When it comes to protecting the rights of animals, Cherie Travis, associate director of the Center for Animal Law at the DePaul University College of Law, proves why she is an animal’s best friend. With the wave of recent national news stories about animals being abused and neglected, and, in Illinois, a mandatory spray/neuter ordinance being considered, Travis has become a vocal advocate for the furry, clawed and winged.

"I grew up with family pets and have always had an affinity for animals," said Travis, who is a 2005 graduate of DePaul’s law school. "But I had no idea how widespread animal abuse was in the United States until I attended law school and found that I could turn my passion for animals into a legal practice while at the same time helping others use the law to safeguard the rights of innocent animals."

Travis’ scholarship is centered on teaching, and research and analysis of state, national and international legal matters relating to the rights and welfare of animals. Her law practice focuses on cases involving animals, including dog bites, pet custody and dog barking as a violation of condominium rules.

In the classroom, Travis gives students a firsthand perspective about animal law advocacy. They also learn that animal law is not a separate, obscure niche, but that it instead requires knowledge of all areas of the law—among them contract, criminal, property and constitutional law.

In the community, Travis takes her work as an animal advocate to heart. She has worked with the Cook County Sheriff’s office on legislation to protect animals in Illinois and has taken to the streets to help save animals living in unsafe shelters.

For example, Travis helped to expose dangerous conditions at Pet Rescue, Inc., an animal shelter located in Bloomingdale, Ill. In 2008 when she learned from news accounts that the shelter had been accused of neglect and animal abuse by some of its volunteers, she immediately went into action to witness the conditions firsthand.

During a brief visit to the shelter, she discovered dogs that had been kept in a dungeon-like basement for as long as seven years. She also learned, after enlisting two friends to adopt cats from the shelter and having the animals examined by a veterinarian, that the cats had infected eyes and ears and that one had an abnormally high temperature.

"It was unbelievable how obvious it was that these were sick cats," said Travis. She reported what she uncovered at Pet Rescue to the Department of Agriculture and the allegations, backed by evidence, resulted in the suspension of the shelter’s license.

Travis also works with PACT Humane Society, a Downers Grove nonprofit organization that has found homes for more than 3,000 cats and dogs and has saved thousands from euthanasia in shelters across Illinois.

Travis is able to do much of her work at DePaul through the animal law center’s Dr. Florence Wissig Dunbar Program in Animal Law, which was established with the support of its namesake, a 1945 DePaul law alumna. The program provides students, attorneys, humane investigators, animal welfare advocates and others working in the animal law field with practical training and support.

According to Travis, about 100 professors across the United States teach animal law, but not many have been able to parlay their love of animals and the law into a career like she has. "It’s my micro niche," said Travis.

Margit Livingston, who directs DePaul’s Center for Animal Law, praises Travis’ dedication. "Cherie has tremendous energy and vision, and she’s very committed to the cause of animal welfare," said Livingston. "She sees that the existing laws protecting animals are enforced and also strives to make the public and people in law enforcement aware of the plight of animals and the need to protect them."

Travis can be reached at 312/362-6799 or ctravis2@depaul.edu. For more information about DePaul’s Center for Animal Law, visit its Web site at www.law.depaul.edu/centers_institutes/animal_law/.