The Petcast

Steve Friess on KNPR on 8/22/11 discussing the mass layoffs at the R-J on 8/18/11.

What is the only Nevada lake to empty into the sea? Know it? E-mail TheStripPodcast [at] aol.com or call 702-997-3300 by June 29.  If we draw your correct answer, you pick from the prize list at TheStripPodcast.Com.Twitter: @TheStripPodcastBlog: VegasHappensHere.ComVoicemail: 702-997-3300Open & Banter: Start to 24ishKen Ehrlich Part I: 24-58ishTrivia/Poll/Letters: 59-59ishKen Ehrlich Part II: 1:00-1:25ishTSTToTW: 1:25-endThis week on The Strip: It was by far the most hyped – and to our minds the best – new show to hit the Vegas Strip this year. Celine Dion has returned to the Colosseum at Caesars Palace in a self-titled production that is radically different and vastly better than “…A New Day,” her groundbreaking first run in the vaunted showroom. Legendary TV producer Ken Ehrlich directed “Celine,” so we spoke to him at length about the intriguing decisions he, the singer and her husband made. Why didn’t they include the closing-number special effects when they opened in March? Was it weird to rehearse Celine’s duet with herself? What’s the story behind that French song that makes her cry every night? Why wasn’t the songstress at the United Center when Ehrlich produced two star-studded final-week shows for Oprah Winfrey last month? In Banter: Anniversaries! Wynn Politics! TV Show Tapings! Maloofs! Monorail Bashing! and more.

Every day when I walk Black, Jack and Aces, this bird comes out of the tree next door and swoops down to frighten my dogs. Birdy Bin Laden never actually pecks the dogs, but he does follow us for about a block on our walks. I have no idea why. They have nothing to do with American foreign policy regarding Israel. Heck, they're (I think legal) Mexicans. They're innocent. Visit the podcasts TheStripPodcast.Com or ThePetcast.com or read the blog VegasHappensHere.Com.

Web: ThePetcast.ComEmail: ThePetcast@yahoo.comVoicemail: 702-997-3300After all these years of considering it, Steve adds a new member of his family. Hear the exciting story of how he and Miles came to rescue this 8-pound Chihuahua they've named Aces. The original Petcaster, Emily, joins Steve for this discussion, which includes some questions and answers and plenty of discussion of how Black and Jack, the original Smith-Friesses, are faring.Plus, Emily suggested we get Aces a Puppia harness and Steve reminds listeners to buy "Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat" by Hal Herzog in advance of the next interview with Herzog coming in January.

Web: ThePetcast.ComEmail: ThePetcast@yahoo.comPhone: 702-997-3300No. 282: The Author of 2010’s Most Fascinating Book On PetsThe way we navigate our relationships with our pets and other animals has fascinated researchers for centuries. Why is one species a member of our family and another our dinner? Western Carolina University psychology professor Hal Herzog sought to answer these age-old questions in an absolutely brilliant and extremely readable new book, “Some we Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat: Why It’s So Hard To Think Straight About Animals.”Plus, Steve’s life partner Miles makes his Petcast debut as the guest host and we get new insight into Steve’s pet home life. Also, should Michael Vick get a puppy and is it news that Barack Obama picks up after Bo?

Web: ThePetcast.ComEmail: ThePetcast@yahoo.comPhone: 702-997-3300Very often, being pet-friendly doesn’t mean being eco-friendly. But that doesn’t have to be the case. Four years ago, Barbara Savidge and Gina Quiroga formed Olive Green Goods For Modern Dogs, a company devoted to creating natural and organic products for use by animals. They’ve got 10 products so far including cookies, blankets and poop bags made from natural materials. Barbara Savidge is on the line to talk about the company and various ways people can save the earth and be good to their pets.Plus, guest host Cindi Moon Reed discusses at length her amazing long-form cover piece for Vegas Seven magazine about Bobby Berosini, who became synonymous fairly or not with animal abuse in entertainment. The case also powered the national reputation of a relatively new animal-rights group called PETA.

Email: ThePetcast@yahoo.comPhone: 702-997-3300Site: ThePetcast.Com A few weeks ago, the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported that Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control was reopening its late-night dropoff for unwanted or lost pets. It had been closed for two months because of a disease outbreak, but we were trying to understand how the whole late-night dropoff thing worked to begin with. Joining us today to explain and discuss her line of work is Dianne Sauve, director of Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control. Plus, thanks to Vegas Seven editor and writer Cindi Moon Reed for co-hosting.  Cindi talks about her experiences doing Doga, or dog Yoga, and the Petcasters chat about a case of an old woman whose dog was returned thanks to a micro chip. See iTunes or ThePetcast.Com for the re-issue of show No. 72, about doga!

