This week on the podcast, we prepare you to celebrate Live Like a Cat Day. Stock up on the treats and episodes of LOST and enjoy.

And as promised, here’s the video of the meeting of the World’s Tallest and Smallest Dogs:

Our guests this week are Mark Hines, canine and behavior training specialist at the KONG Company, and Skip Haynes, founder of The Laurel Canyon Animal Company.

Skip was gracious enough to give us his song “Squeaky Deakey” as a free download for our listeners. Below is a link to the mp3 download, and an animated video of the catchy tune.

“Squeaky Deakey” free download

Dr. Sam Gosling says that they do, and that studying them and matching them to the personalities of prospective owners could improve pet retention rates. To learn more, check out this article.

We also learn about headbutting dogs and dog park proponents, like Gary Burghoff, who played Radar on M*A*S*H*:

In this episode, Jan McHugh Smith, President of the San Francisco SPCA, joins us to talk about how to keep your pets safe during the holidays.

Here’s the link to the New York Times interview with William Wegman, which includes some funny excerpts of his earlier videos using Weimeraners.

And Jan clearly isn’t kidding about cats and Christmas trees. Check this out, one of many YouTube videos featuring treed kitties:

Would you take a squirrel into your house as a pet? Mark Twain did, according to our guest Katherine C. Greer, curator of the “Pets in America” touring exhibition. Take a look.

And apparently this pet squirrel thing isn’t relegated to the 19th century…

And if you’d like to see some of Dean Rehpohl’s pictures (he’s the “catographer” we talked about in the podcast) you can find a slideshow here.

This week, we talk with Elliott Erwitt about his photobook, Woof! You can find lots of Erwitt’s pictures and his amazing biography at his website.

And I can’t believe it, but we found video footage of the dog wedding in India we talked about on the show! Take a look:

Post-Halloween, we take a look at cat and dog costumes and clothes. We talk to Carla Reiss of Meow-Wear about her collars and couture.

Meow-Wear is associated with TICA, the International Cat Association. Their website has all kinds of information on cat breeds and breeders, rescues, and cat-related happenings.

Can’t get enough costumes? Enjoy this collage of crazy dogs in togs! I think Pochahontas is my my favorite…

This week, we’re pleased to feature an interview with Ed Sayres, president of the ASPCA. Here’s some links to accompany the story:

-ASPCA’s website
-More information on Mission Orange
-San Diego SPCA

This week, we take a look at the rescue of displaced animals- both in Southern California, where the wildfires continue unabated, and in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

To find out more about the film Mine: Taken by Katrina, visit their website here.

If you’d like to help animals impacted by the wildfires, the blog No Animal Left Behind has some great resources.

And as promised, here’s a picture of the winning dog in the Mall at Partridge Creek. He’s an English bulldog named Farley, and evidently quite a character.

Stay tuned for a special report with more news about what you can do to help people and their animals displaced by the fires in southern California

This week, we talk to author Amy Tan. She stopped by Wag Hotel in San Francisco for a benefit event, along with her Yorkie, Lilly - all 2 1/2 pounds of her. Check out this week’s video feature - a Frenchie takes on the Big Blue Ball!