The end of the year is frequently a time for reflection. This year, I’m thinking about all of the amazing guests and stories I’ve been able to share on my podcast, Ask the Vet. Every month on the show, I highlight a trending animal from the prior month, and for today’s blogpost I’d like to highlight some of my favorite trending animals since we launched the show in 2022.
A Lion King Sits Atop the Podcast List
Episode: Pet Food and Nutrition with Dr. Lisa Weeth
The guest on the top podcast of all time is my friend and veterinary nutritionist, Dr. Lisa Weeth. The trending animal was George, a 550-pound lion. George lives at the Lion and Safari Park in Gauteng, South Africa, supervised by Shandor Larenty, who works as the head of animal husbandry. Shandor has a very active social media presence, and his animal videos are stunning. I must say, he is braver than I am because he gets a bit closer to George than I would. I am hoping for a healthy and active 2025, and I worry George might jeopardize my plans if I got too close!
A New York City Focused Podcast
Episode: What’s Causing the Increase of Leptospirosis in Dogs? A Discussion with Experts from the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
The March 2024 podcast was our seventh most popular episode, which is surprising for such a recent episode. Its popularity may result from the bold-faced trending animal, Flaco, the Eurasian eagle owl who escaped from the Central Park Zoo. Flaco lived his best life hunting in the emerald rectangle known as Central Park until a collision with a building caused his demise. The podcast guests were also New Yorkers, our colleagues from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, who updated listeners on efforts to control the deadly canine disease leptospirosis that was spreading in New York City at the time.
A Gift of Moose Antlers
Episode: Behind the Scenes of a Veterinary Internship & Pilots N Paws with Dr. Kelly Muller and Anne & Andrew Zeneski
A Ring Cam caught something most people will never observe: a moose shedding it antlers. Moose are the second largest land animal in North America, after the bison. Every year in late winter or early spring, after the breeding season, male moose shed their antlers. A curious moose just happened to be investigating a front porch in Alaska when he shook his head, and his antlers popped off. The Ring Cam caught it all. Imagine finding someone has left you a pair of antlers on your porch when you come back from a trip to the grocery store!
A Hero Cat Prevents a Disaster
Episode: Pet Emergencies with AMC’s Dr. Ann Marie Zollo
September is National Disaster Preparedness Month, so my I spoke to my September guest, AMC colleague Dr. Ann Marie Zollo, about preparing for a disaster with your pets. The trending animal from this show was a black cat, Piran, who fit right into the theme by preventing a disaster for his owner. Piran’s 83-year-old owner fell down a steep embankment in Cornwall, England. He sat at the top of the embankment meowing loudly until rescue workers realized Piran was calling for help. The rescue workers supervised an airlift of the injured lady to a nearby hospital where she recovered. All this proves black cats are not bad luck.
All of us at the Schwarzman Animal Medical Center wish you and your favorite fur-persons a healthy and happy 2025. If you want to listen to other episodes of the “Ask the Vet” podcast, it is available to download on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeart Radio, TuneIn + Alexa, and more. To have your questions about pet health answered on Ask The Vet, email AskTheVet@amcny.org.