Reissue from 4/2007 Yoga instructor Brenda Bryan of Bellevue, Washington, explains her doggie yoga class, created for the Seattle Humane Society to encourage people to do stuff with their animals. Plus, Emily tells all about her and Archie's eventful recent three-day dog agility trial competition. Later, Emily explains how she and Archie once one a -- get this! -- dog dancing contest!Email: ThePetcast@yahoo.comPhone: 702-997-3300Site: ThePetcast.Com

Web: www.thepetcast.com E-mail: thepetcast@yahoo.com Voicemail: 702-997-3300 [See links to stories discussed on this show via ThePetcast.Com] Earlier this month, Missouri voters narrowly approved Prop B, a measure that puts some significant new restrictions on dog breeders in a state that has long been a puppy mill capital of the United States. It wasn’t a landslide, but it did make it through and that’s largely because of years of work by attorney Barbara Schmitz, the Missouri director of the Humane Society of the United States. She served as campaign director for Prop B, but she also helped convince voters to bar cockfighting 12 years ago.  The cause even made it onto The Daily Show. Plus, the Petcasters mull the American who stole 299 stuffed birds from a London museum, a Reno, Nev., case of animal hoarding and a claim that bird-feeding is the second most popular hobby in America.

Web: www.thepetcast.comE-mail: thepetcast@yahoo.comVoicemail: 702-997-3300Mary O’Connor-Shaver, a businesswoman from Lima, Ohio, has made it her mission to end the wholesale auctioning of dogs bred in puppy mills in her state. She joins Steve and guest host Amy Turner to discuss her efforts to get this matter more public attention and before the voters of the Buckeye State.The Petcasters discuss a new study explaining why it is that cats drink more neatly than dogs, Las Vegas Weekly piece about casino mogul Steve Wynn’s new vegan zealotry and Shanghai’s new one-dog policy.(See links to these stories via ThePetcast.Com)

Web: www.thepetcast.comE-mail: thepetcast@yahoo.comVoicemail: 702-997-3300We take it for granted these days that dogs, cats, birds and other animals make wonderful pets. But how did it come to be that way? How did earlier humans figure out that these creatures could be loving and loyal, good company and partners in various activities? Anthropologist Barbara J. King explains in her latest book, Being With Animals: Why We Are Obsessed With the Furry, Scaly, Feathered Creatures Who Populate Our World.  King is chancellor professor of anthropology at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. King writes the Friday Animal Blog, too.Plus, the Petcasters chat about the Missouri ballot measure regarding breeding, India urges against owls as pets, Palm Beach County has a nighttime pet drop-off and farm owners worry about the decline in vets who work on large animals.

ORIGINALLY POSTED ON APRIL 30, 2009 When it comes to owls, today’s in the one whooo knows. She is Karla Kinstler, director of the Houston Nature Center in Houston, Minn, where she oversees the Owl Hall of Fame and the International Festival of Owls. She also authors a blog with Alice, a great horned owl, who is a full time resident at the nature center. Plus, Steve discovers -- and is repelled by -- Cesar Milan but is intrigued by Dogtown. Web: ThePetcast.com Email: ThePetcast@yahoo.com

It’s not something many pet owners think much about, but if their animal ever needs surgery, they’re going to need blood transfusions. And where does that blood come from? Other pets. Dr. Beth Davidow, who oversees the Animal Critical Care Emergency Services Blood Bank in Seattle, explains how an animal blood bank works.Plus, it was National Pit Bull Awareness Day, guest host Jen Prosser is scared of spiders, Reno is home to the world’s longest cat and Missouri voters may change the law regarding dog breeders.Web: www.thepetcast.comE-mail: thepetcast@yahoo.comVoicemail: 702-997-3300

The loss of a pet can, of course, be a very traumatic experience. In 1989, the college of veterinary medicine at the University of California at Davis came up with a novel idea to help people cope, a pet-loss hotline. Cornell University’s vet school copied that model, and we have two guests here to discuss how it works, Dr. Margaret McEntee, the faculty adviser, and fourth-year vet student Ingrid Rhinehart.Plus, as it happens, guest host Jennifer Prosser and her husband lost their 19-year-old cat since our last recording.http://www.vet.cornell.edu/org/petloss/Web: www.thepetcast.comE-mail: thepetcast@yahoo.comVoicemail: 702-997-3300

