Think you need a law degree or years of experience to pass animal protection laws? Suzanne Gonzalez co-founded Pennsylvania Voters for Animals with zero legislative background and they recently had their first success – passing a comprehensive pet sales ban in Easton, PA. In this episode, Suzanne shares the exact step-by-step process any group of advocates can replicate to create change in their community.

In this episode, you’ll discover the blueprint for starting and succeeding with grassroots animal advocacy:

1. Why forming a 501(c)(4) instead of a 501(c)(3) gave them more legislative power
2. How to find and partner with organizations that accelerate your success
3. The research shortcut: using other cities’ ordinances as your starting point
4. Why local advocacy works better than jumping straight to state legislation
5. How to mobilize community members to testify and influence decision-makers
6. When to compromise without abandoning your principles

The episode also explores:

• The difference between 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) organizations and why it matters for advocacy work
• How Pennsylvania Voters for Animals connected with Voters for Animal Rights, Animal Defense Partnership, and World Animal Protection US
• Why Easton’s ordinance protects more species than most pet sales bans
• How to handle opposition from the pet trade industry
• The power of local residents showing up to say “I live here and this matters to me”
• Why collaboration beats competition when building the animal protection movement

Key Takeaway: You don’t need expertise or resources to start—you need commitment, a willingness to learn, and the understanding that change happens one community at a time. Suzanne and Pennsylvania Voters for Animals created a replicable model that proves ordinary people can achieve extraordinary results for animals.

Episode Highlights:

00:00 Becoming an Animal Advocate
04:41 Starting an Animal Advocacy Organization
09:32 Local Advocacy Empowers Change
11:46 Ending the Pet Mill Pipeline
14:09 Advocating Animal Welfare in Pennsylvania
18:57 Animal Advocacy and Speciesism
24:06 Opposition from the Pet Trade
25:34 Advocacy Tips for New Animal Advocates
29:13 Grassroots Advocacy for Animal Laws

Resources Mentioned:

• Pennsylvania Voters for Animals
• Voters for Animal Rights (New York)
• Animal Defense Partnership
• World Animal Protection US
• Fish Feel
• Lady Freethinker

If you’re in Pennsylvania and want to bring a pet sales ban or other animal protection ordinance to your community, reach out to Pennsylvania Voters for Animals. They’re building a network of advocates across the state and are eager to help you succeed. Even if you’re in another state, they’re happy to share their experiences and resources.

Contact us anytime at podcast@animaladvocacyacademy.com

Because compassion is great, but compassionate action is infinitely better.

Transcript

Penny Ellison:

Welcome back to the Animal Advocate. Last week, we talked about retail pet sales bans and how they reduced the demand for puppy mill dogs. We explored the policy arguments and the legislative landscape. But understanding the policy is one thing. Actually making change happen in your community, that’s where so many people get stuck. They think they can’t really do anything to change things. Today’s guest is here to show you otherwise. You can do this.

And she’s going to tell you how step by step. Welcome to the Animal Advocate, where we arm animal lovers with the information and inspiration you need to become effective advocates. I’m your host, Penny Ellison, and I’ve taught animal law and advocacy at the University of Pennsylvania since 2006. If you’ve ever thought someone should do something, I’m here to guide you on your journey to being that someone. You can find us on the web@animaladvocacyacademy.com and that’s where you’ll find show notes and resources, and you can send us your comments on episodes and ideas for topics you’d like to hear on future shows. So on to today’s topic. Suzanne Gonzalez is the founder of Pennsylvania Voters for Animals, and her story is exactly what aspiring advocates need to hear. She and her friends formed a nonprofit, set clear priorities, built strategic partnerships, and started at the local level.

And they won. Easton, Pennsylvania, now has an ordinance that bans the sale of almost all live animals in pet stores, not just puppies, but a comprehensive ban that goes further than almost any other municipal ordinance. What makes Suzanne’s story so valuable isn’t just that they succeeded. It’s how they did it, with no prior experience, limited resources, and a practical approach that any group of committed advocates could replicate in their own community. So whether you’re thinking about starting your own advocacy organization or. Or you’re wondering how to turn your passion for animals into concrete policy change, let’s hear from someone who’s been exactly where you are and proved that you don’t need all the answers. Before you begin, you just need to start.

Welcome, Suzanne. We’re so excited to have you on the podcast.

Suzanne Gonazales:

Oh, thank you so much, Penny. I am honored to be here.

