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Brian Lehrer: Brian Lehrer on WNYC. After all the serious stuff today, we're going to end maybe a little lighter. We had so much fun during the membership drive, ending the show each day talking about the many and varied pets that people share their lives with, and apartments and homes. We heard about cats and dogs, reptiles, birds, fish, rabbits with Amy Sedaris, even rats.
We didn't have time in those short membership drive format segments for calls. We thought we would extend the fund by one day, and in our last 10 or 12 minutes or so, invite your calls about your pet and what makes them special. That can be especially wonderful things or especially challenging things, hopefully more of the former. In 30 seconds or less, tell us something about your pet, what makes them especially wonderful and lovable, or what makes them especially difficult, or you can give us one of each. 212-433-WNYC, 212-433-9692.
If you were meeting a stranger on the street and you said, "Oh, my dog, my cat, my gecko," whatever it is, "he's so--" "she's so--," what would it be? 212-433-WNYC, 212-433-9692. Call or text. Did your pet save your life, like happened with the Doggist, our first guest in the series? Did your pet eat your homework for real, not just as the classic excuse to the teacher? Did your pet chew through your baseboards like Amy Sedaris told us her rabbits tried to do? Did your cat bring you a mouse? I once had a cat to do that. Or, maybe your pet is a mouse.
Did you make friends or find a significant other thanks to your pet? Great conversation starter when you're walking a dog, right? Do they make you laugh? Do they wake you up at night? Do they wake you up to the national natural world and change your perspective? One quick thought about your pet, whatever that pet is. 212-433-WNYC, call or text, 212-433-9692. We'll end the week this way. We'll take your calls and texts right after this.
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Brian Lehrer: Brian Lehrer on WNYC. Your one quick thought about your pet. We have to start with Jesse in Brooklyn. Jesse, you're on WNYC. Hi.
Jesse: Hi. Good afternoon. I'm calling to tell you a little tidbit about our cat who lived to be 18 years old, Loopey. He's no longer with us.
Brian Lehrer: Loopey.
Jesse: Yes. My husband and I taught him to use a bathroom. We got him when he was about six months old. Somebody had told me about it, or I'd seen it in a pet store, and it was a $7-kit of a little how to train your cat to use a toilet. It worked. Then we ended up never buying litter in his basically 18 years of life. It was kind of amazing. In a New York City apartment that was like a big deal. No [crosstalk] litter off the step.
Brian Lehrer: How exactly does a cat use a toilet?
Jesse: Like what is the process to teach them?
Brian Lehrer: No. I mean, does the cat jump up on the seat?
Jesse: Yes, they just jump up on the seat. You teach them to think of the toilet bowl as their litter box, and they learn to balance. It's kind of extraordinary. The first time it really worked, my husband and I, 20 years ago, looked at each other because we're like, "Oh my gosh, someone is using the toilet and we're both in the kitchen. Who's in our house?" Then we realize the cat's doing it.
Brian Lehrer: The ultimate cat story.
Jesse: It's highly possible.
Brian Lehrer: Jesse, thank you very much. Sam in Park Slope, you're on WNYC. Hi, Sam.
Sam: Hi. I'm calling to talk about my rabbit, Stuart. He's almost 10. He's a white California Himalayan mix. My girlfriend adopted him about 10 years ago. He's just the sweetest rabbit. Really makes our life so much happier.
Brian Lehrer: Sam. Thank you. Here are some texts. One is hilarious. I don't even know if I believe it. "Our dog, Barkley, will sing along with the Brian Lehrer theme song. He also does the same for All Things Considered theme. I'd love to put his singing voice on your show sometime." Yes, yes, call in. We should definitely allow a dog to sing the Brian Lehrer Show theme going into at least one segment.
