On this month’s session of ASK A DOCTOR, Anitha and her husband, Dr. Matt Robinson, talk about illnesses often described as invisible, such as chronic pain syndrome, chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia.
These ailments can be debilitating and frustrating for the patient as they try to navigate the medical system.
This episode addresses symptoms, causes and potential supports available for people living with invisible illnesses.
**DISCLAIMER** THIS EPISODE IS MEANT FOR GUIDANCE ONLY AND NOT MEANT TO PROVIDE A SPECIFIC MEDICAL DIAGNOSIS. ALWAYS SEEK ADVICE FROM YOUR OWN MEDICAL PROVIDER
If you have a medical issue you’d like discussed on the podcast, please send Anitha an email through her website, anitharobinson.com
If your question is selected, Anitha will donate to a registered charity of your choice* as a thank you.
· * Registered Charity must support animals, the environment, or people. And also, no religious organizations, zoos or marine aquariums please.
The incredible Sir Darius Brown joins Anitha to talk about his initiative— combining his love of sewing and his love of animals to help shelter animals find loving, forever homes.
Sir Darius has made thousands of bow ties for shelter animals, taken their photo, and shared these photos on social media. These adorable bow ties have helped save many, many dogs.
An inspiring episode of love and kindness making a huge impact.
Letter from President Obama
To learn more about Sir Darius check out the following links:
As a thank you to Darius for sharing his story, Anitha donated to Mt. Pleasant Animal Shelter in New Jersey. This shelter cares for homeless animals and works to find them permanent, loving homes. They also partner with shelters around the country to save at risk animals from being euthanized. Mt. Pleasant Animal Shelter never euthanizes any animal for time or space reasons. Adoptable animals reside at the shelter until they find their forever home.
Emily Bott joins Anitha to talk about purchasing a property in 2018 that turned out to house a colony of 16 feral/barn cats. Emily and her partner, Dylan decided not only to allow the cats to remain on the property, but worked hard to gain the trust of the cats so they could be spayed/neutered and vaccinated. Life for the cats was so good, they eventually chose to live inside with Emily and Dylan!
These cats now enjoy being warm, safe, lounging on soft beds and so much more!
In the six years since moving to the property, Emily and Dylan have expanded their rescue journey to include farm animals such as donkeys and goats.
The farm’s mission is to provide compassionate care, rescue and sanctuary for animals in need. Emily shares some really heartwarming stories of the animals on the farm.
To learn more about Freedom Farmhouse, check out the following links:
As a thank you to Emily for sharing her story, Anitha donated to Rochester Emergency Veterinary Services.
This emergency veterinary hospital is fundraising to set up a new location to help more communities and more pets. To learn about what they do and what they are fundraising for, check out their website: REVS Website
October is National Menopause Awareness Month, so in this ASK A DOCTOR session, Anitha and her husband, Dr. Matt Robinson, will focus on issues surrounding menopause such as—
· What is Menopause?
· Symptoms
· Remedies- are there any?
· Hormone Replacement Therapy vs Non-hormonal medications vs Herbal alternatives
· Risks and Benefits of each
**DISCLAIMER** THIS EPISODE IS MEANT FOR GUIDANCE ONLY AND NOT MEANT TO PROVIDE A SPECIFIC MEDICAL DIAGNOSIS. ALWAYS SEEK ADVICE FROM YOUR OWN MEDICAL PROVIDER
If you have a medical issue you’d like discussed on the podcast, please send Anitha an email through her website, anitharobinson.com If your question is selected, Anitha will donate to a registered charity of your choice* as a thank you.
· Registered Charity must support animals, the environment, or people. And also, no religious organizations, zoos or marine aquariums please.
Margot Raggett is a wildlife photographer, wildlife warrior and a cancer survivor. She joins Anitha and generously talks about these parts of her life.
After witnessing the death of a young elephant, a tragic victim of poaching, Margot felt compelled to help protect wild animals . . .and thus was born Remembering Wildlife.
The first book in the series, Remembering Elephants, brought together photographers from all of the world, including Margot, donating stunning photographs for the book, which came out in 2015. Since then, eight more books have been produced and to date $1.5 million dollars has been raised through the sale of these books to support 74 projects in 33 countries across Africa, North & South America, Asia and Europe.
The latest book in the series, Remembering Tigers, will be available October 2024.
You can purchase one or more or all of these gorgeous books and help protect wildlife by visiting the Remembering Wildlife website: Remembering Wildlife
To learn about some of the projects Remembering Wildlife supports, click here: Projects
On October 9th, Remembering Wildlife will host a special event to celebrate the release of Remembering Tigers. It will be an evening to showcase tiger conservation and wildlife photography. To attend the event in London, England in person or virtually, click here:
As of the date of airing of this episode, Margot was still deciding on a charity she would like Anitha to donate to. Once Margot decides, Anitha will donate and provide details and a link to the charity.
September 22 is World Rhino Day and to mark this special day when the world recognizes these incredible beings who are critically endangered, Anitha chatted with Elisa Best.
16.11.20 – Mirror Animal Hero Awards 2020 – Picture shows Elise Best at her workplace Rowe Vet Hospital in Bristol.
Elisa is originally from South Africa and works as a small animal veterinarian in the UK. Elisa talks about the plight of rhinos and her desire to help them, and how this evolved into the creation of Blankets For Baby Rhinos (BFBR).
