Maria chats with one of her favorite guests, MUTTS creator Patrick McDonnell!

Patrick took a few minutes from his book tour to chat about The Gift of Everything and The Gift of Nothing (20th Anniversary edition with a new cover!) Book Tour, plus all that he's been doing!

Patrick and his wife Karen do so much for charities (check it out HERE) plus
the Shop of " MUTTS stuff" is perfect this time of year!

Patrick has new ideas that he'll be working on so you can count on him returning!

Visit the shop and learn more:  MUTTS!

Maria chats with Russ Fincher, former FBI agent and first responder whose service dog Jethro was trained by the NY Islanders, part of America's Vet Dogs "Puppy With a Purpose" program.
Jethro is the fourth Isanders dog; America's Vet Dogs also has puppies training with The Jets and The Mets!

Hear how Jethro helps Russ with his ptsd and so much more!

To learn about America's Vet Dogs and all they do, including how to donate: VETDOGS.ORG.

Maria chats with author and co-founder of the BIPOC Birding Club of Wisconsin, Dexter Patterson, about his book Birds of the Great Lakes! A "mighty book" as Dexter calls it filled with photos, info, and fun facts about birds of the Great Lakes, many of which can be seen across the country!

It's a perfect stocking stuffer!

Learn about Dexter, birding, and more plus you can get the book too at WISCOBIRDER.COM.

Maria chats with returning guest Victoria Shaffer, CEO & Founder of Pup Culture Rescue.
Based in Pasadena, Pup Culture Rescue is a female-founded non-profit who has rescued and homed over 1300 dogs! 

They recently went through a challenge with distemper and parvo "the Pup-demic" as they call it, and can really use any help financially.

Click here to donate or volunteer, and follow Pup Culture Rescue on Instagram.

Maria chats with Warrior Canine Connection's Mar Leifeld, Assistant Director of MBTR--Mission Based Trauma Recovery--programs.  They discuss how veterans with PTSD help train puppies to become service dogs for veterans who need one. Warrior Canine Connection says: "One dog can help more than 80 warriors" so give a listen and learn! (This is their third time on Maria's Mutts & Stuff!)

To find out how YOU can help CLICK HERE!

Maria chats with Co-Director and Producer Vicki Topaz and Director MIchael Collins about their documentary By My Side; the story of three veterans suffering from PTSD and how their service dogs 
gave them back their life.  By My Side has been in 46 film festivals and has won 16 awards (with more to come I'm sure!)

To learn more about the film, bymyside.com

If you would like to host a screening of the documentary Click Here.

Click HERE to watch the film.

Maria chats with returning guests Adrienne, Ursula and Jane to talk about Nylabone's 70th birthday!!
(Today's the day November 4th!)

They discuss 70 years of chew happiness; the CHEWS for Good campaign; their partnerships especially with Best Friends Animal Society; how you can donate a chew AND how you can win prizes and so much more!

Learn more at NYLABONE.COM!

CLICK HERE for Info on NYLABONECARES!

Maria chats with global activist and journalist Nina Jackel, the founder of Lady Freethinker, the international non-profit animal protection organization. Their mission is to end pet abandonment; expose puppy mills; advocate for animal legislation and so much more!!

Learn more at LADYFREETHINKER.

Maria chats with host and producer Gemma Smith about Catbaret Presents:  Meowloween, a one-night-only cat-themed variety show on Halloween (Friday 10/31) at Caveat (21A Clinton St in NYC)!

It's a variety show with comedy, music and burlesque! Wear a costume, there are prizes!

(Weruva is sponsoring the show and donating to RESCUE NYC.

For tickets:  catbaretshow.com.

Maria chats with Wildlife SOS Executive Director Nikki Sharp about the 300,000+ animals they've saved; the elimination of "dancing bears" in India, the process of eliminating "begging elephants" and more!! 

Learn all about the organization, and you can make a donation too at WILDLIFESOS.ORG

Maria chats with Explore.org's Naturalist (and former park ranger) Mike Fitz about Fat Bear Week (Chunk the Hunk is the winner!) which just ended, and all the cameras around the world that let us into the world of animals and nature. Explore.org brings us to places that most humans could never encounter. As Founder Charles Annenberg Weingarten said Explore.org is the "Netflix of Nature"!

