Episodes

  • Dr. Sip explains what to do if your pet has a seizure, why animals can't have many human medications, and how Poison Control helps vets. Melissa gives a doctorate course in CYA and introduces everyone to the runaway camel of Bonner Springs, Kansas.

    This week, our thanks go out to…

    Sip’s real life!

    ASPCA App and Emergency Line

    https://www.aspca.org/news/what-expect-when-calling-aspca-animal-poison-control-center

    Bonner Springs Police Department

    https://www.livescience.com/wildest-animal-escapes-2021

    https://www.nbcnews.com/news/animal-news/camel-causes-chaos-running-away-kansas-nativity-scene-rcna8061

    *****
    Dr. Sip is a practicing veterinarian in and around Oakland/Berkeley, California. More about Dr. Sip and her veterinary work can be found here: DrSipVet.com/

    Melissa is a professional dog trainer in Southern Maine (melissamccuemcgrath.com). She can be heard on her other podcast, BewilderBeasts (safe for work and kids, unlike this show!)

    Find them on Twitter: @PawsomePod
    Email your story ideas, comments and more: [email protected]

  • Melissa gets on a soapbox about leashes, and Dr. Sip comes in hard with an animal who disintegrates after having *MULTIPLE* 14-hour sex sessions.


    This week's resources:
    Soapboxes by Melissa,
    https://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/2110223269

    https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/why-a-little-mammal-has-so-much-sex-that-it-disintegrates

    http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2011/07/07/3262428.htm

    And the googled images of the deceased antechinus:(You've been warned: Caution, deceased animal)
    https://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/2110223269
    *****
    Dr. Sip is a practicing veterinarian in and around Oakland/Berkeley, California. More about Dr. Sip and her veterinary work can be found here: DrSipVet.com/

    Melissa can be heard on her other podcast, BewilderBeasts (safe for work and kids, unlike this show!) and when she's not training dogs or dog trainers, she can be found at MelissaMcCueMcGrath.com

    Find them on Twitter: @PawsomePod
    Email your story ideas, comments and more: [email protected]

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  • This week, Dr. Sip terrifies Melissa six ways to Sunday with spiders and hedgehogs, and Melissa brings up the hardest museum in the land.


    Resources for today's episode:
    "Don't rub hedgehogs all over you"
    Nature
    AVMA
    CDC.gov

    "You can just take this dong anywhere":
    https://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/6-things-you-didnt-know-about-tapirs-nsfw/
    https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-final-member-2014

    phallus.is/en

    https://animalogic.ca/blog/11-of-the-strangest-animal-genitals-on-the-planet

    Varmints on Tapir, extended cut….er, Patreon feed (or check out all their free episodes here!)


    *****
    Dr. Sip is a practicing veterinarian in and around Oakland/Berkeley, California. More about Dr. Sip and her veterinary work can be found here: DrSipVet.com/

    Melissa can be heard on her other podcast, BewilderBeasts (safe for work and kids, unlike this show!) and when she's not training dogs or dog trainers, she can be found at MelissaMcCueMcGrath.com

    Find them on Twitter: @PawsomePod
    Email your story ideas, comments and more: [email protected]

  • Season 2 is here with a bang - Pablo Escobar's theme park and zoo backfired spectacularly, and we have a driving animal who is absolutely better than most Boston drivers. Alright, let's do this!



    Resources for today:
    Invasive Hippos:
    The Truth about Animals by Lucy Cooke (book)
    https://www.businessinsider.com/how-colombia-can-get-rid-of-pablo-escobars-hippos-2021-6

    https://www.grunge.com/186303/how-pablo-escobars-former-hippos-are-ruining-colombia/

    https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/colombia-cocaine-hippos-rewilding-experiment-news?loggedin=true

    https://www.nationmaster.com/country-info/stats/Geography/Land-area/Square-miles

    Driving goldfish :
    The authors of “From fish out of water to new insights on navigation mechanisms in animals” published in Behavioral Brain Science.( Shachar Givon, Matan Samina, Ohad Ben-Shahar, Ronen Segev)

    *****
    Dr. Sip is a practicing veterinarian in and around Oakland/Berkeley, California. More about Dr. Sip and her veterinary work can be found here: DrSipVet.com/

    Melissa can be heard on her other podcast, BewilderBeasts (safe for work and kids, unlike this show!) and at MelissaMcCueMcGrath.com

    Find them on Twitter: @PawsomePod
    Email your story ideas, comments and more: [email protected]

  • Dr Sip's outside is coming inside, Melissa has company, so everyone is taking a break. Enjoy this episode from BewilderBeasts - remastered for your listening pleasure.

