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This past June, a Maryland man, David Beers, who sought revenge against a couple who had asked him to leave their property, admitted that after leaving the couple's yard in a huff, he later returned and snatched their 18-month-old dog, Zoey. Beers drove off with Zoey and then hurled the four-pound dog out of the passenger side window of his car and over the side of a bridge. Her tiny body was never found.

When we first heard about the story, we wrote to the prosecutor and pushed for vigorous prosecution of Beers. We also asked that Beers be required to undergo a psychological evaluation and receive counseling and also be prohibited from having animals.

Now Beers is headed to court and faces a felony aggravated cruelty-to-animals charge, which could mean three years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

Zoey's death is a reminder of the dangers that await dogs who are tethered outside or are allowed to roam unsupervised. Please, don't ever take chances with your pooch's well-being—and always take a moment to educate others who might not know any better.

Posted by Karin Bennett

This is the story of 16 freezing, emaciated dogs on a property in a rural town in Kentucky. The dogs were so thin that their ribs were visible and you could count each vertebra in their spines. Two dogs were tied to empty barrels, another spent all day every day tethered to a dilapidated doghouse, and still more spent all winter shivering under a porch, desperate to escape the bitter cold and likely suffering from hypothermia.

These two shorthaired dogs' only shelter? The barrels they were tied to.

The woman who owned the dogs would leave them for weeks at a time, not only deprived of a loving touch but also without food or water. Yet when complaints were filed with local authorities, the calls were ignored. Nearby residents tried to make sure that the dogs had food and water, but with winter in full force, the water would freeze and—because the dogs were desperate to maintain as much weight as they could to combat the cold—the food would disappear more quickly than the neighbors could supply it.

The starving dogs were climbing over debris (and each other) to eat food left by caring neighbors.

By the time we were notified, one of the females in this miserable situation had just given birth to a litter of puppies. She was so emaciated that nursing the newborns could have been fatal for her. Because the season's first snow had already fallen, the puppies had little chance of surviving.

We worked quickly to get the sheriff's department to investigate, but in the short time it took them to take action, two of the puppies had already frozen to death under the porch. The surviving animals were immediately seized and taken to the local animal shelter. The owner was arrested and charged with animal cruelty.

You might be wondering why we're talking about this heartbreaking case at the beginning of summer. That's because we're entering another deadly season for neglected backyard dogs. Those who somehow survive winter's ice and freezing temperatures will soon face blazing heat and sweltering humidity—if they don't already. Instead of hypothermia, many will suffer heatstroke, flea and tick infestations, and heartworms. Their need for the basics—protection from the elements, food, fresh water, and attention—is year-round.

Chained dogs depend on us to look behind privacy fences and glance under abandoned cars in the junkyard. And please don't tune out their barking. It's their way of crying for help.

Never assume that someone else is already on the case. I can let you know from firsthand experience that not everyone is willing to take action. Several years ago, while living in Chicago, I discovered two dogs who were locked in an abandoned building. Longtime residents quickly gathered around me, voicing their pity for the dogs. Yet when I asked if any of them had called authorities about the dogs, they shrugged and turned away. If I hadn't called to report the case, the dogs may not have been rescued and would likely have starved to death.

All of this is meant as a reminder: Please do more than feel sad or sorry about neglected animals. Take action—you could very well be their only hope.

Posted by Karin Bennett

A worker slammed these piglets' heads against the floor and left them to die in a bin.

Just days after PETA released video footage of an undercover investigation at an Iowa pig farm whose piglets are destined for Hormel, the wheels of change are in motion. Here's what's new.

1. Acknowledgment
PETA met with Greene County, Iowa, Sheriff, Tom Heater's staff, and he is taking the documented cruelty seriously. After this meeting, Sheriff Heater told the Associated Press, "Our next step is to secure interviews with potential suspects, and definitely make sure that there's no further abuse occurring down there—that's our main concern at this point. Asked if crimes had been committed, Heater responded, 'It appears that there were, yes.'"

2. Action
Dr. Jennifer Greiner says Minnesota-based MowMar, LLP, which owns the farm where the investigation took place, has already fired two employees involved in the abuse and will continue to terminate those involved based on the findings of the investigation.

3. Deception
Following the release of the investigation video, Hormel issued false statements to consumers and PETA's members saying that the abuse shown on the video occurred weeks before their supplier purchased the farm. This statement is blatantly untrue, as the video depicts acts committed both before and after MowMar's purchase of the site. Furthermore, Hormel suppliers either owned or managed the Iowa farm during the entire investigation.

Although PETA's investigation garnered some serious media attention and is prompting needed change in regard to animal abuse, it still may take some time before meaningful changes are made to standards in the pig industry. Mother pigs are still confined to tiny gestation crates and their babies are castrated and mutilated without any anesthesia or painkillers. Even worse, unwanted "runts" are sometimes killed by "thumping" (slamming the animals' heads against the floor). Although cruel, these standards still appear to be legal in many U.S. states.

The good news is that you can make a huge difference. You can join PETA and take a stand against the cruel factory-farming industry by going veg today.

Posted by Carrie Ann Harris

Anyone you know still eat SPAM and Dinty Moore? Well, show them a new PETA investigation of a pig factory farm in Iowa—where investigators took truly disturbing undercover footage of workers who were abusing sows and their piglets. This farm breeds and supplies piglets to be grown and eventually slaughtered for Hormel. In addition to keeping pregnant pigs in hideous gestation crates that are so small that the mothers-to-be cannot even turn around, workers and supervisors are seen on our tape kicking pigs maliciously, beating them with metal rods, jabbing clothespins and fingers into their eyes, and slamming piglets against the floor to kill them (a standard practice in the pig-meat industry). A worker was seen spraying paint directly up a sow's nostrils and all over her face as well. Some of the piglets convulsed for more than 12 minutes before dying.

PETA's undercover investigators also documented the following:

Tails and testicles from baby pigs

If you eat hot dogs, ham, sausage, or bacon, you are supporting gross abuse and cruelty in this "house of horrors." Please don't. Tell Hormel to stop cruelty to animals at its suppliers' facilities now!

Posted by Amy Elizabeth