Update: After a dog died in a Detroit house fire on Wednesday, PETA is extending our offer of free emergency stickers to 1,000 Detroit-area residents. 

The following was originally posted on February 12, 2013:

Following the deaths of two dogs in a recent fire in Cleveland, PETA is offering free "Please Save Our Animals" stickers to the first 1,000 Cleveland-area residents who request them via e-mail during February.

The heartbreaking loss of cherished animal companions should serve as a reminder of the importance of emergency planning that includes all your family members. Firefighters and disaster-relief workers frequently perform heroic rescues of animals, but it's vital to let them know to look for your dogs, cats, or other animals who might be missed amid smoke or wreckage.

If you share your home with animals, placing PETA's bright-yellow emergency window stickers near your front and back doors and on side windows can mean the difference between life and death for them in case a weather emergency or fire strikes when you aren't home. For those outside the Cleveland area, stickers may be ordered from the PETA Catalog—or you can easily create your own sign on your computer and get it laminated at a copy or shipping store.

After taking her own ever-present canine companion, Finn, for some R&R at doggie daycare, Amanda Seyfried stuck up for shelter pups by running errands in L.A. while wearing PETA's "Adopt, Don't Buy" T-shirt.

I wonder if Amanda borrowed the oversized tee from her boyfriend, Ryan Phillippe, who recently adopted a shelter dog. But Amanda's awfully fond of Finn, whom she calls "my son and my light source and kind of a savior …."

Get Amanda's look with PETA's "Adopt, Don't Buy" tee and our low-rise sweat pants. 
  

Written by Michelle Sherrow

We're no strangers to having our ads banned. But we thought that we had a safe bet when we created an ad against the Canadian seal slaughter that features a cartoon drawn by celebrated New Yorker contributor Harry Bliss. In the cartoon, a seal sits at a bar and, in a play on words, tells the bartender his order: "Anything but a [certain brand of whiskey]."

We posted the ad on our website, and postcard reproductions of it were sent to Toronto bars to be placed on tables. Of course, it was meant to reference the barbaric bludgeoning and skinning of baby seals, not whiskey. But Beam Global Spirits & Wine, Inc., the parent company of Canadian Club, sent us a cease and desist letter, telling us to immediately yank the ad. We promptly did so (which means that you can no longer find the ad on our site) because we didn't mean to offend the brand—which to its credit, doesn't conduct animal testing.

Our legal counsel told Canadian Club: "It was not a happy hour when PETA received your letter. Although we will put the cartoon on ice, it … brings needed attention to the hideous cruelty of the Canadian slaughter of baby seals, a spectacle so vile that even to contemplate the carnage on the ice, it's hard not to want a stiff drink."

A whiskey, perhaps?

Kyle May/cc by 2.0

Written by Michelle Sherrow

Thanks for all of your wonderful comments on this Win It Wednesday. The winners of the dog windows are Michael Essi and Nicole Linklider. Congratulations!

How much is that doggie in the window …

… loving his view of the neighborhood?!

Regular walks are essential to a dog's physical, mental, and social well-being, but chillaxing with you in your shady yard is nice too. Now those breaks in the backyard can be a lot more entertaining for Fido, thanks to the Dog Window, which offers curious dogs a window to the world beyond the privacy fence.

Sure, you could order one today from PETA's Catalog, but wouldn't it be more fun to win one? We've got two to give away, and you can score yours by describing the perfect day, from start to finish, from your dog's perspective.

The contest ends on August 19, 2009, and we'll choose the two comments that really get tails wagging as the winners on August 21, 2009. Be sure to read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you're agreeing to both by commenting. Good luck!

Written by Karin Bennett