Written by PETA
"We give dogs time we can spare, and love we can spare. And, in return, they give us their all. It's the best deal anyone ever made."—M. Acklam
Does your dog get the "leftovers"—leftover time, leftover attention, leftover energy? We're all busy, but our dogs deserve more than leftovers. Quality time with their humans—spent playing fetch or hide-and-seek or getting a massage or even just a scratch behind the ears or a belly rub—is food for the doggie soul. Here are some fun, easy "snacks" for your dog's psyche from PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk's book Let's Have a Dog Party!
Dogs appreciate the simplest of gestures. Even a few kind words can send a pup into belly-up bliss. Praise your dog often with kind words, such as "Good puppy! What a sweetie! We love you!" and prepare for the wet kisses. Special treats—a new toy (try a musical one), homemade biscuits, or even cardboard boxes to shred, a sock with a ball tied inside it, or a branch to chew on—can make a dog's day. A raised voice can ruin it.
Every dog loves a walk, and they need the exercise (as do we!). They also need to catch up on all the local neighborhood news, so let them sniff. If you're using a collar, which can cause imperceptible but nagging neck injuries even if the dog pulls only slightly, try switching to a safer and more comfortable harness, which gives you better and easier control. Never use a choke or pinch collar—they hurt, and they're dangerous. Your best bet for dogs who pull hard is a Sense-ation harness, which has a front leash attachment.
When the weather is hot, short walks (never jogs) during the coolest parts of the day are best, choosing shady, grassy routes and avoiding hot pavement, which can burn foot pads. If you can't walk barefoot on it, your dog shouldn't have to, either. Walk at a leisurely pace and take along water. Overexerted dogs can quickly suffer from heatstroke because of their fur coats and inability to perspire through their skin, just as they do when they are left in a hot car.
A dog party is a great way to show that you care. There are plenty of excuses to throw one—birthdays, adoption anniversaries, "bark" mitzvahs, and more. Invite friends to the beach, a dog park, or your backyard, and treat canine and human guests to fun games, snacks, and goodie bags.
For more detailed ideas for giving your biggest fan some star treatment, enter to win a copy of Let's Have a Dog Party! by posting a comment below telling us how you celebrate your dog.*
Written by Michelle Sherrow
*The winner will be chosen at random from commenters who tell us how they celebrate their dogs. The contest ends September 2, 2011, and the winner will be notified by September 16. Rules and restrictions apply. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited by law.
And we have another 10% Wool comic "Tag and Release" contest! Here's how it works: You submit the caption for this week's comic in the comment section below. The person whose caption best complements the strip will receive a prize. This week's winner will walk away with a peta2 "Free For All" T-shirt!
The entry round ends at 12 noon on March 15, 2011, and we'll announce the winner and showcase the winning comment in a blog post on March 17, 2011. Be sure to read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you're agreeing to both by commenting. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited by law. Good luck!
Don't forget to check out the archive of past 10% Wool comic strips and get more information on the series and the writer here. Plus, learn how to get Jeff's other comic, DeFlocked, into your local paper here.
You say it's your birthday? PETA wants to party with you. We have a neat new Web feature that lets you make your own webpage on PETA's site for your birth month. Your friends and family can use it to wish you a happy birthday and give gifts for animals on your behalf. You can ask for spay or neuter surgeries, toys for lonely backyard dogs, days off for working animals—whatever strikes your fancy. And you can rake in gifts too. This month, the birthday guy or girl who earns the most gifts for animals will win a PETA tote bag filled with a shirt, a travel mug, vegan lip balm, a pin, and a "Peace to All" necklace.
The contest runs from March 1 through March 31, and the winner will be announced on April 1. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited.
Let's get the party started!
It wasn't easy to choose just one winner for PETA's "All-Expenses-Paid Thanksgiving Vacation to NYC" contest from the many video entries we received—but we did it. Ladies and gentleman, meet Kate, who eloquently explains why she and her family will be leaving turkey off the menu this Thanksgiving.
Congratulations to Kate, who's no doubt gearing up for a lot of weekend adventures in the Big Apple—and to everyone who entered, thanks for speaking up for turkeys.
Now the question is how will all of you benevolent busybodies celebrate Thanksgiving Day and Fur-Free Friday?
Written by Karin Bennett
The following article was written by PETA marketing coordinator Ashley Palmer.
PETA Kids has begun its search to find the cutest vegetarian kids of 2010! One boy and one girl will be selected to win a professional photo shoot and star in a PETA Kids ad! Each winner will also receive some awesome PETA merch and appear in an upcoming issue of Animal Times magazine.
