"The main focus of the show is to help educate pet guardians to help them make more informed decisions regarding their companion animals."
I hope that we can help to kindle in you a desire you become involved in your pet's care, to improve their diet and to become an active partner, with their health care provider in their health and long life.
I believe that our health and the health of our companion animals is closely tied. The relationship that we have with the animals we share our lives with everyday is... oftentimes the closest relationship that may of us will ever experience. It is certainly unique, and I believe that it should be treasured and kindled.
Everything is precious, And the relationships that we as humans have with them is of utmost importance in my view.
So I'm here to help everyone who wants to enjoy your dog and your cat and your rat and your bird, even more than you already do because that is the reason you chose to share your life with an animal, right?I would like to stress, right off the bat that
The information on this show is meant to supplement the advice and guidance of your veterinarian and is not meant in any way to be taken over the advice and guidance of your vet.Please consult a licenced veterinarian to help you make informed decisions regarding your pet's care
I want to talk about a lot of things, and I really want to thank everyone here at the station for believing that we can have a great show and for giving me a chance!!!!! I'm pretty excited - who wouldn't be -to talk about something that they are passionate about and care about? And for me, that thing is obviously everything animals!!And........thanks to everybody listening.
Some of the things that I will be talking about are things like
-How to make traveling with your pet a more enjoyable and relaxed experience.-how to trim your pets nails with confidence, and the reasons it's so important.
-Pet Adoption/Rescue Organizations
-toxic plants to avoid if you have animals in the house!
-Safe plants to have in the house -especially - when you have cats who have taken up floral arranging as a hobby!
-Integrating a new animal or person into the family.-Coping with the loss of a pet.
-We'll have guests on the Show to answer questions, and address topical issues.
-And most importantly, we'll ask you to e-mail any questions that you have about your animals, and I'll do my darndest to answer them.When we get a pet, there is an agreement made to provide a home -shelter, food, etc. for that animal And so you might as well get the most out of it, right?
Now, I'm aware that there is always the person who will say "well, It was never my choice I never wanted this cat in the first place, or, I inherited the dog from someone, and now I'm stuck with it, I never chose to get a pet.But on some level, you agreed to it, right? And wouldn't you like to reap all of the benefits that pet "ownership has been shown to have?And most people did acquire their pet just for that reason -enjoyment companionship, and that's what we want to focus on -
Really getting the most out sharing your life with your pet!
No matter how you came to be sharing your life with themSo I'd just like to take a little bit of time and tell you about the reasons why I chose to spend my life with animals and with their well -being as my focus.
when I first moved out on my own - I got a cat - for the first time- my dad never wanted a cat -then I got a puppy!!
Well, that puppy, a golden retriever named Kassie ended up showing me WAY more than I could have known beforehand. We'd always had dogs - my whole life - I can only remember very brief periods of time when we didn't have one, so it was only natural that I wouldn't have been able to live without having my own!
Well, Kassie ended up being absolutely the most allergic dog, I could never have imagined that a dog could be so besieged with "issues".
Before I go any further, I have to say that... of course, she was....... mainly....... the VERY MOST WONDERFUL, PERFECT, SWEET, LOVING, BEATIFIC ANGEL you could dream of
Which is the reason I was so motivated to discover what was wrong with her.
-Her ears stank,,,,,,,,,, And required cleaning regularly-She chewed her legs and feet - incessantly - non-stop - all the time
-the skin in the folds of her neck would sweat and irritate her
-She just seemed so uncomfortable at times-She would get so Irritated that I would just get irritated, more frustrated, because I started to wonder if there was ever going to be a way I would be able to help her feel comfortable, and happy
SHE WASN'T LIKE THAT ALL THE TIME - it came and went, there would be stretches when she'd be just fine - and then - BOOM -
I starting thinking that maybe changing her food would make a difference, and it did, for a while, then it would be right back to the same old thing. Everytime I changed her Food it would help for a little while, then it would be the same thing again
I tried every shampoo, spray, remedy, prescription, food , EVERYTHING for quite a while
I went to every store
I talked to every person that I thought MIGHT be able to help
Then I found some people who were incredibly knowledgeable, and when I talked to them, the things they were saying just made senseAnd.... their ideas helped. Kassie began to feel better - her fur grew back, her ears stopped getting infected and sore, she stopped chewing her feet, she lost her stinky doggy odour.
