Podcasts

This podcast is the first of a series of meanderings about what affect the choice of veterinary medicine to pattern itself on human medicine has had on animal health, behavior, and the human-animal bond.

Have no idea what contranyms, the subject of this week’s podcast, are? Here are three hints to help you:  All of these words share a special property. More likely than not you’re familiar with such words, but didn’t realize they rated a special name. Some non-behavioral examples include second-guess, impregnate, and secrete. Now that you know what contranyms are, can you think of any terms related to our interactions with animals that could fall into that category?

I suppose that some and even many might consider the subject of this podcast ludicrous. However how the quality of the learning opportunities we offer more intelligent than average animals, and especially dogs, has practical repercussions for our society today.

Until I came across this article I never really gave the human-Bigfoot bond much thought. But one of the advantages of being an independent scholar is that I’m free to think about things that it might be imprudent to ponder in more formal settings.

When I read the studies regarding the effects of free-roaming cats and the far fewer and less publicized studies regarding the effects of artificial bird food supplies, i.e. feeders, on the wild bird population, I see so many variables it makes my brain ache.

Here’s the article about gorilla surrogate moms that triggered these meanderings. Relative to what this teaches us about the way we treat the young of species we claim to cherish as members of our families… What can I say? The old saying, “Familiarity breeds contempt.” kept floating through my mind. And in that serendipitous way things sometimes cross my desk, here’s a video of another human attempt to raise orphan domestic animals that arrived about the same time as the gorilla article. I wonder how this solution would stack up against what we typically offer orphan puppies and kittens.

The intersection of two superficially unrelated events triggered this podcast. One was a series of stories involving animals engaged in various forms of human therapy or salvation and the responses of some in the animal care community about these. The second involved the development of robots for military use that attempt to mimic the movement of horses…

This podcast is about what these have in common:       Can you guess what it is?

 Moving with animals poses some of the same challenges as moving with kids. And as with moving with kids, the same caveats hold. The more thoroughly we do our homework before the move, the more pleasant the move and the new home will be for us and our animals Here’s a favorite picture of Lumpy, my favorite lovable lump who just made yet another major move like a trooper.

The subject of this podcast causes me to ask the obvious question: Which one of us—ghost or human—would adapt the most in response to the other’s presence?

First the singing “kookaberry” I remember from my childhood is actually a kookaburra. But while the kookaburra does laugh I don’t think it sounds anything like the way my dogs’ koala toy laughs. Nor does the sound a real koala makes sound like my dogs’ koala either. Having disproven my theory that perhaps it got there by mistake because someone confused it with a kookaburra, I’m at a loss regarding how what sounds to me like a distinctly young human’s laughter  wound up in the toy. Be that as it may, the fact that it did served as the

The point to keep in mind about the phenomenon discussed in this podcast is that most of these animals not faking their physical and behavioral issues. In their minds, they really can’t use that limb or not be afraid of this or that. Because of that, in order to help these animals we need to get the whole picture. We can’t just focus on eliminating the behavior that troubles us instead of dealing with the underlying cause. Or rather we could limit our focus like that and eliminate the effects and ignore the underlying cause as long as we

I’m a big fan of contrast, whether it be in animal behavior, the human-animal bond, photography, food, scientific findings, music, literature, you-name-it. If I had to guess why I’d say because experience has taught me that the more unrelated two concepts superficially appear to be, the more they likely have something in common.

Do you ever experience one of those days when you need a new perspective on life with animals and especially cats and perhaps even your very own particular cat? Because the invasive Bamboo decided that going outside in cold weather no longer appealed to him, I found the book that serves as the subject of this week’s podcast especially helpful.

Like many of my podcasts, this one was triggered by information that just happened to hit my desk or computer at about the same time. First I’d just resurrected the FRATT commentary because the same and new after-the-fact oops moments continued to occur in human and veterinary health.

When I was a little kid some wise person, who I like to think was my grandmother because she was a very wise woman, said to me, “Never say never or always.” No doubt she wasn’t the first person to realize the value of such awareness. Perhaps because of this indoctrination—or maybe brainwashing—I tend to be very suspicious of those who speak in terms of absolutes, and especially those referring to biology or behavior.

This is a rough idea of the two images I saw peripherally that served as the inspiration for the podcast:

This podcast started out as a tribute to several groups of animals routinely doing some very important work who often get overlooked. The bulk of the podcast still addresses that topic, but I also riff a bit about the unsung relationship between cats and rats and other rodents which benefits us humans as much as it benefits them.

