In their first "Humane State Ranking," the Humane Society of the United States ranked all 50 U.S. states on animal protection laws dealing with pets, wildlife and farm animals, and covering issues from animal cruelty to animals in research.

The HSUS graded each state in 65 animal-protection categories including animal fighting, puppy mills, equine protection, wildlife abuse, factory farming, fur and trapping, exotic animals and companion-animal laws. Each state received a score out of 65, which was determined by the number of strong animal-protection laws within the state. (Learn more about the rankings here.)

So who placed in the top?

Hello! My name is Alison and I am the new summer intern for Petfinder.com. On Friday, June 18, I volunteered with the Petfinder shelter outreach staff at Noah's Ark Animal Welfare Association in Ledgewood, NJ, for "Discover Your Impact Day," a day of volunteerism initiated by Petfinder's parent company, Discovery Communications. The Petfinder team volunteered to help repaint the shelter walls at Noah's Ark.

I walked into Noah's Ark to find the Petfinder team in a small room with eight cages. They were priming the walls and the ceilings of the cat cages. This was my first time meeting the outreach team, and I was automatically greeted with smiling faces and a warm welcome. Within 10 minutes, I was painting in a cage alongside them. We then took a break for lunch and I was able to talk with my new friends.