Razvan Antonescu/cc by 2.0

With people all over the country honoring their mothers this weekend, we thought it was the perfect time to dip into the archives and share one of our favorite stories about a mother who overcame tremendous obstacles to be reunited with her baby. 

Blackie, a 2-year-old cow, was happy just munching on grass and caring for her new baby, with whom she had spent nearly every moment of his young life. She had licked him clean after his birth, nudged him up onto wobbly legs, and watched him take his first tentative steps. But her bliss was short-lived. One day, Blackie and her calf were loaded onto a truck, taken on a frightening ride to market, and sold—separately.

Blackie, as any mother would be, was panicked and grief-stricken. Sometime during her first night in her new home, she broke out of the farmyard, jumped over a hedge, and set off in search of her calf. The next morning, she was found at another farm seven miles away, contentedly suckling her calf. When Blackie's new owner was traced, he was so moved by Blackie's maternal love that he purchased her calf so that mother and son could be together.

Is Blackie's love of her baby unique, or was her sorrow and desperation typical of what millions of other bovine mothers go through—without happy endings? On dairy farms, cows are impregnated every year, and their babies are torn away from them within hours of birth, just so that humans can drink the milk that nature intended for calves. This Mother's Day, you can do much more than send a card and flowers—you can help prevent cows from going through the agony of losing baby after baby, simply by boycotting dairy products and choosing milk made from almonds, rice, or soy instead.

Written by Michelle Sherrow

From our families to yours … we hope you have a great Mother's Day!

We've got a few other cards to choose from if you want to send an animal-friendly "Thanks!" to your mom. Check them out and let us know which you think is best.

The following is a guest post from peta2's Ryan.

Rory Freedman

Best-selling author Rory Freedman has already spared millions of animals from unnecessary deaths in slaughterhouses simply by promoting a healthy and cruelty-free vegan diet in her iconic book Skinny Bitch. But now she's taking her compassion to the next level!

You see, rather than buying her mom another meaningless foot massager or something this Mother's Day, Rory has offered to donate $5,000 to peta2 in her mom's honor—but only if you follow her example!

Here's how it works: Rory is going to match donors like you dollar-for-dollar, up to $5,000 total. So, for example, if you donate $20 to peta2, she will also donate $20 to double the impact! As Rory said in an e-mail to peta2, "Show your mom who you are and how well she raised you—that you know what is really important."

Thanks to Rory, your donations—no matter what the amount—will go twice as far to help us raise awareness and combat cruelty to animals raised for food, clothing, experimentation, and other industries.

Your support helps us win countless victories. From convincing top retailers such as J. Crew and Urban Outfitters to go fur-free to pushing for the first-ever felony charges of cruelty to factory-farmed birds, peta2 is changing how the world treats animals, but we can't do it alone!

Take Rory's challenge and have your donation doubled!

Written by Ryan Huling

Watching The View / CC

When a cow named Molly escaped from a New York City slaughterhouse on Wednesday, she managed to get a mile away before she was corralled and brought to Animal Care and Control to await her fate—but don't worry! Fate was smiling on Molly. The lucky lady, whom some feared might be sent back to the slaughterhouse, has instead been sent to a farm sanctuary on Long Island, where she will be able to live out the rest of her days in peace.

Inspiring, no? Of course, we already know just how amazing animals are, but thanks to Molly, even more people are making that discovery—including none other than Barbara Walters! On The View Thursday morning, Barbara said that Molly's adventure has inspired her to lean even more toward a vegetarian diet—and that she'd be bringing her own veggie burgers to the next White House dinner.

This is, of course, awesome—although I do hope that the White House will be able to offer up something a little fancier! Hmm…maybe it's time to hook them up with our Fine Faux Foie Gras challenge…

Written by Amanda Schinke

wannaveg / CC

With swine flu now in at least 22 countries and the World Health Organization announcing that you may be able to get sick from eating pork from infected animals, pigs appear to be on people's minds 24/7. Here are some facts about pigs that you might not catch on the nightly news:

1. Pigs snuggle close to one another and prefer to sleep nose to nose. They dream, much as humans do. In their natural surroundings, pigs spend hours playing, sunbathing, and exploring. People who run animal sanctuaries for farmed animals often report that pigs, like humans, enjoy listening to music, playing with soccer balls, and getting massages.
2. Pigs communicate constantly with one another; more than 20 vocalizations have been identified that pigs use in different situations, from wooing mates to saying, "I'm hungry!"
3. Newborn piglets learn to run to their mothers' voices and to recognize their own names. Mother pigs sing to their young while nursing.
4. According to Professor Donald Broom of the Cambridge University Veterinary School, "[Pigs] have the cognitive ability to be quite sophisticated. Even more so than dogs and certainly [more so than human] 3-year-olds."
5. Pigs appear to have a good sense of direction and have found their way home over great distances. Adult pigs can run at speeds of up to 11 miles an hour.
6. Professor Stanley Curtis of Penn State University has found that pigs can play joystick-controlled video games and are "capable of abstract representation." Dr. Curtis believes that "there is much more going on in terms of thinking and observing by these pigs than we would ever have guessed."
7. Pigs do not "eat like pigs" or "pig out." They prefer to eat slowly and savor their food.
8. Suzanne Held, who studies the cognitive abilities of farmed animals at the University of Bristol's Centre of Behavioural Biology, says that pigs are "really good at remembering where food is located, because in their natural environment food is patchily distributed and it pays to revisit profitable food patches."
9. Pigs are clean animals. If given sufficient space, they will be careful not to soil the area where they sleep or eat. Pigs don't "sweat like pigs"; they are actually unable to sweat. They like to bathe in water or mud to keep cool, and they actually prefer water to mud. One woman developed a shower for her pigs, and they learned to turn it on and off by themselves.
10. In his book The Whole Hog, biologist and Johannesburg Zoo director Lyall Watson writes, "I know of no other animals [who] are more consistently curious, more willing to explore new experiences, more ready to meet the world with open mouthed enthusiasm. Pigs, I have discovered, are incurable optimists and get a big kick out of just being."

