Living In A Bathtub for 30 Daze
Danielle Daals, Living Like Lolita

Danielle Daals left her family in New Zealand to sit in a bathtub for 30 days in front of the Miami Seaquarium. Of course she has a good reason. She wants people to know that Lolita the Killer Whale lives in the smallest tank in the United States. We talk to her about halfway through her publicity stunt.

Danielle Daals, who is 29 years old, is taking up a 30-day 'Living like Lolita' bathtub challenge in Miami to protest the captivity of a killer whale named Lolita. For 30 days, the 29-year-old activist will sit in a bathtub (without water) from 10am to 7pm outside Miami Seaquarium, in order to represent Lolita's plight. She will carry a poster with a picture of Lolita and the words: "Swims 100 miles per day; confined to equivalent of a bath tub."

Danielle's purpose is to bring awareness to a 22-foot whale Lolita, who has been nicknamed, "The World's Loneliest Orca." Lolita has been confined since 1970, a total of 46 years, to a 60x80x20 foot pen, the smallest whale enclosure in North America.

Lolita has been alone since her last tank-mate killed himself. The tank is too small for her and she can't even dive and has no shelter from the sun.
Since she started her bathtub crusade, Danielle has been receiving a lot of attention, most of it good. However, some people think that Lolita should stay where she is.

According to Danielle, there is a really good sanctuary plan for Lolita should she be released and that she wouldn't just be dumped back to the wild. Lolita would be transitioned into a sanctuary where she would be retrained how to hunt for herself before being released.

While Lolita, who is the oldest living Orca in captivity at the moment is around 50 years old; her mother is still in the wild at the age of 86. Orcas have a really large brain capacity, which is about 5 times the size of ours. Lolita was played her family's vocals a few years ago, and she still reacted to their sounds and remembered her family.

When Danielle found out about Lolita and her sad, miserable, cruel life, she endeavored to sign every petition she could find in the fight for her freedom. She emailed Palace Entertainment numerous times, yet as no surprise they never replied. She kept up to date with legal proceedings, constantly getting her hopes risen in the anticipation that they were finally getting somewhere, only to have them quickly dashed, all because Palace Entertainment is too greedy to allow her to be freed.

The one day she thought "Why doesn't someone do a demonstration and live in a bath tub for a while? That ought to gain awareness for her." The thought quickly raced to the back of her mind, as it sounded too crazy and impossible to give it any consideration. After all, she couldn't leave her child or husband. Her mother and father would never allow her to do such an outrageous thing! And besides she'd never get that length of time off work. No, it was just too crazy and impossible. She was actually hoping someone else would come up with the idea and do it themselves and even waited for this someone for quite a while. Until she realized, "I am someone!"

Danielle is doing this because it speaks volumes not only for Lolita but all captive cetaceans, and in fact, all captive animals. Every species on this earth should have their freedom and the chance to experience love and happiness, not just the human species.

Danielle hopes that her campaign will be effective in freeing the 3.2-ton whale from captivity and reuniting her with her pod of extremely rare and endangered Southern Resident killer whales near Puget Sound, off the coast of Seattle. And if Lolita is never freed, at least Danielle wont' be wondering if there was something she could have done.

http://www.livinglikelolita.com

Pigs as Pets
Debra Jo Chiapuzio Emma Zen Foundation

The very charismatic Debra Jo Chiapuzio is back to tell us about life with a pet pig. She says her dog thinks the swine is a yummy-treat. If you've ever considered a pig for a pet, you must hear this interview.

Baby Banks is Debra Jo's mini pig and is one lucky pig!!! She travels, swims and rides in a sidecar (#bikerpig) and in 2015 got married to a boar! Yep, her life is awesome. But there are so many pigs out there whose lives are not as blessed.

Debra Jo Chiapuzio runs a non-profit called the Emma Zen Foundation, which provides pet oxygen masks to first responders. The Emma Zen Foundation also offers an online course that provides hands-on approach to teach pet owners how to check their pet's vitals in case of an emergency, how to put a bandage or splint on an animal and how to do rescue breathing and CPR. Pet owners will also know the signs to look for in cases of bloating, choking, constipation, drowning, frostbite, heatstroke, insect bites, and what do in the case of a disaster.

Like most people, Debra Jo had a desire to own a mini pig. But unlike most people she went into it a little more educated, knowing that a mini pig could be anywhere from 150-300 pounds. Debra Jo wanted a mini pig because it is one of the only animals she didn't have growing up as child. She had horses, cows and donkeys but was lacking a pig.

