AWI Quarterly

AWI Scholarship recipient Madison Kossow founded Mission Mutt Dog Rescue to tackle the pet overpopulation crisis one pup at a time. For Madison Kossow, the greatest benefit of attending virtual high school during the COVID-19 pandemic was that the less demanding schedule freed up her time to foster more than 30 cats, dogs, and rabbits.

Every day, Washington, DC, residents grapple with a shortage of affordable housing, with nearly half considered “rent burdened”—meaning rent swallows more than 30 percent of their gross income. The additional costs associated with pet ownership can put affordable housing in the District out of reach, leaving many pet-owning renters facing the possibility of having to

In October, AWI’s Safe Havens for Pets initiative provided a $15,000 grant to Humane Rescue Alliance (HRA) of Washington, DC. The funds will support HRA’s Safe Haven Program, which aids domestic violence survivors who need shelter for their pets, and help HRA expand its services to provide sheltering resources for unhoused individuals with pets. Doing so

Initiatives to encourage adoption or sanctuary placement of animals whose time in the laboratory has come to an end have gained traction across the country at both state and federal levels. This year, Virginia enacted a law requiring state-run facilities that have nonhuman primates no longer needed for research or testing to consider options for

In encouraging news, both Senate and House fiscal year 2026 Agriculture Appropriations bills winding their way through Congress contain provisions that continue to bar horse slaughter operations in the United States. The House and Senate Interior Appropriations bills also maintain long-standing protections against the slaughter and lethal control of wild horses—provisions absent from the administration’s

Elias Weiss Friedman—creator of the wildly popular social media brand, The Dogist—begins This Dog Will Change Your Life by describing how his Labrador retriever, Oreo, saved his life when he was a toddler by herding him back on the sidewalk after he got lost in the neighborhood. The book, written with former New Yorker editor Ben Greenman, also explores

Following an open call for proposals, AWI’s Center for the Study of NIBRS Animal Cruelty Data has selected Abigail Schweiger, a doctoral student from St. Louis University’s School of Social Work, as the recipient of its first NIBRS Animal Cruelty Data Research Award. This grant program, targeting master’s and doctoral students who are interested in

Cara Achterberg is the cofounder and board president of the nonprofit organization Who Will Let the Dogs Out. In Who Will Let the Dogs Out: Stories and Solutions for Shelters and Rescues, she chronicles the conditions of dogs in shelters across the southern United States. Through storytelling, data collection, and personal anecdotes, Achterberg has penned

In surveys of domestic violence survivors, as many as 48 percent have indicated that they delayed leaving a dangerous situation because they had no way to keep their pets safe. When survivors do leave a violent relationship, many seek protection orders. Recognizing the importance of protecting companion animals, more than four out of five US

AWI is pleased to announce that its Safe Havens for Pets directory has expanded to include pet-friendly sheltering resources for individuals who are experiencing homelessness with a companion animal. In 2011, AWI established the Safe Havens for Pets directory to help domestic violence survivors with pets find sheltering resources for their animals while seeking safety for themselves.

Two of AWI’s priority equine bills were reintroduced at the end of February in recognition of National Horse Protection Day on March 1. Reps. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) and Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM) sponsored the Save America’s Forgotten Equines (SAFE) Act (HR 1661/S 775) to permanently end

Carrie Newell, a marine biologist and whale-watching guide in the Pacific Northwest, has had great success over the years training her companion dogs to locate gray whales when they return from Mexico each summer. In her children’s book, Koda and the Whales: A True Story, Newell conveys her enthusiasm and knowledge through the eyes of Koda,

February will mark four years of the United States battling the most significant animal health emergency in the country’s history: the continued spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI, aka bird flu). Since our last reporting on the bird flu crisis (see AWI Quarterly, summer 2024), the virus has continued to spread to dairy herds and

The 2024 edition of the annual “A Voice for Animals” contest, sponsored by AWI, the Humane Education Network, and the Palo Alto Humane Society, once again provided a platform for young advocates to highlight and showcase solutions to issues affecting animal welfare. Prizes were awarded for essays, photo essays, and videos involving an array of

Photographer and author Katherine Carver spent the past decade documenting the fate of 59 abandoned dogs. Inspired by her own rescue dog who had suffered from neglect and abuse, Carver photographed each of the abandoned dogs while they were staying at shelters or rescues. She returned one year after they were adopted, using striking black-and-white

Animals are often the main characters in children’s books, capturing younger readers’ attention and delivering life lessons in an entertaining and easily digestible format. Veto, The Governor’s Cat, by former Georgia governor Nathan Deal, is no exception; it touches on universal themes of friendship, loss, and life changes. The story centers on Veto, the cat who shared

AWI’s new Center for the Study of NIBRS Animal Cruelty Data (the Center) provides easy access to a wealth of information on animal cruelty crimes derived from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS). AWI staff members led the 12-year effort to convince the FBI, in 2014, to include animal cruelty as a distinct

Hawai‘i Gov. Josh Green signed HB 1527 in July, finally closing a loophole in the state’s cruelty statute that allowed any person (or unlicensed veterinarian) to perform surgery on a companion animal, including ear cropping and tail docking. This new law will prevent needless suffering and allow for significant felony-level penalties for offenders.

Meet the Neighbors: Animal Minds and Life in a More-than-Human World is an exploration of animal cognition, intelligence, and social systems, challenging the often-arbitrary line that separates humans from animals. Readers are invited into a well-balanced discussion of how we can better understand and coexist with our animal neighbors. Using a combination of scientific studies, historical

In connection with the launch of our Safe Havens for Pets Grant Program, AWI is pleased to announce that the first grants have been awarded. Since 2011, AWI has operated the Safe Havens for Pets Project (formerly the Safe Havens Mapping Project), a one-of-a-kind, searchable directory of sheltering services for pets of domestic violence survivors.