In honor of Women’s History Month, we want to celebrate some of the strong women who have made waves in the pet world and dedicated their lives to advocating for animals everywhere. From carving out a place in a male-dominated society to upping the ante on pet care and what it means to provide for our pets, what unites the six women in this blog is their passion for pets and their desire to leave the world a better place than they found it. 

Caroline Earle White

Did you know that the first animal shelter in the United States opened due to the efforts of Caroline Earle White? After being denied a seat on the council of the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Animal Cruelty because she was a woman, White founded the Women’s Humane Society and then established the first “refuge” for stray animals. On top of providing a temporary home for pets while they waited to be adopted, her shelter also provided free veterinary care. Because of her efforts, animal advocacy became a large part of women’s social activism and paved the way for many of the anti-cruelty measures that we have today. 

Karen Pryor 

With sixty years of animal training and behavioral science experience under her belt, it’s no surprise that Karen Pryor was one of the pioneers of what we now know as clicker training. Pryor was a marine animal trainer in the 1960s and worked for Sea Life Park, where she began to do groundbreaking research on the cognition of animals. The things she learned at Sea Life Park helped her develop cruelty-free, force-free training methods that she realized would benefit all animals. Today, she is a renowned author and the namesake behind many clicker training programs. 

Dr. Elinor McGrath

Dr. Elinor McGrath is widely considered to be the first female veterinarian in the United States. With a strong love for animals and a commitment to breaking down the barriers that prevented women from entering the male-dominated vet field, she became the first woman to attend the Chicago Veterinary College in 1907 despite frequent harassment from her peers. After her graduation in 1910, Dr. McGrath found herself as one of the best vets in Chicago and ran a small practice for years. She can also be attributed to founding the first pet cemetery in Chicago! 

Marianne H. Sanders

In 1944, Marianne H. Sanders founded North Shore Animal League America, which is now considered to be the largest no-kill animal shelter in the world. It was Sanders’ love of animals and animal advocacy that led her to founding the shelter and today, it has placed over one million formally stray animals into their forever homes. On top of that, the North Shore Animal League also offers medical services and performs over 11,000 spays/neuters yearly, preventing around 132 million unwanted litters across the United States. 

Betty White

Betty White might have earned her fame for her excellent acting and golden personality, but she was also a well-known animal advocate who spent her long life bettering the lives of pets everywhere. Over the course of her long life, she helped millions of animals and frequently partnered with shelters and rescues to lead campaigns centered around the betterment and welfare of all animals. 

Wendy Wen

CEO and founder of Antelope, Wendy Wen isn’t just an entrepreneur — she’s a dog mom, too. Inspired by her strong love for her dogs, Wendy founded Antelope in 2021 with the intention of disrupting the pet industry and providing wholesome, quality products to pets everywhere. In the short amount of time since Antelope’s founding, she’s managed to lead by example, recruit other passionate pet parents with a vision closely aligned with her own, and truly up the ante of pet care.