I still had to make sure that her ears were cleaned - but not nearly as often, and they certainly didn't require the same amount of attention, but they became easier to maintain.
In short, it changed our lives.
I learned so much from them, and because of them, I began to work in the field of animals in a retail store that sold healthy pet food and supplements. I saw everyday that the way that people feed and take care of their animals had a profound effect.
And I started to learn more.Animals are such great teachers - it's like there is no filter - there is just cause and effect.
And it's quite easy to see when we just learn how to see it.
Just the fact that their metabolisms are so much faster than ours allows us to see JUST how profound and lasting making the best decisions we can regarding their well being can have. We have all heard that one human year equals 7 dog years, so think
about that in terms of being able to see positive changes in their health.Before I started to learn so much about animals, I had learned quite a bit about people. I had been in a pretty bad car accident and as a result of that I had investigated, and then became educated in the field of complimentary health care for people.
I am a certified clinical herbal practitioner, and although I do not practice herbal or other forms of nutritional therapy on humans, or on pets in that capacity what that knowledge allowed me to do was to become more versed in certain terminology, and to be able to make informed choices for myself in regards to using foods therapeutically for myself and my family and to see the effect that those things had on us.The knowledge I gained from my studies also allowed me to be able to weed through more information more quickly than I would otherwise have been able to do, and gave me valuable resources and ways to research all manner of things pertaining to the vast world of "alternative health"
Again, I am in no way trained in the veterinary sciences, and will never presume to give out any advice pertaining to those things that you should talk to your vet about - which should be really everything to do with your animal.
What I hope to accomplish is to educate and inform so that the time that you and your vet spend together can be more productive.
I am a strong believer that your relationship with your veterinarian is of utmost importance, and my plan is to have veterinarians on the show to be one of our primary resources to help answer your questions, and address topics of interest and concern to all of us.I was just talking about my experience regarding human health and going to school - basically to try and help myself recover my life after a bad car accident.
What I really discovered when I began talking to people about themselves and their health is that, unless they REALLY had a problem, they weren't really interested in doing much to help themselves. If They couldn't just take a pill to fix themselves, they, mostly, just really didn't see the point!But, after I started working in the health food store for pets, I realized that people would take your advice in regards to their pets health, and they would be consistent and follow through - and, they would see positive change. I realized that by helping people improve their relationships with their pets, they may start to see the positive effects certain changes could have on themselves as well, and on their own well being.
My involvement in the animal world also includes the fact that I am privileged to serve on an advisory committee here in the city of London, known as the "Animal Welfare Advisory Committee"This committee is made up of a group of wonderful, DEDICATED, caring members of the community who volunteer their time energy and expertise to fulfill the following mandate taken from the city of London's website
All information about the advisory committee can be found at this linkI'd just like to talk a little bit more about the advisory committee, because I really feel like there are important things that animal lovers, especially in London would like to know that are happening
The advisory committee was created as a result of a recommendation from the "Companion Animal Welfare Task Force",
Report submitted to the city in July 2006.
I am honored that I was also a member of that task force, and I was privileged to see just how the system does, actually, sometimes work. The task force came about as a result of much continued pressure on the city by a small group of dedicated people who were committed to bringing about change in the way that London dealt with animal issues.
We made many recommendations to the city, in particular, in regards to the relationship it had with the Animal Care and Control Centre, and the contract that the city has with them. Many of these recommendations were adopted by the city, and we can all be proud of our city because of it.
