FAQ
We are committed to helping you find answers to your questions, so we've compiled the questions that we most frequently receive. Please check this list before contacting our Member Support.
General FAQ
How can I find the ASPCA on social media? Where can I purchase ASPCA merchandise?The ASPCA has an online store hosted through Amazon. You can visit the ASPCA's Amazon Store to purchase ASPCA accessories and apparel.
Please email your old and new email addresses to website@aspca.org.
Please click the unsubscribe link at the bottom of any email you have received from the ASPCA. If you have already deleted all ASPCA emails, you can send an unsubscribe request to website@aspca.org.
To stay up to date on the latest news from the ASPCA, please follow us on ASPCA social media:
News media professionals, please contact the ASPCA Media & Communications team using our media request form or call (212) 876-7700, ext. 4655. For current media news, please visit our online pressroom.
The ASPCA authorizes permission to reprint specific articles, photos, and other educational information on a case-by-case basis. To consider your reprint request, please provide the ASPCA with the following information:
- The full legal name of the organization requesting permission to reprint.
- Contact information (organization name, address, phone number, email).
- The type of organization requesting reprint authorization (e.g., for-profit or not-for-profit).
- The location and date the requested information appeared on the ASPCA website.
- How the requested reprint will be used.
Information may be provided via email or regular mail to the following addresses:
ASPCA
Attn.: Legal Department
424 E. 92nd Street
New York, NY 10128
legal@aspca.org
Please allow at least two weeks for processing after all information has been received by the ASPCA Legal Department. The ASPCA's failure to reply to any reprint request is NOT implied or explicit permission to use such materials. Permission to reprint any ASPCA material is made on a one-time-only basis; additional reprint requests must be approved by the ASPCA.
The ASPCA is a national organization with programs and operations in states across the U.S. We work closely with animal welfare organizations across the country, providing specialized expertise and resources, including to help find loving homes for animals in need. However, we are not an umbrella organization; we do not directly oversee or operate local shelters or rescues, except in New York where the ASPCA Adoption Center is located.
Our work with those independent shelters and other organizations helps to prevent animal suffering nationwide. For example, our Shelter Medicine team regularly consults with and supports animal shelters in local communities across the country by providing guidance and resources related to:
- infectious diseases,
- shelter management,
- population management,
- general medical health and physical well-being, and more.
Our partnerships with and direct grants to shelters and rescues is just one part of the work of ASPCA. We also:
- assist and partner with local animal welfare and law enforcement agencies nationwide on animal cruelty cases,
- quickly deploy teams and resources in support of disaster response efforts and to rescue victimized animals, and
- train thousands of animal welfare professionals around the country on how to rehabilitate animals to give them the best chance of finding a loving home.
What we learn through our work, we share with thousands of animal welfare professionals around the country. And we engage the American public to take action on behalf of animals.
ASPCApro.org provides training, research, and resources for animal welfare professionals.
Thank you for opening your heart and home to an animal in need! Visit our Adopt section for information on adopting ASPCA dogs and cats in NYC, Los Angeles, Ohio and North Carolina, or to find a horse available for adoption near you. Here are some quick links:
Visit our Volunteer Opportunities page for more information on opportunities across our facilities and program areas.
Thank you for opening your heart and home to animals who need a little extra TLC. Here are some quick links to find more information on fostering opportunities with the ASPCA:
Our compensation practices are designed to attract and retain the talent required to support our mission-based programs effectively.
The ASPCA partners with an external consultant specializing in non-profit compensation, who determines staff salaries that are in line with those at comparable organizations and in accordance with IRS guidelines for reasonable nonprofit compensation.
As documented in our latest available IRS Form 990 (2023) and audited financial statements, approximately 75 cents of every dollar reported as an ASPCA expenditure was used for programmatic services that directly advance the ASPCA’s mission. Compensation, as noted in our Form 990, is only a small fraction of our total administrative costs, and the combined average total compensation over the last three years of our entire executive leadership team and CEO salary at the ASPCA amounted to 1.19% of our total operating expenses—a slim margin in any industry, including the nonprofit space. We’re committed to transparency about leadership compensation, and you can learn more in our Annual Report page and our most recent IRS Form 990 for a comprehensive overview.
Our compensation practices are designed to attract and retain the talent required to support our mission-based programs effectively. Compensation, as noted in our latest available IRS Form 990 (2023), is only a small fraction of our total administrative costs.