Five years ago, Americans watched with heartache and horror as thousands of companion animals were abandoned in a drowning city. Karen O'Toole was moved to do more. In her beautifully moving account, Orphans of Katrina: Inside The World’s Biggest Animal Rescue, O'Toole recounts her experiences of rescue and frustration, disillusionment and redemption in the Gulf regionPlus, Emily – remember her? – calls in to provide the update on Archie’s  recent health dramas. Amid all that, there’s a new Consumer Reports study about pet insurance. Our guest host for this episode is Jen Prosser.Web: www.thepetcast.comE-mail: thepetcast@yahoo.comVoicemail: 702-997-3300

More and more these days, pet owners are trying to figure out how to keep things natural for their pets. Scares related to tainted pet food and toys have prompted many to see out more holistic products and ideas, and that’s where our guest comes in. Stacey Turis is the co-owner of a website called PawsforPeace.Com, which provides advise and ideas for folks looking for holistic health information for their animals. They’ve also recently come out with an iPhone app Plus, guest host Jen Prosser talks all about her turtles and cat life. Desert night lizards have mates and families.   Web: www.thepetcast.com E-mail: thepetcast@yahoo.com Voicemail: 702-997-3300  

Website: www.thepetcast.com Email: thepetcast@yahoo.com Voicemail for pet questions, comments: 702-997-3300   Dr. Nicholas Dodman writes pet-related columns for the AKC Family Dog, Life Magazine and Martha Stewart’s Body and Soul and has written seven books including “The Dog Who Cried Too Much” and “The Cat Who Cried For Help.” His latest book, “Good Old Dog,” comes out in November, and it deals with the important issues that face people as their dogs grow old. In this interview, Dodman tells the Petcasters about new medicine and    Plus, guest host Amy Turner and Steve banter about the annual pet blessings around St. Francis of Assisi Day and, in Boston, the fire trucks now have oxygen masks for imperiled pets. Also, the U.S. Navy is bombing Guam with frozen mice stuffed with Tylenol to poison brown tree snakes. Really.  

Web: ThePetcast.com E-mail: ThePetcast@yahoo.com Twitter: @ThePetcast   REISSUE FROM DEC. 2008; DR. DODMAN WILL APPEAR ON SHOW NO. 272, WHICH WILL BE ISSUED ON MONDAY, OCT. 11.   Vet and author Dr. Nicholas Dodman of Tufts School of Veterinary Medicine joins us to discuss his book, “If Only They Could Speak,” which the Wall Street Journal recently named as one of the best pet books of all time. Dr. Dodman and answered questions about the overmedication for animals, how to identify a pet with a form of Alzheimer’s and whether there’s a second-hand smoke risk for animals. Also, poinsettia plants may not be toxic. Plus, the Petcasters mull holiday-season concerns about pets and told stories of pets eating wild.

Animal welfare organizations are financially stressed enough, and every little bit helps. That’s where organizations like Linens for Animals steps in. Since 2006, Lori Birdsong and her husband have been collecting and donating more than 2 million pounds in blankets and other linens to shelters, rescue organizations and pet owners who have adopted abandoned animals. It’s another innovative way to help out.Plus, guest host Amy updates us on her pet life – including teaching Lola tricks that you can see on YouTube. Also, convicted animal killer Michael Vick is back at the helm for the Eagles and President Obama’s new Chief of Staff is a crazy cat guy.Web: www.thepetcast.comE-mail: thepetcast@yahoo.comVoicemail: 702-997-3300

From Aug. 28-Sept. 1, Emily, Archie and Steve drove 2,100 miles from Nevada to Michigan to deliver Emily and Archie to Ann Arbor for a prestigious eight-month academic fellowship in journalism at the University of Michigan. It was a wonderful trip, full of cool sights and lots of interesting pet experiences. (We didn't even mention the dog park we found in Salt Lake City!) Archie had a traumatic health week prior to the trip, so there was much nervousness. It was all amazing. Hear us recap it en route to the airport as Steve returned to Las Vegas on Sept 1. Also, keep watch on Steve's blog, VegasHappensHere.Com, for links to the Flickr set of photos. Web: ThePetcast.Com Email: ThePetcast@yahoo.com