How Therapy Dogs Change Lives: A Conversation with Rachel McPherson

In this episode of "Ask the Vet," Dr. Ann Hohenhaus speaks with Rachel McPherson, Founder and President of The Good Dog Foundation, about the transformative role of therapy dogs. For more than 25 years, Rachel has been a trailblazer in the movement to bring trained therapy dogs into the lives of people experiencing illness, trauma, or hardship.

Topics include:

• Rachel’s path from Academy Award–nominated film producer to therapy dog advocate
• The story of Fidel, her first therapy dog who worked at Ground Zero after 9/11
• Why therapy dogs are uniquely impactful in healing and recovery
• How The Good Dog Foundation expanded from 3 dogs to more than 1,000 therapy teams
• What makes a great therapy dog and handler team
• Groundbreaking research partnerships with Yale and Mount Sinai
• The Good Dog Foundation’s new initiatives

Also on this month’s show:

• Viral trending animal story about twin red panda cubs
• Animal news, including why some dogs watch TV, the mystery of cats and concrete slabs, and bearded dragons with tiny backpacks
• Pet health listener Q&A discussing paw licking in dogs, rare complications of rhabdomyolysis in cats, and vaccine reactions in pets

Do you have a pet question for Dr. Hohenhaus? Email askthevet@amcny.org to have your question answered on Ask the Vet's Listener Q&A.

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Transcript

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We want to remind our listeners that this program is for informational and educational purposes only, and not intended to substitute for professional veterinary medical advice, diagnosis and treatment. The Animal Medical Center does not recommend or endorse any products or services advertised by Sirius XM. Welcome to Ask the Vet with Dr. Ann Hohenhaus. This is the place to talk about your pets and get advice for the top veterinarian from the Animal Medical Center in NYC. Hear from the leading authorities on animals and ask your questions. Now here's your host, Dr. Ann Hohenhaus. Hello and welcome to Ask the Vet. It's the podcast for people who love their pets and want the latest in pet health and animal news. Like every month, I'm your host, Dr. Ann Hohenhaus. I'm a senior veterinarian here at the Schwarzman Animal Medical Center in New York City, and I also serve as a director of pet health information. Today, we'll be exploring the powerful connection between people and animals, and how therapy dogs are helping to ease suffering and promote healing in hospitals, schools and beyond. Therapy dogs aren't just comforting. They're part of a growing field known as animal assisted therapy, backed by research and practice in some of the country's top medical institutions. Much of that progress is thanks to today's guest, Rachel McPherson. Rachel is the founder and president of the Good Dog Foundation, and one of the nation's leading providers of certified therapy dog services for more than 25 years. She's been a trailblazer in the movement to bring trained therapy dogs into the lives of people, experience illness, trauma, or hardship. I'm excited to talk with Rachel after we do the trending animal of the month, and we'll talk about her life changing work of the Good Dog Foundation and the science behind how animals help humans heal. Looking forward to my conversation with her and I hope you are too. The Schwarzman Animal Medical Center is the only level one veterinary trauma center in New York City, and we have 115 years of being the very best place for pets behind that trauma center. If you're seeking advice on maintaining your pet's health, I'm here to help. Just send me your questions to our email, which is very simply asked the vet at AMK, NY dawg, and I'll answer your questions on next month's show. If you didn't write that down, or you need to get a pen and pencil during the break, don't worry, I'll give that email address later on in the program. And now it's time for our trending animal of the month. It's time for the internet's most talked about animal. West Midlands Safari Park in Worcestershire, England, is selling a special arrival, or rather two arrivals. Twin red panda cubs were recently born, making an exciting milestone for this endangered species. In my mind, red pandas look more like red raccoons than they do a panda. And it turns out that red pandas are more closely related to raccoons than to panda bears, which are really bears. But now back to the story. Keepers first suspected something was happening when they heard soft vocalizations coming from one of the nest boxes in the red panda explosion. Their suspicions were confirmed when mailing a resident red panda was spotted gently moving a cub from one box to the other and then returning for the second one. This is Madeline's second litter of cubs, and in a charming twist of timing, they were born on the exact same date as her first pair were born two years ago. It's a rare coincidence that makes this new birth feel especially meaningful to the Red Panda team. These Cubs are part of a European conservation breeding program designed to help grow and protect red panda populations, which are now estimated at fewer than 10,000 individuals in the wild. And now it's my pleasure to introduce today's guest, Rachel McPherson. Rachel is the founder and president of the Good Dog Foundation, a nationally recognized nonprofit that provides animal assisted therapy through certified therapy dog teams across the northeast. Under her leadership, Good Dog has grown from just three dogs to more than a thousand volunteer teams, conducting over 330,000 therapy visits. A year. That's