Suzanne Gonzalez:

Suzanne is the co founder of Pennsylvania Voters for Animals, which is a grassroots organization working on local ordinances in support of animal issues. And my first question is, what gave rise to this organization? What.

What was your idea?

Suzanne Gonzalez:

Oh, thank you, Penny. About 10 years ago, when I retired, I just decided that I wanted to dedicate whatever time I have left, I want to work to help make this World a better place for animals. I had worked for years as a nurse and worked in the pharmaceutical industry and had an awareness of animal use by pharmaceutical companies, animal use and research, entertainment, et cetera. And so I thought, I need to do more. And so my sons actually were already vegan. For a number of years, I was vegetarian. But when I retired, I said, I am truly dedicating my life to animals and people, of course, but predominantly animals, because I saw such a tremendous need and an opportunity. So what I did was I volunteered for different animal welfare organizations.

I’ve gotten involved with different rescues, in particular a rescue in Montgomery county that actually rescues dogs from puppy mills. So I had that experience and still do to this day. I’ve also rescued farmed animals. And so I’ve had that firsthand experience of seeing firsthand the suffering, looking at into the eyes of the animals who are being used by humans for food. So I had that experience as well. And through this, I saw an opportunity to form a grassroots organization that is really powered by people. And that’s what I did not see. And, you know, maybe I just was in a little bubble, even volunteering with these other bigger organizations.

But it felt as though we had such an opportunity to get people engaged in this movement. So I started doing some due diligence, looking at, you know, what are different organizations that I could form. And I found one group in particular in New York called Voters for Animal Rights. And I reached out to their president, Allie Taylor, and I spoke with her and she was incredible, so helpful. And she said, suzanne, it sounds like you want to form a 501C4 similar to voters for Animal Rights. So of course, I really didn’t have any awareness of what a 501C4 was as compared to a 501C3. So she recommended that I reach out to an organization called Animal Defense Partnership. And they are comprised of animal rights attorneys predominantly, and they will actually help you pro bono to navigate through the process.

Suzanne Gonzalez:

So they were incredibly helpful. I did determine that a 501C4 was the way to go. And 501 is a nonprofit, but the difference is they are considered a social welfare organization. And as such, a 501C4 can actually lobby or advocate for stronger laws. So not just animal protection, but it basically is any legislation that really benefits the community, benefits people, and animals are considered included because they are part of our community. And so you can lobby for stronger legislation either at the federal level, the state level, or at the local level. Additionally, you can inform voters about the Voting process, you can actually educate people on how to register to vote, how. And very importantly, as an organization, you can endorse candidates.

Suzanne Gonzalez:

So that appealed to us or me at that time, because I thought, you know, especially if you want to make that commitment to really focus on stronger legislation, that you also want to be able to understand, you know, the legislative process and understand the whole that drives the legislative process. So looking at your legislators, looking at candidates who are running for office, to really understand what’s their position. If someone has already been elected to office, looking at their history, how do they vote? Have they sponsored animal protection laws? And then for candidates, people who are running for office, what are their thoughts? Like, what are their plans to include animals in their work as a legislator?

Penny Ellison:

Most shelters, rescues, they’re all 501C3s, which means they can do some of that work, but they can’t spend much money on, for instance, a lobbyist or. And they can’t really endorse candidates. So a 501C4 is meant to be more sort of a political voice for animals.

Suzanne Gonzalez:

That’s such a great way to frame that pending. The other really important point is that a 501 donations made to that 501 are not tax deductible. That’s the downside.

Suzanne Gonzalez:

That is a downside. But we were willing to take that downside with having that empowerment to move legislation forward or lobby for stronger legislation. So I was fortunate enough to know three individuals who were on a seat similar journey, not retired, but dedicated to working with animals, rescuing, volunteering, and we came together over the past, you know, 10 years or so. And when I approached them with my idea for Pennsylvania voters for animals, they jumped on it. So that was really the beginning. In 2023, I filed our application, our application to become a 501C4, and we received our tax exempt letter in June of 2024, and we officially kicked off in October of 2024. So it’s a year.

Penny Ellison::

So you’ve only been doing this a year and you’re already seeing some success. That’s fantastic.

Suzanne Gonzalez:

Yeah. But in summary, it truly is a labor of love and commitment to animals here.

