#960B: Filmmaker John Semper made the charming animated tale "The Singular Affair of the Missing Ball," which delighted the NYC audience at the recent premiere of the 10th Annual NY Dog Film Festival. After decades of producing and writing shows, particularly the iconic Spiderman series, using AI was a fun artistic experiment for him. Semper discusses general fear and confusion about AI and how people have historically resisted change and pushed back against new technology — but since the Motion Picture Academy (that gives out the Oscars!) embraces AI animation, so should the Dog and Cat Film Festivals!

#960A: These are the actual names of some of the 60 sea creatures Cara Giaimo describes in her gorgeously illustrated precious little book “Leaving the Ocean was a Mistake: Life Lessons from Sixty Sea Creatures,” from whom she has extracted great nuggets of wisdom like “Don’t let anyone tell you your relationship is weird” (White’s Seahorse), “Dress up, whether or not anyone can see you” (Bloody-belly comb jelly) or “Don’t forget to take your little walk” (Sea toad).

#955B: Jerry D. Moore discusses his captivating historical nonfiction book “Cat Tales: A History: How We Learned to Live with Them," which required years of research to uncover fascinating aspects of history that cats share with humankind.

#910B: Retired Air Force Brigadier General Scott Wiggins talks about being the subject of the documentary “The Wingman” — which was one of three finalists in the Purina Dog Chow Service Dog Salute — a new category of the NY Dog Film Festival. He explains how having his PTSD-trained service dog Bear — a Labrador from Patriot Service Dogs — has transformed his life. 

#910A: Sara Driscoll’s new FBI K-9 novel, “Summit’s Edge,” will have you at the edge of your seat as her protagonists navigate an avalanche while investigating a plane crash in the Colorado mountains with their dogs, who have to track the man who blew it up.

#909B: Dr. Esther Eng, who is completing a residency at the Animal Behavior Wellness Clinic to join an elite group of board certified veterinary behaviorists, talks about having been an Asian American student at Tuskegee University College of Veterinary Medicine, a Historically Black College.

#909A: Katherine Carver’s book “Abandoned: Chronicling the Journeys of Once-Forsaken Dogs” photo-documents a series of dogs in shelters and then revisits them again a year later after adoption — sometimes with new names, along with a new lease on life. She calls her own rehomed Sheltie Victory “my daughter’s fur sister.”

#908B: Tracie’s co-host on CAT CHAT, Dr. Mikel Maria Delgado, discusses her scientific research paper about cats who retrieve objects and how common it is for cats to play fetch with their humans.

#908A: Tom Turcich describes his epic journey,  with Savannah, an adopted puppy, by his side in his book “The World Walk: 7 years, 28,000 miles, 6 continents. A grand meditation one step at a time.” 

#907B: Warren Booth, Associate Professor Department of Entomology in the Urban Evolutionary Entomology Lab at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, talks about the many topics he has studied, from bed bugs to reptile reproduction. 

#907A: Paul Koudounaris talks about the pet cemeteries he found and photographed all over the world in his book “Faithful Unto Death: Pet Cemeteries, Animal Graves & Eternal Devotion,” chronicling fascinating tales of how people have memorialized their beloved pets forever.

#906B: Dr. Claude Beata (who is one of only 5 “animal psychiatrists” in all of France) discusses his psychological theories about bipolar disorder, ADHD and OCD in cats in his book “The Interpretation of Cats: Understanding the Psychology of Our Feline Companions,” conditions which he says are treatable with medications and behavior/environmental modification.

#906A: Bruce Cameron’s novel “My Three Dogs” takes us inside a pack of three dogs who are separated after being put in a shelter when their owners die in an accident — but the hero is the Australian Shepherd who cleverly finds a way to reunite his pack.  

#955A: Victor Hurtado is the veteran with PTSD in the winning Dog Chow Service Dog Salute film ONE MIND, who describes his relationship with his life-altering dog, Holly as being "her 19th puppy," because before being paired with him she had two litters of 9 puppies each, all of which went on to become trained service dogs themselves.

#905B: Annie Grossman, founder of School for the Dogs in Manhattan's East Village, has written  “How to Train Your Dog With Love + Science,” which even those without a dog can enjoy because it is more than a dog training book — as funny as it is useful.

#905A: In her book  “Rethinking Rescue: Dog Lady and the Story of America’s Forgotten People and Pets,” Carol Mithers did a deep dive into the life of Lori Weise, the champion of pets of the homeless in Los Angeles, offering a different perspective on how we approach pets and people experiencing homelessness.

