Dear Friends,

Wishing the killing would stop won’t make it so.

If you are like me, you still see vividly the faces of animals you have loved, even fleetingly. I remember “Baby” now, 30 years later. I had left the stock brokerage to take a job at a local humane society. Humane societies come in all types—terrific, good, terrible. The place I worked in was a dump, not just structurally, but also run by people who didn’t seem to care that animals in that decrepit building were frightened, lonely and confused.

One day, a macho kennel worker punched a Doberman in the face. I raced up to him, livid and shaking. He almost laughed, but then he saw the fire in my eyes and knew I meant business. He backed off.

Dozens of dogs met the needle every day; the flow of unwanted animals was endless. Baby was one of the many “ugly” dogs no one would adopt. She was black and gangly and had a big buck-toothed smile. I still love her, just thinking of her. My own house was full of cats and dogs, and so were my friends’ houses, but I often took the doomed ones home for a comfy bed and a “last supper” the night before they were scheduled to be euthanized. For many of them, their final moments were the most happy and peaceful they’d ever known in their short, miserable lives. On Baby’s last night, she played catch, stuffed herself with delicacies and stretched out on soft bedding.

Wishing the killing would stop won’t make it so any more than simply hoping for world peace will end wars. We have to work to stop it. That’s why PETA has a low-cost spay/neuter clinic, a Chained Dog Campaign, and a Pet Shop Campaign, and that’s why we give out reams of educational materials. The wonderful animals who are facing death need us to do something, not just agonize. Activism saves lives, and every action counts.
Thank you.

Ingrid E. Newkirk
President

RESCUED! - This Little Piggy Ran All the Way Home

Foster was turned loose when his caretakers no longer wanted him. A concerned neighbor called the police when she saw Foster being attacked by a pack of dogs. But the little pig wasn’t out of the woods yet.The officer who rescued him, not knowing where else to turn, was planning to take Foster to a livestock auction the next day in hopes that a compassionate person would adopt him. However, to avoid the likely possibility that he would be bought by a slaughterhouse, PETA lined up a home for Foster and negotiated his release and transport. Today, Foster soaks up the sun in his new home at Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation in Texas.