Penny Ellison:

That is a great story and I think really inspirational for listeners because I think a lot of people, especially currently, feel kind of powerless. And you’re saying, you know, you’re not powerless, especially if you start acting on the local level. And I think recognizing, I have also spoken to that New York group that you mentioned, the New York Voters for Animals. And I think that when you operate a 501C4 and these kind of political advocacy campaigns. You have to go beyond an argument that says this piece of legislation is good for animals and it’s fair and it’s just and it’s humane. And you have to kind of recognize that most politicians, like most people are self-interested and you have to do things like you’re talking about to say we’re going to endorse candidates and we have members in our organization that are your constituents and they’re going to know whether you co-sponsored this bill and whether you voted for it. And I think that’s such an important part of the process is that I know in Pennsylvania legislators get thousands and thousands of bills are proposed and very few of them get passed. And they have to know that this is something that their constituents are prioritizing.

Suzanne Gonzalez:

Yeah, that’s such an excellent point, Penny. One of our board members, Karen Winkler, will often say how she approaches her legislators is she’ll say, animals are important to me and as your constituent, I want them to be important to you.

Penny Ellison:

That’s great.

Suzanne Gonzalez:

And so that’s really foundational to our organization that we, this is the messaging that we say that our stakeholders as Pennsylvania voters for animals are the animals. They’re not the donors, they’re not legislators, they’re not lobbying groups, they’re the animals. That’s who we are held accountable to.

Penny Ellison:

And there are so many ways in which animals need our help and need stronger laws. So I’m sure when the four of you got together to get started, you had to figure out what are our. priorities going to be? Because we can’t do everything. We’re a small organization. So how did, how did you set some priorities?

Suzanne Gonzalez:

We sat around, we had a brainstorming session and we said between the four of us, we had over 20 years experience in animal rescue, in volunteering for organizations. And we said the one thing that really just rang true to all of us is that we need to do something first and foremost to shut down the puppy mill to pet store pipeline. As I mentioned, I do volunteer for Wonderful Rescue and they rescue primarily from puppy mills. And I did have the privilege of going with the, the founder to several puppy mills and I saw firsthand. So we knew as a group, we said, we’ve got to do this. We’ve got to prioritize ending the sale of dogs in pet stores and hopefully someday shutting down puppy mills. However, that said, as we started to do our due diligence, looking at really getting an understanding of what does that look like and what we found is yet, yes, puppy mills are horrendous. However, there are cat mills, there are fish mills, there are bird mills, there are reptile mills, there are amphibian mills, there are small mammal mills.

There’s no difference in the level of suffering, of neglect. It’s abysmal the conditions that these animals are kept in. So it’s not just puppies that are suffering or their parents that are suffering. It’s all animals that are sold in these retail pet store chains are coming from commercial breeding operations.

Penny Ellison:

That’s interesting because there has been, as I know you know, a bill pending at the state level in Pennsylvania to ban the Victoria’s law to ban the sale of, I think it’s dogs and cats and sometimes it may include rabbits But they don’t go out to all the species that you’re talking about. So you decided based on what you learned that, you know, if you go into a pet store now, you might not see puppies, but you might see guinea pigs and chinchillas and ferrets and fish. And you would like to ban the retail sale of all animals.

Suzanne Gonzalez:

Exactly. And so we did look into, and we are highly supportive of its House Bill 1816, which is victorious law, because we do feel we have to start somewhere at the state level. However, that said, we also looked at ourselves as how do we differentiate from the other organizations who are also fighting for stronger animal laws or welfare laws or protection laws in Pennsylvania? And so what we did was we said, we’re going to fight for all animals. We’re not going to set up boundaries over, you know, who suffers more, because they all are. And our position is we are going to advocate for everyone. So the retail pet store bans we looked at, where can we start? So we did take a strategic approach to this and we said, let’s start at the local level. We will always support state level laws that are really working to end animal suffering. But we looked at where’s the opportunity here? And with over 2,500 municipalities in Pennsylvania and with 15 pet sales ordinances that have been enacted to date, we have a lot of work to do.

So we said, this is what we’re going to do. We’re going to work on setting precedent by working to have pet sales bans at the local level that include all animals.

Penny Ellison:

That’s great. As you know, since you and I have consulted some, I am a big fan of starting locally, both because, for a lot of reasons, because it feels more manageable to people, because a small group of individuals is Much more important to a local legislator who doesn’t have as many constituents. So you might not need as big of a group to get movement on that. And it’s a precedent. It starts the ball rolling and gives you momentum if you then want to go for a state law.