    This is a remastered version of the second story in episode 20, "Quoth the Raven, Baltimore." Resources for today's episode can be found here: https://bewilderbeastspod.podcastpage.io/episode/ep-20-quoth-the-raven-baltimore.

  • This week, the ladies are remixed, Dr. Sip talks about veterinary options, including wild hamster tagging; Melissa brings up lady octopuses and has to apologize to all but one Todd.


    Resources for today's episode:
    Dr. Jonathan Epstein
    Dr. Xuan Mai Vo
    Dr. Amanda Leef
    Dr. Raimon Duran-Struuck
    Dr. Yoanna Maitre
    The Varmints Podcast
    Vox


    Dr. Sip is a traveling exotics veterinarian in Oakland, California. More about her, her practice and contact infor can be found here: DrSipVet.com

    Melissa McCue-McGrath is a certified professional dog trainer in Southern Maine. Her classes, book, virtual training offerings and more can be found at MelissaMcCueMcGrath.com - and her other show, Bewilderbeasts can be found wherever you listen to podcasts.

  • Melissa dives deep on separation anxiety and Dr. Sip can't wait to talk about the many, many unsettling features of one evolutionary wonder.

    Separation Anxiety Resources:
    Patricia McConnell's book, "I'll Be Home Soon"
    Nicole Wilde's book, "Don't Leave Me"
    Melana DiMartini's Separation Anxiety Training Programs

    "Seymour Butts"
    Livescience: "Meet the marine worm with 100 butts that can each grow eyes and a brain"

    *****
    Dr. Sip is a traveling veterinarian working with exotic pets in and around Oakland/Berkeley, California. More about Dr. Sip and her veterinary work can be found here: DrSipVet.com/

    Melissa can be heard on her other podcast, BewilderBeasts (safe for work and kids, unlike this show!) and is currently working on virtual training and behavior consultations. More about her work, book, and presentations can be found at MelissaMcCueMcGrath.com

    Find them on Twitter: @PawsomePod
    Email your story ideas, comments and more: [email protected]

  • Dr. Sip and Melissa announce the winners of a weirdly restrictive contest; dog bite statistics that every dog owner and professional needs to hear; the UK has a drunk seagull problem.

    Dog bites, "Pit bulls" and statistics resources:
    Lili Chin's book, Doggie Language

    Patricia McConnell's book: The Other End of the Leash

    Bronwen Dicky's "Pit Bull: Battle For An American Icon"

    https://www.mkplawgroup.com/dog-bite-statistics/

    https://www.aaha.org/publications/newstat/articles/2019-06/new-study-identifies-most-damaging-dog-bites-by-breed/

    https://www.coloradoinjurylaw.com/dog-bite-statistics/

    The Dunbar Bite Scale

    Drunk Seagulls:
    https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-44736447

    https://www.bristolpost.co.uk/news/bristol-news/you-might-see-drunk-seagulls-4258903

    https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/drunk-seagulls-rspc-alcohol-beaches-somerset-devon-dorset-a8435761.html

    *****
    Dr. Sip is a practicing veterinarian in and around Oakland/Berkeley, California. More about Dr. Sip and her veterinary work can be found here: DrSipVet.com/

    Melissa can be heard on her other podcast, BewilderBeasts (safe for work and kids, unlike this show!) and at MelissaMcCueMcGrath.com

    Find them on Twitter: @PawsomePod
    Email your story ideas, comments and more: [email protected]

  • Today, Melissa talks about COVID19 dogs, who they are, and why we might need to rethink some tactics on using them in public; Dr Sip discusses horse artificial vaginas and what it takes to get a turkey in the mood.