Somebody else writes with a dog story. "My dog, Birdie-" a dog named Birdie, "-did save my life from a gas leak in my apartment. Two years later, I found my birth grandmother, and her name was Birdie." Ooh. Woo [ums]. Wow, how about that? Saving your life story and then your birth grandmother turns out that have the same name as something you named your dog? Sally in Manhattan, you're on WNYC. Hi, Sally.
Sally: Hi. I have two 18-year-old cats. They're littermates. They've been together from when they were rescued from the street by a rescue organization. One, Cynthia, and the other is Murray. They both answer to their name. They don't always come, but they lift their heads. Murray doesn't lift his head to Cynthia, and Cynthia doesn't lift her head to Murray.
Brian Lehrer: They recognize their name. Smarter than we think. How about Allison in Mattituck? You're on WNYC. Hi, Allison.
Allison: Hi, Brian. How are you?
Brian Lehrer: I'm okay. How's your cat?
Allison: Great. My cat is almost three years old. His name is Billy Ray Valentine. The thing I love about him the most is that he, when you walk in the door, rolls right over like a dog and waits for you to pet him. The thing that annoys me the most about him is that- and I've never had a cat ruin furniture ever. Most of our house is made decorated with stuff we found at estate sales and garage sales. We have one piece of furniture that was like an antique fainting couch. It's like a chaise lounge. I actually bought fabric and recovered it. He uses it as his favorite scratching post and has destroyed it [chuckles], which I couldn't look at him for, like, two days.
Brian Lehrer: Oh, Allison, thank you. Thank you very much. Listener writes, "A jumping spider moved into our house and made a home on our windowsill about a month ago. I consider her the house pet, in addition to our cat, and take videos of her being cute almost every morning." Different from what a lot of people would do with a spider that suddenly appeared on your windowsill.
Listener writes, our dog-- No, I did that one already. This one. Where'd it go? The one about the Chihuahua. Here it is. "My Chihuahua mix, Ozzie, likes to go for 100 block walks. We once walked from 110th Street to 10th Street. He's 20 pounds." Kelly in Park Slope, you're on WNYC. Hi, Kelly.
Kelly: Hi. Thank you so much. I just wanted to share that I have the world's goodest girl. Her name is Star. She's a dog. Sometimes when we're walking, she will fixate on a person on the streets, and we just cannot move on with our lives until she says hi. She has an amazing track record of people saying, "I really was hoping to pet a dog. I'm having a terrible day," or, "I just lost a pet. This has made my day." It's just a reminder that animals, they sense things and they know things that we don't know, and I'm so grateful for them.
Brian Lehrer: Kelly, thank you very much for that. Amanda in Williamsburg, you're on WNYC. Hi, Amanda.
Amanda: Hi, Brian. Longtime listener, first-time caller. I'm calling from Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where I live with my three-legged cat. Her name is Twiggy. She is an eight-year-old rescue who was found stuck in a fence here in Williamsburg and rescued by the amazing folks at PS9 Pets on North 9. She's doing great now. She has her own Instagram. If anyone wants to follow, you can find her @tripodtwiggy.
Brian Lehrer: Tripod Twiggy, the three-legged cat. Amanda, thank you very much. Oh, here's one about a fish. Listener writes, "I love my giant albino gourami fish-- Am I saying that right, gourami-- named Andre. He is 22 inches, and basically, he loves pets." I think this is a misspelling. I guess he likes pats on the head. I think this is saying the fish named Andre, 22 inches and likes being patted on the head.
Well, guess what? That's where we have to leave it. Thank you for your quick stories about all kinds of your pets. That's the Brian Lehrer show for today, produced by Mary Croke, Lisa Allison, Amina Srna, Carl Boisrond, and Esperanza Rosenbaum. Zach Gottehrer-Cohen produces our daily Politics podcast. Megan Ryan is the head of Live Radio. We had Matt Mirando at the audio controls today. Milton Ruiz, too. Thanks again to everybody who contributed during the membership drive, Brian Lehrer on WNYC. Stay tuned for All Of It.
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