like a thousand a day when you when you multiply that all out. Rachel's journey into this field began with a documentary film project and evolved into a lifelong mission to advance the human animal bond. Her work has helped bring therapy dogs into hospitals, schools and nursing homes, and has led to changes in the New York State law allowing therapy animals into health care settings. Before she founded Good Dog, Rachel was an Academy Award nominated film and television producer. She served on numerous nonprofit boards and continues to be a passionate advocate for healing, inclusion, and community service. Wow. Rachel, thank you so much for joining me here on Show the Vet. It's so nice to be here with you, and it's just a pleasure. You know, your occupation is, what I actually, as a child wanted to do is to be a veterinarian. So, I'm very envious on your career. It's just. Oh, well. Thank you. Great job. It is a great job. I agree. So since I'm always animal focused, I want to start by asking you what pets you currently have at home. I have two poodles at home. I have a standard poodle, Atticus, and I have a toy poodle a little bit. So Atticus is a big poodle. Atticus is a standard poodle. He's a big guy. Yes. And he's white. Black? He's actually a party poodle. He's black. Lionel. Party meets more than one color exam. Exactly. And? And the other thing is, I don't know that I've ever known a party standard poodle before. The ones I see are either usually black or white. Occasionally an apricot. Is that because they're rare? Yes, it's because they're rare. And his breeders live in Utah and, the gentleman part of the couple is, he is a vet. So he really works a lot, making sure his, his party poodles are, you know, in great shape, great health. And they're just beautiful, beautiful animals. So do are both are one or none therapy animals? Both are good dog therapy animals. And they're all. And are they your first therapy animals or have you had other ones before? No. When I created Good Dog, I had Fidel who was a papillon and Fidel is an American hero. He actually worked at Ground Zero and he worked at Hurricane Katrina. When we first started doing our crisis response work. And I just want to be sure his name is Fidel. Like Cuba and Fidel Castro. Yes, but for loyalty. Okay. All right, I, I took care of a havanese dog who was named Fidel. And I thought that was just the best name for for a dog, supposedly that had come from Cuba. So I, I have a very fond memories of dogs named Fidel. And so I have Dale, and I've had, Yazi who was a French bulldog who also was, good dog therapy dog. So I've had through this 25 years, I've always had a good dog therapy team. How do you find time to run a therapy dog foundation and do therapy with your own dogs? I recently have not done therapy with my own dogs, but, as much as I used to. But I love doing the work, and it's just it's such fabulous work. So do you have a specialty in therapy? Like, do you go to schools and read, or do you go to hospitals and visit patients? I've always either worked with children, who have various, disabilities or I've done a lot of crisis response work with, with my dogs. Really love being there for, people who are in a traumatic, crisis situation. So let's talk about the Good Dog Foundation. How'd you get from film to dogs? I was going to actually create a feature documentary on animal assisted therapy and the human animal bond. And then I started researching, the entire field, and I realized it was against the law of the state of New York for dogs to go into hospitals. So then I got very involved in creating the Good Dog training program, and I trained three dogs in the beginning and we were working with Saint Vincent's Hospital, in lower Manhattan, you know, the Chelsea area. And, we worked with the infectious, control folks from the state of New York in Albany. And we were instrumental in changing the law and, and set in New York for dogs to go to hospitals. And that's when the real work began. So I just fell in love with the work. I grew up on a farm with lots of animals, and I was an only child with a sibling who was 15 years older than me. So I she was like an only child, and I was like an only child because the age difference and all the animals on our farm became my siblings. And I became very aware at a young age, the benefits that they were giving to me as an only child with a sibling. You know, they were distressing me. They were there to give me support. So I, I began to realize that, you know, the benefit of all these animals cats, dogs, horses, pigs, cows, all of them were just, you know, they were part of my family. So the work of the Good Dog Foundation clearly resonates with you, but also with many other people. Why are therapy dogs so uniquely impactful in the settings where you take them? I think that they are so impactful in the healing and also recovery process, so they help with healing and recovery and and all the places that we visit. They help with heal and also distressing patient populations and children. Have you done any work in the courts? I, I've read a couple articles about dogs in courtrooms to help the not the the offenders, but the people who have to testify. Yes, we have we have worked in the court system. Yes, we have good dogs. Actually, our director of training, Rene Payne, goes into the court system, every week. And she does work there in upstate New York. Yeah. I think that's a really interesting, way to have dogs work is you can see going into the hospitals and visiting children who are sick, but but the courtroom is a very different environment than, say, a hospital. And so I think it's a I don't know who