Landmarks across North America will bathe in orange light tonight to celebrate the venerable animal welfare organizations 140th year.

Buildings that will glow orange, the official color of the ASPCA, include the Empire State Building and the Con-Ed Tower in New York City, the Sears Tower in Chicago and Union Station in Los Angeles. In Canada, the waters of Niagara Falls will be lit in orange for 15 minutes every hour.

The ASPCA is asking animal lovers to display orange in their own way. A free poster commemorating the program is available at the ASPCA website. It is our sincerest hope that the further we get from our date of inception, the closer we come to being an organization that is no longer needed, says Ed Sayres, ASPCA president.

The ASPCA was founded on April 10, 1866 through the efforts of Henry Bergh, a socialite and son of a wealthy shipbuilder who witnessed the severe beating of a work horse on a New York City street. Nine days after the society was founded, Bergh convinced the New York State Legislature to pass an anti-cruelty law that granted the fledgling organization the authority to enforce it.

The ASPCA Humane Law Enforcement department continues to enforce New Yorks animal cruelty laws. Animal lovers can see Humane Law Enforcement agents in action on the reality TV show, Animal Precinct on Animal Planet.

Posted: April 10, 2006, 5 a.m. EST