This lovely group began by knitting blankets for orphaned rhinos, who are often both emotionally and physically traumatized when their mothers are killed by poachers. Rhino rescue groups discovered that baby rhinos find comfort when wrapped in these blankets.
BFBR has now grown to provide blankets for other animals such as injured and rescued pangolins, lions, leopards, as well as the dogs and humans who are part of anti-poaching units. These dogs and humans work bravely to protect rhinos from poachers.
To find out more about Blankets For Baby Rhinos and how you can support this incredible group, check out their website and their Facebook Page:
Elisa talked about an amazing place called Care For Wild Rhino Sanctuary. This is one of the rhino rescue groups, Blankets for Baby Rhinos supports. Care For Wild rescues, rehabilitates, releases, re-wilds and protects orphaned rhinos. In 2016, Anitha’s daughter had the privilege to volunteer at this sanctuary. Her daughter’s experience with the baby rhinos at Care For Wild inspired Anitha’s debut picture book, A Family For Faru. Care For Wild will always hold a special place in Anitha’s heart.
Elisa also mentioned the importance of the anti-poaching unit to protect rhinos and the personal risk these brave men, women and dogs face every day. She mentioned a feature length documentary called RHINO MAN. This film focuses on the life of Anton Mzimba, who was the Head of Ranger Services at Timbavati Private Nature Reserve. Anton dedicated his life to protecting and conserving South African wildlife, and made great sacrifices to himself and his family to do so. Sadly, he was murdered in July of 2022. To learn more about this film, check out the following link:
Clarissa Dery, a certified canine nutritionist joins Anitha to talk about what motivated her to create healthy supplements for dogs.
Clarissa not only creates products to help dogs, but after volunteering at a wildlife rehabilitation centre in South Africa, she decided to donate the profits from Clarissa Clover to help wild animals in South Africa.
Clarissa talks about her time in South Africa, the animals she worked with, such as hippos and pangolins, and how this experience affected her.
To learn more about Clarissa and the products she makes, check out these links:
As a thank you to Clarissa for sharing her story, Anitha donated to Umoya Khulula Wildlife Rehab Centre. This non-profit rehabilitation facility in Limpopo, South Africa is dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation and release of local wildlife that have been orphaned, injured, displaced or confiscated from the illegal trade.
To learn about this wildlife rehab centre, please check out their website:
Anitha and the Kindness Is Everything Podcast welcome listeners to the second ASK A DOCTOR session. In this back-to-school session, Anitha and her husband, Dr. Matthew Robinson, talk about children getting fevers.
If you’ve ever wondered about—
1. What is a fever
2. Causes of fever
3. When to worry about a fever
4. Antibiotics- Yes or no?
5. Advocating for your sick child
—then this episode is for you!
**DISCLAIMER** THIS EPISODE IS MEANT FOR GUIDANCE ONLY AND NOT MEANT TO PROVIDE A SPECIFIC MEDICAL DIAGNOSIS. ALWAYS SEEK ADVICE FROM YOUR OWN MEDICAL PROVIDER
If you have a medical issue you’d like discussed on the podcast, please send Anitha an email through her website, anitharobinson.com
If your question is selected, Anitha will donate to a registered charity of your choice* as a thank you.
*Registered Charity must support animals, the environment, or people. And also, no religious organizations, zoos or marine aquariums please.
Dr. Crystal Heath, a veterinarian and animal rights activist joins Anitha to talk about the surprising dichotomy that exists holding both of these spaces.
Like a lot of listeners, Anitha assumed that folks who go into veterinary medicine are also strong advocates for animal rights, but that may not always be the case.
Dr. Heath shares her experience of what it was like speaking out for animals during veterinary school and why this inspired her to create Our Honor, a non-profit that supports veterinary students, veterinarians, and other animal professionals in speaking their conscience to create more ethical systems that consider the best interests of all species.
She was named one of Vox’s 2023 Future Perfect 50, which honors the scientists, thinkers, scholars, writers, and activists working on solutions to today’s (and tomorrow’s) biggest problems.
She is also on the board of LEAP – Leaders for Ethics Animals and the Planet, known as the humane alternative to 4-H and FFA, which aims to transform today’s youth into the humane leaders of tomorrow who advocate for and work towards an equitable future for all living beings and the planet.
Well respected in her field, Dr. Crystal Heath is quoted and featured in numerous articles about animals including:
Anitha and the Kindness Is Everything Podcast welcome listeners to the first ASK A DOCTOR session.
Once a month, Anitha and her husband, Dr. Matthew Robinson, will discuss a topical medical issue. In this inaugural episode, they talk about cognitive decline and aging.
If you’ve ever wondered about—
1. Normal memory issues as one ages versus early signs of dementia
2. Supports in the community to help someone who has dementia
3. Care options for those with limited financial resources
4. Extent to which hospitals can help care for those with dementia
5. How kindness fits into all of this
—then this episode is for you!
If you have a medical issue you’d like answered, please send Anitha an email through her website, anitharobinson.com
If your question is selected to be addressed on the show, Anitha will donate to a registered charity of your choice* as a thank you.
*Registered Charity must support animals, the environment, or people. And also, no religious organizations, zoos or marine aquariums please.
Anitha Rao-Robinson 