Steve Spiro – START Rescue

This week on All My Children Wear Fur Coats, we had the pleasure of speaking with Steve Spiro, the President, and Co-founder of START Rescue.

Steve was born and raised in London, England, but now resides in Los Angeles. In 2011, he formed Start Rescue with two other individuals, Renee Ruston, and Adam Tarshius, to rescue dogs. Steve and his wife Susannah have also done individual rescues, bringing home or placing as many dogs as possible in foster care.

He is a former boxer but now writes screenplays almost full-time. However, he also devotes much energy to Start Rescue’s mission. He has several TV and film projects in development. He attributes his wife, Susannah, to introducing him to animal rescue and veganism.

The START Rescue stands for Shelter Transport Animal Rescue Team. It was founded in 2011 by three compassionate people who set out to make a difference in the lives of needy animals.

START’s goal is to reduce the euthanasia rates of surrendered, stray, neglected, and abused animals in California and beyond. START also focuses on saving the lives of cats and dogs at high risk of death. START also focuses on saving the lives of cats and dogs at high risk of death, and their programs are all funded through donor funds.

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Lindsey Wolko – Center for Pet Safety

This week on All My Children Wear Fur Coats, we had the pleasure of speaking with  Lindsey Wolko, founder of the Center for Pet Safety.

Lindsey is a dedicated advocate for long-term pet safety, and her mission is deeply personal to every pet owner. With her keen understanding of the pet industry, she works tirelessly to ensure the safety of pet products and the well-being of companion animals. Her work spans various areas, including authoring safety standards for pet products, independently certifying pet products, counseling pet product manufacturers globally, and leading the Center for Pet Safety research division.

The Center for Pet Safety (CPS) continues to grow and evolve. CPS has seen its vision grow and evolve to heights it could never have imagined. They look forward to a long future of faithfully serving pet owners around the globe and working to ensure the safety of their companion animals.

The Center for Pet Safety was launched because of a safety scare with Lindsey’s adopted dog, Maggie. She ran a pilot study on safety harnesses wherein the results showed a 100% failure rate on all products they crash-tested. That’s why one of the goals of CPS is to advocate for pet owners and lovers to have a safety standard that the product needs to meet.

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Dr. Jan-Harm Pol & Mrs. Diane Pol – Pol Veterinary Services

This week on All My Children Wear Fur Coats, we had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Jan Pol & Mrs. Diane Pol of Pol Veterinary Services, located in Michigan. Dr. Pol is best known as “The Incredible Dr. Pol” where he starts in his own show on Nat Geo Wild.  

As the youngest of six children in the Netherlands, Dr. Jan Pol lived among dairy cows, sheep, pigs, chickens, geese, turkeys, rabbits, dogs, and Friesian horses. From age 12, when he helped deliver a litter of piglets on his family’s dairy farm, Jan knew he wanted to become a veterinarian. A year-long study abroad program in high school took him to Mayville, Michigan, USA. There, he met Diane, who would become his wife after years of friendship and blossoming love. The couple has now been married for over 50 years. He graduated from the prestigious Utrecht University Veterinary program in 1970 and immigrated to the United States in 1971.

Ten years into his career working with a local vet, Dr. Pol was eager to begin his practice. He moved to Weidman, Michigan, in 1981 and founded Pol Veterinary Services out of his garage with his wife, Diane. 

With a down-to-earth, practical approach to veterinary medicine, Dr. Pol grew his practice, The Pol Veterinary Services, from a humble start to one with over 25,000 clients. Thirty-eight years later, Dr. Pol and his clinic staff continue to care for their rural Michigan clientele. He specializes in large farm animals and treats horses, pigs, cows, sheep, alpacas, goats, chickens, and occasionally reindeer.

With more than 45 years of veterinarian experience, Dr. Pol pioneered his unique approach for treating animals. He is also the charismatic and world-renowned star of Nat Geo WILD’s #1 hit television series, “The Incredible Dr. Pol,” which follows the doctor on his 14-hour workdays treating pets and livestock.

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Jayne Vitale and Thomas Frisina – The Mutt-i-grees Curriculum

This week on All My Children Wear Fur Coats, we had the pleasure of speaking with Jayne Vitale and Thomas Frisina of the Mutt-i-grees Curriculum, one of the programs supported by the North Shore Animal League America.

Jayne has a background in the fine arts and entertainment industry. She has worked in the educational department of the North Shore Animal League America since 2011. In her role, she creates partnerships with various organizations and develops experiential programs that promote and support the Mutt-i-grees Curriculum. She has collaborated with schools, libraries, universities, hospitals, animal shelters, and other community organizations locally and globally.

