
Partnership not Punishment
Partnership not Punishment How Moratoriums and Bans on neighborhood breeders endangers community-based sheltering We acknowledge that caring for companion animals within shelters is exhausting, frustrating,
A three percent increase in adoptions among people of color would give 2 MILLION pets a loving home.
97% of Animal Welfare holds an implicit bias against individuals from low socioeconomic status, and over 65% hold implicit bias toward Latin X and African Americans.
The work we do at CARE, Human and Animal Well-Being, addresses the bias within Animal Welfare in service to the field and marginalized people and their pets.
HUMAN AND ANIMAL WELL-BEING [HAW] is a unique, six stage, method of community support and advocacy that centers the well-being of people, in contrast to Animal Welfare’s traditional animal only focus. Few organizations work in the same way as CARE. As illustrated below, we start with building trust with community members before attempting to implement programming.
Our work begins with establishing trusting relationships within marginalized and underserved communities.
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We ask those closest to community challenges for their insights by way of Community Participatory Research [CPR]
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Insights gains from CPR and other studies guide CARE’s program design, partnerships, and resource distribution.
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Community Animal CARE is a shelter intervention program that supports communities with pets and their Proximate Leaders.
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Everything we learn from our community partners and research studies is hosted and shared through The Circle of Learning and Leadership.
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People of Color and marginalized communities suffer from negative stereotypes. Our Narratives tell a truer and more beautiful story about them.
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Our programs and their missions
FEATURED SPEAKERS: Dr. Natasha N. Johnson and Dr. Thaddeus L. Johnson!!
This workshop will immediately follow the Philly Backyard Breeding presentation.
Fines and fees are often framed as an accountability tool. In practice, they can operate as revenue extraction—deepening poverty, widening racial inequity, destabilizing families, and making it harder for people to keep or recover the animals they love. This session connects criminal legal fines and fees to pet policy and animal welfare systems, examines the laws and practices that worsen harm, and highlights reforms that replace punishment with support.
Dr. Natasha N. Johnson is an Assistant Professor in Augusta University’s Department of Research, Counseling & Curriculum. A career educator since 2001, she brings more than two decades of K–20 experience as a teacher, guidance counselor, assistant dean, instructional leader, and curriculum developer in the United States and abroad. Her scholarship centers on critical theory, equity, and social justice leadership, with additional interests in intersectionality, educational law, policy, governance, and curriculum development. Dr. Johnson is a David L. Clark Scholar, CETLOE Faculty Teaching Fellow, IGI Global Scientific Publishing Ambassador, and GAWHE Leadership Fellow whose work appears in scholarly and public venues.
Dr. Thaddeus L. Johnson is an Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice and Criminology at Georgia State University’s Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, a Senior Fellow at the Council on Criminal Justice, and a board member of CARE. A former law enforcement official in Tennessee, his scholarship focuses on policing, crime control, governance, street violence, algorithmic bias, and correctional control. He is the author or co-author of numerous articles and reports, as well as the book Deviance among Physicians: Fraud, Violence, and the Power to Prescribe. His work has appeared widely in national and international media.
#thankstomaddie #CAREgathering2026 #humanandanimalwellbeing
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🐕🦺 Canine parvovirus is one of the most serious illnesses a dog can face. It’s highly contagious, often fatal, and spreads easily through contact with infected pets or contaminated environments like bedding, bowls, and even human hands.
Puppies, senior pets, and those with weakened immune systems are most at risk. Symptoms like lethargy, vomiting, severe diarrhea, and loss of appetite can appear quickly and worsen fast.
💚 The good news is that parvo is preventable. Vaccination, avoiding high-risk areas before full protection, and early veterinary care can save lives.
🧡 Community Animal CARE (CAC) includes sharing information so we can prevent, treat at home and know when to call a Vet. Sharing is CARING.
#sharingiscaring #thankstomaddie #communityanimalCARE #petsandpeople
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📑 In 2024, officials approved a project on contaminated land in Chicago’s South Shore, one of the last majority-Black neighborhoods along Lake Michigan. Supported by taxpayer dollars and the Pentagon’s research arm, it aims to establish the U.S.`s first large-scale quantum computer.
South Shore faces pressure from the Obama Presidential Center to the north and the quantum campus to the south, leading to rising property taxes and displacement threats against long-time Black and Hispanic residents.
🗳️ Residents proposed a binding ballot question to pause the project due to concerns about displacement and environmental impact, but the Chicago Board of Elections blocked it on a technicality.
"We deserve resources, and we deserve autonomy over our own communities," Jayna McGruder stated. "Instead of jobs, housing, and healthcare, they’re giving us a war computer."
⚖ In 2018, Congress passed the National Quantum Initiative Act, initiating a decade-long program to fund federal quantum research through the Department of Energy and defense agencies, with an emphasis on national security.
Over $1 billion has been invested in a South Side campus housing companies like PsiQuantum, Pasqal, and IBM. However, residents of this predominantly Black community are concerned about the environmental impacts and feel marginalized, viewing themselves as test subjects for military technology rather than partners in development.
📝 In late 2025, Southside Together gathered signatures for a referendum to pause campus work until their concerns about displacement and environmental effects were addressed. Despite meeting requirements, the Chicago Board of Elections excluded them from the March ballot due to a single-subject rule. Residents emphasized that their fight was about lack of engagement with Black communities in a multibillion-dollar project, not opposition to technology itself.
🔗 Read the full article on Capital B News @capitalbnews using link in bio
#CAREequity
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🧠 Are you pet smart?
From pet trivia to real-world knowledge of CARE, game show contestants put their skills to the test during our “Are You Pet Smart?” Jeopardy-style game at this year’s The Gathering — sponsored by PetSmart Charities @petsmartcharities.
🏆 Winners will receive Direct CARE funding for their local nonprofit veterinary clinics to help neighborhood pets and people.
Extra Special Thanks to PetSmart Charities for supporting The Gathering!
#PetSmartCharities #TheGathering #CAREequity
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🍖 What your pet eats shapes how they live. Good nutrition supports everything from energy levels to immune health, helping pets live longer, more comfortable lives.
A balanced diet includes high-quality protein, essential vitamins and minerals, and digestible carbs and fiber along with constant access to fresh water. At the same time, avoiding harmful foods like chocolate, onions, grapes, and xylitol is just as important.
😻 Every pet is different. Before making any diet changes, talk with your veterinarian to build a plan that supports your pet’s health at every stage of life.
🧡 Community Animal CARE (CAC) includes sharing information so we can prevent, treat at home and know when to call a Vet. Sharing is CARING.
#sharingiscaring #thankstomaddie #communityanimalCARE #petsandpeople
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Partnership not Punishment How Moratoriums and Bans on neighborhood breeders endangers community-based sheltering We acknowledge that caring for companion animals within shelters is exhausting, frustrating,

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