came up with that idea, but I think it's a really interesting one. Yeah. And we've also created a workforce wellness part of Good Dog as part of our mission now. And we're going into corporate America helping to de-stress, the folks in corporate America. Well, I thought people in corporate America were all working from home where they wouldn't be stressed. Well, I think they're all back now. So they're all it. But it's really a wonderful program. I mean, we're going in to all the major corporations in New York City. So what happens on a day when you go to a big corporate office, you check in at the front desk and you just wander around or people come to, you know, they're they're actually pre-planned and they have, certain floors and they have certain rooms like big corporate spaces, upstairs that we go to. And, and there's scheduled visits for people to come in and, work with the therapy dogs one on one or as a large group. Interesting. So we have several we have several of them at that time. So they may be in like one corner or one corner of a room, you know, like there's four and a large, conference room. And, they work with and there and the, and you go online at the corporation and you schedule your visit when you want to go and, you know, into the room or they we do it as a group, like everyone arrives, you know, in groups. Just depends on whose was that idea. Yours. That idea has come from the Good Dog Foundation. Yes. Our executive director, Bruce Fagin, and I have worked hard to, and to BRC, who actually is in charge of our our corporate wellness program. So good dogs started with you and three dogs. How many people now work for Good Dog Foundation? They're about we have about eight employees, but then we have a lot of, good dog trainers, too. And so what do the trainers do? You work in the office and keep things organized and running. Trainers. Do they actually run our training, classes in various locations in the tri state area. And what does it like? How do you get into a training class? Does my dog have to apply and then get accepted? And does he need a resume before he applies? Well, what you do is you go online and you fill out a volunteer application, and then the trainer reviews your application, and then they invite you for an evaluation. And then you go through an evaluation with a trainer. And during that evaluation they determine if your dog and you are suitable to do therapy work. And like you couldn't have just any dog show up and get accepted. Because if the dog can't sit, stay, not jump on people, it seems like the trainer's going to say not this one. So, right. So you have to have all your basic obedience down and no jumping, which is really key because we we've seen a lot of that lately. Dogs jumping out of Covid. I think a lot of them were not properly, you know, trained during Covid because you couldn't go see a trainer or attend a basic obedience class. Well, I think the other thing during Covid was everyone was feeling sorry for themselves and everyone else that you were like, oh, you're so cute. Have a treat. Oh you're barking. Please be quiet. Oh, bark some more. And and I think we just we just forgot how to teach our dogs manners during that. We've actually been, having an online manners class that our director of training, runs for all those type dogs that didn't really get good manners training. We've added that into our curriculum. Yes. In the lobby of my building the other day, just some random dog jumped up on me. I don't obviously, I'm not afraid of dogs. I was a little taken aback that some random dog would like, jump up and put his front paws on my, you know, the top of my jeans kind of thing, but I wasn't hurt or anything. But that owner didn't even say, oh geez, I'm sorry my dog jumped up on you. They seem to think it was like cute. And I was not thinking that that was good manners, shall we say. Yeah, we've we've had a lot of that. And, you know, that's that's part of what the owners need to learn. And obviously the dogs need to really learn good manners and basic obedience before they come to good dog. So your online manners course is for people who are in good dog already, or potential people that might want their dog to be a therapy dog. It's a little bit of both. If we have a situation where a dog's manners need to be checked, you know, we send them back to good manners, but, and tell them they can't visit for the time being. But a lot of it is for people out there that have gone through basic obedience but need to have their dog have some, you know, a little bit of a, I guess, a review of manners. Again, I teach manner review. Okay. So listeners out there here's a good opportunity for to have your dog not behave like the dog of my lobby behaved the other day and jump up on random people walking past. So good opportunity for you with our friends here at the Good Dog Foundation. So can you tell us about one moment or one patient visit that really stayed with you and chose the kind of impact that therapy dogs can have? Well, in the early days, I had to go hospital to hospital and basically doctor to doctor to, convince them that dogs should be at hospitals. And one visit I went on was a with was with a neurologist and it was a physical therapist really wanted the patients to work with. You know, he really wanted the doctor to approve a therapy dog working with his patients. So we approached the neurologist, and the neurologist was adamant that, his patients could not see a therapy dog. So I said to him, can I just show you a couple of other things that we could do with your patient? If I could visit with just one patient. So it was a gentleman that had had a