For 34 years, Sally and her guardian were together nearly every day. The loving man doted on his horse, keeping her well cared for and giving her the run of his property.

But Sally's age was catching up with her. Her once-sparkling brown eyes had completely lost their sight, she was losing weight, and her movements were becoming more and more laborious. Even though Sally could no longer see the man she loved, she could still hear his voice, and she came to him whenever he called. It was a daily struggle for the man to watch Sally deteriorate. He feared that she would get worse before her aging body finally quit, but he was also scared to call her veterinarian and end her suffering. 

When PETA received a concerned call about the horse from someone who had gone past the property, we called to speak to Sally's guardian. The gentleman was practically in tears over his beloved horse. He knew that the coming winter would make life even harder for Sally, but he agonized every day over the decision to end her suffering.

PETA's caseworker knew that the man needed help letting Sally go. She explained what he already knew—that Sally was no longer comfortable in her body, that her quality of life was significantly diminished, and that he was going to have to be strong for her now.

It seemed to be what the man needed to hear. He gathered his strength, called his veterinarian, and lovingly said goodbye to his precious Sally. PETA called to check on him, reassure him, and comfort him during his loss.

Saying goodbye to our animal family members is heartbreaking, for sure. But when the end comes, we have to love them enough to endure the pain so that they don't have to. 

We've learned, haven't we, when you are told "You're a winner!" that there's some fine print and a catch. The same is true with the magic words that imply that dogs and cats are winners, too: "no kill"! Here, too, there is fine print, and it can be much more damaging than finding that you are being billed for a subscription you didn't want. The fact is that many limited-admission shelters, now often given the great-sounding, dressed-up title "no-kill shelter," actually hurt animals every single day. Not necessarily the ones they take in, who may or may not be well cared for, but rather, the ones they don't. The animals someone else has to decide what to do with or who just end up abandoned or worse when the "no-kill" shelter is full, as it inevitably is. 

These glorious-sounding shelters generally turn away many more animals than they accept, picking, choosing, and admitting only the youngest, healthiest, prettiest, and most adoptable, if any, because on most days, they will tell all comers, "We're full." The rest are sent away to suffer on the streets or to be left in the hands of people who don't want them. Some "no-kills" do accept animals when they shouldn't, by which I mean when their facilities are already crammed beyond capacity, subjecting all of the shelter's tenants to crowded, unsanitary conditions, illness, and often a painful death from parvovirus or from fighting. And if the animals they do take in are not adopted, many so-called "no-kill" shelters warehouse them in cages for years, unwanted and unloved, even after they are driven "cage crazy" from the stress of confinement. I've seen them sit with their back to visitors, withdrawn into a world of depression and lost hope.

"No-kill" advocates are quick to throw stones at open-admission shelters, which offer refuge to every animal who comes through their doors and euthanize animals when they are not adoptable, when they run out of appropriate living space for them, or when the animals brought in are injured, aggressive or gravely ill. So in return, PETA is quick to expose the cracks in the rosy picture that "no-kills" try to paint. Here are just a few of the recent additions to our long, ever-expanding list of "no-kill" failures that cause animals to suffer: 

September 13, 2012/Corpus Christi, Texas: Area animal shelters report that they are filled to capacity and that homeless, roaming animals in the area are at “epidemic” levels. The shelter director at no-kill "Pee Wee's Pet Adoption World and Sanctuary" stated, "I get 75 calls a day, and people get angry because I can't take 75 animals a day .… If you multiply 75 times 365 days a year, I would have to take in 27,000 plus animals a year." The Gulf Coast Humane Society director reports that his shelter "turn[s] people away right and left."

July 20, 2012/Northeast Mississippi: Area open-admission animal shelters are suffering from the effects of some private shelters' picking and choosing in order to limit admissions in a ploy to call themselves "no-kill" for fundraising appeals. A local news outlet reported that, while the [no-kill] policy keeps current shelter residents alive, it limits the number of pets those facilities can house and means new arrivals routinely are turned away. Some then are "dumped alongside roads, abandoned at a neighbor's house or shot and killed," according to representatives of no-kill shelters citing what jilted pet owners have told them. The writer spoke with a woman taking three unwanted dogs to an open-admission shelter and whose husband had made his family's options and intentions clear: "It was either that or shoot them."

