A Prosperous Pet Project : Events: This month marks the 75th anniversary of the National Be Kind to Animals Week.

The year was 1915 when Dr. William O. Stillman, president of the American Humane Assn., proclaimed the first National Be Kind to Animals Week a success.

This week, from Sunday through next Saturday, animal lovers once again will celebrate as Be Kind to Animals Week observes its 75th anniversary. According to Stillman’s modern-day heirs in the world of animal welfare, this is only the beginning.

This year, as respect for animals and the environment becomes increasingly popular, Sen. Pete Wilson (R-Calif.) is sponsoring a Senate resolution to grant Be Kind to Animals Week congressional recognition.

Ed Cubrda, president of the Los Angeles Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, reports that fewer animals are ending up in Southern California animal shelters because more dogs and cats are being spayed and neutered.

Frank Andrews, executive director of Los Angeles Animal Care and Control, reports improvements in society’s awareness and attitudes about animals, while Steve McNall, executive director of the Pasadena Humane Society, says his organization’s cruelty investigations are steadily decreasing.

The credit for these successes belongs to animal welfare agencies and their education programs, which target children to increase understanding and compassion toward animals and the environment.

“A lot of people have been living in the Dark Ages,” says Cubrda. “We’ve ignored what’s behind those walls or (what’s) hidden in the wilderness. Now people are opening their eyes.”

Seventy-five years ago, cruelty toward animals was taken for granted, even accepted. In response, the first Be Kind to Animals Week was founded on three principles:

* to encourage the clergy’s participation in Humane Sunday, which now launches each Be Kind to Animals Week;

* to promote the works of the nation’s humane organizations;

* to introduce the then-avant-garde concept of “humane education” to a skeptical society.

Today, Be Kind to Animals Week and those who promote it still follow these basic but pliable tenets, which have allowed the celebration’s focus--along with its success--to expand.

In its efforts to “act upon the needs of those who cannot speak for themselves,” the American Humane Assn., which is also responsible for overseeing the use of animals in television and motion pictures, continues to coordinate Be Kind to Animals Week activities nationwide. At local levels, individual organizations and animal shelters are planning their own celebrations.

Kindness to animals, like charity, begins at home. While you may not be able to attend one of the events being held throughout Southern California in honor of Be Kind to Animals Week, you can participate in a more personal way.

“People can be kind to their own pets,” says Cubrda. “That’s where they can start.”

Says McNall: “Treat your animal well on a daily basis. Make your pet a family member, a companion for life.”

Another way to be kind to animals is to identify them. The lost pet is a problem shelter workers face each day. Many obviously cared-for lost pets never find their homes again because they lack identification.

“People never think it will happen to them, so they don’t bother putting a tag on their pets,” says Andrews. “It’s so easy for the animal to wander away and get lost. It’s the saddest thing to walk into the kennel and see all these animals looking for someone.”

In light of what Cubrda describes as society’s growing willingness to “pay attention to the environment as well as what is in the environment,” animal welfare specialists are optimistic about the future.

“I think the 1990s will be the decade for animal welfare and environmental movements,” says Susan Halberstadt of the American Humane Assn.

“Our goal is compassion for all animals, from dolphins to elephants, not just dogs and cats.”