Speaker 1: You're listening to Petlifradio dot com.
Speaker 2: Welcome to Animal Toopia on pet Life Radio. I'm your host,
Robert Simro. Thank you for joining us on today's show.
We're going to visit the stars, meet an inventor of
a ball that makes dogs want to fly, and finally
we'll meet an organization and dogs that give guidance. We'll
be right back with a visit to the star Eco
station after these messages from our sponsors.
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Speaker 8: Welcome to Bird's Eye View on pet Life Radio.
Speaker 1: I am doctor Lori Hess here with doctor Michelle Ravish,
and we are both bird and Exotic animal veterinarians.
Speaker 2: We work at the Veterinary Center for Birds and Exotics
and All Bird and Exotic Pet Hospital in Bedford.
Speaker 4: Hills, New York.
Speaker 6: And this is a show all about birds.
Speaker 2: It's a Bird's Eye View and we hope you'll tune.
Speaker 3: In soon every week on demand only on Petlife Radio
dot com. Let's Talk Pets on Petlife Radio dot com.
Speaker 2: Welcome back to Animaltobia on pet Life Radio. We'll start
off today's episode with a trip to an oasis in
one of the biggest counties in America, there are unique
places in the big cities that allow you to escape
to a place where animals are the most important residents
and they are cared for by people who seek only
to care for them and educate the public both about
the animals and the environment they live in. One such
wonderful place exists in Culver City, California, and it's known
to Los Angeles County residents as the Star Ecostation. This
beacon of animal carrying was founded in nineteen ninety seven
by Eric Senior and Kacia Bozi, along with their children,
Eric Junior and Katiana Bozi. The Star Ecostation is an
environmental science museum, an exotic wildlife rescue center, and a
haven for endangered and illegally trafficked exotic animals who've been
confiscated by the US Fish and Wildlife Services. Some other
animals there find their way there by other situations that
are all too frequently occurring these days. As our guide Coriodolphus,
one of the Star Eco Stations Carrying ambassadors, told, these
animals come to reside there not by any fault of
their own.
Speaker 9: Each and every one of the animals here at the
Ecostation is a rescued animal. There's a few different kinds
of ways we end up rescuing. Some of them we
have that were privately owned. They were pets that people
either could not accommodate anymore for various reasons. Maybe it
got too large, maybe they realized something that didn't fit
their lifestyle, or potentially something that shouldn't have even been
in a pet in the first place. The majority of
the animals we get we get through federal confiscations through
US Fish and Wildlife. People will smuggle these animals, so
traffic them illegally from one continent to another or one
country to another for the pet trade.
Speaker 2: Upon arrival to the Star Ecostation, you know that the
staff there is devoted to caring for the animals and
educating the public. The entire look and feel the Star
Ecostation is wonderfully authentic and engaging. Volunteers, including many talented
people from the surrounding Hollywood community, to great pride and
care in helping the Starr Station transform itself from an
empty warehouse into an engaging, unique, and yet authentic experience
for the visitors as well as the animal inhabitants. The
walls are made to look like the jungle or grasslands
or deserts and other native landscapes, depending upon the animal
area you are visiting in. Outside of the Star Ecostation,
you begin your animal encounter experience with various birds and tortoises.
When you check in, you can sign up for a
personal tour with one of the experienced and knowledgeable staff guides.
They have a great rapport with the animals and an
extensive knowledge that is filled with details and interesting tidbits
about the animals you are viewing.
Speaker 9: One of the best parts of the Ecostation I feel
is that we try to be as hands on as
possible with our outreach and our education. When you come
to the facility and to take a tour where there's
on a field trip, having a birthday party here, or
just coming to one of our events that we host monthly,
different kind of experience. It's a guided tour. We take
people around with the staff person. So not only will
the public and the attendees be educated on why the
animals are here and different interesting facts, they'll also get
an opportunity to see some of the animals outside of
the cages, and they'll be able to touch a few
of the snakes, possibly a lizard, maybe hold a tarantula.
