Pawsitive Energy

You probably don't need to be convinced that there is something special to the human animal connection, the "beastie bond". Maybe you appreciate how, compared to navigating the complexity of relationships with fellow humans, the one you share with your horse, your cat, or your dog more predictably leaves you feeling more seen and unconditionally accepted. But have you ever wondered, beyond how good it feels to always have someone clearly glad to see you, what measurable impacts it may have on your physiology?

Today's guest, Dr. Nancy Gee,  Director of the Center for Human Animal Interaction at Virginia Commonwealth University, stands in the sweet spot of a heart-led, research-backed perspective of the beastie bond. 

Check out Nancy’s new book, The Role of Companion Animals in the Treatment of Mental Disorders

By Nancy Gee (Editor), Lisa Townsend (Editor) & Robert Findling (Editor)

Resources Related to this Episode’s Theme:

https://chai.vcu.edu/

https://www.inverse.com/science/do-therapy-dogs-work

Join our community on social media! Follow the show on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook! We’d love to hear what you think of the stories our guests share, and see pictures of your own beasties!

Beastie Bonds theme:

King James by Ghost Beatz, Podcastle.ai Royalty-free Library

Additional music featured in this episode includes:

Music by Olexy from Pixabay

In this bonus episode, AJ celebrates the 1-year anniversary of the show! Hear highlights from the past year and some updates from the past year of podshow guests!

Want to help us celebrate?! Please please please rate and review the show, and be sure to join our community on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook! We’d love to hear what you think of the stories our guests share and see pictures of your own beasties.

The Beastie Bonds theme:

King James by Ghost Beatz, Podcastle.ai Royalty-free Library

Additional music featured in this episode includes:

Assorted past episode tracks, all from Podcastle.ai Royalty-free Library

Music by Leonid Timachev from Pixabay

This episode features one of my favorite kinds of stories: those in which a fortuitous string of seemingly unrelated events all lead to an incredible outcome! 

According to the American Kennel Club, the Great Pyrenees is a dog breed known to be trustworthy and mellow companions; vigilant guardians of home and family. Meet Moose, a dog who lived up to this reputation and then some.

One rainy Friday afternoon, Chris Cushna & Sheila Jane, their granddaughter Luna (age 8) &  their 2 children Anya (age 10), Logan (age 12) were looking for something to do and decided to “check out” a dog from the Portsmouth Humane Society’s “field trips for shelter dogs” Paws Around P-Town program. You won’t believe what happened next!

Learn more about, and consider supporting the Portsmouth Humane Society, where Moose lived before hero-dom!

To learn more about Chris and Sheila’s process of rebuilding after the fire, or to make a donation to help them out, please visit their GoFundMe Hero Dog Saves Portmouth Family, set up by friend James Cullen.

News Articles Relating to the event include:

Foster Dog Saves Virginia Family From ‘Really Big Inferno’ Houseboat Fire (msn.com)

 'A really big inferno': Foster dog helps save family from boat fire (kcra.com)

For more information about Moose’s breed visit:

Great Pyrenees Dog Breed Information (akc.org)

Here’s where you can see Chris singing the song he wrote about Moose (featured after the credits in this episode!) https://www.facebook.com/1574507554/videos/605096911824139/

Join our community on social media! Follow the show on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook! We’d love to hear what you think of the stories our guests share and see pictures of your own beasties.

Beastie Bonds theme:

King James by Ghost Beatz, Podcastle.ai Royalty-free Library

Additional music & sounds effects featured in this episode include:

Storm Before the Calm by LNDO, Podcastle.ai Royalty-free Library

Sound Effect from Pixabay (fire)

Sound Effect by Miku Aalto from Pixabay (dog)

Sound Effect from Pixabay (boat)

Sound Effect from Michael at Pixabay (rain)

Sounds Effect by Howard Lee at Pixabay (dogs1)

Sounds Effect by Howard Lee at Pixabay (dogs2)

Piano Music by Juan Sanchez at Pixabay

Sound Effect from Pixabay (crowd)

In this episode, Maddalena Bearzi, my guest from Episode 20, returns to the show to share her insights about the so-called orca "uprising," a series of recent animal/orca "attacks" (aka encounters) which have been making headlines in the US and around the world. Why have these beautiful and intelligent animals started ramming and sinking boats?!

Maddalena Bearzi is the President and co-founder of Ocean Conservation Society in southern California.

