Please take a look on Substack and subscribe for free for a weekly dose of hope with real stories, insights, and simple actions you can take to improve animal welfare.
I’m Carolyn Cott, an animal-welfare advocate and professional writer who’s always asking, “How can we make things better for the creatures who share our world?” Perhaps you’re asking the same question.
Whether you’re a seasoned rescuer, a caring pet parent, or someone who simply wonders, “What can I do to help?” this space is for you. Here’s what you’ll find:
Heartfelt, real-life stories of animals (and humans) that uplift and surprise
Research and insights into animal behavior, antics, and communication
Myths versus facts about animals, animal advocacy strategies that work, and human-animal connection
Interviews with vets, rescue workers, trainers, and public officials
Practical ideas—mini-actions and meaningful moves—that you can easily act on
I know that a lot of writing about animal welfare can feel heavy or alarming. Here we shift the tone to hope and curiosity rather than fear, to connection over detachment, and to actions—big and small—that are doable and feel meaningful.
I’d love to hear from you: your thoughts, your questions, even weird things your dog or cat does (my ears will perk up), and topics you’d like to see featured.
Here’s to kindness in action, discovery in every paw print, and shared steps toward a gentler world. Please subscribe for a weekly letter delivered to your inbox and please share this post. Thank you!
Adoption and Fostering Adopting a pet from a shelter is one of the most direct ways to make a difference. Approximately 4.1 million shelter animals are adopted each year, but many more still need homes. Fostering is also crucial, as it opens up shelter space for additional animals in need.
Volunteering and Community Involvement You can support animal welfare by:
Volunteering at local animal shelters (walking dogs, socializing animals, helping with paperwork)
Participating in community animal welfare programs
All of us can make a difference for animals in our everyday lives, whether it’s by adopting a pet, choosing products not tested on animals, eating a humane diet or engaging your community in animal protection issues. With so many widespread problems facing animals, it takes all of our collective efforts to confront these cruelties and change things for the better.
Here are 50 ideas for ways you can help animals in your community and across the country. Please share this list with any of your friends and family members who are also interested in advocating for animal protection.
14. Join us in applauding pet stores that have taken a stand against puppy mills—support the more than 1,000 stores that have joined our Puppy-Friendly Pet Stores initiative. Encourage local stores that do sell puppies to stop.
27. Shop our Amazon storefront for branded apparel that lets you wear your support on your sleeve.
28. Purchase pet health insurance from Petplan and receive a 5% discount—and with each completed application, Petplan will make a $20 donation to our Humane Society Veterinary Medical Alliance’s Rural Area Veterinary Services program. Use code HSUS20.
By providing your mobile number, you agree to receive autodialed, recurring text messages from the HSUS with updates and ways you can help animals. Message and data rates may apply. Text STOP to 77879 to opt out, HELP for info. Privacy policy.Terms and conditions.
The Humane Society of the United States is registered as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Contributions to the HSUS are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. The HSUS’s tax identification number is 53-0225390.
Across the country, over a million animals live in facilities regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture—like dogs in puppy mills and laboratories or bears and primates in roadside zoos—and are suffering.
Public contact with wild animals compromises animal welfare, jeopardizes public health and safety and fuels the exotic pet trade. And puppies and kittens living in pet mills are often left in tiny cages with no stimulation or enrichment opportunities. That’s why we are encouraged by the USDA’s recent announcement that it plans to propose new rules that could improve conditions for animals used in roadside zoos, puppy mills, and research laboratories.
Please fill out the brief form to your congressperson by clicking on this link:
Never, never be afraid to do what’s right, especially if the well-being of a person or animal is at stake. Society’s punishments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our soul when we look the other way” – Author Unknown
Amelia was just a little foal wandering the streets alone when Animal Rahat found her. The young donkey’s neck and thighs were covered with painful, open wounds left by the neighborhood dogs who tormented her. Animal Rahat treated her injuries and allowed her to recover at its sanctuary. After she was healed, she was transported to a partner sanctuary where she’ll grow up in the company of other rescued donkeys who, like her, will never face such danger again.
The photo on the left shows Amelia the day she was rescued. The one on the right is Amelia today!
Animal Rahat was there for this donkey whose wounded legs needed emergency medical treatment.
It’s not only individual donkeys who find themselves in trouble—sometimes entire herds need help all at once. That was the case with a group of 45 donkeys rescued from forced labor in an illegal sand-mining operation and who now reside at the sanctuary with Amelia. Animal Rahat is responsible for the cost of their lifetime care.
It costs Animal Rahat $65 to provide a single donkey with food and care for one month, and the cost of care for this mother-baby duo (who were rescued from the sand-mining operation) amounts to over $1,500 per year.
Every day, Animal Rahat responds to emergency calls about donkeys and other animals desperate for help. When unexpected situations put lives at stake—like that of a mother donkey struggling to give birth as floodwaters rise around her—Animal Rahat will do everything that it can to help.
The biggest day of the year for animals—and animal advocates—is almost here!
