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Sarah Edwards and The Midnight Band of Mercy
In 1893, a group of well meaning cat ladies set upon Manhattan, chloroforming thousands of stray cats to death. This is the story of Sarah Edwards and the Midnight Bands of Mercy.
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Elsie Booth: No Dog Secured For Bone Grafting
In 1897, a small child permanently disfigured by a fall set off a debate about vivisection in the New York Tribune when doctors wanted to use dog bones from a shelter dog to repair her legs.
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A Shelter for Animals – The First Annual Report
Five months after the opening of the Shelter for Animals in Brooklyn, the ASPCA issued their thirtieth annual report. It contained some of the first ever intake and outcome data for shelters.
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Dear Letter-Box
Dear Letter-Box was a column featured in the ASPCA’s monthly periodical, “Our Animal Friends.” This column featured letters from children, and provides a glimpse into how children perceived both pets and the humane movement.
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Pussy Must Be Tagged; The S.P.C.A. Now Collects Dog Licenses
In 1895 as part of the transition to a public-private partnership to take on animal control, the ASPCA began enforcing the new dog licensing laws in New York City. Understanding why it happened is crucial to understanding why we still do it.
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A Shelter for Animals
In 1895, the ASPCA had taken over animal control for the city of New York. This cemented a path for a more humane model of public – private partnership. Tour their shelter via a New York Times article.
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In Their Own Words
As the humane movement began to establish itself and spread westward, with humane societies establishing themselves alongside new states, we see a frequently used tactic in the efforts to educate around appropriate treatment for animals; Stories and literature written from the first hand perspective of the animal themselves. The theory was that through anthropomorphism, empathy…
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Hydrophobia and the Early Role of Health Departments in Dog Licensing
Rabies had a lot more to do with the reason that we license dogs than you might think. Licensing is solving for a problem we no longer have – find out why.
Barking at the Knot
Understanding the hidden history of animal services
Barking at the Knot 