In some quarters this might be considered a snarky comment, but wouldn’t it be deliciously ironic if we could come back some time in the future and discover that all human behaviors—even those that we currently claim as uniquely our own—have their roots in long-established animal ones? Seriously, would this really be all that surprising?

As I was editing this podcast, it hit me that the gift of laughter is another reason why I like the species-specific parental model for our relationship with domestic animals instead of a peer-based reward/punishment competitive one.

This podcast was fueled by an interview I heard with vulnerability expert Brene Brown while driving home after grocery shopping. It so intrigued me that I then listen to a TED Talk she gave on the price of invulnerability and the value of expanding our perception of vulnerability because of the opportunities for growth doing so provides.

The next gift in this season of gifts that benefit our animals as well as ourselves is the gift of intention. Intention often gets forgotten in our desire to just to do something because it seems so much easier. And indeed skipping intention and just doing is easier— but only when it works.

Do you ever think about the role faith might play in maintaining a quality life for your animal? This week’s podcast explores that topic.

This podcast is the first of a holiday series that explores gifts we, animals, and nature in general share share and how these may effect our own and their lives.

First, a disclaimer: In spit of the look on Ollie’s face, no animals were harmed nor abused in this photo session which lasted less than 5 minutes. This is Ollie’s standard response to anything out of the ordinary…

This podcast recaps some points of interest I gleaned from a veterinary nutrition seminar I attended in October.

Join me as I run an energy audit on some particularly troublesome canine displays and discover the energy level can tell us about the animal’s motivation and prognosis.

Not surprisingly, after I edited this podcast I got to thinking about the different meanings of the word “groom”.

The idea that we’re a species-centered species, i.e. anthropocentric, isn’t a trait that make us humans unique. Not in that members of other species feel some inherent need to relate to us as if we were the center of their worlds, but rather that they tend to perceive their own needs as their top priority too. Where problems arise is when a conflict occurs between the fulfillment of human and animal needs. The typical (anthropocentric) human response if that it’s the animal’s responsibility to sacrifice his/her needs under these circumstances. If the animal doesn’t want to or can’t for

This podcast explores the some of the physical, mental, and emotional costs that arise when animals with problems are passed on instead of dealt with.

The little book that served as the inspiration for the podcast about agreements we can make with ourselves that will benefit our interactions with animals as well as other people is The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz.

In some ways the hazards posed when trying to choose the ideal animal online aren’t that new…

This podcast is a behavioral-bond review of the multiple award-winning film, The Artist. Granted the fact that one of the main characters in the film is a dog—and a dog who does a fantastic job at that—would seem to explain why I felt compelled to a) see the movie and b) write such a review. But there’s another quality of this film that would make it fodder for a behavioral-bond review even without the dog. Can you guess what it is?

The more political campaigns I live through, the more I value my knowledge of animal behavior. It so helps me sort through all the hype and poo.

No, this is not a podcast about my dog’s reproductive organs or lack thereof. It’s about his mystical relationship with the balls that he considers the optimum toy at least 90% of the time.

Do you perceive the behaviors of animals and plants you consider invasive species differently from those indigenous to your area? Or do you hate or love all members of a certain species wherever they may reside?

we become so caught up in some behavioral or physical health technology or Sometimes it so easy to get caught up in a process that we lose sight of whether it represents the best route for us and our animals to follow. Like the other mind-traps discussed in this podcast, we also can avoid falling into this one by thinking before we act.

I personally like the British term moggie or moggy for mixed breed cat which in the American pronunciation rhymes with doggie or doggy. Although the Oxford English Dictionary defines a moggie as a cat “that does not have a pedigree or is otherwise unremarkable” and reduces it to the equivalent of “mutt” or “mongrel”, every time I’ve encountered the word it’s been used as a term of endearment. So with all due respect for the Oxford English Dictionary folks, that’s the definition I prefer. And I’m sure if my moggy, Bamboo, roused himself long enough to consider it, he

I had to add an after-the-fact visual aid to this particular podcast lest you think my car has its own dinnerware…

When it comes to yourself and your animal, how much faith do you have?

As I was editing this I realized that another aspect of this phenomenon involves having a sense of place that includes the earth itself. Just as they automatically do things to keep their own homes in good repair, those who feel this way about the planet do the same for the natural world around them. For those who lack this kinship, it makes no sense. But for those who have it, it’s as natural as breathing.

