Barking at the Knot

Barking at the Knot

Understanding the hidden history of animal services

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  • 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
  • Recommendations for Stray Dog Control in Relationship to Rabies: 1942

    Mass vaccination of dogs to prevent rabies still wasn’t recommended by scientists in 1942. Learn why.

    Audrey Lodato

    January 8, 2026
    1940s, Animal Welfare
    1940s animal welfare, 1942, animal control, animal control officers, Animal Control ordiances, Animal Welfare, animals, Cats, dog, dogs, health, history, Humane Movement, hydrophobia, Pasteur treatment, pets, Rabies, rabies ordinances, Stray dogs, stray pets, strays
  • Do Not Be Alarmed if Your Dog Has a Fit, Thinking Perhaps He Has Rabies

    Advice given to new pet owners in the 1928 issue of “Our Animals” included not washing the dog too much, and consulting with your vet before assuming the dog was rabid.

    Audrey Lodato

    January 1, 2026
    1920s, Animal Welfare
    Advice, animal control, Animal Welfare, animals, California, Cats, Christmas pets, dog, dogs, history, hydrophobia, Kittens, Louis Pasteur, Our Animals, pets, Puppies, Rabies, San Fransisco, Veterinary Medicine, Zoomies
  • The History of Pets as Gifts: It’s Complicated.

    The controversy around giving pets as gifts didn’t develop for the reasons you might think. Check out how the concept has been viewed and how it has changed over the last 100 years.

    Audrey Lodato

    December 18, 2025
    Animal Welfare
    1990s, Accountability, animal control, Animal Welfare, animal welfare history, animals, Cats, dog, dogs, history, pets, Pets as gifts, Rabies, Spay and neuter, the humane movement
  • The Carlson Dog and Cat Procurement Law in California, 1952-1953

    In 1952, the Dog Defenders League waged an advertising campaign against laws allowing pets to be taken from shelters for the purpose of vivisection.

    Audrey Lodato

    December 5, 2025
    1950s, Animal Welfare
    1950s, Advertising, animal control, Animal History, animal shelter history, animal shelters, Animal Welfare, animals, Carlson law, Cats, Dissection, dog, dogs, history, hydrophobia, Laboratory animals, National Dog Week, pets, Pound Procurement laws, Rabies, Vivisection
  • Number of Dogs Removed: 201

    The history of intakes as a measure of a shelter’s success continues to influence the way we perceive the most important functions of animal services.

    Audrey Lodato

    October 22, 2025
    1900s, Animal Welfare
    ACOs, advocacy, american history, Animal Advocacy, animal control, Animal Rights History, animal shelter, animal shelter history, Animal sheltering, animal shelters, Animal Welfare, animal welfare history, animal-rights, animals, ASPCA, barking-at-the-knot, books, Cats, Compassionate animal care, Cruelis, Cruelism, cruelty, dog, dog catcher, Dog catchers, dogs, Early animal welfare movement, Ethics, Euthanasia, evolution, health, Henry Bergh, historical policy, history, History of Animal Welfare, Humane education, Humane exhibits., Humane Movement, hydrophobia, Impeachment, industrial revolution, John P. Haines, leaders, level setting, Livesaving, mandatory impoundment, Mercy to Animals, Morals, municipal shelter, New York City, new york times, news, newspapers, Periodicals, pets, philosophy, pound, Printing Press, Progress, public private partnerships, Rabies, Raising the bar, shelter intake, Shelter Reform, Social media, societal change, societal expectations, storytelling, strays, the future, the humane movement, The Importance of Level Setting in Animal Welfare, writing
  • 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.

    Audrey Lodato

    September 18, 2025
    1890s, Animal Welfare
    ACOs, animal control, animal control officers, animal services, Animal sheltering, animal shelters, Animal Welfare, animal welfare history, animals, Cats, dog, Dog licenses, dog pounds, dogs, history, hydrophobia, licenses, new york, New York City, pets, Pounds, Rabies, Stray dogs, strays, the humane movement
  • 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.

    Audrey Lodato

    September 17, 2025
    1890s, Animal Welfare
    #HenryBergh #ASPCAHistory #AmericanHumane #19thCenturyActivism #VictorianEra #AnimalWelfarePioneers #HumaneMovement, animal control, animal shelter history, animal shelters, Animal Welfare, animal welfare history, animals, ASPCA, Brooklyn, Cats, dog, dogs, Henry Bergh, history, hydrophobia, john p haines, New York City, pets, pound, Pounds, Rabies, stray dog, strays
  • Early No Kill

    Early no kill language first showed up in the media in the 1970s. How its use evolved is important to our perception of the no kill movement today.

    Audrey Lodato

    September 3, 2025
    1970s, 1980s, Animal Welfare
    1970s, 1980s, advocacy, animal control, Animal Welfare, animals, ASPCA, Cats, dog, dogs, history, Humane Movement, hydrophobia, in the name of Mercy, Massachusetts, No kill, pets, Rabies
  • An Unfortunate Series of Events (or Why We Impound Every Stray)

    Before a treatment for rabies, all stray dogs were widely regarded to be dangerous. Learn how the industrial revolution and tenement housing influenced how we chose to impound dogs, and how that effects us today.

    Audrey Lodato

    August 6, 2025
    Animal Welfare
    animal control, Animal sheltering, Animal Welfare, animals, ASPCA, Caroline Earle White, dog, dogs, George Angell, Henry Bergh, history, industrial revolution, mandatory impoundment, Massachusetts, pets, Rabies, travel, Urbanization
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