Speaker 2: Visitors to the star Ecostation are encouraged to experience hands
on lessons in ecology and environmentalism through a breathtaking encounter
with rare birds, exotic reptiles, wildcats, and ocean life in
a tropical setting. Another unique feature of the star Ecostation
is that it's home to such a wide variety of animals.
Speaker 9: Some of the animals that we have here on side
of the facility, We've got American alligators, We've got two bobcats,
one African serval which is another smaller cat. We've got
bullet constrictors, pythons, chameleons, geckos, monitor lizards, turtles, tortoises, tropical fish.
But we've got our bird paradise of different species of macaw, cockatoos,
smaller parrots, amazon parrots.
Speaker 2: Environmental partnerships enhance the star Ecostation with discovery exhibits from
organizations such as the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the
Surfrider Foundation, and the Santa Monica Baykeeper's unique Storm Drain display,
as well as a fun and educational walk through Kelp exhibit.
There's so much to see and do at the Star
Ecostation that you will find something enjoyable for people of
all ages and those who like different types of animals.
The educational aspects are done in a fun and informative
way that is both positive and memorable. And for those
of you wondering if you can really experience something you've
never experienced before. On our trip there, we watched as
alligators fed merely five feet from us. We saw about
three hundred baby tarantulas that had been seized and given
to the Star Ecostation for care, and can't forget the
snakes and birds there come in all sizes and varieties.
If you're in the area, I definitely recommend making a
visit there and taking the tour. We've all had that
pleasure of walking through a zoo, but to have that
added experience of having a knowledgeable guide share their knowledge,
their passion and the stories of the animals, and occasionally
even taking the animals out of their enclosure for you
to touch or hold, well, that's a definite must experience
for me. The Star Ecostation's mission is preservation through education,
and they definitely carry that mission out. If you want
to learn more about the preservation of our environment and
the interdependence of all living things. The Star Ecostation is
a great place to start. The Star Ecostation has two
great locations for you to visit. We visited the location
in Culver City in southern California. They also have a
location in the Rockland, Sacramento area of central California, and
for more information on either of them, or about the
Ecostation's efforts, you can visit them on the web at
star ecostation dot org. Our next segment is about an
animal world inventor. How often have we seen a pet product,
or any product for that matter, and said, that's a
great idea. I should have thought of that, or I
wonder how they came up with that idea, or how
do people go from ideas to having the products in
the stores. Well, we caught up with Justin Hill, the
inventor of the popular dog toy bird Ball for dogs,
and asked him those questions. If you haven't seen this product,
it's a plastic ball with carefully designed holes that make
the ball whistle when thrown. It also has felt wings
to give it that extra something special to grab your
dog's attention. You know, bird Ball is remarkably fun and
entertaining for the dogs as well as their owners. And
I asked Justin about his inspiration to create bird Ball
for dogs.
Speaker 10: My dog, Billinger basically is the inspiration behind me creating
the toy. He is a Pitbull Shepherd mixed best I know,
and he is one of those really really high energetic dogs.
And basically just every day I'd come home from work
and he would just be jumping around and really need exercise,
and a lot of times I would just be really tired.
So I wanted to find a way where I could
exercise him where I didn't have to spend a lot
of energy. And so I started off taking him to
the park and you know, trying different things. You know,
he was definitely into fetch, but I love my dog
like he's my kid, and you know, want to give
him the best toy that I can give him. And
he was really into Squeaker toys for a while. I
mean he still is, but I tried bringing Squeaker toys
to the park, thinking that would be a good thing
for him to combine one of his favorite toys with fetch.
But the problem I was having was that I would
throw a ball from him, and he would go get it,
but then he would just lie down and squeak the
toy to death. So it wasn't working, but it did
give me an idea that you know, obviously he's really
into sound producing toys, but I wanted him to run,
so I thought I would just combine those two things.