stroke and his entire left side and was frozen. And so I said, let's use the therapy dog. Let's put him in his lap. So it was for now, the little pavilion I could down in his lap and gave the man a little tiny ball. And so in his left hand I gave him the ball, and I said, see if you can throw it, and Fidel will collect the ball. So the gentleman, the patient tried to throw the ball, which he just kind of dropped the ball on the floor. And Fidel jumped down, picked up the ball, brought it right back to the guy, and the man was completely delighted to participate in working with the dog. And so we did this over and over and the, the neurologist, I said, okay, okay, this is phenomenal. I had him brush the dog with the arm that he could not use, and we tried to brush up, Fidel's legs across Fidel's body. And, you know, the pavilion has the big ears and the big tail. So we were trying to brush the tail, and the patient was so engaged and participating in all these activities. And so I went away and the doctor said, oh, this is phenomenal. I'll consider this. So the same patient the next day was told that he had to work with the equipment, and the patient refused to work with the equipment and said, where is the lady and the little dog? I need to see the lady and the little dog. So it was extraordinary to be invited back, and it was just so rewarding because we then worked with the gentleman and then we began to work with all this doctors, patients, and we got body movement, where the gentleman began to really throw the ball. And, and brush the dog. And it was a huge success for this patient and for this doctor to make, you know, he actually changed his, his point of view and I bet Fidel looked fabulous after being brushed every day during physical therapy. I'm sure he was just groomed to within an inch of his life and looked adorable. More adorable than Pappy normally look. Yeah, and he completely new. He looked lovely too, you know, he was. He, had absolutely animal awareness of his his coat and everything. He was just a delightful dog. And we also went in to 9/11, Fidel and I, we worked with Lieutenant Grace Telesco, and we took families of the victims of 9/11 to the site. And Fidel was their on site. We went every day. We and we got very close to Lieutenant, Grace Telesco, who went to the morgue every morning. And I realized that she really needed support. So I took two now to her. And it was she said that it was just so helpful for her de-stressing after she had gone to the morgue and had gone through this horrible mornings. And then we took Fidel with other good dog therapy teams to the site with the families and the therapy dogs. This was amazing. You could see that none of the family members really wanted to speak to, a psychologist or a person of faith. Those people were all on this boat with us taking the families to, to the site. But they only wanted to work with the therapy dogs because they said they didn't want to speak to anyone. They just wanted to hold a therapy dogs. And what we noticed is that the Fidel and the other good dog therapy teams were really the first breakthrough to all those family members about their trauma and their pain, and they began to open up to the therapy dogs, and they were comfortable with the therapy dogs because they just didn't want to deal with any human interaction. And it was amazing. And to watch. Well, and I think of the gentleman with the stroke who benefited the same thing, who wants, you know, who wants a machine when you could have a much more engaging, interactive partner to heal with. And then for people, they probably were talked and cried out by the time they got there and, and just needed someone who was non-judgmental and, you know, and adored you as dogs always adore everyone. And so I think that you can understand why those people were so happy to have those dogs around. Absolutely. They were so happy to hear. And, I mean, it was very cathartic for some of them. Some of them had not released, you know, they released around the dogs and they really opened up and showed their emotions because they weren't being forced to talk about it. You know, it just came freely. And it was it was actually the first step in a lot of those people's, family members healing process. So therapy dogs always work in a team because they can't get there on their own, and they need someone to bring them and someone to direct them and tell them what to do. So what's a great handler? What are the qualities that make someone a really good person to partner with a dog? I think the most important thing, I mean, I'm this way as a handler and I think all our handlers are this way, is they really have a huge bond with their dog. They connect with their dog and they have complete awareness of their behavior. So we do a lot of training in our, four week classes of how you should work with your dog, how you should read the signals of your dog, how you know if a dog is stressed, you know what what your choices are if a dog is stressed. So I think it's individuals that are very aware of their dogs and also have this extraordinary bond with their dogs. You know, they they take the dog out for walks. They, they're are tuned to the types of food that are should properly be served to a dog. They have an interaction with their dog that's very deep and, very supportive to their dog. So one of my neighbors had a very cute little chocolate labradoodle named Cooper, and he worked at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center for about a decade. And one day, you know, I ran into her in the elevator and I was like, hey, you know, are you and Cooper still working? And she said, you