Animal Cruelty

If your dog uses his time alone in the house to bark endlessly, pee on the carpet, or tear up the sofa—and those behaviors are accompanied by depression or stress—your pooch may be suffering from separation anxiety, a very common behavior problem.

Overcoming disorders like separation anxiety takes time, patience and consistency, but it can be done! Just take the following steps, and you’re already on your way.

When Hunan and Adore came to the ASPCA at the height of kitten season, they were less than 4 weeks old. The tiny kitties had been found together as strays, and both were suffering from untreated infections that left them with serious eye damage. Though we hoped to keep them together, we were struggling to find one family willing to take both babies home. Fortunately, two roommates from Brooklyn came along and adopted Hunan and Adore—proving that in the end, family is whatever you make of it.

We have a soft spot for chickens: they’re feathery and friendly, curious and even cuddly. And did you know they experience REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, associated with dreaming? But nearly 9 billion birds in this country are not living a dream. They’re suffering on overcrowded, unsanitary factory farms, bred to grow in such rapid, unnatural ways that they often collapse and spend much of their lives lying in their own waste.

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

A few weeks ago, we shared an Urgent Alert about the dangers of leaving dogs in parked cars on hot days. What we didn’t know at the time, though, was just how urgent the situation truly is.

According to a new poll conducted by the ASPCA, an overwhelming majority of adults—93 percent—who have never encountered a dog in a car on a hot day said they would do something to help, but of those adults who actually faced such a situation, only 63 percent took action.

It’s hard to believe it’s been a year since more than 300 dogs were rescued from lives of misery and horror in one of the largest federal dog fighting busts in U.S. history. The August 2013 raid spanned Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia and Texas, and resulted in ten arrests and the rescue of 367 dogs, ranging in age from just several days to 10-12 years.

The dogs were left to suffer in extreme heat, with no visible fresh water or food, and some were tethered by chains and cables attached to cinder blocks and car tires. 

Looking back at all of our Happy Tails, a clear theme emerges: pets are more than just furry, four-legged animals living in our homes. They are our best friends, our support systems, and our constant sources of joy. That’s why, when Joshua S. was struggling through a difficult period in his life, a dog named Brewster was the only thing able to turn it all around. Here is their Happy Tail.

Just days before the ASPCA’s free vaccine clinic in Lincoln Terrace Park in Brooklyn, as three team members taped flyers to windows and knocked on doors, they ran into Jessica Velez and her very skinny 4-month-old pit bull puppy, Nevesa.

Jessica told the ASPCA team that the pup was from a litter born to her dog Maddie, and she was now “stuck” with three puppies. Not only that, but Nevesa, though eating well, remained underweight and thin.

Guest blog by ASPCA President & CEO Matt Bershadker

Yesterday, August 24, was the 48th anniversary of the federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA), a groundbreaking law establishing minimum standards of treatment for animals… Well, some animals.

Animal lovers from across the Lone Star State adopted 2,256 cats, kittens, dogs and puppies—and even a few pocket pets—on Saturday, August 16, during “Empty the Shelter Day,” the largest ever pet adoption effort in North Texas, sponsored in part by the ASPCA.

Shelters large and small, municipal and non-profit—33 total—literally emptied their shelters during the one-day, fee-waived adoption event.