Animal Radio for February 1, 2025
Are You A Foster Failure?
Viveca Stone-Berry, Fostering
 Viveca Stone-Berry is a long-time "in-the-trenches" foster mom and rescue advocate. Viveca had four dogs (three were foster failures); three cats (two were foster failures); and Peetie the Bird. What is a foster failure? A foster failure is an animal you were fostering, fell in love with, and couldn't give up for adoption. It's a crazy good life that fits with this work-at-home mom and her husband, an animal-lovin' foster dad.
Have you ever thought about fostering an animal, but felt you would be a foster failure or have plenty of other excuses as to why you can't do it?
Viveca dispels some of the Myths and Misconceptions about fostering.
1. You Need The "Perfect" Home To Be A Foster Parent.
No you don't. If you would rather be in your home vs. a cold, noisy, steel or cement kennel, then you can be sure a foster pet would, too.
2. You Need To Have Perfectly Behaved Pups Or Purrs In Order To Host A Foster.
No you don't. If you would rather be in your home with your dogs and cats than in a kennel, they would too. In addition, homes have separate rooms. Viveca has one room for foster kittens. This is room where they can have a blast. They can leap and they can bound. At the shelter, they would have been put into separate crates or into packed cat "condos." That's why she takes them in. Her cats know that the "others" are in the house but couldn't care less!
With dogs, you may need to be selective. For example if you have two male dogs, adding another high energy male may not be such a good idea. Instead she recommends you host a female or a submissive senior. Any rescue you work with will be more than happy to help you make a good match.
No matter what, within reason, there are always "ways" to make it work. Viveca had one dog who was not good with visiting male dogs. Crates, child gates, the car, knuckle bones, dog walkers, calming essential oils, there are many options for keeping him, the foster, and the rest of her pack happy, balanced and out of each other's fur.
3. You Need LOTS Of Time And Money To Be A Foster Parent.
No you don't. Do you need lots of time and money to enjoy time with your family and friends? If not, it is same with our fur-friends. Besides, rescues and shelters cover any medical expenses and often provide the chow, crates, etc. You can get towels and sheets for bedding, stuffed animals for toys, bowls etc. at thrift stores for little to nothing.
 What they need from you is a loving heart, a safe and secure home and a reasonable amount of attention. If you'd like to throw in some manners training and socializing with other people and animals that would be great too.
4. You Will Find It Too Hard - Impossible - To Let Go Of Your Foster.
Yes and No. First of all, you must work with a rescue that allows you to participate in the approval process and call a halt if necessary. If your gut is screaming that the lovely couple or family or friend isn't the right choice, listen to it and STOP the application. When it is a great fit, you will be delighted to let go or, at least, bitter sweetly happy. You just have to remember that your fur-friends' happiness comes first and when it is right, you will enjoy adding their new family into your "friends for life" roster too.
5. You Need To Worry About Being A "Foster Failure."
No way! Viveca has a comfortable pack and clowder (cat group) with a number of foster failures in each! Viveca and her husband won't keep more than they can handle in terms of love, exercise, finances etc. The ones they couldn't give up, the ones they failed to adopt to others, were extra special gifts from above!
How can you join in? Easy. Contact your neighborhood shelter to see if they have a foster program, then follow-up to join in. They will need to do a basic background check to make sure you are not a hoarder or a horrible person. If you are fond of a particular breed you can find that breed specific rescue on the Internet. Just type in your breed and state into the Internet browser.
Now that you know that you don't have to have the perfect home OR the perfect foster siblings OR tons of time & money OR fear of letting go OR foster failing. What are you waiting for? They need you. We need you. Send that e-mail and make that call.
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Coyotes Stalking our Neighborhoods - Dr. Debbie
 I saw a scraggly coyote in front of my house one morning - the second coyote sighting in my neighborhood in a week. I feared what could have happened if my 15 pound terrier was outdoors alone. Wildlife is beautiful, but when my little terrier, Boss, is in harm's way - my doggie momma protective instincts kick in. While not a threat to be exaggerated, the coyote nonetheless poses a risk to our pet's safety.
Coyotes are increasingly becoming a concern in urban areas - some are displaced by the urban sprawl that consumes their potential habitat. But other coyotes become urbanized savvy to living, feeding and thriving within city environments. Coyotes are born opportunists and dine on what they find available. They eat small animals like rabbits and rodents, but also consume ample vegetable matter with up to 40-percent of their diet consisting of seeds, grasses, fruits and flowers.
The most serious coyote concern for pets is injury and predation. As a veterinarian, I can recall many a client whose pet was brought in injured by unknown wildlife or whose cat just one day reportedly just vanished. While many might believe their cat was stolen, in reality these cats most likely fell victim to coyote predation. Likewise, small to medium sized dogs can be injured or lost to the same fate as their feline counterparts.
