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Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals-Angell Animal Medical Center | |
 MSPCA-Angell sign | |
| Formation | 1868; 157 years ago (1868) |
|---|---|
| Founder | George Thorndike Angell |
| Merger of |
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| Type | 501(c)(3) organization |
| EIN 042103597 | |
| Purpose | Promotinganimal welfare |
| Headquarters | Huntington Avenue, Jamaica Plain |
| Location |
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Region | Massachusetts |
| Website | mspca |
Formerly called | Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty |
TheMassachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals-Angell Animal Medical Center (MSPCA-Angell) is an Americananimal welfare nonprofit organization. Its main headquarters are located on South Huntington Avenue in theJamaica Plain neighborhood ofBoston, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1868, and is the second-oldesthumane society in the United States.[1] "MSPCA-Angell" was adopted as the society's identity in 2003, and indicates the names of its two closely related predecessor organizations: Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and Angell Animal Medical Center (formerly known as Angell Memorial Animal Hospital). The organization provides direct care to thousands of homeless, injured, and abused animals each year, and provides animal adoption, a veterinary hospital, advocacy, and humane law enforcement.
Boston Brahmin lawyerGeorge Thorndike Angell began a high-profile protest of animal cruelty in 1868, after reading about twohorses beingraced to death by carrying two riders each over forty miles of rough roads.[2] He joined withEmily Appleton, a Bostonsocialite and animal lover who provided financial support,[3] and they and 1,200 others formed theMassachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (MSPCA). Among distinguished locals on the firstboard of directors wereJohn Quincy Adams II,Henry Saltonstall, andWilliam Gordon Weld.[2]
Also in 1868, they began publication ofOur Dumb Animals, a magazine "to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves". ("Dumb" refers to the fact that animals cannot speak.) TheBoston Police Department helped distribute their firstpress run of 200,000 copies. Influenced by the activities of this organization, theMassachusetts General Court passed the first anti-animal-cruelty act in Massachusetts the following year.[2]
In 1886, the society's first official headquarters were dedicated at 19Milk Street inDowntown Crossing. The first MSPCA branch was established inSpringfield, Massachusetts, in 1914. It closed in 2009 due to economic factors. In 1915, aveterinary clinic known as the Angell Memorial Animal Hospital was established on Boston'sLongwood Avenue. In 1917, the MSPCA established a permanentanimal shelter atNevins Farm inMethuen, Massachusetts, to care for retiredpolice horses and otherworking animals. It is still the only open-door horse andfarm animal rescue center inNew England. Shelter for small animals was added to the Methuen facility in 1924.[2]
Francis H. Rowley succeeded George T. Angell as President in 1910.[4] He held this position until his retirement in 1945.[4]
In 1927, the society formed the American Fondouk Maintenance Committee inFez, Morocco, and opened a center there two years later. In 1929, ananimal hospital joined the MSPCA's Springfield location, but closed in 2007 due to economic circumstances. In 1935, the Cape Cod Animal Shelter was opened inCenterville, Massachusetts, now part of MSPCA-Angell. The following year, an MSPCA animal shelter opened inPittsfield, Massachusetts, now known asBerkshire Humane Society. The Angell Memorial Animal Hospital launched the first veterinaryintern training program in 1940. In 1943, Angell was first to apply techniques of aseptic surgery to small animal medicine and surgery. The MSPCA assumed control of the Foote Memorial Animal Shelter onMartha's Vineyard in 1945 until 2009, when ownership of the shelter was transferred to a local animal shelter. Also in 1945, Angell became the first veterinary hospital to institute 24-hour nursing and veterinary care. In 1950, the MSPCA opened an animal shelter and hospital onNantucket, which was operated by the MSPCA until 2012, when Nantucket veterinarians purchased the hospital and opened it as the "Offshore Animal Hospital of Nantucket". Also in 1950, theRoyal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) inGreat Britain joined with the MSPCA to create theInternational Society for the Protection of Animals (now theWorld Animal Protection). In 1959, MSPCA President Dr. Eric Hansen was elected first president of the ISPA.[2]
Jean Holzworth, a leading expert on feline medicine, practised at Angell from 1950 to 1986. Together with Angell colleagues, Holzworth authored a number of pioneering studies of disorders affecting cats, includingfeline infectious peritonitis andhyperthyroidism.[5][6][7]
Angell Memorial Animal Hospital built a veterinaryintensive care unit in 1959 that was the first of its kind. In 1962, the MSPCA and ISPA began work to improve inhumaneslaughterhouses inLatin America. In 1964, the MSPCA launched "Operation Gwamba" inSuriname which saved 9,737 animals fromhydroelectric damflooding and was the largest such project in history.