#904B: Chris Buddle is a renowned entomologist (emphasis on arachnids) who has been chasing spiders throughout his academic career, while developing astonishing skills as a watercolorist of natural subjects. He has turned his work into a gorgeous book "A Portrait of Astonishing Nature" with pithy Haiku poems accompanying every drawing — with 100% of the proceeds going to a land trust in Canada, bordering the Great Lakes, to protect the wildlife.

#904A: Margaret Mizushima has written another gripping Timber Creek K-9 mystery “Gathering Mist,” in which the forest is integral to the dangers confronting heroine K-9 Deputy Mattie Cobb and her tracking dog Robo. 

#903B: Filmmaker Kim Best — who was awarded the Visionary Award from the NY Cat Film Festival for having at least one film in every year of the Festival — will be flying back to New York City again on October 15th to be applauded for having yet another two new films in the 6th Annual Festival.

#903A: Shannon Walker, the Executive director of the National Association of Service Dog Providers for Military Veterans (and also the Founder of Northwest Battle Buddies, which trains and provides PTSD service dogs for veterans) talks about the Association’s support from Purina Dog Chow and now the NY Dog Film Festival, presented by Purina, featuring three finalists in a new Service Dog Salute category of films illuminating the life-saving effects of specially trained dogs for veterans with the invisible wounds of PTSD.

#902B: Ron Schmidt is a conceptual photographer creating iconic images of dogs that people hang on their walls — he and his wife Amy took the bold step of creating their first short documentary for the Purina Dog Chow Service Dog Salute category of the NY Dog Film Festival — and they wound up being one of only three prize-winning finalists!

#902A: Zazie Todd’s newest book “BARK! The Science of Helping Your Anxious, Fearful or Reactive Dog” explains what can make dogs fearful or anxious (which are actually two different emotions!) and how to create a safe space to help him cope.

#901B: Veterinary behaviorist Dr. Amy Pike of the Animal Behavior Wellness Clinic in Maryland talks about the ways you can help calm a thunderstorm-phobic dog, including a new anxiety medication called Sileo.

#901A: Peggy Gavan’s book “The Bravest Pets of Gotham: Tales of Four-Legged Firefighters of Old New York” is a wonderful window on the animals that used to be essential to firehouses in the late 1800s — and to the men who populated them.

#954B: Dr. Lisa Radosta DVM, DACVB is a world-renowned board-certified veterinary behaviorist, who talks about when — and which drugs — might help peoples' pets with Separation Related Disorders adjust and cope better in stressful situations. 

#900B: Mustapha Khan, an Emmy-Award winning director and Brooklyn College Film School professor, talks about his film “Freddie Bear’s Lovely Day,” set to Bill Withers iconic tune, which he will be there to see in person at the 9th Annual NY Dog Film Festival premiering in NYC October 24th. 

#900A: Carol Borden of Guardian Angels Medical Service Dogs explains how dogs can distinguish the chemical components of emotions, particularly the scent of PTSD for which they can be trained as service dogs — about which her organization made a film for the Purina Dog Chow Service Dog Salute category of the upcoming NY Dog Film Festival.

#899B: Cathryn Michon’s gorgeously illustrated prose poem book “i’m still here - a dog’s purpose forever” is a panacea for those of us who have lost a dog, with the assurance that while we still miss that dog so much, s/he never really left us. It is a most comforting, rewarding, uplifting, adorable, funny book.

#899A: Jessica Pierce’s newest books focusing on dogs — “Dogpedia” a Brief Compendium of Canine Curiosities” — is a cornucopia of carefully curated topics, encyclopedia-style, that will delight and surprise even the most well-versed dog lovers. 

 #898B: Joan Gratz, a pioneering film animator who won an Oscar in 1992 for Best Animated Film, is coming to NYC to see two of her innovative cat-centric films premiering at the 7th Annual NY Cat Film Festival October 15th. 

#898A: Marianne Leone’s memoir, “Five Dog Epiphany: How a Quintet of Badass Bichons Retrieved Our Joy,” relays how a series of adopted little white dogs helped her recover from the death of her son.

#897B: Dr. Amy Pike, of the Animal Behavior Wellness Clinic outside Washington, D.C., talks about dogs who become thunderstorm phobic — ways to manage their environment and medications that can help calm the dogs, especially the oral gel Sileo — which works for Tracie’s trembling pooch, Wanda. 

#897A: W. Bruce Cameron talks about “Ripley, Fire Station Five,” the newest title in his “Dogs With a Purpose” series for school age children — seeing the world from their point of view, along with the dog’s eye view, for which Cameron is famous.

