MOST POPULAR 2024 EPISODE (Re-issue): We are re-issuing our interview with Ben Moon – surfer, climber, photographer, and outdoors enthusiast – as the most popular episode of Dog Save The People during 2024. Ben’s lifelong journey with dogs at different ages is something many can identify with. From seeking constant adventure to having a health scare at a young age, to now learning to appreciate slowing down and being in one place, his dogs have served as a reflection of his path at each stage. M...
Jan 14, 2025•25 min•Ep. 189
To close out the year, our annual recap episode highlights excerpts of 2024 guests who joined us on Dog Save The People. This year the conversations centered around companionship, acceptance, creativity, therapy, family, health, grief, home, and more. For more information about the episode, guests, and featured social media or links: dogsavethepeople.com/episodes/2023-recap
Jan 03, 2025•8 min•Ep. 188
Human-animal behavior research and education has grown significantly over the past decade. One person who has stayed on top of these developments has been Zazie Todd, PhD, a psychologist, trainer, behaviorist, and writer. Through her website, Companion Animal Psychology, Zazie has written since 2012 about the ways science can help our animal companions have happier lives through digestible insights that everyone can understand. She writes a regular series for Psychology Today today too, called F...
Dec 17, 2024•18 min•Ep. 187
Pamela Hornik is an art collector based out of the Bay Area. She is a Founding member of the Institute of Contemporary Art San Francisco (ICA SF), Board member of Stanford’s Cantor Arts Center, and a Management committee member of Stanford’s Anderson Collection. Pamela and her husband, David Hornik, also regularly supports artists with funding their exhibitions, publishing their books, and more. In recent years, thanks to a deep connection with her Maltese Chihuahua mix Teddy, Pamela began to fo...
Dec 03, 2024•17 min•Ep. 186
Lisa Jhung is a freelancer outdoors writer, author, and editor. She writes a regular column about outdoor adventure gear for Outside Magazine and has also written extensively for Runner’s World. Dogs have been a constant in her life through early childhood and now as a mother. One particular way she has always loved to spend time with a dog is being out in nature. Whether running on trails or even going for a morning walk, dogs bring their joy to life to the activity, and Lisa feels it is contag...
Nov 19, 2024•19 min•Ep. 185
Tom Turcich is an adventure photographer and author. In his new memoir, The World Walk , he writes about being one of 10 people to ever walk around the globe. His dog and travel buddy, Savannah, was the first to do so. Tom is a former guest of the show and returns to discuss adjusting to life back home in the US after being on the road for almost 7 years and writing a memoir about his worldwide travels. He also opens up about grieving for his beloved canine companion, Savannah, who unexpectedly ...
Nov 05, 2024•24 min•Ep. 184
Vanessa Woods is the Director of Duke University’s Puppy Kindergarten program, which studies what qualities are important in becoming a great service dog. The program is funded by the National Institute of Health and works with puppies from Canine Companions , the largest service dog provider in the United States. While this is primarily intended to learn what makes the best service dogs, it has also been informative about all dogs. Her husband, Brian Hare, is the Founder of the Duke Canine Cogn...
Oct 22, 2024•19 min•Ep. 183
PART TWO - One of the most hot-button discussions in Turkey is how street dogs impact everyday citizens. Most people in cities like Istanbul are used to it, with a long tradition of living alongside them. However, in peripheral areas, there is not always as much support. When government municipalities started to push strays from city centers to outside suburban and rural areas, out of their natural environment, there have been a relatively small number of attacks and accidents. These have report...
Oct 15, 2024•20 min•Ep. 182
The Turkish Parliament passed new legislation this summer that aims to remove all stray dogs from the streets by 2028, as these dogs are labeled by the government dangerous and causing harm to humans. This is a significant shift in policy in a country where street dogs have been embedded and accepted into its culture for centuries. Turkish animal welfare groups say in reality there are very few deadly dog attacks, but social media sensationalization and politicization of incidents have complicat...
Oct 01, 2024•23 min•Ep. 181
Ben Moon is a photographer and filmmaker who has integrated his passion for the outdoors into his work, including as a longtime contributor to Patagonia with climbing and surfing imagery in particular. Dogs have always been part of Ben’s life, but it was after a divorce, living out of a car, and then a colon cancer diagnosis at 29, that the companionship with his rescue dog Denali, a pit-husky mix, took on a new meaning. Their strong connection was highlighted in a 2015 short film called ‘Denali...