Suzanne Gonzalez:

Absolutely, Penny. So we decided, we did establish five other initiatives that we want to work on as well and are, however, because we are so small, we said, let’s prioritize our initiatives. And our number one focus is the local ordinances to get these enacted that will ban the sale of all animals in retail pet stores. So we came up with our list of six initiatives. We worked to prioritize our number one, which I just shared. And so we started to look at, you know, where might we start? And so one of our board members, Cheryl Petrillo, she’s a force to be reckoned with. She had already worked on getting four pet sales ban ordinances enacted in Allentown, Easton, Bethlehem and Forks Township. And so they were predominantly.

Suzanne Gonzalez:

It was the dogs, cats, rabbits. And then three of the four enacted actually expanded the ordinance to include guinea pigs. So we thought, okay, you know, these are obviously municipalities that are open to considering adding more animals. So we went to city of Easton, or Cheryl did actually reached out to Councilwoman Tyba Sultana, and she asked Councilwoman Sultana, would you sponsor an expanded ordinance for the city of Easton, including all mammals, reptiles, amphibians, species, birds and fishes. And again, this is historic. This is a novel concept in the state of Pennsylvania. So Councilwoman Sultana jumped on it and we did give testimony at the first meeting. And I will share.

It was an interesting experience for me because this is my first attempt. Cheryl had already had ordinances under her belt. For me, it was, it was new.

Penny Ellison::

So what did you learn? What did you learn?

Suzanne Gonzalez:

So much. I was prepared, I have to say. I had been, you know, I studied their existing ordinance. I also built the rationale why this was so important. So I, I took an approach that it’s like, benefits consumers, so it benefits their constituents, benefits animals, and it also benefits. It protects our ecosystems. So it was a multi-pronged approach, because people dump animals that they don’t want anymore and you’re trying to protect reptiles and amphibians and.

Suzanne Gonzalez:

Yeah, and so I did, just for, you know, people to keep in mind that I was able to back up all of my, you know, arguments, if you will, with data. So I had articles that were relevant to Pennsylvania and recent. So what I did, I did encounter is I did get pushback I mean, and rightfully so. Rightfully so. I mean, there was a lot to digest because they’re going from a dog, cat, rabbit, guinea pig, to now let’s include everyone in, you know, an amended ordinance. And so the other part of this, Penny, as I know you can understand and your, your listeners as well, is that we also have to deal with, as animal advocates and animal activists, speciesism. So it is hard for people to understand that a reptile or an amphibian, fish, birds, that they suffer. It’s really hard for people to understand that they suffer. They suffer like your dog or your cat, people don’t.

Penny Ellison:

Other mammals, you can look into the eyes and it reminds you of your dog. But you know, fish and birds and amphibians, people don’t feel that way about usually.

Suzanne Gonzalez:

So that was the biggest, I don’t want to say opposition, but it was the questioning that I was receiving. And again, like I said, bring it on, like, rightfully so. I’m here to speak on behalf of the animals and your consumers, your constituents and our ecosystems, because I live in Pennsylvania and I know what’s happening. And so I took that approach. I welcomed their questioning, but I’m a very transparent person. There was some real vitriol, if you will. There was just questioning why is this so important and why do we need to do this now? And so I was able to respond professionally and. But, but I was prepared. We also had support from Rose Lupicolo, who is an executive director with the center for Animal Health and Wellness and they are in Easton. So she was that to support your argument that the animals are suffering in conditions. Okay. And she shared, and this is all public record, she shared in her testimony that she had actually worked for a time in a large retail pet store and she saw firsthand the suffering of the animals coming into the pet store. And she also shared that the employees suffer. To see these animals in such bad condition and literally coming in either dead or almost dead and then being tossed out loud, trash. So she presented a really human side to our, you know, our case, if you will. You know why this was so important to enact this ordinance.

Penny Ellison:

That sounds like, that sounds like very powerful testimony. I mean, what did industry come out against it and give reasons why?

Suzanne Gonzalez:

Yes. So then I know you know this, but maybe your followers do not. With this type of legislation or proposed legislation, there has to be a public comment period. And so this was, was all open, the press was there. And so they had a two week period that people are made aware that this is a proposed ordinance. And almost immediately we were informed of opposition and the way it was going to impact or it was positioned that it was going to impact, it was going to eliminate the community’s choice in buying pets. Well, what’s so interesting, Penny, and to your listeners, Easton did not have any pet stores that were selling animals, but.

