A recent article on CNN's website helps explain why many animal advocates—PETA included—support policies requiring in-depth assessment before placing companion animals into new homes: By screening properly, rescue workers and animal shelters can help make sure that animals who have often survived cruelty, neglect, or abandonment will find safe homes in which they will be treated with love and respect for the rest of their lives.

As a result of carelessness or negligence, adopted animals have been killed, horribly tortured, fed to snakes, and sexually abused, among other things. And in response to pressure from "no-kill" supporters, there has been a push to increase adoption numbers and manipulate euthanasia statistics, causing children and others to be harmed and killed by adopted animals,  which is a tragedy for families as well as for adopted animals and serves only to frighten people away from adopting vulnerable animals from shelters.

Animals deserve to be treated like individuals, not discounted merchandise, yet more and more animal shelters are resorting to a variety of ill-advised tactics in order to increase adoptions, including free or grossly discounted adoptions, black cat giveaways during Halloween, buy-one-get-one-free kitten promotions, and other nonsense meant to make for more appealing adoption statistics—without really checking where (or with whom) the animals end up. These irresponsible "bargain adopt-a-thons" send the message that animals' lives are worth little to nothing—the very mindset that causes millions of animals to be relinquished to animal shelters in the first place!

If you or someone you know can no longer care for an animal companion, never advertise the animal on Craigslist or in a "Free to a Good Home" ad, and never adopt out an animal who has not been spayed or neutered. Follow our other tips here to seek out a permanent home for your animal friend. A reasonable fee, an application, a contract, and a home visit are essential to ensuring that animals are placed in truly forever homes—after all, anyone not interested in being part of the process to adopt an animal can hardly be expected to spend the time, money, and energy needed to care for an animal for his or her entire life.

Want to help? Become an ABC (Animal Birth Control) volunteer today to help reduce the number of unwanted animals who need to be adopted in the first place!

When Kansas Representative Ed Trimmer sponsored House Bill 2513, proposing that the cairn terrier, best known because a dog of that breed played Toto in The Wizard of Oz, be named the state's official dog, he said that he expected to be "barked at." But the growl that PETA let out in a letter to Trimmer would have sent chills up the spine of even the Wicked Witch of the West. The House landed on the bill Monday, squashing the proposal, which PETA pointed out would only encourage well-meaning guardians to purchase dogs from breeders and pet stores supplied by puppy mills. The move opened up a kind of "Yellow Brick Road" for shelter dogs in the state.

Katie@! | CC by 2.0

To a shelter dog, there really is "no place like home." Every time a breeder brings another animal into the world, an animal sitting in an animal shelter loses his or her opportunity to find a loving home. An estimated 6 to 8 million animals are taken to U.S. animal shelters each year—of which, about 25 percent are purebred. No matter what kind of animal companion you're looking for, have a heart like the Tin Man—always adopt and never buy!

It took months and several news stories about her plight, but Gracie, the spunky three-legged, earless dog who was rescued by an American soldier in Afghanistan and fostered by PETA staffers, has finally found a home.

After Gracie was featured in The Virginian-Pilot, her story touched the heart of Virginia Beach teacher Beth Hall, whose 13-year-old dog had died a couple of months earlier. Beth sent us an eloquent e-mail listing the many pros her home had to offer ("lots of love and attention," a "3/4-acre fenced backyard," and a "cat companion"). Under "cons," she wrote, "N/A."

Gracie moved into the Hall home on Friday and has already wriggled her way into the hearts of Beth; Beth's 17-year-old son, Andrew; Beth's brother, who acts as Gracie's stay-at-home "uncle"; Beth's mom, who pops in for daily visits; and, of course, Marmalade, Beth's cat, who was adopted from a local animal shelter.

Gracie is safe, but tens of thousands of homeless dogs in animal shelters and at rescue groups are still waiting to be adopted. They don't have the great P.R. that Gracie had—they are simply relying on people to do the right thing by adopting from animal shelters instead of buying from breeders or pet stores. If you have the time and resources, consider adopting an animal!