Recommended Reading

This library has been put together over time through my own research and reading, recommendations of others and assistance from AI. Whenever possible, I’ve tried to include a free way to view historical materials.

Yes, there is an excess amount of rabies material. I will not apologize.

Submit suggestions to audrey.lodato@gmail.com

Early animal welfare

1751 — The Four Stages of Cruelty — William Hogarth — View at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
1776 — A Dissertation on the Duty of Mercy and Sin of Cruelty to Brute Animals — Humphrey Primatt — Find digitized editions at Internet Archive
1789 — An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation — Jeremy Bentham — Includes Bentham’s influential discussion of the moral significance of animal suffering. Read free at Project Gutenberg
1791 — A Vindication of the Rights of Brutes — Thomas Taylor — Find digitized editions at Internet Archive
1802 — An Essay on Humanity to Animals — Thomas Young — Find digitized editions at Internet Archive
1824 — The Cry of Humanity for the Brute Creation — John Styles — Find digitized editions at Internet Archive
1839 — The Obligation and Extent of Humanity to Brutes — William Youatt — Search Internet Archive
1874 — The Rights of an Animal: A New Essay in Ethics — Edward Byron Nicholson — Find digitized editions at Internet Archive
1875 — The Moral Aspects of Vivisection — Frances Power Cobbe — Search Wellcome Collection
1892 — Animals’ Rights: Considered in Relation to Social Progress — Henry S. Salt – Find digitized editions at Internet Archive
1895 — Animal Welfare and the Human Spirit — attributed to Frances Power Cobbe — Search Cobbe’s works at Wellcome Collection
1975 — Animal Liberation — Peter Singer — Find editions through Open Library
1983 — The Case for Animal Rights — Tom Regan — Find editions through Open Library

The organization of the humane movement

1866 onward — Annual Reports of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals — ASPCA Search digitized ASPCA publications
1868 onward — Our Dumb Animals — George T. Angell / Massachusetts SPCA — Browse digitized volumes
1879 — “Henry Bergh and His Work” — Scribner’s Monthly — Read the scanned article
Nineteenth century — Correspondence between Henry Bergh and P. T. Barnum — Read the Bergh–Barnum correspondence
1910 — The Humane Movement: A Descriptive Survey — Roswell C. McCrea, prepared on the Henry Bergh Foundation for the Promotion of Humane Education at Columbia University — Read at HathiTrust
1924 — The Humane Movement in the United States, 1910–1922 — William J. Shultz — Download the complete book free
1924 — Humane Society Leaders in America: With a Sketch of the Early History of the Humane Movement in England — Sydney H. Coleman —. View the bibliographic record at WorldCat
2020 — A Traitor to His Species: Henry Bergh and the Birth of the Animal Rights Movement — Ernest Freeberg — Find editions at Open Library

Specific to the development of cruelty laws

1641 — Massachusetts Body of Liberties, Sections 92–93
1822 — Martin’s Act — Great Britain —
1860s onward — State anti-cruelty laws and humane-society enforcement reports
1915 — The Law and Cruelty to Animals — Frank H. Tabor
1968 — Animals and Their Legal Rights: A Survey of American Laws from 1641 to 1968 — Emily Stewart Leavitt / Animal Welfare Institute — Later editions expanded the survey as American animal law developed. Find editions through Open Library
1993 — “The Development of Anti-Cruelty Laws During the 1800s” — David Favre and Vivien Tsang — Read through Michigan State University Animal Legal & Historical Center

Animal care

1845 — The Dog — William Youatt — Read free at Project Gutenberg
1860 — Dogs: Their Management; Being a New Plan of Treating the Animal, Based Upon a Consideration of His Natural Temperament — Edward Mayhew — Read free at Project Gutenberg
Late nineteenth century — The Dog and How to Break Him — Gordon Stables
1895 — The Dog in Health and in Disease — Wesley Mills Find the HathiTrust edition through the Online Books Page
1912 — The Horse, the Dog, and the Cat: Practical Treatment and Home Remedies for Animals — A. H. Baker
1927 — Pets and How to Keep Them — Frank Finn
1927 — Kennel Building and Plans — Will Judy
2018 — Prodigal Pets — Susan K. Houser — Read more at Out the Front Door