Just take a look at last year's winners to get some inspiration for your own child's entry. And while you're there, you may learn a few things yourself—whether it's advocating meat-free meals or adopting cats from animal shelters, who would have thought you'd be learning life lessons from a 9-year-old?
The nomination round ends on October 22, 2010, so enter soon! PETA staff will select the top 10 finalists—five boys and five girls—who will then be featured on the PETA Kids website, where visitors can vote for their favorites to help PETA decide who best deserves to win.
Just head on over to PETA Kids to complete the entry form and upload your child's photo.
I'd hate to be one of the judges because I'm a softy for all vegetarian kids. What's cuter than compassion for animals? Best of luck to all the entrants—you're all cuties in my book!
Pamela Anderson has proven time and time again that she is beautiful, inside and out. Now you have a chance to win Pamela's heart—or rather, her heart-shaped bag filled with cruelty-free cosmetics from her own line.
All you have to do to have a chance to win one of the five cosmetics sets we're giving away is make up a caption for this sweet photo of Olivia the rat:
Mine would be "Gee, your cruelty-free-shampooed hair smells terrific!" Top mine with your amazing caption and you might win.
The contest ends on October 20, 2010, and we'll select five winners on October 22, 2010. Be sure to read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you're agreeing to both by commenting.
Good luck!
It was a gesture that was definitely more long-lasting and meaningful than a bouquet of flowers: Fran Healy of the band Travis thought of the perfect way to thank Sir Paul McCartney for contributing bass lines to a track on Healy's just-released solo debut album, Wreckorder. He—and his family—went vegetarian.
Healy recalls, "I thought, Paul's a big veggie, my son's already vegetarian, it'd be nice to maybe have the whole family do it, so I asked my wife and she said, 'That's a great idea, and what a way to say thank you.'" Talk about the gift that keeps on giving!
There are billions of reasons to go vegan—now PETA wants to know why you stopped eating animals. What was your incredible inspiration?
The person whose story moves us the most will win the grand prize, which includes Wreckorder CDs (both the wide-release and limited editions) and the vinyl version of the album—signed by Fran Healy—as well as a collectible T-shirt and tote bag. One runner-up will win an autographed copy of Wreckorder. The contest ends on October 8, 2010, and the winner will be chosen the same day. Be sure to read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you're agreeing to both by commenting.
Thank you—and good luck!
Forget pita bread—now there's PETA Butter! In honor of our 30th anniversary, Peanut Butter & Co. has whipped up a giant batch of special peanut butter just for PETA and is donating a portion of the sales from it to our "Pledge to Be Veg" program. Peanut Butter & Co is also generously providing jars of PETA Butter for our star-studded 30th Anniversary Gala—the PETA Butter will make an appearance in the gift bags and as an item in our silent auction.
Can't make it to the gala? You can still celebrate with the all-natural peanutty spread by entering to win a month's supply. And if you're wondering what you'd do with a month's supply of PETA Butter, don't worry. Continue reading for some ideas that PETA bloggers swear will make peanut butter and jelly seem boring.
Did you know that the average person uses 500 plastic bags every year? Yeah, me either, but Andy Keller knows. The founder of reusable-tote company ChicoBag is currently touring the country dressed as his alter ego, the Bag Monster, in order to educate people about the enormous number of plastic bags that we thoughtlessly consume—and discard—every day.
A man/monster who puts his money where his mouth is, Keller has provided PETA with stash of his popular Sling rePETe bags to give away to 10 lucky PETA Files readers.
Not only are plastic bags monstrously ugly, they can also be deadly to wildlife, including birds who become entangled in them and sea animals who ingest them after mistaking them for jellyfish or other food sources. (You can read about BBC wildlife documentary filmmaker Rebecca Hosking's campaign to ban plastic bags in the current issue of Animal Times).
Post a comment below telling us how you're battling the plastic plague. The commenters that most inspire us to reduce, reuse, and recycle will be toting home their tofu in a stylish Sling bag. The contest ends on September 15, 2010, and we'll select the winners on September 17, 2010. Be sure to read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you're agreeing to both by commenting.
Remember, don't feed the Bag Monster.
Written by Alisa Mullins
If you have a general question for PETA and would like a response, please e-mail Info@peta.org. If you need to report cruelty to an animal, please click here. If you are reporting an animal in imminent danger and know where to find the animal and if the abuse is taking place right now, please call your local police department. If the police are unresponsive, please call PETA immediately at 757-622-7382 and press 2.
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