Four decades of hugs and kisses and a few short takes
As my mutt named Tomo turned 11 years old last month, I think of all of the questions I had about rearing my furry son over the past decade. It reminded me one of the best sources of advice were the stories told by Warren Eckstein, now celebrating 40 years of encouraging pet owners to “give their pet a hug and a kiss” over the broadcast airwaves.
“I grew up on Long Island, New York,
but I’m originally from Manhattan,” said Eckstein. During his younger years,
his family moved away from the city, which encouraged family to visit on
weekend and holidays, perhaps too often. “It felt like our home was always
filled with guests who never wanted to leave.” The shy child looking for some
peace and quiet, Eckstein found himself finding solace at a nearby creek behind
his home.
“Living beside the creek were muskrats, snapping turtles, rats, geese, and an assortment of other wild animals. It was fantastic! I loved it there!” Eckstein recalled “it felt at home” to be among all of the local creatures. “I would talk to the animals – and they actually listened! In fact, we communicated! I felt understood! This is when I discovered my first language is ‘Animal,’ and my calling was working with animals.”
Eckstein traveled extensively throughout Southeast Asia and Europe, “and touched parts of Africa” while serving in the military. While stationed in Europe, he met many different animal trainers and behaviorists, including significant time spent at a university in Frankfurt, Germany. “The training I observed, in my opinion, was done well but I did not like many of the dominant techniques,” which led Eckstein to develop his Hugs and Kisses approach to training dogs and cats. Upon returning to the U.S., he saw the majority of trainers were still using a more strongly disciplinary approach.
Eckstein and his wisdom about pets starting gaining popularity while in New York, leading to a number of radio interviews, many on WOR-AM. “One of the show hosts was unable to do his show, so General Manager Bob Bruno asked if I would set in for a couple of weeks – that was forty years ago. Eckstein was then contacted by George Green, then KABC’s general manager, “and the L.A. Pet Show was born.”
“Of all the hundreds of talent that I hired at KABC, Warren would be in the top tier,” said Green. “Animals and people love this man. It is almost like the animals he touched felt that he was their kind of animal. Amazing knowledge with a heart as big as any animal he encountered.”
Soon Eckstein would also be seen nationally, including Hour Magazine hosted by Gary Collins and serving as the “Creature Keeper” for The New Mickey Mouse Club, the pet and animal editor on NBC-TV’s Today, plus numerous appearances on Late Show with David Letterman. He may be best known for his 14 years of regular appearances on the syndicated Live! With Regis (Philbin) and Kathie Lee (Gifford). “Most of my (early) questions were basic – housebreaking, chewing, biting, pulling, jumping and humping. That changed as the years went by. Questions about dealing with divorce and pets, the psychology of first pets, and latch key pets emerged.”
While living on the East Coast, Eckstein became “the” trainer for mob. A recent article in the New York Post detailed his experiences:
There
are some offers you can’t refuse. Such was the case when dog trainer Warren
Eckstein received a call from a guy named Walter looking for some help with his
boss’s hound.
Turns
out, Walter had quite the boss: Eckstein was being summoned to the Nassau
Shores, Massapequa, home of mob boss Carlo Gambino.
That
was around 1972, when Eckstein, who was 22 at the time, had a cheeky ad in a
Five Towns, Long Island Pennysaver. It promised, “For $15, I’ll teach your dog
Yiddish.”
Gambino
was merely aiming for obedience. Eckstein obliged. “They had no problem with my
price but they did have a problem with my standard contract,” Eckstein, now 72,
told The Post. “I was told, ‘No contract. Just do your job and you’ll get
paid.’ “
Gambino
was elderly — he died four years later — “and I had to train the dog to not
drag people when they walked him,” said Eckstein, who now hosts “The Pet Show”
on Radio America, where he gives advice to pet owners. “Once I knew it was
Gambino’s dog, I made sure he was as well trained as Rin Tin Tin.”
His success with Gambino led to Eckstein being hired to train the pets of a number of other mobsters. “This was a time when mobsters all used the same attorney, doctor and accountant.” He estimated he’d trained about two dozen dogs for members of the mob, until he was no longer getting referrals for more clients. “Half of them were dead or in jail by the early ’90s,” said Eckstein. “They were gentle with their animals. Most of the time, the dogs were more alarm dogs than attack dogs. The mobsters knew how to resolve problems on their own. Like maybe they’d want to take a guy for a ride. I couldn’t train a dog to do that.” Eckstein then moved to Los Angeles, where he started training the dogs of some well-known celebrities including Lily Tomlin, David Letterman and Al Pacino.
There are now a number of platforms offering advice about keeping pets, such as Animal Planet, social media and podcasts. As far as Eckstein is concerned, “there is much more info available to the public now but not always the right info.”
When asked what’s sustained him for
the past four decades dispensing advice to pet owners, Eckstein said “it’s my
passion and the passion of my listeners that now accept their pets as part of
the family versus (just) the family pet.” And if there’s a basic truth pet
owners need to hear, he said “unless you’re perfect, don’t expect perfection
from your pet.”
“The Pet Show” is live and local on 870AM The Answer (KRLA) on Saturday 11A-1P, followed by his nationally syndicated program. “I will always continue in radio, because I can help a lot more people.” Eckstein shared a story which buttressed his conviction:
A couple of years ago, a tearful listener call KRLA saying she was in the end stage of terminal cancer. She was more worried about what would happen to her two beloved rescue dogs, Molly and Jessie. Because of the urgency, I put the request out to my listeners. It’s very hard to adopt older dogs, especially two and sight unseen. But I wouldn’t separate them. To my amazement, we received many calls but a special one from a family whose 17-year-old son also had cancer. So, by the end of my shows, I headed over to make the introductions in Northridge between caller Sherri, her dogs and the Bal family, Father, Mother, Daughter & son Evan. It was at once tragic and joyful. The Bals stayed in touch with Sherri until she died a few weeks later, then Evan passed away last year. The family still sends me pictures of their adventures with Molly and Jessie, and the joy those dogs brought their son the last year of his life, I couldn’t ask for a better outcome, thanks to the Pet Show audience.
A few short takes: In a previous story about KVEN-Ventura signing off the airwaves forever, I apparently made a few goofs. K. M. Richards, producer of the Eighties Channel, offered the following corrections:
First, the KVEN studios were moved from Tower Square long before Cumulus bought it. My recollection is that the real estate was sold at that time with the towers remaining under a lease. That apparently ran out. Sadly, the plug was pulled only a couple of years before KVEN would have celebrated 75 years on the air (March 1948, Ventura County's first station). There are more AMs left in Ventura/Oxnard besides KVTA/1520 (KOXR/910, KUNX/1400, KKZZ/1520), but I have a feeling diplexing wasn't worth the effort to Cumulus. I grew up literally about a mile from Tower Square.
Ho ho ho: If you've any doubt why KOST programs all-Christmas selections during the holidays, take a look at the most recent ratings. They scored a 13.4 share with a cume of almost 3.6 million (!) listeners. KRTH (K-EARTH 101) came in second place, a 4.4 share. That's one-third of KOST's rating.
Jared Klinger: "Michael Jackson was one of my first radio heroes. He connected me with my grandfather, who was a daily listener, way back when Michael was followed on KABC by Marv Gray. I finally met him about 15 years ago when he came to speak at our synagogue. I went into the men's room before the event, and there he was. I said, 'After all these years, and the moment I finally meet you is in a men's room.' His response, without missing a beat, was: 'Facing the wall!'"
Please stay safe and sane!
Comments
Post a Comment