Sep 17, 2024•24 min•Ep. 180
Marianne Leone is an actress, screenwriter, essayist, and author. She is well-known for her recurring role in The Sopranos. After her son, Jesse, had been diagnosed with cerebral palsy and passed at a young age, Marianne found comfort in dogs. From Goody, who had been Jesse’s best friend, to current dogs of Titi and Sugar, the mix of bichon’s have provided great comfort. Along with her husband, Chris Cooper, they have been able to find joy amidst hardship. Marianne’s latest book, Five-Dog Epipha...
Sep 03, 2024•16 min•Ep. 179
Jennifer Holland is a longtime writer for National Geographic where she has covered animal behavior, evolutionary biology, natural history, and more. She is also a book author, whose latest work ‘Dog Smart’ looks at the different ways we can re-consider the intelligence of our canine companions. Instead of anthropomorphizing them and evaluating against our own standards, we need to look at them for who they truly are. Former guest and psychologist Dr. Chris Blazina is the contributing host for t...
Aug 20, 2024•24 min•Ep. 178
For centuries, stray dogs in Turkey have lived outside amongst their humans. These strays do not have individual guardians, but are rather taken care of by the community. Last week, at the end of July 2024, Turkey’s parliament passed a new law that aims to get the strays off the streets, which would completely change this longstanding cultural relationship. With this re-issue episode, we wanted to bring back a conversation we had with filmmaker Elizabeth Lo about her documentary on stray dogs in...
Aug 06, 2024•19 min•Ep. 177
Anastasia Stellato is the Principal Investigator at Texas Tech University’s Human-Animal Interaction Lab, where she studies animal welfare. After becoming more of a dog person in her personal and professional life, Anastasia wanted to understand better why dogs react and behave in certain ways. More importantly, she wanted to figure out how to help them further. Through her research and the One Welfare approach that takes into account human welfare and environmental context, Anastasia and her Ph...
Jul 23, 2024•16 min•Ep. 176
Winnie Au is a photographer who has worked on many dog-related projects over the years. Her most notable project to date is Cone of Shame, with its name taken from the stigma connected to the cone-shape object dogs have to wear after medical procedures. Through her colorful and creative photos, Winnie has aimed to flip that concept around and show that this is actually a beautiful transition into a better life ahead for the dogs. What started as a small set of 12 photos turned into 60, all with ...
Jul 09, 2024•19 min•Ep. 175
Alexis Devine has been determined over the past five years to grow the types of communication she has with her dogs. It started with her sheepadoodle, Bunny, who she trained to learn 100+ pre-recorded buttons that helped express feelings, wants, and needs. Today, this has grown to include other techniques like gestural commands or pointing. Through this process, Alexis has made sure to try to give as much agency to the dogs as possible when making these decisions. Not forcing choices on them, an...
Jun 25, 2024•28 min•Ep. 173
EPISODE 5 of our new DOG PARKOLOGY narrative series: We’ve become disconnected from the natural world around us. However, our dogs – and our dog parks – can help us reconnect to our environment in a more attentive and curious way. When we start to feel a deeper understanding of our place within the larger ecosystem, we can start to care more about protecting it and living symbiotically with all non-human creatures and wildlife. Listen to Dog Parkology on Apple Podcasts or Spotify ! In this episo...
May 21, 2024•13 min•Ep. 172
EPISODE 4 of our new DOG PARKOLOGY narrative series: Third places like dog parks can help us form ties and cohesion among neighbors. Developing this trust and dependability can foster communities that are more unified, safer, and friendly. It’s also important, however, to ensure that there is equitable access for all neighborhoods to benefit from this foundational support. Listen to Dog Parkology on Apple Podcasts or Spotify ! In this episode, we hear from guest experts Megan Mueller PhD, Setha ...
May 14, 2024•18 min•Ep. 171
EPISODE 3 of our new DOG PARKOLOGY narrative series: Dog parks provide a chance for us to meet strangers we might not otherwise. Through our shared love for our dogs and the inherent trust of meeting another dog parent, we can foster new relationships with those around us. These interactions can allow us to widen our perspectives, increase our sense of empathy for others, and come together in greater unity. Listen to Dog Parkology on Apple Podcasts or Spotify ! In this episode, we hear from gues...
May 07, 2024•15 min•Ep. 170
EPISODE 2 of our new DOG PARKOLOGY narrative series: Guided Play is a learning approach borrowed from child education that may be applied to dogs, too. It involves ongoing observation and interaction to understand the subject's needs and preferences. As dog parents, we should actively pay attention to our dogs at dog parks to ensure optimal engagement. Some dogs may love socializing or only want to play catch with you. Some dogs may prefer wide open, unfenced public land to explore and express t...
