Great news! Last week the ASPCA teamed up with animal shelters in Louisiana, Tennessee and New Jersey to help find homes for 43 dogs.

The transport—which began at the LA/SPCA in New Orleans—made a pit stop at AnimalWorks, a spay/neuter clinic in Tennessee where staff helped walk and care for the dogs. The transporters then delivered their precious cargo to St. Hubert’s in New Jersey. The dogs, including a nine-month-old, 118-pound Great Dane puppy named Leo, now have a better chance at finding a home.

“In much of the South where euthanasia rates are high, there are no shelters that can help these animals.  The most viable solution is to transport them to areas of where they are most likely to be adopted,” explains Sandy Monterose, ASPCA Senior Director of Community Outreach.

How Does It Work?
This week’s transport operation is the first of several between the LA/SPCA and St. Hubert’s in the coming months. Each transport will bring approximately 40-60 dogs from the Southeast—where there is an oversupply—to shelters in the Northeast, where dogs are in higher demand. The ASPCA Animal Relocation Initiative will fund all the transports.

“The ASPCA Relocation Initiative works collaboratively to help animals at risk, moving them to where they have the greatest opportunity to find a home,” says Monterose. “We’re happy we can help.”

Special thanks to St. Hubert’s and partners for providing a second chance for these dogs!

Few causes are able to unite people such as Lorenzo Borghese from ABC’s The Bachelor, actors Bo Derek and John Corbett, school children and animal welfare organizations, but all of them got together last week to participate in the “Horses on the Hill” event on Capitol Hill. The ASPCA was proud to co-host with the Animal Welfare Institute and The Humane Society of the United States publicly urge legislators to stop our nation’s horses from being slaughtered at home or abroad.

The ASPCA’s very special guest at Horses on the Hill, nine-year-old Declan Gregg of New Hampshire, has created an organization and blog called Children 4 Horses. Declan spoke eloquently about the urgency of protecting our horses. He was joined by Senators Mary Landrieu and Scott Brown as well as Representatives Jim Moran, Ed Whitfield and David Rivera—all of whom spoke strongly to the need for passing a ban on horse slaughter.

Killing American horses for human consumption is simply not acceptable. The ASPCA’s founder, Henry Bergh, loved all animals, but initially focused his efforts on stopping horse abuse. Mr. Bergh would not have been surprised by the people who turned out in D.C. to help horses because he believed animal protection was an issue that crossed party lines and class boundaries. More than 140 years have passed since Mr. Bergh founded the ASPCA, but our commitment to horse protection remains steadfast.

Take Action

Horses in this country are in grave danger, and they need your help! You can make a difference by contacting your Congress members to request that they cosponsor and support the American Horse Slaughter Prevention Act.