Editing this podcast early one morning made me feel like I was caught in two realities—one artificial and one real. While I was hearing and talking about birds in the recording, I also could hear the real birds through the open windows. I’d notice a male red-breasted grosbeak fly by and for a split second wasn’t sure whether I’d actually seen him and thought this or heard one on the recording. On the other hand, if I’m losing my mind I can’t think of a more cheerful and gentler way to do it. 🙂

When I was a child, I always wanted to live in a place with a natural source of running water, some old ruins, and the distant sound of a railroad. This place fulfilled all three of those criteria years ago. But since then, we’ve added a new set of ruins. Oh, not ruins in the sense of the Pyramids or that Titanic or the strange stone structure in my basement. But ruins in their own way and worthy of note.

This podcast explores a common canine-related prejudice that pops up in general conversation and also one which sometimes occurs in conversations among behavioral professionals.

This podcast explores further evidence of what I hope is a trend toward more comprehensive thinking in science. Having played both sides of the fence—eliminating all the variables in scientific endeavors and taking them all into account in clinical practice—I admit that it’s not an easy shift to make…

Those of you more creative folks currently struggling through more “prefrontal” than creative science courses to fulfill your dreams of contributing to our understanding of normal and problematic animal behavior and/or physiology, take heart. Even though you may need to work a lot harder and possibly never achieve the high grades you desire in such an environment, you will emerge a more well-rounded thinker. And this will enable you to apply that knowledge more creatively than those lacking this duel perception. I speak as someone who only learned to appreciate this benefit after-the-fact. When I actually slogged through such

Imagine the following scenarios and pay attention to how you feel. One: You’ve just returned home famished after a difficult but productive day. Your heart is set on eating the rest of the fabulous lasagna your mom made especially for you. You make a beeline for the kitchen and the fridge. Two: You’ve arranged to meet a special friend you haven’t seen for years at a gathering. Your eyes sweep the group in an attempt to locate that person. This podcast is about researcher Jaak Panksepp’s work with emotions and specifically one he calls seeking. Never thought of seeking

This podcast is about one of those activities that we and our animals routinely engage in without giving it any thought. Even though I only describe the basic display, there are variations that I’m sure you’ll notice in yourself as well as  other human and nonhuman members of your family. What’s especially intriguing about this particular display is that, in spite of all its benefits, it ranks among those more scandalous behaviors, the public expression of which  has been stigmatized in “civilized” society. I guess that means that in addition to gaining the physical and mental benefits of doing

For comparison, below are two pictures of the same area taken 24 years apart. Granted the first was taken in August during a drought and the second in May. Nor do I think any seasoned gardener or farmer would doubt that there’s been a change in climate during that interval either. Even so, when I saw that barren slope to the right of the car in the first picture and compared it that same slope now, it was impossible not to recall my plan to cover that area with a carpet of wildflowers. Nor can I ever forget what

I could just as easily have called this podcast Letting It All Hang Out because it’s about some beliefs I’ve maintained over the years about animal behavior and the bond that turned out to be flat out wrong. At least for me.  I’m not sure what relieves me more. That I was able to give up these bum ideas? Or that admitting I got it wrong isn’t that big a deal? I like to say I did this as soon as I discovered that the belief wasn’t working. But that wasn’t the case. Granted once I let it go,

When I record and edit these podcasts, I often find myself fantasizing about what will happen in the future regarding this particular subject. When I thought about the changes being made, albeit sometimes grudgingly, in UK show rules to ensure the health of purebred dogs compared to what’s going on in the US, the following scenario popped into my head. In this fantasy, the AKC waits until the UK Kennel Club makes all the difficult choices such as eliminating physical features from show standards that may create problems for the animals and  permitting breeders to breed animals from different

Near the top of my ever growing list of advantages of getting older is how much easier it is to admit I’m wrong. For those of you who have yet to see this quality in me, this podcast should convince you. Granted I probably don’t like being wrong any more than anyone else, but in a field like behavior it happens a lot for multiple reasons. One is because, while our knowledge of training has bubbled along nicely, our knowledge of domestic animal behavior has lagged. My guess is that this results from a semantic mix-up. In this country

