Wunderdog Podcast

Wunderdog
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Independent reporting 
for the rescue dog 
community. We chat 
with dog rescuers and 
adopters, campaigners 
and experts, artists and 
creatives. New episodes 
every Thursday! wunderdog.substack.com

Episodes

  1. Jun 11

    Behind the headlines of Ridgland Farm with Shannon Keith of Beagle Freedom Project

    Never before have pictures of riot police tear-gassing animal rights campaigners in broad daylight made the news. The scenes this April at Ridgland Farm, where beagles were bred for the animal testing industry, made the news across the US and on our social media. Direct rescuers stormed the kennels, where dogs were kept in barren metal cages, and ran out with as many dogs as they could. Very few made it out. All the while, behind the scenes, another group of activists tried to free the Ridgland beagles. While a special prosecutor had agreed a plea deal with the business operators, who had amassed hundreds of USDA violations for animal welfare offences, it wasn’t clear what would happen to the dogs. “They also sell them for parts,” explains Shannon Keith on our podcast. The animal rights attorney worked with the Centre for Humane Economy to get the dogs released. And eventually, while all hell broke loose at the Ridgland gates, the quiet negotiations were successful, and 1,500 beagles were released. “It’s epic,” says Shannon on our podcast. She tells us about how her rescue organisation Beagle Freedom Project (BFP) works with the Dane County Humane Society where the freed dogs get triaged, before transporting them either to its numerous partners across the US or directly to fosters and adopters. You can see videos of the ongoing release drives on BFP’s YouTube channel. And then, there is also Shannon’s pride and joy: Freedom Farm. “I kept writing letters every year to animal testing facilities in the US, asking if we could rehome the dogs and cats they were no longer using,” she tells me. Eventually, the owner of one farm bit and allowed Shannon’s team in to reheome some of his animals he used to test flea and tick treatments. They struck up a relationship, and one day, Shannon asked him if he would sell his farm to them and seize his business. After some negotiations, he did just that, and Shannon turned the animal testing site into Freedom Farm. At the farm, BFP also houses the many other species that have been rescued from test labs – from alpacas to pigs, it’s not just beagles that are being used by an industry whose ‘results’ fail in more than 97% of human applications. Shannon has worked as animal rights attorney for 15 years, and she has chalked up a number of victories. We have written about BFP three times in Wunderdog Magazine, as a main feature (issue 7), a story about its (short-lived) foray into the UK (issue 8), and about Freedom Farm (issue 9). I am proud to bring Shannon’s story to you as a podcast, where we discuss everything from Ridgland to Freedom Farm, the legislative wrangling that goes on behind the scenes, and how beagles are doing once they are freed. We also talk about giving these dogs a name, and why Shannon considers them newborns in adult bodies. If you are wondering how you can help to end animal testing, one simple step is to boycott products that have been tested. BFP developed the Cruelty Cutter app: simply scan a product and check whether it was tested on animals. If it does, it takes one click to notify the manufacturer that you are boycotting their products, and you can also share your decision on social media. The app is free and works worldwide. To find out more, head to bfp.org Time stamps: Introduction and background 0:01 - Beagle Freedom Project and negotiations for beagle release 0:29 - Episode introduction by Nina May Rescue efforts and challenges 2:30 - Shannon Keith introduces Beagle Freedom Project 4:44 - Discussion on Ridgland Farms and legal challenges Freedom Fields and adoption stories 12:29 - Status of rescued beagles and adoption efforts 17:23 - Story of Freedom Fields and its transformation Industry overview and future goals 28:48 - Overview of animal testing industry and Beagle Freedom Project's mission 39:29 - Discussion on financial and legal challenges in activism Closing Remarks 45:46 - Shannon Keith's final thoughts and Cruelty Cutter app 46:54 - Episode closing Get full access to Wunderdog Magazine at wunderdog.substack.com/subscribe

