When PETA's Community Animal Project team got a call from a man who asked us to euthanize his sick dog, staffers weren't expecting to see an animal who had been suffering for months—or possibly even for years.

Cordie had mange so severe that she screamed in pain when anyone touched her. She had likely been chewing on her skin to relieve the itching for so long that she had developed a bacterial infection that had eroded her teeth. Cordie was also suffering from a swollen, fluid-filled mass on her ear and a raging yeast infection. As gently as possible, so as not to hurt her further, we ended her suffering and let her slip away from this world. 

All of Cordie's conditions would have been relatively easy to treat if the dog's owner had taken her to a veterinarian long ago when he first noticed her symptoms. He told the PETA staffers that he loved his dog but was unemployed and had had no money for vet care.

Working for a nonprofit, we understand what it's like to live on a tight budget. We recommend that everyone do whatever is necessary to plan ahead for emergency veterinary needs. Putting away even a few dollars a month, buying animal medical insurance, or trying to find a vet who will arrange a payment plan can ensure that animals don't suffer in a tough economy.

Written by Michelle Sherrow

When a PETA supporter saw a picture posted on Facebook of a cat whose face was being eaten away by ulcers, she knew that she had to act. Her speedy investigation revealed that the cat was living at an auto mechanic's shop and that even though animal control had been called, the cat was still suffering. That's when she called PETA.

When we contacted animal control officials, they said that they had required the mechanic to take the cat to a veterinarian. But alarmingly, the veterinarian had refused to euthanize the cat, saying that he would be better off dying at home. Hearing this, PETA's Community Animal Project dropped everything and went to find the cat.

He was in miserable condition—weak, emaciated, matted, infested with fleas, and in the advanced stages of terminal feline leukemia. We convinced the mechanic to let us give the cat a peaceful release from his unrelenting suffering.

If you ever suspect that an animal is suffering, don't hesitate—make the call! Don't assume that someone else will take care of the problem—make sure that someone does by being that someone.

Written by Michelle Sherrow

PETA is still fielding calls for help from tornado-stricken areas of North Carolina, and staffers are traveling to the state to rescue homeless and abandoned animals.

A pit bull's doghouse and his guardian's trailer (seen behind him in the photo below) were obliterated in the storm, but miraculously, the dog survived. He was hungry and terrified and had an injured leg, but he basked in the attention showered on him by PETA staffers.
 

 
PETA staffers discovered a sweet dog near the wreckage of a demolished building. He had likely been abandoned and was filthy and terrified. Christened "Bert" (after Bertie County!) by his rescuers, he's recovering nicely and has claimed a couch at PETA's Norfolk headquarters.
 

 
Residents have been very grateful for PETA's presence in the area. On one trip, our van became stuck in the mud, but helpful work-release inmates pushed us out so that we could get back to rescuing animals.
 

 
There is no time like the present to plan for potential disasters. Find a safe destination that you know how to get to, and plan to take your animals with you. Have them microchipped and make sure that their collars are equipped with legible, up-to-date ID tags. Watch for other animals in need and call the authorities if you aren't able to help them yourself.

And to help PETA's lifesaving rescue efforts, consider a donation to our Animal Emergency Fund.
 

Written by Michelle Sherrow

In the wake of the storm system that sent dozens of tornadoes spiraling across the southern U.S., PETA visited the hardest-hit state to aid animal victims. After 62 tornadoes hit North Carolina Saturday night, PETA staffers arrived Sunday morning, traveling to devastated neighborhoods to offer animals food, treats, medicine, and doghouses. Chaining dogs is common in the areas that the team visited, so many dogs were left to fend for themselves when the tornado hit and likely did not survive. Fortunately, many did make it, even some whose doghouses were ripped apart.
 

 
This pretty white dog, named Squirt, rode out the storm in his pen, which was made of wood pallets and a tin roof. Squirt's owner evacuated her trailer just minutes before the trailer flipped upside down and rolled to a stop a few feet from Squirt's pen. Amazingly, Squirt was unharmed, but he was dirty, hungry, and terrified. PETA gave him food, water, a doghouse, straw bedding, and treats.  

