Authorities recently rescued 108 animals from three homes in Duncanville, Texas, where dogs and cats were found stacked in filthy, hair-encrusted, rusty cages and confined to rooms in which urine and feces coated the floors—allegedly up to a foot deep. According to news reports, the door to one room to which dogs were confined was sealed shut with industrial tape and hidden behind a curtain, and the dogs had been deprived of adequate food, water, and care.

The woman responsible for these cats and dogs was apparently busy acquiring unadoptable animals from at least one local animal shelter and running a "rescue" group.

Cases like this are common and remind us how animals suffer when people warehouse homeless dogs and cats for years—with no chance for them to run, play, or feel the grass beneath their feet—as a "solution" to quick and painless euthanasia. Animal shelters that shirk their responsibility by handing over animals to anyone who says that they'll take them—as shelters across the country are doing to make their euthanasia rates look better in the face of pressure from the irresponsible snake-oil salesmen who call themselves "no kill" supporters—share the blame for the suffering of animals at the hands of hoarders posing as "rescuers." Beware, beware, beware!

Avoiding euthanasia at all costs is not humane, and it is not a solution to the animal overpopulation crisis. Until the flood of homeless animals is stopped through spaying and neutering, euthanasia will remain a mercy for unadopted and unadoptable animals. Spaying and neutering are the keys to keeping animals out of shelters—and out of "rescues" that are worse than death.

After hearing the story of Lynn Jones, a baggage handler who, appallingly, was fired for protecting a suffering dog, we decided to do what her employer should have done—give her an award.

Jones was working at the Reno-Tahoe International Airport in Nevada when she spotted an emaciated dog inside a carrier in the cargo area who was covered with sores. The animal's paws were raw and bloody, and he was too weak to stand. Jones doubted that he would survive the flight.

She refused to give in to her supervisor's demands that she load the suffering animal onto a plane until, finally, airport police called animal control, which arranged for the dog to receive veterinary care. The animal was eventually transported to his original destination, much to the dismay of Jones, who said she would have been happy to adopt the dog.

"I wouldn't have traded that job for anything," Jones said "I wouldn't have risked it for anything. But I just couldn't turn my back on that dog. ... My supervisor said it wasn't my concern, but animal abuse is everyone's concern who sees it."

Apparently shamed by the international attention Jones' story has garnered, her employer has now reportedly reconsidered and offered Jones her job back. We'd say a new policy regarding the transport of obviously sick and injured animals would be in order as well. Call it "Lynn's Law."

A frantic PETA supporter contacted us after she witnessed an underweight horse collapse and thrash around on the ground. It was clear to our caller that this poor animal was in agony and likely suffering from colic.

Law enforcement was contacted immediately, but according to our caller, when the officers arrived, "they just stood around her, watching her suffer." A PETA staffer worked on getting a veterinarian out to the horse, while the caller tried to track down the horse's owner. Within an hour of the call to PETA, the horse was gently released from her suffering.

At our urging, detectives are now investigating the cause of the horse's illness as well as the condition of the other horses on the owner's property.

If you encounter an animal in imminent danger and local officials won't help, call PETA to receive immediate assistance.

We may never know how more than a dozen pigeons, crows, seagulls, and other wild birds ended up crammed into filthy cages in a hoarder's home, but when PETA heard about the birds—who were spotted piled on the sidewalk after the hoarder was evicted—our Cruelty Investigations Department took action.

After PETA contacted animal control and alerted the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to potential violations of the state cruelty statute and federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act, all the birds—some of whom appeared to be sick and suffering from heat exhaustion—were seized, and officers launched an investigation.

Not only is it illegal to possess most wild birds without a permit issued by the USFWS, these animals were also victims of hoarding, a mental illness in which the hoarder compulsively acquires more animals than he or she can properly care for. Animals are often "warehoused" in filthy cages and carriers and denied clean water, adequate food, and veterinary care. Accumulated waste and filth often lead to infections and the spread of parasites and contagious diseases.

If you ever suspect someone may be an animal hoarder, immediately contact law-enforcement officials—following up if necessary to make sure that action is taken. PETA's report on hoarding contains more information about how to protect animals.

Look at the photo below and you'll see her—in between the fertilizer spreader and the recycling bin. No, that's not a stuffed rabbit in the tiny cage behind the plastic toy truck—that's a living, breathing being consigned to a miserable, lonely existence along with the other things people stick outside and forget about. This rabbit was never allowed out of the cramped metal cage, and aside from her owner's tossing her some food and water once in awhile, she never received any attention at all.

A concerned person saw the bunny and knew that with the harsh northern winter already knocking on the door and only an open staircase for "shelter," the rabbit might not live to see another Easter. She tried talking the owner into surrendering the rabbit to her, to no avail. She called PETA for help, and working with local law enforcement, we put pressure on the owner to provide a suitable home for the rabbit. The owner soon tired of hearing from both PETA and the police and agreed to surrender the rabbit into her rescuer's waiting arms.

Now the bunny is living the sweet life indoors because of one woman's persistence and dedication to justice for animals. She is proof positive that even if you can't change the entire world, with a little work, you can change one animal's entire world. 

Written by Michelle Sherrow