Defending the Defenseless: A Guide to Protecting and Advocating for Pets

(Paperback)

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Do you love cats, dogs and other pets Do you want to do more to help protect and advocate for these pets, but don't know where to start Defending the Defenseless is for anyone who wants to join a growing crusade to bring animal protection to its rightful place in a civilized society, to protect animals from harm inflicted by humans, and allow them to live happily in an environment that appreciates their unique qualities. Regardless of career or lifestyle, anyone can become an advocate for pets in a growing movement to defend the defenseless. This book guides readers through the variety of ways they can help companion animals and offers practical tips to get involved, from donating money to volunteering at animal shelters, from opposing animal experimentation to raising children to protect animals. Defending the Defenseless is perfect for anyone who loves animals and is seeking guidance on how to get involved.

Reviews

This book is at once a how-to manual and an inspirational piece. Drawing on her own journey to becoming an animal advocate, Allie shares her encyclopedic knowledge of the animal protection field to give us practical advice on how to get involved-and how to keep moving forward in the face of obstacles. Whether your passion is puppy mills, feral cats, legislative change, or shelter reform, Defending the Defenseless will make us all better advocates on behalf of our animal friends. For anyone ready to take the next step to speak up and speak out for animals, your guidebook has arrived. -- Maya Gupta Ph.D, executive director, Ahimsa House, Inc.
Allie Phillips has crafted a thoughtful, refreshingly personal and comprehensive guide for anyone seeking to become more involved with helping the animals who share our world. Whether you are taking 'baby steps' in making humane life-style changes, getting involved with your local animal shelter, or taking the great leap into starting your own group to advocate for animals, this book provides hundreds of valuable tips to get you started, keep you focused and keep you sane while doing great things. This is a must read for all seeking to put caring into action. -- Randall Lockwood Ph.D, Forensic Sciences and Anti-cruelty Projects, ASPCA
In Defending the Defenseless, Allie Phillips provides a thorough and comprehensive overview and instruction of Trap-Neuter-Return, the program that benefits both cats and the community. We are a nation of animal lovers, and Phillips delivers valuable ideas for harnessing that love and putting it to work to protect animals. -- Becky Robinson, Alley Cat Allies
If you are new to animal advocacy, this book is much more than a how-to manual. It provides those yearning to make a difference for animals with both a roadmap and a call to action. It also reminds experienced advocates why they became involved in this gratifying yet emotionally demanding cause. -- Beatrice M. Friedlander, Animals and Society Institute
In Defending the Defenseless, Allie Phillips guides us through a vast spectrum of practical ways that all people, with varying levels of experience and involvement, can help protect companion animals. Through numerous motivating and inspiring examples, she demonstrates the power of individual action and encourages fostering a more compassionate world. Anyone who cares about animals should read this book and share it widely! -- Meena Alagappan Esq., Humane Education Advocates Reaching Teachers (HEART), Executive Director
As an attorney, lobbyist, advocate and rescuer, Allie Phillips is unquestionably a pioneer of the animal welfare movement. She has laid out a very frank, personal account of what it can be like to maneuver around the intransigence of the management of some shelters, the ego and self-interest of some in the movement, and the entrenched economic and political interests that seemingly stonewall efforts to improve animal welfare. As a former prosecutor, she is not afraid to call prosecutors and law enforcement to task for not taking animal cruelty seriously, for failing to prosecute fully, or at all, in many instances. But Phillips also reminds us that improving animal welfare is a journey where everyone is welcome. If you want to get involved in helping animals, this book is a must read and an easy to follow "how to". -- Laura Allen Esq., Animal Law Coalition

Author Bio

Allie Phillips, Esq., is the Director of Public Policy at the American Humane Association. She specializes in advocacy and lobbying on child and animal welfare legislation, particularly pound seizure advocacy on federal and state legislation and conducts trainings on advocacy techniques, animal cruelty prosecutions, and The Link. She has conducted over 100 trainings primarily educating prosecutors, judges, law enforcement, child protection, animal welfare, domestic violence, and medical/psychological professionals on best practices in child and animal protection. She is the Vice President of No Paws Left Behind, a nonprofit organization formed in May 2008 to help pets caught in the foreclosure crisis and to award grants to pet owners to help them keep their pet while finding new housing and employment.