Some people can go on and on about wine or cheese whereas I find cat pee an fascinating subject. No kidding. I returned home after a seminar on various urinary tract conditions in cats (and a few dogs) and was so wound up with new thoughts and ideas that they kept me awake that night. As far as I’m concerned, urine is the most energy-efficient calling card an animal possesses. Because of that, it doesn’t surprise me that animals, and especially more solitary animals like cats, experience urinary tract problems when they feel physically or mentally insecure in their

This podcast reflects some thoughts about parents, kids, and animals that have been wandering around in my brain in one form or another for years. In a way, that makes sense because so many companion animals belong to folks who have kids. What intrigued me though was the usual: how changes in ourselves and our society affect our perception of the role of companion animals play or should play in our own or our children’s lives.

Fortunately, this second of the outdoor recordings lacks the worst of the snaps, crackles and pops that showed up in the first one. Perhaps the wildlife figured out what I was doing and decided to cut this poor human some slack. 🙂 Relative to animals, we humans typically have taken the “If it looks like a duck” approach to animal identification. As we’ve become ever more remote from nature, for more of us it’s become a case of if looks like how we think a duck should look, that’s reason enough to call it a duck. A good example

Because the weather was so unseasonably hot and beautiful, I decided to record this podcast outdoors. The good news is that technically the result is a good example of habituation. The not so good news is that during part of this you’ll hear the drone of a small plane heading for the airport about 35 miles north of me, a sound so familiar to me that I didn’t hear it at all when I recorded this. You also might notice more Rice Krispies effects, those audio snaps, crackles, and pops caused by shifts in position or whatever. Like the drone

It seems like all of the world’s major religions recognize something comparable to Christianity’s Golden Rule. It reminds us that we humans, like other animals, learn by modeling. If we want another person to behave in a way we find nonthreatening and even enjoyable, we need to display that same behavior first. Needless to say, that doesn’t sit well with some of us some of the time and others most of the time. After all, it takes a lot less energy to tell someone to do as we say and not as we do. Given how reluctant we may

This podcast discusses one example of a type of communication that’s becoming disturbingly common in the animal-related arena: emotional blackmail. Those with products or services to sell try to convince us that purchasing these expresses love for our animals. And if we refuse, some even may try to make us feel guilty or irresponsible. However other forms of emotional blackmail such as the one discussed in this podcast are more insidious. These folks extract seemingly reasonable promises from us when we lack the time and sometimes knowledge to properly analyze their full meaning. When this occurs we don’t even

Even though it didn’t occur to me when I recorded this, I wonder if so many politicians succumb to sexual indiscretions because, like some animals, they haven’t been able to make the transition from competitor to leader either. Makes sense to me. 🙂

If  some consider the unraveling the genome as the Holy Grail of genetics, it’s probably the discovery of genes associated with specific behaviors more so than those associated with any specific disease. Unfortunately why this is so may have more to do with imperfect human nature than any quest for knowledge.

Even though I was careful not to record the example in this podcast in such a way that it would upset the sleeping Ollie, I fear I wasn’t so aware of his feelings when I edited it later. Sad to say that unfit humanoid that I am, I thought he was downstairs sleeping with the cat in front of the woodstove when he’d actually come upstairs to the office and crept into the dog cave for a snooze. The first I became aware of his presence was shortly after I mentioned his name the first time in the recording

Studies of the canine genome remind me of the concept of unintended consequences or in more philosophical terms, the old saying that if we tug on a corner, the whole universe moves. For sure when I read about what the canine genome tells us about diseases in ourselves, I couldn’t help but look at my thankfully healthy sleeping dogs and whisper, “Thank you.”

This is one of those podcasts that I think of as belonging to my “Can of Worm” Series. I so categorized it because the more I thought about this particular subject, the more I realized that as usual this wasn’t just about science. In addition to science, it was  about ethics and also about how we feel about ourselves as individuals and what makes us and all animals unique. Even more confounding, our identities probably consist of a collection of personal wow factors that may be another’s ho-hum or even ick factors. As a result, how much ick each

I edited this podcast this podcast the day after the 2012 Super Bowl and noticed yet another negative effect of a simplistic winner-loser system. The Boston team lost so there were people in the area who were very upset this morning, probably for three reasons: they felt like losers, they probably didn’t get much sleep, and they probably ate and drank too much stuff that they probably normally wouldn’t normally eat and drink. According to medical studies, some of them even will succumb to cardiovascular problems or urinary tract infections thanks to the game. But from what I observed

In keeping with the theme of this podcast, I’d like to add that one of the reasons that our dogs and cats may be attracted to our expensive leather shoes, purses, jackets or briefcases  isn’t because they know how much we value those items and want to punish us for not paying enough attention to them. It’s because leather is especially good at retaining scent.

