Rory Freedman's new book, Beg: A Radical New Way of Regarding Animals, offers a guide for people looking to get involved to help animals.

In the courts, an animal and a chair are often valued equally. That's where Fran Ortiz steps in, as she explains in her ALDF blog "What is a Dog's Worth?"

Working to protect animals is emotionally draining. How do I protect myself from burning out? See my photo blog to find out!

A new "puppy lemon law" has been introduced in Illinois, known as Senate Bill 1639, that would provide consumer protection for pet owners whose puppies die as a result of puppy mill abuse.

Levi Leipheimer Takes On Puppy Mills for Animal Legal Defense Fund's Animal Law Video Series

Champion cyclist Levi Leipheimer is going the distance with the Animal Legal Defense Fund to protect dogs!

The Animal Legal Defense Fund is excited to announce its first Animal Book Club contest!

For sled dogs, animal cruelty has become a corporate-sponsored industry. On March 2, 2013 Alaska will hold the annual Iditarod.

Today’s daily action for National Justice for Animals Week is: Help ALDF Help Animals

ALDF Crime Tips is a first-of-its-kind app designed to help you help animals—by letting you report abuse and neglect of animals in your community right from your phone.

Today’s daily action for National Justice for Animals Week is to make news for animals!

Abusers of animals are five times as likely to harm humans. Nearly half of the victims who stay in violent households do so because they are afraid for their animals. The "link" between violence against humans and animals is clear. But there are resources that can help.

Take action to secure a meaningful sentence for father of boy who shot three dogs while hunting.

Last week, a 73-year-old Firestone, Colorado man, Joseph Losinsksi, was sentenced to nine and a half years in prison. His crime: poisoning two dogs with strychnine-laced meatballs.

In California, when a dog, cat or other companion animal is negligently or intentionally injured, the animal’s legal owner may now attempt to recover compensation for the treatment and care of the animal.

When finally seized by law enforcement, animals who have been abused and neglected by their owners should not sit in cages for months while the defendant’s criminal case drags on.

Animal Legal Defense Fund and County Residents Had Sued Shelter for Failure to Protect Shelter Animals

Please contact your Senators, urging them to pass A3431D as written to ban devocalization and protect New York’s beloved animals today.

Wayne County, Michigan
Act now!

University of Akron SALDF students sponsor an event aimed at reducing stress during finals week.

The University of Baltimore School of Law SALDF chapter is committed to advancing animal protection and advocating for animals within their community.

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that "Every Friday morning, a small courtroom in this Texas city becomes a kennel of jurisprudence." The city has indeed found a novel way of dealing with the animal-related cases that were on the rise.

I recently began volunteering at the local animal shelter as a dog walker/trainer. My friends and family have praised me with thoughtfulness and compliments but I'm here to admit: I have an agenda.

This is for everyone who has deeply loved and lost a companion animal. This is not an exhaustive list by any means. It is just a collection of a few things I found helpful as I struggled with my own intense grief after losing my beloved German shepherd Alec in the summer of 2010.

Legal victory stops systematic abuses at a Kentucky animal shelter.

Kentucky Woman Represented by the Animal Legal Defense Fund Had Sued County for Failure to Protect Shelter Animals as Mandated by State Law

Culminating a great effort to bring breed specific legislation to an end in Ohio, on February 21st, Governor John Kasich officially signed HB 14 into law. Dogs will now to be regarded by their behavior instead of their appearance.

Meet National Justice for Animals Week's mascot Teagan, a little German shepherd who endured a life of severe neglect and abuse before she was miraculously rescued.

In May 2008, Christopher Comins shot two Siberian husky dogs that had come onto an Orange County, Florida property where Comins happened to be walking.

After relocated to Aurelia, Iowa, the Saks learned that they had an unwelcome family member, Snickers, a service dog.

I consider myself a compassionate person. Yet, I know that there are situations in which I have let myself and others down, where the limits of my compassion have been reached. With that knowledge, I'm working on enlarging and strengthening my own compassion.

Please take a moment today to contact Governor Brown and your state legislators! Urge them to oppose any legislation that will remove existing protections for homeless and lost companion animals.

Oppose legislation that will remove existing protections for homeless and lost companion animals!

