We're half a world apart yet we talk up the same message - some of the actual words we say are a bit different but both of us can be understood by most pet lovers in our respective countries - and now both our shows can be heard in both our countries at the same time!
Hal Abrams and Judy Francis, co hosts of America's most listened to pet show with an audited (Arbitron) listenership of 2.5million people every week - gave us a surprise call(right click to download) just to say 'g'day' to Australia and Pet Talk Radio listeners.
As it happens, listeners to the Animal Radio Network - www.animalradio.com- the only 24/7 'all animals all the time' programming, have also been able to listen to Pet Talk Radio! since 2005.
Hal and Judy seem to have a similar sense of humour (yes that's how we spell it here guys) to us so it has to be their mutual love and respect for the animals :-)
Since February 2006, we have been writing a small column for the Animal Radio Newsletter, and we thought we'd re-print those items here. (reverse order - latest issue is first)
______________________________________________ All spelling has mostly been left as 'Aussie English' :-) ______________________________________________
HOW CAN YOU MEND A BROKEN HEART?
Don’t let the title of this month’s story put you off! – It has a happy ending…
Saying farewell to our mostly four legged furry friends is hard enough at the best of times. But when we have to make the decision for them it can literally ‘break your heart. And experts are not sure why but for some reason the loss of a beloved pet can be harder to deal with than the loss of even a close human family member or relative.
Last month our eldest miniature apricot poodle Cosmo (14years) had a stroke, although we didn’t really know it at the time. Cosmo hadn’t been in the best of health for the past 12 months and we literally woke up one morning to see him standing ‘staring into space’. For a number of reasons and medical issues he had, we felt it was going to be ‘his time’ this year and even told him… Cosmo, if you want to go mate, then go… and remember that we’ll always love you.
By the next morning it was obvious Cosmo was ‘on his way’ but now he seemed to be in some pain and quite distressed, not drinking water or taking food.
So what are the choices here?... Our veterinarian helped us with this harder than expected decision. Long term medication, blood tests, scans etc with a slim chance of success?? (remember he was 14 years old) or do we make the hardest choice any pet owner can make. Help him to move on. ‘Put him down’ ‘Euthanaze…’ there is no easy way to say it!
Our vet explained the process – fast, painless and quiet. Our vet is very special – candles in a dimly lit room.. all of us down on the floor on comfy mats with Cosmo… some private time to say our last goodbyes and cry… a lot…
Then – it’s over – in just a few short moments.
But knowing Cosmo is now free of pain and discomfort more than makes up for the deep loss we felt in the week or so following that moment.
So how are we coping?... Fine thanks… now. These things take time, and you should allow time for that process. It’s normal.
We still haven’t told our radio listeners yet who have heard us talk about Cosmo over the years – we’ll do that when we feel up to it… but we did tell our closest friends and colleagues and it was wonderful the support we got back from every single one of them. And that REALLY helped.
And that’s the point of this story… Crying is good – Grieving is good – and talking about your loss helps ‘mend your broken heart’. We have done stories on Pet Talk Radio! about the grieving process – In fact there is a great book - ‘When Pets Die: It’s OK To Grieve’ by Doris Zagdanski – it’s just a series of great thoughts that help heal your heart. Likewise there are a number of individuals and organisations that have pet grief counselling services – almost always free.
So if you are in this situation or have a family member, relative or friend who has just lost their pet – remember, it is important to give them time to get over their loss. Some people take longer than others – some do it harder than others. If that’s the case ensure they seek professional help. Meantime NEVER say “oh you can always get another dog (or cat or whatever)… “ that’s bound to see the end of your friendship forever!
And the happy ending we promised?... We laid Cosmo to rest in a hole in the front garden that he had been digging for the past 12 months…. We had always told him off and said “when you go to doggy heaven mate you’ll be going right in there!!”…
Well he is now and we know he’s happy. We’re also happy. We planted an Australian native Bottlebrush tree on top and when it blooms in summer and attracts all the colorful parrots (Cosmo’s favourite pastime was chasing but never catching them) we’ll be able to laugh out loud as we remember all the good times we had over the last 14 years with ‘our best friend’.
And that folks is how to mend a broken heart.
Take care and hugs for your pets from Brian & Kaye
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March 2008
G’day from Down-Under….