Steps to Keep Your Pet Safe
Whether you have pets or not, it's important not to feed coyotes. Intentional feeding of coyotes makes them dependent on humans and less fearful, which increases the chance of an unwanted, dangerous interaction with people or pets. Just leaving unsecured garbage is invitation enough for these opportunists. Secure all garbage in closing containers and avoid leaving bagged garbage at the curb overnight. Pick up uneaten pet food as soon as your pet has finished eating.
Pet owners should take precautions to keep their household pets protected as well. Keep cats indoors and maintain all pets on leash control when outdoors. Ensure your dogs and cats are up to date on their rabies vaccines. Even indoor cats that do not venture outdoors should be current on this vaccine for both pet and human safety.
 Besides rabies, keep your pets current on other vaccinations, deworming and preventatives as recommended by your veterinarian. Coyotes are known to harbor carry skin mites, canine distemper virus, canine parvovirus, adenovirus and heart worm disease. So even if your dog never leaves your yard, there is potential for infectious disease crossover between wildlife and your pet.
These wild canids are masters at adapting to their changing world, and it's unrealistic they are going away on their own. As humans we are the ones that need to change to make urban areas less appealing, removing easy feeding sites, and by raising awareness to the potential crossover between wildlife and pets.
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." Dr. Debbie's books.
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Animal Radio News with Stacey Cohen
 Reward For Stolen Pet Chicken
An Ohio restaurant tried to help a patron get his pet chicken back. A $100 reward was offered for the safe return of the pet with no questions asked. It said a customer tucked the live chicken into his backpack when he came in to watch a band perform. But he said the pack with the chicken was stolen. The chicken owner said the chicken was his traveling companion.
Can A Pet Have Sentimental Value?
A case that reflected a pet owner's worst nightmare made its way to the Texas Supreme Court, which then had to decide if a family can place sentimental value on a pet that was accidentally euthanized. Years ago, a family dog escaped from their yard during a thunderstorm. Days later, the family was happy to hear that Animal Control had found their beloved pet and they could come by to pick him up. But when the family went to pick up their beloved dog, they were told it was accidentally killed the day before. It was then the family decided to hire an attorney, who took the case free of charge, to sue the worker for negligence and accidentally euthanizing their dog. In 1963, Texas adopted a "sentimental value rule," which provided that if property is wrongfully destroyed and that property had no market value, then the parties involved could sue. Problem is, they never applied sentimental value to dogs. You can sue and recover the sentimental value of a photograph, but not the dog itself.
 Are Your Pets Making You Tired?
Many people can't seem to get a good night's sleep, and they already have stress, caffeine or snoring spouses to blame. But researchers at Mayo Clinic's Center for Sleep Medicine found another surprising reason behind those tired eyes: dogs and cats. More than half of the people coming to the famous Rochester, Minnesota, Medical Center for help sleeping reported sharing their bedrooms, and often their beds, with pets. The physicians started by recommending they toss the pets out, but that doesn't fly for most animal lovers. Top veterinarians say there are other options: Keep your pets clean, keep them lean and get them on your sleep cycle. With help from your veterinarian, you'll soon be enjoying sleep instead of counting sheep. Getting pets on the same sleep cycle can actually be fun, said Dr. Gary Landsberg, a veterinary behaviorist in Thornhill, Ontario. When a pet sleeps all day, it's no surprise that the animal wants to play all night. Landsberg said exercising pets, both physically and mentally, will help them to settle down when you do. And when they nudge you in the night? Landsberg said if their medical, physical and mental needs have been addressed, you should ignore them. Otherwise, your pets will get the idea that you'll play with them whenever they want.
 Chimpanzees Addicted to Adult "Entertainment"
It turned out some chimpanzees are just as easily seduced by pornography as some humans. A chimp living at the Seville Zoo in Spain, became addicted to watching adult entertainment. Primatologist Pablo Herreros explained that they installed a TV in Gina's enclosure to give her something to do at night. They also gave her the remote so she could flip through the channels herself. And to their surprise, Gina's favorite late-night entertainment was porn. However, Herreros admitted that many of the employees at the zoo probably would have landed on that channel as well.
 Is It Cow Dung or Art?
One artist in Siberia built one smelly serpent sculpture. The artist created a sculpture of a cobra out of cow dung. The snake was created to mark the coming of the Year of the Snake according to the Chinese calendar. The snake was on display in the Siberian village of Yolba, where the man worked as building manager and raised 17 cows, which he harvested the material from. He said he made the cobra, "So the kids could play around it and have some fun." He modestly added that it was not a sculpture, but just a "piece of work" he did.
 Listen to the entire Podcast of this show (#1313)
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