Support Nationwide Animal-Safety Screening and Responsible Adoption Standards

Adoption should give an animal safety—not expose them to abuse, neglect, burns, abandonment, or death.

I’m Lauren Clark, founder of LC & Friends Scales & Fur Unite Foundation. I have seen animals harmed after adoption and troubling situations where suffering did not lead to a conviction. We need stronger prevention and meaningful accountability.

We urge Congress to work with state and local governments, shelters, rescues, veterinarians, and legal experts to advance these protections:

• BACKGROUND CHECKS BEFORE ADOPTION: Require shelters and rescues to check verified records across state lines for prior animal-cruelty and neglect convictions, active ownership restrictions, and substantiated welfare findings before adoption approval.

• FAIR AND ACCURATE SCREENING: Review documented serious placement concerns and repeated surrenders or adoption returns individually. Distinguish convictions, pending charges, official findings, and unproven allegations. Consider genuine hardship, protect privacy, and allow inaccurate records to be challenged and corrected.

• SPAY/NEUTER BEFORE ADOPTION: Require dogs and cats to be spayed or neutered, with veterinary exceptions and documented completion plans when delayed. Help prevent accidental litters, breeding adopted animals for profit, homelessness, overcrowding, and euthanasia associated with limited resources.

• MICROCHIPPING BEFORE ADOPTION: Require microchips, with veterinary medical exceptions, registration transferred to adopters, and current contact information to help lost pets return home.

• HUMANE CARE AND OWNER RESPONSIBILITY: Require food, water, safe shelter, veterinary care, and humane conditions. Protect animals from permanent chaining, abandonment, dangerous weather, and unsafe outdoor confinement while allowing supervised activity and safe enrichment. Rescues and volunteers should not continually carry owners’ responsibilities.

• ENFORCEMENT AND PROTECTION: Support reasonable follow-up, accessible reporting, timely investigations, and penalties proportionate to proven cruelty. Establish lawful surrender or removal procedures when documented abuse, neglect, or repeated containment failures endanger an animal—with prompt review and appropriate ownership restrictions. An accidental escape alone should not trigger permanent removal. Verified outcomes should inform future screening.

Provide affordable services, funding, and practical implementation support.

Our goal is to secure congressional sponsors and advance legislation through Congress to the President’s desk.

Animals cannot petition their government. We can.

Please sign and share. Their next home should be their safe home.

Lauren Clark
LC & Friends Scales & Fur Unite Foundation