Dog Talk ® (and Kitties Too!)

#904A: Margaret Mizushima has written another gripping Timber Creek K-9 mystery “Gathering Mist,” in which the forest is integral to the dangers confronting heroine K-9 Deputy Mattie Cobb and her tracking dog Robo. 

#904B: Chris Buddle is a renowned entomologist (emphasis on arachnids) who has been chasing spiders throughout his academic career, while developing astonishing skills as a watercolorist of natural subjects. He has turned his work into a gorgeous book "A Portrait of Astonishing Nature" with pithy Haiku poems accompanying every drawing — with 100% of the proceeds going to a land trust in Canada, bordering the Great Lakes, to protect the wildlife.

#903A: Shannon Walker, the Executive director of the National Association of Service Dog Providers for Military Veterans (and also the Founder of Northwest Battle Buddies, which trains and provides PTSD service dogs for veterans) talks about the Association’s support from Purina Dog Chow and now the NY Dog Film Festival, presented by Purina, featuring three finalists in a new Service Dog Salute category of films illuminating the life-saving effects of specially trained dogs for veterans with the invisible wounds of PTSD.

#903B: Filmmaker Kim Best — who was awarded the Visionary Award from the NY Cat Film Festival for having at least one film in every year of the Festival — will be flying back to New York City again on October 15th to be applauded for having yet another two new films in the 6th Annual Festival.

#902A: Zazie Todd’s newest book “BARK! The Science of Helping Your Anxious, Fearful or Reactive Dog” explains what can make dogs fearful or anxious (which are actually two different emotions!) and how to create a safe space to help him cope.

#902B: Ron Schmidt is a conceptual photographer creating iconic images of dogs that people hang on their walls — he and his wife Amy took the bold step of creating their first short documentary for the Purina Dog Chow Service Dog Salute category of the NY Dog Film Festival — and they wound up being one of only three prize-winning finalists!

#901A: Peggy Gavan’s book “The Bravest Pets of Gotham: Tales of Four-Legged Firefighters of Old New York” is a wonderful window on the animals that used to be essential to firehouses in the late 1800s — and to the men who populated them.

#901B: Veterinary behaviorist Dr. Amy Pike of the Animal Behavior Wellness Clinic in Maryland talks about the ways you can help calm a thunderstorm-phobic dog, including a new anxiety medication called Sileo.

#900A: Carol Borden of Guardian Angels Medical Service Dogs explains how dogs can distinguish the chemical components of emotions, particularly the scent of PTSD for which they can be trained as service dogs — about which her organization made a film for the Purina Dog Chow Service Dog Salute category of the upcoming NY Dog Film Festival.

#900B: Mustapha Khan, an Emmy-Award winning director and Brooklyn College Film School professor, talks about his film “Freddie Bear’s Lovely Day,” set to Bill Withers iconic tune, which he will be there to see in person at the 9th Annual NY Dog Film Festival premiering in NYC October 24th. 

#899A: Jessica Pierce’s newest books focusing on dogs — “Dogpedia” a Brief Compendium of Canine Curiosities” — is a cornucopia of carefully curated topics, encyclopedia-style, that will delight and surprise even the most well-versed dog lovers. 

#899B: Cathryn Michon’s gorgeously illustrated prose poem book “i’m still here - a dog’s purpose forever” is a panacea for those of us who have lost a dog, with the assurance that while we still miss that dog so much, s/he never really left us. It is a most comforting, rewarding, uplifting, adorable, funny book.

#898A: Marianne Leone’s memoir, “Five Dog Epiphany: How a Quintet of Badass Bichons Retrieved Our Joy,” relays how a series of adopted little white dogs helped her recover from the death of her son.

 #898B: Joan Gratz, a pioneering film animator who won an Oscar in 1992 for Best Animated Film, is coming to NYC to see two of her innovative cat-centric films premiering at the 7th Annual NY Cat Film Festival October 15th. 

#897A: W. Bruce Cameron talks about “Ripley, Fire Station Five,” the newest title in his “Dogs With a Purpose” series for school age children — seeing the world from their point of view, along with the dog’s eye view, for which Cameron is famous.

#897B: Dr. Amy Pike, of the Animal Behavior Wellness Clinic outside Washington, D.C., talks about dogs who become thunderstorm phobic — ways to manage their environment and medications that can help calm the dogs, especially the oral gel Sileo — which works for Tracie’s trembling pooch, Wanda. 

#896A: Peter Abrahams is back with another dog-driven mystery novel in his renowned Chet & Bernie mystery series — as fun as ever!

#896B: Wendy Lyons Sunshine takes her knowledge about raising adopted children from difficult circumstances and applies it to meeting the challenges of bringing out the best in adopted dogs in her book “Tender Paws: How Science-Based Parenting Can Transform Our Relationship with Dogs.”

#896C: Erin Jones, author of “Constructing Canine Consent: Conceptualising and Adopting a Consent-focused Relationship with Dogs,” explains that a wagging tail doesn't necessarily mean a dog is happy — it’s up to us to distinguish their body language that says “No” or “Maybe no.” 

#895A: Director Les Owen discusses his short film “One Mind,” which celebrates the relationship between a veteran with PTSD and his specially trained service dog — one of the semi-finalists being considered for the new Service Dog Salute category of the upcoming 9th Annual NY Dog Film Festival, presented by Purina Dog Chow