Young human and nonhuman animals possess less experience and, as a result, possess less data in their subconscious data bases. Or nonhuman animals do if you believe they have a subconscious mind which means believing that they also posses conscious one. Some people do, some don’t. But regardless which side of this philosophical debate we come down on, most of us do accept that youngsters of any species posses a view of reality that’s more limited than those with more experience. This explains why I’m way more leery of the teenagers who barrel down my road while using various

You can see what I consider a likely example of a laughing dog here and read an article about the increased scientific interest in ticklish animals here. As always when it comes to the subject of animal emotion, some of us are more open to the idea than others. Naturally I felt obligated see if any of my animals were ticklish. Just for scientific reasons, of course. 🙂

Dognapping baboons? If you don’t believe me, check out this  video clip. Aside from being fascinating, this is the kind of clip that makes me glad I’m an independent scholar in the realm of the human-animal bond. That way I have access to academics like bond scholar Hal Herzog who pointed me to his blog about this interspecies incident. (Read Hal Herzog’s blog for the inside scoop on this event.) But events such as these also make me relish my status as an independent scholar because it gives me the freedom to think the unthinkable, the weird or possibly

When you listen to this podcast, you’ll notice that there’s no mention of Bamboo the cat’s behavior during these intervals. This is because from the first instant that he made the connection between the woodstove, and warmth, and my clawably comfortable yoga mats, he decided that no interactive toy could compel him to budge from that location. I suspect this occurred because his idea of a good interactive toy is a rodent who dares venture into the basement through the dry stone foundation. Compared to that, even the most creative man-made toy lacks pizazz.       Because of

Even though I recognize the need for rules in order for a society to function (regardless of species) I also recognize that, like all behavior their meaning depends on their context. In spite of what we may like to believe, nothing is written in stone. This doesn’t mean that I’m one of those people who believes that rules were meant to be broken simply because they’re rules. Hardly. But I do believe that when new information makes it clear that rules that once held no longer do, then it’s time to let them go. This podcast was triggered by

Sometimes when I listen to these podcasts after I’ve recorded and edited them, it strikes me that I may have meandered a little bit more off the path than I usually do. This time, I could say that I detected an annoying clunk in the recording, the origin of which I couldn’t determine any more than I could completely eliminate it. But the truth is that in my heart I know the events described in this podcast are related. But for some reason, my head apparently didn’t get the message. I will say that one possible explanation that I

I have a love-hate relationship with New Year’s. Because I’m a morning person who doesn’t enjoy late night events during which people get louder and more inebriated and suffer from Football Fatigue Syndrome (FFS) after being inundated by it during 9 years in Ohio, few of the traditional holiday activities appeal to me. On the other hand, the fact that this is the case caused me to create a New Years tradition of my own a.k.a. a quiet day with the animals and a specifically chosen book accompanied by some personal favorite food and drink. Depending on the weather,

Right after I recorded this, I heard a linguist talking about how often we forget the source of the words we use every day. One of the  examples given was creature which comes from the same root as create and creator. Not only do we rank as creatures among other creatures relative to the animals in the world around us, we also function as creators deliberately or inadvertently changing each other as we each strive to achieve balance. An awareness of the power of those interspecies connections is yet another miracle worth contemplating and celebrating this  holiday season.

For those who never heard of parahawking (which I’ve since discovered has been demoted to a sport), here’s a trailer for a film on the subject. Frankly I much prefer the encounters that occur spontaneously. To me, there’s something extremely special about a close encounter with any wild animals in their natural environments. There’s also something about the encounters with powerful raptors that seem to have particularly potent effects. Once early in my veterinary career, a young man brought in an osprey who had been so seriously injured there was no way we could save him. But even though

My guess is that once you listen to this podcast, you’ll be able to think of other trends that occur in physical health that have parallels in behavioral health and vice versa. Whether we seek to fulfill our animals’ physical or behavioral needs, we always need to beware of the Iago Effect. Never heard of this? That’s understandable because I just made it up. 🙂 Iago was a character immortalized by Shakespeare in Othello. He was a man who wanted to be remembered, not for loving unwisely but for loving too well. Poetic as that may be, it didn’t

For those who have never read any of Edward O. Wilson’s groundbreaking books about nature and the environment, you can find them here. Although I mentioned Consilience in this podcast, Biophilia is another great one, but there are many others. Wilson is one of those people about whom I can truly and humbly say that he has undoubtedly forgotten more about this planet and the life-forms who inhabit it than I can ever hope to know. But rather than that making me want to give up, his writing always inspires me to try harder.

