May 2009

In 2005, the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) won the biggest civil action to stop animal cruelty in American history, rescuing more than 300 dogs from a North Carolina animal hoarder. In its June issue, O, The Oprah Magazine, catches up with a crew of the case's spunkiest survivors.

• Read an in-depth account of the ALDF vs. Woodley case in “Operation Rescue” in the June issue of O, The Oprah Magazine, also featured on Oprah.com.
• In their own words, four of the women who opened their homes to dogs rescued from the Woodley’s tell about how their lives have been changed forever by these special animals in slideshows now featured on Oprah.com.
• Special supplementary features on ALDF’s website, including an easy one-click action item that will urge legislators to support a tough new law designed to help stop animal hoarding, and special videos and slideshows of the dogs rescued in the Woodley case with their new families.

Hoarding is very difficult to prevent, but it can be stopped. In the short term, neglected and abused animals need to be removed from a hoarder's property, but only long term changes to animal law can prevent hoarding. That is why the Animal Legal Defense Fund is urging states to adopt a First Strike and You're Out law - a model law written by ALDF that would prevent animal abusers from having the chance to harm other animals. For more information on ALDF's model law please visit www.aldf.org/firststrike