Marblehead resident Carrie Thomas has always loved dogs. From her childhood dogs Snoopy and Bailey, to her growing pack of rescue animals now, caring for animals has always been a big part of her life. Ten years ago, after a long career in the corporate world, she decided to start advocating for their rights, too. This eventually led her to being an animal rights advocate who influences legislators to help improve the lives of animals.
At first, Thomas started to volunteer for the Missouri to Maine Rescue Initiative, by driving dogs as part of a relay from overcrowded midwestern kill shelters to rescue organizations in Maine every two weeks.
”I would see all of these shelters and see the dogs and cats that needed to be rescued before they were euthanized,” said Thomas. “And that was just really impactful for me.”
This convinced Thomas that she needed to keep fighting for animal rights, but she wanted to get to the root of the problem instead of just treating the symptoms.
“I was taking the whole day to transport seven dogs, so I wondered what I could do that was bigger,” said Thomas. “If you don’t change the laws behind it, it’s just like drinking from a fire hose. You’re constantly trying to rescue, rescue, rescue, but if you don’t change the laws it’s going to be never ending.”
After taking a class in lobbying, she realized that she could make a bigger difference by influencing legislation. She picked up the phone and started reaching out to her representatives.
“I realized that my strength was meeting with legislators,” said Thomas, “and getting laws passed on a federal and state level.”
For the last 10 years, Thomas has worked with legislators and representatives at the state and federal level to advance animal rights with the MSPCA and ASPCA. Most recently, she helped get legislation passed called Olly’s Law that would make kennels and “doggy daycares” much safer.
“There’s no regulations, no first aid, staffing requirements or management requirements,” said Thomas about the current state of the dog daycare industry. “Olly’s law is going to address that.”
Olly’s Law was just signed into law a couple weeks ago. It is named after a dog who was attacked and passed away at a doggy day care center in 2020, and it will tighten restrictions for doggie day care centers across the state. This will hopefully make the centers safer for dogs as well as for employees.
Thomas helped Ollie’s Law pass by contacting legislators and rallying support for the bill in the State House. She meets with legislators, calls them, and asks them to support certain legislation. Her main goal is always to get their attention any way possible.
“It’s about the squeaky wheel. It’s about education. You gotta get their attention and educate them on what you want … and why we need this,” said Thomas. While helping the MSPCA, they helped pass 112 bills and defeat 45 bills in 2023 alone.
Thomas hopes to teach others these valuable skills to enact compassionate change across the nation. She is working with the MSPCA and the ASPCA as a mentor guiding many others into animal rights advocacy, often giving lessons on approaching their representatives and asking them to support legislation. She also thinks that more people need to get involved.
“It’s your civic duty as a participant in democracy to tell your legislators what you want,” said Thomas.
Although the passage of Olly’s Law marks a significant victory, Thomas thinks there is still much more to do. She is currently working to stop the passage of a federal farm bill that would remove all humane law at the state level across the nation, and is advocating against the cruelties of factory farming.
“I’m so worried about the farm bill,” said Thomas. “If they change the farm bill to reverse humane law, then all of our work at the state level is moot.”
Thomas has no plans of slowing down anytime soon, and wants to encourage more Marbleheaders to join her cause.
“We have the power to change laws,” said Thomas. “How we treat animals is a direct reflection of who we are as a society.”
She continued, “If we’re not kind to animals, then we’re not going to be kind to each other.”