    Resources:
    COVID 19 Dogs:
    https://deadline.com/2021/07/a-left-field-contender-palm-dog-covid-detecting-canines-deployed-cannes-1234789387/

    https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/animals.html#:~:text=There%20have%20been%20reports%20of,countries%2C%20including%20the%20United%20States.

    https://www.bbc.com/news/health-57666245

    https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/see-dogs-trained-to-sniff-covid

    https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-03149-9


    Horse breeding and turkey necks
    https://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/notoriously-grim-turkey-head-on-a-stick-experiment-proves-they-will-attempt-to-have-sex-with-anything/

    https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/how-to-seduce-a-turkey-the-bizarre-poultry-sex-experiments-of-the-1960s

    http://www.ansci.wisc.edu/jjp1/equine/semen_coll_eval/av.html

    *****
    Dr. Sip is a practicing veterinarian in and around Oakland/Berkeley, California. More about Dr. Sip and her veterinary work can be found here: DrSipVet.com/

    Melissa can be heard on her other podcast, BewilderBeasts (safe for work and kids, unlike this show!) and at MelissaMcCueMcGrath.com

    Find them on Twitter: @PawsomePod
    Email your story ideas, comments and more: [email protected]

  • Melissa and Sip are busily working on episode 8 but with a few technical difficulties and both of your intrepid hosts going back to real-work in real-person, Episode 8 of Pawsome will be delayed. However, Melissa is putting in a tide-you-over goodie from her show, BewilderBeasts.

    Topics include: President Andrew Jackson's swearing parrot was kicked out of a presidential funeral for swearing; 5 parrots in a UK Zoo made some exhibits R rated; and predatory birds in Australia are using fire to catch prey, much to the dismay of firefighters.


    Resources for this episode can be found here:
    BewilderbeastsPod.com


  • Dr. Sip dishes on what veterinarians discuss behind closed doors, and Melissa ruins the most photogenic animal on the planet, the quokka.

    Resources:
    Vet Peeves - Dr. Sip's actual life

    Shacking Up At The Happy Quokka:
    Mental Floss: https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/57159/6-things-know-about-super-cute-quokka
    Varmints Podcast: https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/varmints/quokkas-to5la_u-zwi/
    Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quokka
    Rottnest Island: https://wildlife.rottnestisland.com/land/fauna/quokka




  • This week, we get cicada S&M fan art, Melissa has a hot take on smashing car windows and Dr. Sip teaches us all about the dulcet sounds of a naked mole rate queen singing what scientists call, "the toilet song".

    Resources:
    Hot Diggity Dog
    CarTalk: How hot do cars get?
    https://www.cartalk.com/blogs/fido-blog/today-pets-hot-cars
    How K9s and sports folk keep their pets cool in the summer in cars: https://www.cartalk.com/blogs/fido-blog/keeping-dogs-cool-cars
    https://www.motorbiscuit.com/dog-mode-how-tesla-uses-smart-technology-to-keep-an-eye-on-fido/

    Royal Flush:
    https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/01/28/960497406/friend-or-foe-naked-mole-rats-can-tell-by-a-unique-squeak
    Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood Toilet Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yivu8jjQcdw


    Dr. Sip is a practicing veterinarian in and around Oakland/Berkeley, California. More about Dr. Sip and her veterinary work can be found here: DrSipVet.com/

    Melissa can be heard on her other podcast, BewilderBeasts (safe for work and kids, unlike this show!) and at MelissaMcCueMcGrath.com

    Find them on Twitter: @PawsomePod
    Email your story ideas, fan art, comments and more: [email protected]

  • Today, Dr. Sip schools Melissa on why bats get a bad rap (and how much of the movie "Contagion" is real), and Melissa teaches Dr. Sip about sexy cicadas that would make Jerry Springer beg for a priest.

    Resources:
    Dr. Jon Epstein and his incredible work with bats, education and preventing zoonotic diseases:
    https://www.ecohealthalliance.org/about
    Dr John Epstein: Virus Hunter


    Brood XXX
    WBUR: Sex Crazed Fungus Butt Cicadas
    What IS Brood X? CBS
    Varmints Podcast - Cicadas

    Dr. Sip is a practicing veterinarian in and around Oakland/Berkeley, California. More about Dr. Sip and her veterinary work can be found here: DrSipVet.com/

    Melissa can be heard on her other podcast, BewilderBeasts (safe for work and kids, unlike this show!) and at MelissaMcCueMcGrath.com

    Find them on Twitter: @PawsomePod
    Email your story ideas, fan art, comments and more: [email protected]

  • Today a clarification on episode 4; Dr. Sip learns about animal based reality television and Melissa learns the history of the Tanuki, testicles and all, putting an entirely new filter her favorite video game (Mario 3).

