Animal Radio®

Saving $$ Without Short-Changing Your Pet Animal Radio Veterinary Correspondent Dr. Marty Becker has solutions to beat the high costs associated with being a pet parent. New veterinary procedures can be expensive. But the simplest way to avoid costs is to keep your pet at its ideal weight. Listen Now Is Pet Insurance Worth It? While the Animal Radio Dream Team has conflicting opinions on pet insurance, the facts stand strong. Yes, you may need to come up with $30,000 for some of today's procedures. But if you're covered, you won't be up the creek without the proverbial paddle. Listen Now Ever Suspected Your Husband Secretly Loves The DOG More Than You? Graham Anley and his wife Cheryl were on a sailing trip. It was just the two of them and their nine-year-old Jack Russell terrier Rosie for three months. But they hit rough water and their yacht capsized. And as Graham swam to shore, he decided to rescue the dog before his wife. Listen Now If You Want To Be Trampled By A Bull - Go To Virginia! If you've ever wanted to run the risk of being trampled by a bull but can't afford the trip to Spain, you could always go to Virginia. More than 5000 people have already signed up for the Great Bull Run, a Pamplona-inspired event to be held at a Richmond drag strip. Listen Now Lindbergh Field Installs Country's First "Pooch Potties" Lindbergh Field in San Diego has installed what could be called the country's first airport "pooch potties." Officials included four fancy "Pet Relief" stations as part of their billion-dollar expansion. The 75-foot square spaces feature fake grass, a fire hydrant, deodorizers, a hand-washing station, and complimentary bags for cleanup. Listen Now Read more about this week's show.

The Secret Of Lost Cats You've seen them. Hanging on telephone poles and posted on supermarket bulletin boards. It says "Lost Cat" with a picture of someone's furry friend. Dr. Nancy Davidson interviewed the people behind the signs and tells their stories. Listen Now Another Great Invention John Polimeno gave up his job as a construction worker to engineer a face-recognition, or should we say "muzzle" recognition app, to help find lost animals across the country. So far, his company and app have reunited 7 pets with their owners. John explains the technology and how we can add it to the arsenal of tools. Listen Now Pillow of Your Pet Shannon Broder had an idea you wish you thought of. She takes pictures of your pet and makes a pillow. She's even had a few strange requests. Find out how this "happy-hour" idea became big business. We'll have giveaways. Listen Now Diet Tricks A listener needs to know about FurFast, a diet aid for your pet. Is it healthy? Does it work? Dr. Debbie has the low-down on tackling pet obesity...and sometimes it calls for supplements. Listen Now ...and of course, the Animal Radio Dream Team is answering your pet questions. Read more about this week's show.

Beth Stern Guests Yes, she is the wife of Howard Stern. But more importantly, Beth Ostrosky-Stern is an avid animal advocate. She's fostering a bunch of animals at home. She says Howard is really into her pets, and sometimes he gets very emotional when the animals find homes. Listen Now Cats Actually Have A Language Con Slobodchikoff is studying animal linguistics. He's noticing patterns that indicate language among cats and even prairie dogs. He even says that someday we may have an App that will translate our conversations with animals. Listen Now Pet Restraints FAIL New research from the Center for Pet Safety reveals that the pet restraints tested have a 100% failure rate. Does this mean you shouldn't use them when traveling with your pet? Absolutely not. However, Lindsey Wolko has the lowdown on what works and what doesn't when it comes to keeping your pets safe in the car. Listen Now Don't Worry About Bugs In Your Food - They Were Intentionally Added Acclaimed European chef David Faure isn't worried about his diners finding a bug in their meals. In fact, he's started intentionally adding a variety of creepy crawlies to the dishes he serves at his restaurant. He says the biggest obstacle in his quest is finding a reliable local supplier of edible insects. Listen Now Eating Poop - Don't Knock It Not a week goes by without a listener calling to ask why their dog is eating other dogs' feces. While there are many theories as to why this happens, Dr. Debbie gets to the bottom of it and sheds light on the very common problem. Listen Now Read more about this week's show.

Flight Attendant Accused of Smuggling Animals An American Airlines flight attendant is taking legal action to clear her name after being accused of hiding rats in her underwear and sneaking them onto a plane. Louann Giambattista has filed a lawsuit seeking unspecified damages, claiming the accusations have left her with "debilitating anxiety." Giambattista's problems began last year when one of her American Airlines co-workers allegedly noticed an unusual bulge in the admitted animal lover's pocket. Listen Now Don't Kiss The Lions! That's the lesson for a Canadian teenager who was mauled by a lion in South Africa. Lauren Fagen was attempting to kiss the fur of a caged male lion at a wildlife rehabilitation center. Fagen says she's lucky to be alive.  She'll be out of the hospital next week. Listen Now Dog Owners Are In The Majority In The U.S. According to the latest American Pets Poll, 52% prefer pups as pets, while just 21% would rather have a cat. But few people believe in the stereotypical "crazy cat" lady or man. Just 23% think "cat owners are weirder than dog owners." Listen Now When Is "Too Many" A Problem? Dr. Debbie becomes concerned when a listener calls in with 11 dogs. By all outward appearances, this pet lover is out-of-control and unable to care for so many animals. For some, this crosses the line from animal care to animal abuse and into the world of mental and psychiatric problems. Listen Now Taming Aggressiveness After many dog maulings and attacks, the owner always says they never expected their dog to be so aggressive. "He's the nicest, friendliest dog I've ever known - I don't understand what happened." Alan Kabel understands a dog's mind, and he'll tell you why Fido gets mad. Listen Now Read more about this week's show.