She tells us that pigs are very smart and can be taught tricks like a dog. But since they are more intelligent, they can take those behaviors that are either taught or that they have naturally and link them together to get what they want. This takes a certain level of intelligence. So it is not only their large size, but also their smarts, that a lot of people end up turning them into shelters. Pigs need to use their brain every day, so if you don't provide some type of enrichment, they will create their own behaviors, which are usually unwanted.

Debra Jo claims that pigs are actually very clean animals. They even potty train themselves by going outside to the same place like a dog would. They also like their bedding kept clean.

Pigs also don't have any odors, unlike dogs do. So we had to ask - does her pig sleep in the bed with her? Surprisingly, she answered yes, "A pig in a blanket." She also states that pigs don't snore, but they do twitch in their sleep, the way a dog does when it's dreaming.

While there are many cute pictures of pigs all over the net, even with dogs, she states not to let them fool you. In the wild, pigs are prey animals and should never be left alone with a dog, even if you think your animals get along. Pigs want to challenge everyone, even people, along with the family dog and cat, just to see if they are still at the bottom of the hierarchy.

So are pigs good pets? Debra Jo states that they are only for people who are ready to take on the responsibilities for the lifetime of that animal. You must also be aware that they root. So if you want a nice yard and garden - forget about getting a pig!

After adopting Baby Banks, Debra Jo learned about all the pigs in the shelters, mainly because they are so popular again like they were in the 80's. As she mentioned, pigs are a handful, with many people giving them up after they grow too large. These pigs then end up in shelters or worse research laboratories.

Debra Jo has also started The Food Train, which purchases pig food and delivers it to the non-profit rescues that support pigs from research laboratories. They accept cash contributions and if you are located in California, blankets, beds, volunteers and veterinarian care are always needed. All donations are tax deductible, as they are an established charity. "You support, they purchase and deliver to those piggies in need!!! With your donation; the train can roll!!!!'

http://www.thefoodtrain.org

If You Bring Your Dog To Work - Make Sure They Smell Good First!
Doc Halligan, Lucy Pet Foundation

We are fortunate at Animal Radio in that we can bring our pets to work on a daily basis. But you can imagine all of those smells in a small studio, especially from the dogs! Luckily we found a solution.

This week we used the Lucy Pet Products Purple Rain, Calm and Clean Lavender Shampoo and Leave-In Conditioner. This shampoo also does double duty as the natural lavender oil will get your dog clean and make him calm as well.

Every week we like to use a different shampoo. Besides the Purple Rain, a Calm and Clean Lavender Shampoo and Leave-in Conditioning Spray, you will find Berry Berry Smellicious, a Tropical Freshening Shampoo and Leave-In Conditioner Spray; Big Apple Shampoo and Leave-in Conditioning Spray with Skin Soothing Apple Oatmeal; Surfin' Jack Shampoo Leave-in Conditioning Spray with moisturizing coconut; and Pup a Dub Dub, Gentle Puppy Fresh Shampoo and Leave-in Conditioning Spray, gentle enough for puppies 8 weeks and older.

Not only are these great products, but also appealing to the eye. They come in great metal containers that you won't want to hide away in the bathroom or in the cupboard.

These shampoos and leave-in conditioning sprays are not only great for your dog's coat, you can even use the conditioning sprays as a touch up between your dog's baths, to keep them smelling fresh and clean.

The Mission of The Lucy Pet Foundation is to reduce pet overpopulation by having mobile spay/neuter clinics across the country and to support causes that benefit animal welfare. The Lucy Pet Foundation currently has two buses that travel around Southern California focusing on spaying and neutering. These buses are state of the art surgery units. Their next focus is in generating more funds to expand the work of these buses and have more across the country.

The Lucy Pet Foundation not only offers free and reduced spays and neuters, they also do microchipping, vaccines and de-wormings. Spaying and neutering is not only great for pet population control, but it has been proven that an animal will live on an average of 40-percent longer after having this surgery.