So that was basically the seed idea for bird ball.
I'm going to come up with something that makes noise,
but only makes noise when it's in the air, so
he has to run for it, rather than something like
a squeaky toy where he can just lay down with
it and squeak it over and over and again.
Speaker 2: I must confess that I've purchased several bird balls, and
my dogs, Sugar and Zoe, are bird ball addicts. They
really love to go and get them. As soon as
the ball is thrown and the whistling starts boom, They're
often a shot. I really get a kick out of
seeing them run after the balls, and I also got
to admit I like hearing the different whistles that it
creates each different time. Now, I asked Justin if he
knew that dogs and people would love bird ball as
much as he and.
Speaker 10: I do there's a lot of dogs out there who
would love bird ball because for wine, it's just a
really fun toy, both for the dogs and for the
person who's playing with their dog with it. Basically, it's
something that I think is just hardwired into dogs. Dogs
pretty much all dogs that I've ever met, they all
like squeaky toys. And I think that all dogs that
I've met pretty much like birdball because it makes us
sound that it's just one of those things they have
that better sense of hearing, and they really liked the
tones it makes when you throw it, So you're gonna
get a dog that is more excited to chase after it.
So especially if you have a dog that's overweight you've
had a hard time getting to play fetch with, it's
something that is a little bit more incentive for the
dogs to go after it if you have a dog
that there's a lot of dogs out there that you'll
throw a ball and it's got add it doesn't know
you throw the ball, and with bird ball, they always
hear the ball being thrown, so the dogs always run
after it. They know exactly when and where you throw
the ball, and that's a big deal. And plus for
the person. It's just fun because every time you throw
it makes kind of a different sound, so it does
keep you engaged as well, depending on how hard you
throw it, which way you throw it, whether or not
you're thrawnify hands, whether or not you're using a launcher
like a chuck hit or some kind of tennis ball launcher.
Those things also make a difference in what kind of
Shunda produces, so it's really it's an engaging toy all around.
Speaker 2: I want to thank Justin for that insight on how
he created his product and what has made it such
a success. You can find more information about Birdball at
birdballtoy dot com. Also, I want to let you know
that if you call or share your animal Topia stories
on our toll free Animal Topian hotline at eight five
five two six four six two five eight or eight
five five Animal Topians, you may win a new free
bird ball for you and your dog that will ship
straight to you. You don't have a story, but you'll
want to enter to win no problem. Like us on
Facebook by searching for animal Topia, we will choose a
random winner and send them one of our favorite dog toys,
a brand new bird ball toy. If you've got a
great idea for a pet product, there are any ways
to make that thought of reality. One of those ways
is by visiting the patent and trademark offices on the
web to get some great tips about taking your inventions
from ideas to the marketplace. You can find them at
USPTO dot gov. When we return, I'll take you to
meet a special organization in Oregon that has been saving
and changing lives for more than thirty five years. And
you won't want to miss the story of Nelson, the
two year old black lab. We'll be right back after
these messages from our sponsors.
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Speaker 11: Hi, this is Marcy Davis and my service dog Whistle,
and we're your hosts of Working Like Dogs on pet
Like Radio. Working Like Dogs is the where you can
learn everything you've ever wanted to know about working animals
or working dogs, whether you're a member of a working
dog team, or you've just seen a working dog or
animal out at the mall or the grocery store and
you're curious about how these amazing animals work with their
human partners. Been Working Like Dogs is the show for you.
Join us for the inside scoop at Working Like Dogs
on Petlife Radio dot com.
Speaker 3: Let's talk past it, Let's done pets at Life Radio, Petline.
Speaker 5: Radio, pet Life Radio dot com.
