Dispatches from a ‘Critter Correspondent’

Guinea pigs, budget cuts, and wedding dance floor hits

issue #16.

I don’t really have a fully defined beat at THE CITY. I like writing about New York City, whatever that means. But in the more than a year since I’ve been at this great publication, I’ve written my fair share of stories about animals. 

It started with Barry the Owl. The beloved bird was killed after being hit by a Central Park Conservancy truck early one summer morning, and although I was in between opportunities at the time, I put in a Freedom of Information Request for the details. A few months later, on one of those Friday afternoons where I was feeling like a lousy reporter, I got her necropsy report back. And boom, there it was, in the official report: Barry had high traces of rat poison in her system that may have impaired her ability to fly and see — especially a truck.

Barry was poisoned! I shouted to nobody in the empty press room at City Hall. I think I even spun around in my chair. 

After Barry I wrote about the things killing other wildlife inside city parks and then efforts by the city’s animal shelters to keep pets with their owners and sharks. 

This week I wrote about the trouble with guinea pigs. They’re overwhelming the city’s animal shelters – the sweet and cuddly piggies were seen as the perfect pandemic pet, but most don’t know how to properly care for them. There are only two vets that can perform spay and neutering on them, and it’s an expensive process that many people don’t bother with. It’s also difficult to determine the gender of guinea pigs, and people often buy them in pairs. I’m sure you know where this is going! There’s a bill in the city council that would ban the sale of them, but that bill has languished as sources say the speaker is reluctant to discuss animal topics with the looming push to ban horse carriages. So the shelters continue to be overrun with guinea pigs. 

My colleague Greg Smith dubbed me the “critter correspondent” a few days ago. I like a good nickname, so I’ll take it (it’s also funny because sometimes covering government and politics feels like a zoo.)

Read it here. 

READ

+ Speaking of Greg Smith, he’s been covering the ups and downs of the water at the Riis Houses since he broke the story over Labor Day weekend. He’s still at it. [THE CITY]

+ The budget cuts are coming. [POLITICO]

LISTEN

I have a good friend’s wedding this weekend, which got me thinking about my favorite wedding party dance songs. Here are some of them:

“Give It Up” by KC & the Sunshine Band
“Love Train” by The O’Jays
“Heads High” by Mr. Vegas 
“Everybody Everybody” by Black Box
“Shout” by Otis Day & the Knights

what are your favorites?

Thanks for reading!