It took months and several news stories about her plight, but Gracie, the spunky three-legged, earless dog who was rescued by an American soldier in Afghanistan and fostered by PETA staffers, has finally found a home.

After Gracie was featured in The Virginian-Pilot, her story touched the heart of Virginia Beach teacher Beth Hall, whose 13-year-old dog had died a couple of months earlier. Beth sent us an eloquent e-mail listing the many pros her home had to offer ("lots of love and attention," a "3/4-acre fenced backyard," and a "cat companion"). Under "cons," she wrote, "N/A."

Gracie moved into the Hall home on Friday and has already wriggled her way into the hearts of Beth; Beth's 17-year-old son, Andrew; Beth's brother, who acts as Gracie's stay-at-home "uncle"; Beth's mom, who pops in for daily visits; and, of course, Marmalade, Beth's cat, who was adopted from a local animal shelter.

Gracie is safe, but tens of thousands of homeless dogs in animal shelters and at rescue groups are still waiting to be adopted. They don't have the great P.R. that Gracie had—they are simply relying on people to do the right thing by adopting from animal shelters instead of buying from breeders or pet stores. If you have the time and resources, consider adopting an animal!

Earlier this week, President Obama affirmed that U.S. combat troops will leave Iraq by the end of August "as promised and on schedule." After reading this Associated Press story about a military dog who came home from Iraq "cowering and fearful," I can only hope that President Obama will commit to withdrawing canine troops right away as well. They didn't sign up, and no one can even explain to them why shells are going off and the ground is shaking.

When Gina, a 2-year-old German shepherd, was sent to Iraq to sniff out explosives, she was friendly and playful. But after months of explosions and door-to-door searches with tense soldiers, she returned home terrified of people and places. When her handlers took her into a new building, she slunk along the floor and tried to hide under furniture. Gina was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Unbelievably, Gina's handlers hope that she will recover enough to be able to resume "hazardous duty"! Sorry? What?

You can guess how many military dogs must be coming home traumatized. Humans picked this war—animals should be left out of it.

Written by Paula Moore

Update: You can read PETA’s letter to the Commanding Officer of the Marine Corps Base Hawaii (MCBH) about this video here, and if you want to show your support for investigating and punishing those involved, you can do so here.

A lot of people have been writing in and commenting about a shocking video that has recently surfaced which shows a smiling marine throwing a live puppy off a cliff while his friend laughs. Witnessing this kind of sadism under any circumstances is incredibly disturbing, but there’s something particularly horrifying about seeing it perpetrated by members of the military, and our caseworkers are currently analyzing the video footage to determine its legitimacy, as well as pushing military authorities to follow through on their own thorough investigation of this reprehensible act.

From what I understand, the culprit is believed to be based in Hawaii, and we intend to ensure that he—and anyone else involved in this atrocity—is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law if this video is determined to be authentic. I’ll keep you posted.