Vet Locks Himself In Hot Car Dr. Ernie Ward aimed to raise awareness about the extreme heat a car can reach and the potential dangers it poses to dogs. So he "shvitzed it out" inside his Coupe, all the while videotaping it for posterity. He shares his experience with us. Listen Now Plastic Surgery For Pets Pets and their owners do tend to look alike after a while, but are some pet owners going to extremes to prove the point? Animal expert Kim Baker says we're seeing more and more pet owners taking their pets in for cosmetic surgery. Listen Now Pets Earn Frequent Flyer Miles Pets are being rewarded for loyalty not just by their owners, but by airlines, as part of a growing number of pet frequent flier programs. Dogs and cats that travel on a Virgin Australia domestic flight can now collect points for their owners that can then be used to obtain discounts on future flights. Listen Now Overtime for the Dream Team Can you give your pet Aspirin? Do our pets have the same blood as humans? How does Clicker Training work? Should there be a Cat Leash Law? Dr. Debbie, dog trainer Alan Kabel, and Britt Savage tackle these curiosities. Where else will you learn this stuff? Listen Now Going the Distance What are you willing to do or pay to keep your pet healthy? More and more of us are pawning our wedding rings just to afford the more expensive surgeries to heal our pets. Is $3000 too much to pay to fix Fido's torn ACL? Listen Now World's Most Luxurious Cat Food At $40 A Can British celebrity chef Simon Rimmer believes he's come up with the world's most luxurious cat food. He worked closely with animal experts to create a "once-in-nine-lifetimes" food experience featuring roasted duck, lobster sushi rolls, and Beluga caviar. Listen Now Read more about this week's show.

Pets Cause 3-Billion-Dollars Damage A new study reveals that American pets have bitten, chewed, licked, drooled on, and otherwise damaged more than eight million devices, resulting in repair and replacement costs exceeding $3 billion. The most commonly damaged device is the smartphone. Sandy Robbins shares the study's amazing results. Listen Now Poison Ivy Leaves of three, let it be. A good tip to avoid Poison Ivy, unless your dog gets it and gives it to you when you pet him. It's more common than you think. Joey Villani, the Dogfather, has Poison Ivy this week. He got it while grooming a dog. He has tips and cures for the itches. Listen Now Cat Ruins Intimate Moment What happens when an Animal Radio® listener's boyfriend is bothered by a cat when he's in the mood for love? Bottom line, your pet should not be in the same room when you're making love. Not only is it a "mood-spoiler," but according to Dr. Debbie, somebody could get hurt. Listen Now Pampered Pet Resort Costs $72,000 for Two Weeks Man's best friend now has a place to go if they need a couple of days away from their two-legged companions. The new Paw Seasons canine holiday resort in Long Ashton, England, offers dogs a luxurious vacation that comes complete with spa and grooming sessions. The actual owners, however, are not allowed to stay at the resort. The two-week package costs more than $72,000. Listen Now Read more about this week's show.

Kenny Lee Lewis Guests Guitarist for the Steve Miller Band, Kenny Lee Lewis, kicks off their Summer tour with a stop at Animal Radio. Kenny shares his Central California home with Sophie, a dog he fell in love with after he promised his daughter a pup if she got good grades. Listen Now Preventing Cancer Dr. Gerald Post is back with basic things you can do to reduce the odds against your pet. If Cancer is detected and treated early, many of our pets have a great chance at a healthy outcome. Dr. Post has the lowdown on pesticides and your pet. Listen Now Handicapped Pig Gets Wheelchair When a patient brought a deformed pig into Dr. Len Lucero to be euthanized, the doctor couldn't do it. He ended up adopting Chris P. Bacon and creating a wheelchair out of a child's Erector toys. Now the pig is styling with his new wheels and inspiring Facebook followers worldwide. Listen Now Tick Season Explodes There is no doubt that this tick season is more populated than ever. With typical spot-on chemical treatments losing their efficacy, we're turning to alternatives for fighting those little buggers. WAHL's Pat Kopischkie has great ideas when it comes to tick control. Listen Now Leash Aggression Without even knowing it, we can be training our dog to be aggressive. The tool that we rely on to restrain our dog may actually be at the root of problems. Dr. Debbie has a cure for pulling and growling issues. "It's all about thinking like a dog." Listen Now Read more about this week's show.

