 #850C: Lynn Hightower, the author of the thriller “A Beautiful Risk” — which is also a book about loss and grief — talks about how this book morphed into her column on grief for Psychology Today. [She generously bought copies of her book for the doggy swag bags for the filmmakers coming to the NYC premiere of the 8th Annual NY Dog Film Festival.] 

A Dog-Centered Thriller for the Dog Film Festival Filmmakers

 #850B: Francesco Marciuliano has written “Oh. It’s You. Love Poems by Cats,” another hilarious collection of poems inspired by (and theoretically penned by) his own cultured kitties. He is giving a copy as a gift to everyone who buys tickets for the Meow Party, as well as to the filmmakers coming to the 6th Annual NY Cat Film Festival premiere. 

Love Poems by Cats [Snarky, just as you’d expect]

 #850A: Cate Conte is back with another cozy kitty-infused mystery, this time with ghosts, a psychic, and deaths in a haunted house on Halloween. 

“Nine Lives and Alibis”

#849A: Director Kim Best won the first-ever Visionary Award in 2022 for having had a film (and sometimes two!) in every NY Cat Film Festival since the first year. She talks about yet again having two of her films selected for this year’s 6th Annual Festival —  “Insomnia” and “Seen at Last” — and what inspires her.

Award-Winning Filmmaker Back in the NY Cat Film Festival

#849B: Brian Patrick Duggan talks about his innovative new book, “Horror Dogs: Man’s Best Friend as Movie Monster,” and the years of research and passion that went into unearthing all the movies ever made in which dogs are depicted as you’ve never thought of them before: as “man’s scariest” friend.

Dogs As Movie Monsters

#849C: Kathleen Donnelly talks about her second book in the National Forest K-9 series and how her own experience with search dogs makes the human-canine bond so realistic (and the danger so scarier!)

The Dog is the Hero of "Hunting the Truth"

#848C: Rick DuCharme talks about the Community Cat Clinic he opened in Georgia — with more to come — that offers accessible services and fees to cat owners and community cat protectors who previously did not have affordable or geographically accessible care.

Community Cat Clinics to Serve All Cats and Their People

#848A: Hersch Wilson discusses the special ways that living alongside dogs can expand our view of the universe in his book “Dog Lessons: Learning the Important Stuff from Our Best Friends.” 

What Dogs Can Teach Us About Life

#848B: Dog trainer Annie Phenix (author of “Positive Training for Aggressive and Reactive Dogs”) discusses the apparent ignorance of President and Jill Biden about what is acceptable canine behavior — since they now have a second German Shepherd that is repeatedly biting Secret Service members and other staff at the White House.  

Why Do the Bidens Keep Getting — and Keeping — Dogs that Bite People?

#847B: Dr. Doug Mader — Tracie’s co-host on their podcast Exotic Pets — discusses the value of routine annual exams at the veterinarian whether for dogs, cats or snakes!

Does Your Snake Need an Annual Check-up?

#847C: Spencer Williams — the owner of the dog toy company West Paw — talks about the safety element to their toys being made of non-toxic, recyclable FDA approved material, and Tracie congratulates him for celebrating their 10th anniversary as a “B corp.”

Think Twice About the Toys in Your Dog’s Mouth

#847A: Pilley Bianchi talks about her book describing growing up alongside Chaser — probably the most famous dog in modern times, the Border Collie her father taught more than 1,000 words.

“For the Love of Dog”

#846A: Ross Scarbro from Wondercide discusses the products they have created with natural “plant power” to repel and kill fleas and ticks without exposing your pets to toxic chemicals.

Are You Poisoning Your Dog to Kill Ticks?

#846C: Robin Joy Meyers talks about how she and her husband developed a brand new kind of fabric that captures pet hair and dirt - while being elegant and luxurious to the touch — and how they made it into Magic Fabric throws to protect furniture and beds from snuggling dogs and cats.

Magic Fabric Solves Pet Hair Shedding

#846B: Dr Craig Clifford, who previously spoke about the Take C.H.A.R.G.E Registry, returns to consider whether food, environment, genetics or something else can be blamed for the ever-higher incidence of cancer in dogs.

What Causes Canine Cancer?

#845C: Dr. Angie Johnston — Director of Boston College Canine Cognition Center & Social Learning Lab — returns to talk about how they are studying learning from watching how kids and dogs learn differently. And it may be that dogs are actually smarter than children at some things!

Are Dogs Smarter Than Kids?

#845A: Tracie is so happy to catch up with Dr. Clive Wynn, who she interviewed years ago as author of “Dog is Love,” and who is the director of the Canine Science Collaboratory at Arizona State University, who is happy to have many other “canine scientists'  following in his footsteps.

The Original “Dog is Love” Canine Philosopher

#845B: Stephanie Volo, who is the Chief Impact Officer for Earth Animal, talks about how the toy company West Paw (one of the first pet businesses to be a B Corp) created the “Funnl” to hold Earth Animal’s unique No Hide dog chew — “a partnership for good,” as she describes it, “for the betterment of animals, people & the planet.”

West Paw & Earth Animal — a “Partnership for Good”

#844A: Tracie was surprised to learn that yet another prestigious college has dog studies — the Yale Center Canine Cognition Lab. She talks to Dr. Zachary Silver, who got his degree and is leaving to start a dog studies program at Occidental College, where he will be a professor, finding the study of co-evolution with dogs and awareness of their social cognition endlessly fascinating.

Dogs in the Ivy League?

#844C: LeeAnn Wagner from the Suitical company — which originated in the Netherlands —  talks about the unique products that cover a dog or cat’s body for healing from wounds or surgeries instead of the dreaded “cone of shame” disliked by pets and owners alike. 

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