pets – Anitha Rao-Robinson

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.

https://www.instagram.com/isle.of.misfits/?hl=en

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:

https://www.limbochihuahuas.org/?disable_mobile=true

You can listen to the full episode here:

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.