Just a few meandering thoughts about my favorite holiday.This year I again get to lounge about while my treasured daughter-in-law does more than the lioness’s share of the work. All I have to do is enjoy myself and return home with lots of left-overs. Miraculous in it’s own way. At most, I arrive with one dish and return home with a feast. Something else to be thankful for on this special holiday.

The other part of this subject that I’ll leave you to think about is whether animals do the same thing.  It’s seem they must. But how would it manifest, and how would we know it existed? Definitely something to ponder about while I’m cleaning house, working outdoors, or waiting in line somewhere…

The links mentioned in this podcast can be found here. The new book has working title and no cover, but here’s a picture of a group of animals, Bamboo and Ollie to be exact, engaging in some group behavior with each other and their own and each other’s images in a mirror.

Click here to hear the interview with biologist and conservationist Alan Rabinowitz that I was listening to during my early Sunday morning grocery shopping foray. For those burdened with a glacial speed dial-up connection like I am, it’s also available in transcript form. If you listen or read the entire interview, you’ll find much food for thought about the power of the human-animal bond that goes way beyond the scope of this podcast.

I thought I wouldn’t be able to get any pictures to illustrate this podcast, but a brief lull in the rain allowed me to get these. They don’t do justice to the color because of the mist. But I dared not wait because if the predicted heavy rains bring high winds, there could be little magic left to photograph.    

To set the scene, here are a few pictures of my library, the Silsby Free Public Library in Charlestown, New Hampshire. And exterior shot The original reading room View from inside the turret

Not surprisingly, one of the casualties of high-speed transmission of news has been the decreased concern about fact-checking. Perhaps this explains the trend toward “creative nonfiction” with its greater wiggle room than the stricter standards that used to apply to journalism. I’m the first to admit that blatantly false statements regarding basic animal facts that are so easy to check in this age of high-speed connections and electronic data bases strike me as particularly egregious errors. But I also realize that those who make them may feel the same way about false statements related to their particular area of

Have you ever heard of IQ tests? What about the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking? If you answered “yes” to the first and “no” to the second, don’t feel bad. As a society, we place a much higher value on IQ-test lateral (or linear) thinking than the ability to think outside the box. The question I ponder in this podcast is whether we impose a similar standard on our companion animals. And the subplot: is lateral thinking another term for compliance?

What can I say? I like sheep the best of all farm animals. There’s something about them that always makes me smile. Maybe it’s because so many people think they’re dumb and I know they’re not. Or maybe I like them for some reason that’s so abstract or possibly strange (?) that I don’t even know it myself. Whatever, because the idea of sheep in general makes me smile, the idea of sheep treating themselves for parasites makes me laugh out loud with appreciation for their highly developed body wisdom.

I seem to have birds on my mind lately, even though I referred to them twice as a species instead of a class in this podcast. I could try to fudge my way out of it saying that avian taxonomy (i.e., naming) is in a state of flux. But the truth is that for and the most part, that’s more genus and species stuff with a some bickering regarding who’s a bird and who isn’t. Or I could blame it on the little bird—seriously!—who fluttered at the window while I was recording this. But I won’t. There was just

One thing I forgot to note about the studies mentioned in this podcast: the human and canine  participants were well-trained SAR professionals. It’s possible that those poorly trained animals who belonged to equally poorly trained, naïve and well-meaning or attention-seeking folks who showed up at Ground Zero didn’t fare so well. Also, shortly after I recorded this podcast, I received a journal that probably unintentionally contained one photo and one poster that expressed the divergent views mentioned in it. The photo showed a trained SAR worker engaging with her dog at Ground Zero in a more upbeat, confidence-instilling manner.

