Shelley Lieberman has built a life around a simple but powerful idea: when you care deeply about something, that’s where your work should begin. That mindset has guided her journey as a passionate advocate for both animals and the people who love them. As a longtime board member of Ohio Animal Advocates (OAA), Shelley has helped lead efforts that connect the dots between animal welfare, domestic violence, and homelessness.

Jill Herbst, a founding board member of the Ohio Animal Foundation (OAF), has been deeply involved in advancing animal welfare in Ohio since the organization’s early beginnings in 2016. From shaping the foundation’s strategic vision to authoring educational content and coordinating outreach, Herbst has played a central role in OAF’s development.

This year’s Spring Fling was filled with sunshine, smiles, and stories that remind us why we do what we do. Ohio Animal Advocates was thrilled to visit Sunrise Sanctuary and meet some of their incredible residents — each with their own journey of resilience, love, and second chances.

Two animals who captured everyone’s hearts were Trevor the turkey and Daisy the blind mini horse.

In the spring of 2025, a striking silver fox captured the attention of Medina County residents—and raised a red flag for wildlife advocates. The animal, later named Lake, was not just beautiful, he was out of place.

Unlike Ohio’s native red and gray foxes, Lake’s dark, shimmering coat marked him as a melanistic or “silver” fox—a trait rarely seen in the wild, but common in captive-bred foxes raised to be pets. His calm behavior around humans and lack of fear signaled something else: this was no wild animal. Lake had been bred and likely raised in captivity.

And, like many exotic pets, he had been abandoned.

OAA strives to make Ohio a place where all animals are protected from cruelty, abuse, and neglect. Currently, thousands of innocent puppies and breeding dogs are vulnerable to the inhumanities of puppy mills, and we need your help to change this.

The Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) has continuously failed to control the abusive puppy mill industry in Ohio and to hold the abusers accountable. Breeders disregard the health of their dogs to keep costs low and maximize their profits. According to Humane World research, most puppies sold in pet stores and through online retailers are born in puppy mills.

In April 2025, the Ohio Domestic Violence Network (ODVN) launched its inaugural Survivor Voices Council, a transformative initiative supported by a $200,000 grant from the Ohio Housing Trust Fund (OHTF). This funding underscores the critical role OHTF plays in supporting life-saving programs for Ohioans facing domestic violence and housing insecurity.

At Ohio Animal Advocates, we believe that protecting animals and protecting children go hand in hand. That’s why we are urging support for H.R. 712 – the Child and Animal Abuse Detection and Reporting Act—a bipartisan bill that seeks to improve how we track and respond to child abuse cases by including animal abuse as a critical data point.

At the University of Dayton (UD), a group of passionate students is proving that compassion and community can make a real difference for animals in need. Paws with Claws, UD’s first student organization dedicated to cat advocacy, has already helped nine community cats find safety, medical care, and loving homes since launching in 2024.

The clock is ticking—and Ohio families, pets, and communities are depending on us to act.

Right now, Ohio Senate leaders are making critical decisions about what to include in the state budget. One dangerous amendment added by the House to HB 96, the biennial state budget bill, would gut the Ohio Housing Trust Fund (OHTF)—a vital source of state funding for affordable housing, emergency home repair, and homelessness prevention across all 88 counties.

On April 11, 2025, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a groundbreaking plan that could reshape the future of drug development—and save countless animal lives in the process.

In a bold move, FDA Commissioner Dr. Martin Makary unveiled a roadmap to phase out animal testing, starting with monoclonal antibody therapies. Backed by bipartisan legislation and cutting-edge technology, this shift marks the beginning of a more ethical, efficient, and human-relevant approach to drug safety.

On October 24, 2024, Sophia Kartsonis, the former director of Our Farm Sanctuary in Tipp City, Ohio, was sentenced in Miami County Municipal Court on six counts of cruelty to companion animals.

In a heartbreaking case that has shaken animal lovers and advocates across Ohio, a man in Summit County has been arrested after allegedly cutting off the tails of three newborn kittens. The suspect, 57-year-old Bret Stalnaker, is now facing a felony charge of animal cruelty.