There's alot to this episode. I mean, alot alot, so I recommend listening to it in its entirety. We cover some tough, exceedingly important topics with Dr. Pierce and she was so very generous and gracious for coming on the show on spec.
For Yer Big Dog, this is the breakout episode of Fuzzybutts & Friends as it's the start of something I've been working on for some time. It's not only the first of many episodes but also what I think should be the standard for intellectually honest and completely transparent conversations about the future of companion animals in our society and who gets to make those decisions. Pet parents aren't really a part of those conversations and that's something we aim to change here at Fuzzybutt Studios.
Please NOTE a few things. This is a professional discussion and although seemingly contentious at times, it's academic in intent - that only through debate can the best decisions be made (No hurt fuzzybutt feelings in the filming of this!) I am so very grateful to Dr. Pierce for being an integral part of this new chapter and look forward to continued episodes with her here.
There are tons of of topics we explore, one of them is the vegan diet for dogs. Another important note that I want to make certain doesn't get taken out of context. I imply that a strictly vegan diet can be deadly for dogs and that requires explanation. At an early age or under specific health conditions that may be undiagnosed it can be but I was speaking more at the population level. It seems pretty evident to me if we were to immediately mandate the vegan diet, a cascade of unseen and unintended consequences would occur. There are groups that believe climate change will force the issue and while I'm entirely for discussions about the accuracy of their models, etc., they aren't disclosing their interests and intents. Everyone has ideology but if the future of dogs isn't first among them, just saying so should be the standard.
As the author of Run, Spot, Run, Dr. Pierce discusses with us both the moral concept and legal construct of agency and companion animals. As in how much freedom do we want our fuzzybutts to have? It's such a fascinating and increasingly relevant topic that we barely bandied about.
Also, from Dr. Pierce's loss of her companion, Ody, she was inspired to write The Last Walk, sharing with us her lessons learned on pet loss and grief. For those who know the story, my mother was still alive at the time of this recording. She passed from Alzheimer's July 18th.
Powerful, poignant and the start of many episodes about the future of fuzzybutts, please read the engaging essays about these issues Dr. Pierce's blog on Psychology Today - https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/all-dogs-go-heaven
At Dr. Jessica Pierce's website you'll find all of her many published works on some of the subjects covered - https://www.jessicapierce.net/books
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