Dr. Larry Carbone is a veterinarian at the University of California, San Francisco. He is the author of What Animals Want: Expertise and Advocacy in Laboratory Animal Welfare Policy.

Kim Sheridan is the author of the Animals and the Afterlife: True Stories of Our Best Friends’ Journey Beyond Death. She says that as more people have brought animals into their homes, they have increasingly come to see them as spiritual teachers and guides.

Matthew Scully is the author of Dominion: The Power of Man, the Suffering of Animals and the Call to Mercy, which argues for decent treatment of animals from various points of view, including religious. He is a Los Angeles-based journalist and a  former speechwriter for Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin.

Diana L. Guerrero is an animal behaviorist and the author of What Animals Can Teach Us About Spirituality. She is based in Southern California.

Feb. 11, 2009, 60 Minutes article about the practice of some Los Angles hospitals discharging homeless patients to Skid Row. The article includes a link to a May 21, 2007, 60 Minutes segment by Anderson Cooper about the practice.

The Animals Voice is a nonprofit animal rights organization that publishes an online magazine of the same name. It is based in Chico, Calif. Contact through the website.

Sharon Soneff is an artist and blogger and the co-author of Faith Books and Spiritual Journaling: Expressions of Faith Through Art. She lives in San Clemente, Calif.

Banafsheh Sayyad is a dancer and choreographer, performing contemporary mystical Persian dance. Sayyad has said that she approaches dance as prayer. She is based in San Diego.

Jacqueline Shea Murphy is an assistant professor of dance at the University of California, Riverside. In 2004, she helped mount a program at the university called “Red Rhythms” on American Indian spirituality through dance.