    47 min

  2. Jun 4

    Shutdown Campaigns to end greyhound racing in England, with Norb Gordon

    When Norb Gordon attended a protest at a track recently, a dog trainer camp up to him. After some agreeable disagreement, the trainer told Norb he expected greyhound racing to end within five years. “I wanted to shake his hand on that,” Norb said with a smile on our latest podcast episode. He has been campaigning to end greyhound racing for most of his adult life, and to hear this from a trainer genuinely excited him. I talked to the long-standing animal right campaigner about his many efforts to end greyhound racing in England once and for all. We talked in depth about the realities of what happens during a race and the tremendous harm inflicted on the dogs, and Norb shares insights from his work with Greyhound Watch, highlighting the need for transparency. Two campaigns, one goal Norb coordinates the local Shutdown Campaigns that are taking place at each of the remaining 15 race tracks in England. But he also publishes fall data, which Norb and a team of 40 volunteers painstakingly record after analysing each (available) race video. What’s more, the team track which dogs weren’t seen again after a fall, which dogs were retired and turned up at a rescue centre, and which dogs have died. It’s a huge amount of work, but Norb says basic transparency should be in every trainer’s interest – if the industry really cared, that is. What stood out for me was the face that Greyhound Watch is, for the first time, giving racing dogs a name. They are no longer a gimmicky thing that people bet on, they could be our pets. “And it’s a 100% of the reason we’re doing this,” said Norb. “Because these dogs are individuals, they’re not just a number. But unfortunately, it’s how the industry lumped them together when they published the statistics. In 2024, a hundred and twenty three dogs died at UK dog tracks. I don’t know any of their names.” To find out more, head to shutdown.org.uk and greyhoundwatch.co.uk. The march in London takes place from 11:30 a.m. on 25th of July. The meeting place will be near St. Paul’s Cathedral. With or without a greyhound, make sure you attend! Chapters: 00:00The Journey Begins: Childhood and Animal Care 01:20Campaigning for Change: Shutdown Campaigns 04:04Greyhound Watch: Monitoring and Reporting 09:32The Data Dilemma: Transparency in Greyhound Racing 15:56The Industry’s Response: Cooperation and Resistance 21:09A Shift in Momentum: Bans in Wales and Scotland 29:19Changing Perceptions: The Argument Against Greyhound Racing 33:56Dog 2 140BPM.mp3 Keywords: greyhound racing, animal welfare, industry transparency, dog rescue, UK legislation, animal cruelty, racing industry, greyhound statistics, ban greyhound racing, advocacy Wunderdog is a reader-supported publication. Your subscription enables us to continue writing about rescue dogs, animal welfare – and why dogs are better people. Thank you! Thanks for reading Wunderdog Magazine! This post is public so feel free to share it. Get full access to Wunderdog Magazine at wunderdog.substack.com/subscribe

    36 min

  3. May 29

    The Cost of Cute with Caroline Jenkins, Head of Campaigns at Battersea Dogs & Cats Home

