On the TV series "Kitchen Nightmares," Gordon Ramsay infamously (and frequently) describes the restaurant meals he's presented with as resembling a "dog's dinner." Apparently Gordon hasn't seen the lavish meals that dogs today are fed. Julia and Anya go back in time to look at the history of dog food, what we feed our dogs today, and who determines what goes into a nutritious dog's dinner.
If your new year's resolution is to devote yourself to your feline companion, we have just the story for you: Cat Cults. Yep, you read that right. Today, we're talking about a cult of human beings who worship cats and one cult leader, in particular, who wreaked havoc on her followers. MeWOW, indeed!
The Grinch is one of the most famous characters in Christmas history, but often forgotten is his beloved sidekick Max. In this episode Julia and Anya discover the origins of Max, ponder if the Grinch ever deserved Max's love, and pitch a new spinoff where Max is the star.
What happens when a dog bites another dog? Or when a dog attacks a human? To find out, Julia and Anya look at some recent news stories about dog attacks. What do they learn? That dog attacks can be more complicated to prevent and remedy than they thought.
We're thrilled to share our conversation with Benjamin Clark, curator at the Charles M. Schulz Museum. While all of the Peanuts characters are amazing, we naturally focused the discussion on the King of Cool, Snoopy. Join us on a journey through Snoopy's origins, his sometimes tempestuous relationship with Charlie Brown, his insatiable appetite, and how he became a global icon. Happy Thanksgiving!
We assumed that connecting with spirits would be scary, be they human or animal. Turns out, it's not scary at all! Today's guest is Sue Pike, The Animal Talker. Sue is an Animal Communicator, Reiki Master, Spirit Channeler and Spiritual Teacher. Sue is uniquely capable of communicating with living and transitioned animals, not to mention the variety of spirits and deities that surround them. She shared with us her experiences receiving and sending messages with different critters, as well as advice that anyone can follow to better communicate with their pets.
We're revisiting the animated and live action 101 Dalmatians movies to see how they hold up today. (As Anya points out, Julia's favorite animal movie should have included a PSA about doggy family planning.)
The recent nation-wide impact of the Canadian wildfires on the U.S. has been nothing short of scary. Cities filled with orange smoke and air quality levels at terrifying highs have forced the conversation about why wildfires start and how to manage them in areas where people never expected to have to deal with them. Part of those discussions in the news media and on social has been about the effect of wildfires on animals, from household pets to wildlife across the U.S. Julia and Anya discuss what happens to animals during wildfires and what can be done to help them.
Last month, King Charles's coronation took over the internet, and while we aren't exactly "royal watchers," we couldn't help but follow along. King Charles is said to be many things but is he an animal lover? We dive into a short history on the British royal family and their relationship to animals -- corgis, eel pie, and all. In the end, we have to agree that the Balmoral Bats have it better than most of us. As the musician Lorde once put it, "we'll never be royal" -- even compared with the castle critters.
Giddyup, Julia and Anya are taking on the Kentucky Derby. They go back in time to find out where the Derby came from, why it's so short, and why there's so much pastel in attendance. Later, they explore the lifecycle of racehorses and call attention to racing's seemingly unstoppable villain horse trainer, all while asking the question, "Is this still ethical?" (Pastel hats being the first crime against humanity.)
Riding on their high from a Sunday matinee of the horror comedy movie Cocaine Bear, Anya and Julia discuss the film and its bizarre (and limited) real-life backstory. Enjoy!
In celebration of true love, Julia and Anya take to the mics to discuss the latest hot topic of the heart: do animals fall in love? Well, duh! They talk about the science behind love in animals and come to the conclusion, through their own scientific research, that the answer is a resounding yes. Then, they roll through some of their favorite animal couples, and later their romantic Valentine's Day plans with Smudge and Ruthie <3
Forget the Super Bowl, we’re getting ready for THE PUPPY BOWL! That’s right, Animal Planet's Puppy Bowl is coming back for its 19th year of canine competition. Our favorite sports event will feature rescue puppies playing their version of football on Super Bowl Sunday. 122 puppies from 67 different shelters and rescues will be divided between Team Ruff and Team Fluff. And among those rescue puppies, 11 are special needs dogs who are ready to show off their athletic prowess too. Join us as we sit down with Dan Schachner, the official referee of the Puppy Bowl – yes, that is the greatest job of all-time. And catch the three-hour Puppy Bowl 2023 show on February 12 on Animal Planet and discovery+.