One thing that came about as a result of the task force, and the advisory committee is the city's new feral cat program
Again, from the city's website - just so I keep my facts straight -
Click hereNow, I know that this has been a "hot button topic for a lot of people, and any concerns seem to centre around the justifications for spending money on any kind of initiative to control feral cats. In particular an objection I read in the paper was "how dare the municipality spend a single dime to help stray cats when there is any single person suffering due to lack of basically anything, and that only after all the people are taken care of should we even begin to think about spending on cats
Well the point that I WOULD like to make here is that the city is ALREADY spending money dealing with stray and feral cats - which, by the way are two separate things
Feral means Feral cats were never tamed or socialized. They avoid humans and usually run away. Feral cats are very untrusting -so much so, they will wait to go to food if humans are in sight.
Stray cats were once pets. They are tame, friendly and will allow you to get close and pet them. Stray cats can be rescued and adopted to a home. They are sometimes vocal.
So the city is already dealing with and spending money on this issue - mostly through animal control. What the task force and the advisory committee were able to do was enable the city to see - through programs that have already been tested in a number of other municipalities is that it is actually more cost effective to develop programs such as the city's TNVR program than it is to capture and euthanize these animals which is what was happening previously.
So, implementing this program was done because not only is it more cost effective, but it is also kinder and more humane. This was an excellent example to me of how a city can function as a corporation, at the same time taking into consideration being humane and caring. Where there is a will there is a way, and I will say that in my opinion, there truly are some wonderful politicians right here that are willing and want to make our city a better place to live.
People can be quite quick to judge and make assumptions, but those who truly care will want to learn more before deciding what to think.
And that's really what I want to do in this time - Help inform so that you can be better informed to make up your own mind and also so you can make better decisions regarding your pets life I would encourage anybody who wants to know more about this TNVR to check out the city's website at this link - again I'm Lisa Birtch, and I'd like to continue to talk about the things that we'll be talking about here on the show in the weeks to come.
One important subject is coping with the loss of a pet. This can be a devastating thing to deal with, and something that a lot of people have difficulty understanding
Quite often, when someone loses a pet, people don't know what to say, a common reaction is to tell the person to go out and "get a new dog/cat puppy/kitten and they'll be fine. This is not always the case. We'll discuss this and help not only the person who has lost the pet, but also the other people in that person's life understand it.
The whole nail trimming issue - for dogs and for cats - why it is so important -
long nails split rip bleed painful cats get stuck, tear
chronic long - change dog's gait - lead to arthritis
how often you should do it, and how to get rid of the stress involved in doing it!
Pet Adoption and rescue - what is involved - close to my heart
why is it important
how you can help
Importance of regular vet check ups
again with fast metabolism - one year=7catch things early
preventative medicine much more effective
Games and things to do with your pets -
how to enrich your own life through doing thisNew ideas that you may not have thought of
Leads back to your suggestions - again email is here send in your comments, ideas, questions, what have you, I'd love to know what you think,
and what you consider burning issues.
Won't promise to get to all of them, but I'll do my best!So, this brings us to our final segment of the showThanks so much for tuning inI know some of you are catching this cause you're waiting for The SUPERBOWL to start, so, I hope some of you like it, and tune in again next Sunday night - Feb 8th From 5-6pm here on AM980
Again, I am really looking forward to the weeks ahead and all the possibilities that we have to really talk about animals and our relationships with them.
I don't think that I can stress enough just really how important they are in our lives, and what incredible gifts they can really be to us when they are thriving.
There is nothing like bundling up to take your dog out in the minus whatever weather, grumbling the whole time, then being so glad that we got out there with them because we saw the most beautiful frost or a beautiful bird, coming home and curling up with our cat to watch a movie, and falling asleep to a purr lullaby instead, or any of the wonderful things we're exposed to because of having an animal in our lives.
Thanks again for listening
Don't forget to email suggestions and comments to
EMAILlisac.gpo@gmail.com
Check out the show on the web on AM980.ca
And, we'll talk to you next Sunday - Feb 8th Here on AM 980 5-6pm
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