Penny Ellison:

The organizations that support the industry are speaking more broadly. They don’t want these things to start happening.

Suzanne Gonzalez:

So the community didn’t have that awareness that, oh, by the way, the city of Easton did not have pet stores that were selling live animals at that time. So no, this ordinance was not going to impact any pet store within city limits because they weren’t selling live animals. There were stores, pet supply stores, they weren’t going to be impacted

Penny Ellison:  

that are still making money. Pet supply stores can still make money without live animals.

Suzanne Gonzalez:

Absolutely. And so what was being conveyed to people unbeknownst to them was your right to buy an animal’s being taken away from you. And that’s basically what the argument was.

Penny Ellison:

You prevailed.

Suzanne Gonzalez:

We did prevail. So that was a learning for me that I was aware of organizations like an organization called Pet Advocacy Network. And from the sounds of it, you think, oh, you know, they’re an advocacy group for, for companion animals, but they’re not. There are organizations like Pekka Advocacy Network that are actually groups that represent the pet trade industry. And so, you know, you can look at, and this is just an example, but you can look at their website and you can look at their board of directors and you see that they’re comprised of individuals who work for the different retail pet stores or the commercial distributors for animals, you know, being sold in pet stores. It was, was real eye opener for me because I knew they were there. I didn’t anticipate the swiftness of their opposition response.

Suzanne Gonzalez:

So they have, they have an email list, they have templates just like you might get if you’re a member of an environmental organization, a nonprofit, they might send you a form email that says send this to your legislator. So, so the Pet Advocacy Network and other organizations like that, they those same kind of templates that their members can send in opposition to a bill like yours.

Suzanne Gonzalez:

Absolutely. And so that was a takeaway for us organizationally that we will be even more prepared the next time.

Penny Ellison:

That is great because I do want to, you know, I, we, we could probably talk all day, but I, I do want to leave the listeners with some tips if they decide to make a similar effort in their area. So on hearing some tips from you, one of them, of course, is, you know, you need to meet with your local legislators and tell them that animals are important, but you also need to have a very specific ask. You need to have drafted the bill for them and tell them, this is what I want you to do.

Suzanne Gonzalez:

Right, exactly. So that’s all the pre work we did. They had had an existing ordinance, so it was pretty easy. I mean, it basically was an amendment to an existing ordinance. I had met with World Animal Protection actually, and I know we’ll talk a little bit about partnerships, but. But they were absolutely integral to this, the success of this ordinance. Liz Cabrera Holtz was a partner in every aspect of, you know, what, bringing this forward. She advised us. She just helped us so much, you know, what worked, what doesn’t work. And we really were so lucky that we had them. But. But what? Through this connection with World Animal Protection us, I found other cities that had already enacted these expanded ordinances. So Arlington, Massachusetts, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Penny Ellison:

That’s another good tip, by the way, is legislators don’t like to think that they’re absolutely the first. So if you can say you’re not the first here, here are other areas that have done this, that’s very helpful.

Suzanne Gonzalez:

That was so critically important, not only for me, for my awareness that to understand what that language looked like, the definitions that go into the ordinance of the different species of animals, but also seeing the approach. So that was so helpful. And I would say, you know, to anyone listening, I would love to help others, you know, in any way, shape or form, because this is really all about building community and it’s about advancing, you know, ordinances and legislation that’s going to help animals. And it actually helps people too, like throughout the process.

Penny Ellison:

So that is music to my ears, Suzanne, because that’s, you know, that is what I hope the Animal Advocacy Academy can bring to people is that community. Because I’m having guests on here that are saying I’ve had some success and I’m willing to help other people because partnerships helped me. So I’m willing to be a partner.

Suzanne Gonzalez:

For others and Pennsylvania Voters for Animals, we are all volunteer. Like, we do not have any employees. We have no goal to have any employees. We’re people powered. And so it’s, you know, coming from our hearts. But we are strategic. We do know what we’re doing and we’re learning along the way and thanks to people like you, Penny and others. But we are open to poor partnering with other groups because when you look at this, and again, putting this into perspective. Pennsylvania alone with over 2,500 municipalities and 15 pet sales ordinances to date. And so we do, we have so much opportunity. I do not look at any other organization who’s doing the same work that we’re doing or trying to do the same work. I don’t see anybody as competition. I see them as potential partners. And that’s what we want.

Penny ellison:

That’s a new world. That is fantastic. So it sounds like with that number of municipalities, I was going to ask you for your plans for 2026. Is it to take that success that you’ve had in Easton and replicate it?

