AMY SHOJAI PET EXPERT AND AUTHOR

Human Biosciences Podcast

In this episode, Amy Shojai discusses all phases of pet health, from first aid to emotional support and some of the mysteries of pets’ intelligence and impact on our lives and psyches. Amy's a certified animal behavior consultant, and the award-winning author of 35+ best-selling pet books that cover furry babies to old-fogies, first aid to natural healing, and behavior/training to Chicken Soup-icity. She created the puppies.about.com site and was the cat behavior expert at cats.about.com. Amy has been featured as an expert in hundreds of print venues including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Reader's Digest, and Family Circle, as well as national radio and television networks such as CNN, Animal Planet's DOGS 101 and CATS 101. She brings her unique pet-centric viewpoint to her Bling, Bitches & Blood Blog, public appearances.

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1. Meeting Amy Shojai (00:01:18)

2. Meeting Amy’s cat and dog, discussing how dogs and cats first entered human’s lives (00:02:52)

3. Exercise gained and the emotional benefit of pets (00:05:11)

4. Dan has a rescue dog! (00:05:44)

5. Discussing animal intelligence; what is intelligence and how do we determine what that is (00:06:05)

6. Technology and scientific advances in interpreting animal communication (00:08:21)

7. Animal vocabulary and Bunny the talking dog (00:10:24)

8. Emotional intelligence in humans and in animals (00:11:29)

9. The power of nonverbal communication and animals (00:12:25)

10. Alternative medicine and animals (00:13:35)

11. Amy’s early training in western medicine for animals (00:14:29)

12. Alternative medicine as a worldwide tradition in many cultures (00:14:55)

13. Pet parents and alternative medicine and the human/animal connection (00:16:13)

14. The health benefits of having pets (00:17:19)

15. Socializing kids with animals as they grow up and the long-term benefits (00:19:07)

16. Human autonomic response to contact with pets (00:19:49)

17. Dan lost a cat—his story (00:20:32)

18. Cats versus dogs (00:21:45)

19. Aging pets and mourning them when they leave us (00:23:19)

20. Meeting Amy’s cat and dog that can be heard in the background of the podcast (00:23:52)

21. Segue to Amy’s book on pet first aid and some methods (00:24:37)

22. Emergency medicine procedures to home first aid for pets (00:25:59)

23. Dealing with animal bleeding and emergencies by using everyday items in your home (00:26:17)

24. Using OTC human medicines on pets (00:27:48)

25. Amy on playing a cat in a musical she wrote (00:29:52)

26. Amy’s early veterinary medical experience while working at a veterinary clinic (00:31:31)

27. How Amy began as a writer (00:32:04)

28. What are some of the most common pet injuries? (00:33:08)

29. Humane VetScience’s Kollavet™ and the future of pet wound care (00:37:39)

30. Cautions to keep in mind if using animal medicine on humans (00:39:54)

31. Podcast wrapup with animal safety health tips by Amy Sojaia (00:40:50)