Upcoming March Clinics

Free Spay & Neuter for Los Angeles City Residents! Here is a list of upcoming free or reduced fee mobile spay and neuter clinics in California:

Call for more information, questions and to reserve space to get on the list: (855) 499-5829

March 15, 22 & 29: West Valley Shelter, 20655 Plummer Street, Chatsworth, CA Spay/Neuter Clinic - 7:30 am; Vaccine Clinic 10:00am-2:00pm

March 24 : Algin Sutton Rec Center, 8800 S. Hoover St., Los Angeles, CA Spay/Neuter Clinic - 7:30 am; Vaccine Clinic 10:00am-2:00pm

March 18, 19 & 25: Hansom Dam Recreation Center, 11480 Foothill Blvd., Los Angeles, CA Spay/Neuter Clinic - 7:30 am; Vaccine Clinic 10:00am-TBA

March 16 & 30: Food 4 Less, 1748 West Jefferson Blvd., Los Angeles, CA Spay/Neuter Clinic - 7:30 am; Vaccine Clinic 10:00am-2:00pm

March 21: Century 21, 8307 Foothill Blvd., Sunland-Tujunga, CA Spay/Neuter Clinic - 7:30 am; Vaccine Clinic 10:00am-2:00pm

Remember, you must get on a list to have your pet seen at these locations. Please call The Lucy Pet Foundation toll free at 1-855-499-5829 or Email: Info@lucypetfoundation.org to schedule an appointment, or register at the events.

See the current list of clinics at http://www.lucypetfoundation.org.

http://www.lucypetproducts.com

How to NOT Train a Dog -Dr. Debbie

The other day I was walking my dog in a community area and encountered a lady with two Shih Tzu's. As we approached, her dogs rallied with barking and tugging on their leashes. I asked if her dogs were friendly, so as to decide if we could approach. The lady scowled, embraced her still barking dogs and grumbled, "Do they look like they're friendly?"

Realizing this dog owner was more unsociable than her dogs, I decided to vamoose, but not before I envisioned this blog topic - how pet owners mold unsocial dog behavior.

Unwanted doggie behavior such as lunging and barking on the leash become established when the dog owner hasn't made it clear what the appropriate behavior is, fails to correct and redirect to a more suitable behavior, or simply reinforces the undesirable behavior through actions or words. Face it - there aren't bad dogs, just poorly trained ones.

Avoid making these top 5 training mistakes:

1. Secluding Your Dog in the Back Yard
Keeping your dog in lock down almost guarantees problem behaviors will develop such as biting, inter-dog aggression and phobias to anything from noises to car travel. Isolated dogs lack the experience and confidence when faced with novel situations while socialized dogs adapt easily.

I see it all the time - the dog owner prides herself in keeping her dog safe. "I didn't want Fido to catch any diseases as a pup, so I didn't let him out of our backyard till he was a year old." The overwhelming fear of infectious diseases like parvovirus causes some well-meaning owners to confine their new dog or puppy to the limits of house and yard. Even more extreme is never allowing a puppy to step foot outside until after their last puppy vaccinations! Puppies are most adaptable to new experiences between 6 and 16 weeks - this is the time to expose them to unfamiliar places, people and animals.

That doesn't mean you should take your eight week old puppy to dog parks, but rather to use good sense selecting low dog traffic areas and visiting with family and friends outside of the home that have properly vaccinated pets.

2. Skipping Obedience Training
Going to school is a must for any new dog to a home, whether a puppy or adult. No two dogs are the same, and each learns differently. Formal obedience training is a useful tool to gently reaffirm who's in charge and sets the rules in the house. Statistics show that dogs that go through formal obedience training are less apt to develop behavior problems and be relinquished to shelters.

3. Reinforcing Fear at the Veterinary Office
In the exam room I cringe when I see a dog owner comforting a nervous, fearful or aggressive pet. That "good boy" and pat on the head reinforces your dog's behavior, making it more likely that on the next hospital visits he'll behave the same, or worse. Some problem behaviors escalate making it difficult for the veterinary staff to examine or treat the animal. This may mean additional costs for sedation or anesthesia for routine medical needs.

It's natural for a pet owner to want to reassure a pet when he is frightened and it can be difficult to hold back the urge to soothe him. However, the best strategy is to ignore those fearful behaviors in the vet office. Don't be tempted to kiss, snuggle or hold Fido on your lap when he is misbehaving. Rather, place the dog on the floor, refocus your dog's attention to you, and cue him to "sit" or "lie down".

4. Not Using Food as a Reward
Food shouldn't just be for the taking. Don't leave food out for your dog to graze whenever he wants and don't give treats just for the sake of giving a treat. Present food and treats as a reward for good behavior such as sitting quietly, going to a pillow, or performing a trick or obedience work. This places you at the top of the household hierarchy. You become the provider of great edibles in the house, and your dog will be motivated to listen to your requests in other situations.