After I finished this, I realized that my jays probably have more faith in me than I deserve. There was another incident here several years ago when the result was solely because of their own skill with no help from me whatsoever. The week before that particular event, I happened to look out my front window just as a hawk intercepted a jay, brought it to the ground, and killed it so fast there wasn’t a sound. About a week later, I was doing dishes and looking out over the valley below the house through the bay window above

When I was working on this podcast I came across a quote by former government official John W.Gardner: Life is the art of drawing without an eraser. Now I think we can add an electronic line to that: Life is the art of living without a delete key. And that goes for our relationships with animals (and the whole planet, come to think of it)  as well as other people.

I received a little more help from Ollie than usual when I was recording this podcast.  Normally when I’m recording, he trots beside me as I make the circuit around the center chimney to help me organize my thoughts. But the day I recorded this, something more exciting captured his attention. Later when I edited it, I had to listen to Ollie’s editorial comments when he heard his contribution. For those who wondered about the identity of the strange aerial sound  that set him off, it was a very small aircraft flying low in the early morning fog. Given

If you’re one of those who think (or hope) this podcast is going to be about hot animal sex, I fear you’re going to be disappointed. It’s been too hot to think about subjects like that. This podcast is about less torrid thoughts that a really hot, humid spell brings to mind. In fact, it was so hot when I recorded this that I forgot to mention another heat-related subject: the danger of having your hair cut by someone in the grips of the kind of wretched respiratory viruses this strange weather seems to attract. Let’s just say that

A fair amount has been written about all the different aspects of pet loss, but not nearly as much about what happens when our pets outlive us. Some thoughts about that are the subject of this podcast.

Living with companion animals is a lot like living with kids. Once they’re out of the puppy or kitten stage, they become so much a part of our lives and we get so used to being around that they take on a certain timeless quality. Then one day something seemingly insignificant happens to slap a timeframe around them…

The article discussed in this week’s podcast was published in the Spring 2011 edition of Yes! magazine. And as so often happens to me when I’m attuned to studies that challenge established beliefs about what animals can and cannot do, shortly after I recorded this I came across two news items about tool use in stingrays and tusk fish. It’s hard to believe that at one time people actually believed that only humans were capable of using tools. Does that make us more like animals or animals more like us? 🙂

What do you think of when you read the phrase “Putting on the dog?” Typically it’s an expression used to refer to someone who’s trying to impress others via some flashy display. Naturally I did a web search to determine the origins of the phrase and came up with multiple explanations. The most pertinent one relative to this podcast (which I admit could be completely wrong, but it’s probably no less credible than some of the others) claimed it referred to getting dressed up in one’s finest in the days of old when shoes were made of dog skin.

I’m one of those people who gets a kick out of scientific findings that raise the possibility that the old-timers who came up with those adages that make us giggle or roll our eyes may have known more than we thought. While some scientists willingly credit the old-timers with the discovery, others imply that they have discovered something nobody ever noticed… sort of like explorers “discovering” waterfalls, wild plants or animals that the local residents have known about for years. The idea of natural vaccines, i.e. those that evolved as part of the natural world, has intrigued me since

This seems like a strange topic for the middle of summer, doesn’t it? But even though the subject of this podcast might cause you to view the summer rain and those hail storms differently, my immediate response to the report that triggered my meandering took me back years ago to a report about comets. Oddly enough, shortly after I finished editing the podcast I heard a report about snow falling somewhere in Colorado. Hmmm.  Maybe I’ll see some those precipitation changes that I thought would never happen in my lifetime after all.

Sometimes we get so caught up in the bigger-is-better thinking of our society that it’s easy to forget the little things. But when those little things live in our guts and are capable of altering our behavior, maybe that’s not such a good approach to take. The article from Scientific American that precipitated these meanderings my be found here.

What do melting polar ice caps and our own and our animals meltdowns have in common?  As it turns out, even as we may argue that we’re far too stressed out with daily life to address problems in our animals let alone worry about climate change, in a way we’re all succumbing to the same basic mechanism. Aside from what this means about putting such events in perspective, it also serves as good reminder that we’re all in this together. More intriguing, it suggests that if we want to solve the larger problems, perhaps the first step is solving

Let me apologize upfront for an anthropomorphic lapse in this podcast. For some it would be bad enough that I attributed—gasp!—thought processes to a dog. To have the dog verbalize those thoughts is a lapse that must be recognized as the grievous sin it is. And so I do. BUT, and surely you knew there would be a but, the scenario I described and the outcome are legitimate. If we do communicate one message via our body language to our animals and prevent them from responding to that message the same way they would to a similar message that