Features

From the frontlines of America's no-kill movement with one of its most controversial leaders, to the jungles and hideouts of the world of reptile smugglers, to the redemption story of the decade -- no, not the one about Michael Vick; the one about his dogs.

That's just the first weekend of our Thirteenth Annual Chat Month, when we'll be joined by:

Father's Day is a time to reflect on those men who have formed our lives. I would like to share with you two of the most important men I have been honored to have around. I was inspired to write this from Liz Palika, who today shared a wonderful tribute to her father over on Petconnection.com.

He was the Katz-en-father as our neighbors called him. Taking care of our cats with love and compassion as I grew up. He supplied food to our neighborhood kitty, who if I remember right (and I very well not) we called Tigger. He taught me to fish and taught me to carefully handle the fish. To only keep what we could eat and not to waste. He taught me to properly remove the hook from animals not up to size so they could safely continue life. He took me to the zoo and let me revel in the animals.

Later in life, he helped me grieve as my beloved cat passed away, buying a dozen roses to go into cremation with her. He held me as we both cried our horrible eyes out. Star and I were both 18. But on that day, we mourned together.

Into my adult life he has had numerous occasions to roll his eyes. From my first iguana that died due to poor information and improper care from both his original owner and myself to babysitting occasionally in the beginning years of my reptile ownership. I still have the note he wrote me to tell me that Logan passed. It was amazingly touching and showed that while he wasn't too thrilled about the whole reptile game, he understood my connection and love for the cold blooded creatures I would eventually spend my life with.

I have known Lu personally for many years. Her stories of the pack that spends time in her home are amusing as well as touching. Lu is part of the Wisconsin Rescue community representing Havanese Rescue, Inc. as well as a tireless educator on Puppy Mills. In her work with the Havanese, she came to realize that often times, in massive seizures of mill dogs, breed lines are sometimes confused. She worked for almost a year to formulate the Breed ID project which offers an outlet for shelters and rescues to help ID pure breed dogs that do not look the way we are used to seeing them. This project targets 10 of the most commonly mis-identified small dog breeds and ways to tell the difference. She also does therapy work with her Havanese Gracie, who is certified through Therapy Dogs International, and serves on the health committee of the Havanese Club of America.

Lu always has had a smile on her face, even in her hardest times with some of her dogs. That is really because the one thing in her life she lives for are the dogs and her daughter. She also loves to share her dogs with the world and that will be her blog. The Dog House is a collection of writings from the dogs (and occasionally a cat's or person's) point of view. Her cast of characters will often change as fosters come and go, but they will share their lives with you along the way. We will also share exploits from past members of Lu's Family.

Welcome to the Pethobbyist.com Family Lu!

Do you know how to save your pet's life in an emergency?

April is Pet First Aid Awareness Month, and according to the American Animal Hospital Association, "One out of four pets would be saved if just one pet first aid technique was applied prior to getting to proper veterinary care."

"Preventable accidents are the leading cause of death and disability for our pre-senior dogs and cats," says Thom Somes, "The Pet Safety Guy" of PetTech.net. He'll be joining us Tuesday, April 6, from 10-11 pm Eastern Time in the Auditorium to discuss the skills and techniques that can save the lives of thousands of pets in emergency situations each year, and how to avoid preventable incidents from happening in the first place.

Thom will also be letting our chatters know about the "Million Petizen Internet Rally," where one million dollars is being raised for four pet charities through the sale of his book "Knowing Your Pet's Health, A Guide for Optimal Wellness from Snout-to-Tail." And a special discount code for 20 percent off will be given to all chatters that night!

Thom will be speaking with Therese Kopiwoda via streaming audio, and you'll be able to comment and ask questions in the text-based chat room.

To join the chat: Registered users of PetHobbyist.com log in here. If you're not registered, log in as a guest here and select "Auditorium" from the drop down menu!

See you there!

Wow... even with the shortened schedule because of the Tinley Park Summit, our 12th Annual Chat Month was jam packed with lots of talking goodness. Thanks to all who came and helped us kick off our streaming audio chats.

For those who couldn't make it, we did miss you, but here are the transcripts. Sit back, relax, and listen while you cruise the net or clean your cages. Much more fun than the usual reading, wouldn't you say? More are still coming, but I wanted to release these as soon as possible.

Dr. Bryan Grieg Fry interviewed by Cindy Steinle

The Rainbow Boa Panel with Dave Colling and Jeff Clark interviewed by Cindy Steinle

Terry Phillip interviewed by Cindy Steinle

Chad Brown interviewed by Cindy Steinle and Jeff Barringer

John Binns interviewed by Cindy Steinle

Julie Bergman interviewed by Cindy Steinle

As I said, more are still coming and get ready: everyone loved this so much we'll be making it a regular feature!

Steve Dale and Kim Campbell Thornton are two of the top pet journalists in America today -- but that's not why they're joining us this year.