We all love to spoil our dogs and give treats at times. But be sure to give treats for a reason, or you will have a spoiled doggie brat on your hands.

5. Not Exercising Your Pet Enough
Inadequate exercise can result in obesity and boredom, and may lead to problem behaviors like separation anxiety, destructive chewing and excessive barking. Dogs should get 30 to 60 minutes of sustained physical activity each day for optimum mental and physical benefit. And no- letting Buffy run around the backyard during the day is not adequate exercise.

Not all breeds are cut out for all exercise - a Labrador may enjoy retrieving games or swimming, a Jack Russell terrier may thrive with jogging or Frisbee, while a Basset hound will be satisfied with a leash walk.

Your dog can't be a well-adjusted, socialized canine citizen without you, as the pet owner, taking an active role in training. Put the time in, and you'll be thanked many times over with an outgoing, friendly canine pal that can accompany you on life's adventures.

Featured veterinarian known as "Dr. Debbie" on national pet radio program, Animal Radio. Ebook author of "Yorkshire Terriers: How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend"; "Pugs: How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend"; "Mini Schnauzers: How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend"; and "Shih Tzu: How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend."

http://www.drdebbie.net

4 Vegetables Your Kids Won't Eat, But Your Pet Should
Robert Semrow, Animal Radio Listomania

It's Robert Semrow, your pet world insider here with this week's Animal Radio Listomania.

Ok, it's not easy to get your kids to eat healthy vegetables and it may not be any easier to get your pets to eat them either. But there are some real health advantages to adding vegetables to your pets diet. Here's a few vegetables that your kids and pets won't want to eat, but should.

The first one is a vegetable even I sometimes turn my nose up at - Asparagus. That's right, quick easy asparagus. Give it a quick warming, cut it in to some bite size pieces and you've got a great source of vitamin K, along with other vitamins including vitamins A, B, C and E, folate, iron copper, fiber, manganese and potassium. So grab some asparagus and give them a high dosage of health with very little effort.

Next - Broccoli. Full of antioxidants, vitamins and fiber, broccoli has been shunned by kids, pets and even presidents, but broccoli is a very convenient and healthy choice for your pets. They will benefit from broccoli in a variety of ways including vitamins K, A, B1, B2, C and E, folate, iron copper, fiber, manganese and potassium. Steam them up and place a piece or two in with their regular food. If that doesn't work, try putting it in a blender with a little bit of water and puree it. Voila, you have broccoli gravy for their meal.

Next - Zucchini. That's right, we went to the z's and found zucchini offers our pets magnesium, potassium and manganese, which are healthy for them. The fun part of zucchini is that you can bake it or cook it and add some flavor to it as well as herbs. One of my favorite ways to serve this is to bake it down in to zucchini chips. The dogs think they are getting something fun and I get the satisfaction of serving them a healthy treat.

Carrots are another great way to provide your pets with some healthy vitamins and minerals. Steam them or cook them to soften them up, chop them in to bite size and you've got health in a colorful package. Carrots provide many healthy vitamins and minerals that can help with eyes, skin, their coat and even vitality. Carrots are a power-packed vegetable that your pets will enjoy and you can have fun with.

I understand that our two and four legged kids aren't always fans of vegetables. My dog Sugar used to pick out the vegetables and drop them at my feet to show her disdain for vegetables. But as good parents do, we find a way a way to have our kids eat healthy. Try throwing lightly steaming or cooked vegetables in their meals. Include it more often in smaller amounts and be creative with additional flavoring to entice the devouring of these healthy vegetables. Your pets body system will thank you.

Share your ideas on how to prepare, share and feed vegetables to our pets on the Animal Radio Facebook Page.

http://petworldinsider.com





The Dogfather's Grooming Tip with Joey Villani

The Proper Way To Brush Your Pet
Sometimes when you're a professional, you take certain things for granted. This could be as simple as how to properly brush your pet. So the question is - is there a right way and wrong way to brush your pet? There absolutely is!

First of all, you want to make sure you have the right brush. Secondly, you don't want to go against the way the coat grows. In other words - don't go against the grain! Some people like to do it this way, because they can remove more hair quickly and easily.

The problem with this is that you are doing two things. Number one, your pet won't like it, because you are pulling and tugging at the hair and it probably hurts. The other thing is that you will get a lot of hair breakage, which won't look good on your pet.

You should always brush and comb the way the coat lies. You don't need to brush very hard and just let the weight of the brush do the job.