Learn more about Maddalena Bearzi, PhD

 Maddalena's op ed in the LA Times

Books authored by Maddalena Bearzi include:

STRANDED: Finding Nature in Uncertain Times

Beautiful Minds: The Parallel Lives of Great Apes and Dolphins

Dolphin Confidential: Confessions of a Field Biologist

Explore Ocean Conservation Society (OCS)’s education, research and conservation resources 

Donate to support the work of OCS

Follow OCS on social media: Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube

Sources for this episode include:

Orcas: Is there an 'orca uprising'? Like orcas themselves, the answer is complex. - ABC7 Chicago

Orca uprising: Why are killer whales sinking boats? | indy100

‘Orca uprising’: Why are orca whales targeting boats? | News | Al Jazeera

Orca Attack Leaves Yacht Heading for Rock Collision (msn.com)

Join the Beastie Bonds community on social media! Follow the show on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook! We’d love to hear what you think of the stories our guests share and see pictures of your own beasties.

Beastie Bonds Theme:

King James by Ghost Beatz, Podcastle.ai Royalty-free Library

Episode Theme Music includes:

Growing Pains by Featherland, Podcastle.ai Royalty-free Library

AJ’s own experience of a surprising resolution to her own health condition led her to seek Reiki, energy healing, for Lola, a rescued mutt who was carrying around a truckload of pain and trauma.

Forms of energy healing such as Reiki have been practiced by many different cultures around the world for over 2500 years! In this episode, AJ talks to two guests who are masters in Reiki. Reiki is a modality of healing that has been in its present form for about 100 years. It involves the practitioner acting as a conduit and working with the energy fields around the body to guide “universal energy” from the practitioner’s palms to the client. People use it for anxiety, heart disease, and other issues. It can also be used effectively with animals. Guests for Episode 21 include Laurie Barshay and Kris Denning of Healthy to the Soul.

To contact Laurie, reach out through AJ at beastiebonds@gmail.com

To learn more about or to see about working with Kris, go to her website HealthyToTheSoul.com or email healthytothesoul@gmail.com

Find and follow Kris on social media:

Facebook 

Instagram

Twitter

YouTube

Sources & Resources from this Episode Include:

According to the US Dept of Health and Human Services National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health:

Reiki hasn’t been clearly shown to be effective for any health-related purpose. It has been studied for a variety of conditions, including pain, anxiety, and depression, but most of the research has not been of high quality, and the results have been inconsistent.

Peer Reviewed Article:

Thrane S, Cohen SM. Effect of Reiki therapy on pain and anxiety in adults: an in-depth literature review of randomized trials with effect size calculations. Pain Manag Nurs. 2014 Dec;15(4):897-908. doi: 10.1016/j.pmn.2013.07.008. Epub 2014 Feb 28. PMID: 24582620; PMCID: PMC4147026.

Healthline: What Are the Benefits of Reiki and How Does It Work?https://www.healthline.com/health/reiki#TOC_TITLE_HDR_2

The International Center for Reiki Training: https://www.reiki.org/faqs/what-reiki

And Also Check Out:

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/308772

https://health.clevelandclinic.org/reiki/

https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/reiki

https://iarp.org/reiki-clinical-setting/#

https://www.reiki.org/articles/reiki-hospitals

Beastie Bonds Theme:

King James by Ghost Beatz, Podcastle.ai Royalty-free Library

Episode Music also Includes:

Music by Olexy from Pixabay

Music by Ashot-Danielyan-Composer from Pixabay

Music by geoffharvey from Pixabay

Music by BluBonRelaXon from Pixabay

Jasmine Tea by Aeroplanes, Podcastle.ai Royalty-free Library

Like what you’ve heard? Take a moment to review the show on whatever app you listen on. It really helps us, and thanks!

Be sure to join the Beastie Bonds pod community on social media! 

Follow the show on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook! We’d love to hear what you think of the stories our guests share and see pictures of your own beasties.

My guest, Maddalena Bearzi, has been actively studying the ecology of marine mammals with a strong conservation bias since the 1990s. One day, her research team was observing a pod of dolphins when all of a sudden, the entire group stopped feeding and rushed out to sea. Maddalena’s team followed, and were shocked by what they found.

Maddalena Bearzi is the President and co-founder of Ocean Conservation Society in southern California. She has authored many peer-reviewed articles and books. She was born and raised in Italy but now lives in Los Angeles, California, with her husband and dog. 

Learn more about Maddalena Bearzi, PhD

Books authored by Maddalena Bearzi include:

STRANDED: Finding Nature in Uncertain Times

Beautiful Minds: The Parallel Lives of Great Apes and Dolphins

Dolphin Confidential: Confessions of a Field Biologist

Explore Ocean Conservation Society (OCS)’s education, research and conservation resources 

Donate to support the work of OCS

Follow OCS on social media: Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube

Sources for this episode include:

https://gizmodo.com/did-dolphins-really-save-a-suicidal-girl-1585058404

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2648352/Did-dolphins-save-girl-SUICIDE-Mammals-formed-ring-drowning-swimmer-guiding-boat-aid-claims-scientist.html

Join the Beastie Bonds community on social media! Follow the show on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook! We’d love to hear what you think of the stories our guests share and see pictures of your own beasties.

