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Barking at the Knot

Barking at the Knot

Understanding the hidden history of animal services

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  • Horse Drinking Fountains

    Drinking fountains for horses held an interesting place in the humane movement, both philanthropically and practically.

    Audrey Lodato

    March 20, 2026
    Animal Welfare
    animal control, Animal Welfare, animals, Architecture, ASPCA, Cats, dogs, Drinking fountains, early city design, Ensign Fountains, history, Horse drinking fountains, horses, pets, Philanthrophy, the humane movement
  • The Difficulty with Transparency in Animal Services

    Unpacking the history behind why we have such a hard time being transparent as a movement.

    Audrey Lodato

    March 13, 2026
    Animal Welfare
    animal control, Animal services employees, Animal Welfare, animal welfare history, animals, ASPCA, carolinas unite, Cats, data transparency, dog, dog catching, dogs, Euthanasia, history, hydrophobia, killing, no birth, No kill, pets, Rabies, Resources, solutions, Transparency
  • The Barbarites Inflicted Upon Brute Creation: Henry Bergh’s Complete Lecture in Albany

    A breakdown of Henry Bergh’s first cruelty laws and the entirety of his lecture in Albany in 1867.

    Audrey Lodato

    March 3, 2026
    1860s
    advocacy, animal control, Animal cruelty laws, Animal sheltering, Animal Welfare, ASPCA, Barking at the Knot, Early Animal welfare, Henry Bergh, Henry Bergh Albany Lecture, history, horses, hydrophobia, legislation, New York Act Anti-Cruelty, Rabies, scripture, TheBarbarites Inflicted Upon Brute Creation
  • 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
  • Animals in the Service of Man: A Humane Education Video from 1944

    Animals in the Service of Man was an educational video for children produced by the American Humane Association and shown as part of the humane ed curriculum in the 1940s.

    Audrey Lodato

    January 13, 2026
    1940s, Animal Welfare
    28 hour law, 36 hour law, AHA, animal control, Animal Education, Animal rights, animal shelters, Animal Welfare, animals, Animals in the Service of Man, ASPCA, beef industry, cats cows, Cattle, Children and pets, dog, Dog bathing, dogs, George Woolsey, health, history, Humane Ed, Humane education, hydrophobia, Old moves, Old movies, pets, Rabies, teaching, World War Two, writing
  • The Resignation of John P. Haines: The Henry Bergh Humane Society, Part Five

    The conclusion of the tale of the Henry Bergh Humane Society – John P. Haines resigns amid pressure from the press and advocates.

    Audrey Lodato

    December 9, 2025
    1900s, Animal Welfare
    1904, 1905, 1906, advocacy, American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, animal control, Animal Welfare, animals, ASPCA, dogs, Gilded Age, health, history, Hiumane Movement, Humane reform, Muckracking, politics, print media, The Henry Bergh Humane Society, The Reformers Association ASPCA, 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
  • Plans for Aggressive Work Well Developed: The Henry Bergh Humane Society, Part Three

    With an agenda set for work and a plan to bring a bill forward to challenge the A.S.P.C.A.’s right to be the sole provider of services in New York, The Henry Bergh Humane Society sets a path for it’s future.

    Audrey Lodato

    November 20, 2025
    1900s, Animal Welfare
    1900s, advocacy, animal control, Animal Welfare, animals, articles, ASPCA, christianity, dogs, Early ASPCA History, history, Humane Movement, Muckraking, New York City, pets, politics, Rabies, The ASPCA, the Henry Bergh Society, writing
  • S.P.C.A. Votes Confidence in President J.P. Haines: The Henry Bergh Society part 2

    If you’ve ever made a public statement as a result of accusations made against your organization, you may appreciate the statement the ASPCA made in support of John P. Haines in 1904.

    Audrey Lodato

    November 14, 2025
    1900s, Animal Welfare
    advocacy, Angry Advocates, animal control, Animal Welfare, animals, ASPCA, dogs, history, hydrophobia, John P. Haines, New York City, pets, Rabies, The Henry Bergh Humane Society
  • “Those Dissatisfied with the Conduct of Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals”: The Henry Bergh Society, Part One

    Advocacy can get ugly. Read about the Henry Bergh Humane Society and their efforts to oust A.S.P.C.A. President John P. Haines from his post in the early 1900s.

    Audrey Lodato

    November 12, 2025
    1900s, Animal Welfare
    animal control, Animal Welfare, animal welfare history, animals, ASPCA, bible, books, Cats, christianity, dogs, genealogy, Henry Bergh, history, Humane Law, Humane Movement, hydrophobia, Investigative journalism, Muckracking, New York City, pets, The Henry Bergh Humane Society
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