Inspired by her daughter’s “relentless campaign” for a dog of her own, Margrit is the author of What to Know Before You Get Your Dog. When she couldn’t find a children’s book that described the responsibilities of dog ownership in a way that kids could understand, Margrit decided to write it herself.

On this episode, we’re welcoming back previous guests Annie Pruitt, Kaitlyn Thomas and Liz Weiner. Between the 4 of us, we have nearly 30 years combined experience in animal sheltering and community pet support. On this Round Table, we’re confronting 4 myths that we see on social media and in our personal experience:

Myth #1: Heartless people dump animals at shelters.
Myth #2: If you can’t afford a pet, you shouldn’t have one.
Myth #3: Dogs with scars and injuries were used as “bait dogs.”
Myth #4: Pets end up at animal shelters because they were abused, have behavioral issues or are otherwise flawed in some way.

Peter is a Dog Dad Extraordinaire! When Peter’s dog Allie was struggling with health issues, he had a difficult time getting the right answers for her – even a veterinary college’s animal hospital couldn’t help. So Peter then started seeking out holistic veterinary practitioners and began working Dr. Margo Roman – one of the pioneers of gut microbiome research in pets – who was able to help Allie begin to thrive. Peter created the Facebook Allie’s Canine Crew to share all that he was learning and doing to help Allie. Allie’s Canine Crew has grown to 5,000+ pet parents who are all trying to make the best health decisions for their dogs. Warning: Poop talk ahead!

From the Round of A-Paws Pet Rescue in Baltimore, Maryland, I’m excited for you to meet Jasmine, the founder and President, and Marc, the Vice-President. We discuss everything from the behind-the-scenes of starting a rescue organization to working in a vet office during COVID-19.

There’s nothing I love more than an unlikely animal friendship. So when Carla reached out to me to share the story of Paddington (the horse) and Zurch (the Swiss Mountain Dog), I was immediately smitten. Paddington & Zurich spent 10 years together as best friends – doing everything from romping in the snow to grazing on grass in the sunshine to sharing some bran mash.

After hearing the Shy & Fearful Dog Roundtable (Episode 17), Brittany Roger reached out to me with her own story. Brittany fell in love with a chihuahua, Carmelo, who she hoped would have all the good traits of her first dog, with none of the more challenging traits. Carmelo, however, had different plans in mind. When the COVID-19 quarantine happened, Maryland SPCA’s Lead Trainer & Behaviorist, Maria Montgomery, was working to move the shelter’s training classes online and with Brittany’s help, was able to do just that. Brittany meanwhile was tasked with editing hours of dog training videos and was learning by osmosis exactly what she needed to help Carmelo become comfortable in his new family at his own pace.

Coming home from work one day to find that your dog isn’t there is pretty much the worst nightmare of any dog owner. When this happened to Kaitlyn, her plea to get her dog, Knox, back went viral. And Kaitlyn found a way to keep the momentum of her sudden unexpected platform going and turned it into the Finding Knox organization.

For years, Kim has been known online for blogging about dog health and nutrition but Kim is expanding her focus to include more dog mom lifestyle topics.

Today we’re having a round table discussion about pet parents living with shy and fearful dogs. We talk about everything from gaining the trust of our dogs to the emotional toll having a fearful dog can take on pet parents and being honest about own limitations;

My Pit Bull is Family has become a national animal welfare leader on the issues of breed discriminatory housing and insurance practices as well as a leader in programs keeping pets & their families together.