Beastie Bonds Theme:

King James by Ghost Beatz, Podcastle.ai Royalty-free Library

Episode Theme Music includes:

Clouds by Acreage, Podcastle.ai Royalty-free Library

Piano Moment by Daddy_s_Music, Pixabay.com Royalty Free Music

Serious Moving Sad Piano composed by Ashot-Danielyan, Pixabay.com Royalty Free Music

I'm excited to bring you a bonus episode featuring my conversation with the co-hosts of the Puppy Dog Tales podcast, Anika and Hannah! We had a lot of fun connecting about our shows' which both feature incredible true stories about animals and their humans. 

Be sure to check out the Puppy Dog Tales podcast wherever you download your podcasts. And find and follow them- @puppydogtalespod.

Join our community on social media! Follow the show on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook! We’d love to hear what you think of the stories our guests share and see pictures of your own beasties.

Beastie Bonds theme:

King James by Ghost Beatz, Podcastle.ai Royalty-free Library

Additional music in this episode features:

Candy Shop by Matt Wigton, Podcastle.ai Royalty-free Library

Today on the show, I’m finishing off the series on K9 search and rescue with a conversation with an incredible expert in the field. Ann Wichmann’s journey has been ground-breaking. She has created and continues to shape a legacy that has benefited countless others in the US and beyond. And yet, despite her remarkable background, years of teaching and mentoring, and technical know-how, I experienced Ann as a deeply intuitive philosopher as she shared some of the experiences she has had with the animals in her life. It is such a privilege to be able to bring her voice to you.

Learn more about Ann Wichmann and the work she is doing at Jenner’s Run

Join our community on social media! Follow the show on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook! We’d love to hear what you think of the stories our guests share and see pictures of your own beasties.

Beastie Bonds Theme:

King James by Ghost Beatz, Podcastle.ai Royalty-free Library

Other Episode Music:

This is Love by Alsever Lake, Podcastle.ai Royalty-free Library

Her Majesty by Moments, Podcastle.ai Royalty-free Library

Slowly Comin Around by Heartland Nights, Podcastle.ai Royalty-free Library

Tibet by SergeQuadrado, Pixabay.com

We are approaching the 12 year anniversary of a massive tornado that decimated a mile-long swath in Missouri, particularly impacting the town of Joplin, in the northwestern corner of the state. One resident, Tara Prosser, happened to have an incredible Weimaraner named Lily who was uniquely suited and trained for finding missing people, both living and deceased. So often, the work of these human/canine teams remains invisible, but in Lily's case, writer and illustrator Carolyn Mueller made sure her story was told.

Carolyn's book, inspired by Tara's dog Lily, is called Lily: A True Story of Courage and the Joplin Tornado. It has just been re-released in paperback! You can find it on Carolyn’s website here! or at ReedyPress.com

Read more about Lily and Tara and Carolyn: https://www.salisburypost.com/2014/02/23/book-to-honor-rescue-dog-from-joplin-tornado/

Sources and Resources  for this episode include the following:

Wikipedia article about the 2011 Joplin, MO tornado:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Joplin_tornado

SAR dogs in Joplin

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyyFnKmSwsc

Rescue of a dog after the Joplin tornado: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OBJdhYLluU

Join our community on social media! Follow the show on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook! We’d love to hear what you think of the stories our guests share and see pictures of your own beasties.

Beastie Bonds theme:

King James by Ghost Beatz, Podcastle.ai Royalty-free Library

Additional music in this episode includes:

More Than One Way to Go Home by Amherst, Podcastle.ai Royalty-free Library

The Perfect Puzzle by Cody Martin, Podcastle.ai Royalty-free Library

In this episode, AJ and Jasmine discuss search and rescue (SAR) dogs, and guest Dr. Wendy McIlroy, a retired veterinarian and instructor with the professional association of diving instructors (PADI), who is also an evaluator for the Search and Rescue Dogs of the United States (SARDUS) K-9 team shares some of her experiences with animals including training and partnering with her search and rescue dogs.

 Special thanks to guest Wendy McIlroy & check out Jenner’s Run, the facility where AJ played the “hider” for Wendy’s dog Aidan and Peter’s dog, Luna!

Link to donate to SAR Dogs of the United States here!)

Search and Rescue Dogs of the US Want to take the leap and get involved with your own beastie? Check this out

Join our community on social media! Following the show on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook! We’d love to hear what you think of the stories we share and see pictures of your own beasties.

Sources for this episode include:

LA Times article about the 2018 Montecito mudslide

Golden Dale Sentinel article about training  search and rescue dogs

More about Wendy McIlroy!

Beastie Bonds Theme:

King James by Ghost Beatz, Podcastle.ai Royalty-free Library

Episode Theme Music includes:

Vision, by DeHartmann. Podcastle.ai Royalty-free Library

Cool, by EILOH. Podcastle.ai Royalty-free Library