Animal Radio "Hero People"
Riina Cook, Romeo's Bucket List

Our Hero Person this week is Riina Cooke. When she discovered her dog had a terminal illness and only months to live, she created a bucket list of stuff to do with "Romeo" before he passed. She shares how the idea originated and some of the fun things she did with her dog in his last moments.

When Riina Cooke of British Columbia found out that her dog and best friend, Romeo, a 9-year-old boxer, had untreatable bone cancer in his back leg and had only weeks to live, she was devastated. Unfortunately, Romeo was not a candidate for amputation, as he had severe arthritis in his other knee and spondylitis in his spine. Even if he could have the amputation, it might have only given him an extra month or so. After grieving for a while, Riina had an idea. She decided, "Don't count the days, make the days count."

In the beginning, Riina was very upset and depressed. One day, Romeo just looked at her and seemed to ask her what she was doing. He didn't know he had cancer. He just knew he had a sore leg, but didn't know that he was dying. However, Romeo was a very emotional dog and would get upset when he saw Riina upset. Riina knew then that she just couldn't lie there and do nothing. She started brainstorming and decided to make the last few days of Romeo's life, however long that was, positive and happy.

In making the bucket list, Riina knew that Romeo loved to eat. However, he always had stomach issues and his diet was limited. Not any more! Riina decided to let Romeo have anything he liked. This included a filet mignon dinner and a cheeseburger from McDonalds.

Another thing Romeo liked was a siren. Since her dad was a retired fireman, she was able to arrange a ride not only in a fire truck but also in a police car.

Anyone who is going though this with their own pet is encouraged by Riina to make their last days count. Don't mope around and be upset, you will have all the time in the world to do that after your pet has gone. Our pets are sensitive and will pick up on our emotions. They don't know they're dying and to see us upset will only make them upset. Just make it a happy experience.

There are many people who are following in Riina's footsteps and doing their own bucket lists for their dogs. This is Romeo's legacy and had made her grieving process a little bit easier and has made her very happy that Romeo's living on, touching other people's lives and helping them cope with their own pet's death!

Where Animals Go To Retire
Ellie Laks, My Gentle Barn

Ellie Laks spends her days caring for a menagerie of animals that were abandoned or neglected. From cows to kitties, her property is home to over a hundred animals that will live their life out at The Gentle Barn.

Ellie has always had an intensely strong connection to the animal kingdom. From the wounded birds she would care for as a little girl to the thousands of farm animals she has rescued as an adult, Ellie finds a comfort and peace with animals unlike anything she has ever felt with humans.

In 1999, Ellie founded The Gentle Barn in Southern California, a nonprofit organization that rescues, rehabilitates and offers sanctuary to abused animals. These animals are too old, too sick, too lame or too scared to be adopted by other rescues. The Gentle Barn has rescued everything from cows, horses, sheep, pigs, goats, chickens and turkeys to peacocks, llamas, dogs, cats, donkeys and parrots. Ellie says about the only thing they don't have is lions and tigers!

Because these animals are ones that no one else wants, The Gentle Barn's specialty is not so much rehoming (they do that as well) but in rehabilitation. Some of these animals need to learn how to walk, how to be happy, healthy and comfortable. They then get to live out the remainder of their lives at The Gentle Barn.

Once the animas are happy and healthy, they then help humans with the same stories of abuse and neglect. It is a circle of healing. The Gentle Barn heals the animals and then the animals the people.

The Gentle Barn also works with at-risk inner city and special needs kids, as well as war veterans, senior centers, domestic violence shelters and terminally ill patients.

A lot of the kids that they work with do not respond to traditional therapy, because they think of themselves as bad, unwanted and unlovable. But working with the animals give them positive mirrors and gives them a chance to shine. It lets them know they have value and worth and that someone out there likes them, even if it is a horse. Sometimes this is all it takes to change a life.

Since its inception, The Gentle Barn has rescued and been home to thousands of animals (including cows who give hugs, pigs who befriend chickens and horses who have forged deep bonds with special-needs children). The Gentle Barn has also hosted more than 400,000 visitors and has become an extraordinary nonprofit that brings together a volunteer staff of community members and at-risk teens to rehabilitate abandoned and abused animals. As Ellie teaches the volunteers to care for the animals, they learn a new language of healing that works wonders on the humans as much as it does on the animals.

You can learn more about Ellie Laks and The Gentle Barn in her book, "My Gentle Barn."

Won't spaying or neutering my pet make my pet fat?

Animal Radio News - Tammy Trujillo

The Dogs Of The Titanic
It's been 112 years since the Titanic disaster. We've all heard what happened to the passengers aboard the ship that struck an iceberg on its maiden voyage to America and sank. But what about the dogs aboard the ship? There were at least 12, but probably many more since most were listed only as cargo in the ship's records. The Titanic had a fantastic kennel for the more well healed dogs and, in fact, was reportedly planning a dog show for April 15, the day the ship went down. Three of the 12 confirmed dogs who survived the shipwreck were small dogs and therefor easy to hide inside a blanket or the coat of the owner who made it into one of the lifeboats.

Autistic Children Benefit From Dogs
We keep on hearing how good pets can be for our health. They're credited with everything from lowering blood pressure to helping relieve anxiety. But studies show that autistic children could benefit from interacting with dogs as well. Research published in the Journal of Pediatric Nursing said many autistic kids were able to connect with a dog in ways they couldn't connect with other people and that the dogs provided unconditional and non-judgmental love. The study also showed that a dog could provide a sort-of bridge to help children with autism communicate with others. It turned out that lots of parents of autistic children already knew this. The study found that nearly two-thirds of the families that include an autistic child also had a canine family member and 94-percent said that their children had a special bond with their pets.

Pet Obesity Is On The Rise
We've been hearing for years now about the fact that obesity can cause all sorts of health problems in pets just like it can in people. But despite all the info, the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention (APOP) says that the number of obese pets is not going down. The group's annual survey found that nearly 58-percent of cats and 53-percent of dogs are still carrying too much weight. That can result in things like osteoarthritis, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, joint injury, cancer and ultimately cut life expectancy. What to do? APOP has developed tools to assess normal weight better and to standardize how much food and exercise different kinds of pets need to stay healthy. An online poll done by APOP found that 42-percent of dog and cat guardians admitted they didn't know what a healthy weight for their pet would look like.

Mexico Is Going To The Dogs
Over the past decades, Mexico's middle class has been growing and that has created a new market for all things dog. This includes everything from clothing and accessory boutiques to spas and restaurants that feature doggie snacks. Many of the estimated 40 million Mexicans considered to be middle class are having fewer children than their parents did and, therefore, also have more disposable income. Since 2008, sales of pet-related products in Mexico has grown an average of 13 percent a year. But there's a real downside to this too. At the other end of the income scale, owners of purebred dogs are being hit by robbery and kidnapping of animals worth thousands of dollars in some cases.

Listen to the entire Podcast of this show (#1287)