The ASPCA partners with an external consultant specializing in non-profit compensation, who determines staff salaries—including the ASPCA CEO salary—that are in line with those at comparable organizations and in accordance with IRS guidelines for reasonable nonprofit compensation. Our executive leadership team's combined average total compensation over the last three years represented 1.19% of our total operating expenses, a slim margin in any industry, including the nonprofit space. We’re committed to transparency about leadership compensation, and you can learn more in our Annual Report page and our most recent IRS Form 990 for a comprehensive overview.
Procedures for reporting animal cruelty vary state by state and even city by city. Always start with your local police department and animal control. You can also visit our Report Animal Cruelty page for more information.
If you live in NYC and want to report suspected animal abuse or neglect, please call 311. For crimes in progress, call 911.
If you have found an injured or orphaned wild animal, please contact the National Wildlife Rehabilitators Association for a list of resources in your area.
If you’ve found a kitten outside, please use our online tool to determine the best steps to take.
Help get legislation passed by joining the ASPCA Advocacy Brigade. As a member of our Advocacy Brigade, you will receive regular updates informing you of the introduction and status of various bills pending in your state legislature and Congress and what you can do to help. Active involvement by concerned individuals like you is extremely important to secure the passage of legislation to better protect animals.
As a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization, the ASPCA is prohibited from endorsing candidates or engaging in discussions on issues related to a candidate’s campaign for elected office. This applies to all levels of government, including federal, state and local candidates.
The ASPCA does not provide emergency medical advice over phone, email or social media. We urge you to take your pet to a local vet immediately.
If you suspect your pet may have been poisoned or has ingested a toxic substance, please call the 24-hour ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435. A consultation fee may apply.
While the ASPCA does provide free and low-cost services at our hospital and clinics, we are unfortunately unable to provide financial help with an individual’s veterinary bills.
We suggest that you consider asking your animal hospital or private vet if they provide payment plans. Your local shelter or rescue group may also have information about organizations in your area that assist pet owners.
The ASPCA encourages any pet owner who may be considering rehoming their pet to reach out to a shelter or rescue organization in their area, as the staff can often provide advice and assistance.
The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center is your best resource for any animal poison-related emergency, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It is the premier animal poison control center in America, assisting hundreds of thousands of animals each year and providing lifesaving information to pet owners and veterinarians. If you think your pet may have ingested a potentially poisonous substance, call (888) 426-4435. A consultation fee may apply. Visit our APCC page for more information.
For more information regarding our spay/neuter services, visit our ASPCA Veterinary and Spay/Neuter Services in NYC page.
Outside of NYC: Visit our Low-Cost Spay/Neuter Programs page for more information.
If you haven't done so already, we recommend calling your local animal control agencies, animal shelters (both municipal and private), and rescue groups; one of them could have your pet in custody already. We've also gathered resources you can use to know what to do when a pet goes missing.
Donating to the ASPCA
How can I contact ASPCA Member Support?Member Support can be reached at (800) 628-0028, but please review the FAQs below to see if the information you're looking for has been addressed.
Yes, the ASPCA is a 501(c)(3) charity, and your donation may be tax-deductible to the extent allowed under applicable law.
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Online: All of our secure donation forms on the ASPCA website have a URL that starts with "https://secure.aspca.org." Our emails are sent from email addresses that include @aspca.org or @e.aspca.org. Learn more about the ways to give to the ASPCA.
If you suspect an email or website may be fraudulent, please contact the ASPCA directly at legal@aspca.org to verify if we are aware of the situation, have authorized the use of our name, and do, in fact, receive support from them.
Phone Calls: The ASPCA periodically uses a paid fundraiser to call on behalf of the ASPCA. This ensures we can maintain the funding necessary to continue our lifesaving programs. Any call placed on behalf of the ASPCA will clearly state that the call is being made on behalf of the ASPCA and will provide the name of the company calling. The caller will also be able to confirm your member ID number.
If you suspect a phone call may be fraudulent, please contact Member Support at (800) 628-0028 and provide the name of the company and phone number from which you were called to verify we have authorized them to make calls on our behalf.
All of the ASPCA’s lifesaving work is dedicated to rescuing, protecting, and caring for animals in need. Based on our latest available financial data, approximately 75 cents of every dollar we spend advances the ASPCA's mission through lifesaving programs and services around the country. More information on how donations are put to work can be found here.
Approximately 75 cents of every dollar we spend goes directly to the ASPCA’s lifesaving programs around the country. Please visit our Annual Report page to see our latest annual report and our most recently filed IRS Form 990.
Although donations cannot be specified or designated to a particular program or fund, rest assured that the support of our members is greatly appreciated and the ASPCA will use those donations in the area of greatest need.
