MSPCA-Angell

Thank you to the Massachusetts State Senate for unanimously passing the PETS Act! S. 3014, An Act promoting pet equity, treatment and safety, combines important animal protection provisions, including the reduction of animals used in testing, the prohibition of breed-based discrimination in public housing and insurance coverage, and the ban on cats and dogs sold in pet shops, and more! We want to thank Senate President Karen E. Spilka, Chair Michael Rodrigues, and Chair Becca Rausch for their leadership on animal protection, and Senators Patrick O'Connor, Pavel Payano, Senator Jason Lewis, and Mark Montigny for sponsoring these original provisions!

We are excited to share that Jamie Blackburn, our Housing Policy Specialist, will be speaking on a panel next week about innovative pet-inclusive housing advocacy efforts around the country! Jamie has been doing state-level work with our advocacy team to break down housing barriers. Learn more about Action for Pet-Inclusive Housing at mspca.org/housing Register now to join There’s No Place Like Home: How to Advocate for Pet Inclusive Housing, live on Thursday, March 19, at 4pm ET: https://bit.ly/4rrs13T

In medicine, we often say “the dose makes the poison.” Almost any substance can become dangerous if enough of it is consumed, even medications that are normally safe when used as directed. During Poison Prevention Week, Ruth’s story is a reminder of how quickly accidents can happen, and how important fast action can be. Ruth came to us after she ate an entire bottle of carprofen, which is a veterinary-specific medication used to treat pain and inflammation in dogs. It is generally safe and well-tolerated… when taken at the appropriate dose.   Ruth's owners quickly brought her to a local ER when they realized what had happened. Although Ruth was able to vomit up about half of the pills, the veterinary team was worried that the amount of carprofen Ruth ate could cause damage to her kidneys. They referred Ruth to our Internal Medicine service at Angell in Boston for a treatment called hemoperfusion.   During hemoperfusion, blood is removed from a patient, processed multiple times over a special filter to remove as much toxin as possible, and then returned back to the patient. Luckily, Ruth handled treatment extremely well! Afterward, Ruth spent a bit of time in our intensive care unit while she was closely monitored, and received all the pets and cuddles from our staff. She thanked us with tail wags and butt wiggles.   Since returning home, Ruth has been doing great! Thanks to the fast action of her owner, Ruth was able to get the life-saving treatment she needed. Ruth’s story is a reminder that if you suspect your pet has ingested something they shouldn’t have, contact your vet or local emergency ASAP for advice. 

A critical piece of Humane Law Enforcement is having the flexibility to see each situation exactly as it is, and finding the best long-term solution for both the animals and the people involved. Every call we receive is different, and approaching every situation the same way isn’t always the best way to help animals in the long run. When people end up with very large numbers of cats, our experience tells us these situations rarely begin with malice. More often, they start with someone who cares deeply about animals but becomes overwhelmed and needs support. Last year, our Humane Law Enforcement team responded to a Norfolk County home with more than 100 cats. Instead of leading with charges, they began with compassion, and asking “how can we help?” A small, experienced group of staff visited the property and spoke with the owner, who was experiencing a personal crisis and recognized they needed help. Working alongside community partners and our social worker, the team developed a plan that allowed the owner to surrender cats gradually. Over the course of six visits, our officers removed small groups of cats at a time, reducing stress for both the animals and the person involved and allowing the process to move forward with care. Ultimately, every cat was safely removed from the home, and the owner accepted additional support resources through the town. We spayed/neutered a few cats and returned them to the owner, helping ease the sense of loss while still improving the welfare of the animals. The rest of the cats went on to find homes (most during our Spirit Cat Halloween event last fall!). This is the kind of work our Humane Law Enforcement team does every day: meeting people where they are, working with communities, and finding solutions that protect animals while addressing the root of the problem. We are deeply grateful that your support allows us to take this thoughtful, compassionate approach that creates better outcomes for both animals and the people who care about them.

Every day, animals across Massachusetts need help, and their second chapters begin with a call to our Humane Law Enforcement team. Our Law Enforcement Department serves all 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts, investigating animal cruelty and neglect and working alongside local police departments to protect animals. Our officers are POST-certified, state-commissioned police officers who execute warrants, file charges, and testify in court to hold abusers accountable. What many people don’t realize is that when cruelty cases are under investigation, animals often cannot simply be rehomed right away. If they are seized as evidence, they must remain in our care, sometimes for months or longer, while the case moves through the court system. That means there are often many more animals in our care than the public ever sees. Some are individual pets removed from dangerous situations. Others arrive in large groups during complex rescues. During that time, they rely on our shelters, our volunteer fosters, and our veterinary teams to provide daily care and safety while justice runs its course. Much of this work happens behind the scenes, but it is one of the most critical parts of our mission. MSPCA-Angell’s Giving Day is March 26, and this year we’re shining a light on the Humane Law Enforcement team and the lifesaving work they do every day to protect animals across Massachusetts. This has been an extraordinarily busy year for our team, and they deserve the support of the community that makes this work possible. When animal cruelty is reported, someone has to show up. Thanks to supporters like you, we are able to. Stay tuned as we share more stories in the days ahead about the animals and the officers behind this work!