Pounds and the pound model, animal control

1860s–1900s — Municipal Board of Health annual reports — various cities Search digitized reports
1875 — A Manual of Veterinary Sanitary Science and Police — George Fleming Find digitized editions
Late nineteenth–early twentieth century — Municipal poundmaster, dog-catcher and police reports — various municipalities — Search historical pound records at Internet Archive
Late nineteenth–early twentieth century — ASPCA annual reports Search ASPCA reports
1910 — The Humane Movement: A Descriptive Survey — Roswell C. McCrea Read at HathiTrust
1924 — The Humane Movement in the United States, 1910–1922 — William J. Shultz Read free
1924 — Humane Society Leaders in America — Sydney H. Coleman Find through WorldCat
2019 — Mad Dogs and Other New Yorkers: Rabies, Medicine, and Society in an American Metropolis, 1840–1920 — Jessica Wang View at Johns Hopkins University Press
2024 — “Coming to Terms with the Legacies of the Pound Model in Animal Sheltering in the United States” — Katja M. Guenther — Read free through PubMed Central

Vivisection

1866 — Vivisection: Is It Necessary or Justifiable? — RSPCA prize essays — Explore Wellcome’s historical animal-welfare collection
1875 — The Moral Aspects of Vivisection — Frances Power Cobbe — Search Cobbe’s writings at Wellcome
1876 — Report of the Royal Commission on the Practice of Subjecting Live Animals to Experiments for Scientific Purposes Read at Wellcome Collection
1882 — The Ethics of Vivisection — William Benjamin Carpenter — Browse Wellcome’s vivisection collection
1882 — Vivisection: What Good Has It Done? — George Murray Humphry — Browse Wellcome’s vivisection collection
1883 — Light in Dark Places — Frances Power Cobbe — Read the digitized work at Wellcome Collection
1966 — Laboratory Animal Welfare Act — United States
1970 — Animal Welfare Act amendments — United States
2004 — Animal Welfare & Anti-Vivisection 1870–1910: Nineteenth Century Woman’s Mission — Susan Hamilton, editor — View at Wellcome Collection

Cats

1916 — The Domestic Cat: Bird Killer, Mouser and Destroyer of Wildlife — Edward Howe Forbush Find digitized editions at Internet Archive
1982 — Maverick Cats: Encounters with Feral Cats — Ellen Perry Berkeley
2004 — TNR Past, Present & Future: A History of the Trap-Neuter-Return Movement — Ellen Perry Berkeley
2019 — The Cat Men of Gotham: Tales of Feline Friendships in Old New York — Peggy Gavan
2023 — Alley Cat Rescue’s Guide to Managing Community Cats — Alley Cat Rescue — . Read the handbook

Euthanasia and shelter death

1868 onward — Our Dumb Animals — MSPCA Browse digitized volumes
Early twentieth century onward — National Humane Review — American Humane Association Search digitized volumes
Mid-twentieth century onward — Veterinary literature on barbiturate euthanasia, gas chambers and humane destruction — various authors — Search Internet Archive
1960s–1990s — Literature on spay/neuter and companion-animal population control — various authors — Search historical literature
1988 — “In the Name of Mercy” — Ed Duvin . Read the archived article PDF
1980s–1990s — Shelter population and “pet overpopulation” studies — various authors — Search digitized literature

No Kill and shelter reform

1988 — “In the Name of Mercy” — Ed Duvin — Read the article
2007 — Redemption: The Myth of Pet Overpopulation and the No Kill Revolution in America — Nathan J. Winograd Find editions through Open Library
2009 — Irreconcilable Differences: The Battle for the Heart and Soul of America’s Animal Shelters — Nathan J. Winograd — Find editions through Open Library
2012 — Shelter Medicine for Veterinarians and Staff, 2nd ed. — Lila Miller and Stephen Zawistowski, editors Find editions through Open Library
2024 — “Coming to Terms with the Legacies of the Pound Model in Animal Sheltering in the United States” — Katja M. Guenther — Read free through PubMed Central