Of course! Please make your money order or check payable to the ASPCA and send it to:
ASPCA Gift Processing Center, P.O. Box 96929, Washington, DC 20090-6929.
If you would like to make a donation of $5,000 or above, please refer to our Major Giving page for our mailing address, online major gift donation form and other information.
You can obtain a matching gift form from your human resources department and return it to the ASPCA, or you can search for your company and complete a matching gift form online. You can also email matchinggifts@aspca.org if you have any other questions about our matching gift program or call Member Support at (800) 628-0028.
It's easy! You can donate any car, truck, R.V., or boat—in any condition and from any location—to help us save animals and get a tax deduction at the same time. Visit our vehicle donation page for more information or to get started on your donation.
Including the ASPCA in your will or trust is a meaningful way to help us continue to serve animals in need. Many of our programs and services have benefitted from individuals who had the foresight to include the ASPCA in their estate plans. Visit our Planned Giving section to learn more about giving through bequests from your will, charitable gift annuity, retirement assets, life insurance, charitable remainder trust, and more.
There are three ways to make a tribute donation:
- Online: You can make an honor, memorial, or birthday gift online, which has an eCard and printed card option.
- By mail: If you'd like to send a check, please enclose a note indicating the name of the deceased or honoree, the name and the address of the person you wish us to contact concerning the donation, and who it is from. We will send out a tribute card to the person you've indicated. Please send your check to: ASPCA Tributes, 520 8th Ave., 7th Floor, New York, NY 10018.
- By phone: We also accept credit card donations over the phone. Please call (800) 628-0028.
Yes, and we have special place cards that indicate that a donation has been made in honor of guests in lieu of favors. To receive place cards, you can donate online. You can also call (212) 876-7700, ext. 4516 to make your credit card donation over the phone, and your cards will be shipped. For more information, you can email Linda Tiramani at Linda.Tiramani@aspca.org.
Thank you very much for your donation—and we are so sorry for any inconvenience that you may be having. First, you'll need to determine if the extra charge on your online credit card statement is a pending charge. A pending charge usually means that you submitted incomplete or inaccurate information when you made your donation. Even if you received an error message, your credit card company will still place a pending line item on your online statement. If you have determined that the extra charge is a pending charge, it will be canceled by your bank in a few days. If it is not a pending charge and has not been canceled after a few days, please contact Member Support at (800) 628-0028.
Thank you for your commitment to animals with your Guardian membership! Your monthly support makes a huge difference for vulnerable animals across the country. You can find our monthly giving FAQs on this page in the Guardian FAQ tab.
ASPCA Guardian tax receipts are emailed automatically at the beginning of March. Printed tax receipts will be mailed at the end of March. If you need your receipt prior to this time frame, please call our Member Support team at (800) 628-0028, Monday through Friday 8AM to 8PM ET.
Our complimentary t-shirt for donors only comes in size XL (Extra Large). Stocking a single size reduces the ASPCA's costs, ensuring that more of your gift goes directly to our programs that benefit the animals we serve. If you would like to purchase a t-shirt in another size, you can visit the ASPCA's online store on Amazon.
It typically takes at least six to eight weeks from your donation date for your welcome pack to be processed and reach you. If you still have not received your welcome pack, you can contact Member Support by calling (800) 628-0028.
Thank you for your support! This is likely the result of a delay between the date your renewal gift was received and when our renewal mailings were mailed. If you have renewed, please disregard any additional notices that you may have received.
We most likely have more than one member record for you in our database. Please call (800) 628-0028 or email solicitations@aspca.org. We will be happy to remedy this for you. To ensure a quick resolution, please provide us with the complete name and address information. Please note: our mailings are prepared in advance to reduce costs, so it may take up to 90 days to notice a change.
Please call (800) 628-0028 or email solicitations@aspca.org. We will be happy to accommodate your request. To ensure a quick resolution, please provide us with the complete name and address information. Please note that our mailings are prepared in advance to reduce costs, so it may take up to 90 days to notice a change.
If you'd like to receive fewer solicitations, please contact (800) 628-0028 or email solicitations@aspca.org. We will be happy to rectify the situation for you. Please note that our mailings are prepared in advance to reduce costs, so it may take up to 90 days to notice a change.
All of the animals in our fundraising commercials were rescued or cared for by the ASPCA. Many of the animals were rescued from cruelty cases like dogfighting, puppy mills, and hoarding situations, as well as natural disasters. All animals are transported to safety, where they receive immediate care and treatment from expert teams.