These are just a few of the many reasons not to eat pigs. Click here to learn more about pigs.

Written by Heather Moore

neobeans / CC

The Canadian Parliament, in a mad scramble to respond to the very recent European Union ban on seal products, put forth a motion on Wednesday that the 500 members of the Canadian Olympic team wear seal skins as part of their official uniforms. Um … gross! Luckily, sanity prevailed, and the head of the Canadian Olympic Committee, Chris Rudge, quickly shot down the idea.

People all over the world are calling for an end to the seal slaughter. This includes countless Canadians, like Senator Mac Harb, who had previously written to all members of the European Parliament asking them to vote against the Canadian seal hunting industry, calling supporters of the seal slaughter "barbaric."

While we are tickled that the Olympic Committee gave the inexplicably bloodthirsty Canadian MPs the smack down they so richly deserved, we felt the need to warn the committee that we are going to continue to do everything we can to call attention to the seal slaughter in the months leading up to the Vancouver Olympics. Check out our letter here.

Written by Karin Bennett

Trekkies (and even "normal" people) everywhere are over the moon with excitement about the new Star Trek movie. Even if you don't know what Vulcans are, if you're a vegetarian then you already have a lot in common with them.

The always-logical Vulcans are ethical vegetarians—they don't even eat meat that has been replicated. Ring any bells? PETA recently offered a million-dollar reward for the commercial replication of in vitro meat, which could spare billions of animals from suffering and slaughter.

PETA Trekkies will be sporting their specially designed "Live Veg and Prosper" tees at theaters on opening night, putting an animal-friendly spin on the Vulcan greeting made famous by Mr. Spock (played by Leonard Nimoy, himself a vegetarian), "Live long and prosper." You can too!

Written by Karin Bennett

You may have heard that hideous fast-food bird abuser KFC is currently doing its darnedest to promote itself as an icon of healthy eating. ROTFL!!

It's started grilling dead birds, as opposed to frying them, and so it's encouraging people to "unthink what you thought about KFC."

I can only assume that it's referring to our thoughts about how unhealthy KFC is—which, admittedly, is one of the things I think about KFC. Of course, I mostly think about its awful animal welfare record, which it doesn't appear to be asking us to "unthink." (Possibly because, well, it's still awful.)

Give me a break, KFC. You can put a shiny "Healthy!" sticker on it all you want, but cholesterol-filled, artery-clogging flesh is still unhealthy, whether you fry it or grill it—and grilled chicken has been shown to contain carcinogens. I think I'll pass on the three-piece breast and thigh meal with an increased cancer risk on the side. Thanks anyway.

I can think of a better response to KFC's new grilled chicken—how about we grill KFC? Click here to write to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and ask it to investigate KFC's false animal welfare claims.

Written by Amanda Schinke

Amanda Huhman and Libby Burks are a dog-loving duo who rallied their community and helped the Central Missouri Humane Society win first place in Zootoo's national shelter-makeover contest. The girls collared folks in parking lots to ask them to go online to support the shelter, papered the city with posters and fliers, did radio appearances, and gave speeches to civic groups in order to earn Zootoo's top prize of up to $1 million. The prize will allow the Humane Society to make much-needed changes to the shelter, including better ventilation so that disease doesn't spread, an isolation room for sick animals, a separate area away from the dogs for stressed-out cats, room to accommodate more animals, and attention to a drainage problem that flooded the building last fall.

For their dedication to a worthy cause, the girls have been awarded our Compassionate Kid Award, and peta2 is sending them animal-friendly shirts and stickers.

Amanda

Libby

Check out coverage from USA Today and the Columbia Daily Tribune about Amanda and Libby's big victory for animals. And tune in to their first episode of Animal Talk.

Written by Karin Bennett

Thanks for all your wonderful comments on this Win It Wednesday. The winner of the Drinkwell Pet Fountain is Taylor Loscialpo, along with Poopy the cat. Congratulations!

As summer approaches, humans aren't the only ones drinking more water. Our feline friends are sweating too, even if it is only through their paws, and we have a fun way to keep them hydrated and happy: the Drinkwell Pet Fountain.

safepetproducts / CC

In nature, wild cats drink from running streams, so why should their domesticated brothers and sisters have to drink from a stagnating puddle? This water fountain for cats keeps the water moving, which encourages persnickety kitties to drink more and helps them stay healthy.

How do you win? Tell us how your kitty companion changed your life for the better. The most heartfelt comment takes home the prize.

The contest ends on May 20, 2009, and we'll choose the most touching story as the winner on May 22, 2009. Be sure to read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you're agreeing to both by commenting. Check back every Wednesday for new prizes. Good luck!

Written by Lianne Turner