Help Us. Help Them.
Your dollars. Your compassion. Your voice. Whichever way you choose to show your love of animals, be an advocate for change. Stand with us in our fight on behalf of animals suffering in pet shops and mills.
Make a Generous Donation Today
Your donation will help us fund our critical programs. Founded in 1992, the Companion Animal Protection Society (CAPS) is the only national nonprofit dedicated exclusively to protecting companion animals from cruelty in pet shops and puppy/kitten mills. CAPS addresses animal suffering through investigations, outreach, legislation, legal advocacy, consumer assistance, rescue, and shelter reform.
We urge you to become a CAPS Constant Companion monthly donor. Recurring donations provide CAPS with dependable support for our mission.
Distribute Literature
Use these CAPS resources to get the word out.
Flyers in English and Spanish:
- Pet Shop/Puppy Mill Life Cycle
- El Ciclo Vital de Las Tiendas de Mascotas/Fábricas de Cachorros
- The 8 Main Reasons to Spay and Neuter Your Companion Animal
- Las 8 Razones Principales Para Esterilizar o Castrar a Su Mascota
- Why is it Important to Vaccinate Your Companion Animal?
- Porque es Importante Vacunar a Su Mascota?
Brochures in English and Spanish:
- This Is The Face Of A Puppy Mill Dog
- Esta es la care de un perro que sobrevivió una fábrica de cachorros
Fill out the CAPS Pet Shop Complaint Form
If you purchased a sick or dying animal from a pet shop or breeder, please fill out our online complaint form. We are here to assist you. Your information also helps with our investigations and outreach.
Fill out the CAPS Rescue Complaint Form
If you adopted an animal from a questionable rescue, please fill out our online complaint form.
Fill out the CAPS California Municipal Shelter Complaint Form
Please use the California Municipal Shelter complaint form to report violations and problems at public shelters in California. This form is ONLY for employees, volunteers, rescue partners, adopters, and fosters associated with municipal shelters in California. A current relationship with a shelter is not required, but information should not be more than two years old.
Contact Government Officials
Contact your senators and representatives and ask them to address the USDA’s failure to enforce the Animal Welfare Act.
Find out if your senator or representative is on an oversight committee for the USDA, and then contact them to request oversight hearings on the USDA’s failure to enforce the Animal Welfare Act.
Contact your state legislators to request that they sponsor legislation to ban the retail sale of dogs, cats, and rabbits.
Contact your city and county legislators about passing ordinances to ban the retail sale of dogs, cats and rabbits. CAPS can provide guidance and assistance. Look at this list to see which municipalities and states/provinces in the United States and Canada have passed laws banning or regulating the retail sale of dogs, cats and rabbits.
Contact Media
Contact local or national media about doing stories on the commercial animal breeding industry.
Write a letter to the editor about pet shops in your community or advocate for local or state legislation to ban the retail sale of dogs, cats, and rabbits.
Organize Protest
Ask CAPS for a copy of our protest protocol so that you can hold a peaceful protest on public property.
Notify law enforcement ahead of time when and where you will be protesting.
Make signs, post flyers, and use social media and traditional media to generate interest in your protest and alert the public about its time and location.
Distribute copies of the CAPS pet shop puppy mill life cycle flyer and brochure.
Adopt or Foster a Homeless Animal
Millions of homeless animals die in shelters each year. Please save a life by adopting a companion animal from a shelter or nonprofit rescue organization. There are purebred rescue organizations for many dog breeds. Some pet supply stores also sponsor adoption days. If you can’t adopt, please foster an animal for a local shelter or rescue organization.
Petfinder features many shelter and rescue animals in your area. The CAPS Petfinder page features at-risk dogs from Kern County Animal Services in Bakersfield, California. If you live in California, Oregon, Washington or British Columbia, we can arrange transport.