Happy Furry Friday!

It's our favorite day of the week! Happy Furry Friday everyone! We love our pets extra special on Fridays, so we sometimes give them a special Castor & Pollux treat! As the leader and maker of America’s #1 organic pet food, Castor & Pollux has set a new standard with the most comprehensive portfolio of purposeful pet food. Today we have two furry friend lovers, Maura Davies and Leah Backo of Dallas Animal Services, so stick around.

Maura Davies

Maura Davies is the Vice President for Marketing & Communications at the SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) of Texas. As a longtime friend of One Life Radio, Maura is with us almost every Friday!

How Cats and Dogs Communicate

Dogs and cats can get their signals crossed. Tail positions are a great place to start! A wagging tail on a dog means it is happy! A wagging tail on a cat means "I am ready to pounce. Stay Away." So, If cat sees a dog wagging it's tailing coming towards him, the cat may swat. Dogs and Cats greet each other differently too! If you've ever seen two cats meet, they will typically boop noses and sniff each other's breath! With dogs, you know it, they sniff butts. But sniffing is like sniffing a bar code for dogs! Dogs and cats also vocalize for different reasons! Cats meow almost always to talk to humans! Dogs however, if they hear cats meowing, think that the cat is talking to them.When introducing animals, let the animals get to know each others smell through the door. It is all about smell for animals, so be patient. Respect your animals boundaries. Dogs and cats both communicate with their ears! This might be a little more subtle. Cats typically put their ears back when they’re scared, while dogs put their ears back when they’re aggressive. And the opposite! Animal relationships are anomalies. Weird animal friendships are never predictable! If you ever have questions, reach out to an animal behavioralist! Both dogs and cats blink often and softly when they are content. Both dogs and cats will not blink and have a “stand off” if you will for a power move! Check out these video for more information on animal behaviors. Click here for cats and here for dogs!

Leah Backo

Leah is the Public Information Coordinator for the City of Dallas and Dallas Animal Services, or DAS. The Dallas Animal Services is on a mission to lead the nation in compassionate care of animals while finding positive outcomes for all placeable pets through innovative shelter operations and community engagement. As the third-largest dog and cat intake shelter in the country, DAS believes they can be the largest shelter in the nation with a sustainable live release rate of above 90% and is on track to do so for fisccal Year 2020. The biggest initiative for DAS is Dallas90, a community outreach campaign by Dallas Animal Services designed to engage the community in their lifesaving vision.

Dallas90 Initiative

DAS offers many services! DAS also responds to all animal related 911 and 311 calls in Dallas County! This includes, pet rehoming support, animal surrender, wildlife rescue resources, and more! The City of Dallas does great work within city limits. Bernadette asks Leah what to do if you see a lost or wandering dog! DAS handles every dog or cat case by case. There used to be a very bad stray dog problem in the City Of Dallas, and after a very bad loss of human life at the hands of stray dogs, the DAS made a change. Animal Services are no longer just a code compliance part of parks and recreation, but their own branch of local government. Please microchip your animals! Microchips are a city ordinance, and a much more reliable resource than a dog tag. Also, it is against city ordinances to have your dogs run free, or to be off leash. Leash those pups and microchip all your pets!Nationwide, the standard for a shelter be considered a no kill shelter is for the live release rate of incoming animals to be above 90%. The Dallas Animal Services have a month left in their fiscal year, and are set to reach the 90% live release rate of animals! Live release means adoption, release back to owner, and sick to healthy animals. Dallas Animal Services has surprisingly not had an increase in surrenders due to COVID-19, DAS simply had to change their adoption operations. It is clear the shelter month! From now until the end of August, all pets are free to adopt! But of you decide to adopt at another time, option fees are very low cost!

Thank You!

A big thank you to our guests, Maura Davies and Leah Backo. To donate to SPCA Texas, click here. There are many ways to give! To search adoptable cats and dogs on Dallas Animal Services Website, click here!Thank you to all of our One Life Radio listeners. We truly appreciate each and every one of you, so If you’d like to hear more from One Life Radio, please subscribe to our podcast.If you have any hot ideas or burning questions, email us at info@oneliferadio.com. Bernadette loves hearing from listeners.And, last but never least, thank you to our sponsors. We couldn’t do the show without you; Crazy Water, Sunwarrior, Enviromedica, Flunada, VEGWORLD Magazine, Castor & Pollux, Paleo Magazine, the Well Being Journal and the ISSN. Visit our sponsor page for some great offers just for One Life Radio listeners!