Furball Confidential

Kwane Stewart has loved and been surrounded by animals his whole life and knew he wanted to care for them from a young age. But working as a vet at a shelter during the recession - and having to decide which animals lived and which were euthanized - almost made him walk away from the profession altogether. Dr. Kwane shares the life-changing encounter with an unhoused man and his dog that inspired him to create the non-profit Project Street Vet - and ultimately saved his career as a vet. He explains why “some of the most remarkable pet parents [he’s] ever met are in the streets.” And he opens up about his own love of animals - from his childhood cat who helped him cope with being bullied, to the 10-foot python he had in college, to Kora, the German Shepherd he adopted from the shelter he used to work. As a bonus, Dr. Kwane also provides the very serious, very medically scientific reasons why giving your poochie woochie smooches and snuggle wuggles makes you feel better. If you’re in the mood to support a pet-related cause, you can find Project Street Vet here.And if you are hankering for more about Dr. Kwane, his website is here, where you can find his book, What It Takes to Save a Life Dr. Kwane is also the Chief Veterinary Officer at Kismet. Every time you buy their pet food, they make a donation to Project Street Vet too.Follow Dr. Kwane:On Instagram here and here ***Furball Confidential is created and hosted by Jen MorozTalia Schlanger is our producerShe also co-created our theme music with David Travers-Smith, with Brian Kobayakawa on bassReza Dahya does the video and sound design and editing Dani Stover does our social mediaOur show artwork is by Adrian ForrowMarina Hanna does our audience development Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bonus Episode

Dear Clutch ...

To a lot of people, Anna Maria Tremonti is known as a hardnose journalist unafraid to ask the tough questions. A former foreign correspondent for CBC News and longtime host of The Current on CBC Radio, Henry Kissinger famously once hung up on her because he didn’t like the question she asked. But to see another side of Anna Maria, look no further than “her puppy” Zuzu - her now 4-year-old golden retriever who happens to have Anna Maria wrapped around her little paw. “I have a whole little language for Zuzu,” Anna Maria says. “I say all sorts of crazy little things to her, which make no sense.” We get a beautiful window into Zuzu’s world with Anna Maria in this episode - broken rules, stolen items, manipulation, special little languages and all. Listen to the end to hear why this episode is a particularly fitting one to cap off Furball Confidential’s first season.You can listen to Welcome to Paradise, Anna Maria’s poignant memoir of intimate partner violence mentioned in the conversation, here.  And you can follow what she is up to on Instagram or check out her website at annamariatremonti.com***Furball Confidential is created and hosted by Jen MorozTalia Schlanger is our producerTalia also co-created our theme music with David Travers-Smith, with Brian Kobayakawa on bassReza Dahya does the video and sound design and editing Dani Stover does our social mediaOur show artwork is by Adrian ForrowMarina Hanna does our audience developmentFollow us on Instagram or drop us an email and let us know what you think of the show at [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As a writer, how do you know when the work day is done? For Dean Koontz, it’s when a golden retriever throws your hand off the keyboard at exactly 5pm. A self-described “workaholic” who has written more than 100 books, Dean says adopting his first dog Trixie transformed his schedule and his life. Dean opens up about Trixie’s mystical side, what it’s like to care for a “perfect soul” and the jealous rage he felt when her debut book (co-written with Dean) outsold his own first novel. And he talks about coping with the immense grief of losing Trixie and how he and his wife Gerda knew they were ready to love another dog.Dean and Gerda adopted all three of their golden retrievers through Canine Companions for Independence, which trains service dogs for adults, children and veterans with disabilities at no cost to the client. When a dog has a “career change” (ie. doesn’t make it through training or can’t work as a service dog for whatever reason), it goes up for adoption to the general public. Or, say, to a world famous author who’s about to get a whole lot more exercise walking.You can keep up with Dean and Elsa on Instagram here and on Facebook hereAnd you can find all his books on his website here***Furball Confidential is created and hosted by Jen MorozTalia Schlanger is our producerTalia also co-created our theme  music with David Travers-Smith, with Brian Kobayakawa on bassReza Dahya does the video and sound design and editing Dani Stover does our social mediaOur show artwork is by Adrian Forrow Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.