Apr 30, 2024•17 min•Ep. 169
EPISODE 1 of our new DOG PARKOLOGY narrative series: Many dog parks today still resemble the traditional fenced-in spaces established almost 50 years ago. However, our understanding of how dogs think and the number of dogs in American households have grown considerably in the last few decades. Humans have also become increasingly isolated due to the usage of digital technologies and the decline of public spaces for real-life interactions. Through it all, dog parks remain one of the few enduring ...
Apr 25, 2024•10 min•Ep. 168
Introducing a new narrative series about the importance of dog parks as public space. Through expert guest interviews, the podcast will reframe how the concept of dog parks may evolve to improve our lives and the planet. The show will examine dog parks through our relationships with dogs, each other, and the land. Listen to Dog Parkology on Apple Podcasts or Spotify ! This series is narrated by Jenna Blum , author and dog mom. It is produced by As It Should Be Productions , the creators of the D...
Apr 22, 2024•2 min•Ep. 167
MOST POPULAR 2023 EPISODE (Re-issue): We are bringing our interview with Margot Guralnick – the Architecture and Interiors Editor at Remodelista and Creator of Dog Walk Diary – as the most popular episode of the show last year. As we all learn from our dogs about how to slow down and appreciate nature, like our Dog Walk Meditation series, Margot started realizing that everything around her could make for beautiful collages. She started to make them and now has an amazing collection of art from t...
Jan 09, 2024•18 min•Ep. 166
To finish the year, this episode highlights 2023 guests who joined us on Dog Save The People. This year the conversations centered around companionship, acceptance, creativity, therapy, family, health, grief, home, and more. For more information about the episode, guests, and featured social media or links: dogsavethepeople.com/episodes/2023-recap
Dec 28, 2023•7 min•Ep. 164
As a farewell story from our host John Bartlett, we are resurfacing a special story from him right in time for the holidays. John has had many dogs in his life, but the most special and important relationship he had was with Tiny Tim, a three-legged pit bull rescue who lost a leg on Christmas Eve one year. But with John, Tiny Tim found his forever home. They would galavant around New York City and it enriched John’s life in many ways. Tiny Tim also inspired John to create a foundation in his nam...
Dec 19, 2023•8 min•Ep. 165
Longtime show host John Bartlett is stepping down after five years on the Dog Save The People podcast. With a new job position at Parsons School of Design, he will often be traveling internationally and have more obligations that necessitate his time. We're happy to see him take this new career step. It's been a privilege for us to have John leading conversations on the show for all these years, speaking to over 150 guests. In this announcement, John shares his appreciation for the meaningful co...
Dec 18, 2023•3 min•Ep. 163
This bonus episode features a sample meditation episode, Stress Relief Body Scan, from the new season of our Dog Walk Meditation series. This specific visualization meditation is designed to release tension throughout the body while on a dog walk, or sitting with a dog next to you. This guided body scan will slowly, from head to toe, recognize where you may be holding stress and imagine releasing tightness with each exhale. By allowing the body to decompress mindfully, you will be left feeling g...
Oct 27, 2023•9 min•Ep. 162
This bonus episode features a sample meditation episode, Pure Love, from the new season of our Dog Walk Meditation series. This specific visualization meditation is designed to bring you closer to the natural world that surrounds you, wherever you are. This practice will also help you to connect and reflect on your relationship with your dog in a deeply spiritual way. Afterward, you may feel the pure love from your mutual bond and immense gratitude for having a dog in your life. Dog Walk Meditat...
Oct 06, 2023•10 min•Ep. 161
This bonus episode features a sample meditation episode, Embrace Joy, from the new season of our Dog Walk Meditation series. This specific walking meditation has been designed to help you gain a stronger appreciation for your dog and the natural world on your walks together. It will also direct you to notice a dog’s exuberance, and this happiness may extend into our hearts and minds. The reward from this meditation will be a feeling of joy that allows you to be more present with others in daily ...
Sep 22, 2023•7 min•Ep. 160
This bonus episode features a sample meditation episode, Sharing This Moment, from the new season of our Dog Walk Meditation series. This specific walking meditation has been designed to focus on breathing, ease your mind, relax your body, and bring attention to your dog. The reward will be a calming feeling that strengthens your connection together. Learn how to take your thoughts away from the distractions of everyday life and instead ground yourself in the present moment with your dog. Plus, ...
Sep 08, 2023•8 min•Ep. 159