Dr. Andy Kaplan, The Toby Project

In this episode, Stacy speaks with Dr. Andrew Kaplan, the veterinarian behind New York City's The Toby Project. Andrew has been an animal advocate since he was a child. Stacy & Andrew discuss Andrew's journey to becoming a vet and how he came to learn about and become involved in pet overpopulation—including the touching story of Toby, the dog who put a face on the overpopulation issue for Andrew.

The Toby Project has a mobile spay/neuter clinic that splits its time between doing surgeries for low-income pet owners and for feral cats (through TNR-certified rescuers). Andrew would like to devote more of the clinic's time to feral cats, as he feels like those are the animals who truly have no other option.

He and Stacy discuss the challenging aspects of running a mobile clinic, feedback from other veterinarians, and the struggle of expanding the model, as well as the other animal-related advocacy work Andrew does. "I'm into advocating for any animal in any circumstance," he tells Stacy. "I happen to be medically trained for dogs and cats, but I'll do what I can for anything."

To learn more, visit the Toby Project website.