Our community clinic team just got back from South Carolina, where we’re continuing an important partnership to help animals and the communities who care for them. As kitten season approaches, preventing a surge in homeless cats is critical. When our partners at the Charleston Animal Society (CAS) faced a temporary gap in veterinary staffing at their clinic at their Berkeley campus, they reached out for help with their community cat spay/neuter program, and we were glad to step in. Starting this weekend and continuing through May, MSPCA veterinarians and technicians will travel to South Carolina twice a month to staff TNVR (trap-neuter-vaccinate-return) clinics. Together, we aim to perform 120–200 surgeries each weekend to help stabilize the community cat population and prevent thousands of kittens from being born outdoors. This effort is made possible through a true partnership between the MSPCA-Angell and CAS, funded by Bissell Pet Foundation's Fix the Future program. Thank you the dedicated MSPCA staff traveling south to lend their skills, and to the teams at home helping keep everything running while they’re away! We’re proud of what our ongoing partnership with CAS has accomplished, and we are excited to keep working together to help animals and the people who care about them.

Emmy is a sweet, chirpy, and affectionate girl who gave her owners quite the scare shortly after they adopted her when she began vomiting nonstop and had very low energy levels. She was brought to Angell's ER in Boston to figure out what was going on and to get her feeling better ASAP. Her initial test results did not show any obvious cause for her symptoms, so she was given an anti-nausea injection and sent home with fluids to rehydrate her. A few days later, she returned to our ER because her symptoms were not improving. Our team was concerned she had eaten something she shouldn't have and recommended getting a better look at her abdomen with an ultrasound and, ultimately, exploratory surgery. Emmy's owners were committed to treating her, but were faced with financial limitations and unsure how to proceed. Emmy's doctors were able to secure financial assistance through our new Winston Fund to cover the cost of the procedure. The Winston Fund was established to help cover the cost of care for critically ill or injured cats who come to us in need of specialized treatment and a little extra financial support during trying times. Emmy had surgery in Boston, and foreign material was removed. Since returning home, her family has shared that she has been doing well and is a very happy girl. Go Emmy!

Amelia Isabelle, affectionately known as Belly, finally found her people! Belly spent an entire year with us as a large lady who initially needed a lot of support to adjust to life in the shelter. When dogs show behaviors like barking, jumping, or mouthing, they are often not being aggressive, but are trying to communicate that they are overwhelmed. That’s exactly what was happening with Amelia. When she first arrived in Boston, Amelia had a really hard time in the shelter, which is dense with blind corners and constant dog traffic both in and out of the building (it’s also an animal hospital). She was often already quite overwhelmed by the time she made it outside, which made seeing other dogs around campus even harder for her. Knowing it can be difficult to teach a dog new behavior when they are that stressed, we knew Amelia needed a different setting to succeed. Our behavior team made the decision to move her to Nevins Farm where she would have more space and predictability. At Nevins, Amelia was able to take a deep breath, allowing our team to continue learning who she was as an individual. This allowed us to slow everything down for her, start from the ground up with very basic skills, and gradually expanded her environment at her pace. Over time, Amelia went from barking and pulling on leash, to being able to calmly navigate on leash around other dogs, and even participating in buddy walks and play dates with well-matched dog friends. Our team knew that Amelia would need adopters who were committed to providing her with a predictable environment, and who understood that support from our team wouldn’t end at adoption. Those people found her, and today Amelia is thriving in her home! At home, Amelia continues to build skills with ongoing support from our team and the committed support of her people. She has been loving bunny hopping in the snow, she loves cardboard busy boxes (her family repurposes all of their deliveries for her enrichment!), and she loves splooting around the house. Her family said, “we just love her, she’s funny, engaged, and always ready to learn.” It really goes to show how much environmental stress impacts behavior, and is a testament to how hard her new family is working to help her succeed. We are so happy for Belly and her family. We knew how much potential she had and now she has the best next chapter!

Happy horse adoption update! Samba originally came to the MSPCA at Nevins Farm through our partnership with the ASPCA Right Horse program. An organization in New York had taken custody of a large number of horses from a crowded living situation, and they needed some support. Our staff drove out to NY and transported Samba and another horse, Tango, who were unhandled stallions, to Nevins Farm. Here they received full veterinary care, were castrated, and began foundational training. While Tango proved immediately easygoing and was quickly adopted, Samba required more time and patience. Over the months, staff worked with him to become more handleable and comfortable with routine care. Although progress was steady, competing demands from a huge farm population due to law enforcement cases limited how much time staff could spend working on skills with him. When the decision was made to include Samba in the fee-waived horse adoption event, we knew he would flourish in a home with someone experienced and willing to continue his training. At the event, Samba met Adam, an experienced horse owner looking for a companion for his easygoing gelding and open to working with a horse who was still learning. They connected right away and it was obvious! Since Samba went home, we have maintained close contact with Adam and have been so happy to get frequent updates on how Samba is settling in. Samba is living comfortably with the other gelding, the horses are getting along well, and Samba is already showing increased confidence, he is allowing himself to be caught in the paddock and settling into daily handling. Adam’s long-term goal is to train Samba to become a riding horse, starting from the ground up. While Samba wasn’t ready for under-saddle work at the shelter, he now has the consistency, attention, and the calm environment needed to truly blossom. The match has been a natural fit, and it’s exciting to see Samba thriving in a home where he can continue building trust, confidence, and skills every day!!

Our Advocacy team co-hosted Paws and Policy Information Day at the Massachusetts State House last week. The event was dedicated to advancing critical animal protection legislation. Legislators and staff were offered an opportunity to ask questions and gain insights into crucial bills to protect animals from the MSPCA-Angell, Animal Rescue League of Boston, Humane World for Animals, and the Animal Legal Defense Fund policy staff. Keep up with all of our legislative and policy work by joining the Animal Action Team: mspca.org/jointheteam.