Animal Cruelty

We are beyond excited to announce a new line of plush dogs and cats that offers kids a chance to snuggle up with their very own rescue pets—no housetraining required!

In a huge step forward for our nation’s companion animals, U.S. Representatives Katherine Clark (D-MA) and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) have come together to introduce the Pet and Women Safety (PAWS) Act (H.R. 5267), landmark legislation extending existing federal protections to pets of domestic violence victims.

Time flies when you’re having fun: Competing shelters in the 2014 ASPCA Rachael Ray $100K Challenge are nearing the finish line, and we couldn’t be more excited to share that in June and July, the Challengers saved a total of 43,959 animals’ lives! The Challenge shelters achieved this by adopting out or reuniting pets with their guardians—and they saved over 9,000 more lives than during the same two months last year.

By Matt Bershadker, ASPCA CEO

Chicken Scratch is an ASPCA Blog feature that highlights interesting news about farm animals and farm animal welfare.

Image courtesy of Compassion in World Farming

At the ASPCA, we LOVE black kitties—but the sad truth is that not everyone feels the same way. Due to outdated (and incorrect) myths and superstitions, black cats have a really hard time getting adopted. That’s why we were so glad to learn that this Sunday, August 17, is Black Cat Appreciation Day!

To celebrate this holiday, we put together just a few of the many reasons we appreciate these raven-coated kitties:

Victims of animal cruelty are often the hardest animals to place into a home. Shyness, fear and anxiety regularly plague these pets—and not all adopters feel up to the task. But those who do often discover that underneath the pain, there’s an animal that is eager to love and be loved. Such was the case with Escher, a 55-lb. Shepherd/Collie mix with a mysterious past who proved that sometimes, the greatest hardship leads to the greatest reward. Here is his Happy Tail.

Guest blog by Daisy Freund, Senior Manager of the ASPCA’s Farm Animal Welfare Campaign

Last week, lawmakers in Nassau County, New York—the western portion of Long Island—passed an ordinance to regulate the county’s pet stores and breeders beyond what state law requires. While we’re always glad to see local governments taking the time to address the issue of puppy mill cruelty, the new Nassau ordinance is similar to the one passed recently in neighboring Suffolk County in that it doesn’t do nearly enough to protect animals and consumers.