Be Fearful if Fido is Flying in Cargo Bay Area NBC Investigative Journalist Elyce Kirchner reports on why the airlines are getting away with murder, literally. There is an incredibly high number of pets that don't come out alive after flying in the cargo compartment. We'll have the list of the top airlines and the worst. Listen Now "Pet" Dreams Puppy lovers have 'fessed up, they have "pet dreams" when they leave their four-legged friends behind on holidays. A new survey shows that eighty per cent of pet owners would cancel or change their travel plans if they could not trust someone to mind their pet. One in six pet owners would chat to their pet on Zoom while away on holidays. And one in seven confessed to having "pet dreams'' about their animal companions. Listen Now World's Ugliest Dog Contest Chronicled They're sooo ugly, they're cute. Vicki DeArmon has been the brainchild behind the wildly-popular Ugliest Dog Contest at the Sonoma-Marin Fair. Now she's taken the photos from these contests and printed them into a coffee-table book perfect for ogling. Listen Now Database Links Puppy Mills To Pet Stores The ASPCA announced the launch of a new Internet tool that allows consumers to link pet stores that sell puppies with USDA licensed commercial dog breeders. Consumers are able to search the database by pet store name, USDA license number, name of the breeding facility, or by zip code and specific breeds. They are hoping that this new tool will allow consumers to make informed decisions and refrain from buying puppies at pet stores. Listen Now Doc Halligan Fills-In TV Vet Dr. Karen Halligan fills in for the vacationing Dr. Debbie. She'll be answering your questions alongside Groomer Joey "Dogfather" Villani, Trainer Alan Kabel, and Communicator Joy Turner. Listen Now Read more about this week's show.

Jo Anne Worley Guests Not only is she an outstanding comedian, Jo Anne Worley (Laugh-In) spends much of her time caring for the animals. She's the sitting President of Actors and Others for Animals. This is her second time visiting the Animal Radio® Dream Team. Listen Now The Truth About Vaccinations Dr. Debbie finally puts an end to the vaccination confusion. How often do your pets really need Distemper, FLV, and Rabies shots and boosters? Diseases like Parvo can be fatal and avoided with a simple shot. Listen Now A Real Life Pet Entertainer Lee Day's business card says "Pet Entertainer." We had no idea what this really meant. So we decided to get her on the show to entertain your pets. Grab Fluffy and Fido and bring them around the radio for today's show. They may be quite entertained. Listen Now Chanel Designer Wants To Marry His Cat Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld says he'd marry his cat if it were legal. Lagerfeld recently announced he's "fallen in love" with his pampered feline named Choupette. In the past, he's been known to buy her an iPad and a silken pillow to sleep on. In an interview on CNN, he said he never thought he'd fall in love like this with a cat. Listen Now Is Your Dog Left or Right-Pawed? If your otherwise well-behaved dog barks at the postman, the reason could well be in its feet. Scientists have found that 'left-pawed' canines are more aggressive towards strangers than their 'right-pawed' counterparts. They tested dozens of pets with a special toy to find out which side they favored and then analyzed their behavior. Listen Now ...and our Dream Team is answering your pet-related questions. Read more about this week's show.

NASCAR's Cory Joyce Returns He's using his star power to create a better life for animals. Cory Joyce is working closely with the Humane Society of The United States as well as a local shelter in his North Carolina hometown. Listen Now Naming Your Pet Vinnie Penn believes that naming your pet is the single most important thing you will do. He has tips for avoiding embarrassing naming mistakes. And please, don't name your Chihuahua "Thor." Listen Now 77 lb Dachshund Sheds 40+ Pounds Obie, a Dachshund, has lost so much weight that he had to have skin removed so it wouldn't drag on the ground. His guardian, Nora Vanatta tells us the entire story, including the bitter custody battles with Obie's former owners. Listen Now Police Dog Wears Camera A technology used by the military is now available to civilian police departments. The Massachusetts Plymouth County Sheriff is using a camera mounted on a dog wearing a bullet-proof vest. While the camera may be helpful, who is going to go through hours of video featuring butt-smelling? Listen Now Salmon & Beef Flavored Yogurt For Dogs! Frozen yogurt makers in Germany are hoping their salmon and beef-flavored concoctions will be a hit. Twin brothers Roman and Raoul Krohn say they first got the idea when they were kids. Their grandma told them that feeding dogs regular ice cream could be deadly, so they eventually came up with a lactose-free formula that is perfect for pooches. Listen Now Basketball-Sized Hairball Veterinarians are optimistic that a 17-year-old tiger will fully recover after having surgery to remove a gigantic hairball. The tiger named Ty hadn't eaten for two weeks, and that's when owner Vernon Yates got concerned. Vets examined the 400-pound feline and realized it had a hairball the size of a basketball in its body. The hairball weighed four pounds. Listen Now Read more about this week's show.