cost of veterinary care? Is it better to just start an interest-bearing savings account for your pet? Is it possible that your insurance claim will be rejected? Animal Radio uncovers the truths and fallacies behind the booming insurance trade for pets. Listen Now Horse Rider Turned Away At Drive-Thru - So She Brings Horse Into Restaurant Instead A woman has been saddled with a fine after bringing her horse into a McDonald's restaurant. Police say the woman initially tried to ride the animal through the drive-thru on Saturday, but was turned away. She then brought the horse inside the fast food joint, where it promptly did its "business" on the floor. Listen Now Energy Bar Contains Crickets A Salt Lake City-based energy bar maker is turning to crickets as a source of nutrients. The makers of Chapul Bars use cricket flour to give their bars a boost of protein. Chapul's founder, Patrick Crowley, says the six-legged critters are a "rich source of edible protein" that is more environmentally friendly than protein from livestock. Listen Now Read more about this week's show.