PETA's Community Animal Project team often travels to North Carolina and will continue to aid animals there. If you would like to help animal survivors of disasters, consider making a contribution to PETA's Animal Emergency Fund. And remember, now is the time to make emergency plans to protect all members of your family.
 

Written by Michelle Sherrow

Those of you who have been following the story of Patrick—an emaciated pit bull who had been stuffed down a trash compactor at a New Jersey apartment complex—will be glad to know that police have located his owner and charged her with felony cruelty to animals. Sadly, Patrick is just one example of the horrific abuse and neglect that pit bulls are routinely subjected to.

PETA recently came to the aid of two pit bulls who had been subjected to appalling neglect. One 4-year-old dog had been chained outside for her entire life—her owner had never even bothered to give her a name. Because she had no social interaction (her owner simply threw handfuls of kibble on the ground), she was terrified of people and would cower in her ramshackle doghouse whenever anyone approached. Mercifully, her owners agreed to surrender her to PETA.
 

 
While out on one of their regular missions to deliver doghouses, food, and straw bedding to neglected dogs, PETA staffers were approached by a man who expressed concern about a neighborhood dog. The staffers discovered that a well-meaning family had recently taken in an emaciated, desperately ill pit bull, but the dog was not responding to treatment and refused to eat. Because the dog was so far gone, they agreed that the time had come to put him out of his misery.
 

 
Neglect can be just as lethal to a dog as any other form of abuse. If you suspect that a dog is being neglected, take action.  You may be his or her only hope.
 

Written by Michelle Sherrow

Dashing across eight busy lanes of traffic and balancing on a ledge 30 feet up in the air is an act that even a stunt-person would be reluctant to tackle. But a little Chihuahua named Lex performed both Superman-style feats before being rescued by a PETA staffer.

We received a call that a dog had somehow managed to make his way up an emergency access ramp and was trapped on a ledge of The Scope, an entertainment venue in Norfolk, Virginia. When PETA staffer Misty Collins arrived, the little guy was too terrified to move. Scope employees lifted Misty over the safety railing, and she inched down the ledge toward Lex until she was close enough to scoop him up and get him back to safety.  

Back at the PETA office, Lex's tough day got better with treats and petting. When we called animal control to file a found-dog report, his owner was already there reporting him missing.  She told us that she was moving that day and had left Lex with a sitter at the apartment building across the busy road from where he was found. The little escape artist somehow got out, and the rest is history. Both Lex (no relation to Lex Luthor) and his guardian were happy to be reunited and headed to Metropolis home.

Written by Michelle Sherrow

Every year, PETA's Community Animal Project (CAP) and Cruelty Investigations Department (CID) transform the lives of thousands of animals, often turning bleak existences into happy endings.

Take this too-cute-for-words fellow, Max. His owner called PETA for a free doghouse. When our CAP team arrived to assess Max's needs, they discovered that his only shelter was a television stand. And he had no life at all! Chaining is prohibited in Max's town, so the owner gave him up, but the loneliness, frustration, and harsh elements that plague millions of chained dogs hadn't yet killed this puppy's appreciation for human beings—just look at his face!

Fishing hurts, and in this next case, it mutilated a cat. Moby was discovered by a teenager who brought him home and then realized that a fishing hook was impaled in the cat's lip. The girl called PETA for help. We rushed Moby to a veterinarian, who determined that the hook had been there for days and that Moby's injury was infected. Moby is now purring through his recovery at PETA headquarters and has an excellent home lined up for him after his stray-holding period is up.

Now, we'd like to thank you, in advance, for taking action on behalf of animals: Scout your neighborhood to find that injured or homeless cat who might be hiding under a car; enlighten the owners of that defeated dog who crouches, 24/7, in the corner of a backyard; or support our work to help suffering animals like those described above. You could very well be some animal's only hope, and your determination to help them can make happily-ever-after rescues like these happen in your own neighborhood.

