Gracie had been relegated to a tiny cage for weeks when a PETA staffer noticed her and asked her owner if she could give the rabbit a new home. Gracie's owner agreed. After all, she said, she didn't really want a rabbit companion—she'd bought Gracie to feed to her snake, but the rabbit had proved to be too big.

Gracie didn't let her harrowing start to life dampen her spirit, and she became a superstar, posing with actor Charlotte Ross in a PETA anti-fur ad. And in her new home, where she is wanted, Gracie enjoys romping through the vegetable garden and digging holes. She doesn't like it when her chicken companions try to eat her food, but the wily rabbit never hesitates to steal theirs.

While sweet Gracie got her happy ending, she would be saddened if she knew that rabbits just like her are confined to tiny cages every year in laboratories in the U.S. They have cosmetics and household cleaners dripped into their eyes. Their backs are shaved, and corrosive chemicals are painted onto their raw skin and left to burn away the tissue for weeks. Then they are killed.

Show rabbits a little grace. Buy cruelty-free products.

I just received the gift of a 2012 calendar illustrated by Mutts artist Patrick McDonell to go along with my PETA "Rescued" calendar. But my walls won't be the only ones sporting the designs of this talented and compassionate artist in the new year. PETA's mobile SNIP (Spay and Neuter Immediately, Please!) clinic received a facelift earlier this month when it was rewrapped with colorful Mutts artwork, courtesy of McDonnell.

PETA's fleet of state-of-the-art mobile low-cost to no-cost clinics—we now boast three—spayed and neutered more than 10,000 dogs, cats, and rabbits in 2011, and we hope to surpass that number in 2012, thereby preventing thousands of unwanted animals from being born into a world long on suffering and short on good homes. We've spayed and neutered more than 75,000 animals in the last 10 years!

If you'd like to support SNIP's lifesaving work (the clinics operate at a loss and rely on donations to keep "snipping"), we can hook you up.

PETCO pledged in 2005 that it would end the sale of large birds in its stores. Last month, a concerned PETCO customer noticed that a PETCO store in his area had a white-capped pionus, a kind of parrot, for sale. The bird had apparently spent 14 months in a cage at the store, waiting for someone to buy her. PETCO's price tag for the bird was $799, but for some time, there was a "Manager's Special—50% Off" sign on the cage she was in, as if this sensitive bird were an out-of-style shirt to be placed on the clearance rack.

PETA reached out to its contact at PETCO's corporate office and got the complainant in touch with the pet trade giant. For once, PETCO did the right thing and allowed the person who contacted PETA to adopt the bird, since named Tegan, for a donation to the PETCO Foundation, which provides funds for animal welfare organizations and spay-and-neuter efforts, among other things.

Tegan now has the run (fly?) of the house and the company of other birds. The kind man who took her in says that Tegan is a very affectionate bird who enjoys taking showers and who spends at least 4 to 5 hours a day riding around on his shoulder, where she seems happiest. You can find tips on caring for birds on our companion animals webpage.

Two important lessons emerge from this case. One: Never hesitate to speak up when you suspect an animal needs help. And the other? Don't support the pet trade—shop only at pet-supply stores that don't sell live animals.

They may have been born as strays on a porch, but thanks to the efforts of some wonderful volunteers, seven Labrador retriever–mix puppies spent their first Christmas indoors, surrounded by their loving adoptive families.

When PETA suffered a "van down" earlier this year, longtime President's Circle members Adam and Leni Sender stepped up to the plate. The Sender family—tireless animal advocates who have opened their home to numerous rescued animals, including a refugee from Hurricane Katrina—donated the money for PETA to buy a new and improved van, and we dedicated the vehicle to the memory of their beloved cat Patti.

The "Patti Wagon" will urge people to save lives by spaying and neutering their animals while it ferries animals in need to and from appointments with PETA's no-cost to low-cost spay-and-neuter clinics. We love the Senders as much as the Senders love animals. Thank you for being the animals' "Spay Santas"!

And the van's namesake? Well, we think Patti would be purrfectly pleased with her mobile memorial.

Making up songs about my cat, Wellington, set to holiday jingles is one of the season's great joys. ("Wellie, the Pink-Nosed Kitty" is a big hit at parties.) The best thing that we can do for our animal companions this holiday season, though, is to keep them safe. Here are some tips:

Cats are wonderful, but they don't make great gifts. And please always remember to spay and neuter.

• Keep tinsel, ribbons, and ornament hooks away from prying paws. If you see ribbon or tinsel hanging from your animal's mouth, call the veterinarian, pronto. Never pull it out—it can cut their intestines.
• Make sure that guests and kids don't share unapproved holiday treats with animals. Chocolate and some nuts are toxic to dogs, and even seemingly harmless foods such as onions, raisins, and grapes can cause severe reactions in dogs and cats.
• Plants such as holly, mistletoe, and lilies are pretty to look at, but they can make animals sick or even kill them if eaten. Keep plants well out of animals' reach—or better yet, choose other types of plants.
• The comings and goings of guests provide opportunities for animals to slip out of the house. Have your animals microchipped (at your veterinarian's office or an animal shelter), and make sure that they wear collars and I.D. tags while guests are in the house, just in case.
• Save the phone numbers of your veterinarian and the nearest emergency vet in your cell phone so that you're always prepared for unexpected mishaps.
• Holidays can be hectic, but be sure not to overlook your animal companions' needs for regular walks and playtime.
• Share the holiday spirit of giving with your animals by getting them a dog or cat gift set—they also make great stocking stuffers for the other animals in your life.

Happy holidays to you and your furry friends!

Don't let your dog or cat appear on 16 Weeks and Pregnant. Spay and neuter.  

Fewer exotic animals such as hedgehogs, macaws, and lizards will spend their lives locked in cages as "pets," and it all started with a kind woman who wouldn't give up until she got help for a sick, dying ferret in an Arkansas pet store. The woman repeatedly asked the store manager to let her take the ferret home for rehabilitation, but the manager refused. Finally, she called PETA for help. We pushed animal control to check on the ferret, and the store's owner quickly surrendered the ill animal.

PETA's caseworker explained to the store's owner that animals suffer in mass-breeding facilities and animal dealers' warehouses before they end up in pet stores. The owner agreed to watch PETA's undercover video footage from the now-defunct exotic-animal warehouse U.S. Global Exotics, Inc., and the massive ferret factory Triple F Farms, Inc. He was so moved by the plight of wild-born exotic animals—who are often abducted from their families and stuffed into luggage to be smuggled into the U.S.—that he agreed never to buy or sell these animals again.

This victory is an encouragement to us all always to report cruelty and never to miss an opportunity to educate others about how animals suffer in the pet trade and other cruel industries. You never know whose mind you might change!

Written by Lindsay Pollard-Post

Employees at a Kentucky dentist's office were reattaching vent covers when meowing was heard under the building. A passerby then called PETA for advice.

A pretty black-and-white cat had apparently darted inside an open vent while the covers were off, but then was unable to get back out. We were able to secure the release of the cat and convinced the caller, who planned to adopt the cat, to first take her to a shelter to be scanned for a microchip. Sure enough, the cat, named Minnie, had been lost for six long weeks, and her guardian was desperately searching for her.

Minnie was lucky she was discovered before she starved to death or was seriously injured in the ventilation system and that the people who found her were kindhearted. Other cats who are let outside unattended aren't always so lucky. Outdoor cats are often abused by cruel people, hit by cars, poisoned, attacked by other animals, or stolen and sold for use in experiments or as bait for dogfights. Don't learn the hard way—keep cats safely inside, as Minnie's grateful guardian assures us she will do from now on.

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