The extent of Gustav's effect on the Gulf Coast and its animals is still being assessed, but it's clear that in the days preceding the hurricane, officials and citizens took seriously the critical importance of evacuating animals with their guardians. This first-ever joint effort on the part of government officials, animal protection groups, and citizens appears to have worked to a great degree so far!

Up 'til now, animal-related calls to PETA's office have been minimal and swiftly addressed. But now Hanna, Ike, and Josephine are following Gustav. With a dangerous hurricane season in full force, it's crucial to stay vigilant and have a plan ready to ensure the safety of your companion animals in case of an evacuation or other emergency. Our disaster preparedness checklist provides all the information you need to create a safe, effective plan to protect your companion animals.

Please make your plan before it's too late!

Written by Carrie Ann Harris

As more and more people kick their meat addiction, we thought we'd rate the top five vegetarian-friendly rehab centers. More and more celebrities every day are going to rehab—to the point where it's almost become trendy. Hopefully they'll take a note from our blog and check out our list below:

5. The Meadows (Arizona): All about fresh, organic root veggies, tofu, veggie burgers, and vegetarian casseroles, this desert oasis has helped the likes of Kate Moss, Eric Benet, Mike Tyson, Elle McPherson, Tara Palmer-Tompkinson, Paul Gascoigne, Ron Wood, Kerry Katona, Michael Barrymore, and Whitney Houston.

4. Hazelden (Minnesota): Hazelden offers Gardenburgers, veggie chili, veggie riblets, vegetable egg rolls, and sautéed vegetable sandwiches. Calvin Klein and Aaron Sorkin are two of the famous faces who have stayed at this ultra-famous facility.

3. Passages (California): Daily vegetarian and vegan soups and salads, vegetables, fresh fruit, squeezed juice, hummus, tabouleh, pasta primavera, vegetarian lasagne, wild mushroom pasta, vegetarian tacos and burritos, and veggie burgers are just a few of the menu must-haves at Passages, which has catered to Mel Gibson, among other stars.

2. Cottonwood de Tucson (Arizona): Baked rigatoni with spinach, wasabi mashed potatoes with snap peas, veggie pizza, veggie fried rice with spring rolls, portobello mushrooms stuffed with polenta, vegetable tostadas, green corn tostadas, and a daily salad bar are just some of the many vegetarian options that this favorite facility for rockers in recovery have offered to residents like Ron Wood, Geri "Ginger Spice" Halliwell, and Robbie Williams.

1 .Caron Foundation (Pennsylvania): Offering five-star eating for stars including Liza Minnelli, Steven Tyler, and Miss USA Tara Conner, the Carol Foundation is a vegan's paradise. Daily vegetarian options include vegetable pot pies, black-bean patties with pineapple chutney, veggie dogs with vegetarian chili, veggie pita sandwiches, roasted vegetables and tofu bakes, seven-vegetable orzo stew, Jamaican delight over rice (a sweet and sour combo of roasted peppers and tropical fruit), ratatouille and tofu, spinach mushroom pies, veggie arroz rojo with sun-dried tomatoes, tofu tetrazzini, vegetarian paella, three-bean stir-fries, Caesar salad with portobello mushrooms, broccoli-tofu turnovers, vegetarian tacos, tofu stir-fries, vegetarian barbecue, vegetable fajitas, and tofu with peppers, peanuts, and mushrooms. There's also a HUGE salad bar, and soy milk, rice milk, and soy cheese are available upon request.

Written by Amy Elizabeth

Answers/Creative Commons

The words "poetic justice" spring to mind. If you missed the story, America's most notorious animal trainer, Jack Hanna, got stuck in an airport turnstile yesterday when he was trying to transport a flamingo in a crate like she was carry-on luggage. Hanna also had a leopard and a mongoose in tow, so the terrified animals had to sit there for God knows how long while firefighters worked to free the flamingo’s crate from the turnstile. Or as he put it:

Boy, it must be really unpleasant to be stuck like that, Jack. I know it’s hard, but see if you can grind those mental gears just a little bit more and think about whether there might be something wrong with the fact that your entire career is based on putting animals through exactly the same kind of nightmare.

I know—those khaki pants and that corny sense of humor make Jack Hanna oh-so-likeable, but the bottom line is that he has a simply lousy track record when it comes to animals. It's abundantly clear from incidents like this one that the animals themselves aren't Hanna's first priority, since he clearly feels comfortable lugging them around in crates to be brought out and paraded around for people's amusement, and it shouldn't take a wildlife expert to figure out that this experience can be immensely stressful for the animals involved. You can click here for some more info about the tawdry exotic-pet trade, which Hanna helps to glamorize by pimping leopards and big snakes on TV.

For future reference, Jack, exotic animals don't belong in crates any more than they belong in a TV studio, no matter how much they pay you. Here's hoping that next time you end up behind bars, it's for good.