Book Our Animal Historian
NYC's foremost historian of urban animals — available for virtual presentations, in-person programs, and podcast interviews.
Request a Speaking InquiryAbout Peggy
Peggy Gavan is the author of the award-winning The Cat Men of Gotham and The Bravest Pets of Gotham (Rutgers University Press). She is a licensed New York City tour guide and the creator of the Hatching Cat of Gotham archive — a decade-long research project documenting amazing animal stories from Old New York.
She has presented for the Center for Brooklyn History, the Greater Astoria Historical Society, the New York Adventure Club, the Seaport Museum, and dozens of libraries across the region.
All programs are available as virtual events nationwide or in-person within the NYC metro area, including northern New Jersey and the Hudson Valley. Custom programs can be developed around a specific borough, animal type, theme, or time limit.
Presentations are designed for adult audiences but are kid-friendly.
Available Programs
The Cat Men of Gotham: Tales of Feline Friendships in Old New York
The stories behind Peggy’s first book: the politicians, saloon keepers, and city workers who formed unlikely bonds with New York’s street cats in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
The Seafaring Cats of Gotham: Tales of Nautical Felines of Old New York
Working cats who lived aboard ships docked in New York’s harbors, from the 1800s through World War I. A program for nautical history fans with an appetite for the unexpected.
The Dog Days of Gotham: Tales of Pampered Pooches in Old New York
New York’s most famous, most spoiled, and most litigated-over dogs, drawn from newspaper archives and court records.
True and Unusual Animal Tales of Old Brooklyn
Cats at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, America’s first canine police unit, a turtle with a standing reservation at a Bay Ridge bar. An hour of Brooklyn history told through its animals.
Amazing Animal Tales of Old Queens
Lions and tigers and elephants! Wild animal stories of Queens, pulled from the same newspaper archives that built the Hatching Cat archive.
Christmastime Animal Tales of Jolly Old Gotham
Holiday-themed program drawing on seasonal animal stories from 19th- and early 20th-century New York. A strong fit for December programming.
The Bravest Pets of Gotham: Four-Legged Firefighters of Old New York
The animal mascots of the FDNY horse-drawn era, and the fires they witnessed, survived, or helped prevent. Fun for Fire Prevention Week.
Femme Fatales and the Myth of the Crazy Cat Lady: Tales of Felines and Feminism in Old New York
A program that reframes the ‘cat lady’ archetype through the lens of women who stood with their cats as a form of resistance, independence, and community in Victorian New York.
Famous Feline Mascots of Old New York
The working cats who became institutional fixtures in newspaper offices, firehouses, government buildings, dining establishments, and more.
The Eccentric Wendels and Their Million-Dollar Dog Yard on Fifth Avenue
One troubled family, one very expensive piece of Fifth Avenue real estate, one spoiled little dog, and a dog yard that outlasted almost everything around it.
Custom presentations available based on your organization's needs, time limits, or specific borough or animal focus.
Fees range from $200 to $1,000 depending on organization type (nonprofit vs. for-profit), format (virtual vs. in-person), and scope (audience size, duration, travel). Contact us to discuss rates for your event.
A Virtual Event With Peggy
True and Unusual Animal Tales of Old Brooklyn — recorded for the Center for Brooklyn History
Request a Speaking Inquiry
In-person presentations available in the New York City metro region, including northern New Jersey and the Hudson Valley. Virtual events available nationwide.