know, I could tell he just got tired of it. He he did it for ten years. And then he got to the point where he wasn't he didn't seem enthusiastic about it anymore. And that's when I said it was time for us to retire from visiting people at the hospital. So that's a very concrete example of a human who was very attuned to her dog. And they had a good thing going for ten years and then retired because, you know, it's it's it's that human animal connection and being aware of the stress or the age factor of your dog. And also we only visit for one hour, so we're very protective of, of the dogs. And we train the handler to be attuned to the dog. And I think at home you have to learn to be attuned to your dog. You know, you have to support your dog in as many ways as possible and lots of exercise and, you know, great treats and rewards for when when you go out on those walks and, and you see such a great obedient response from a dog come when called and you give them a, you know, we're I'm actually re working with Atticus on a little recall work right now because he loves to go to this cemetery close by me, and I have to really call him back in so he doesn't get too far away from me. So it's protecting your dog and and really caring for them. So Good dog has been involved in some of the major moments over the past 27 years, including 911 having opportunities like that clearly has shaped your approach to crisis and community response. Can you tell us how? Well, I think what I've learned, and I think the organization has learned, is that, the support that therapy dogs give to any crisis situation is so necessary. We have to respond. We, a good dog, have to respond to these crisis. We have to be there for for our institutions, like like corporations. We have to be there for them. We're right now responding to to help Blackstone and the shooting that just took place. We're there for them in crisis response. We really feel that we we have to to really be there. That's part of our mission as an organization is to help our community and help our friends and neighbors and help society. And the greatest way to do that is to send in a therapy dog. So I saw a news story this morning that a veterinarian was shot and killed, yesterday or the day before or by, you know, a disgruntled boyfriend or something like that. But the veterinary hospital is closed because can you imagine, that is what that's just sounds like. Yeah. It that that one really upset me. The Blackstone thing is terrible as well. I just, I don't understand why people feel the need to just shoot people. It's very upsetting. And good that there are dogs and people who are willing to help. Now, can you talk a little bit about your partnerships with Yale and Mount Sinai? Well, our partnership with Yale, was a great research project that we did there at Yale, and it was extremely rewarding and showing how a therapy dog, helps to lower the stress of children. And our Mount Sinai work was all about a cancer. Cancer study. And this was done years ago, with head, neck and throat cancer patients. Which the study actually showed that it helped with compliance for the patients to come back and take the treatment. So it was really the therapy dog in the office. People came back for their appointments. It was a therapy dog there for when they took radiation and chemo. And so the patient who was taking the radiation treatment had a therapy dog waiting for them. And, and the patient that was taking chemo had a therapy dog waiting. And it helped with compliance. And obviously in de-stressing that patient before they went in to take their treatment. And in that study, were there some people who didn't get a therapy dog so you could compare the effects? Yes. Yeah. Yeah. That that's that's a really important for finding because when you have a group that doesn't get the intervention, the therapy dog and then a group that gets the therapy dog intervention, then your data is so much stronger and so much more believable in showing that the therapy dog interaction makes a big difference, I think. I mean, I knew that it would help the stress level of people. What I think is really important is that it increase people's compliance with the treatment regimen. Because head and neck cancers are very tough cancers. It's really it's really the treatment is horrific. So you really, you know, you just get to a point as a patient that you don't want to complete the treatment. You know, there's so much of that, treatment that happens to you as a patient. And so having that having the therapy dog there really help them come for their visits and and in compliance. So these are wonderful stories about how therapy dogs can help. So if we have a listener who's interested in volunteering, what would they have to do? They would go online and they would fill out an application on the Good Dog Foundation org website, and they would fill out an application. And then one of our trainers, depending on the location or the area that they live in, would email them and they would schedule an evaluation, and then they would go in for their evaluation. And if they passed the evaluation, then they would place them in one of our therapy dog classes. And then then and this is only what states are you limited to. So people, you know, people from California wouldn't work with good dog. No. But by state area. Okay. So folks listening in the tri state area, this is an opportunity for you and your dog. Now, what kind of dogs are you looking for? We're looking for dogs that have exceptional personalities, and they also have the right temperament to do this work. And they've had basic obedience training and probably good