Start with brushing a 2-inch section at a time, constantly overlapping. Brush a 2-inch area and then take your comb and go back through the area to make sure you have removed all knots, tangles or shedding coat. Then overlap that spot and do another 2-inch section, repeating the brushing and combing on each section before moving on to the next.

This might seem redundant, but once you understand you pet's coat, then you can take shortcuts and know you are covering everything. But if you want to be thorough, take your time and do it in 2-inch sections.

By doing it this way, you will eventually get all of the undercoat out and your pet will be left with a wonderful looking coat

Animal Radio News - Lori Brooks

Restraining Orders Include Animals
Think of all the adults, children and pets who have been injured, maimed or even killed in some of the worst ways imaginable by the humans who are supposed to love and watch over them. When it comes to domestic violence, we, as a society, should help such people and the companion animals that share their lives to take steps to get away from their abusers. Fortunately 30 states now allow judges to include pets in domestic violence protective orders which simply mean someone can be ordered to have no contact with an animal owned by the person who is asking for the protective order or restraining order. On top of that, there's now a federal bill in search of Congressional support that could be passed to protect both animals and people. The Pets and Women's Safety (PAWS) Act will make it a crime to cross state lines to commit an act of domestic violence on a pet. It was introduced in the Senate last summer. Also, the grant part of the program would provide support for animal shelters to offer space for the pets of people fleeing domestic violence. Offering these kinds of safe haven programs usually means finding a secret foster home and providing veterinary care over a period of months. The supporters of the PAWS program say a state's borders will never stop abusers who mean to threaten, hurt or kill, but why not give federal prosecutors one more tool to go after domestic violence perpetrators?

Cat Trapped In a Woman's Body
You know what transgender means, but now, there's a 20-year-old Norwegian woman who I guess would be "trans-species." Nano, as she likes to be called, claims she was born in the wrong species and that she's actually a cat trapped in a human body! She says her personality and psychological features prove that she is more feline that human because she prefers walking around on her hands and knees to standing on two legs, and likes to sleep in sinks and window sills, despite her adult size. She also claims she possesses a slew of catty characteristics like ultra-sharp hearing, laser night vision and fierce aversions to both dogs and water. The clincher that Nano is really a cat is seen in her You Tube video in which she says, "It's also obvious that I'm a cat when I start purring and meowing . . . Sometimes I hiss when meeting dogs in the street."

Blue Buffalo Pet Food May Owe You Money!
If you've ever bought Blue Buffalo so called line of natural pet food, a new $32 million lawsuit settlement means the pet food maker may owe you money. Blue Buffalo reached the huge settlement over claims that its products were free of poultry by-products and didn't contain corn, wheat, soy, artificial flavors, colors or preservatives. Laboratory testing showed the pet food did contain by-products, which lead to charges of mislabeling and false advertising AND a class action suit. Blue Buffalo has denied any wrongdoing and blames a former supplier for the issue, but said it settled the lawsuit to avoid further litigation expense. So if you bought Blue Buffalo in the past, you can go to www.pet food settlement.com to file a claim. If you happen to still have a receipt, you can get up to a 10-percent refund, capped at $200. But even if you don't have a receipt you can still get $10. The settlement covers purchases made over a seven-year period, from May 2008 to Dec. 2015.

Sled Towing Cat
A cat in Norway proves that sled towing isn't just a dog's job. If you have not seen this viral video, it shows 2-year-old Jesper pulling his owner along a mountain trail. But, after being towed for a while, his human mom puts Jesper on her shoulder where he sits on the downhill parts of the trail so she doesn't run over him with her skies. But in typical cat fashion, if the pretty orange boy doesn't feel like being a sled cat, he just flat out refuses, then jumps into his mom's backpack and sits there with a happy smile on his face and he gets the day off. Of course, Jesper also has his own Facebook page, and he is very entertaining, where followers can keep up to date with his adventures.

Tom Brady Spoofs Lion King When Introducing New Puppy
Tom Brady channeled The Lion King character Rafiki last week while introducing his new puppy to his fans. The 38-year-old Patriots quarterback re-enacted the iconic "Circle of Life" scene where Rafiki introduces Simba by lifting the lion cub on a ledge high above his kingdom. Well, Brady's other two pet dogs looked on as he lifted up the new pup Fluffy then went on to quote Simba's dad Mufasa. It was a spoof video he posted, but a good one, and the new puppy part is real.

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