Pawprint | animal rescue podcast for dog, cat, and other animal lovers

Dr. Sarah Boston is a veterinary surgical oncologist at the University of Florida. That’s a cancer surgeon for animals. She’s also the author of Lucky Dog, a non-fiction book where she discusses some of her cancer patients and her own experience as a cancer survivor.

Dr. Sarah Boston shares so much of her story, from her work as a cancer surgeon, to her own journey with thyroid cancer, and her own personal perspectives on healthcare in both Canada and the United States. She also gives her thoughts on work-life balance, email, Twitter, and pet insurance!! Thank you for an education, Dr. Sarah.

Trivia about Dr. Sarah:

What is the largest animal Dr. Sarah Boston has ever operated on? A horse.

What is the smallest animal Dr. Sarah Boston has ever operated on? A bat.

Resources

Dr Sarah Boston’s website https://drsarahboston.com/

Her Twitter feed

Dr. Boston’s book, Lucky Dog, on Amazon

University of Florida’s College of Veterinary Medicine – Go Gators!

Dr Sarah Boston’s publisher – House of Anansi

Dr Andy Roark’s blog http://www.drandyroark.com/

Thanks again to Dr Sarah Boston!

All of Pawprint's music is composed by Luke Gartner-Brereton. Luke is a musician based in Australia, and he composes a wide variety of songs and musical loops http://vanillagroovestudios.com

http://soundcloud.com/luke-gartnerbrereton

If you want to learn more about Nancy and Harold, go to our About Us page at http://thisispawprint.com/about

or listen to our introductory podcast episode, "Fifty Puppies and a Podcast." http://thisispawprint.com/000

Pawprint (or Paw Print) is a weekly podcast dedicated to animal rescue, adoption, and the heroes who make it happen. Volunteer, adopt, or foster a dog, cat, rabbit, or other wonderful pet through your local shelter, humane society, SPCA, pound, and animal control. Increase protection, welfare, and rights.

Elena Bicker, Executive Director of Tony La Russa’s Animal Rescue Foundation, ARF, discusses twenty-five years of creating a world-class animal rescue facility and community. They have been rescuing thousands of cats and dogs for years, and along the way have developed a wide range of programs related to rescue, foster, advocacy, education, and community awareness.

It all started on May 7, 1990 when a stray cat wandered onto the field during an Oakland A’s baseball game. Tony La Russa – a Hall of Fame player, manager, and baseball executive – was the manager for the A’s, and he and his wife Elaine were surprised to find that there weren’t any no-kill animal shelters in the neighboring areas. That initial event was the genesis for ARF.

Elena Bicker joined staff in the late 90’s and made an immediate impact, raising over $1 million, and she never looked back. Elena’s been Executive Director for ten years, helping ARF achieve a 4-star rating as a charity from Charity Navigator, and truly creating a blueprint for other animal shelters to strive for. To loosely quote Elena Bicker from the interview, they set out to build a shelter, and ended up building a community.

Resources

• ARF’s Website – they offer a lot of programs
  • ARF’s Pet Hug Pack
  • ARF’s Facebook Page
  • ARF’s Twitter Feed
• Tony La Russa interview in 2014 after getting elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame
• ARF’s Annual Benefit, Stars to the Rescue

Donate

• If you have the resources, consider a donation to Tony La Russa’s ARF
• Donate

Photo credit: Barbara Brady-Smith

Thanks again to Elena Bicker!

Christine Kavanaugh, Director of Sales for Aloft Downtown Asheville, North Carolina, discusses her hotel’s dog foster program.

Aloft Hotel in Downtown Asheville has very pet-friendly policies, and since Summer 2014, they started a dog foster program in their hotel lobby. This is truly out-of-the-box thinking. Listen to Christine Kavanaugh to find out just how successful the program has been, over fifty adoptions and counting!!

Christine Kavanaugh shows the spirit in her passion for the dog foster program, her love and pride in Asheville, and her business savvy. Spread the word with your friends in the hospitality world. Fostering in hotel lobbies can be a big positive for the animals, the hotel guests, and for business.

• Aloft Asheville Downtown
• Aloft Asheville’s Facebook page – lots of dogs!
• Charlie’s Angels Animal Rescue
• McKibbon Hotel Management
• Biltmore Estate

Donate

• If you have the resources, consider a donation to Charlie’s Angels Animal Rescue
• Donate

Thanks again to Christine Kavanagh! 

Have you ever wondered what it takes to place a stray animal in a permanent home? On Pawprint, you’ll meet the everyday heroes of animal rescue who use hard work, dedication, and out-of-the-box ideas to give homeless pets a second chance.

thisispawprint.com

What is a rescue organization?

• It can be one person with a passion for saving animals, or it can be a comprehensive organization with paid staff, a shelter, an animal hospital, and a network of volunteers. The mission is to save dogs, cats, and other animals from homelessness, and place them with a permanent, or “forever,” home.
• Rescue organizations also advocate for animals. For example, changes in laws to protect animals, reduce irresponsible breeding (like puppy mills), and spread the word on the importance of spaying and neutering animals.

Two rescue organizations we mention in this episode:

• East Bay SPCA with locations in Oakland and Dublin, California.
• Tony La Russa’s Animal Rescue Foundation, also known as ARF, in Walnut Creek, California.

What is a foster?

• A person, a group, or family, who temporarily take in one or more animals in preparation of finding a permanent, or forever, home.
  • The animals often need to get spayed or neutered, vaccinated, and treated for a wide range of health issues, and socialized to get along with people and other animals.
  • Some animals only need fostering for a few days, while others may take months to find that special forever home.
  • Nancy and Harold have fostered over 50 dogs, which is one of the reasons we started Pawprint, to get you inspired and moving!

We share inspirational stories from leaders, volunteers, and experts in animal rescue, health, and behavior.

If you want to learn more about us, here’s some random stuff about your adorable Pawprint co-hosts:

• Harold grew up in Buffalo, New York. He is a long-suffering Buffalo Bills football fan. Even though he lives in San Francisco 49ers and Oakland Raiders country, he refuses to change his allegiance! Our son Dylan, by the way, is a 49ers fan.
• Nancy grew up in Seoul, South Korea, and speaks three languages – English, Korean, and Japanese. She grew up with dogs in Korea and while living in New York City had a cat named Smitty.

Thanks for listening, and send us feedback and ideas! [email protected]