In case you missed it last night, here’s PETA President Ingrid Newkirk on Colbert talking about everything from her plans for her will to her recent book Making Kind Choices. Best Colbert Report ever, if you ask me.

Check out this fantastic piece by David Shankbone that went up on WikiNews this week. Shankbone interviewed Ingrid about her reaction to the HBO documentary about PETA that just aired. Well worth a read.

Click here to read it.

When historians finally compile the collected correspondence of Ingrid Newkirk, Britney Spears, and Kevin Federline into a bound, faux-leather 3-volume set, this one's going to be one of the highlights, in my humble opinion. Yesterday, PETA's president faxed the following missive to K-Fed asking him to please remember that Britney's unlimited capacity for neglect extends to canines too.

As I may have mentioned before, Britney has an extremely unpleasant habit of stopping by the pet store on the way back from the wigmaker's (or wherever it is she spends her time these days) to pick up new puppies, drag them around until she gets sick of them, and then abandon them. Well, since she hasn't exactly been taking good care of her children either, we think it's only reasonable that she let them bring their companion animals along when they go to K-Fed. You can read Ingrid's letter below.

msnbc/Creative Commons

October 4, 2007

To: Kevin Federline, c/o Nina Nisenholtz, N2N Entertainment
From: Ingrid E. Newkirk, PETA

Dear Mr. Federline:

We know that this is a particularly difficult time for you and your children. We are writing to you today to urge you to amend your filing with the court to also seek consideration for your children's bond with the companion animals they have come to know and to request that the judge also grant you custody of these animals.

It is no secret that Ms. Spears' impetuous "pet" purchases and lack of caretaking skills have been a serious concern of ours, in addition to being a source of public criticism. In 2006, Ms. Spears was "the overwhelming choice" for worst celebrity dog owner in a poll conducted by The New York Dog and The Hollywood Dog magazines. This past summer, Ms. Spears bought a Yorkshire terrier puppy from a pet store on impulse, only to casually tote the pup-London-around like an accessory. In recent weeks, the Los Angeles SPCA has investigated reports of Ms. Spears' failure to provide adequate veterinary care for the tiny dog after he apparently suffered a fractured leg after being stepped on.

As a father, your main concern is the comfort and stability of your children. London and the other animals whom the boys consider to be a part of the family have provided that comfort and stability. The companionship of beloved companion animals can make a world of difference for the boys during this difficult time, and being separated from the animal friends whom they share a bond with is undoubtedly traumatic for them.

For the sake of your children and the animals who are at risk while in Ms. Spears' custody, we hope that you will do the right and best thing for all involved and pursue a custody order for the animals so that your sons can continue to have the company of the animals they've grown to adore. If you have any other thoughts, we stand ready to assist you in placing the animals in a loving environment.

Sincerely,

Ingrid E. Newkirk

President

Our media maid got a call yesterday from ING, you know, the bench people. They called to ask us—ever so nicely—to remove their logo and the ad we made with Ingrid Newkirk sitting on a bench with a cat looking up at her in the style of their iconic “Life’s Easier on the Bench” ads from the web. We’re all a bit sad to take it down, as we still get a lot of positive remarks about it, but alas, down it shall come.

Ingrid’s response when she heard we had to take her ING ad down . . .

When I asked Ingrid if this turn of events would sway her from her staunch support of the ING/Renault Formula 1 team, she was adamant that “it most certainly will not” and admonished me for even thinking such a thing. She said the “very polite lad” from ING was complimentary of our work, and that the company will actually consider sponsoring our doghouse and SNIP programs. With beloved dogs in many car commercials these days, and a duck working out investments for another company, that would fit perfectly.

Ingrid in training . . .

And of course it doesn’t hurt that among the drivers she roots for are Renault/ING’s Giancarlo Fisichella (who she once let take her taxi in the rain) and Heikki Kovalainen, who recorded the difficult pronunciation of his name for her website, and that she still fantasizes about running off to Magny-Cours to change tires for a living once this whole animal rights thing is taken care of.

Every now and then I’m struck by just how much work we get done at PETA. Especially when we have weeks like we had last week: We won the Pom campaign, Smithfield Foods announced that it's phasing out gestation crates for pigs, and CareerBuilder finally stopped its abusive chimpanzee ads.

Much as I'd like to take credit for all this stuff myself, the fact is that none of it would even get off the ground without the vision and the amazing work ethic of PETA's president, Ingrid Newkirk. She’s the first one here every morning and the last to leave, and she's always first in line for “extra” activities like bagging straw for cold local dogs or protesting at the local KFC. Right now she’s on a nationwide book tour promoting her latest book, and there was a pretty great news story about that the other night, which you can check out here.

Anyway, my point here is that Ingrid is amazing and inspiring and all things like that. On a completely unrelated note, Ingrid, it feels like a really long time since I last had a raise ...

I just found this speech by PETA President Ingrid Newkirk on YouTube. It's pretty old—an address she gave in Washington a few years ago—but it's cool to see some of the old campaigns PETA was working on back then. Plus, she's a hell of a speaker, so it's worth checking it out, even if you don't have 20 minutes to spare for the whole thing.