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Every week this year, our city has valiantly been celebrating new discoveries, inventions and moments that kicked off right here in Philadelphia. Known as the 52 Weeks of Firsts, the city has been throwing weekly “Firstivals” to celebrate those milestones — from the first hot air balloon flight to the first Slinky.
However, it turns out 52 weeks in the year aren’t actually enough to celebrate every amazing milestone that’s happened in our city.
“Women’s Animal Center has the distinction as America’s first animal shelter,” said Cathy Malkemes, CEO of Women’s Animal Center. “We were founded in 1869, by 30 Philadelphia women, led by a Philadelphia woman named Caroline Earle White, and Caroline was very instrumental in the founding of Pennsylvania SPCA as well.”
Let’s take it back to the mid-1800s, when advocacy for animal welfare was on the rise. The SPCA was founded in England in 1824 and later came to Pennsylvania in 1867. Unfortunately, women were not allowed to hold positions of leadership.
“The women wanted to get more involved in being hands-on with animals, and so they met in 1869 to found a branch of the Pennsylvania SPCA, originally called the Women’s Pennsylvania SPCA,” Malkemes explained.
They opened an office at 1320 Chestnut St., where you can still find a marker honoring their efforts today. Malkemes noted that at the time, the concept of animal sheltering — caring for animals, feeding them, providing them a comfortable place to live — did not exist.
“In their first year of operation, they petitioned the mayor of the city of Philadelphia to take over what was then the pound or the dog pound, which at that time animals were really used for working purposes,” Malkemes said.
Before the women began their shelter, if dogs were found on the street, strays could be clubbed, shot and drowned.
“Finding new homes, or returning them to owners really originated with these 30 groundbreaking, pioneering Philadelphia women who had a passion for animals — all happening 50 years before they themselves had the right to vote,” Malkemes said. “They were advocating for animals.”
The women advocated for carriage horses in the city — installing new watering troughs and improving conditions. They began an education program for children to advocate for kindness towards animals and speak up against cruel practices.
“They called it the Band of Mercy,” Malkemes said. “Their thought was, if you want to change something, start with youth. Start with the next generation. We’ll teach them. They’ll pass it to their children.”
Continuing Caroline Earle White’s legacy
Throughout its history, the shelter has undergone several name changes and significant transformations, evolving into the Women’s Animal Center we know today. The facility is much larger than it was back in the 1800s and moved to Bensalem in 1994.
Walking into the space, there are historic photos of the women who made the shelter a reality, and the men who stood with them.
The center welcomes a variety of different furry friends. It can house over 200 animals, including dogs, cats, rabbits, guinea pigs and other small pets. Despite the recent emergency that city hall declared against a certain rodent, when we visited rats were the featured pet of the week.
While finding a forever home is the ultimate goal, there are many charms to this temporary home. The center includes a community cat room where kids can grab a book, sit on a bench, and read to the felines to help socialize them. There is a veterinary facility onsite, where animals receive the care they need, including neutering and spaying.
Outside, dogs work with specialists and run around in a large gated yard for training. When we came to visit, two young pups, Moaki and Blue, were playfully nibbling at each other, running around and getting their energy out.
“These two have kind of been our go-to like rock stars, social stars,” shelter manager Josh Chance said. “They love each other.”
The open space is essential to get many of the dogs ready for adoption.
“We may have some animals here that have never walked up steps,” Sarah Marple, the center’s animal welfare and behavior coordinator, said. “They may have never gotten into a car, and the team does behavior assessments and learns about each and every animal in our care.”
Chance began working at the Women’s Animal Center in April. He appreciated how much time he gets to spend with each animal. Recently, he worked with a “shepherd-husky-type” mix named Lola, who needed that extra attention.
“She was shut down for approximately two or three weeks, where nobody could handle her,” he said. “She would hide in the kennel … So you got low growling, hard barking, snapping at the leash.”
Marple and Chance worked with Lola for months, slowly understanding she wasn’t comfortable in her kennel environment. Eventually, the team got her out to the yard, and learned that she could socialize successfully with other dogs.
“I’m glad that we had the time to take with her because a lot of places don’t have that opportunity,” Chance said. “But to see her thrive in the playgroup environment was huge, and then to finally show her to her forever home people was like, I could cry.”
“That’s one of the most beautiful things about this kind of place,” he added.
The center is not just for the animals
In addition to housing animals and helping them find their home, the center also has resources for people who are struggling to take care of their pets, including an animal food pantry. The space has also continued the shelter’s original mission — spreading awareness on animal care to youth through the facility’s education center.
“So many people like when I first started working here would say, ‘Oh, it’s so nice you work with animals.’ We really work with people,” said Karen Lash, director of development and communications at Women’s Animal Center. “Animal shelters are a social organization. We meet people where they are. We meet people’s needs. We hear their stories. We hear their emotion.”
While the center is not on the city’s list of official firsts, Malkemes is extremely proud of the continued impact of women in Philadelphia.
“Women didn’t really have their own voice back in the late 1800s,” Malkemes said.
“There is so much attention on the humane treatment of animals today, but I think people don’t make the connection of the women’s history part of this — that it was women.”