July 17, 2012/Willis, Texas: "Considered one of the country's [premier] sanctuaries for pit bulls," was the no-kill Spindletop Dog Refuge was raided by authorities who seized approximately 300 pit bulls found in tiny plastic carriers with no water and unable to fully stand up. Some dogs were seen drinking their own urine and a police news report revealed that "[o]ne dog's feet were so scalded it was laying on its back in its own urine in feces, presumably to take the pain off of its feet."

As long as outspoken "no-kill" proponents continue to criticize open-admission shelters even in the face of the animal homelessness crisis, PETA will continue to save animals by exposing "no-kills" for what they really are: "slow-kills."

It's Cyber Monday, the day when online shoppers can find deals on everything from flat screens to flat sheets. But there's one retailer whose sales should just flatline: bebe.

Why throw bebe out with the bathwater? Unlike many of its compassionate competitors—including J.Crew, Talbots, and Limited Brands—bebe has begun selling real fur. The company apparently thinks that nothing screams "festive" like animals screaming while the skin is ripped off their bodies.

So five animals whose friends and family members are often killed for their fur are here to show everyone that real fur looks good only on its original owner and to ask you to make bebe a no-no this holiday season. 

1. Rabbits are hopping mad at bebe.

2. Dogs want you to walk them, not wear them. 

3. Foxes need your help to outfox cruel companies that still sell fur.

4. Cats are ready to give bebe some serious catitude. 

5. Chinchillas are chatterboxes when they're together, and you can bet they would have plenty to say about bebe's fur coats. 

Please tell bebe that you won't buy while animals die and urge the company to finally ditch fur furever.

We all know by now that chaining or tying up dogs outside is cruel and dangerous, right? But if you're thinking that an "invisible fence" is a safe way to give your dog some time outdoors, think again.

Painful, Dangerous, and Bewildering

Like us, dogs are made of flesh and blood and nerve endings, three things that don't mix well with electricity. Invisible fences deliver a painful shock when dogs cross a buried electrical wire. There are collars that do the same thing. Some are controlled by the owner, who keeps a remote-control shocking device handy to be used whenever the owner feels that the dog has misbehaved, while others shock automatically, triggered by barking. Beyond the physical pain and the anticipatory fear that the shocks induce, these devices can injure a dog both physically—from burns to cardiac fibrillation—and psychologically, causing severe anxiety and displaced aggression.

Not understanding why or how they're being hurt, dogs subjected to shock collars and invisible fences may direct their fear or aggression toward what they believe is the source of the shock—which may be passing bicyclists, the mail carrier, or your neighbors' children.

Punished for Coming Home

Has your dog ever recklessly bolted after a squirrel or in a panic at a loud noise? Dogs often run right through invisible fences in the heat of the moment, but to cross back over that line means that they'll get a painful jolt—a prospect that leaves some too scared to return. And even if invisible fences succeed in keeping animals contained within certain boundaries, the nonexistent barrier certainly won't protect them from cruel humans and roaming dogs or other animals who can easily come onto your property.

No dog should live in fear of getting shocked for barking or crossing an invisible line. Real fences and positive training methods in which dogs are rewarded for good behavior are humane and effective. If you want to give your dog a stimulating experience, throw a dog party instead!

Thanksgiving is hell for turkeys. To make sure as many folks get this message as possible, here are three of our best holiday ads. Pick your favorite and share with friends to let them know why they should give turkeys a reason to be thankful, too:

 "Would You Eat Your Dog?"

SHARE: Twitter | Facebook

"Turkey Terror"

SHARE: Twitter | Facebook

 "Grace"

SHARE: Twitter | Facebook

Give everyone—including animals—something to be thankful for this holiday season by celebrating with a vegan feast. 