Speaker 2: Welcome back to animal Topia on pet Life Radio. Next up,
we're going to shine the spotlight on an organization that
is providing incredible dogs for those who need them to
do what many of us take for granted. If you
ask me, everyone could benefit from the companionship and love
of a dog. Then there are those who really need
the love, the dedication, and the abilities of a special
dog so that they can live their lives. These people
and the dogs that serve them have found an incredible
support system in Lifeline from the folks at Dogs for
the Deaf. This organization's mission is to rescue and professionally
train dogs to help people and enhance their lives, also
maintaining a lifelong commitment to all the dogs they rescue
and all of the people they serve. Dogs for the
Deaf is a non profit for impact organization that was
founded in nineteen seventy seven by the late Roy G. Kabbat.
Roy worked with exotic and domestic animals for movies and television,
and also had a small traveling circus. After retiring in
southern Oregon, he was contacted by the American Humane Association
and their headquarters in Denver, Colorado. A deaf woman in
Minnesota had had a dog that had trained itself to
let her know when things were going on. As she
lost more and more, hearing the dog alerted her to
more and more things. Then, after her dog died, the
woman realized how much she had come to depend on
the dog and began a search for someone to train
a new Dog for her. The American Humane Association began
some experimental work trying to train dogs to help people
who were deaf, and they wanted Roy's advice. After spending
two weeks in Denver, Roy came back to Oregon and
began Dogs for the Deaf. Dogs for the Deaf was
first housed in Jacksonville, Oregon, but has since then moved
to their current forty acre site at the base of
Lower Table Rock in Central Point, Oregon. Roy would be
very proud of where the organization is today. Dogs for
the Deaf strives to rescue and train dogs to assist
people with hearing loss, autism, panic and anxiety issues, and
other challenges. Every day has value, and all people should
have the opportunity to feel safe and independent, regardless of
their physical or sensory challenges. To that end, each dog
that comes to Dogs for Death meets basic characteristics needed
for helping people with a variety of their needs. Dogs
for the Deaf is responsive to the changing needs and
challenges of both the clients and their dogs, and commits
ongoing support for the life of every dog and person.
Partnership they form the needs and abilities of the applicants
and dogs are carefully matched in tract to assure they
receive maximum benefit from each other. The standards of excellence
in training and placing these dogs exceeds the Assistance Dogs
International standards, and as Vaughan Maurice, the general manager of
Dogs for the Deaf, explained to us, it is a
long process that has followed up with an even longer
commitment to both the people and the animals.
Speaker 8: Go to many, many different shelters and they look for
dogs that they think we'll be able to make it
through the training of one of our programs. The main
thing that they're looking for is confidence. They want a
dog that has a lot of self confidence. They want
a dog that can stay focused. If a trainer is
looking at a dog, they'll take them out into the
playyard and show them a tennis ball and hide that
tennis ball and hide some other tennis balls as well,
but with the primary ball being the target that the
dog is supposed to go after, and if he forgets
about the other stuff and focuses on that ball, we
kind of know he's a pretty good focusing kind of dog.
He or she and may do well in training. Once
the trainers have a good feel for a dog, they'll
bring them back here to Dogs for the Death and
they'll go into our quarantine unit for a couple of
weeks first and make sure they're up to date on shots,
all that good stuff, and then they begin training. Will
last anywhere from about four months to six months, and
it's rather strenuous. It's quite the process. As our dogs become,
say certified hearing dogs for example, all day are then
given a public access rights, so a person can bring
that dog anywhere that they may go, such as a
restaurant or movie theater or anything, and the dog is
welcome to come in as well. Because of that, there's
a really high training standard and testing standard. Another results
of that, Unfortunately, about seventy percent of our dogs that
we take into training are unable to complete training. Those
dogs that we call Doggie School dropouts, those dogs that
do drop out of the training program. At Dogs for
the Death, we act just as a no kill humane
society does, and we take responsibility for that dog for
the rest of that animal's life and find a suitable
good home for adoption for that animal. The dogs that
do complete training and finish the testing, our trainers then
go to the home of the recipient regardless of where
that person may be. If we fly from Oregon anywhere
in the US, some places in Canada that we've gone.
