First published at The Conversation
In its short life on the air in Washington D.C., Calling All Pets barked, chased, wagged its tail, and generally charmed the WAMU listeners into becoming lasting friends. And there were treats galore, also, during the membership campaigns when many listeners expressed their pleasure at having a pal on Saturday mornings.
It survived the questions from some in the public radio stratosphere who thought it not journalistically analytical or poker-faced enough to be on our air. To the contrary, I argued, we all need some fun on the weekends, especially the pet-mad citizens of the Washington area.
Alas, in the coming weeks we'll be replacing the show, which is no longer being produced by Wisconsin Public Radio. Right now, we're repeating the best programs for the Uber-fans, which is why you'll hear a message saying "don't call." Financially sustainable models for hour long public radio shows are hard to come by (there is a mere handful - Car Talk, Prairie, Wait Wait, etc) and Wisconsin simply couldn't sustain the costs to their listeners any longer (it was free to us, and other stations.)
Its success lay in its focus. It didn't obsess (as us pet lovers do) on arthritis problems, training techniques, or flea and tick medicine. It majored on helping the animal and human worlds understand, and compare, each others' behavior. It was really the closest public radio has come to a great show about psychology. Hence it attracted thousands of listeners who don't have pets, as well as those who do.
Like the cautious person I'm accused of being, I'll only say we're exploring all options. Producing our own animal program, or looking elsewhere for the 7 a.m. slot. But we'll miss the smile and the drooling tongue of Calling All Pets and, judging from the listening numbers, so will thousands of others.
Rest assured, it will be laid to rest in peace.
