“‘Be Kind to Animals Week®’ (May 3-9) is the longest-running, most successful humane education campaign in America, and has been supported by several U.S. Presidents, movie stars from Shirley Temple to John Wayne, Eleanor Roosevelt to Betty White, and even Dennis the Menace and Porky Pig.” This from a news release issued by the American Humane Association, which created the commemorative week back in 1915 to help teach Americans the value of kindness and compassion towards our animal friends.
Those of us who love the furrier inhabitants of our planet know that being kind to animals is important every day, all year. But it’s nice that we bring special attention to it in an official capacity, because they so deserve it.
To kick off Be Kind to Animals Week®, my husband and I took Sophie and Jasper on a long walk this morning. The weather was stunning and we explored parts of our neighborhood we hadn’t seen before, so it was interesting for us and the dogs. We met up with other dog parents, the pups got to socialize and we all got some needed exercise- a great way to start this special week!
Some fun facts about Be Kind to Animals Week
- Created against the backdrop of World War I when millions of horses were perishing on the blood-soaked battlefields of Europe, Be Kind to Animals Week has touched hundreds of millions of people, and over the years has featured many iconic spokespeople and advocates including President Warren Harding, Shirley Temple, Eleanor Roosevelt, Milton Berle, Doris Day, Porky Pig, Dennis the Menace, John Wayne, Lorne Greene, Carol Burnett, Clint Eastwood, Betty White and many others.
- How did it start? On October 5-8 of 1914, during its 38th annual 4-day meeting in Atlantic City, N.J., the leaders of the AHA adopted a resolution that local humane societies and individuals across the country would observe a “Humane Sunday which shall be devoted to the consideration of humanity to all living creatures” and “that this Sunday be followed by a week to be devoted to a special plan for kindness to animals, and to be known as ‘Be Kind to Animals’ week.”
- Several churches across the country had held annual “Mercy Sunday” events, where members of the clergy delivered sermons on the importance of the humane treatment of animals. Mercy Sunday was the forerunner to “Be Kind to Animals Week,” but the idea did not yet have the backing of a national leader in the humane movement
- An annual poster contest has allowed children to imagine creative ways in which we all can be kind to our furry, feathered, and finned friends.
- In 1916, one day after the conclusion of the second-ever “Be Kind to Animals Week,” American Humane Association president Dr. William O. Stillman receives a letter from U.S. Secretary of War Newton D. Baker asking American Humane Association to send a team to Europe to care for the sick and wounded animals used in battle, just as the Red Cross had been asked to do for humans.
- In 1936, Shirley Temple, the biggest child star of her era, serves as junior chair for “Be Kind to Animals Week.” Though she herself is too young to drive, she urges motorists to be vigilant to avoid animals crossing the roadway.
- In 1950, Porky Pig learns an important lesson of compassion on a special “Be Kind to Animals Week”-themed “Looney Tunes” short entitled “Dog Collared,” where he eventually befriends and adopts a dog who follows him everywhere.
- In 1960, child actor Jay North, the star of the sitcom “Dennis the Menace,” serves as spokesperson for the year’s celebration; he is joined by fellow CBS child star Jerry Mathers, better known as Beaver Cleaver on “Leave it to Beaver.”
- In 1971, Betty White is appointed “National Kindness Chairman,” beginning her decades-long legacy of working with American Humane Association, which endures to this day.
- In 1975, Doris Day, the year’s “National Kindness Chairman,” says that the most important criterion for owning a pet is “to be a responsible pet owner.” Some 1,200 humane organizations across the country celebrate “Be Kind to Animals Week.” American Humane Association begins a campaign to have “Be Kind to Animals Week” officially recognized by the United States Congress, which would take more than a decade to happen.
- In 2000, Allie Pearlman, a 12-year old from Old Bethpage, New York, is named the year’s “BKA Kid Contest” winner and receives a $10,000 scholarship from American Humane Association. The fifth grader was a compassionate crusader for ending the process of live frog dissection at her school. As a result of her efforts, her school district purchases a computer program to simulate frog dissection instead of using live animals.
- What now? For this Centennial, the AHA is launching an ambitious year-long campaign called “Kindness 100″ to recruit all Americans to become animal advocates and help solve the remaining challenges still facing millions of animals in need. The campaign, which kicks off this week, enlists a new generation to do four simple things that can make a world of difference to billions of farm animals, millions of animals abandoned to U.S. shelters each year, animals in entertainment, and disappearing and endangered species.
Some of the things AHA will be doing to reach people about this important campaign are: kicking off a national media tour, an educational roadshow to schools with a traveling museum aboard its fleet of famed Red Star Rescue trucks that save animals in disasters, and a website www.Kindness100.org where readers can find a fascinating historical retrospective of “Be Kind to Animals Week,” a series of pre-K-5 curricula to teach children compassion in all areas of life, official downloadable proclamations for local, state and federal officials, and a Kindness 100 Pledge with four things people can do to improve the lives of millions – actually, billions – of animals. Beautiful.
You can join the movement at www.Kindness100.org.
