A Brooklyn man was arrested yesterday by an ASPCA agent for allegedly starving his three-year-old pit bull named Drew. According to a release, Leedell Walker brought Drew to the ASPCA's Bergh Memorial Animal Hospital in December claiming that the dog refused to eat. Concerned vets called the ASPCA and the organization launched an investigation. When he was brought in, Drew "was near death, in a critical state of shock and anemic," and weighed 37 pounds. He now weighs 65 pounds and is still recovering so that he may be adopted. more ›

Authorities arrested a man this week for bludgeoning a stray cat to death with a tire iron last month. Richard Ferrugio, 39, was tracked down by ASPCA agents on Friday after a lengthy investigation. Spokesman Joe Pentangelo said several witnesses—including children—watched as Ferrugio took the tire iron out of his car to kill the cat. The disgruntled tabby lobby will surely not be happy about this. more ›

Twenty-three dogs were rescued from a Sheepshead Bay home which had no running water or working heat early this morning. Agents from the ASPCA and Animal Care and Control executed a search warrant in two Sheepshead Bay homes about 8:30 a.m. after receiving reports of an elderly couple hoarding dogs in bad conditions. “It smelled like dog feces and urine,” said neighbor Stacey Krauf. “You could smell it across the street.” more ›

The Letters of Note website has provided endless entertainment with a mailbag filled with nostalgia. (Marlon Brando's letter to a stewardess, Andy Warhol's warning letter from his Factory landlord, and the amazing rejection letter penned by Hunter S. Thompson while at Rolling Stone, to name a few.) Most recently they reprinted a ltter that E.B. White wrote to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals on East 92nd Street. It's dated April 12th, 1951, and comes after White was accused by the ASPCA of not paying his dog tax and therefore "harboring" an unlicensed dog. Yes, to the man who penned Charlotte's Web. You can read the full thing here (and we recommend you do), but here's a excerpt: more ›

An official necropsy performed on Charlie, the 15-year-old draft horse that collapsed and died in Midtown in October, showed no direct cause of death. According to the ASPCA, which performed the necropsy at Cornell, Charlie's liver showed signs of scarring, and the agency wrote they "cannot rule out recent toxin exposure, abnormal heartbeat or allergic reaction," but that the horse was in "good nutritional condition," when he died. more ›

Humans aren't the only ones who are pushed beyond their physical and mental limits to feverishly "enjoy" the holidays: it's the busiest time of the year for New York City's carriage horses. Yesterday afternoon a carriage horse apparently collapsed at 59th Street and Fifth Avenue. Though a spokesperson for the Carriage Association of New York told the Daily News, "No horse collapsed," the video below, submitted to Win Animal Rights, clearly shows a horse on the ground and its handlers struggling to help it stand up. more ›

[Updates below] Another carriage horse collapsed in Midtown yesterday around 6 p.m. on West 60th Street near Broadway. A supporter of New Yorkers for Clean, Livable and Safe Streets shot a video clip of the horse on the ground. more ›

The results of a preliminary necropsy on a carriage horse named Charlie who collapsed and died in Midtown last Sunday show, "Charlie was not a healthy horse." According to the ASPCA, who performed the necropsy at Cornell, Charlie's cause of death is still uncertain, but he "was likely suffering from pain due to pronounced chronic ulceration of the stomach and a fractured tooth." Dr. Pamela Corey of the ASPCA says in a release, "We are very concerned that Charlie was forced to work in spite of painful maladies." more ›

Sanoy Fleming, an ASPCA worker in Queens who happens to be black, found a noose hanging from a company garage. "I was very upset and it made me uncomfortable that no one thought it was inappropriate," Fleming tells the Daily News, so she reported the incident to her supervisor. A few days later, she received a call from "George" in HR. After scolding her for her subpar work performance, "George" allegedly told her: " 'I heard you were upset about a rope found in the garage,' and he said that it was used for 'operational purposes' to lift things." Sort of like how KKK hoods are for keeping warm. more ›

A Bronx woman is accused of abandoning her pit bull to starve to death after she was evicted from her apartment. Cherika Alvarez, 30, is on trial for leaving behind 18-month-old pup Alize after she was evicted from her apartment in mid-November 2009. The dog was found weeks later with two razorblades, ketchup packs, sharp pieces of wood and garbage in her stomach. Alize's body was so badly decomposed that officials "had to scrape her off the floor," Alvarez tearfully testified. more ›

P.S. 16 teacher Ana Herra was arrested by ASPCA Humane Law Enforcement agents yesterday for misdemeanor animal cruelty after neglecting her dog so badly she needed to be put down. Neighbors in Corona reportedly called the ASPCA to report a matted dog, and agents found Julie, a mixed breed dog around 13-years-old, so weak and matted that she was unable to stand. more ›

Though the ASPCA deals with pet abuse issues, much of their focus ends up being solely on animals like dogs and cats. But other pets need someone to look out for them as well: To that end, a Brooklyn woman has been arrested and charged with killing a hamster. more ›

An unemployed Queens man is charged with a felony for beating a Chihuahua so savagely the dog had to be euthanized. Jerry Melendez, who is 33 years old and weighs 265 pounds, allegedly became angry at the eight pound dog, named Spotye, on February 10th and beat the animal to within an inch of his life. He later brought Spotye to a local vet, where the pet was treated for head trauma and multiple seizures. According to the ASPCA, results of the necropsy revealed that the Chihuahua had sustained a fractured skull caused by blunt force impact. The dog also suffered from hemorrhage to the left eye. more ›

If you leave your dog outside for long periods of time during sub-32 degree weather, does it constitute animal cruelty? That's what some users are wondering today on Reddit. User laserpilot wrote: more ›

The annual chicken sacrificing ritual known as kaparot that takes place around this time of year (near Yom Kippur) always gets the demonstrators out. According to the NY Post, the ASPCA is the latest to step up to the protest plate, and a Brooklyn man says they all but forced him to stop the tradition at his place of business yesterday. more ›

We stumbled across one of these photos of a horse getting a shower in 1910, and it turns out that around that time the ASPCA brought not only these showers, but drinking fountains to the thousands of working horses in the city. Not only that, but EphemeralNY recently pointed out the SPCA's plan in 1902 to give free straw sombreros to the horses to shield their eyes from the sun! They were made by a horse outfitter in Union Square, and look just like regular hats (you can see one in one of the photos above). more ›

Shamrock Stables is closed for business... for now. The ASPCA continues to offer to place their remaining horses in homes; in a press release sent out yesterday, the organization stated: “On June 7, Shamrock Stables in Manhattan officially closes and the fate of the New York City carriage horses remains in the balance. [We] reaffirm our offer and commitment to finding suitable homes for these horses. Our primary concern is their welfare, and we stand ready to work with the City and other organizations that share our purpose to place these horses in environments where they will receive humane treatment.” more ›