Category: Executive Blog

By Meredith Ayan, Executive Director

Animal surrender is a subject that breaks hearts and makes tempers fly. A recent story of a police officer who dumped his retired police dog, Ringo, in a shelter left me shocked and heartbroken. The sad truth is, this officer did what many people do, but it became a news story because of Ringo’s unique history.

Most people would never surrender a pet, and we know those who do usually feel they have no other choice and can no longer care for their animal. However, when all other options have been exhausted there are some important guidelines that people should follow. 

People struggling to keep their animals because of changed circumstances or any other reason should always contact the agency they adopted their pet from. Many adoption agencies have resources to help people keep their animals or can assist with re-homing to ensure the animal is placed in the best possible situation. In fact, this stipulation is outlined in most adoption agreements. 

Ringo, the retired police dog, is now living with his original trainer, who will provide the retirement Ringo deserves after 9 years of service. The officer that abandoned Ringo has been demoted, and the police department is conducting an internal investigation. 

We don’t know the circumstances surrounding this surrender, but we do know that police departments often don’t pay for retired K9’s ongoing care. Fortunately, the Retired Police Canine Foundation is an organization that assists with veterinary care and other expenses for retired K9 police officers. 

By Meredith Ayan, Executive Director

Just as every human is unique, every dog is unique, we each thrive in some situations, but struggle in others.

Many of us adopt dogs with unknown pasts that can lead to seemingly “out of the blue” behaviors under certain circumstances. It always hurts my heart to hear that a dog is surrendered, rehomed, or even euthanized because of aggressive behavior – early identification of behaviors that signal discomfort can help us head-off potentially aggressive behavior.  

Of course, before bringing a dog into your home, you should do your due diligence to make sure that your home is appropriate for the dog’s temperament, but issues can arise well after initial adoption. Let’s take a look at some behavior warning signs and how we can deal with them before real aggression begins.

First of all, it is important to understand that aggression is often a defense mechanism. Our dogs can’t tell us with words if they are hurting, anxious, or uncomfortable so if we don’t pick up on their signals, aggressive behavior can seem like it comes without a warning.

Warning signs that all is not well with your dog:

• Changes in body position- you know how your dog holds their ears and tail, how much white usually shows in their eyes, and how much of their teeth and gums are typically visible. Changes to any of these body positions are a good indicator that something isn’t right! Some of these signals are acute and some develop over time. For example, a drooping tail could mean an unnoticed injury or illness, while eyes showing more white than usual might be a fear response to an unknown visitor like a child who could pull hair or a man with a booming voice.
• Out-of-character behavior- if your dog is suddenly shaking, yawning, licking in excess, or biting themselves, these are sure signs your dog is uncomfortable. Sometimes all it takes is stepping back and thinking about how the dog’s situation may have changed. Are there new people or pets in the home? Have you changed your routine? Are the people in your home under more stress than usual? As dogs become part of our families they pick up on the many obvious and not-so-obvious changes that affect our households.
• Obvious waring signs- growling, snarling, and excessive barking are obvious warning signs that can lead to more serious aggression. Reprimanding for these behaviors may seem like the correct approach, but this can cause a dog to go from zero to ten in the future without ever displaying a warning. When your dog shows this kind of behavior, it is best to immediately change the situation to mitigate the behavior, then consider some of the following points.

How to address warning signs:

• Make sure your dog is healthy- proper veterinary care is critical to ensuring your dog is comfortable. Untreated pain from illness or injury can cause even the kindest of dogs to react aggressively.
• Training- most of us engage in dog-training when we first bring a new dog home, but there is never anything wrong with a refresher course. Professional dog trainers can often help identify and mitigate issues your dog is having.
• Exercise and stimulation- a bored dog easily becomes an anxious dog, and an anxious dog is more likely to exhibit aggressive behaviors. Appropriate toys and plenty of exercise can reduce stress and help dogs be their best.
• A safe place- this is one of the most important things. All dogs should have a safe place, like a crate, where they can go if they are uncomfortable. Without this option, dogs are often stuck in uncomfortable situations which can cause them to turn to aggression. Family members and guests should be taught to respect the dog’s “safe place”. 

In conclusion, I hope these tips are helpful to you and your furry friends! 

By Meredith Ayan, Executive Director

I am thrilled that Covergirl recently announced they have gone completely cruelty-free, making them the largest cosmetics company in the world to commit to this important standard.

This is an exciting step for cruelty-free beauty products, but I’m also pleased on a personal level. I haven’t used my favorite Covergirl All In One Mascara in years because of Covergirl’s past animal testing policy. Covergirl’s new policy means those of us committed to cruelty-free cosmetics now have more options than ever. 

Covergirl joins many other cruelty-free brands as Leaping Bunny certified, which means they and their suppliers engage in zero animal testing. Check out their list of cruelty-free home and beauty products, or you can download their app!

Another cruelty-free skincare brand I love is Pacifica. In addition to being cruelty-free, they also have other ways you can help the environment like a recycling program for used products. They’ll even send you a prepaid shipping label and give you a credit toward your next purchase. 