manners. You don't want them jumping, but it can be a little dog because yeah, just in case someone doesn't know what Fidel was, Fidel was a Papillon. And they're they're called the little butterfly. They're little dogs. And then you've got the standard poodle who's, you know, a 50, 60 pound dog, depending on if it's a big one or a little smaller female. So size is not size that determine or size and breed. And we have lots of, mutts. We have lots we have pitbulls that do this work. We have all types of breeds, you know, and a lot of mutts, rescue dogs. We have a lot of rescue dogs that do this work. They're amazing. It's a it's a great story to see a rescue dog, be rescued and then go in and do this, this work. It's what a wonderful story of that dogs lives. Oh, and and there there are absolutely wonderful stories out there about dogs. So what's next for the Good Dog Foundation? What project are you working on that it's the next thing on the horizon. Well, we're really growing this workforce wellness, project. And we're also working to grow our entire organization in the Bronx because, you know, the Bronx is the poorest, district in the United States. So we're in the process of creating programs in the Bronx and, and training, people who live in that area to supply those hospitals. And I, you know, I'm sure that there are children who would benefit from the reading programs that you can do with therapy dogs as well. Yes. And so this also, we're also training professionals and their dogs. We worked with the New York City Department of Ed and, and, we were in the school systems of New York with their comfort dogs, training the comfort dogs to work in the classroom. So we want to expand that program into other parts of, the tri state area and other school districts. So if anyone listening, you know, is involved in a school district or a teacher and is interested in getting dogs trained to come into their schools to work with the children, you know, in reading and reading programs and in other ways in the school system, then they should reach out to the Good Dog Foundation and children read better to a dog than they do to a judgmental teacher or parent. So that's a great way to end this conversation. I want to thank Rachel so much for joining us today, and I hope everyone else has enjoyed learning about the important work of the Good Dog Foundation. To find out more about the Good Dog Foundation and how you can get involved, you can visit their website, which is the Good Dog Foundation. One big word .org. Thank you so much for having me today. I enjoyed my time with you. You're welcome. Pleasure to have you here. I know that keeping your pet healthy is very important to you. And with that said, I hope you reach out to me if you have a question about your pet's health. I'll answer your question on next month's Ask the Vet podcast. All you need to do is email me at askthevet@amcny.org. Now we've got a short break coming up, but stay tuned because there are lots of interesting animal stories when we return. We're back with Dr. Ann Hohenhaus on Ask the Vet. Welcome back to Ask the Vet podcast. It's time for the animal news. It's time for animal headlines, the biggest animal news from across the world. Our first news story today was published in Scientific Reports. And it suggests that dogs aren't just glancing at the TV, they're actually watching it. And how they respond might tell us something about their personalities. Researchers surveyed more than 450 dog owners using a tool called the Dog Television Viewing Scale. They found that dogs who are more alert and reactive to everyday stimuli, like animals, movement or sound, are also the ones most likely to pay attention to what's on the TV screen. Some bark, some wag, and some even lunge at the TV. This study builds on earlier research showing us that dogs can interpret two dimensional images in a way that's similar to humans. So when your dog is staring at a nature documentary, they might actually be recognizing the animals on the screen, not just reacting to flashing lights and colors. The researchers suggest that television could serve as a meaningful form of enrichment for some dogs, especially those in low stimulation environments like shelters or homes where they spend a lot of time alone. But just like people, dogs vary widely in their preferences. What engages one dog might not be what engages your dog, or actually might overstimulate your dog. So it's important to observe how your own dog responds to various TV shows. For pet owners and for veterinary professionals, the key takeaway is that television might be a useful tool and an enrichment plan, but only if it's used thoughtfully and tailored to the individual dog's temperament. Our second story today is kind of a crazy one. If you've seen the videos of cats lounging on concrete slabs, I had to look this up because somehow my social media feeds did not pick up on this. And it's not cats just kind of lounging on a slab. It's cats who are fully committed to the concrete slab. And while it seems like quirky behavior, there is some science backed reasoning behind it. According to Bruce Kornreich who's a director of the Cornell Feline Health Center and many, many years ago used to work here at the Schwarzman Animal Medical Center. There are a few likely instincts in the cat that would account for this behavior. One is texture. The concrete slab is rough and porous and might feel good for the cat to lie on. Providing tactile stimulation or helping with grooming. It's similar to how cats choose certain scratching posts, not just to sharpen their claws, but to satisfy a sensory need. You know, if I can be like a