#896C: Erin Jones, author of “Constructing Canine Consent: Conceptualising and Adopting a Consent-focused Relationship with Dogs,” explains that a wagging tail doesn't necessarily mean a dog is happy — it’s up to us to distinguish their body language that says “No” or “Maybe no.” 

#896B: Wendy Lyons Sunshine takes her knowledge about raising adopted children from difficult circumstances and applies it to meeting the challenges of bringing out the best in adopted dogs in her book “Tender Paws: How Science-Based Parenting Can Transform Our Relationship with Dogs.”

#954A: Film director, screenwriter and author Cathryn Michon talks about the groundbreaking way she turned her book "I'm Still Here: a Dog's Purpose Forever" into an innovative film for the 10th Annual NY Dog Film Festival, which is why she'll be flying to NYC for the premiere October 26th — where her film will be the closing one in the program.

#896A: Peter Abrahams is back with another dog-driven mystery novel in his renowned Chet & Bernie mystery series — as fun as ever!

895B: Linda Kohanov, author of “The Tao of Equus,” describes a similar magic of communication we can have with dogs, and how we can transfer her principles of Wu Wei (not doing, not forcing, not striving) from our relationship with horses to that with dogs. 

#895A: Director Les Owen discusses his short film “One Mind,” which celebrates the relationship between a veteran with PTSD and his specially trained service dog — one of the semi-finalists being considered for the new Service Dog Salute category of the upcoming 9th Annual NY Dog Film Festival, presented by Purina Dog Chow  

#894B: Anne Marie Farage-Smith’s book “How to Heal from Pet Loss and Different Forms of Grief” offers wisdom and support for coping with the often surprisingly powerful grief that accompanies the death of a pet.

#89A: Dr. Andy Roark is what Tracie calls a Physician Philosopher, dispensing humorous insights to other veterinarians (and the rest of us!), with a weekly blog Tracie eagerly anticipates for his musings into the joys and burdens of being human — like his recent one “No One Cares About Your Broccoli” that they discuss. (Tracie knows she has a lot of company in Andy’s fan club — his podcast “Cone of Shame” has had over one million listens!)

#893B: Dr. Carolynne Joone, reproductive veterinarian and professor at James Cook University in Australia, discusses being surprised by the results of her own study of neutered Rottweilers (3,085 intact and 4,100 neutered Rottweilers) which showed that when neutered before one year of age, males died about 18 months younger and females one year younger than those left intact. Tracie adds that early spay/neuter also increases the risk of obesity, cancer and ACL/CCL tears in any dog desexed before fully grown.

#893A: The role of horses in warfare throughout history [Hitler’s war had only 10% mechanized equipment — the rest was horsepower] is but one of the many amazing facts in Timothy Winegard’s riveting historical narrative “The Horse — a Galloping History of Humanity,” that shows how horses have been central to the entire arc of human history. 

#892B: Melissa Stagnaro describes the fun of training for Search and Rescue competitions (vs. “real life” missions) that have different levels of competition, including one test that certifies you for “mission ready” qualification. Dogs [and people!] of all types and sizes can participate. Searchandrescuesport.org.

#892A: Erin Jones, author of “Constructing Canine Consent: Conceptualising and Adopting a Consent-focused Relationship with Dogs,” questions why we expect our dog to do something he doesn’t want to? Where is the mutual reciprocity in the relationship? Are we missing the chance to truly respect and communicate with them?

#891B: Hanna Mandelbaum, co-founder of Evermore pet food, is crowing because their company has made “chicken history” by receiving rare GAP 4 certification by exclusively using Mary’s Free-Range chicken — which are slow growth, heirloom birds raised on pasture (and happen to be the closest link to the Tyrannosaurus Rex dinosaurs!) 

#953B: Brian Nolan “rescued” the Australian brand Darren & Philipp, and now has a cult following for the matching comfy clothes and throws for the whole mutli-species family.

#891A: Wendall Thomas explains how a dormouse drives the story in her London-based mystery "Fogged Off,” while an endangered Tasmanian Tiger does the same in Australia in “Drowned Under.”

#890B: Sara Goldenthal is a professional jazz singer, composer and dedicated advocate for cats in shelters, who wrote lyrics and sang “Angels Surround You” (free on Spotify!) which has ambient music in the calming frequency of 528 Hz to soothe shelter cats.

#890A: Jennifer Holland’s book “Dog Smart: Life-Changing Lessons in Canine Intelligence” takes a look at the “smartest of the smart” dogs who do extraordinary things for us with their natural abilities — and asks whether we shouldn’t be a little smarter in our dealings with them!