111 Emergency / CC by 2.0

All K-9 officers have an inherently dangerous job, but when you're a canine K-9 officer, being cooked to death shouldn't be among the perils you face. Yet dogs—including police dogs—die every year after being left alone in cars on scorching summer days. An officer may enter a building to interview a complainant or to respond to an emergency call. The officer leaves the car running with the air conditioning on full blast, but in some instances the engine dies—and because the department has failed to fit the car with a warning device or auxiliary system, so does the dog. Already this summer, police dogs in Tennessee, Florida, and Alabama as well as a U.S. Customs drug-sniffing dog in Texas have suffered prolonged, panic-stricken deaths in patrol cars while their human partners stepped away.

PETA wants to prevent more deaths, so we've sent law enforcement agencies across the U.S. urgent information about heat monitoring and warning systems. Ideally, of course, dogs would never be left unattended in vehicles. But if police work should leave an officer with no other choice, these devices can save a dog's life—by sounding an alarm, paging the officer, starting the car's engine, rolling down a window, or popping open a door when the temperature inside the car begins to reach dangerous levels.

You, too, can help prevent animal 9-1-1s by ordering PETA's free "Too Hot for Spot" action kit. And remember, if you do see a dog who's been left in a hot car, take action: Call local police or humane authorities right away. While you're at it, ask your local police department to post an advisory to all K-9 officers.

Written by Paula Moore

Sound the alarm! Yet another emergency services department in California is facing a financial crisis. This time it's the police department in Vallejo. PETA has offered to help by paying the department to run our pro-vegan ad on Vallejo's police cruisers.

Police departments across the country say that their goal is "to serve and protect." If Vallejo police chief Robert Nichelini allows PETA to serve our message to his community, no doubt many residents will make changes to better protect animals, the environment, and their own health.

Written by Karin Bennett

My "case of the Mondays" went up in smoke as soon as I read about a capless, clueless cop who landed himself in hot water during a PETA India protest outside the Calcutta Zoo.

The officer, Assistant Commissioner Anil Kar, wasn't about to interrupt a smoke break to make an arrest. Instead, he held his coffin nail* (see note below) in one hand—and in the other, he held PETA India's own Chiranjeet Karar, who was decked out in a police uniform and monkey mask and was encouraging people to boycott zoos because they incarcerate and exploit animals, not to mention that Indian zoos are extremely substandard and that animals are frequently denied basic care.

The multitasking officer didn't realize that smoking on duty is a no-no (Yes, Rule 13 of the Police Regulation of Calcutta states that police officers in uniform are forbidden to smoke on the streets), as is abandoning various parts of his uniform.

(*Or is it "coughin' nail?" I guess either one works, right?)

Written by Karin Bennett

When we found out that Safari Club International, the largest big-game hunting organization in the world, would be in Reno, Nevada, on the same day as our anti-fur demonstrators, we figured that we'd be facing a tough crowd. Our fearless crusaders nevertheless showed up bright and early to let people know that animals caught in steel-jaw traps can languish in pain for days. What happened next was just downright ridiculous.

First, a couple of Reno Police Department cops showed up (unfortunately not in hot pants) to scope out the scene. Things settled down pretty quickly—that is, until a fire truck and ambulance came charging down the street, sirens blaring, and stopped directly in front of our demo. Apparently, a "concerned citizen" called 911 to report bleeding girls in distress. Cherry on the cake? Amidst the chaos, a detective from Homeland Security showed up to take the ladies' names.

Secretly, we were kind of hoping the cops would show up (we have a thing for police in short shorts), but we definitely weren't expecting such an eventful welcome. Well, the whole thing was eventually sorted out and laughed off as a misunderstanding, but let's just say this was one demo that "The Biggest Little City in the World" will never forget.

Check out photos of the "bleeding girls" below.

Written by Liz Graffeo

Some officious cop in San Marcos, Texas, recently thought it a better idea to berate a grieving couple instead of helping them get their dying dog to a veterinary hospital. Krystal Hernandez held Missy, a choking teacup poodle, as Michael Gonzalez rushed south along I-35 from their home toward the New Braunfels Veterinarian Clinic. The trio sped by Officer Paul Stephens at 95 miles per hour in a 70 miles per hour zone.

The rookie officer pulled the couple over, then called for backup. After Stephens pulled the couple over, things got really crazy.

Once Officer Stephens realized that the dog was in danger (according to him, Missy's tongue was out of her mouth, and she was unmoving), he gave Hernandez and Gonzalez a hard time instead of a helping hand. As another officer struggled to clear Missy's airway and administered CPR, Stephens lectured Gonzalez about his driving and imparted this insightful jewel: "It's a dog, OK? You can get another one. Relax." Check out the video below:

The officers claimed that the dog was already dead at that point, so there was no emergency.

San Marcos Police Chief Howard Williams ordered a reprimand against Stephens, who is 23 and has served as an officer for 15 months, but found him not guilty of misconduct. The department also discussed dismissing Gonzalez's speeding ticket.

Gonzalez filed a complaint against the officer and claimed that valuable time was wasted, which resulted in Missy's death. Choking is a deadly serious matter and appeared in recent headlines when Oprah Winfrey lost one of her beloved dogs last year from a choking accident. We recommend reading up on the Heimlich maneuver for dogs. We also recommend asking the San Marcos Police Department to implement a sensible strategy for cases like this one that involves training for these situations and disciplinarian action should the death of an animal result from an officer's nonchalant and overbearing attitude. That's what community relations classes are for. Get involved here.

I love this:

This is pretty much apropos of nothing, but I loved this so much that I had to post it. You may remember an entry from a couple of weeks ago about an anti-leather demonstration held by PETA India members in Bangalore. Well, here's the picture of the demo again, and below it is a photo from a slightly wider angle that kinda puts the whole thing in a different light. The point is still the same, of course — the leather industry is hideously cruel, and there are plenty of humane non-animal alternatives to leather — but in this particular case, taking a step back and looking at the bigger picture is more amusing than you might think.

Indian protesters staged a colorful demonstration against the leather industry last month ...

... After a thorough investigation, officials are reportedly still completely confused

Scantily clad in sexy pleather uniforms, high-heeled boots, and police hats and holding signs that read, "Animal Skins Are a Fashion Felony," PETA's pair of sexy "fashion police" are taking New York fashion week by storm. They’re handing out violation notices resembling citation tickets to fur-, leather-, and wool-wearers for "violating the code of common decency." This dedicated duo is staking out the shows at Bryant Park and anywhere else suspected violators—including designers—gather. And get this, at their first outing yesterday, they even gave a citation to the notorious pelt pushing fur hag Anna Wintour.

Here are a few pics of their first outing.

Unfortunately, they weren’t able to get a shot of them ticketing Wintour, but I like this shot of the hag getting a pie in the face in Paris a couple of years ago better anyway . . .

OK, I know I’ve written about our fashion police before (those saucy minxes who pass out citations to passersby who are wearing fur, leather, or wool), but these pics—from a recent Vancouver demonstration—are too good to pass up. I’ve never seen people look quite so happy to get arrested.

My buddy Ryan, who is currently on tour with Taste of Chaos for those hard-partying scene-hounds at peta2, was busy getting himself a suntan in Florida on Friday between stops on the tour (seriously, I need Ryan's job), when who should be frolicking on the beach but representatives of KFC's parent company, Yum Brands. Turns out Ryan and his pals had stumbled upon a Yum corporate teambuilding retreat. I wouldn’t think that finding out about how your company is responsible for outrageous, large-scale animal abuse is all that great for morale-building, but Ryan, spunky little hipster that he is, was determined to find out. Here are the pics he sent in: