Furball Confidential

A bunch of you have asked me about my own relationship with Clutch, beyond what is peppered throughout the conversations we've been having on Furball Confidential. I have obviously been thinking a lot about what she means to me as we put this podcast together. I've been collecting my thoughts and decided to write them down in a letter to her - and share it with you all here. It's actually a beautiful exercise. I would encourage you all to do it, for pets past or present. And if you would like to share, we'd love to hear from you at hello@furballconfidential.com. Meanwhile, here's my letter, to Clutch.

To a lot of people, Anna Maria Tremonti is known as a hardnose journalist unafraid to ask the tough questions. A former foreign correspondent for CBC News and longtime host of The Current on CBC Radio, Henry Kissinger famously once hung up on her because he didn’t like the question she asked. But to see another side of Anna Maria, look no further than “her puppy” Zuzu - her now 4-year-old golden retriever who happens to have Anna Maria wrapped around her little paw. “I have a whole little language for Zuzu,” Anna Maria says. “I say all sorts of crazy little things to her, which make no sense.” We get a beautiful window into Zuzu’s world with Anna Maria in this episode - broken rules, stolen items, manipulation, special little languages and all. Listen to the end to hear why this episode is a particularly fitting one to cap off Furball Confidential’s first season.You can listen to Welcome to Paradise, Anna Maria’s poignant memoir of intimate partner violence mentioned in the conversation, here.  And you can follow what she is up to on Instagram or check out her website at annamariatremonti.com***Furball Confidential is created and hosted by Jen MorozTalia Schlanger is our producerTalia also co-created our theme music with David Travers-Smith, with Brian Kobayakawa on bassReza Dahya does the video and sound design and editing Dani Stover does our social mediaOur show artwork is by Adrian ForrowMarina Hanna does our audience developmentFollow us on Instagram or drop us an email and let us know what you think of the show at jen@furballconfidential.com

As a writer, how do you know when the work day is done? For Dean Koontz, it’s when a golden retriever throws your hand off the keyboard at exactly 5pm. A self-described “workaholic” who has written more than 100 books, Dean says adopting his first dog Trixie transformed his schedule and his life. Dean opens up about Trixie’s mystical side, what it’s like to care for a “perfect soul” and the jealous rage he felt when her debut book (co-written with Dean) outsold his own first novel. And he talks about coping with the immense grief of losing Trixie and how he and his wife Gerda knew they were ready to love another dog.Dean and Gerda adopted all three of their golden retrievers through Canine Companions for Independence, which trains service dogs for adults, children and veterans with disabilities at no cost to the client. When a dog has a “career change” (ie. doesn’t make it through training or can’t work as a service dog for whatever reason), it goes up for adoption to the general public. Or, say, to a world famous author who’s about to get a whole lot more exercise walking.You can keep up with Dean and Elsa on Instagram here and on Facebook hereAnd you can find all his books on his website here***Furball Confidential is created and hosted by Jen MorozTalia Schlanger is our producerTalia also co-created our theme  music with David Travers-Smith, with Brian Kobayakawa on bassReza Dahya does the video and sound design and editing Dani Stover does our social mediaOur show artwork is by Adrian Forrow

They’re belligerent. They talk back. They scheme. And if you’re a husky person like Jonathan Brinksman, that’s all part of the furry appeal. Jonathan grew up with two huskies, and is now proud husky dad and “crazy dog mom” to Archer and Leia, known to their millions of social media fans as Siberian Derpskies. In this super fun conversation, we get into the good, the bad and the hilarious when it comes to living with huskies, and why Jonathan is so drawn to  the breed when others might yell “run!”Jonathan traces his own long history with pets, which started when he was a kid and his “animals were a safe space” from bullies. (“Don’t worry,” Jonathan says, “it all worked out”). His connection runs deep: “My animals have never been just animals to me. They are the part of me I wish it was all the time.” Plus, Jonathan weighs in on cloned dogs – and let the record show that we taped this episode way before Tom Brady went public with his own.We asked Jonathan what pet-related cause he wanted to shine a light on, and he said All Joy 4 Paws, a rescue in southern California that specializes in huskies and other northern breeds.  Huskies, as Jonathan says, are a lot of work - and a lot of owners can’t handle their energy levels. All Joy 4 Paws  “is a really cool, very small rescue, very small operation, but they do the really hard work”Follow Jonathan, Leia and Archer on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube - all @siberianderpskies

Haviah had her heart set on adopting the underdog. Or, undercat, as it were. Black cats are often overlooked in the rescue world and as a young Black woman growing up in Canada, the experience of being an underdog resonates deeply with Haviah. But in the end, after a long back and forth at her local rescue, the award-winning rapper realized that the cat who most needed saving was not black. It was Buster. Haviah tells the whole story, which is quite frankly one of the most remarkable pet origin stories we’ve ever heard. She explains how Buster became Thirteen - a number that shows up a lot in her work and life and has deeply poetic, meaningful origins. Haviah also talks about what it was like to adopt Thirteen, only to find that at first he didn’t want anything to do with her - and what she learned from that as a new pet parent. And she shares how Thirteen has taught her to slow down and “find a better baseline.”You can follow what Haviah is up to on her website: https://haviahmighty.ca/Or on Instagram here***Furball Confidential is created and hosted by Jen MorozTalia Schlanger is our producerShe also co-created our theme music with David Travers-Smith, with Brian Kobayakawa on bassReza Dahya does the video and sound design and editing Dani Stover does our social mediaOur show artwork is by Adrian ForrowMarina Hanna does our audience development

Sit. Stay. Safely jump through a fake glass window with dozens of people watching you. Ok, maybe that last command is best reserved for the pros. And it doesn’t get more pro than Sherri Davis.Sherri wears many hats but her main gig is Executive Producer and Lead Dog Trainer for Hudson & Rex, the police drama that stars a crime-solving German Shepherd named Rex. Rex was originally played by Sherri’s beloved dog Diesel, who was diagnosed with late-stage cancer and died while they were shooting season 7. Sherri reflects on what it was like to lose her colleague, friend and “son” all at once. And she shares, with immense pride, how she trained Dillon - Diesel’s nephew - to fill those massive pawprints and take over as Rex in Season 8. Sherri says she was “born with” an uncanny ability to communicate with animals and knew she always wanted to help them. She shares the crazy story of how she got into training animals for the screen - and just how many types of critters she has wrangled (a lot). And she takes us behind the scenes of Death Row Dogs, her effort to save pups others don’t think can be rehabilitated and saved.We asked Sherri Davis for a favourite pet-related cause and she encourages you to check out Rainbow Riders. It’s an organization in St John’s, Newfoundland that provides therapy through horses and horseback riding to people with disabilities.You can watch Season 8 of Hudson & Rex on Citytv or stream it on Citytv Plus.Follow Sherri Davis:On InstaFollow Hudson & Rex:On Insta On Facebook***Furball Confidential is created and hosted by Jen MorozTalia Schlanger is our producerShe also co-created our theme music with David Travers-Smith, with Brian Kobayakawa on bassReza Dahya does the video and sound design and editing Dani Stover does our social mediaOur show artwork is by Adrian ForrowMarina Hanna does our audience development