The incredible Paige Graham joins Anitha to talk about the many dogs, cats, pigs and chickens she has adopted and shares her home with.
Paige began her animal rescue journey in 2010 as a foster for a dog rescue. She soon realized senior animals and those with complex medical needs are sadly often deemed “unadoptable”. With her background in nursing and her huge heart, Paige decided she would give these animals a permanent home, and The Isle of Misfits was born.
Paige shares some heart-warming stories including how she comes up with their awesome names such as Abraham Lincoln, a dog who is missing an eye, Little Richard, an American Bulldog, and Celine Dion, a kitten with a belting meow.
Paige even delves into some difficult personal issues she faced and credits her animals for helping her get through that tough part of her life.
An honest and important conversation about loving animals who many have deemed unfit to live, and also learning to trust and love yourself.
To learn more about Paige and The Isle of Misfits check out her instagram account.
As a thank you to Paige for sharing her story, Anitha donated to Limbo Chihuahua Rescue in St. Petersburg Florida. Paige personally adopted two paralyzed chihuahuas from this rescue. To learn more about what this organization does and how you can support them, please click on the link below:
After a break that included a not so fun surgery and a very fun trip to Sumatra, Anitha is thrilled to be back podcasting. Here she chats with Zach Skow, the founder of Marley’s Mutts and the Pawsitive Change Program.
Marley- the inspiration behind the name Marley’s Mutts
Zach openly talks about his health struggles and how volunteering at a dog shelter literally saved his life. As a way of giving back to the dogs who helped him when he needed it, Zach created Marley’s Mutts, a rescue dedicated to saving the lives of animals in over-crowded shelters.
Zach also talks about the incredible partnership between Marley’s Mutts and California’s state prisons to create the Pawsitive Change Program. This program, pairs incarcerated individuals with at-risk shelter dogs (at-risk of being euthanized). For 14 weeks, dogs and humans work together building trust and skills that happily result in the dogs being adopted into loving homes and the incarcerated humans acquiring marketable skills, that will increase their chances of success when they are released from the prison system.
To learn more about Zach and Marley’s Mutts and the Pawsitive Change program please check out these sites:
Some people have a huge heart. Susie Cogswell is one of those incredible humans who not only has a huge heart, but willingly allows it to be broken over and over again.
Susie joins Anitha to talk about her journey in animal rescue and what it’s like to adopt, foster and love senior dogs.
The incredible senior dogs Susie adopted
Champ- the first senior dogDiesel & Bosley-bonded pairBosleyBosleyBonnie
Sadly, senior dogs can find themselves in shelters for a variety of reasons. Unfortunately, these dogs are often overlooked when it comes to being adopted. Through no fault of their own, these dogs, who were once part of a family, now must face their final days, months, years alone in a shelter.
Thankfully, there are people like Susie who want to love these dogs for the rest of their days, no matter how long or short that is.
To learn more about Susie and the dogs she’s shared her life with, check out her website. At Cogs Dogs – https://www.cogsdogs.com
As a thank you to Susie for sharing her story, Anitha donated to Harbor of Hope Dog Rescue, a non-profit dog rescue comprised entirely of dedicated and compassionate foster homes ready to provide a safe haven to dogs in need.
Dr. Vivek Basu fulfilled his childhood dream of becoming a veterinarian— and what an incredible veterinarian he has become. Vivek donates a lot of his time and skills to help animals of all sizes, near and far.
In addition to talking about what it’s like to treat many different animals—dogs, cats, racehorses, rescued primates and wildlife, we also explore difficult subjects like trophy hunting and the difference between zoos and sanctuaries.
As a thank you for sharing his story, Anitha donated to Story Book Farm Primate Sanctuary, one of the sanctuaries where Vivek donates his veterinary skills. This sanctuary provides healing and recovery from trauma for primates who have been rescued from laboratories, roadside zoos and other terrible circumstances.
A lovely story about selfless love. Kimberly Chiang joins Anitha to talk about fostering dogs.
What inspired her to foster dogs, how she manages the heartache of saying goodbye when they leave for their forever home, and so much more.
You can follow the wonderful dogs Kimberly fosters on Instagram @fosterborks
As a thank you for sharing her story, Anitha donated to A Purposeful Rescue. This non-profit saves dogs from high-kill shelters, provides any needed veterinary care and finds them loving homes. To learn more about this rescue, check out their website: https://www.apurposefulrescue.org/
Twenty-two-year old Sofia Villatoro shares her heart-warming story of adopting two dogs from a rescue located in California called I Stand With My Pack
Sofia takes us from the moment she and her family learned about Rusty and Sailor, to the initial meet and greet, to how they are all doing now.
She and Anitha also talk about the unfair and negative perception people have of pit bulls.
As a thank you to Sofia for sharing her story, Anitha donated to I Stand With My Pack. To learn more about this wonderful non-profit and their dedication to helping animals, please check out their website: https://istandwithmypack.org/
You can also follow Rusty and Sailor on Instagram @sailor_n_rusty
Fourteen-year old Annora Wu and her eleven-year old brother Andrew join Anitha to share their stories of kindness.
A talented musician, Annora talks about what it was like performing for residents of nursing homes and the joy she felt knowing she was making a positive difference in their lives.
Not to be outdone by his older sister, Andrew shares his amazing initiative of combining his love of Lego and animals to create Lego For Charity.