Last month we mentioned our trip to the states. We went to LA, Ventura, Las Vegas (in fact we stayed at the Monte Carlo that had that fire there last month) San Diego, Boston and New York.
Everywhere we went we saw nice pets with very nice and very helpful people from all walks of life and no-one made fun of our accents (you guys have accents too ok!!)
But it was New York pet owners that made us sit up and take notice. We stayed in Greenwich Village in an apartment opposite NYU. Every day in the elevator, dogs and their owners would come and go.
No fuss no yanking on leashes to control jumping dogs. Often there would be two or three at a time. No worries.
This city full of apartment dogs and with only one minor exception (accidents happen!), we saw no evidence of forgetful owners picking up after their dogs. Even in the local parks where dogs go two, three or more times a day to 'empty' as we call it, there was no visible evidence of them having been there.
Was it the fact it was winter get out and back inside as fast as possible? Maybe, but it showed us albeit from a spectators point of view, that New York dogs are probably the most socialised of all dogs anywhere.
Here in Australia it's getting harder and harder to have dogs and cats or any pet for that matter whether it be in apartments or free standing homes with backyards on a single block.
The reason? officially because of 'health and safety reasons' Some councils actually limit the number of pets to just one or two after that you need a special licence.
So why is this happening?... There are many reasons including some animal activist groups who don't want anyone to 'own' a pet.
But we think some Aussies themselves might be partly to blame.
A lot of Aussie pet owners simply leave their pets mostly dogs in the backyard and these dogs rarely get out to socialise with other dogs or people or get exposed to kids on bikes or traffic etc.
And when they do get out they become a nuisance... jumping, barking and behaving badly or even escaping and running wild so it's easier to ban something than to try and find ways of fixing it.
Even though we didn't get to interview any New Yorkers about their pets, we spoke with several of them and certainly have a good overall picture what life is like for apartment pets. And we'll be telling our listeners what we think the secret is.
Socialise socialise socialise your pets from as early an age as possible. Dogs especially who are used to all kinds of people, other animals, cars, bikes and young children especially, are bound to grow up 'sensibly', providing they have 'sensible' owners too.
Ask any postman or pizza delivery guy what it's like to be bailed up by a snarling snapping schnauzer or rottweiller!
If you have a story about socialising your pet we'd love to share it with our Aussie listeners we can all learn from each other and we know they'd like to hear from you too. Just email
or get in touch with Hal & Judy from Animal Radio.
Hugs for your pets from Brian & Kaye!
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February 2008
G’day from Down-Under….
When we started Pet Talk Radio about six years ago we had two dogs now we have four. The family we call them our '4 pack' - are well and truly used to our 'sloppy routine'.
Breakfast is around 7-8am, dinner is anywhere between 7pm and 9pm. No snacking and they always eat AFTER us. That's the rule.
One of the dogs - Monet - gets special training on a Saturday. He definitely knows which day is Saturday! Mostly we both work from home so the dogs are with us all day every day.
Recently we returned to Australia after spending 5 weeks in the USA (yes we met Hal & Judy while we were here check out what we thought of them!) and naturally we were missing the 4 pack real bad. I mean we even took a soft toy dog with us for company!! now THAT say's a lot right??
Anyway, driving out to Pet Resorts Australia (run by our friend and animal trainer Steve Austin) we thought "will they still remember us?..." "will they be mad at us for being away so long?" "have they learnt any bad habits like forgetting to go outside to empty?"
Well as you might imagine all of this was just us being 'precious' pet owning mums and dads. Even though we tell our listeners every week not to smother your pets with love, we all do it occasionally right? Hmmmm
Of course one dog seeing their owner after a break can be overwhelming probably like your own when you get home from work?.... but imagine four dogs jumping, barking, rolling "pat me .. no me NO MEEEE..!!!"
All of this is significant because just before we left the US to fly home, we received a phone message. Our eldest dog Cosmo was not looking the best and in fact it seemed touch and go if he would make it at all.
"Hang on Cosmo just a little longer until we see you one last time!"
We were nervous about the greeting we expected and what we might find.
All the kennel assistants looked glum too knowing how much he means to us they really do take a personal interest in their charges.
But just as you can't predict the weather, we've learnt you can't predict dogs either.
