Barking at the Knot

Barking at the Knot

Understanding the hidden history of animal services

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  • 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
  • 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.

    Audrey Lodato

    November 5, 2025
    1890s, 1900s, Animal Welfare
    animal control, Animal Welfare, animals, Bands of Mercy, Cats, dogs, George Angell, history, Humane Movement, Kittens, Manhattan, Midnight Band of Mercy, Midnight Bands of MErcy, New York City, print media, Rabies, Sarah Edwards, Stray cats, strays
  • The Poster Primer

    In 1924, The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, in conjunction with the New York Women’s League for Animals, held a poster contest for children to promote kindness to animals. While contests like this were common, the preservation of the posters themselves were not. However, the winning posters from this particular batch…

    Audrey Lodato

    October 29, 2025
    1920s, Animal Welfare
    animal control, animal services, Animal Welfare, animals, ASPCA, Board of Education, Cats, Children’s Art, dogs, history, horses, Humane education, Humane Movement, Humane Society, hydrophobia, New York City, New York Women’s League for Animals, pets, Poster Contest, Poster Primer, Rabies, strays
  • 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
  • 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.

    Audrey Lodato

    October 15, 2025
    1890s, Animal Welfare
    American Anti-Vivisection Society, American Humane Association, animal control, Animal rights, animal shelters, Animal Welfare, animal welfare history, animals, Anti-vivisection, ASPCA, Caroline Earle White, Cats, dogs, experimentation, history, hydrophobia, mary Frances Lovell, New York Tribune, PSPCA, Rabies, shelter animals, Shelter pets, the humane movement, Vivisection, WBPSPCA
  • Animals Make The Papers – Odd Stories from 1896

    Strange and unusual stories from the papers of 1896

    Audrey Lodato

    October 10, 2025
    1890s, Animal Welfare
    animal control, ASPCA, Bears, Biting, bonus content, Cats, dogs, history, hydrophobia, Justice, newspapers, pets, Rabies, Strange content, Vivisection
  • 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.

    Audrey Lodato

    October 7, 2025
    1890s, Animal Welfare
    1895, 1896, animal shelters, Animal Welfare, animal-rescue, animals, Annual Report, ASPCA, Brooklyn, Cats, dogs, history, Humane Movement, hydrophobia, Killing of pets, Manhattan, New York City, pets, Rabies, Victorian america, Victorian New York
  • 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.

    Audrey Lodato

    October 2, 2025
    1870s, 1880s, 1890s, Animal Welfare
    animal control, Animal Welfare, animals, anime, ASPCA, books, Cats, Children, Dear Letterbox, dogs, featured, history, horses, John P. Haines, Kids, Kittens, life, New York City, Our Animal Friends, strays, the humane movement, writing
  • President’s Report, Women’s Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

    The topics covered in the President’s report of the Women’s SPCA in 1909 covered all manner of topics – A paper on hydrophobia, a committee comprised of women overseeing animal control officers in Philadelphia, the management of bequests, and a very dark cartoon.

    Audrey Lodato

    September 24, 2025
    1900s, Animal Welfare
    1910, animal control, Animal Welfare, animals, Anti-vivisection, Caroline Earle White, dogs, Edwardian, Edwardian History, Guilded Age, history, Humane Movement, hydrophobia, Pennsylvania, Periodical, pets, The journal of Zoophily, Women, Zoophily
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