March is Women’s history month so let’s talk about a few of the women in history who have had a significant influence on the animal world more specifically pets.

Elin Prince Speyer -1849-1921 Born in Lowell MA, founded the Auxillary American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. This was right before the big depression when people were starving and unemployed. Elin worked hard to help the animals and pass laws to protect them.  Today the Association of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is the largest in the world.

The animal shelters around the US  can always use volunteers and donations of all kinds.  Volunteers walk the dogs, play and socialize the cats and kittens, brush and feed the horses, cows, goats and chickens. They also get a variety of animals too many to mention here.  Volunteers are needed to foster dogs and cats to make them more adoptable. 

The animal shelters such as Salem New Hampshire Animal rescue League and Cape Ann Animal Aid look for donations of foods, treats, old towels, sheets and blankets to make the animals more comfortable while they wait to be adopted.  Dog brushes, shampoos, paper towels and cleaning materials are always a welcome addition.  www.funlovingpets.com regularly donate to the animal shelters food, treats, supplements and old sheets.  They will collect from customers to donate to the shelter of choice.

In 1947 in the United States, the Association for Women Veterinarians (AWV) was founded by Mary Knight Dunlap (1910-1992). At that time, the U.S. had about 120 women veterinarians, mainly in and around New York City and in East Lansing, Michigan. this information came from the USDA.gov website.  More and more women are entering into the veterinarian field. Colleges are more accepting of women and women are interested in becoming vets.  Dr. Linda Dixon Reeve found herself as the only woman in her veterinary class at Cornell University in 1961 today there are 46,992 women veterinarians in the USA per the http://www.avma.org/ American Veterinary Medical Association.

Do you see yourself or someone close to you going to veterinary school or helping out at a shelter?

 Tell us which shelters you visit most.