April 10th marked the one hundred and fortieth anniversary of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. I read up on the history of the organization and was amazed at what I found!
The ASPCA was founded by Henry Bergh, a man who came to be known around New York City as “The Great Meddler”. He was a diplomat who first became involved in fighting inhumanity toward animals while overseas at a post in Russia. In 1866, Bergh created the ASPCA and was given the right to enforce anti-cruelty laws by the state of New York.
Bergh wrote this about his work: “Day after day I am in slaughterhouses, or lying in wait at midnight with a squad of police near some dog pit. Lifting a fallen horse to his feet, penetrating buildings where I inspect collars and saddles for raw flesh, then lecturing in public schools to children, and again to adult societies. Thus my whole life is spent.”
Some amazing achievements:
- 1867: The ASPCA operates the first ambulance for injured horses
- 1875: The ASPCA creates a sling for use in horse rescue
- 1912: The ASPCA opens a hospital for animals
- 1918: The ASPCA helps develop the use of anesthesia in surgery. That same year, doctors at the ASPCA hospital performed an unheard of knee surgery on an injured horse.
- 1948: The ASPCA begins marking dogs with Identacode, an identification tattoo to help recover lost pets.
- 1961: The ASPCA hospital performs the first open-heart surgery on a dog.
Over the course of their hundred-year contract with the state of New York, the ASPCA made some amazing improvements. In 1928, the per-capita euthanasia rate was 511 dogs and cats for every ten thousand people; by 1994, the rate dropped to 53 per ten thousand people. In 1896, 654 dogs and 163 cats were adopted from ASPCA shelters; these days, the number of pets adopted yearly is in the thousands.
Celebrate the ASPCA’s one hundred and fortieth anniversary this year! You can make a donation online at www.aspca.org, or buy an orange ribbon magnet for your car or tee shirt for your dog. Maybe in another hundred years or so, animal cruelty will just be a history lesson.