    “Awww cute,” you might think when you see Battersea’s latest poster campaign: a pug face in profile, looking up and looking cute. Or does it? The dog’s snot is visually extended with curved copy: “Squishy little face. Struggling with short little breaths. Every. Single. Day.” “The campaign takes the audience on a journey,” explains Caroline Jenkins, Batterea’s head of campaigns. “People see this massively cute picture of an animal. They then read the copy, feel slightly guilty about their initial reaction, and then, it makes them think. And that’s what we want to do. We want to prompt reconsideration around what people see as cute and what they then would want to take on.” Caroline says of the visuals: “The shape that the copy forms is the original shape of a pug’s face.” Other motifs include a tail-less dog and a cat with a folded ear. These kind of pets feature heavily in our media landscape, and Battersea has found in its research that, for younger people, these animals are becoming the new normal. “We found that people under 45 see animals virtually more than in real life, which is startling. And these features are becoming normalised.” But Caroline is careful not to patronise or dismiss current owners of these pets. The campaign aims to help buyers make a more informed decision next time they get a pet. “Ultimately, it’s demand that drives these features. So, if we can influence that, we are on the right track.” As one of the UK’s top five charities, Battersea takes in the dogs and cats that have been either abandoned or relinquished by their owners. The flat-faced Frenchie has been not only Britain’s most popular dog, it was also the most abandoned due to its many – costly – health issues resulting from its severe deformities. The Frenchie has recently been surpassed by the miniature dachshund – another dog with severe features. And cats – as well as other species – are increasingly being bred to meet the sick aesthetic normalised in the media. While Caroline doesn’t want to put a price on what it costs the charity each time one of these pets comes in, she is clear that both animals and their distressed owners suffer. “No one wants to see their animal suffer, let alone their beloved pet,” she says. “But they may not understand some of the challenges that come with these animals, whether that’s additional vet costs and the emotional cost of seeing their animal suffer. And unfortunately, sometimes, that leads to people having to relinquish their animal when they can no longer care for them. So, that’s what we want to stop; we want to reduce preventable relinquishment and make sure that people can live really good, happy lives with their pets that are happy and healthy.” In this podcast episode, Caroline talks us through the campaign development and what current brachycephalic pet owners want others to know. We also talk about the Renters’ Rights Act, which was revised this month to allow sitting tenants to acquire a pet, and about The Royal Kennel Club’s new breed assessment. And we chat about Caroline’s own pet … a cat. To find out more about the campaign, head to Battersea.org.uk/costofcute Time stamps: 00:00 Introduction to the Cost of Cute Campaign 02:18 Battersea's Role in Animal Welfare 03:09 The Impact of social media on pet choices 06:38 Understanding the health risks of brachycephalic breeds 10:19 Conversations with The Royal Kennel Club and regulations 11:53 Public perception and campaign reception 15:44 The debate on crossbreeding for health 18:03 Adoption trends and breed preferences 20:14 The long-term impact of the campaign 21:28 Advertising and media influence on pet ownership 23:04 Financial implications of health issues in pets 24:44 Challenges faced by smaller charities 26:20 Legislative changes and pet-friendly housing, aka The Renter's Rights Act 28:29 The role of government in breeding regulations 29:13 Caroline on her own cat 30:21 The rise of extreme features in cats 32:40 The need for compassionate conversations 34:57 Addressing addiction to pets with specific needs 38:02 Empowering informed choices in pet ownership Get full access to Wunderdog Magazine at wunderdog.substack.com/subscribe

    37 min

  4. May 18

    Rehome the Hounds: A campaign to rescue the hounds once trail hunting is banned

    “Rehome the Hounds is trying to show people that hounds can be rehabilitated, can become pets, can come into families, can find homes with the right support, the right guidance, the right framework, and finding the right adopters for them,” said Laura Walker on our podcast. She is a co-founder of the Rehome the Hounds campaign that challenges the hunters' narrative that foxhounds cannot live in homes. Laura is joined in the campaign – and on our podcast – by dog trainer Amelia Steele and Protect the Wild campaigner Charlotte Smith, and together, they are lining up dog charities to help with a potential influx of dogs should trail hunting finally be outlawed. The hunting lobby is desperately trying to prevent a full ban on trail hunting, which Labour promised in its 2024 manifesto. The hunters have recently stated that a full hunting ban would cause a dog welfare crisis with 10,000 dogs abandoned or shot. Hunters also say these dogs cannot be homed. But as Charlotte told our podcast: "The welfare of hounds is not good anyway. Hounds are obviously already shot, which is a big, big thing that hunting industry narratives tend to leave out. They're shooting thousands of hounds a year." Dog trainer Amelia is not worried about the hunters' argument that these scent-trained dogs cannot live in normal homes. "I think overall it's a case of one understanding and accepting the dog and those traits and then helping them to live a fulfilling life. You can give them the things that they love, like chasing things and following sense and working with you without the downsides of getting stuck in barbed wire or running in front of a train or getting shot. I think that's a really, really important thing to get out there." #foxhunting, #trailhunting, #dogrehoming, #animalwelfare, #huntingban, #rescuedogs, #houndwelfare Timestamps: 00:00 The Controversy of Fox Hunting in the UK03:02 The Rehome the Hounds Campaign06:05 Hound Welfare and Misconceptions09:04 Training and Rehoming Hounds11:59 The Political Landscape and Future of Hunting Legislation15:08 Community Engagement and Action Steps Get full access to Wunderdog Magazine at wunderdog.substack.com/subscribe

