Friends –

For the world’s animals, spring means rejuvenation, new life and hope for a new generation. In the face of the extraordinary challenges of the past few months during which some 1 billion animals perished in the devastating Australian wildfires, and countless others faced the day-to-day threats of deforestation, habitat loss, abuse, cruelty and abandonment, American Humane has been working extra hard to counter the worst threats to our best friends.

We are working with our humane conservation partners to support life-saving efforts to get veterinary care, food, water, medicines and supplies to the animal victims left behind in the more than 32,000 square miles of scorched wastelands of Australia – 5,000 square miles more than were burned in the Amazon and 80 times the area incinerated during the worst wildfires in U.S. history last year in California.

Here at home, we celebrated the success of new legislation we backed to deter animal abuse; championed a new bill to provide much-deserved healthcare to retired military and federal law enforcement dogs; and, brought more farm animals under our humane protections. Additionally, we oversaw the births of two baby jaguars, the rehabilitation and release of seven abandoned harbor seals, and participated in an effort to revive the population of some pretty funny-looking princes – I mean, toads – at American Humane Certified™ zoos and aquariums. These are just a few examples from the thousands of survival stories we’re helping bring about through our worldwide humane conservation program.

If you’re one of the millions of animal lovers who agree with celebrating the importance of the animals in our lives, you will be thrilled to follow (and vote in) this year’s American Humane Hero Dog Awards® and American Humane Hero Veterinarian and Hero Veterinary Nurse Awards™. Do be sure to also check out our tips for feel-good movies you can actually feel good about seeing because each of them earned our “No Animals Were Harmed®” seal of approval.

I hope you enjoy our latest stories of compassion, hope and love. Please follow American Humane on social media for the latest breaking news and inspiring tales from our animal world. On behalf of each and every one of the beautiful creatures we help every day, thank you for your caring and support!