Keeping pets

1983 — Man and the Natural World: Changing Attitudes in England 1500–1800 — Keith Thomas — Find editions through Open Library
1987 — The Animal Estate: The English and Other Creatures in the Victorian Age — Harriet Ritvo — Find editions through Open Library
1999 — The Culture of Pet-Keeping in America, 1850–1940 — Katherine C. Grier
2006 — Pets in America: A History — Katherine C. Grier
2012 — Animals and Society: An Introduction to Human-Animal Studies — Margo DeMello
2015 — Beastly Possessions: Animals in Victorian Consumer Culture — Sarah Amato
2018 — Prodigal Pets — Susan K. Houser — Visit the book’s website
2020 — A Traitor to His Species: Henry Bergh and the Birth of the Animal Rights Movement — Ernest Freeberg
2024 — Our Kindred Creatures: How Americans Came to Feel the Way They Do About Animals — Bill Wasik and Monica Murphy

Literature from the animal’s perspective:

1877 — Black Beauty: The Autobiography of a Horse — Anna Sewell — Read free at Project Gutenberg
1893 — Beautiful Joe: An Autobiography — Margaret Marshall Saunders — Read free at Wikisource
1936 — The Critter and Other Dogs — Albert Payson Terhune — Read the complete book free at Faded Page

Modern takes

1987 — The Animal Estate: The English and Other Creatures in the Victorian Age — Harriet Ritvo
1998 — Animal Rights: Political and Social Change in Britain Since 1800 — Hilda Kean — View the Wellcome catalog record
1999 — The Culture of Pet-Keeping in America, 1850–1940 — Katherine C. Grier
2006 — Pets in America: A History — Katherine C. Grier
2007 — Rabies in Britain: Dogs, Disease and Culture, 1830–2000 — Neil Pemberton and Michael Worboys — View through Springer
2012 — Rabid: A Cultural History of the World’s Most Diabolical Virus — Bill Wasik and Monica Murphy
2019 — Mad Dogs and Other New Yorkers: Rabies, Medicine, and Society in an American Metropolis, 1840–1920 — Jessica Wang — View at Johns Hopkins University Press
2019 — The Cat Men of Gotham: Tales of Feline Friendships in Old New York — Peggy Gavan
2020 — A Traitor to His Species: Henry Bergh and the Birth of the Animal Rights Movement — Ernest Freeberg
2024 — Our Kindred Creatures: How Americans Came to Feel the Way They Do About Animals — Bill Wasik and Monica Murphy
2024 — “Coming to Terms with the Legacies of the Pound Model in Animal Sheltering in the United States” — Katja M. Guenther — Read free

Periodicals and essays

1868 onward — Our Dumb Animals — George T. Angell / Massachusetts SPCA — Browse digitized issues
1879 — “Henry Bergh and His Work” — Scribner’s Monthly — Read the scanned article
Nineteenth century — Letters between Henry Bergh and P. T. Barnum — Read the correspondence through CUNY’s Lost Museum
1899 — “Saved From Hydrophobia: The Author’s Account of Treatment at the Pasteur Center” — E. H. Julian, The Wide World Magazine
Early twentieth century onward — National Humane Review — American Humane Association — Search digitized issues
1910 — The Humane Movement: A Descriptive Survey — Roswell C. McCrea — Read at HathiTrust
1924 — The Humane Movement in the United States, 1910–1922 — William J. Shultz — Download free
1924 — Humane Society Leaders in America — Sydney H. Coleman — View at WorldCat
1988 — “In the Name of Mercy” — Ed Duvin — Read the archived PDF
1993 — “The Development of Anti-Cruelty Laws During the 1800s” — David Favre and Vivien Tsang — Read at the Animal Legal & Historical Center
2017 — “Four Thousand Years of Concepts Relating to Rabies in Animals and Humans, Its Prevention and Its Cure” — Arnaud Tarantola — Read free through PubMed Central
2024 — “Coming to Terms with the Legacies of the Pound Model in Animal Sheltering in the United States” — Katja M. Guenther — Read free through PubMed Central