    23 min

  5. May 1

    The Dog Show with Sally Muir and Joanna Osborne

    Sally Muir and Joanna Osborne have been friends and business partners for decades. They founded knitwear business Muir & Osborne in 1979 and a year later, the brand gained overnight success when Princess Diana wore their Black Sheep sweater. Years of knitwear and knitting books later, both started branching out into other creative ventures – Joanna is doing ceramics, and Sally became a fine artist who now specialises in dog portraits. I interviewed Sally for issue 4 of Wunderdog Magazine, and I met both Sally and Joanna a couple of years ago when we attended the Free the Galgo and Podenco march in London. Their friendship is such a joy to watch, and both are talented, knowledgable artists as well life-long dog lovers. Dogs and art are also the topic of this special episode. We are talking about the upcoming Dog Show in Joanna’s house in Brighton. It’s on every weekend in May, and if previous shows are anything to go by, hundreds of dogs will once again drag their humans to Joanna’s house for biscuits and a cuddle, while their people check out the more than 200 artworks on display. These include Harriet Lowther, Holy Smoke, Nicky Nunn, Lorraine Corrigan, Lucy Amos, Bridget Baker and many more. You can visit the Brighton Dog Show every weekend in May. You don’t have to book anything – just bring yourself, your pooch – and prepare to buy a piece of dog art. You can find all the information on thedogshowbrighton.com Get full access to Wunderdog Magazine at wunderdog.substack.com/subscribe

    21 min

  6. Apr 30

    Emergency podcast: Nowzad's Pen Farthing in Ukraine

    In this emergency episode of the Wunderdog Podcast, I’m speaking to Pen Farthing, the founder of Nowzad, since he is in Eastern Ukraine as Russian forces are advancing.  Pen is a British former Royal Marines commando, although today he is mainly known as a leading dog rescuer. His transformation began around 2007, when he was stationed on a peace-keeping mission in Helmand Province inAfghanistan, where he broke up a street dog fight. One of the dogs adopted him, and eventually he adopted the dog and called him Nowzad, after the town they were stationed in.  That chance meeting turned into a charity: Pen sought to reunite four-legged battle buddies with service personnel who had finished their tour. Often, soldiers returned home wounded or traumatised, and having their Afghan dogs by their side helped their recovery. Over time, Nowzad – the charity – grew into a sizeable operation that included an animal hospital in Kabul.  Then, in the spring of 2021, the US and UK forces suddenly announced they were pulling out of the country. It was clear that neither Pen, as a Westerner, nor the Nowzad staff, as collaborators, would be safe, so Pen arranged to evacuate everyone, including the dogs and cats in their care. He named it Operation Ark, which turned into an almighty political saga.  I met Pen when he had returned to the UK and settled into a home in Devon, for the cover story of issue 5. I still remember the day: the press coverage of the withdrawal from Afghanistan was brutal, yet here he was, sitting in the sunshine, drinking tea and petting his three Afghan dogs. Mission accomplished.  But that calm was never going to last, as Pen contemplated what to do next.  The war in Ukraine would only start five months later, and as Pen said in our podcast, he didn’t have another active war zone on his Bingo card for Nowzad. But the charity has the knowledge to help in these extreme situations, and eventually, Pen headed to Eastern Ukraine to help people with their pets and shelters with the repair works after Russian attacks.  But the situation is getting ever more serious. Yesterday, April 29th, Nowzad announced it was staging a major operation in the town of Kramatorsk, as Russian forces are only 7 kilometres away, and an entire shelter needs to be evacuated. Please share this podcast episode to help Pen spread the word. And if you can, please donate at nowzad.com  Get full access to Wunderdog Magazine at wunderdog.substack.com/subscribe

    15 min

  7. Apr 4

    Caron Lane, CEO of Forever Hounds Trust

    Wunderdog's editor Nina May chats with Forever Hounds Trust CEO Caron Lane about the recent bans on greyhound racing in Wales and Scotland and why the Trust has changed its stance to support a full ban on racing. Caron also explains the huge variations she sees in kennels – from starte-of-art to wooden crate – and how they assess each dog to ensure a perfect fit for adopters. Caron also talks about her background in psychology and how working with children with learning disabilities shows parallels in her work with dogs. Get full access to Wunderdog Magazine at wunderdog.substack.com/subscribe

    25 min
  • 7 Episodes

About

Independent reporting 
for the rescue dog 
community. We chat 
with dog rescuers and 
adopters, campaigners 
and experts, artists and 
creatives. New episodes 
every Thursday! wunderdog.substack.com

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  • Creator
    Wunderdog
  • Years Active
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  • Episodes
    7
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    © Wunderdog
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