Animal services is a field with a dark and complex beginning. The methods and policies that have developed over time to manage the animals we have domesticated for companionship have deep roots in unexpected places. This blog examines those roots. 
Come along while I dissect the origins of modern day animal welfare policies and practices to discover the historical and societal context and prominent events that have influenced how we live with pets today…in no particular order and with a heavy nod to ephemera and the history of rabies.

My name is Audrey Lodato. I’m just a shelter nerd who has worked in the animal welfare space for a very long time and has loved domestic history all my life. I’m not a historian. I don’t have an academic background. I’m also not that fun at a party because no one wants to hear about the history of rabies, so I created Barking at the Knot as a place to put the things I have learned in my studies. My hope is that it benefits others in the animal welfare space, helping us reconsider our policies with a better understanding of their origins.

By far, the most popular question I receive is “Where do you find this stuff?” I have a number of sources I pull regularly from, but if you are looking to do your own research, I recommend starting with Hathitrust.org, Newspapers.com, the ASPCA’s archives and the recommended reading list on this blog. That should sufficiently open the gate.

Disclaimers, et al:

A note about AI and this site: I sometimes use AI to generate some cheeky images, never text. I will label any image that is AI and doesn’t also include the name of the blog.

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“We are glad to meet you on this occasion, and to know of your ernest work in the great struggle with cruelty that this organization is engaged. It is a little remarkable that the individuals that compose this convention represent nearly every possible phase of opinion on this subject. Here, assembled today, are members of the Roman Catholic Church side by side with members of every leading Protestant denomination and men and woman of no denomination at all, joined at least in one purpose, that in opposition to all forms of cruelty, united at least in one faith – that no matter who or what opposes us, in the end all that thus hinders the advance of the truest and highest civilization shall be utterly be overthrown.”

Dr. Albert Leffingwell of Aurora, New York, opening remarks

27th Annual Meeting, American Humane Association

Cincinnati, Ohio, November 4, 1903

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