Kim and Steve both had beloved pets who succumbed to genetic disease, and on Sunday night, Feb. 28, at 10 PM Eastern Time, they're going to be talking with Darlene Arden about the funds they established in those pets' memories to help other animals afflicted with the same condition.

Steve founded The Ricky Fund in memory of his Devon Rex cat Ricky, who died at the age of 4 of feline hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Kim founded The Darcy Fund in memory of her Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Darcy, who died of mitral valve disease.

Find out more about these diseases, how the Funds have helped both other animals and also Kim and Steve, and how you might go about honoring a lost pet in a similar way.

Kim and Steve will be speaking with Darlene via streaming audio, and you'll be able to comment and ask questions in the text-based chat room.

To join the chat: Registered users of PetHobbyist.com log in here. If you're not registered, log in as a guest here and select "Auditorium" from the drop down menu!

On Sunday, Feb. 28 at 9 PM Eastern Time in the kingsnake.com chat room, we'll be talking in live streaming audio with Russ Gurley, founder of the Turtle and Tortoise Preservation Group.

The TTPG was created in 1996 to help spread the horrible news: The world’s turtles are disappearing. Across the planet there are a variety of pressures facing the world’s turtles including habitat destruction, habitat fragmentation, collection for food and folk remedies, collection for the pet trade, and many more. Each year, turtle and tortoise keepers are having more and more successes with keeping their chelonians healthy and in creative enclosures and they are producing healthy captive-hatched specimens that are living stress-free and parasite-free in homes all over the world. These pets are ambassadors for their cousins, living in nature.

The TTPG is involved with the dissemination of information about the world's turtles and tortoises and their proper care through talks at herpetological societies, Turtle Night at the National Reptile Breeders Expo, the TTPG Conference in Phoenix Reptile Expo, and through books, articles, care sheets, and their website.

This, our final event of our 12th Annual Chat Month, marks the first of a regular TTPG group discussion that will be hosted on kingsnake.com

Times have been hard -- brutally hard -- on all kinds of charitable efforts, and animal causes are no exception. How can animal welfare organizations beat the times and keep helping pets in need -- and how can animal lovers still help animals when their wallets are feeling the pinch as well?

That's the topic we'll be tackling on Saturday, Feb. 27, at 9 PM Eastern Time, when we're joined by IMOM founder/president Jacki Hadra and IMOM vice-president Cindy Wilson for a panel discussion with Christie Keith on "Keeping help flowing to animal causes in a recession."

Few groups understand better than IMOM just how difficult it is for people to cope with an inability to pay their pets' veterinary bills. For years, they've been making grants and helping pet owners raise money to pay for procedures for pets whose owners can't handle the costs on their own. But tough times have made it hard for them to keep helping.

If you're a rescue group or are trying to raise money to help animals, find out from others in the same boat what tips and techniques work better in tough times. And if you're an animal lover, find out how you can help not just IMOM but all kinds of animal organizations, just how little it can really take to make a difference in a sick or injured pet's life, and how much difference that can make for the pet's owner, too.

Bring your questions and comments, as you'll be able to share them in our chat room while listening to the streaming audio interview!

To join the chat: Registered users of PetHobbyist.com log in here. If you're not registered, log in as a guest here and select "Auditorium" from the drop down menu!

On Saturday, Feb. 27, at 9 PM Eastern Time in the kingsnake.com chat room, Julie Bergmen of Gecko Ranch will be joining us to talk... what else? "Geckos!"

Julie is a noted breeder, keeper and author of and about geckos, Global Gecko Association 2009 President and Lifetime member, member of the International Reptile Conservation Foundation, Pet Industrial Joint Advisory Council(PIJAC), Heritage Society, University of California School of Veterinary Medicine and Northern California Herpetological Society.

She is also the author of "Geckos: Day Geckos, Tokay Geckos plus New Caledonians and More!" and co-author, "Leopard Geckos: A complete guide to Eublepharine Geckos."

Julie will be talking with kingsnake.com's Cindy Steinle via streaming audio. Bring your questions!

From scratching the sofa to peeing on the rug, behavior problems can destroy the human/animal bond, and send pets to the shelter. As part of this year's focus on "Ending Pet Homelessness in America," perennial PetHobbyist.com favorite guest Darlene Arden will be joining us to talk about "Keeping dogs and cats in their homes by resolving -- and preventing! -- behavior problems."

Please join us on Saturday, Feb. 27, at 10 PM Eastern Time in the Auditorium for a discussion with Darlene Arden, author of Rover! Get off her leg! and other top-selling pet books, for an in depth look at how to handle common behavior problems once they arise, and better yet, how to keep them from happening in the first place!

To listen to the audio and join the chat room: Registered users of PetHobbyist.com log in here. If you're not registered, log in as a guest here and select "Auditorium" from the drop down menu!