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Great news! This week members of Congress reintroduced legislation to establish greater federal oversight of puppy mills and online dog sales.

The Puppy Uniform Protection and Safety (PUPS) Act would require commercial breeders who sell their puppies directly to the public, sight unseen, including via the web, to be licensed and inspected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Currently, only breeders who sell dogs to pet stores or to puppy brokers are subject to federal oversight.

Many puppies sold online come from puppy mills and are commonly bred in unsanitary, overcrowded and often cruel conditions without sufficient veterinary care, food, water or socialization. While facilities that breed puppies for commercial resale through pet stores are required to be licensed and inspected, breeders who sell directly to consumers, via the Internet, newspaper classifieds or other outlets, are exempt from any federal oversight.

“As the ASPCA has seen firsthand, the photos of happy, healthy puppies posted on a breeder’s website often grossly misrepresent what conditions are really like for these puppies and their parents,” says Nancy Perry, Senior Vice President of ASPCA Government Relations. “Puppy mills are able to completely evade federal oversight by taking advantage of a pre-Internet loophole in current law, but the PUPS Act would change that.”

As mentioned in USA Today, the PUPS Act will require that any breeder who sells more than 50 dogs each year to pet stores or online must meet federal standards.

“The current loophole has allowed too many dog breeders to get away with abusive behavior for far too long,” adds Cori Menkin, Senior Director of the ASPCA’s Puppy Mill Campaign. “We encourage Congress and the USDA to take meaningful steps to protect dogs in commercial breeding facilities.”

To learn more about the ASPCA’s efforts to eradicate puppy mills, and how you can help, please visit www.nopetstorepuppies.com.

We can feel it in the air—spring is just around the corner! What’s a better way to celebrate the return of warm weather than to lace up your running shoes and hit the trail for some fresh air? Whether you prefer to run, walk or ride your bike, there’s a unique way you can put your time outdoors to good use—join Team ASPCA!

Presented by Subaru, Team ASPCA is a national endurance training and fundraising program dedicated to helping animal lovers walk, run or cycle toward helping the save animal lives nationwide. Team ASPCA members participate in major endurance events such as marathons, half-marathons, and cycling events.

In addition to helping us do our life-saving work for animals, there are other benefits to joining the Team. You’ll receive professional training, weekend travel accommodations at the time of the event, guaranteed race entry, official Team ASPCA gear and access to exclusive race weekend events and parties.

Ready to get started? Good news—there are a few exciting events coming up! First, there’s the NYC Half Marathon on March 17, the TD Five Boro Bike Tour on May 5 and the Santa Barbara Wine Country Half Marathon on May 11.

Registration for each of these events is sold out, but you can still participate by joining Team ASPCA and racing with us.  Get active for a great cause this spring!

Dog fighting is a huge problem, and sometimes it can seem that you can’t do much to help as an individual. But there are a few things you can do to stop it now, and we really need your help.

Why? Take it from those of us who have seen dog fighting compounds first-hand: Life as a dog used for fighting is a nightmare.

They live chained up or in a tiny cage. They don’t get the veterinary care they need. They die in the ring or are unceremoniously shot for losing. Some are used as “bait” for other dogs. Some have litter after litter. Some starve. Some go without water for days.

Odds are that dog fighting is happening in your state right now. We need your help to stop it. Give dog fighting victims three minutes of your time?

1. Ask your U.S. representative to support the Animal Fighting Spectator Prohibition Act.

The Animal Fighting Spectator Prohibition Act, introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on January 23, would make it a federal offense to knowingly attend an organized animal fight and would impose additional penalties for bringing children to animal fights. Violators would face up to one year in prison for attending a fight, and up to three years in prison for bringing a minor to a fight.

You can help the bill along by contacting your rep. We’ve made it easy at the ASPCA Advocacy Center, and we promise it only takes a few minutes, tops.

2. Download our new anti-dog fighting toolkit for citizen advocates.

If you’re as horrified by dog fighting as we are, and you think you might want to commit more time to stopping dog fighting in the near future, download our new toolkit developed with the U.S. Department of Justice. It’s got everything you need to know to get more involved. (We admit, actually reading it will take more than three minutes, but you get the idea.)

3. Fight Pit Bull prejudice via social media.

Pit Bulls and dogs who look like Pit Bulls get a bad rap because of their reputation as fighting dogs. Fight it by becoming a tireless advocate for them on your social networks. Start by posting the profile of a cute, adoptable Pit Bull-type dog on Facebook (we suggest Pet of the Week Champion) or sharing a happy tail about a Pit.

You can even share the story of a rehabilitated ex-fighting dog, like Ninja or Dragon.

Oh, and of course, a bonus fourth thing you can do: Share this post on your social networks.

Easy, right? Together we can make a huge difference, and to the dogs who are suffering right now at the hands of fighters, it means the world.  

To learn about a few more ways to fight back against blood sports, view our 10 ways to help end dog fighting and get educated about the issue on our dog fighting page.

On behalf of the dogs, thank you!

This Valentine’s Day, we invite you to make a difference for shelter pets in need. It’s easy! Simply share a virtual Valentine’s Day card pet adoption. Here’s how:

1. Choose one (or all!) of our special Valentine’s Day cards pet adoptions.

2. Share the card on your Facebook wall so all your friends can see—and ask them to share the card, too.

3. You can also post the card directly on your friend’s wall—simply save the image to your computer and upload it as a special post.

4. Feel free to share the cards on Twitter, Google+ or via email.

What’s the big idea? We hope people who see these cards will consider adopting a shelter pet of their own. Spread the love today!