(Photo of Pepper, my relinquished Grey…you think she’s bald now? You should have seen her when I first got her! )


Have you heard about “Pet Life Radio” (PLR) yet?

www.petliferadio.com

 It’s a wonderfully fun, educational Podcast aimed at the forward-thinking pet owner.  With an eye toward presenting cutting-edge training techniques, specific information about many species, PLR looks like it will eventually be crammed with topics covering a variety of subjects and species. Some of their program titles are: “Wings N Things”, “Paranormal Pets”, “Teacher’s Pet”, “Cattitude”, and “The Lizard Lounge”.

Naturally, when I first received the link for the PLR Program, “Wings N Things” from Ann Brooks, Founder of “Phoenix Landing”, the Parrot Adoption and Rescue Foundation. (www.phoenixlanding.org),  I took notice. Wow! A radio station that suits my bird-cluttered lifestyle and primary interests! Now I can do the dishes, cut up vegetables for my Parrots, and clean up bird poop from Play gyms while listening to two leading trainers and consultants in the business of birds yak about one of my favorite subjects: Birds. I can learn from the best in the business while I clean Parker’s cage and steam clean the carpeting. It’s perfect! 

Covering a variety of subjects, Pet Life Radio isn’t limited to birds…far from it. But I find it wonderful that they include Birds and other animals along with your more common “Cat and Dog” subjects of discussion. 

Loaded with tons of useful information, the Podcast format is perfect for people who find themselves with a pant load of stuff to do and no time to sit down in order to concentrate on a television program. “PLR” is the ultimate for time-challenged, multitasking folks like me with too much to do and want to accomplish more while having to perform those mindless, mundane tasks that bore me to tears.  

To give Pet Life Radio a run for its money, I tested listening to “Wings N’ Things” while taking a shower.  Due to the hectic nature of my life, I’m the multi-tasker from hell. I have a career as a Flight Attendant, I’m working on a book, write magazine articles and I perform additional types of work for my Airline Company. I have 2 African Grey Parrots, a dog, and I get up very early in the morning on a regular basis to fly my trips. (How early? How does 3:30 or 4:00 a.m. grab you?) So the acid test of taking a shower with “Wing N Things” the night before an early trip was perfect.

 So, while I’m listening to Robin Shewokis and Barbara Heidenreich discuss going about choosing an Avian Vet and training a bird for a Vet visit, I was washing my hair and exfoliating my face. When I finished, I was not only clean and polished, during my shower, I learned a thing or two about training my birds for a more comfortable Vet visit.  Try doing that when you’re watching T.V…

Robin Shewokis and Barbara Heidenreich are terrific Hosts and believe me, they know a ton about behavior training, environmental enrichment, and addressing issues. Robin began working in her Parent’s parrot toy business, “The Leather Elves” and currently gives presentations at workshops, bird clubs, zoos and other animal facilities about environmental enrichment. 

Barbara Heidenreich started her career working in zoos as a handler and trainer beginning with Marine World Africa U.S.A in California, and Brookfield Zoo. She progressed to Zoo consulting, which led to 2 books, a Quarterly Magazine called “Good Bird” and several training CDs.  Robin and Barbara are both experienced Zoo Consultants and have had experience speaking on the subject of birds, training and environmental enrichment all over the world. (One of these days I’m going to sit down with Robin and Barbara and we’ll compare airline miles. I’ll bet they’ll have me beat. I may be in the air 18 days a month, but I’m not going to New Zealand and Europe on a regular basis…)

The Hosts of “Wings N Things” are incredibly savvy bird trainers and authorities in training and enrichment. Their point of view has a common-sense approach to typical issues facing the average Bird Companion.

 I find their chatty and personable on-air style fun to listen to; it’s more of a talk show as opposed to a lecture and you can tell that they’re having a great time talking about something they know inside and out and really love to do.

“Pet Life Radio” has a ton of content with much more to come. Enlightening and entertaining, it serves as a terrific introduction to many species of animals you might not be familiar with. I was astounded at the variety of topics that will be made available on PLR. Despite the fact that I have 2 African Grey Parrots happily parked in my living room, I do have a keen interest in other species and topics other than birds: dogs, general pet travel, and going “green” with your pet are just some of the topics that will be going onto this Podcast. So begin by listening to the content they have, and stay tuned for more topics to come! Pet Life Radio gets 5 out of 5 on the “Claws Up” rating; it’s just wonderfully done and has so much to offer.