It should come as no surprise that at Furfluencers HQ, loving dogs and comedy are essential qualities in the humans that we spend time with. Fortunately, we're not alone, and it turns out that there's an actual organization dedicated to bringing these wonderful things together. MUST LOVE DOGS AND COMEDY produces comedy shows that people can bring their dogs to while also raising money for animal rescues. Founded in 2022 by Jolie Dudley and Nicolas Polanco, the shows blend laughs, barks and everything in between with storytelling from underrepresented creatives. Join us as we chat with Julie and Nicolas in person at one of their favorite performance venues, Boris and Horton in NYC.
Happy Holidays! Anya and Julia sit down together to talk all things reindeer and Rudolph. Anya makes a shocking discovery that calls into question who is really pulling Santa's sleigh.
While reindeer are the beloved hooved animal of Christmas in the U.S., Julia always associates this holiday, and its medieval carols, with unicorns. Inspired by December trips to see the famous unicorn tapestries at the Met Cloisters in NYC, she invited Scottish historian Donna Heddle to this week’s show to discuss the history of unicorns. They talk about why unicorns have survived while other mythical beasts vanished in folklore, and how Scotland came to be the home of the unicorn. Later, Anya explains why unicorns were banned from her childhood to prevent her from practicing sorcery.
If you’re ever walking with your dog down the streets of NYC, you might be lucky enough to have Elias Friedman stop and ask you “Excuse me … can I take a picture of your dog?” In today’s episode, we chat with Elias and Isabel from The Dogist, and how a simple request to take a picture of a stranger’s dog has turned into one of the most popular dog accounts on the internet.
Happy Thanksgiving! We have a special episode celebrating family – both two-legged and four – with Julia’s cousin Kerri and her delightful pup Lucy. The pair met when Lucy was brought to the animal hospital where Kerri worked as a vet tech. In critical condition, with 2nd and 3rd degree burns, Lucy was not expected to survive. But she did and immediately captured the hearts of her caretakers, as well as Facebook groups and news organizations who were touched by Lucy’s ability to survive such a terrible experience and still love the humans around her. Kerri and her sister brought Lucy home as a foster, beginning one of many what Kerri cheerfully calls her “foster fails.” Join us as we celebrate long laughs with family and reflect on what dogs can teach us about forgiveness and compassion.
Happy Halloween! We’re celebrating with a very unusual critter today. While most of our featured animals are highly visible, this one is rather elusive: Scotland’s Loch Ness Monster, affectionately known as Nessie! Our guest, Gary Campbell is the keeper of the official Loch Ness Monster Sightings Register, a catalog of all known Nessie sightings. In our chat, Gary opens the floodgates on Nessie’s backstory, her (?) potential gender fluidity, and why Scotland is such a unique place for oral folklore and unusual creatures. This one certainly hit our October desire for spooky stories and we hope you love it too! *The wifi between NYC and Scotland was bumpy at times and thank you for bearing with us through some of the audio snags that we hit!
Things are getting batty at Fur HQ today! As part of our Halloween-inspired series, we welcome Leslie Sturges, the president of the Bat Conversation and Rescue of Virginia. Leslie has devoted her life to wildlife, and over the past 20 years, she has cared for more than 1,000 bats. Her organization educates kids and adults alike on how to help wild bats that are injured or lost from their colonies, and she also raises awareness for why bats are amazing and how we can better protect them. We talk about what bats say to each other when they’re cranky, Batman as an ambassador for the species, and why bats seem to straddle the line between the real and the mythical – and spooky! For more information on Virginia Bats and how to support them, check out https://www.virginiabats.org/about/