Yes, and you may see us in your area! The ASPCA's face-to-face fundraising program is a team of professional, knowledgeable, and highly trained fundraisers who aim to start conversations about the lifesaving work of the ASPCA and provide the opportunity to make an immediate difference for animals across the country. Look for them in your community!
You may see our dedicated and enthusiastic fundraisers on busy streets or outside businesses in your communities. Here's how you'll know you're talking with an authorized ASPCA fundraiser:
- They are wearing an orange or black ASPCA branded bib, jacket or shirt.
- They have a badge prominently displayed with their name and photo identifying them as a professional fundraiser with one of our partners: One Sixty International, Ascenta Group, New Canvassing Experience (NCE), or Up Fundraising.
- They have other ASPCA gear and materials.
- They have a tablet to collect payment information electronically.
- They will not accept cash or check donations.
If you have any questions about our fundraisers, please call (888) 779-5599.
To cancel your donation, please call (800) 628-0028. We will be happy to accommodate your request. To ensure a quick resolution, please provide us with your full name and address.
The ASPCA makes great effort to be an effective steward of donor dollars and we’re proud that approximately 75 cents of every dollar we spend advances our mission through lifesaving programs and services around the country. More information on our fundraising and donation breakdown can be found here.
About Our Work
How does the ASPCA support local shelters and rescue groups?The ASPCA partners and collaborates with hundreds of local shelters and rescues as we work together toward our shared goal of helping save and improve the lives of animals in communities throughout the U.S. As an established national organization with a broad perspective on animal welfare issues, we engage, support, and fill strategic and geographic voids to prevent animal suffering.
Our work includes:
- Quickly deploying teams and resources in support of disaster response efforts at the request of local agencies,
- Assisting regional shelters as part of the ASPCA Animal Relocation program—the largest transporter of shelter dogs and cats for adoption in the U.S.—where we work with overcrowded shelters in under-resourced areas of the country to relocate their animals to other shelters where those animals have greater chances of being adopted into loving homes, and
- Partnering with animal welfare and law enforcement agencies nationwide on animal cruelty cases.
In addition, the ASPCA is enabling more shelters and rescues to treat behaviorally challenged animals effectively and efficiently to give them the best chance of finding a loving home. Through the ASPCA Behavioral Rehabilitation Center in North Carolina—the first-ever facility dedicated to providing behavioral rehabilitation for severely fearful dogs–and the ASPCA Learning Lab program, the ASPCA has trained tens of thousands of animal welfare professionals around the country on how to rehabilitate animals, helping them overcome trauma and severe fear.
Our Shelter Medicine team also regularly consults with and supports animal shelters across the country by providing guidance and resources related to infectious diseases, shelter management, population management, general medical health and physical well-being and more.
Yes, however, grants are only one of many ways we help organizations and communities that request our assistance. The ASPCA is one of the nation’s largest animal welfare grant makers, and since 2001, the ASPCA has given more than $200 million in grants to over 3,500 animal shelters, municipal and governmental agencies, rescue groups, universities and other mission-aligned organizations and programs nationwide. These funds support a variety of programs ranging from increasing pet adoptions to helping communities build strong programs that assist animals during natural disasters, improving access to veterinary care, and partnering with food banks to serve more than 4.3 million pet food meals since 2017.
Animal welfare organizations interested in our current grant opportunities can learn more on ASPCApro.
The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center (APCC) is your best resource for any animal poison-related emergency, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It is the premier animal poison control center in America, assisting hundreds of thousands of animals each year and providing lifesaving information to pet owners and veterinarians. If you think your pet may have ingested a potentially poisonous substance, call (888) 426-4435. A consultation fee may apply. Visit our APCC page for more information.
The ASPCA knows that when pet owners face life challenges, so do their pets, and the ASPCA is committed to providing accessible and affordable veterinary services for pets whose owners are struggling financially.
The ASPCA’s Community Medicine programs in New York, Los Angeles and Miami provide veterinary care to animals and pet owners in under-resourced communities who face a variety of barriers to accessing medical services for their pets, including cost, lack of transportation, and lack of information about how and where to go for care. By providing access to spay/neuter services, supplies, preventative care, and other resources, the ASPCA is helping to keep tens of thousands of vulnerable animals safe and healthy across the country.
Since the ASPCA's founding over 155 years ago, equine protection has been an important part of our efforts. The ASPCA is committed to ensuring good welfare for all equines in the United States. We work with the rescue community and equine industries to help horses safely transition to new careers and homes and are the guiding force of a movement to reimagine and increase equine adoption. We also provide grant funding to horse rescues, work to increase safety net support for horse owners, enhance anti-cruelty efforts to stop equine abuse, and work toward a permanent ban on horse slaughter in America. Visit ASPCA Right Horse for more information on our work.