Check them out...I do!   Explore.org

You'll be watching puppy cams and tiger cams and pasture cams just like I do daily! 

Maria chats with author Beth Evans about her first book Jake the Country Cat!
The book idea came to her in a dream, a very elaborate dream with a cat and Blake Shelton!
Beth is a huge advocate for animal rescue and black cats/dogs. And hopefully this is the first of a children's series.

You can find Jake the Country Cat wherever books are sold! And #adoptdontshop

Maria chats with elementary school teacher (30 years as an educator!) and children's book author Lori Skala about her books The Road To Rosie and The Hair Tie. Proceeds from Lori's books go to animal rescue and pediatric cancer, her two passions.

Give a listen and learn about Lori and her mission.

Lori can be found on IG at storyloribooks or visit her website storyloribooks.com.

Maria chats with returning guest Operation K9 Beethoven's VP & Co-Founder Brian Reyngoudt!

They are a charity organization for veterans that includes Pet Therapy Programs and Psychiatric Therapy Dog Programs. They provide service dogs to veterans at no cost to the vets.
And the best part?  Their service dogs come from rescues and shelters so it's Win Win for both the vets AND the dogs!!

Give a listen and learn about all that they do.

Also, if you'd like to volunteer or make a donation (that's how they survive) CLICK HERE!!

"Learn Practice Master Begin Again" is Linn Boyke's motto when it comes to dogs.
Linn runs The School of Dog Psychology. I first saw Linn when he was on Cesar Millan's Dog Whisperer TV show--he was one of his students. Linn also indirectly helped me with my dog Fredo many years ago.

Give a listen and learn about Linn's path. Recently, he learned that he needs quadruple bypass heart surgery.  I'm including a link to his Gofundme page to help him with the care of his dogs while he recuperates after his surgery.

To learn about Linn:  LINNBOYKE.COM

To contribute to his fundraiser (no amount too small or large):
Support-Linn's-Lifesaving Heart Surgery and Thank You!

Maria chats with Born Free USA's Devan Schowe about the organization and all they do to prevent humans from exploiting wild-animals. 

In 1966, Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers starred in the classic wildlife film Born Free.
In 1984, they launched the charity Zoo Check which evolved into Born Free; in 2002, Born Free USA was launched in the states!

Their campaigns include the fur trade, trapping, animals in captivity, the Endangered Species Act,
and so much more!! See all they do BORNFREEUSA.ORG.

Maria chats with actor and animal advocate Brooke Shields about her partnership with Prospect Pet; pet supplements and wellness products that carry the Clean and Conscious promise of products that are good for your pets and the planet!

Check out the products PROSPECTPET.

***NOTE:  There were some technical difficulties with this interview, so you'll hear drop-outs and cut-offs. Please bear with it and give a listen anyway. Thank you!!***

Maria chats with Traps To Laps Director Chiquita Taylor about this program which breaks the cycle of homeless cats and kittens.  TTL has a network of rescue groups, fosters, and volunteers who help get feral cats off the streets--especially kittens before they become feral--and then gets them ready for their forever home through fostering and socialization.

It's a new and unique program that could work in any town or city and Chiquita is happy to discuss how it can be done at outreach@fixurpet.com.

And of course Traps To Laps  operates under S.A.V.E. Rescue Coalition which is a non-profit and survives on donations. 
If you can help:  saverescue.org
Click DONATE and write TRAPS TO LAPS.

Maria chats with The Sultan of Garbage author Brian Belefant about how we can all do our part--even if it's small--to reduce waste in our everyday lives! Although fiction, the book shares four tips on how to reduce waste: repurpose materials (be creative!); create "free piles"; donate rather than throw away; think about your purchases.

To learn more about Brian, go to BELEFANT.COM.

Maria chats with Certified Clinical Pet Nutritionist & Bow Wow Lab's Chief Nutrition Officer Johnna Devereaux about preventing your pet from choking! Did you know there are CPR classes for animals?
Listen and learn what to do and how to prevent your pet from choking.