The holidays. A couple of months filled with holiday cheer, carols, and snowflakes—followed by a flood of animals being dumped at shelters.

That's because after the hustle and bustle—after discovering the cute little puppy under the tree wearing a big red bow—come the puddles on the carpet, the walks in the cold, the chewed-up shoes, and the vet bills. So when the kids who begged, "I'll take care of him every day, I promise," are too busy playing their new video games to care for their new puppy, Rover is tossed aside like last year's Call of Duty.

Puppies need a stay-at-home person to housetrain them properly (they can't "hold it" all day) and multiple walks every day, even when it's cold and rainy. Both puppies and kittens need lots of patience and understanding, room to grow physically and mentally, and a fat wallet for sterilization and all the shots, wormings, grooming, food, medicine, and toys.

People who give animals as gifts are essentially sticking about 16 years' and thousands of dollars' worth of responsibility under the tree. Sounds festive, right?

If a family member or friend is genuinely ready and willing to adopt an animal, wait until the holiday hoopla is over and offer to accompany them to your local animal shelter where you can help pick out a wonderful companion for life, not just for Christmas.

Dreading fighting the crowds at the mall? Avoid the Black Friday blues with our top picks for fab cruelty-free finds for everyone on your list.

Forever 21's extensive line of bags, wallets, and luggage for women is made from faux leather, mock croc, faux fur, and fun animal prints that are perfect for trendsetters who know that real dead animal skin is as out of fashion as a 1980s paint-splashed blue-jean bag. The store has a superb line of belts, travel bags, and duffles for men too. For more cruelty-free fashion than you can shake a candy cane at, check out PETA's page at the überhip fashion site Polyvore.

Kids will love the new Fincredibles lifelike aquariums. It wouldn't be right to put fish in a tiny bowl or butterflies or fireflies in a jar, but these fool-your-friends electronic animals won't mind at all.

There's a foodie in every family, and even the most discerning taste buds won't be able to resist a gift basket filled with elegant vegan caviar, melt-in-your-mouth chocolates, and a plethora of vegan cheeses.

For the most difficult creature to buy for, the person who has everything, try a gift that everyone loves: luscious soy candles in all sizes and scents from Universol Aromas. Or, for an equally scentsational gift, opt for vegan soaps from Lush in fragrances such as Sexy Peel, Rock Star, Queen of Hearts, and Temptation. PETA also offers a guide to cruelty-free beauty products in every price range.

Everyone loves a fun day out or a night on the town, so give the gift of entertainment with tickets to professional or college sporting events, concerts, theater productions, art shows, or stand-up comedy. Check with the ticket offices at your local venues or visit Stubhub.

If you're still stumped, give a gift card! Gift cards for the PETA Catalog are available in any dollar amount, and the lucky recipient can choose clothing, accessories, books, beauty products, bags, travel bottles, and loads more while helping animals with every purchase.

Happy holidays!

Petfinder reports that 63 percent of people buy holiday gifts for their dogs. Then there are the birthday presents, valentines … the list goes on and on. While the rope toys and Nylabones give dogs mental stimulation and exercise, our pups get much more of both from the time that they spend with us. Here are five gifts that your dog will love every day of the year:

• Real walks, not "drag-alongs": Pay attention to when the dog wants to stop and sniff rather than worrying about how fast you are burning calories. Outings to the dog park, where they can safely run off leash, are always appreciated too.
• The opportunity to bark: People talk all day long, yet dogs are often shushed if they bark even once.
• Frequent and prompt bathroom breaks: Don't get up in the morning and brush your teeth and comb your hair while your dog is waiting to go outside.
• Veterinary checkups: Schedule an annual visit, including a dental exam to check for any painful dental problems. A fresh, clean bowl of water daily helps keep mouths healthy too.
• Time: Don't be a blur, dashing in, changing clothes, and dashing back out again, leaving your dog to stare at the wall. Get the ball out and throw it, brush his or her coat, or just hang out and have some quality time together.

Written by Ingrid E. Newkirk

As you may have noticed, I’ve been scouring our Holiday-themed ads a little bit recently. There are some real gems in there, but this one kind of jumped out at me. It makes an important point about not buying animals for Christmas, without hitting people over the head with it. Check it out:

I’m not sure that I’ve directly addressed this topic before on this blog, but there have been two events this month that really underscore the importance of having a serious discussion about “no-kill” shelters among animal advocates, so here goes: The first was this article in The LA Daily News, which published statistics showing that more animals die in “no-kill” or “limited-admission” shelters in LA than people think. As the article puts it:

To me, the article addresses what is in many ways a problem of terminology: “No-Kill” sounds pretty great, but it doesn’t mean “No-Suffering” (or “No-Death" for that matter), by a long shot. What it means is that the people running the shelter (though they are often well-intentioned individuals) have made a decision to turn their backs on the animals who may be abandoned and die on the streets because their limited-admission shelters lack room for more, and—as the article shows—allow the animals who are in their shelters to die from overcrowding, disease, or injury instead of humane lethal injection in the arms of caring people.

The second event that brought this topic to mind was the recent release of footage from a PETA undercover investigation into a “no-kill” shelter called All Creatures Great and Small. The investigator, who was there throughout a 7-month period, discovered systematic abuse and neglect of the hundreds of animals kept in filthy, overcrowded cages with no hope of reprieve or release from their suffering. There’s some more information about PETA’s stance on this issue here, and you can watch the video from our investigation below. I know this is a complex and emotional topic, but I thought this was a good opportunity to explain where we stand.