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In this episode, we're joined by Dr. Nat Davidson, co-owner and DVM of Animal Angels: An at home veterinary clinic offering hospice and end of life services. She has several years of animal care and veterinary experience under her belt, is a pet owner herself, and has generously offered to sit down for a couple episodes to dig into some care-related topics.

For episode 10, we take a step back and look at what it really means for a pet to thrive. Beyond physical health, from balanced nutrition to meaningful mental stimulation, we explore the pillars of whole-pet wellness and how the internationally recognized Five Freedoms of Animal Welfare and the role they play in helping guide compassionate, responsible care.

Whether you’re a first-time pet parent or a seasoned pro, this conversation offers a grounded, judgment-free perspective. Because the truth is: pet care isn’t about perfection—it’s about being curious, staying teachable, and making thoughtful choices that help our animals live their happiest and healthiest lives. There is no finish line to learning, and we all have room to grow!

Join us as we zoom out, widen the lens, and discover what a truly thriving pet looks like.

You may find this companion slideshow to be helpful while listening, or even to review after or before: Click here.

Dr. Davidson has also provided academic articles to aid in your

✨RESEAAARCH ✨

The Five Freedoms

Risks and Benefits to Raw Diets

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In this episode we discuss how we make intake decisions and the difficulty that comes with trying to support our community while remain responsible with how much we choose to take on.

Guests:

Lisa Glunt - Executive Director

April Rider - Director of Operations

Katie Stryker - Director of Advocacy and Community Education

Amy Raddar - Dog Program Coordinator

Mars Carnes - Cat Program Coordinator

Lynne Rahman - Financial Administrator

We are a life-saving, limited intake facility. This means that we prioritize saving animals who would be at risk of euthanasia in a shelter facility. Unfortunately, we're seeing so many owner surrenders that we find ourselves struggling to find fosters for the ones who really need us. With more and more shelters in the US moving toward a no-kill status (a new wave of shelter management that ultimately prioritizes saving lives, but along the way has sown mistrust in shelters and may be leading to more cases of abandonment and unintentional neglect, because it's branded shelters as the worst possible place for animals.) Especially in northern cities who have fewer stray animals and more resources for spay/neuter, along with initiatives like animal registration, they are able to implicate no-kill techniques and see great success through managed intake and community education on rehoming. In the south, these methods are instead leaving animals to be left outside or without care, with many of them reproducing and adding to the cycle of unwanted animals.

We view our city shelter as doing incredible work but find the growing stigma of fear associated with shelters who may be forced to euthanize for space when their community is creating or surrendering more animals than they're adopting or fostering as a way to villainize people who would prioritize humane care.

There are several fates worse than death, and they're often seen as an acceptable risk over utilizing a community resource.

Rescues are often left to work in overdrive so that shelters aren't utilized, which skews numbers and data that show community need and help make decisions for funding that could include TNR initiatives, low-cost vetting opportunities and need, and animal control support and staffing.

Ultimately, we need more data to be captured to truly show what choices and initiatives are helping animals end up in safe spots, and we are working to document these cases to help animals in Leon County and surrounding areas, so we have a better sense of how many animals are being turned away to encounter a fate that may be worse than a shelter.

Here is the link to the Tallahassee Animal Services Statistics.

Here is the link to the UC Davis Study on When to Spay and Neuter - this study does not include information on genetic testing done on these breeds of dogs or whether they were well bred/genetically inclined to have these issues regardless of their spay/neuter timeline. This study will undoubtably have a negative effect on pet overpopulation - most pet owners want what's right and healthiest for their animal, but not all of them are reliably able to prevent accidental litters as we see anecdotally time and time again. Thousands of unwanted dogs are reproducing in the panhandle and south and many of them are being poorly and irresponsibly bred by backyard breeders (those who breed dogs for profit or without testing/a lifelong support for the dog,) rather than by preservation breeders (those who research, test, and breed out of a love for that breed of dog).

Feel free to reach out with questions or concerns to kstryker@leoncountyhumane.org

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This Episode Features Courtney Kendrick, Joshua Kendrick, and Katie Stryker - the three founders of Tally Cat Cafe. Their soft opening was May 21st, 2018, and since opening Tally Cat Cafe has not only found homes for more than 1,800 cats, but has created a community and culture of cat lovers here in Tallahassee.

Tally Cat Cafe provides a foster space for 10-20 adoptable LCHS cats at a time, but also has a separate coffee and boba shop attached to their cat room, educates their audience on cat care and fostering, and advocates for Leon County Humane Society through fundraisers and social media.

On this episode, they reflect on some of the challenges, crazy stories, amazing cats, and wonderful people from over the years.

Happy 7th birthday to our adoption partner: Tally Cat Cafe!

www.tallycatcafe.com

2218 N Monroe Street

Feel free to reach out with questions at tallycatcafe@gmail.com