fortheloveofthedogblog / CC

This is one of those stories that starts off sad, but gets better—I promise!

Earlier this summer, a man in Louisville, Kentucky, threw a puppy off a bridge and into the Ohio River. Kelsey Westbrook, a college student who works part-time at a riverfront restaurant, saw the dog swimming in circles and immediately raced down to the water's edge and helped nearby firefighters guide the dog to safety.

Although Kelsey had originally planned to find a good home for the dog—whom she named Sunny for her loving disposition—the bond between them grew, and Kelsey soon realized that Sunny had become part of her family. So, Kelsey and her other dog—a 2-year-old rescue mix—asked Sunny to stay.

The warm-fuzzies don't stop there. Kelsey has decided to turn the attention she's receiving towards the issue of cruelty to animals. She's organizing a fundraiser at the restaurant next month, and the proceeds will go to local low-income spay-and-neuter clinics. Now that's compassionate. And because Kelsey keeps going that extra mile to help animals in need, we're happy to be sending her a Compassionate Action Award—along with some treats for Sunny, of course.

Posted by Amanda Schinke

After much anticipation, the new music video for Modest Mouse's "King Rat" was released this week—and it was worth the wait. The video, which was directed by Heath Ledger, is great not only for its artistry (I am always in favor of a touch of the Gilliam) but also for its message. It highlights cruel (and illegal) whale poaching by depicting a boatload of whales who capture and slaughter a pod of humans.

Our friends at ecorazzi have the whole story, but this wasn't Heath's only foray into whale protection. Heath was also a member of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society advisory board and, according to ecorazzi, had expressed "extreme interest" in playing the role of Captain Paul Watson in a film about the captain's life and work.

Because so many people have already been touched by this video, we're presenting Heath—care of The Masses, who finished the project he directed—as well as Isaac Brock and the rest of Modest Mouse with Compassionate Artist Awards for opening so many eyes to the violent reality of whaling.

Posted by Amanda Schinke

For those of you who don't live in Massachusetts and need a reminder not to move there, the video accompanying a news report about three Hingham firefighters who braved icy waters to rescue a dog will serve as a cold dash of New England winter reality in the face.

The firefighters responded to a call for help from a woman whose rascally dog, Ollie, ran out onto ice-covered Hingham Harbor in hot pursuit of a seal. The seal apparently escaped unharmed, but Ollie plunged through the ice and was trapped in the frigid water. Enter our heroes, who valiantly swam and crawled through the slushy muck to reach Ollie and then painstakingly dragged him back to shore. It was obviously exhausting work, and one of the firefighters was taken to the hospital afterward as a precaution. A tired but grateful Ollie was taken to a veterinary hospital where he was treated and released.

We've honored Ollie's rescuers with a "Compassionate Firefighter Award," and we also threw in some PETA mugs and vegan hot cocoa mix to help them survive the rest of Massachusetts' merciless winter.

And let this be a cautionary tale for anyone who is tempted to allow a dog off lead anywhere near a frozen body of water. As The Boston Globe wisely points out, fuhgeddaboudit.

Posted by Alisa Mullins

babble / CC

The 12th annual Accessories Council Excellence (ACE) Awards were held on Monday night—and guess what? Stella McCartney is just so awesome that they had to create a whole new category just for her: Green Designer of the Year.

Stella is the first recipient of this new ACE Award—and rightly so! As someone who abstains from fur and leather, which are toxic for the environment, she's light-years ahead of certain other designers who are around … cough, Donna, cough, Giorgio. Sorry, must've had a little phlegm in my throat!

When Stella began her leather-free accessories line in 2006, she told Women's Wear Daily, "I do want to show that accessories can be made from a more ethical viewpoint—and be sexy and cool. The myth of leather—that every bag and shoe needs to be made from it—needs to be broken down. It's a bit caveman." Amen, Stella! Stella is also featured in Ingrid's newest book, One Can Make a Difference.

So congratulations to Stella on her well-deserved ACE Award. Hopefully, it'll only be a matter of time before all designers realize that (a) skins aren't green, and (b) we aren't cavemen. Are you listening, Donna?

Whoopsie, I meant to disguise that with another fake cough. Oh well.

Posted by Amanda Schinke

reuters / CC

Oh, how I do love a tearjerker with a happy ending! So here's a lovely one for you: A tenderhearted businessperson in China, named Fan Jianchuan, recently took in a resilient pig who survived 36 days without food after May's devastating earthquake in Sichuan. With the deepest appreciation for Fan's generous pledge to care for Zhu for the rest of his days, our friends over at PETA Asia-Pacific honored Fan with a Compassionate Action award.

The little pig, named Zhu Jianqiang or "Strong Pig," was trapped under rubble and emaciated after only eating charcoal and drinking rain water to survive!

In light of the tragic Midwest floods—in which pigs swam for days to get to safety, only to be shot to death, which is just one horror story among so many—the rescue of Strong Pig from the rubble of such a devastating natural disaster is a beautiful glimmer of hope, right? I told you this was heartwarming. These pigs—who were supposed to be slaughtered in two parts of the world where pork is a staple food—desperately struggled for their lives right along with humans, and it leave no doubt as to pigs' commonality with us.

While knowing that this little guy has a safe place to lay his head from now on is reason enough to love this story, I've got to admit to the little kick that I get out of thinking about the folks who view these intelligent beings as no more than "food" getting a glimpse into the human-like quality of their dinner.

Posted by Missy Lane

OK, not quite. Actually, the International Cannes Film Festival is already over, for those of you not on the up and up with film awards. What I'm talking about here is the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival, where two—yes, count 'em, two—of PETA's PSAs have made the short list for public service messages. Ladies and gentlemen, may we introduce "Buy One, Get One Killed" and "Sex Talk"!

Buy One, Get One Killed

Sex Talk

All right, so the videos have been around for a few months now, but they're definitely worth watching for a second, third, or 37th time, because, well, they're just that amazing.

This is a huge honor, and we're pleased and proud that both videos are receiving the recognition that they deserve and that spay/neuter advocacy is receiving the spotlight that it so desperately needs.

The animal overpopulation crisis is a growing problem and will only continue to grow if guardians don't do the responsible thing and practice animal birth control for their companion's health and happiness.

Now, about conquering that other film festival. ... Hey, there's always next year ....

Posted by Jennifer Cierlitsky

Yesterday was the greatest day of my life, thanks to a blocked field goal which allowed the heroic Washington Redskins to defeat the Dallas Cowboys in the last second of the game. It is encouraging to see that, against all odds, good does sometimes triumph over evil.

Unfortunately, good quite often takes its sweet time to sink its teeth in and do some really earnest triumphing, while evil just sits on its fat ass and does as it pleases. In case it's not immediately obvious that I'm talking about Jennifer Lopez here, and the fact that she hasn't been jailed yet for her crimes against animals and fashion (not to mention her work in "Monster-in-Law"), check out what she wore at an award ceremony in New York this weekend:

Seriously, that woman never ceases to find new ways to frighten me.