    Resources:
    Television and Entertainment Resources:
    Dogs and Cats At War
    Barks from the BookShelf (Episode #34)

    Tanuki Testicles:
    QI: https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/qi/episodes/18/14/
    https://yokaicomposed.wordpress.com/2013/02/06/yokai-poetry-tanuki/
    https://www.tofugu.com/japan/tanuki/
    https://blogs.princeton.edu/cotsen/2017/09/tanuki/

    *******

    Dr. Sip is a practicing veterinarian in and around Oakland/Berkeley, California. More about Dr. Sip and her veterinary work can be found here: DrSipVet.com/

    Melissa can be heard on her other podcast, BewilderBeasts (safe for work and kids, unlike this show!) and at MelissaMcCueMcGrath.com

    Find them on Twitter: @PawsomePod
    Email your story ideas, comments and more: [email protected]


  • This week, Dr. Sip tackles major rumors and misconceptions on pet food, and Melissa FINALLY talks about the fish orgies in Mexico that are so loud you can't even hear boat motors.

    *****
    Resources :

    Pet Food and misconceptions (Dr. Sip)
    https://www.veterinarypracticenews.com/talking-talk-what-say-when-clients-prefer-raw-diets/
    https://www.avma.org/raw-pet-foods-and-avmas-policy-faq
    https://www.veterinarypracticenews.com/debating-raw-diets-january-2019/
    https://vet.tufts.edu/wp-content/uploads/raw_meat_diets_memo.pdf
    https://www.aaha.org/about-aaha/aaha-position-statements/raw-protein-diet/
    https://www.petmd.com/dog/nutrition/What-Is-AAFCO-and-What-Does-It-Do
    https://foodpoisoningbulletin.com/2021/ground-beef-and-performance-dog-raw-pet-food-recalled-for-pathogens/

    Fish Orgies (Melissa)
    The Guardian

    Scientific American

    YouTube video on Fish Orgies

    *****
    Dr. Sip is a practicing veterinarian in and around Oakland/Berkeley, California. More about Dr. Sip and her veterinary work can be found here: DrSipVet.com/

    Melissa can be heard on her other podcast, BewilderBeasts (safe for work and kids, unlike this show!) and at MelissaMcCueMcGrath.com

    Find them on Twitter: @PawsomePod
    Email your story ideas, comments and more: [email protected]

  • This week, Melissa talks about what everyone gets wrong about service dogs, emotional support animals and therapy dogs while Dr. Sip tells us about animal STDs.

    *****
    Resources for today's episode:

    Service Dogs, Therapy Dogs and Emotional Support Animals (Melissa)
    American's With Disabilities Act (ADA)
    FAQ on the ADA
    A downloadable poster/infographic from Project Canine:

    Animal STDs (Dr. Sip)
    https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/how-often-do-animals-get-stds

    http://www.animalresearch.info/en/medical-advances/diseases-research/stis-sexually-transmitted-infections/

    *****

    Dr. Sip is a practicing veterinarian in and around Oakland/Berkeley, California. More about Dr. Sip and her veterinary work can be found here: DrSipVet.com/

    Melissa can be heard on her other podcast, BewilderBeasts (safe for work and kids, unlike this show!) and at MelissaMcCueMcGrath.com

    Find them on Twitter: @PawsomePod
    Email your story ideas, comments and more: [email protected]

  • In our first episode of Totally Pawsome Pod, Dr. Sip does a deep dive on why most car safety equipment is not going to keep your pet safe, and Melissa goes rogue on possum penises.

    *****
    Resources for today's episode:

    Car Safety Resources (Dr. Sip)
    The Center for Pet Safety: https://www.centerforpetsafety.org/
    Car Talk - FIDO Blog
    Crash Test Doggies (Heidi Bartruff - custom plush toy design)

    Possum Facts (Melissa)
    Mental Floss (bifurcated penises and more)

    Dead ritual for possum in Wisconsin:
    https://www.wftv.com/news/trending/wisconsin-woman-perform
    s-ritual-dead-possum-road-tells-it-repent-police-say/Z7FXLNKWMVADHD6GJ3C77HH6AY/

    That's not a kitty:
    https://www.thedodo.com/close-to-home/kansas-grandmother-treats-opossum

    Dr. Sip is a practicing veterinarian in and around Oakland/Berkeley, California. More about Dr. Sip and her veterinary work can be found here: DrSipVet.com/

    Melissa can be heard on her other podcast, BewilderBeasts (safe for work and kids, unlike this show!) and at MelissaMcCueMcGrath.com

    Find them on Twitter: @PawsomePod
    Email your story ideas, comments and more: [email protected]