No animal should starve this winter. Kitsap Animal Rescue and Enforcement officers rely upon tips from animal lovers across our region to spot and report animal abuse. Do you know how to spot animal abuse? Below are four quick tips taken from the ASPCA. These tips tell you how we spot the environmental signs of animal abuse: • Pets are tied up alone outside for long periods of time without adequate food or water, or with food or water that is unsanitary. (note: there may be signs of animals that have been deceased, or animals will disappear after periods of time) • Pets are kept outside in inclement weather without access to adequate shelter. • Pets are kept in an area littered with feces, garbage, broken glass or other objects that could harm them. • Animals are housed in kennels or cages (very often crowded in with other animals) that are too small to allow them to stand, turn around and make normal movements possibly with too many other animals. “Reporting suspected animal cruelty ensures that animals in jeopardy receive prompt and often lifesaving care,” says ASPCA Special Agent Joann Sandano. “By making a complaint to the police or humane society in your area…you help ensure that animals in need are rescued and that perpetrators of animal cruelty are brought to justice.” You can help break the cycle! The Kitsap Humane Society relies also upon donations of food and blankets to feed the hungry and comfort the suffering. Our food bank supports families in need that simply need a little help to get by, or help balance the cost of their own food and medications. Help through this program is readily available. Every bit of food donated by KHS supporters works to keep loving families together with their furry companions. As well, we collect donations to provide starving horses with needed hay through Operation Safety Net created by the Horse Harbor Foundation. If you see an animal in crisis though, call 911 to report a crime to our officers. We work closely in the community and strongly support those that simply have fallen in tough times, as help is always available. We rescue animals from those determined to break the law, and actively seek to prosecute those beyond remediation.