sisal scratching post and a cardboard scratching post and the cat will choose something else to scratch on, it's just what they like. Cinch marking is another factor that might clue us into what a cat's looking for in their concrete slab. Cats have pheromones, glands on their faces and bodies, and textured surfaces like concrete hold scent more effectively than smooth materials. So rubbing against or lying on a slab might be a way of claiming the space, leaving behind their scent that helps them feel secure and tells others to go away. And finally, temperature may play a role as well. Indoors, the concrete stays cool and might be a comfortable place to relax. Outdoors, the concrete holds the warmth from the sun and may be a resting service. It's really comfortable for the cat, depending on the season and what's happening outdoors. And finally, their shape. Cats are clearly drawn to enclosed or clearly defined spaces, and whether it's a cardboard box or a taped off square on the floor, a slab offers a defined surface that appeals to the cat's preference for boundaries. So while there's no formal study yet, the takeaway is this behavior of cats and their concrete slabs is probably normal and potentially beneficial for indoor cats, providing access to varied textures, varied temperature zones and places for a cat to mark out their territory will provide them with both physical and emotional comfort. And our third story of the day comes from Australia. An ecologist in Australia has taken a creative approach to wildlife tracking by showing tiny backpacks for bearded dragons. Now these are wild bearded dragons. But last year, the number one pet seen at AMC that was not a dog or was not a cat was actually the bearded dragon. So this might give us some insights into the bearded dragons that share our homes. Kristoffer Wild, a PhD researcher from the University of Melbourne, spent a year at Bow Row Wildlife Sanctuary fitting custom vests on Australian central bearded dragons. Each little vest carried a GPS tracker, an accelerometer and a temperature sensor, all packed into lightweight design about the size of a Triple-A battery. The gear allowed Doctor Wilde to connect second by second data on 40 lizards tracking their movements, activity and body temperature through the seasons. One of the most surprising findings the fastest lizards were actually the least likely to survive, which just doesn't seem to make sense. Rather than helping them evade predators, high activity levels seem to make them more visible, and especially in the spring, and particularly for females. Adult bearded dragons depend on camouflage, not speed, to avoid danger. So if you're a speedy dragon, you're the people who are trying to eat you. We're able to see you more readily, and therefore you didn't last as long. The study was published in the Journal of Animal Ecology and challenges the assumption that faster means safer in the wild. It also highlights how advances in miniaturized tracking technology are opening new doors for studying smaller species, with minimal disruption to their day to day life. Doctor Wild says he hopes the approach can be used in future research on animals even smaller than bearded dragons. And now it's time for questions from our listeners. Our first question is from Patty H. Patty asks. I'm a dog sitter, and I take care of a dog that just keeps looking her paws. Why is she doing this? And what can be done about it? Instead of just googling it, I thought I'd ask a professional. Thank you. So thank you. Back to Patty for asking you a professional rather than googling the answer to the question. Probably the number one reason that a pet, or especially a dog licks his feet is they have allergies, especially this time of year in New York, and they lick their feet because they're itchy. Now, sometimes allergies and infection go together because when a dog licks its feet all the time, then its feet are moist and more prone to develop an infection between the toes. So if your dog is licking, then you probably want to see the veterinarian, who will probably test for an infection and probably treat for allergies. Another reason that a dog might like its toe is the toe hurts, and that could be a toe that got slammed at the door by accident and is broken. It might be a toenail that's gotten caught on something in is cracked or broken. And also think about a tumor in the toe. And that would be a dog who licks just one toe. Wouldn't be a dog who licks all four feet. And that kind of is what Patti I think is talking about. But if your dog is licking one foot and one toe only, then I would be worried about a toe tumor, which does happen not uncommonly in dogs. And then finally, it's also possible that a dog that starts licking their feet because of allergies then develops a bad habit and keeps licking, licking, licking their feet. And if that's the situation, then Patti might want to check with the behaviorist to learn how to break that very bad habit. So, Patti, I hope that your sitting dog gets better soon, but I think its owners should take it to their veterinarian. Our next question is from Lori C. And Lori's question is my five year old cat otherwise healthy, has recently been hospitalized for stress induced rhabdomyolysis. I've read that anesthesia can be risky in these cases. Is it still safe to have her spayed? Or would that pose too much risk? She's indoors and not around other animals. Are there safer options if she ever need surgery? So rhabdomyolysis is, muscles that die. And this is a really uncommon problem in cats. So this cat, if it needs anesthesia for a spay or another reason, probably needs a whole team of medical