On rabies and hydrophobia:

18th century:

1702 — A Mechanical Account of Poisons — Richard Mead — Read free at Project Gutenberg
1723 — Sialologia Historico-Medica — Martin Schurig — Read at Wellcome Collection
1753 — An Essay on the Hydrophobia — Christopher Nugent — Find digitized copies at Internet Archive
1760 — A Treatise on Canine Madness — Robert James — Read at Open Library
1768 edition — An Essay on the Bite of a Mad Dog — Daniel Peter Layard — Read the free ebook at Google Play Books
Note: the work actually appeared earlier; library records document a 1762 edition, so 1768 should be treated as an edition date rather than the work’s first publication. University of York
1783 — An Essay on the Bite of a Mad Dog, in Which the Claim to Infallibility of the Principal Preservative Remedies Against the Hydrophobia Is Examined — John Berkenhout — Read the complete scanned book
1785 — Méthode de traiter les morsures des animaux enragés, et de la vipère — Joseph Enaux and François Chaussier — Search Wellcome Collection
1785 — Remarks on the Means of Obviating the Fatal Effects of the Bite of a Mad Dog — Robert Hamilton — Find digitized copies at Internet Archive
1787 — Avis sur les moyens pratiques de traiter les personnes qui ont été mordues par des animaux enragés — Antoine Portal — Search Wellcome Collection
1793 — A Case of Hydrophobia, Commonly Called Canine Madness, from the Bite of a Mad Dog, Successfully Treated — Thomas Arnold — Read free at Wellcome Collection
1798 — Remarks on Hydrophobia; or, The Disease Produced by the Bite of a Mad Dog, or Other Rabid Animal — Robert Hamilton — Read the digitized original

1800–1849

1808 — On Hydrophobia, Its Prevention and Cure: With a Description of the Different Stages of Canine Madness — Benjamin Moseley — Read at Google Books
1809 — A Treatise Explaining the Impossibility of the Disease Termed Hydrophobia, Being Caused by the Bite of Any Rabid Animal — Anonymous — Read the complete scan
1812 — Observations on Hydrophobia, Produced by the Bite of a Mad Dog, or Other Rabid Animal — James Thacher — Read or download the complete 1812 book at Wellcome Collection Google Books
1817 — Canine Pathology; or, A Description of the Diseases of Dogs — Delabere Blaine — Read at Wellcome Collection
1819 — A History of the Introduction and Use of Scutellaria Lateriflora (Scullcap) as a Remedy for Preventing and Curing Hydrophobia — Lyman Spalding — Read at Wellcome Collection
1822 — Observations on Hydrophobia: Wherein a Simple, Safe, and Effectual Method of Cure Is Pointed Out — James Rymer — Read the complete scan
1826 — A Treatise on Hydrophobia — Richard Pearson — Search Internet Archive for digitized editions
1830 — De Hydrophobia Spuria Sive Rabie Canina Spuria in Hominibus — Elias Oppenheim — Search Wellcome Collection
1845 — The Dog — William Youatt — Read free at Project Gutenberg

1850–1879

1865 — A Course of Lectures on Hydrophobia: Its History, Pathology, and Treatment — Thomas S. Holland / Thomas Crofts Shinkwin — Read at Wellcome Collection
1872 — Rabies and Hydrophobia: Their History, Nature, Causes, Symptoms, and Prevention — George Fleming — Read the complete book at Open Library
1874 — Hydrophobia: Means of Avoiding Its Perils and Preventing Its Spread — Henri-Marie Bouley — Read or download from the Library of Congress
1874 — Fact Against Fiction: The Habits and Treatment of Animals Practically Considered; Hydrophobia and Distemper — Grantley F. Berkeley — Search Internet Archive
1875 — A Manual of Veterinary Sanitary Science and Police — George Fleming — Find digitized editions through the Online Books Page
1878 — The Nature and Treatment of Rabies or Hydrophobia — Thomas M. Dolan / Medical Press and Circular — Read or download at Wellcome Collection

1880–1899:

