Have you ever been around a dog who doesn’t “dog” like other dogs? 

Sharon Vincuilla and I explore how dogs (and people!) can experience the world differently and how neurodiversity shows up in a dog’s behavior.  And Sharon has experienced this first-hand with her dog, Muggins!

Seemingly ordinary life events like walking the dog or having a friend stop by her house would turn into stressful ordeals with Muggins.  Sharon shares with us the strategies she developed that allow both her and Muggins to thrive. 

Panita Senjit grew up in India where she learned to be terrified of dogs.  So you might be wondering how she’s become the award-winning author of a children’s book series based on her therapy dog, Lil’ Leo.  And the answer is: her son really wanted a dog. 

When living in Austin, Texas, Panita was introduced to Therapy Dog work and realized their family dog, Leo had the perfect temperament for being a therapy dog.  Panita was quickly drawn to the impact of therapy dog work with children.

During COVID-19, Parnita was inspired to write children’s books based on Leo’s adventures.  With 3 books currently published, Parnita shares with us why she’s so focused on having the books translated into many different languages – to spread a message of kindness globally.

Has your life been impacted by the loss of a pet?  Erica Messer and her husband adopted Wolfgang, a sickly kitten found in a barn during the height of COVID quarantine in 2020.  But when a tragic accident ended Wolfie’s life the following year, it completely changed the direction of Erica’s life.

I’m so grateful to Erica for sharing her grief journey with us and the coping skills and tools she learned along the way.  Erica also holds space for me as I share about the unexpected loss of Penny in January 2023.

What do burnout, self-care and boundaries have to do with rescue? Everything! In Part 2, we’ll learn the emotional toll that rescue has taken on our Roundtable participants.  This conversation gets incredibly vulnerable and I commend the courage that it took to share this with the world.

Our Rescue Roundtable also explores ideas for creating a more sustainable organization and what they would differently in the future.

Dogs, drama and death threats…oh my!

On this Roundtable, we’ll hear from 3 women in Baltimore’s animal rescue community who have collectively impacted the lives of countless dogs.

I brought these guests together so we could dive into topics such as who determines Adoption Requirements & Procedures and how rescues can set up their Foster Families for success.

But while I’ve been around the animal welfare world since 2008, there was still a lot that I didn’t know – especially about the “dark side” of rescue and even dogs in “witness protection.”  Some of it was quite shocking!  

This might be the most important conversation I’ve ever had on the Believe in Dog Podcast.

As a writer, Cara Achterberg began documenting her family’s experiences fostering dogs for a local rescue and wrote the book Another Good Dog - One Family and 50 Foster Dogs.

When she embarked on a book tour she decided to also make it a shelter tour so she could see firsthand where the dogs were coming from. And this decision changed her life.

Cara created the organization Who Will Let The Dogs Out to support the shelters and rescues lacking budgets, resources and often a staff.  Who Will Let The Dogs Out is bringing awareness and resources to homeless dogs and the heroes who fight for them.

What does pioneering integrative veterinarian Dr. Marty Goldstein want you to know about the cause of cancer in dogs?  Today we’ll hear the 3 biggest causes for the exponential increase in cancer rates over the past 50 years.

I was fascinated to learn that it was Dr. Marty’s journey with his own health that led him to questioning the medical establishment for  both people and pets. 

And when Dr. Marty witnessed the connection between diet and health, he made his life’s work to spread this truth even in the face of adversity. 

Did you know that hearing dogs are trained to support the deaf and hard-of-hearing community?  I recently learned this when I connected with David Allery, Founder of the nonprofit organization, Your Hearing Dog. 

David, who experienced a loss of hearing due to a medical condition, shares his own experiences and the societal isolation experienced by many people who are deaf or hard-of-hearing.  

Hearing dogs are not only trained to alert to vital needs such as a smoke detector, but serve an equally important role in connection and companionship.

What is life like with a rescued puppy mill dog?  And what can each of us do to stop puppy mills?  These are the questions we explore today with Dog Mom and Advocate Jo Anna Kloster, author of Lily Unleashed.

Jo Anna shares the story of how Cagney, her first rescued puppy mill dog, changed her life and gave her passion and purpose.  Jo Anna shares all that she’s learned about the inner workings of puppy mills, pet stores and the laws that aren’t being enforced.

Jo Anna’s passion and career as a teacher led her to writing Lily Unleashed, a chapter book for all ages that tells the story of how a rescued puppy mill dog inspires an insecure 6th grader to speak up and take a stand for what’s right.

We’re also joined today by Megan, a young lady who just completed 6th grade, who gives us her book review of Lily Unleashed and what she thinks about puppy mills.

Have you ever wondered if it’s possible to make a living being a Dog Mom? Tori Mistick is here to tell us how she turned her blog Wear Wag Repeat from a creative outlet into her full-time job – including all the pivots along the way.