We've even had a placement in Puerto Rico, and the
trainer will go and then work with the client and
the dog together as a team and give the client
some pointers on how to keep up training. It's not
like we can just train the dog and then all
of a sudden training stops and the reward system stops
and the dog is good for life. That's not really
how it works. The client also has to learn some
rudimentary skills to be able to keep the animal focus,
and we monitor the client and the dog for the
rest of their partnership. For the life of the animal.
The animal passes on, usually we do another animal to
that same client. We've had some clients that have had
as many as four dogs in our thirty five year history,
which is quite impressive.
Speaker 2: Dogs for the Deaf has many wonderful stories about the
dogs and the people they have helped throughout the years.
Each story is as special and heartwarming as the dogs
and people they detail. Still, I ask Van to share
one particular story with everyone. This is the story of
a special dog making a big difference in the lives
of everyone it encounters on a daily basis. That dog
is Nelson, whose intuition and abilities are giving some wonderful
special needs children the attention and care they need.
Speaker 8: Nelson is a wonderful, beautiful black Labrador and Nelson originally
was bred as a guide dog from the Guide Dog folks,
but unfortunately he had a bad trichea and was unable
to work out in their program. So the folks at
the Guide Dog program contacted Dogs for the Deaf and
asked if we could train Nelson as a hearing assistants dog.
And we brought in Nelson, and Nelson is a very,
very intelligent dog, and we made the decision to make
him a program assistants dog and trained him to basically
go into a classroom of special needs students. He actually
works for the teacher and as these students are distracted
or not paying attention or doing something they shouldn't do,
Nelson goes over to them and gently nudges them with
his nose. And he does this all on his own.
The teacher doesn't need to ask Nelson to do something.
He's been trained very well to be able to act
on his own. The students can also earn Nelson time
if they do finish up a lesson do something really
good in class, they can earn five minutes or so
alone with Nelson as a reward, and it's been just
a wonderful benefit to the classroom. It's really super cool
to see Nelson in action. He's also really worked as
an ambassador of that classroom for the rest of the
school and now rather than the students and the special
needs class being shunned by the general population or ignored
by the general population in the school, because of Nelson,
they're much more accepted. So it's really a great benefit
for the children that are in Nelson's class.
Speaker 2: From the beginning, Dogs for the Deaf has maintained a
commitment to every dog rescued from the shelter and to
every person it is helped. Dogs for the Deaf is
there for the life of the team, providing guidance and
helping to make sure every team is receiving maximum benefit
from each other. Dogs for the Deaf has produced great
results for many animals and humans over their thirty five
year existence, and there are plenty of stories to bring
you to tears and plenty to warm your heart. Just
knowing that these dogs may have otherwise been put down
is a testament in itself to the wonderful work Dogs
for the Deaf is doing. Add to that the big
differences in the lives of those people who receive these dogs,
and it's truly a great successful program. We wish Dogs
for the Deaf continued success as they celebrate their thirty
five years of saving dogs and enriching lives. For more
information on Dogs for the Deaf, you can visit their
website at Dogsforthedeaf dot org. I want to thank everyone
who helped with this episode, and I hope that you
will share the stories about the star Eco Station, Justin
Hill and the wonderful organization and people from Dogs for
the Deaf. If you have an idea for our show,
a suggestion for a topic, or a story of your own,
please call and share your idea on our Animal Topia
hotline at eight five five two six four six' two
five eight or eight five Five Animal. Topiens you can
also reach us On facebook And twitter For Animal, topia
Pet Life, radio and all of those who make this show.
Possible i'm your, Host robert samro Saying i'm proud to
be an animal, topian AND i look forward to sharing
more stories with you.
Speaker 3: Soon Let's Talk pets every week on demand only On
petlifradio dot com