Suzanne Gonzalez:

Absolutely, 100%. We still are going to work to support state level bills that really align with our initiatives. So there’s the live pigeon shoot bill, there’s so cat decline. There’s a bill that just made it out of judiciary yesterday, I think that will ban cat decline. There’s also other bills that we absolutely want to support at the state level. But our focus really is going to be on these local ordinances because it is, as you said, it’s so critically important for us to start at the grassroots level to really meet with local legislators and municipalities to say this is what your people want. And that was one thing I didn’t focus on. But this is so critically important is we do need to get people engaged within those communities.

So we were so lucky to have people in the city of Easton who once we knew we had opposition, the people in the city of Easton came out and so they were writing letters that we did. We quickly mobilized, we did calls to action. We were able to tap into the community. So even at our second meeting, which is when the bill actually was voted on, we did have people come out in support and they gave testimony. So that was a beautiful thing. I do want to share. The bill was passed, a vote of 6 to 1 in favor. However, I do want to also in the spirit of transparency, the city council did remove fishes.

And so we were disappointed because we were advocating for everyone and the spirit of partnership. There’s an organization called Fish Feel. They came out. Mary Finelli, she wasn’t there in person, but she wrote an incredibly moving letter to the city council asking them, you know, and, and telling them why it was so important to include Fishes World Animal Protection us. They advocated for all the animals, including fishes as well as lady freethinker there in California. So there was a host of organizations that provided support, written support for our work and it really did make a difference. But the most compelling was the people People coming out and saying, I live here and this bill matters to me, and I want you to vote yes.

Penny Ellison:

That is great, because that’s a big part of my message, is that people do have power, even if they don’t think they do. And you’re saying that made the biggest difference. So that is fantastic. And you’re also illustrating, I’m in the midst of recording a private podcast series that I’m going to Release called the Four Cs of Legislative Advocacy for Animals. And one of them is compromise, which you just underlined because when you said we wanted to protect all animals, we lobbied to protect all animals. They ended up excluding fish, but we didn’t walk away then. We took what we could get because we had to compromise. And sometimes that’s the case.

Suzanne Gonzalez:

Yes, we proposed what we wanted to see in the ordinance, but it really is up to the municipality to make the determination what they want in that ordinance. So our mantra is just ask, don’t be afraid to ask. That’s where, you know, for me, I’m just like, well, why aren’t we advocating for everyone? Because we’re not making the ultimate decision. But if we’re going to do this work and we’re going to be the voice of change, why not advocate for everyone?

Penny Ellison:

That is amazing. And I think that’s a great place to leave. It is. Why not ask is another. Is another great lesson for advocates. And if you need to, as I said, if you need to compromise a little bit, you’ve still accomplished an awful lot. So I thank you so much, Suzanne, for joining us and hope to have you on next year again when you have more. More victories under your belt.

Suzanne Gonzalez:

Thank you, Penny. Thank you so much. And thank you to your community.

Penny Ellison:

What a genuinely instructive conversation. Suzanne and Pennsylvania Voters for Animals have created a blueprint that any group of animal advocates can follow. Start local, build relationships, do your homework, show up consistently, partner with people who share your goals, and most importantly, just get started. You don’t need a law degree or decades of experience. You need commitment, a willingness to learn, and the understanding that change happens one community at a time. Suzanne and her team proved that, and they’re continuing that work across Pennsylvania. If you’re a Pennsylvanian who wants to get started on advocacy in your own community, Pennsylvania Voters for Animals is an incredible resource. Reach out to them.

They’re building a network of advocates across the state, and they want to help you succeed. You’ll find a link to their website in the show notes at animaladvocacyacademy.com and as Suzanne said, they’re happy to hear from other advocates in other states as well, and they’ll help you get started. That’s it for today. The Animal Advocate Podcast is brought to you by the Animal Advocacy Academy. You can find episodes and show notes@animaladvocacyacademy.com along with a link to our Facebook and LinkedIn pages where we discuss our podcasts, and we’d love to discuss your thoughts and experiences there. If you’re interested in learning more about protecting animals, subscribe to the show so you get every episode when it comes out. If you have any questions on this or any other topic related to animal law, email them to podcast@animaladvocacyacademy.com and we’ll make sure to get them answered. We’ll either email you back or feature them in a future episode, or both.

And remember, compassion is great, but compassionate action is infinitely better. Until next week, Live with Compassion.