Especially where groups of neighboring urban buildings are involved, empty foreclosure properties present an increasing challenge for law enforcement as incoming criminals replace outgoing residents.

Law school is meant to be punishing, and finding ways to relieve stress while earning a J.D. can be elusive. So it is quite encouraging that some law schools have introduced warm hearts, cold noses, and four paws to help students get through these stress-filled days.

You helped make incredible strides for animals this year! Please make a special year-end gift to the Animal Legal Defense Fund and help make 2012 another year of extraordinary progress.

The fact is that animals do not make good gifts because these animals are not toys -- they are living beings that require a lifetime of constant care, support, love, and attention.

The Animal Legal Defense Fund is interested in hearing from you if you bought or adopted a dog from Pennsylvania after July 31, 2010 with problems caused by a lack of exercise before adoption.

Help the Animal Legal Defense Fund expose animal abusers by making a special year-end donation toward our work to protect animals from repeat abuse and win justice for animal victims.

Co-author Lisa Turner is the president of the Texas Wesleyan SALDF chapter. This article appeared in the November issue of the Texas Bar Journal, which was devoted to animal law.

Fresno County, California
Bench warrant issued.

Pet theft remains a terrible reality across the country. Often underlying these crimes are dogfighters seeking "bait" animals and dealers acquiring animals to sell to research and breeding operations. Find out what you can do to help.

'Tis the season to spread holiday cheer with ALDF gifts and holiday cards!

More than a quarter-million Americans have already signed the Animal Legal Defense Fund's Animal Bill of Rights. Sign on your support and speak out to your lawmakers today!

In August 2011, the University of Pennsylvania was issued an official warning letter for its "failure to establish programs of adequate veterinary care" for some of its research animals.

Maybe it's time for the legislature of Florida and other states to start explicitly treating animals like the victims they, so very often, tragically are.

So reads the headline of one of the many news stories on the trial and sentencing of Diane Eldrup who operated a "shelter & boarding facility" in Deer Park, IL, named "Muddy Paws."

Join us in our fight against abusive puppy mills and those who support them.

What Is a Dog Worth? Oral Argument in Heartbreaking Case Addresses How Our Legal System Values Companion Animals

Help ALDF stop Barkworks' blatant and illegal deceptive practices.

What you can do help establish mandatory minimum sentences in aggravated forms of animal abuse? Educate yourself and then act

It can be a harsh place out there for people grieving the loss of a dear animal companion. That is why we must share our stories -- to give each other hope and strength.

No one can deny that this year's Little Ben's Cruise for Compassion started with a bang -- well, a bang followed up with strong winds and buckets and buckets of rain.

Parma, Ohio joins 17 other cities in officially recognizing pets as family members, changing the phrase pet "owner" to pet "guardian" with regard to all animal-related ordinances.

Kern County, California
Case Closed

Was Off-Duty Law Enforcement Officer Actually in Fear of his Safety When He Shot and Killed his Neighbor's Chihuahua with a Bow and Arrow? Kansas Prosecutors Don't Think So...

Veterinarians play an integral role in the fight against animal cruelty. Download ALDF's quick reference guide for state by state information regarding veterinarians' duty to report suspected animal cruelty.

Saving one animal may not change the world, but it will surely change the world for that one animal.

The Los Angeles City Council moved to make it illegal to buy animals from vendors on public streets or sidewalks.

The move is a response to growing public awareness of the cruelty of puppy mills.

As a prosecutor for the past 15 years specializing in animal cruelty cases, I've come to realize that education, i.e., raising sensitivity, is key to making progress in the fight for animal rights.

Jennifer and Jason made their wedding day a reason for animals to celebrate as well -- by asking friends and family to donate to the Animal Legal Defense Fund in lieu of other gifts.

It's time to close loopholes in the federal animal fighting law, thereby giving law enforcement the tools they need to hold animal abusers accountable.

Help make it illegal to attend or bring a minor to animal fights!

Join us today to win animals the legal protection they deserve.

Los Angeles County supervisors passed a first vote July 19th, to let animal control officers have the right during administrative hearings to decide when a dog should be labeled as dangerous or vicious.

Win real justice for animal victims like Rosco.

Teagan and I start our new lives together tomorrow. And it is going to be a very good day.

