for the love of animals... Take Action!

Fact: Over 10,000 dogs and cats are euthanized every day in the United States. The vast majority of these animals are healthy and adoptable, but shelters and pounds simply do not have the resources or space to keep them.

How you can help: Spay and neuter your pets! Urge pet stores to get puppies from shelters instead of puppy mills. Volunteer at your local shelter (such as the Cleveland Animal Protective League). Make your next dog a rescue dog! Check out: spayusa.org/help/help.asp

Fact: Pet Stores which sell cats and dogs almost always purchase them from cruel mass breeding operations where abuse, neglect, inbreeding, and unhygienic conditions are business as usual. America’s largest pet store chain, PetLand, purchases its animals from such operations. The company’s main animal supplier, Do-Bo-Tri, has been cited numerous times for violations of the Animal Welfare Act, but PetLand continues to do business with them.

How you can help: Don’t patronize pet stores that sell cats and dogs, and let them know why. Visit the Humane Society’s website to take direct action. New or gently used doggie items (leashes, blankets, toys, etc.) can be donated to Puppy Mill Rescue.

Fact: Every year approximately 50,000,000 animals are killed for their fur. Fur “farms,” where animals are bred in captivity specifically for their fur, cage wild species in tight containers, where they suffer psychologically and physically. Trapping animals in the wild is not much better: generally, traps simply injure animals by breaking bones, severing tendons, or causing lacerations; death from starvation, blood loss, exposure, or stress doesn’t come until much later. An international veterinary panel determined that approximately 40% of seal pups killed in the wild are skinned while still conscious. Other animals (like pets, livestock, or endangered species) frequently are the unintended victims of trapping, and trappers are rarely prosecuted for this.

How can you help? Don't buy fur. Contact the corporate offices of retailers who carry fur and urge them to carefully monitor their sources

Fact: An estimated 40,000 people are involved in Dog Fighting rings nationwide, yet the offense is difficult to investigate and even harder to prosecute. Though it’s a felony in most states, felony charges are rarely filed. Fighting dogs are tortured—starved, beaten, chained, burned—in an attempt to make them as mean as possible. Thousands of dogs are seized from fighters every year, and almost all are euthanized due to safety concerns.

How can you help? If you witness animal cruelty, notify your local humane society or animal control.