Today, more companies than ever are committing to kindness toward animals and the environment. Let’s hope more companies follow in Covergirl’s footsteps so we can all feel good about the products we buy!

By Meredith Ayan, Executive Director

I am so excited to share our recent accomplishment of surpassing $1 million in support for military families and their pets. The overwhelming feeling of this milestone is gratitude. Gratitude to all the people who support SPCA International through donations and advocacy, gratitude to our amazing staff team, and gratitude to our military members who sacrifice so much for the rest of us.

SPCA International’s Operation Military Pets program began in 2013 in response to the overwhelming number of animals surrendered near U.S. military bases. Despite wanting to keep their pets, many military families simply can’t afford the thousands of dollars it takes to transport pets to new duty stations.  

That $1 million breaks down like this:

1,808 animals at risk of surrender stayed with their families

1,405 grants to relocate pets for military families

1,473 dogs

324 cats

5 horses

5 bunnies

1 bird

We have helped relocate these pets to 20 different countries, across 6 continents

Thank you for your support of pets and military families through SPCA International. I am beyond proud that we have been able to make such a profound impact on the lives of so many animals at risk of surrender. I know it seems like a minor addition to a moving checklist, but military families are often relocated to far-flung locations with limited transportation, complicated laws and expensive requirements. We’ve seen bills of over $10,000 to transport just one or two pets from places like Guam, Japan and England. 

Through Operation Military Pets we are able to help with transportation costs associated with Permanent Change of Station orders. Grants are given based on the costs of transportation only, while military families are responsible for vaccines, health certificates, crates and any care required during quarantine. Families often drive their pets hundreds of miles to get them on their flight, and these families along with their furry or feathered friends will be forever grateful to you for your support. 

By Meredith Ayan, Executive Director

A recent announcement of a new Chinese policy quickly got my attention, and I think it is worth sharing. For the last 25 years, China had banned the use of tiger and rhino body parts. Alarmingly, they just reversed this policy.

The move has been denounced by the United Nations and the World Wildlife Fund. Though the new policy only allows tiger and rhino products from animals raised in captivity, this decision will support a legal market for products which may serve as a cover for an illegal market.

Both tigers and rhinos are threatened species, with wild populations continuing to dwindle. Experts worry that an increased demand for tiger and rhino parts in traditional Chinese medicine will only exacerbate poaching by increasing demand for these products. 

The law is still new and open to interpretation, and only time will tell what the actual effects of this policy change will be. Though SPCA International doesn’t work directly with wild animals, we are closely monitoring the issue and invite you to do the same.

Update: Shortly after this publication, China reversed course and temporarily reinstated the ban on tiger bones and Rhino horns. However, a temporary reinstatement is not sufficient. I hope a permanent ban will take hold soon.

By Meredith Ayan, Executive Director

Every morning on my way to our office I pass a stream of New York City carriage horses on their way from their stables on the west side of Manhattan to Central Park. As I watch them walk up the 10^th Avenue pavement, dodging cars, buses and trucks, I feel angry at the lack of quality of life for these beautiful animals. For many people, these horses represent the city and its charm, but the horses’ lives are less than ideal. It’s true that carriage horses are beautiful, and the clop of their hooves can be a nostalgic reminder of a simpler time, but these horses aren’t meant to mingle with cars and trucks in New York City traffic jams.  

New York City carriage horses often work 9-hour days, 7 days a week, spending the rest of their time in small stables. Veterinarians agree that horses should have daily access to pastures for optimal health- something carriage horses rarely, if ever, receive. Instead, carriage horses are suffering from respiratory illnesses related to inhaling vehicle exhaust, early lameness from long hours and heavy loads, and weather-related issues due to exposure to extreme heat and cold. Furthermore, many horses have become spooked in traffic, injuring themselves and others. 

Though SPCA International isn’t working directly on this issue, it is certainly on our radar and we are paying attention to the work of other groups dedicated to the issue. One such group, NYClass sponsored a bill to improve conditions for carriage horses in New York. The bill will keep carriage horses out of chaotic heavy traffic areas, guarantee horses a safe retirement, increase stall sizes, and includes many other commonsense reforms that will drastically improve conditions for New York City carriage horses. 

This is a start, but the truth of the matter is that passengers can still request to go to destinations like Times Square and the Theater District; heavily trafficked areas not suitable for horses. The end goal of this movement is to eradicate the use of horse-drawn carriages in New York City for good. 

Another group, Partnership to Ban Horse Carriages Worldwide, is… you guessed it- working to ban horse-drawn carriages around the world. This group has collected a wealth of information about the issue and includes links to a number of local petitions to end the practice or improve conditions for carriage horses.

If you want to get involved, there are a few ways you can help.