After four successful dog-friendly cruises in Annapolis, Maryland to benefit the Animal Legal Defense Fund, Little Ben is on tap to host a fifth.

Peter Bower of Shelby, Ohio, was arrested on May 18th, 2011, and charged with two counts of animal cruelty after allegations that he had sex with three companion dogs and possibly a horse owned by a local equestrian center.

Citing growing sentiment against puppy and kitten mills that has led a number of states and communities to adopt legislation regulating these mills, and the stores that provide an outlet for animals bred in substandard conditions, Los Angeles City Councilman Paul Koretz introduced a measure recently seeking to curb the market for such animals.

Abusers Beware – Your Punishment Can Now Fit Your Crime

Contact your legislators and urge them to pursue laws which protect humans and animals from violence.

Here at the Animal Legal Defense Fund, every day is Take Your Dog To Work Day! Check out a few of our favorite furry colleagues!

Last November voters in Missouri passed a measure known as Prop. B, approving valuable and much-needed protections for animals throughout the state, which is known as the "Puppy Mill Capital of the United States."

Tune in for the Animal Legal Defense Fund's series of exclusive one-on-one interviews with actress and animal advocate Kristin Bauer, who plays the lovely but lethal Vampire Pam on HBO's hit series, True Blood. Kristin shares her reaction to cities like El Paso, Albuquerque, and West Hollywood banning the sales of dogs and cats in pet stores.

Since 2003, the Animal Legal Defense Fund has been working on various proposals to ensure that animals may be fully protected within Oregon's domestic violence protective orders (or "restraining orders").

As temperatures sky-rocket all over the country, we are seeing more and more headlines about dogs left in parked cars. Dogs in parked cars are at extreme risk in hot weather; an enclosed car heats up in minutes, and the heat can be lethal.

Tell Google they should not sell mobile apps that promote animal cruelty!

The Los Angeles Times recently reported that the alleged "sport" of greyhound dog racing is in steep decline in America. Animal activists have long fought for the end of such racing, citing the horrendous conditions in which most of the dogs are kept.

A new app for mobile phones called "Dog Wars" was pulled from the Android market after public outcry only to be reintroduced a few days later under the name "KG Dogfighting."

Suffolk County, NY adopts law to help prevent abusers from purchasing, adopting pets

Patrick's plight moves many to action.

For those who practice animal law, a persistent debate rages on: of the many options available, which legal path is the best course to take to improve the plight of animals in the United States?

Tough new laws will protect sled dogs and other animals.

A first-offense felony provision didn't survive amendments, nonetheless, newly passed SB 2821 is a definite step forward for Mississippi.

This tragic case not only provides a disturbing reminder of the link between cruelty to animals and domestic violence, but also a reminder on the dangers of "free to good home" ads.

It is always good to hear when people are working on behalf of the animals, giving a voice to the voiceless. Here is a recent smattering of updates.

Despite passage of the "Humane Shelter Law," many Kentucky counties are treating the animals in their care with reckless disregard for the suffering that they are causing.

Help put an end to dogfighting and create strong laws for animals so criminals who use animals for fighting receive meaningful sentences.

Baker County, Florida
Case Closed

Everyone has certain things that bother them and one of the things that really vexes me is when people refer to animals as "it." Ooh, like nails scratching on a chalk board.

Desperate Pleas from Fearful Military Pet Owners Prompt Inquiries to Departments of Defense, State

Kentucky residents: support HB 277 and help save shelter animals!

The Utah House of Representatives has just passed House Bill 210 to make it legal for any citizen to shoot an animal he or she believes to be feral in areas where hunting is not prohibited.

The veterinarian told us Justin was rescued "just in time" after the Suffolk County, New York SPCA removed him from a foreclosed house in May 2010 where he was left abandoned with no food or water. Justin at the time of his rescueWeighing only 19 pounds, he was a skeleton with skin.

Today's daily action for National Justice for Animals Week is: suggest a caption for the recent photo of Justin, the week's official mascot.

Joshua Crain has been an Assistant District Attorney General in McMinnville, Tennessee, since July 2005. Joshua has aggressively prosecuted several animal abuse cases, three of which have made their way into Circuit Court.