Andrew collects donated sets of Lego. He spends time sanitizing and sorting the pieces, and then puts together ‘new’ sets that he sells. The funds raised are donated to the SPCA.
This is a wonderful episode for everyone who loves music, animals and of course stories of kindness.
To learn more about Explore Hop, the organization that provided Annora with the skills to create the Lego For Charity website and promote its goals, click here: https://explorerhop.com/
As a thank you to Annora and Andrew for sharing their story, Anitha donated to the SPCA. For more information about all the wonderful work the SPCA does to help animals, please check out their website: https://spca.bc.ca/locations/vancouver/
Eleven-year-old Will and seventeen-year old Jada Finch share their inspiring story of turning personal heartache into helping animals. When Will was 7 and Jada was 12, the family adopted an adorable puppy they named Karma Rose. Sadly, within a few short weeks, Karma died from canine parvo-virus. Despite being devastated at the loss of his beloved puppy, Will decided to honor Karma on his 8th birthday. In lieu of gifts, he requested donations of money and pet supplies to donate to a local animal rescue. And soon after, Good Will Good Karma was born.
Will and Jada talk to Anitha about their amazing initiative to raise money and awareness to help animals. This podcast is a must for anyone who loves animals and wants to hear uplifting stories of how this incredible brother and sister team have dedicated their lives to helping animals.
As a thank you for sharing their story, Anitha donated to All Paws Cat Rescue. To learn more about this rescue, click here: http://allpawsrescue.weebly.com/
It’s always a joy to meet another author. However, connecting with Michelle Kadarusman was an extra thrill, because not only do we share a love of books and writing, we share a love for animals.
Michelle grew up in Melbourne, Australia with her four siblings. Her parents divorced when she was very young, and her mom, now a single mother and raising five kids, didn’t allow the family to have pets.
But this doesn’t appear to have been a hard rule, since Michelle and her siblings still filled their home with strays. To her relief, once the animals were there, her mom fell in love with the new family members as well. Michelle’s menagerie of strays included cats, rabbits and a dog named Charlie.
In 2000 Michelle moved to Canada and adopted her first dog from the Toronto Humane Society. Buddy was a five-year-old beagle mix. Sadly, Buddy died two years later. It happened when Michelle and her children were walking home from school. Buddy saw another dog across the street. He lunged and broke free of his leash, and he got hit by a car.
Devastated by his death, Michelle knew she wanted to bring another dog into their family.
“Dogs add colour to our lives,” she says.
In 2003, India, a Rhodesian Ridgeback puppy, joined Michelle’s family, and then seven years later, they adopted Hannah, a shepherd mix rescued from Aruba.
Left to right: Hannah & India; Hannah & Michelle
Given her love of animals, it’s no surprise that in 1996, while living in Surabaya, Indonesia, Michelle’s desire to help animals extended beyond rabbits, cats and dogs. She helped rescue an orangutan.
Her brother, Andre, was also in Indonesia at the time. He was working for an Australian construction company based in Jakarta. His work involved travelling to remote areas. At one of those locations he came upon a captive orangutan, held in a tiny cage, who was being used as an attraction at a restaurant.
Michelle’s brother didn’t know what to do. It is illegal in Indonesia to have an orangutan in captivity. But this was before Google and finding a rescue organization to save the orangutan was very difficult.
Michelle’s brother contacted her, wondering if she could help. Michelle had recently had a baby and belonged to a mom’s group. She told the other mothers about the plight of the orangutan. Luckily, one of the women knew someone who volunteered at an orangutan rescue. She promised to contact her friend at the rescue and get back to Michelle.
A couple of weeks passed and then Michelle received a call from the woman at the rescue. They were in the area that day and needed the location of the restaurant.
Michelle scrambled to contact her brother. Fortunately, she was able to speak with him. Even though he didn’t know the exact address of the restaurant, as it was located in a remote village, he was able to provide enough details for the rescue team to find the orangutan.
Thanks to Michelle and her brother, the orangutan was saved and taken to a sanctuary. Her seven years of being held captive in a tiny cage had finally come to an end.
Michelle never learned exactly what happened to the orangutan, but is hopeful that her life was a lot better having been rescued.
Not only is Michelle an animal lover but she is also an author. This incident with the orangutan has been brewing in Michelle’s mind for almost thirty years. She is now working on transforming it into a fictional story. She plans on telling the story from three points of view: the main character is a girl who is a budding activist, a boy whose uncle owns the restaurant where the orangutan was kept, and the orangutan herself.
As she writes, Michelle is cognisant of the complexities involved in dealing with animal conservation in countries such as Indonesia. She is determined not to vilify the restaurant owners. She says that her brother returned to the restaurant after the orangutan was saved and the owners were relieved she had been rescued. They too, wanted a better life for the orangutan but didn’t know how to make that happen.
Michelle is a gifted writer. Her 2019 middle grade novel, Girl of The Southern Sea was a finalist for the Governor General’s Literary Award. She has written three award- nominated novels. I eagerly await the release of this story based on her real-life experience helping an orangutan.
When asked the question, what is the one thing she would change in the world, Michelle said, “To change the world we have to look at our own actions first. It’s easy to forget to simply be kind. I try and remind myself everyday to lighten my thoughts and just do what I can.”
For more information about Michelle, please check out her Facebook page:
Anitha Rao-Robinson 