1886 — Rabies in the Dog in Its Relation to Rabies in Man: With Especial Reference to Its Prevention and to Pasteur’s System of Preventive Inoculation — Frank S. Billings — Read free through NIH/PMC
1886 — Hydrophobia: M. Pasteur and His Methods: A Critical Analysis — Thomas M. Dolan — Find digitized copies at Internet Archive
1886 — Inoculation Against Hydrophobia — Louis Pasteur — Read the contemporary English text at Wikisource
1887 — Hydrophobia: An Account of M. Pasteur’s System — Renaud Suzor — Read the complete digitized book
1887 — Hydrophobia: An Account of M. Pasteur’s Method — Léon Labbé — search WorldCat/HathiTrust for library access.
1890 — Pasteur and Rabies — Thomas M. Dolan — Read at Wellcome Collection
1893 — Rabies and Hydrophobia — J. A. H. Caton — search HathiTrust, Internet Archive and research-library catalogs for a digitized copy.
1895 — Rabies—Hydrophobia — Theodore R. MacClure — Read or download from Biodiversity Heritage Library

1900–1949

1900 — Rabies and Hydrophobia — Daniel E. Salmon — Read Part I through NIH/PMC; Read Part II
1906 — The Etiology and Diagnosis of Hydrophobia — Anna Wessels Williams and May Murray Lowden — Read at Wellcome Collection
1909 — Studies in Rabies — Nathaniel Garland Keirle — Read or download the complete book at Wellcome Collection
1909 — L’étude expérimentale de la rage — Auguste Marie — Search Wellcome Collection
1911 — Rabies or Hydrophobia — John R. Mohler — Search Wellcome Collection
1923 — “Status of Rabies in the United States in 1921” — T. F. Sellers — Read the complete article free through NIH/PMC
1924 — Louis Pasteur — Samuel J. Holmes — Read the digitized book at Google Books
1928 — The Duration of Immunity in Dogs Following the Single-Injection Method of Anti-Rabic Vaccination — U.S. Department of Agriculture publication — Read the digitized copy at HathiTrust
1943 — Rabies — Leslie T. Webster — Read/view the digitized volume at HathiTrust

1950–1999

1969 — Guidelines for the Control of Rabies — Conference of Public Health Veterinarians Rabies Committee / American Public Health Association and collaborating agencies — View the 1969 publication record at Google Books. A closely related 1970 journal version by R. K. Sikes is also available free through NIH/PMC. Google Books
1975 — The Natural History of Rabies, Volumes I & II — edited by George M. Baer — View Volume I at ScienceDirect. The original two-volume reference was published by Academic Press in 1975. FAO AGRIS
1991 — The Natural History of Rabies, 2nd ed. — edited by George M. Baer — View the edition at Open Library
1995 — The Private Science of Louis Pasteur — Gerald L. Geison — Read/access through JSTOR

2000–Present:

2007 — Rabies in Britain: Dogs, Disease and Culture, 1830–2000 — Neil Pemberton and Michael Worboys — View the book through Springer
2012 — Rabid: A Cultural History of the World’s Most Diabolical Virus — Bill Wasik and Monica Murphy — Find editions at Open Library
2019 — Mad Dogs and Other New Yorkers: Rabies, Medicine, and Society in an American Metropolis, 1840–1920 — Jessica Wang — View the book at Johns Hopkins University Press

Digital Collections

Wellcome Collection — Rabies and Hydrophobia Collection — hundreds of historical books, pamphlets, dissertations, reports and medical publications. Browse the collection
Internet Archive — Rabies and Hydrophobia — Browse digitized historical books
Biodiversity Heritage Library — Rabies — particularly useful for veterinary medicine, animal-health publications and government reports. Search the collection
Library of Congress — Rabies and Hydrophobia — Search digitized holdings
Project Gutenberg — Rabies and Hydrophobia — useful for searchable, reflowable versions of older texts. Search the collection
HathiTrust Digital Library — Rabies and Hydrophobia — particularly useful for U.S. government reports, public-health publications and early-20th-century scientific literature. Search HathiTrust