Author: SPCAI Staff

The Lacasse Family

"It was a very long 3 week journey for her and we missed her like crazy, but she is here and settling well. I have attached a few pictures of her and I want to thank you all again soooooo much for this generous gift. We are truly blessed to have had the support to help bring our beloved family member from overseas. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!"

The Lay Family

"We would like to thank SPCA International for the generous grant . Oliver made it to Germany safety. The grant was a blessing to our family. Oliver is loving our new home and we have taken a family trip to Berlin."

The Beisner Family

"Shiloh is home with us here in Hawaii. We are all setting in and have finally finished unpacking. Thank you again to this amazing organization for all they did to keep our little family together. This picture was taken on New Year's Day of us all together with our 'shy guy'."

The Lasater Family

"I received the grant this morning. We are so thankful for the help and happy to have our pets with us here at the new duty station! Thank you for this and the work that you do!"

The Alford Family

"The SPCAI OMP [program] is an amazing organization! It means so much to us military families to have our furry family move with us as we move from base to base. We can't thank the SPCA OMP for working to help raise money to transport our bulldog with us to Japan. Just a little money goes a long way to help keep our family complete."

These are just a few families out of the over 800 families that SPCA International has been able to assist over the last 4 years. The cost of pet transportation can costs thousands of dollars, these families have felt this financial strain. Through the Operation Military Pets program, SPCA International will continue to keep these military families together and pets out of shelters. 

By Meredith Ayan, Executive Director

In 2013, a team from SPCA International traveled to Barcelona, Spain, to meet with our partner organization, SOS Galgos. For years they have been working to stop the torture of Spanish Greyhounds (galgos) in Spain. Since that first field work trip, the partnership between SPCAI and SOS Galgos has blossomed into a force fighting for ending the practice of hare coursing in Spain. 

Over the years we have been on the front lines of this issue. From protesting through the streets of Barcelona to speaking at the Congress of Deputies in Madrid we have seized opportunities to speak out against this cruel practice. 

Around the world, the most important component to ending cruelty toward animals is humane education. It has always been an important piece of SOS Galgos work. Now, after 4 years of planning, SOS Galgos is proud to announce they have broken ground (VIDEO) on a humane education center in Esplugues near Barcelona; the first of its kind anywhere in the world. They have been granted land by the government to educate the community and encourage participation. SPCA International has pledged our largest Shelter Support Fund grant ever to ensure the future of this project – $40,000 over two years.  

I recently received this message from SOS Galgos founder, Anna Clements:

“First steps towards the construction of our very first education centre.

The first phase, of what has seemed like an obstacle race in order to set up our school in Esplugues, has begun. A substantial piece of land, granted to us by the local council, will serve as a school to help teach local children about responsible pet ownership as well as help people with special needs, the focus always being on rescued galgos whom will always be present at the school.

We have had to endure huge bureaucratic set backs but today, finally, machines were at work on the land to get some basic work started. 

Let's hope that this will be the start of a model that can be implanted all around Spain to contribute to improve the welfare of galgos, and all animals in general for that matter, for generations to come. 

Thanks to the grant given to us by SPCA International as well as your donations, we will be able to fund the rental of the [prefab] building, the fencing and the architect's fees.”

Together, SPCAI and SOS Galgos will continue to work to end the suffering of these beautiful, gentle animals. Community education will ensure that future generations have compassion and empathy toward animals and understand why the tradition of hare coursing with galgo and podenco are inhumane. Together we are making our world a better place.

To add your voice, please sign our Spanish Greyhound petition encouraging the government to outlaw this cruel practice. 

By Lori Kalef, SPCAI Staff

There is nothing warm and cozy about cuddling with a blanket or wearing a jacket made from down.  

While not every company uses the 'live plucking' method, a very large percentage does, the better part originating from China (80%).  The typical process of plucking feathers is excruciatingly painful for geese and ducks.  The birds are live-plucked for the first time at about ten weeks old, and are plucked again four to six times a year until they are sent to slaughter at about four years old.  The workers hoist them up by their necks, their legs get tied, and their feathers are pulled out in large chunks in a process that the industry refers to as "ripping"; the birds struggle and panic, sometimes even breaking limbs in an attempt to escape. 

Luckily you can help eradicate this trade by not purchasing anything made from down and in this day and age there are so many warm and stylish alternatives! One of the most common down alternatives is the use of blown fibers and fiber balls. These fibers are blown inside the garment in a very similar manner to how down feathers are added. These down alternatives provide an entirely similar degree of softness and warmth similar as that of down. You often can’t tell the difference, and you might even prefer the alternative in a blind test.

One stand-out down alternative brand called “Save the Duck” is a smart and ethical company that looks to the future, not just to capture the new trends, but to strive for a shared objective: living in a totally animal-cruelty-free world. Their products are 100% animal free and do not utilize feathers, leather, hide or fur.

On Outside Online you can find a comprehensive list of down alternative outerwear, check out it out! 

By Emma Koeniger, SPCAI Staff

November is a month of celebration for all of us here at SPCA International because we distributed our 800^th Operation Military Pets (OMP) grant this month. In 2013, SPCA International recognized that shelters around military bases in the U.S. and all over the world were experiencing high surrender rates. Upon further research we identified that many military families were forced to surrender their beloved furry family members when they were unable to afford the high costs of transporting them to their next duty station when receiving Permanent Change of Station orders. Starting in April of 2013 SPCA International gave its first OMP grant to a family with 2 dogs traveling from California to Germany and by the end of the year this new program had helped 121 families (39 cats, 161 dogs and 1 horse) stay together.

As word of this program spread, need grew and by 2015, SPCAI set a higher goal of distributing at least $15,000.00 in grants each month to military families in need of help with pet transportation costs. We have assisted families moving to South Korea, Australia, Bahrain, South Africa and Norway just to name a few. These 800 families have been comprised of 208 cats, 993 dogs, 1 bunny, 3 horses and 1 bird. SPCA International will continue to help even more amazing military families in the coming year!