1. Don’t hire a horse-drawn carriage
2. If you see a horse in distress take a photo or video, including the carriage plate number if possible. You can share with one of the organizations listed above, or just post to your own social media. As we know, a picture is worth a thousand words!
3. Learn more about the issue
4. Sign a petition
5. Contact lawmakers to express your opinion 

By Meredith Ayan, Executive Director

I’m one of those people who stands in the grocery aisle reading labels. I know I’m in the way, but I’m just trying to understand what I am putting in my body! I always try to buy the healthiest option for my budget, but labels like “farm raised” and “pasture raised” sound similar. Should I choose pesticide-free or organic? And shouldn’t organic be pesticide free anyway? What is the difference? And where can I find legitimate answers? 

If you are like me, you have struggled with the same issues, whether you eat a vegan or an omnivorous diet, this can get confusing. Most of us know a thing or two about factory farming and do our best to avoid the worst products for ourselves and our families, but it is hard to find legitimate answers to the differences between labels. 

In my quest to find some personal clarity and share the information with you, I did a quick google search, and the majority of the sources were paid for by farms or farm and ranch lobbying groups.  These sources didn’t feel quite right to me, so I dug a bit deeper and found Sustainable Table, a non-profit website that explains the meaning of many food labels and appears to be independent of food producers and lobby groups. 

The moral of the story is, if you are struggling to understand food labels, you’re not alone! There are good, honest sources out there – sometimes we just have to dig a bit deeper for them. Cheers to happy, healthy and cruelty-free eating.

By Meredith Ayan, Executive Director

As you may have guessed, I’m an animal lover, and my personal life choices reflect that. I eat a vegan diet, because I believe it is an important component to my convictions of not harming animals, both farm-raised animals and wildlife. Compassion for animals extends beyond just companion animals to all species inhabiting this planet. 

Even with best intentions of following a cruelty-free, vegan diet, certain ingredients in vegan products can have a detrimental impact on animals around the world. I was appalled to find out that some of the foods I buy regularly include palm oil, which is the number one contributor to deforestation and loss of habitats for orangutans, rhinos, tigers, elephants, and thousands of other species. 

Palm oil is in about half of the products on grocery store shelves, including many vegan dairy substitutes like butter, cheese, and ice-cream. It is used in baked goods, snack foods, and in beauty products and household products like lipstick, body wash, and laundry detergent. 

Unfortunately, palm oil production is anything but sustainable. Huge swaths of rainforest are cleared by burning, destroying many species in the process. Animals not lucky enough to escape the flames are terribly burned, and many die from their wounds. I know most people wouldn’t consume a product if they knew an orangutan or elephant had been burned to death to produce it. 

In sharing this information with you, my hope is that we can all remember to check labels and try to understand the true impacts of the items we purchase and consume. Whether we eat a vegan diet or not, there are many ways we can all make sustainable food and household product choices. A few extra minutes at the grocery store can have a profound impact on our planet and its inhabitants.

You can find more information about the impacts of palm oil and what you can do to voice your concerns here: http://www.saynotopalmoil.com

By Meredith Ayan, Executive Director

Recently, I have been reflecting about Tahlequah, the Orca Whale who carried her daughter’s body for 17 days and over 1,000 miles in the Pacific. I can’t seem to get the images and story out of my head. To me, this situation serves as a reminder of the deep emotions orcas and other animals experience. Tahlequah demonstrated the same kind of grief a human mother would have, and we know that orcas create strong bonds with mates, children and other members of their pods. 

Though Tahlequah lives in a wild pod in the Pacific Northwest, her emotions are the same as orcas imprisoned in parks around the world. To my knowledge there are still about 60 orcas held in 14 marine parks in 8 countries, including the USA, Canada, France, Japan, Argentina, Spain, China, and Russia. 

In the wild, orcas are matriarchal led pods and have complex family structures; an orca whale in the wild remains with its mother it’s entire life. They can be found in every ocean and most seas, making them one of the most widely ranging animals on earth. Each orca pod has a different “dialect”. In captivity, they are thrust into small enclosures with orcas from other parts of the world. This makes me imagine how tormented I would feel to be kidnapped and placed in a small cell with other people who I couldn’t talk to. It makes me sick to think about.  

The evidence is strong against holding orcas in captivity. Their life spans fall from well over 50 years to under 20, injuries and sickness are common, and many calves are stillborn or die young. Here in the US, SeaWorld ended their breeding program in 2016, but continue their Orca Encounter shows, which won’t be phased out until 2019.  As someone dedicated to the well-being of animals, I will never attend a show at one of the parks where orcas are held, and urge others to do the same.

There are many other threats humans pose to these beautiful creatures as well. One such example is the over fishing of salmon, the Pacific Northwest Orca’s main food source. I’m inspired by chef Renee Erickson who removed chinook salmon from the menu of her Seattle area restaurants: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/seattle-chef-renee-erickson-takes-chinook-salmon-off-menus-to-help-ailing-puget-sound-orcas/

SPCA International will continue to advocate for all animals that are not given the chance to live full, natural lives. There are several organizations working to put a stop to the terrible practice of capturing and imprisoning these intelligent and deeply emotional animals. Here are a few ways you can get involved: learn about ocean sanctuaries for previously captive orcas, support wild orca conservation, and ask companies not to support orca captivity.