Stop Animal Cruelty

Help Stop Animal Cruelty

The Toledo Area Humane Society employs two full-time Humane Agents to enforce animal cruelty laws in Lucas County. Officer Gene Boros and Officer Nancy Schilb investigate over 2,000 complaints a year.

3 things you can do to stop animal cruelty 

• Report: Animal cruelty email -  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
• Call: Cruelty Hotline – 419-891-9777.
• Donate: Keep our Cruelty Investigators on the road, please indicate on your donation form "Restricted for Cruelty Division,” or call 419-891-0594.

What would you do if you saw an animal being abused?
Many people are not aware that legal action can be taken to help stop cruelty to animals.  Preventing cruelty and neglect is a top priority for the Toledo Area Humane Society's Cruelty Investigation Team.  We encourage the public to get involved by becoming the voice for the voiceless.  By recognizing and reporting acts of violence and neglect toward animals, we can help improve the quality of life for all domesticated pets.

In order to make life safe and comfortable for the animals in this community, the Toledo Area Humane Society asks citizens who witness someone hurting an animal, or who know of an animal that looks sick, injured or does not have adequate food, water, or shelter, to get help fast.  Taking the first step to call for help on behalf of an animal in need is often the difference between its life and death.  All calls are kept confidential.

Our officers will need the following information:
Be sure to collect as many details you can, such as the location, a description of the animal, license plate number if a vehicle is involved, exact address (including Zip Code), description of the home and suspected person, and the nature of the abuse or neglect.

Don’t wait for the situation to worsen and don’t attempt to intervene. Sometimes confronting the suspected person can result in retribution to you or the animal.

Report it to Toledo Area Humane Society's Cruelty Investigation Team at 419-891-9777, or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Please leave your phone number in case we need to call to ask for further information. Your call will be confidential; in other words, the offender never needs to know who called us. However, your willingness to be a witness and testify about what you saw can mean the difference between the person being prosecuted or being free to abuse or neglect more animals.

Identifying Animal Cruelty
Animal cruelty is illegal and can be divided into two categories: neglect and intentional cruelty.
Neglect is the failure to provide an animal with the necessities of care such as access to food and fresh water, shelter from the weather (hot or cold), a clean living environment, or veterinary care.
Intentional cruelty is when an individual purposely inflicts physical harm or injury to an animal. Examples include stories of neighborhood children torturing cats, owners beating an animal that has "misbehaved," and blood sports such as dog and cock fighting.