Animal Radio®

Zachary Auburn is on the show to deliver an important message. He wants you to know how to talk to your cat about gun safety, abstinence, drugs, Satanism, and other dangers that threaten their nine lives. Zach believes we can make our cats - and America - great again. Also, a special music album created just for cats is being lapped up by humans too, and has topped two classical music charts on Amazon and iTunes. Despite being allergic to cats, American cellist David Teie released “Music for Cats,” featuring five instrumental compositions, after raising more than $200,000 on Kickstarter. On the album, bird chirping accompanies his cello playing, along with purring noises based on his theory, which he researched for two years, that mammals have an intuitive response to sounds present in their early development. Also, Bane and Vader are a couple of gentle, barrel-shaped bulldogs. They’re also the namesakes of a unique new business in Easton, Pennsylvania, “Bane and Vader’s Drive-Thru Restaurant,” exclusively for dogs. Pull up and order a FreshPet meal with your choice of add-ins, including fruits, vegetables, eggs, and peanut butter. You might even want to take home some doggie ice cream for dessert. Their mom, 30-year-old Amanda Brown, left her job as a pharmaceutical sales representative, but she’s back to work making what she calls Yappy Meals and Bow-Wow Bowls for motorists who want to treat the pooches to something special. Her idea came from a survey that found one in six restaurant drive-thru customers pick up something for a dog, too. While some restaurants offer special menu items for dogs, In-N-Out Burger has a special unseasoned Pup Patty served in a doggy bag, and Starbucks offers a small cup of whipped cream called a Puppuccino. Bane & Vader’s is strictly for the dogs. It has no special menu items for humans. Also, with the crowds and the lines, flying can be stressful. So, the Albuquerque, New Mexico, airport has come up with a way to calm you down when you travel. More than a dozen therapy dogs are joining the thousands of passengers at the airport. One of them is known as “Turbo,” and he loves people. He especially loves to lick guys with beards. Turbo is one of 15 certified therapy dogs and K-9 ambassadors now giving peace to stressed-out travelers. Thanks to the 70 volunteers who handle the dogs, the program will soon expand the number of therapy dogs.

Chef Kevyn Matthews, also known as the Dog Chef (Dogs 101/DOG-TV) is doing a booming business cooking for dogs in the Northeast. He prepares nutritious meals focused on healing specific ailments. He’ll debate the pros and cons of a raw diet with Dr. Debbie. Also, Postdoctoral Scholar Dr. Sarrah Dunham-Cheatham randomly sampled 100 pet foods. 16 of those samples had mercury concentrations that were well above the maximum tolerable limit. That’s not the only thing she found. Also, hot on the heels of fatal grooming incidents at Petsmart and Petco, legislators are fast-tracking groomer certification for the unregulated business. Animal Radio’s very own groomer, Joey Villani, is helping to push this legislation through. He’ll explain what is currently happening in New Jersey and how that will become a model for the nation. Also, everyone knows puppies are cute, but did you know that people find them at their cutest at eight weeks old? Experts at Arizona State University’s canine-science laboratory now say they have discovered that Peak Puppy Cuteness serves important purposes and might even play a fundamental role in the bonding between a puppy and its adoptive owner. Also, one of Tesla’s new car features includes a computer program that stops the car’s interior from exceeding a certain temperature. A future update may include a special ‘Dog Mode’ that displays a message warning passers-by not to panic if they see a pet inside a parked vehicle. That future update could also include a display of the current interior temperature, so well-meaning strangers don’t break the car’s window to rescue your pup. The temperature-regulating feature is called Cabin Overheat.

Brooke Martin is only 14, but she sounds more intelligent than many adults. She is also the inventor of a device that allows you to have visual contact between you and your dog using a tablet or mobile phone. It also dispenses treats. Brooke believes this is an answer to separation anxiety. Also, imagine a 6-inch worm coming out of your pet’s skin. Sounds like something out of the latest horror movie. Unfortunately, it’s a real new worm that poses a threat to your pets. Parasitologist Araceli Lucio-Forster explains this new discovery. Also, what the heck is a Beastmaster? Jack Shepard is a self-proclaimed Beastmaster at the Buzzfeed website. He gets paid to surf “animal-related” fodder and make it go viral on the incredibly popular website. Also, amputee Jennifer Robinson worked at a prosthetic manufacturer. Now she’s showing off how artificial limbs are being used on dogs, cats, birds, and even sea life. She’s a part of a PBS show called My Bionic Pet. Also, only in China would a dog be sold to a 56-year-old property developer for a cool 2 mil. This isn’t even the first time. The 200 lb. Tibetan Mastiff is treasured like the Panda in China. Some say it was all hype and that cash never actually changed hands.

A new trend is the unfortunate and fraudulent use of “Service Dog” credentials for owners wanting to bring their dogs into restaurants, airlines, and hotels. Pawtopia’s Colleen Demling explains the problem and why the disabled suffer. Also, did you know that Aspirin can be toxic to your pet? Dr. Debbie dispels the myths about pain relief for your pet. Also, besides a flourishing acting career, Josh Duhamel spends a lot of time speaking for the animals. He has a web series and he’s back to talk about it…and to flirt with the ladies. Also, don’t be surprised if the next time your cat gets an injection, it’s in the tail. Recent concerns have come up over treating rare but potentially deadly injection site sarcomas. Some vets then shifted the site to the hind legs, since an amputation, if necessary, would be easier and more successful. Also, Octogenarian and Landlord Judy Guth only allows tenants with pets in her apartment complex. Is this discrimination? Judy doesn’t care. And if one of her tenants loses their pet, she’ll even take them out to dinner and then to the shelter to find another roommate. Also, the American Pet Products Association reports we’re shelling out nearly 60-Billion+ bucks a year on our animals. Research shows empty-nesters are now spending more on their four-legged children.

Adi Pinhas is using facial recognition technology in his new iPhone app. You’ll upload a picture of the pet you want, and it’ll tell you all the adoptable animals that look like the original picture. The Verge Magazine uploaded a picture of Lady Gaga and got back an adoptable hamster. Also, new research says kids learn better when their classroom has a pet. Even truancy is down. We all remember the class pet. And if you were lucky, the teacher let you take the guinea pigs home for the summer. Brent Weinmann of the Pet Care Trust is making sure all kids get an opportunity to have pets in their classroom. Also, researchers may have literally stumbled on a way to treat the usually fatal Parvo virus. It happened when a pharmaceutical was looking for a way to save flocks of geese that were mysteriously dying. They discovered an antibody that’s harvested from the yokes of goose eggs that can stop the Parvo virus in as little as two days. Also, Kitty Martin loves her calf so much that she’s put more than $40,000 into rescuing the steer after its back legs were amputated because of frostbite. She’s the Hero Person this week with a great story to tell about the human-bovine connection. Also, if you have a cat or dog, chances are they sleep with you in bed. But new research says that sharing your bed with your pet can lead to bad sleep quality. Recently, at the annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, data was presented that showed at least 30% of pet owners say their pets wake them up at least once per night.