Please join us for this exciting opportunity to discuss ways you can make a difference in the lives of animals. You’ll also have the chance to meet with your legislators about Pennsylvania’s Pet Retail Sale bill dubbed Victoria’s Law, ending live pigeon shoots, and the ivory trade in our state. Also, on our agenda is to further protect dogs by establishing standards for outdoor shelter as well as to allow research animals to be adopted upon completion of their participatory studies.
No prior experience is required to get involved. We will provide the support you need to make the largest impact!
We will be joined by humane legislators as well as a few canine special guests.
RSVP today to make big changes for animals in your state!
Where and When
Monday, April 29
9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Pennsylvania State Capitol Building
N 3rd St., Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17120 Cost: Free
Register
• Last day to register is April 22.
• Each attendee must complete a separate registration.
• If you plan to register someone after yourself, they MUST have a different email address.
• Add your mobile number to receive a text reminder and other ways to help animals via your phone (standard rates apply). If you currently receive texts from us, great! You’re already set to receive your text reminder.
• If you have questions, please email your state director Kristen Tullo at ktullo@humanesociety.org.
PA animal people: Please call your senator today and urge her/him to please vote YES ON HB 1216 to ALLOW OFFICERS TO RESCUE DISTRESS DOGS/CATS IN HOT CARS. The bill is stalled
What does it take of us to help an animal in need? A bit of time, perhaps, and some inconvenience. We’ve helped one animal to suffer less. This small victory does not have a widespread impact, but it certainly changes the world for that one animal.
It’s easy to bypass an animal in distress, a lost dog, a stray cat, injured creature, a starving animal. It’s easy to turn away and to assume that others will do something. Most of us don’t do anything. It requires giving of ourselves or our time in some small capacity, and we’re busy, busy, busy. I believe that each time we turn away, some small portion of our humanity is eroded.
Years ago I made an agreement with myself: when I see an animal in need, I will do whatever I can to remedy the situation. I’ve found that “whatever I can do” is generally more than I had originally thought. This has led me to capture stray dogs and humanely trap stray cats and deliver them to the SPCA, to gently instruct children and others in kindness to animals, to intervene when I see human cruelty to animals, to become a vegetarian, to inconveniently arrive late at meetings when I’m rescuing an animal. I sleep better at night for all this.
My dream is to have a widespread impact on humane treatment of animals. If each of us engaged in some small gesture of kindness, of help toward animals, so much suffering could be reduced. Will you join me?
Senator Richard Alloway + 18 co-sponsors introduced SB 373, which overwhelmingly passed the Senate 45-4! Now it needs to pass the House. Please call, write, e-mail, or use social media to contact your State Representative to request their support of SB 373. Your message can be short, stating simply “I am a constituent – please support SB 373, the inclement weather/anti-tethering bill.”
Please follow up by making a call to Representative Ron Marsico, Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, to ask him to move SB 373 from his committee: Rep. Marsico: (717) 783-2014 or rmarsico@pahousegop.com.
Ensure that a dog is removed from the tether in periods of inclement weather.
Provide minimum standards for length and type of tether.
Ban the use of poke, pinch, or pronged collars which pose a danger to the dog while tethered.
Ensure that the dog may only be tethered long enough for the owner to complete a temporary task and that the owner may not leave the dog unattended and tethered.
Facts about tethering:
What does “chaining” or “tethering” of dogs mean?
These terms refer to the practice of fastening a dog to a stationary object or stake, usually in the owner’s backyard, as a means of keeping the animal under control. These terms do not refer to the periods when an animal is walked on a leash.
Why is tethering dogs inhumane?
Dogs are naturally social animals who thrive on interaction with people and other animals. A dog kept chained in one spot for hours, days, months or even years suffers immense psychological damage. An otherwise friendly and docile dog, when kept continuously chained, becomes neurotic, unhappy, anxious and often aggressive.
In many cases, the necks of chained dogs become raw and covered with sores, the result of improperly fitted collars and the dogs’ constant yanking and straining to escape confinement. Dogs have even been found with collars embedded in their necks, the result of years of neglect at the end of a chain.
In addition to The ASPCA, The Humane Society of the United States and numerous animal experts, even the U. S. Department of Agriculture issued a statement in the July 2, 1996, Federal Register against tethering: “Our experience in enforcing the Animal Welfare Act has led us to conclude that continuous confinement of dogs by a tether is inhumane. A tether significantly restricts a dog’s movement. A tether can also become tangled around or hooked on the dog’s shelter structure or other objects, further restricting the dog’s movement and potentially causing injury.”
What effects does tethering have on the community?
Banning permanent tethering makes for safer neighborhoods and happier dogs all without adding burden to our animal control agency. – The Center for Disease Control (CDC) reports chained dogs are three times more likely to bite resulting in greater incidences of dog attacks and bites to humans and animals. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) also concluded in a study that the dogs most likely to attack are male, un-neutered, and chained.
Untold Animal Stories 