Cosmo a 14 year old miniature apricot Poodle came bounding up so fast he almost bowled Kaye over. He's practically deaf, 80% blind and has a back problem. And even though he looked dreadful tired, thin and worn out he spent the next 10 minutes 'being a puppy' again.
He eventually settled down for the car ride home.
He strolled slowly inside and we thought 'this is it' For some months now we've vacillated over his quality of life 'is now the time to say goodbye?'
But it has taken just one week, some veterinary prescribed Chinese herbs and his routine (eat sleep play sleep, eat sleep play sleep) to get his body looking better and his famous smile back on his face.
Were the kennels a problem. No way just a different routine and 'mum and dad' weren't there. Perhaps he felt abandoned?.. after all he's been with us almost constantly for 14 years.
So what's the punchline? Simply to create a strong routine with your pets, especially dogs and to enjoy every waking moment with them.
Walk with them more, talk with them more and if you go on holiday always try and find a way of taking your pets with you wherever you go. Quarantine reasons (returning to Australia) meant we couldn't easily do this this time but we don't take big overseas vacations every year.
And if we ever ended up moving to America for some reason?... well, you guys would have a few more dogs and we'd be able to catch up with your Animal Radio hosts Hal & Judy and their traveling cats again in the Animal Radio mobile studio. That's right they take their pets with them on vacation!
Hugs for your pets from Brian & Kaye!
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January 2008
G’day from Down-Under….
We’ve been writing this short column for the Animal Radio Network for about the past 2 years. Our listeners can read it via PetTalkRadio.com under ‘Letters To
America’ and Animal Radio visitors see it every month in the Animal Radio newsletter.
Of course we are big Animal Radio fans and have wondered through those last two years what Hal & Judy – your AR hosts – are really like… you know, in person!
Well we have finally met them. And their four cats!!
That’s right, Pet Talk Radio came to the US from Australia on a kind of ‘working holiday’ and finally got to meet the hosts of America’s most listened to radio show about animals.
So what did we discover?... You would not believe the personal similarities between us… no details here but it was amazing to discover our equal passion and long term vision for our respective radio shows.
The biggest surprise – and it shouldn’t have been – was that what you hear on the radio is what you get in person. Hal & Judy are two of the nicest people we have met in a long time and genuinely totally devoted to helping people learn all about not only their own pets, but also other species of animals too. In fact we chatted the best part of 2 days non-stop about animals – but you’d expect that from passionate people.
It’s fairly easy on radio to be one thing to the listening public and something else off-air.
The reason for telling you all this is that you can see people on TV and make up your own mind about them, but on radio it’s a little harder and given the amount of information on the air-waves that is available these days, there are a lot of ‘snake oil salesmen’ (and women) out there and being genuinely credible gets harder and harder as more of these other people get into the public eye.
So we wanted to assure Animal Radio listeners that Hal Abrams & Judy Francis are a very genuine couple who really do care about animals, animal issues and helping to educate people around the world.
For instance did you know they travel the country in a giant RV - a Winnebago
- with their four cats?... In fact there’s hardly any room left inside ‘cos the cats have their own beds, litter trays and ‘day beds’ (strategic perches near the windows) scattered right through the RV.
It was immaculate and except for ‘Nike’ - a very black very nosy cat wanting some of our Pizza, they all just kind of minded their business in this home away from home.
We asked Judy what happens if they get out of the RV and she assured us the cats simply go “oops!” and climb right back inside.
Hal & Judy were visiting family around the Ventura/Oxnard area in CA and we were staying in LA with our daughter so it was great we could easily meet up and the RV was certainly the place to do it – besides you can’t miss it – it’s got Animal Radio written all over it… Honk if you ever see them on the road!
They certainly proved to us you can travel safely with your furry friends – there was even some talk of getting a bird – maybe they could free fly it inside the RV!
Anyway this month we really wanted to let you know first hand what we thought of your Animal Radio hosts and hope this report card helps you enjoy their show even more thru 2008.
But can you do us a favour please?.. Tell a friend or two about Animal Radio and also Pet Talk Radio and all the other great shows on the AR Network. Why?... ‘cos the more people that listen each week, the more information gets out to the public about caring for animals… and that is really what we are all about after all.
Have a great 2008…
Meantime – Hugs for your pets Brian & Kaye
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Hal Abrams and Judy Francis, co hosts of America's most listened to pet show with an audited (Arbitron) listenership of 2.5million people every week - 