specialists to help get it through surgery. AMCs Emergency Critical Care Service has seen a few cats who got into some human medications, and these cats got rhabdomyolysis and sadly died from the condition because of the overdose of the medication that they ate. People accidentally dropped a pill on the floor and the cat ate the pill. Rhabdomyolysis has more commonly, though, been associated with a genetic abnormality, meaning something that was present at birth, and it is similar to muscular dystrophy in people. So when cats with this genetic abnormality are stressed or undergo anesthesia, the muscles break down and die. And this results in a very sick cat, or maybe a cat who dies very unexpectedly. This genetic abnormality doesn't only affect the muscles of like, their legs, but also affects the muscles of their heart and can cause cardiac problems. So this kitty probably needs an internal medicine specialist to diagnose the condition. A cardiologist to evaluate the heart. And if the cat needs anesthesia, probably an anesthesiologist to manage the anesthesia in addition to the surgeon to do the surgery. So I think this cat might have a very uncommon and complicated problem. And and I hope that Laurie has the team nearby that her cat needs. And our last question is from Pam. Be. The question is, I've heard that some dogs are allergic to certain vaccines or medications. How common are these reactions and what should I watch out for when my dog gets vaccinated? So Pam, very happily, vaccine reactions are quite uncommon, and although anyone can have an allergic reaction to a vaccine, it's quite rare in dogs and occurs only in somewhere around 25 to 50 of every 10,000 dogs vaccinated. And of those, 25 to 50 dogs of the 10,000 vaccinated. Only six of those 10,000 were allergic reactions. So that's what I mean. When it's very uncommon, six of 10,000 dogs doesn't mean that you shouldn't monitor your dog after vaccination, and you would want to watch for a swollen face. A lot of scratching, not just scratching at the injection site, but scratching all over. But the good news for you is it would be pretty unlikely that you're going to see that. But if you do, you'd want to call your veterinarian immediately. Thanks to everyone who wrote in with a question. Just remember, it's AsktheVet@amcny.org, and we're going to take our second break and be back with information from AMC's used an institute for Animal health education. We're back with Dr. Ann Hohenhaus on Ask the Vet. Welcome back everyone. I'm here to give you important information from AMC's Usdan Institute as summer cookout sizzle on. Here's a friendly reminder A lot of what's delicious for us at a barbecue could be dangerous or deadly for our pets. First, the grill. The smell of the burgers and ribs can be irresistible to curious noses, but hot surfaces can burn pores and an eager pupper cat could easily bump into the grill and knock it over. And then there's the food itself. Delicious, rich, fatty items like hot dogs and cheeseburgers are a treat, but they can potentially cause pancreatitis, which is a painful and potentially life threatening condition at dogs. Many picnic favorites are actually toxic to pets. Grapes, raisins, onions, chocolate, alcohol, and anything made with xylitol belong on every pet parent's no no list. And then there are the choking hazards. Corn cobs, which AMC surgeons cut out surgically all the time. And yesterday, someone here took a peach pit out of the stomach of a dog. Because that can cause a dangerous blockage. What I think are the most scary are the wooden shish kebab skewers. Because they don't show up on X-rays. So your dog swallows one, and then it pokes a hole in the intestine, causing injuries internally or a severe infection. And then don't forget the trash. Be sure your trash can is on tight so that your dog or cat doesn't go dumpster diving for some delicious tidbit in the trash and make themselves sick. Because of that. If you really can't watch your pet during the barbecue, then maybe it's better just to let your pet relax at home and take them a snack or two in a doggy bag. Now, it's important to keep our pets safe, especially this time of year when we're all out and about. This time of year can also bring up memories of pets we've lost.

And on Tuesday, September 9th at 6: 51:30

15 p.m., the Houston Institute will host its eighth annual Celebration of Life, a pet memorial event. It's a virtual gathering to honor the pets we've lost and to reflect on the lives we've shared. If you'd like to register for this free event and also submit a photo for the Pet Memorial slideshow, you can do so at amcny.org/events. My many thanks to Rachel McPherson from the Good Dog Foundation for joining me today. Don't forget, if you'd like to learn more about volunteering your dog as a therapy dog, you just have to go to their website, which is Good Dog Foundation .org. If you want to know more about your pet's well-being or need health advice, you can email me at Ask the Vet @ amcny.org, and I'll answer your questions on next month as a vet program. This podcast is available on Sirius XM app across all major podcast platforms and on AMC's website. All thanks to our longstanding partnership with Sirius XM. Don't forget to follow us on social media on Facebook. It's the Animal Medical Center on X, formerly Twitter and Instagram. It's @AMCNY, and I'd really like it if you would take a moment to give Ask the Vet podcast a review and don't forget to like and subscribe so you receive every episode when it drops, and I'm looking forward to seeing you all next month on another episode of Ask the Vet. Thanks everyone and have a great month!