More than 9.5 billion chickens, turkeys, pigs and cows are slaughtered every year for food in the United States. The vast majority of these animals are raised on “factory farms,” where they are confined in huge numbers in barren, industrial settings. These facilities are not just inhumane, they are also environmentally unsound and dangerous for public health. But it doesn’t have to be this way. The ASPCA is calling for increased transparency in animal agriculture, an end to the cruelest factory farming practices, and adequate funding for a more humane food system.
The ASPCA is dedicated to addressing farm animal suffering by promoting higher-welfare farming practices and increasing public awareness about how to make more humane food choices. The ASPCA's Shop With Your Heart program provides resources to help navigate food labels, including a list of higher-welfare and plant-based food brands. Visit Shop With Your Heart for more information.
In addition to these resources, we also work with food companies and farmers to help them transition to independently verified higher-welfare farming practices. We also encourage lawmakers and citizens to advance laws that would better protect farm animals from cruelty, clarify misleading food labels and promote the transition from factory farming to better practices. With the help of concerned and engaged consumers, advocates, businesses and lawmakers, we know that a more compassionate food and farming system is possible and are working hard to make it the way of the future.
The ASPCA, and other charities, are occasionally targeted by special interest lobbying groups representing companies or groups opposed to our work, usually because we may undermine their profits. Often, the information these groups share is deceptive and fact-bending as their intent is to discredit animal welfare organizations in order to derail our efforts to end animal suffering and our work with policy makers to pass humane legislation. You can read more here.
As part of our work to end factory farming and transition to a more humane food system, the ASPCA advocates for both higher welfare practices on farms and a reduction of animals in the food system. Some groups disagree with our strategy to promote better standards on farms, and particularly with the use of independent welfare audits.
About 10 billion pigs, chickens, cows, and turkeys are raised every year for food in this country, the vast majority of them on what is known as factory farms. These are massive, industrial facilities, packed with tens of thousands of animals in squalid, crowded conditions. We know that the overwhelming majority of Americans—no matter what they eat—don’t want farm animals to suffer, yet there are almost no laws protecting these animals, which is why certain third-party welfare certifications are an important tool to set minimum standards and add transparency to this system—for the sake of animals and consumers.
The reality is that these third-party certifications, which some groups criticize, are not perfect, but they require over 100 standards pertaining to the treatment of farmed animals, where otherwise there would be none. As long as animals are farmed in the U.S., it is critical that animal welfare organizations like the ASPCA have a seat at the table pushing for better treatment. The ASPCA is committed to advocating for every possible protection to help the vulnerable animals caught in the cruelty of factory farming. From championing legislation that funds factory farmers’ transitions to higher welfare and specialty crop farming, to assisting food companies in eliminating the most inhumane industrial practices, to offering grants for research focused on the negative consequences of factory farming, we are pursuing creative, collaborative solutions that will spare billions of animals from suffering and build a more humane food system.
The ASPCA is a driving force behind the creation and passage of lifesaving animal welfare legislation, including strengthening anti-cruelty laws, eliminating the cruel conditions in puppy mills, protecting horses from slaughter, and much more. We work to enact policies that protect animals at the local, state, and federal levels of government. Visit our Improving Laws for Animals section for more information.
The ASPCA has extensive programs in place to find appropriate placement options for the animals in our care, while also recognizing that we have the responsibility to make the best decisions for each animal and the communities we serve, particularly in cases involving behavior or medical challenges or dogs deemed dangerous under applicable law. Euthanasia must be understood for what it is: a humane and responsible part of animal welfare that can spare animals from further hardship and suffering, and in some cases, ensures the safety of the community.
Because the term "no kill" has different meanings to different people, it's not a term we typically use. The ASPCA's number one priority is improving positive outcomes for animals. Specifically, we seek to increase the number of lives saved and decrease the number of animals entering shelters.
We achieve these objectives by working in partnership with other animal welfare organizations, creating and funding innovative programs, conducting research that helps inform and improve sheltering work, and by challenging ourselves and our partners to meet the needs of animals and their people in the communities we serve.
There is no reason to believe that a person is either incapable or unwilling to properly care for their pet merely because they are unhoused. Studies have shown that people experiencing homelessness often put their pets first, and there is no correlation between income and a pet owner's ability and desire to care for their pet. Therefore, the ASPCA's work is focused on ensuring that there are more supportive services to help keep people and pets together.
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