Anyone who has a hard time understanding why PETA hasn't hopped onto the "no-kill" bandwagon should have a look at this long list of failures of limited-admission (i.e., "no-kill") shelters and rescues. There have been so many raids, busts, and seizures that we can't even be sure that we have kept up with them all.

Rescued From a 'Rescue'?

One of the latest tragedies comes from Muncie, Indiana, where 63 dogs and puppies were seized from a single-story house operating as "Adopt a Lab Rescue and Adoption." Living conditions were so foul that one official characterized it as being "like a dungeon in the basement."  Some of the dogs had reportedly been bought from a "broker." This same facility had also been raided in 2010, when 30 dogs were removed because of poor conditions, including keeping animals in crates without food or water for up to 21 hours a day.

Limited Admission, Limited Compassion

No one wants to euthanize animals, least of all people who dedicate their lives to helping them. And we should all be deeply upset that in this day and age, shelters must still resort to euthanasia—but breeding and buying animals from pet shops is still legal (in most places)! The reality is that there are more animals in need of homes than there are people ready to adopt them. Even if we could build enough shelters to hold all of them, these animals need real homes and families to love them. They can't be warehoused forever just to make us feel better.

Euthanasia prevents suffering—it is, by definition, humane. But turning away animals in need of shelter is anything but humane. Forcing animals to exist in cages, joyless, for months or years or their entire lives, is inhumane, too, as is allowing animals to suffer in squalor, loneliness, deprivation, and illness.  

What You Can Do

There is an answer, and it lies in prevention! We can reduce euthanasia and the need for it by taking the smart, effective approach: animal birth control (ABC). Please start an ABC campaign in your community, and never be silent when animals are at risk.

 The following was adapted from a post on PETA Asia's Hot and Sour Scoop blog:

After Egyptian media reported that a scientific committee was recommending that all Australian cattle have their ears cut off prior to slaughter, PETA Australia encouraged its supporters to speak up. As a result, the Australian government has assured PETA Australia that it has discussed this issue with Egyptian officials and that the ears of animals will not be cut off prior to slaughter.

The recommendation to cut off the ears of cattle came after Australian cattle in Egypt were held for several weeks following the discovery of hormone growth promotants (HGPs) in some animals' ears. Egyptian authorities have demonstrated their mistrust of HGPs, and PETA Australia feared that they were likely to accept the findings of the committee, leaving Australian cattle open to this extreme mutilation—most likely with no pain relief—prior to their inhumane slaughter.

However, it's still unclear if Australian animals in Egypt will have the implants removed from their ears prior to slaughter as has occurred previously, according to Australia's Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. PETA Australia investigators have seen firsthand how cattle are treated in Egypt, so this procedure likely would not be performed humanely, either. PETA Australia is waiting for a response from the Australian minister of agriculture.

It's very clear under Islamic law that for meat to be halal ("permissible"), animals must not experience any discomfort prior to being slaughtered. Cattle can't be mutilated before being killed—otherwise, the meat becomes haraam ("sinful").

As an Australian program, Four Corners, revealed, animals exported alive from Australia are not protected from abuse and mistreatment once they have left that country. As in the case of the barbaric killing of 20,000 sheep in Pakistan, the Australian government would have been powerless to stop cattle from having their ears cut off if Egyptian authorities had mandated this mutilation.

Investigations conducted by PETA affiliates have exposed the abuse and mistreatment of animals used for live export on numerous occasions. It's time for Australian officials to end live export. Please e-mail Joe Ludwig, the minister of agriculture, fisheries and forestry, at joe.ludwig@maff.gov.au and politely ask him to ban these ships of death.

What do you get for 10 years of loyal service to Green Mountain College? Well, if you're an ox, you get strung up by one leg, your throat is slit, and you are bled to death. Oxen Bill and Lou have served the agricultural school in Poultney, Vermont, as laborers for the past decade, and the students love them. Lou sustained an injury this summer, and the school decided that Bill likely would not work as well with a new partner, so Green Mountain wants to send the animals to slaughter and serve them in the school cafeteria. But PETA and the public are calling foul, insisting that the oxen deserve better.