Written by Karin Bennett

Every day, Emily, Amanda, Christina, Kelly, and Misty of PETA's Community Animal Project (CAP) respond to pleas to help abused and neglected animals in impoverished areas of southern Virginia and North Carolina. They're often a caller's last hope. Here are just three recent cases to give you an idea of their work:

By a fluke, PETA's CAP staffers happened upon Ridge while checking on other neglected, chained dogs in his neighborhood. The elderly dog was suffering from a severe skin condition, multiple tumors, arthritis, and seizures. Winter would have been pure hell for him. His guardian said that she was praying he would just die in his sleep. Ridge would almost certainly have frozen to death if one of his other illnesses didn't claim him first. Our staff convinced her that it was cruel not to take action, and she agreed to let the poor old fellow be put out of his misery after a wonderful meal and a lot of attention.

We learned about the plight of this little bunny, Ms. Bunkins, when her guardian called PETA to ask for assistance with neutering her cat (assistance that we readily provided). The bunny was kept confined to a tiny wire cage with another rabbit who was suffering from a severely deformed leg (and who was later euthanized). Neither rabbit had been spayed or neutered—their guardian didn't even know their sexes! Perhaps most dangerous of all, she was feeding the rabbits cat food.

PETA supplied Ms. Bunkins with fresh greens, hay, and a larger new enclosure, and we gave her guardian some important information about proper rabbit care. We also scheduled spay surgery.

Our relationship with Lady goes all the way back to when she was a puppy, chained up with her mother in a backyard. PETA's CAP staffers managed to get both mother and daughter spayed, and they recently returned to euthanize Lady's elderly mother after she had a stroke. Soon afterward, Lady's guardians called to say that they were worried Lady was lonely after the death of her mother. Thrilled that our efforts to educate the family were at last bearing fruit, we encouraged them to bring Lady inside and arranged for her to be bathed, groomed, and treated for fleas. Upon her return, Lady was taken inside the house for likely the very first time in her life.

Written by Alisa Mullins

Last week, PETA's Community Animal Project (CAP) received a call for help from an indigent man whom we had already provided with a doghouse and spay surgery for his own dog. The man had tried, without success, to nurse back to health two sickly dogs whom he had found by the side of the road (they had likely been abandoned). A CAP fieldworker rushed out to check on the animals and found that they were horribly emaciated (with protruding hips and spines), lethargic, dehydrated, and covered with hundreds of ticks. We attempted to give both dogs a good meal, but one dog was too weak and sick to even eat so we loaded both dogs into a cool, air-conditioned vehicle and gave them a comfortable bed.

When these dogs were brought back to PETA headquarters, both were found to be severely anemic and the male could barely hold himself up without assistance. Their horrible health problems were probably the reason why they were abandoned in the first place.

PETA wouldn't have known about these dogs if the man who found them hadn't called, and local authorities might not know about animals in distress in our own neighborhoods unless we inform them. So, for the love of dogs, let's be watchdogs for animals in our community and alert police and animal control officials the minute we know or suspect that an animal is suffering.

Written by Lindsay Pollard-Post

Some people in Barre, Vermont, are in a tizzy over a recently rediscovered (but never enforced) 1973 ordinance that bans residents from allowing their cats to roam unattended. I say that this 37-year-old law is smart, kind, and ahead of its time, because allowing cats to prowl the suburban jungle unattended isn't doing them any favors. This cat, who was rescued by fieldworkers with PETA's Community Animal Project, is a heartbreaking example of why:

This cat's guardian allowed her to roam outdoors. She disappeared for several days, and when she came back her leg had been degloved and all the bones were exposed.

Every day, cats whose guardians see no harm in letting them roam are injured or killed by vehicles, shot by cruel neighbors who don't want them using their gardens as litter boxes, poisoned, stolen to be used in experiments or as bait in dogfighting, and worse. Cats also instinctively terrorize, maim, and kill countless native birds and other wildlife who are already struggling to survive challenges such as habitat loss and who aren't equipped to deal with such predators.

Protecting cats and wildlife doesn't have to mean making Kitty a full-time housecat. Many cats quickly become comfortable with wearing a harness and enjoy leisurely leashed excursions around the yard with their guardians. And then there are "catios"—cat patios that clever and compassionate people build so that their feline friends can safely enjoy the great outdoors. Whatever we do, if we love our cats, we must never let them roam out of our sight.

Written by Lindsay Pollard-Post