Once upon a time, there was a sweet little girl named Coco. Like Cinderella and Snow White before her, Coco faced true hardship. When Prince Charming PETA's fieldworkers found her, she was chained to a trampoline—which served as her only "shelter"—and her coat was badly matted, as you can see:

The fieldworkers, though, instantly recognized the princess beneath the tangled fur and, with some persistence, persuaded the owner to surrender the little poodle. She was whisked away to be bathed, groomed, spayed, and vaccinated before finding her happy ending: being placed into a wonderful home. She now has more than an acre of kingdom fenced-in area to explore and enjoys watching TV, staring at herself in the mirror, and—most of all—snuggling with her human family. Here she is today, in royal repose:

Here's the moral of Coco's story: You don't have to be a godmother with a magic wand. For abused, neglected, and abandoned animals, a helping hand can turn a potential tragedy into a fairy tale—and adoption provides the "happily ever after."

What You Can Do

PETA is always looking for people who can give animals loving homes. If you are an East Coast resident and are interested in adopting a companion animal from PETA, contact Adopt@peta.org. No matter where you live, please never buy an animal from a pet store or breeder—for a real fairy-tale ending, always adopt from an animal shelter or rescue.

I recently attended an estate sale at a house that had belonged to a hoarder. 

I've been going to estate sales for years and have seen all manner of houses, but nothing could have prepared me for the chaos within this one. Boxes stuffed with papers, photographs, magazines, and old clothes were precariously stacked throughout the home, covering almost every single surface.

There were boxes on the beds, in the bathtubs, in the hallways, and on every piece of furniture. Many rooms had a small pathway amid the clutter, barely wide enough for one person to navigate. Frequently, someone would inadvertently send something crashing down. Some rooms were completely impassable.

Now imagine that those boxes were cages and crates stacked one on top of another, each containing a miserable, sick animal, and that the surfaces were covered not with clutter but with feces and urine. This is the reality when people hoard animals, often under the delusion that they're "saving" them—and the consequences are devastating.

PETA has investigated numerous animal-hoarding cases over the years and, time and again, has found animals warehoused in deplorable conditions. The investigators have seen cats kept in impossible-to-sanitize wooden sheds and dilapidated, moldy trailers that reeked of ammonia, their living areas strewn with vomit, trash, and waste. They've seen paralyzed animals forced to drag themselves around until they developed bloody ulcers. They've seen suffering animals deprived of veterinary care—including some plagued with seizures, diabetes, and wounds infected down to the bone. 

Hoarding "things" is bad enough. But when animals are involved, intervention is vital. A majority of animal-hoarding cases—at least 57 percent, according to one study—are brought to authorities' attention by concerned neighbors.

If you suspect that animals are being neglected or abused by their caretakers, even those who appear well intentioned, please be a "nosy neighbor" and alert authorities immediately. 

The following is a guest post from Bubbles, one of the office cats at PETA’s Norfolk, Virginia, headquarters.

Hi, I’m Bubbles, PETA’s Director of Office Companionship. It’s a huge job, as you can imagine, providing the other staff with someone to talk to at any time and training them how to be excellent companions as well. As an expert, I wanted to share my insights on companionship with PETA Files readers.

I’ve heard it said that “showing up is half the battle,” and I think that’s true. For me that means making my rounds every day sitting on this person’s desk and that person’s chair, rubbing up against multiple ankles and lying across computer keyboards. For you, that likely means giving your cats attention the moment you get home, playing with them, curling up on the couch with them, brushing them, talking to them and doing whatever they like to do with you. Some cats even enjoy going for walks on a harness. Of course, cats also need toys, cat towers, and window seats to make their days less boring, but quality time and affection is what they crave.

Look, I get it, we’re all busy. I sometimes have to help edit, write letters, help with inclement weather preparations, the list never ends. But being a good companion means making the time. My humans are worth it. And I know your cats are too.

For some more tips, check out 250 Things You Can Do to Make Your Cat Adore You, by PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk. You can also try to get in touch with me, but I’m rarely at my desk. Lots of companionship to spread around, you know. 

In an important step toward justice for the many rabbits who suffered at Bunny Magic Wildlife & Rabbit Rescue, Inc.—as revealed by PETA—Carole Van Wie,  the operator of that nightmarish hoarding facility, was convicted in court of neglecting rabbits. More importantly, she has promised not to take in any more animals and will be on supervised probation to ensure her compliance.

Van Wie will be turning in her state and federal animal rehabilitator licenses and has vowed to get out of animal rescue work—not that she was actually rescuing any animals, of course. Van Wie must undergo a psychiatric evaluation—which is critical for ensuring that no more animals suffer and die at her hands—and pay back some of the costs of caring for the animals who were seized from Bunny Magic. PETA thanks Calvert County Animal Control, the Tri-County Animal Shelter, and the Calvert County State's Attorney's Office for all their hard work on this case.

What You Can Do

Some "rescuers" are anything but—before handing over any animal, take extra care to ensure that you're not sentencing him or her to a miserable incarceration at the hands of a hoarder. Also, please don't bring any animals into your household if you can't make a lifetime commitment to them. But if you are ready, please consider adopting one (or two) of the adorable rabbits rescued from Bunny Magic!

A picture may be worth a thousand words, but when it comes to the picture of these horses, I'm still at a loss—this photo is worth a thousand chills:

When I was a child, I had a recurring nightmare that I was covered head-to-toe with needles that paralyzed me. I had no way of taking them out; I was helpless. But of course, I'd wake up, and it would all be over—it was only a twisted creation of my subconscious.

For the horses in the photo, however, my haunting nightmare was their reality. Covered in thick clusters of hard, prickly burrs, the horses endured constant discomfort, yet their neglectful owner continued to let the burrs accumulate in the horses' manes and tails for months.

After noticing the matted mess these horses had become, a concerned neighbor contacted PETA. We immediately got in touch with animal control, which had initially failed to respond to these concerns when our complainant first called for help. However, the agency was inspired by PETA caseworkers to force the owner to groom the horses immediately, and better yet, the horses were moved from the burr-infested property into a safer environment.

It is crucial that guardians have a comprehensive understanding of the care required to provide horses with a happy, healthy existence. Burrs, pebbles, and debris often cause debilitating bruises or thrush, a painful bacterial infection, which is why horses must be routinely cleaned and checked for markings. If you see or know of any animal who is not receiving proper care, please report it to your local law enforcement—the animal's life may depend on your speaking up.

Written by Logan Scherer