Are crows into Grand Theft Auto? These brainy birds steal windshield wiper blades for reasons known only to themselves, although having fun with them might be the answer.

Ravens seem more interested in studying sign language. Like primates and humans, the birds use gestures to communicate—in this case, pointing with their beaks.

SteveD | cc by 2.0

Octopuses have bird brains (read "big brains") too. Some octopuses in captivity make toys and games out of items in their tanks. Some let the people they like stroke their heads, while a person on an octopus's bad side may get squirted.

Fish enjoy the calming effects of touch, too, but not from people. They will allow small fish who work as full-time cleaners to nibble at their scales even when they don't have parasites because they like the gentle massage.

Dogs, of course, love affection from people, and their devotion to their guardians doesn't usually fade when that guardian passes away. A faithful dog in China refuses to leave his guardian's grave, and the townspeople plan to build a doghouse there for the grieving canine.

After being stolen from his home, held for five years, and then apparently dumped after he developed a medical problem, a precocious pup who loves to travel hopped on a bus. When he was spotted by the driver and taken to a vet, his microchip guaranteed that the next trip he took was back home to his family.

Another clever canine is a hero after she grabbed a bag of kittens someone had tossed onto the highway, pulled it off the road, dragged it home, and cried until her guardian opened it.

Resourceful deer, raccoons, blue herons, and other animals have figured out how to safely cross the road (without instructions from chickens).

Harlequeen / CC by 2.0

Late last week, our on-call caseworker was paged by a whistleblower who reported that a "coon-on-a-log" event was scheduled to take place at a campground in Louisiana, the next day. Believe it or not, "coon on a log" is an old Southern "sport"—you've read about others in history books, but we won't discuss those here—during which participants chain a raccoon to a small (about 2-foot-long) log and toss the log and animal in the middle of a lake. The participants then sic dogs on the raccoon, and the dog who can knock the raccoon off the log first "wins." Some sources say that the first dog to rip the raccoon apart wins. Obviously, both the raccoon and the dogs are put in great danger.

Our caseworker immediately reached a lieutenant in the law-enforcement division of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (DWF) and provided him with all the information that he needed, including the exact location where the raccoons were being caged prior to the event. The DWF sent officers to the site to investigate, and the officers found that the event coordinators didn't have the permits required to keep raccoons in captivity. DWF officials immediately seized all the raccoons and issued citations, so the event—which we strongly believe would have violated state anti-cruelty statutes—never even got off the ground!

If an animal is in imminent danger, you should know that we are on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Please, pick up the phone!

Written by Jennifer O'Connor

Did you hear that? It was the collective sigh of relief from raccoons, foxes, and minks—as well as human fur foes everywhere. It turns out that France's first lady and international style icon Carla Bruni-Sarkozy refuses to wear fur.

marieclaire / CC

PETA Vice President Dan Mathews contacted Bruni-Sarkozy after seeing photos that showed her wearing what appeared to be real fur. She wrote back, "I do not wear, buy, or own fur …. Every designer who kindly lends me clothes for public appearances can tell you that I do not accept … fur pieces, even when they're only a small part of the outfit."

The first lady—who admitted to wearing fur during her modeling heyday—also made it clear that if the photos are recent, the fur is fake.

"By officially rejecting fur in the fashion capital of the world, this political and style idol will make people everywhere think about how old-fashioned and cruel it is," said Dan in a statement issued to the media.

With some free shoes from Stella McCartney, courtesy of PETA, on the way to Carla's doorstep, we're hoping she will swear off leather for good too.

Written by Karin Bennett