This ox does not approve of Green Mountain College’s  lethal “retirement” plan for Bill and Lou.

It isn't as if the school had no easy, humane option: Vermont's VINE Sanctuary offered to provide Bill and Lou with a peaceful place to live out their days and even offered to arrange transportation for them. But the school refused.

PETA sent an urgent e-mail today to school administrators asking them—if they refuse to accept VINE Sanctuary's offer to provide Bill and Lou with a peaceful retirement—at least to allow students and the public to witness the slaughter of the animals so that they can see the terror in Bill's and Lou's eyes right before a bolt is shot into their foreheads and they are strung upside down and bled to death. But we are hopeful that it won't come to that.

Join PETA and urge Green Mountain College to allow Bill and Lou their well-deserved retirement.

The following is a guest post from Brophie, who accompanies his guardian to PETA's Norfolk, Virginia, headquarters every day.

As a former "backyard dog," I spent many years outside in all weather extremes. I didn't receive the medical care I needed when I was sick or much of anything I needed, really—but what I craved the most was love.

Then my owner—during Hurricane Irene—left me in the backyard to fend for myself. When the fence blew away (yes, the wind was that strong), I managed to make my way to a fire station. Somehow, I knew that was the best place to go in an emergency. The wonderful firefighters called PETA, and soon I was here in the office, resting on a cushy bed. I received plenty of food, treatment for severe flea allergy dermatitis, and lots of ear scratches (those were what I enjoyed the most). A PETA Foundation staffer couldn't resist my handsome mug (could you?), so I finally learned how it feels to be part of a family.

Like you, we dogs are pack animals. We need our "pack" around us, to snuggle with us, play with us, take us for walks, and make us feel loved every day. I'm fortunate enough to experience all these things now, and I would love for all dogs to have these opportunities, too.

I also get to go to the PETA office every day, where I play with other smart people (dogs) in the PETA dog park and go for walks with my human. Of course, the calming influence of having dogs at work isn't appreciated in every office, so it's vital for guardians to go home on their lunch breaks or hire a well-recommended dog-walker to come by so those dogs don't have to sit "holding it" all day. They also get some essential mental stimulation and exercise. Having plenty of toys around helps, too—they keep our minds and bodies active. But what we really want—and need—is quality time with you, so please, when you come home, take us out for a long walk and play with us. Don't just go dashing off somewhere, leaving us to stare at the wall.

I've seen how the other half lives. And I can't tell you how much happier and healthier I am now that I have all the love and affection I could want.

PETA is urging the public to beware of PETCO's "Turtle Relinquishment Program"—a deceptively named ploy to essentially solicit free turtles from unsuspecting people in order to funnel them back into the pet trade, through a meat farm!

Most states have laws either banning or restricting the sale of turtles, so it is likely that any you see at a pet store were captured illegally or raised in less-than-humane conditions.

Capitalizing on a recent rash of pet turtle–related cases of salmonella poisoning in humans, the shameless pet store chain—which has a terrible record already when it comes to animal welfare—has announced that anyone can bring a turtle of any size to its stores. PETCO then ships those turtles to its own vendor, Concordia Turtle Farm in Louisiana, which has said that it will "treat" the turtles for salmonella.

Well, this might sound like a noble effort to some, but shipping turtles is extremely stressful on them. And to add insult to injury, there really isn't any way to rid reptiles of salmonella—they naturally carry it in their intestinal tract! What's more, what PETCO doesn't tell consumers, and what PETA has learned, is that Concordia Turtle Farm exports 80 percent of its turtles overseas—mostly to China, where they grow larger and are then slaughtered for meat. Although it's unclear whether the relinquished turtles will end up on Chinese plates, this business deal brings up several important questions. Why would PETCO ally itself with a meat-trade supplier? And if it's "concerned" about human health, why is the company selling turtles in the first place?

Living conditions during the trip from the breeder or dealer are typically cramped and unsanitary, and many reptiles do not survive the ordeal.

What You Can Do

Please help keep turtles safe by urging the CEO of PETCO to end this ghastly program and stop selling turtles altogether.