Barking at the Knot

Barking at the Knot

Understanding the hidden history of animal services

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  • The Arsenic Club: Blackmail and Horse Poisoners, Part three

    The conclusion of the animal cruelty case revolving around a gang of blackmailers and horse poisoners called “The Arsenic Club.”

    Audrey Lodato

    February 7, 2026
    1910s
    animal control, Animal control investigations, Animal Cruelty, Animal sheltering, Animal Welfare, animals, Barking at the Knot, Blackmail, Crime, dogs, Extortion, gangs, history, horse poisoning, horses, New York City, newspapers, pets, Rabies, Sing Sing, the humane movement
  • The Arsenic Club: Blackmail and Horse Poisoners, Part two

    Part two of the this early cruelty investigation surrounding a gang of horse poisoners in 1910.

    Audrey Lodato

    January 30, 2026
    1910s
    ACOs, animal control, Animal Welfare, animals, Blackmail, cruelty, Cruelty investigations, history, Horse Poisoners, horse poisoning, horses, Humane Law, Investigations, writing
  • The Arsenic Club: Blackmail and Horse Poisoners, Part 1

    What did early cruelty investigations look like? Here’s one: A gang of horse poisoners going by the name The Arsenic Club set a reign of terror on the east side of Manhattan in 1909, killing more than 500 horses in just three months.

    Audrey Lodato

    January 19, 2026
    1900s, 1910s, Animal Welfare
    animal control, Animal Welfare, animals, Arsenic Club, ASPCA, Blackmail, Crime, Cruelty Investigation, Delivery Drivers History, dogs, East Side, Gilded Age, history, Horse Poisoners, horses, Humane Movement, hydrophobia, Manhattan, New York City, New York City Animal History, NYPD, pets, Poisoning, Police, Rabies, Sheffield Dairy, Star Ice Cream, The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, The Apple Gang, The Arsenic Club, True Crime, writing
  • “Lay Low and Say Nuffin’”: The Henry Bergh Humane Society, Part Four

    A bill is introduced in Albany to give the Henry Bergh Humane Society the legal right to enforce the law in New York City. Opinions in the papers heat up.

    Audrey Lodato

    November 26, 2025
    1910s, Animal Welfare
    A.S.P.C.A., Albany, animal control, Animal Welfare, animals, ASPCA, Barking at the Knot, Cats, dogs, Gilded Age, history, horses, Humane Movement, hydrophobia, John P. Haines, Muckracking, news, pets, politics, Rabies, The Henry Bergh Humane Society, The Newspapers, writing
  • The Red Star

    The American Red Star set the stage for disaster response during World War one. Learn about the foundations of this division of the American Humane Association.

    Audrey Lodato

    July 23, 2025
    1910s, 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, Animal Welfare
    American Humane Association, Animal Welfare, animals, Disaster response, dogs, history, pets, The Red Star, War effort, World War One
  • The Dog Fancier

    Dog breeding and it’s relationship to the humane movement and to animal shelters is complex and storied. Take a look at a 1910 issue of The Dog Fancier, a magazine meant for pure-bred enthusiasts and gain perspective on the origins of purebreds in America.

    Audrey Lodato

    July 15, 2025
    1910s, Animal Welfare
    animal control, Animal Welfare, animals, Cats, dog, Dog Fancy, Dog fighting, dogs, history, pets, Pit Bulls, Purebred dogs, Purebreds
  • “Automatic Electric Cage”

    The humane movement never began with the intention to provide live outcomes. It began with the intention to provide humane death.

    Audrey Lodato

    May 27, 2025
    1910s, Animal Welfare
    Animal Advocacy, animal control, Animal Welfare, animal-rights, animals, cruelty, dogs, evolution, health, history, Humane Movement, Massachusetts, pets, Rabies, Zoophily

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