Reminisces About Her Friend Who Didn’t Mind Playing Second Banana to a Marmoset

Hear Steve's WGN Radio interview with Joan Embery

            Ed McMahon may have said, “There’s nothing about pet health that isn’t inside this one book…Everything you’d ever want to know and more crammed inside this one volume.”

            “And he would have been right,” laughs and says Joan Embery, who may be best known as the Goodwill Ambassador of the San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park and for her regular appearances on “The Tonight Show. With Johnny Carson.” Embery is applauding the new “Merck/Merial Manual for Pet Health: Home Edition.”

            Forever, the “Merck Veterinary Manual” has been considered a sort of ‘bible’ for veterinary students, and is often used at veterinary clinics as a reference. Embery adds, “This is a definitely reputable and credible reference. Sometimes websites, for example, aren’t very credible. I’ve always used the Merck Manual in my horse barn. I’m so glad they decided to come out with a Home Edition for average pet owners.”

            The new Home Edition is a 1,300 page bible for home health care for dogs, cats, birds, horses, and various exotic pets – such as snakes and lizards, and even Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs. It was written and reviewed by 200 specialty veterinarians. The Home Edition includes basic anatomy information, and the latest innovations in the ever changing world of veterinary medicine. For example, a new vaccine licensed for treating malignant melanomas in dogs is included. There are also entire chapters on behavior, for example, describing fears and phobias and even why dogs or cats may piddle in all the wrong places.

            “Are you kidding? I think this book can benefit all pet owners,” adds Embery, who says one practical section is on emergency preparedness. She just experienced a close call herself during the wildfires which came all too close to her ranch outside San Diego.

Aardvarck and Joan

            “We got that reverse 9-1-1 call and were told at 3 a.m. to evacuate and to do it in an hour.” That’s a challenge for anyone. Not only did Embery need to grab her personal belongings, she had to evacuate her dog, her cat, and then there were 40 horses – and one more matter – 30 wild animals, from aardvarks to woodchucks to assorted snakes. The wild critters also live on Embery’s ranch and are used for education programs operated by the Joan Embery Institute.

            “Obviously, crafting an evacuation plan in the middle of the night wouldn’t have been practical,” she says. Luckily, Embery had a strategy in place, and succeeded at loading all the animals onto their crates and then onto trucks and trailers in an hour when a caravan of eight trucks and trailers hit the road. 

            “Because all the animals on the ranch are used for educational programs, they’re mostly all crate trained,” says Embery. “Crate training is very important.” She suggests if she can teach a mountain lion to happily saunter into a crate, it’s certainly possible to teach a domestic cat.  

            “Being prepared was often the difference between pets who made it in the fires and who didn’t,” says Embery. “Even once evacuated, there were issues – which are why keeping the Merck/Merial Manual in an emergency might be a good idea. With horses, the vets were treating so much colic (due to stress) that they were running every day. If something goes wrong, the Manual doesn’t replace a veterinarian, but it does offer insight as to what the problem might be, and perhaps what you can do while you wait for veterinary attention. There’s also a chapter on emergency first aid. When you’re evacuated, you’re without the support system you otherwise might have and you never know what can happen.”

Here's a Koala, with Carson

            Certainly on the “The Tonight Show” back in the day with Carson, there were surprises. In one of Embery’s many memorable appearances, a marmoset (a small kind of monkey) scampered up Carson’s shoulder. He quipped that the tail made him look like he was wearing Fess Parker (the actor who played Daniel Boone). The crowd roared as the marmoset proceeded to jump on Carson’s head.

 “He was one of a kind,” said Embery, sounding wistful. “He was interested, engaged and respectful, always giving us time to speak about the animals. He didn’t care if he was playing fiddle to a marmoset.”

            Carson quipped, “Can’t get any higher than that. I bet in this entire world there isn’t another person with a marmoset on his head.”        

            As Embery went to remove the marmoset, he left Johnny “a parting gift.” TV history will always remember that moment and so many others which Embery participated.

            “All I did was present beautiful and fascinating animals, and ride on Johnny Carson’s coattails,” she says. “Today they want, ‘can you top this,’ the most dangerous or as many animals as you can bring out at a time. I think that’s unfortunate.”

            The good news is that the fires never made to her Embery’s ranch. Embery continues to make TV and personal appearances, and operates her Institute to further education and conservation. A portion of the proceeds of sales of “The Merck/Merial Manual for Pet Health: Home Edition” benefits her Institute. Learn more at www.merckbooks.com and www.pethealthsafety.com.

                                                                                    © Steve Dale, Tribune Media Services