To start this episode, I’ll tell you another creature feature.  Do you remember the part in the movie, The Wizard of OZ when Toto and Dorothy are swept away in their house by a tornado?  If you think a dog being carried away is only fiction, wait till you hear this.

Then, I’ve got news.  After a stay-at-home order, due to the pandemic, Rocket, the NutriSource Pet Food’s sponsored, M Health Fairview - University of Minnesota - Masonic Children’s Hospital dog, is back at his job - helping children and families again deal with all the aspects of a hospital stay. His partner and handler, Anna Dressel, tells the stories of how Rocket keeps surprising her with the profound ways he affects others, what he particularly excels at in helping children and all about his third birthday celebration.

What can you do to create good mental welfare for your cat?  Follow the guideline: Don’t stimulate the emotions of RAGE, FEAR or GRIEF in them if you can help it and do stimulate SEEKING and PLAY as much as possible. These are core emotion systems in the brains of both you and your pets. Today, I’ll explain how FEAR affects cats and what you can do to keep your cat from feeling it so much.

Additional Resources for the show.

Source for the story about Sadie and the Tornado – Amazing but True Dog Tales by Bruce Nash and Allan Zullo, compiled by Muriel MacFarlane

See photos of Rocket and Anna Dressel on the website episode page, #82.

Anna Dressel talking about Rocket when he first started working at the Children’s hospital – Episode 64.

Stories about Rocket helping people when they needed it the most – Episode 65.

My conversation with Canine Assistants, the organization that raised and educated Rocket. Episode 66

M Health Fairview - University of Minnesota - Masonic Children’s Hospital website.

NutriSource Pet Foods website.

Source for story about reducing fear in cats – Animals Make Us Human by Temple Grandin and Catherine Johnson.

Hear about the core emotions you share with your pets in episode 74.

The first of the positive emotions, SEEKING - what it is and how to increase them in your dog. ep. 76

How to increase the SEEKING emotion in cats – episode 77.

My conversation with Dr. Sarah Ellis, about cat carriers. Episode 43

The Trainable Cat by John Bradshaw and Sarah Ellis.