Dr. Nick Trout, staff surgeon at Angell Animal Medical Center and author of *Tell Me Where It Hurts*; attorney John Ensminger, dog advocate and creator of the doglawreporter.blog spot.com; and Dr. Joann Lindenmayer, Associate Professor at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, join moderator Monica Collins, syndicated columnist of *Ask Dog Lady*, to discuss heart wrenching questions relating to our beloved pets. Have we as a society gone too far in treating dogs with extensive medical problems? Is there such a thing as doing too much to save a dog’s life? Should we base our decisions on medical cost, time, or effort for recovery? And who makes these decisions–-the state, the legal system, the doctors, or the owners?
Monica Collins created and writes “Ask Dog Lady,” a humor/lifestyle column about dogs, life and love that is syndicated to 400+ newspapers nationwide. Collins also hosts the radio program, “Ask Dog Lady,” on 980 WCAP in the Merrimack Valley. She is a regular guest on “The Callie Crossley Show” on WGBH-FM in a continuing series called “Pup Culture.” Collins is also a communications consultant and media strategist for non-profit organizations. A former staff writer and media critic for USA Today and the Boston Herald, Collins has written for the Boston Globe and various magazines, such as USA Weekend, ForbesLife Executive Woman, Ladies Home Journal, and Vogue. Collins’ canine muse is Shorty.
Nick Trout graduated from veterinary school at the University of Cambridge, England. He is a diplomate of the American and European Colleges of Veterinary Surgeons and a staff surgeon at the prestigious MSCPA Angell Animal Medical Center in Boston where he has worked now for over a decade. Trout is the author of two books about his life as a veterinary surgeon: “Love is the Best Medicine” and The New York Times bestseller “Tell Me Where It Hurts.” He has two dogs: Meg, a yellow Labrador, and Sophie, a Jack Russell terrier.
John Ensminger is an attorney, writer, and skilled dog advocate. He is the co-author of the treatise Money Laundering, Terrorism, and Financial Institutions and writes a monthly newsletter, the USA PATRIOT Act Monitor, both published by the Civic Research Institute. Ensminger has been the Chair of the Banking & Savings Institutions Committee of the American Bar Association Tax Section, editor-in-chief of the Journal of Taxation and Regulation of Financial Institutions, an adjunct professor, and a legal advocate for mental patients' civil rights. He reports on legal and scientific issues affecting skilled dogs at doglawreporter.blog spot.com. Ensminger and his dog, Chloe, are a therapy dog team and regularly visit hospitals, eldercare facilities, schools, libraries, and a cerebral palsy institute.
Joann Lindenmayer is an Associate Professor of Public Health in the Department of Environmental and Population Health at the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University. She serves as Director of the DVM-MPH Track of the combined MPH Program. Lindernmayer has been a Principal or co-Principal Investigator for several veterinary ventures including USAID’s RESPOND project, the largest award in the history of Tufts University. Lindenmayer’s experience ranges from monitoring the health of Nigerian sheep, conducting studies using dogs as sentinels for Lyme disease, and working with the Vermont Department of Health and the CDC. She was the founding director of Brown University’s MPH program, a member of the Veterinary School’s Board of Overseers, and is now a member of the Tufts Global Health Initiative. The canine members of her family are: Mamba, a border collie/pit bull; Cole, a black poodle; Lily, a basset hound/beagle; and Mugsy, a mixed breed who resembles a miniature Benji. She also has two cats, Zipper and Orange, who are arch enemies.