Pigs press together on a farm on the outskirts of Xicaltepec in Mexico's Veracruz state, April 27, 2009. (AP)

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The H1N1 virus is more commonly known as “swine flu.” That doesn’t mean you can catch it from a pig, but it does point to the source of the infection.

And it’s far from the only disease that can make the jump to humans from other species. Avian flu. Rabies. Ringworm. Hantavirus. West Nile Virus. Even Ebola and HIV likely originated in animals and made the leap.

Now, with the world a global village and populations soaring, experts warn these species-hopping diseases may arise more frequently, and become more dangerous.

This hour, On Point: animals, people, and disease.

You can join the conversation. Tell us what you think — here on this page, on Twitter, and on Facebook.

-Jane Clayson, guest host

Guests:

Joining us from New York is Donald G. McNeill Jr., science and health reporter for The New York Times.

From Columbus, Ohio, we’re joined by Lonnie King, dean of The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine and former director of the Center for Disease Control’s National Center for Zoonotic, Vector-Borne and Enteric Diseases.

And from Oklahoma City, we’re joined by Susan Little, professor of veterinary parasitology at the Center for Veterinary Health Sciences, Oklahoma State University. She’s a member of the board of directors of the Companion Animal Parasite Council, which is sponsoring the “Pets, People and Pathogens” conference in Providence, Rhode Island next week.

A chihuahua named Tequila the day before the Westminster dog show in New York, Sunday, Feb. 10, 2008. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Leona Helmsley was famously frosty toward human beings. Her nickname was “The Queen of Mean.” Her infamous quote: “Only little people pay taxes.”

Even so, it was a stunner when Helmsley’s bequest left $12 million dollars to her favorite Maltese pooch, and up to $8 billion dollars to the dogs of New York. Eight billion. For dogs.

But in a time of Prozac for pets and big love for furry companions, Helmsley isn’t the only American whose tie to her pet may have been her best relationship.

This hour On Point: people and their pets, and when pet love is pet crazy.

- Tom Ashbrook

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Guests:

Stephanie Strom, has been following the Leona Helmsley story for the New York Times

Joel Gavriele Gold, psychologist and psychoanalyst who has been practicing in New York for more than 25 years. He is author of “When Pets Come Between Partners”

Stephanie LaFarge, she is a psychologist and the senior director of Counseling Services for the ASPCA

James Vlahos, his cover story in this Sunday’s New York Times Magazine was titled “Pill-Popping Pets.” He is contributing writer for National Geographic Adventure and Popular Science.