Thomas has a Bachelor of Arts degree and worked in the film and television industry before joining the North Shore Animal League America in 2019. He helped develop Mutt-i-grees curriculum programs in various organizations, including schools, libraries, summer camps, and youth groups. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he organized Zoom town hall meetings to enable students to connect and share ideas as part of the Mutt-i-grees global ambassador program.

The Mutt-i-grees Curriculum was launched in 2010. It came from the play on the word Pedigree. 

The Curriculum was developed by Yale University’s School of the 21st Century in partnership with North Shore Animal League America. Today, the versatile Curriculum is used in schools, afterschool programs, special education settings, and other venues. Additional versions are: “Mutt-i-grees in the Library,” “Cats Are Mutt-i-grees 2,” “The Shelter Guide,” and “Paws Down Tails Up,” a physical fitness application and Muttigrees At Home for parents and caretakers.

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Carla Isenberg – For The Love of Alex

This week on All My Children Wear Fur Coats, we had the pleasure of speaking with Carla Isenberg, the program manager of For the love of Alex.

Carla has been with the Love of Alex since 2021. She’s a passionate animal lover and has advocated for the well-being of all creatures, great and small, for her entire life. She also has ten years of experience as a veterinary technician, and her medical knowledge has also been a great asset. 

For the Love of Alex is a nonprofit organization founded in 2013 that provides emergency funding for urgent and lifesaving care of pets of low-income families. Elizabeth, the organization’s founder, ran it by herself for five years until her untimely death. Fortunately, Elizabeth’s friends stepped in to help and have kept the organization going. This demonstrates the power of community and the importance of building solid relationships with those who share the same passion and goals. This collective effort ensured that her legacy lives on.

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Ashley Harkins & Emily Stearns – United Horse Coalition

This week on All My Children Wear Fur Coats, we had the pleasure of speaking with Ashley Harkins, the current director of the United Horse Coalition, and Emily Stearns, the program manager of the Equine Welfare Data Collective.

Ashley is a pre-veterinary science graduate from the University of Vermont, focusing on equine science. She has 14 years of experience managing a horse and livestock rehabilitation program and serving as a local certified animal control officer handling neglect and abuse cases. She recognizes the importance of the UHC’s mission and spends her free time with her 28-year-old adopted gelding, Sammy, who helps to instill a love for horses in children and her horse enthusiast husband.

Emily holds an MSC in Equine Science from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. She considers herself a horse girl and grew up eventing in Massachusetts. Her experience includes equine research, managing horse farms, animal care and adoption counseling, and teaching at the University of New Hampshire and post-university equine programs. She enjoys riding, traveling, and hiking with her dogs in her free time. Emily is excited to manage the EWDC and to bring this resource to the public.

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Michele Pennington – Stashios

 

This week on All My Children Wear Fur Coats, we had the pleasure of speaking with Michele Pennington, Founder of Stashios.

Michelle Pennington, the founder of Stashios, is an animal lover and was previously an elementary school teacher in Seattle for eight years. After having her daughter, she moved to Minneapolis and went back to teaching, but found it difficult to balance her job and being a parent. She eventually retired from teaching and started her own company, Stashios.

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Holly Ganz – AnimalBiome

This week on All My Children Wear Fur Coats, we had the pleasure of speaking with Holly Ganz, the Chief Science Officer of AnimalBiome.

Holly has a PhD from UC Davis, an MS from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego, and a BS from George Washington University. She has 20+ years of experience studying the interaction between microbes and their hosts. When she is not working, she enjoys spending time with her dogs in the East Bay hillsides.

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Kristina Bergsten – The Animal Law Firm

This week on All My Children Wear Fur Coats, we had the pleasure of speaking with Kristina Bergsten, founder of The Animal Law Firm.

 

Kristina has been practicing animal law for about ten years and started her career in Media, in Pennsylvania. She was working for a family law firm and decided to take on environmental and animal law cases. in 2017, she moved to Colorado and started her own law firm. She started with just one office in Denver and has further since expanded to multiple states. This firm is focused on creative and innovative thinking to apply old legal doctrines to animal-related fact patterns.

 

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Karrie Noterman – Wingspan Parrot Sanctuary

This week on All My Children Wear Fur Coats we had the pleasure of speaking with Karrie Noterman, manager and owner of Wingspan Parrot Sanctuary.

Karrie fell in love with birds at the age of 9, and has been involved with birds ever since. She has worked and volunteered at different organizations related to birds such as SeaWorld, Parrot Jungle and Gardens and the National Aviary, which has given her a wide perspective on birds, from training and shows to zoo and exhibit management. She believes that parrots are not domesticated animals, but wild animals that have been tamed, and that understanding this is important for providing them with the best environment and meeting their needs. She advocates for people to consider the consequences of owning a parrot before bringing them into their homes.

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