The MSPCA and Angell Memorial Animal Hospital moved into a shared facility at 350 South Huntington Avenue in 1976, which was the most extensive animal service center ever created by a humane society. An adoption center was established at this location as well.[2]
The MSPCA assistedlaw enforcementofficers inanimal rescue after eruption ofMount St. Helens in 1979. Conditions at Boston'sFranklin Park Zoo were improved through the direct involvement of the MSPCA, starting in 1982. In 1986, MSPCA-Angell launched the statewide subsidized Spay/Neuter Assistance Program (SNAP) for low income pet owners who qualify. The MSPCA formed the Center for Laboratory Animal Welfare (CLAW) in 1992 and, in the following year, established the Animal Disaster Relief Fund to aid in animal protection and rescue globally.[2]
In 1994, a new MSPCA facility was opened inBrockton, Massachusetts, and Nevins Farm in Methuen launched the Equine Ambulance Program to offer emergency rescue and transport of disabled horses in New England andambulance services events involving horses worldwide. In 1994, the society established Phinney's Friends, the first program run by a humane society to assist people withHIV/AIDS and their pets. The Shalit-Glazer Clinic was formed in 1996 to providespay-neuter surgery forpets of low-income families.[2]
In 1997, Angell established the Cancer Care Center to provide on-siteradiation therapy for animals. The same year, the MSPCA Archives Library was dedicated.[2]
In 2013, advocacy efforts led to the passage of the Animal Control Law – the most significant animal-related legislation in decades. Also that year, a unified Animal Behavior Program began with the Adoption Centers and Angell Animal Medical Center.
In 2014, the first canine total elbow replacement surgery was performed at Angell by Dr. Nick Trout and Sun Valley Animal Center’s Dr. Randy Acker, who designed and developed the TATE Elbow system.
As of 2012, the MSPCA-Angell operates three Animal Care and Adoption Centers: Boston, Nevins Farm and Equine Center (Methuen), and Cape Cod. It also operates Angell Animal Medical Center in Boston and, since 2014, MSPCA-Angell West in Waltham, both 24/7 emergency facilities. Together these facilities employ nearly 80 full-time veterinarians including board-certified specialists in fields such as 24/7 emergency and critical care, avian and exotic medicine,anesthesiology, behavior,cardiology,dentistry,dermatology,diagnostic imaging andnuclear medicine,internal medicine, I-131 treatment for hyperthyroid cats,neurology,nutrition,oncology,ophthalmology, pain medicine,pathology,surgery, andpreventative medicine.[2]
Angell Animal Medical Center hasmagnetic resonance imaging equipment, with a state-of-the-art, high-speed updated machine installed in November 2014 to replace the original Angell MRI. The original Angell MRI was the first MRI located within a veterinary hospital in New England and the second available in the United States. This equipment was part of a $28 million building campaign to improve the Boston facility. The renovation was completed in 2005. The refurnished Boston facility also includes the Helen Schmidt Stanton Clinical Care Center and the Copeland Animal Care and Adoption Center.[2] Also among Angell's equipment is a high speed CT unit offering multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT, or multi-slice CT). This machine enables 3D reconstructions of images for accurate diagnoses and better treatment.
Each year, the MSPCA-Angell's veterinary hospital locations welcome over 100,000 patient visits. These locations include MSPCA-Angell Clinics in Boston, Methuen and Centreville, Massachusetts for low-income clients as well as the MSPCA-Angell West in Waltham, Massachusetts and Angell Animal Medical Center in Boston which both provide 24 x 7 emergency service, specialty care and primary care.
The MSPCA has a Law Enforcement Department and organizes the annual Walk for Animals onBoston Common.
MSPCA-Angell takes a strong stand on a number of animal-related issues and is influential in creating animal-relatedlegislation in Massachusetts. Among the areas in which MSPCA-Angell takes a position are:
Other areas in which MSPCA-Angell has a position aregenetic engineering andanimal patenting,[19] the training ofguard dogs to increase theiraggression,[20]hunting forsport or as a tool forwildlife management,[21] the capture ofwild animals as pets and attempts at theirdomestication,[22] thecommercialization of animalbreed bypet stores,[23] and the use of animals inrodeos.[24] The MSPCA-Angell also takes a relatively negative view ofzoological parks andaquaria unless such institutions meet "rigid criteria, without which there is insufficient justification for their existence"[25]
In 2007, the MSPCA-Angell led a successful campaign for theBoston City Council to create acity ordinance prohibitingpet rental agencies from operating in Boston.[26][27][28]
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42°19′22″N71°06′40″W / 42.3229°N 71.111°W /42.3229; -71.111
