Recently, a good Samaritan from a rural Florida community saw an emaciated horse and became determined to find help for the animal. After his calls to local authorities failed to rouse a response (perhaps because the horse's owner allegedly has political connections), he issued a plea for help on Facebook, posting a photograph of the starving horse and urging his friends to pass the information along, hopeful that someone would know how to help rescue the animal.

The photo of the emaciated horse makes my skin crawl, but I can't help comparing his jutting bones to the ones shown in this diagram. He really appears to be a living skeleton.

The man's post went up, and PETA's phones started ringing with calls alerting our Cruelty Investigations Department to this urgent situation. We didn't waste a second in contacting local law enforcement, and within hours the sheriff's department seized the horse from the property. The horse was rushed to a veterinarian for evaluation and is now awaiting adoption.

Social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter can offer more than high school reunion pics. and "pokes"—as this incident shows, they can also save lives. PETA now has over 300,000 Facebook friends. May we count you as one, too?

Written by Karin Bennett

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I'm not a huge football fan (I prefer baseball)—but I sure do like to eat. The meat-free offerings at the pro football stadiums listed below would be enough to convince me to shiver through a Sunday afternoon game, sans face paint, of course.

10. San Diego Chargers fans bolt to the concession stands at Qualcomm Stadium for veggie burgers, fruit salads, vegetable plates, taco salads, and the baked potato bar. There's even a seven-layer dip, which can be made vegan upon request.
9. The cruelty-free cuisine at Heinz Field—including veggie dogs, wraps, sandwiches, burgers, crudités, pasta, fresh fruit, and hummus—provide Pittsburgh Steelers fans with a winning lineup.
8. Tony Gonzalez, tight end for the Atlanta Falcons, notes the benefits that his nearly-vegan diet has on his game. His team's new home, the Georgia Dome, has plenty of savory meat-free options, including veggie burgers, a baked potato bar, a salad bar, baked five-spice seasoned tofu, curried grilled tofu cutlets, soba noodle stir-fry, and much more.
7. Have the Purple People Eaters become the Purple Veggie Eaters? Methinks so. After all, the Metrodome offers Minnesota Vikings fans a tantalizing lineup that includes veggie burgers, wraps, black-bean burgers, hummus, salads, fruit platters, and veggie platters.
6. Animal-friendly Cleveland Browns fans score big at Cleveland Browns Stadium's concession stands, which offer veggie burgers, baked potatoes, fruit salads, and the classic crowd-pleaser, PB&J.
5. Baltimore Ravens fans tackle animal abuse and meat-related illnesses when they order veggie burgers, burritos, and wraps—as well as veggie crudités, hummus, and fruit platters—at M&T Bank Stadium.
4. Want to know the real reason why Arizona Cardinal fans do the wave? They get on their feet for the meatless fare at University of Phoenix Stadium, where they can enjoy veggie burgers, bean and rice burritos, veggie stir-fry, crudités, fresh fruit, fajita bowls, and portobello sandwiches.
3. Green Bay Packers fans line up for Lambeau Field's healthy and humane veggie options, such as veggie brats (hello!), veggie burgers, baked potatoes, fresh vegetables, fresh fruit, and hummus.
2. San Francisco 49ers fans know that the long lines at Candlestick Park concession stands are worth the wait: Bellies are rewarded with mouthwatering veggie burgers, veggie dogs, and veggie burritos.
1. Delicious veggie burgers, dogs, burritos, and salads at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum help the Oakland Raiders avoid the need for a quadruple bypass surgery.

Can't make it to any of the stadiums listed above? No need to wait for the Super Bowl to invite friends over to your game-day party—any Sunday will do.

Written by Karin Bennett