Underfed and tied to a shed 24/7, Rocky wasn't really living—just existing. Rocky was only a puppy, yet his owner never let him inside the home and allegedly beat him in an effort to try to turn him into a better "guard dog". After witnessing the abuse that Rocky was forced to endure, a concerned area resident set to work trying to find help for the adorable and resilient dog.

After placing phone call after phone call to various agencies and animal shelters in the area to no avail, the resident finally turned to PETA. We immediately coordinated with folks at the local SCPA, who persisted in Rocky's behalf and eventually convinced his owner to surrender him into the shelter's care.

Now, a few weeks later, we are delighted to see this picture of a blissful, thriving, recently adopted Rocky:

The story of the dog who is left outside to languish is one that our cruelty caseworkers hear all too often. Dogs are highly social and loyal companions. They crave lots of love, attention, and exercise, and they always want to be around their human family. Staking them out in lonely yards as cheap "alarm systems" is nothing short of a cruel betrayal of an animal's unlimited love and devotion to his or her guardian—it is simply not the way things are meant to be.

If you know people who aren't doing right by their dog, please talk to them and educate them about the animal's many needs. Offer to walk their dog. Bring toys! Show them how to do things right. And please, never let mistreated animals endure abuse or neglect. Always speak up and file a report with local law enforcement officials. Without you, these animals would have no voice.

Posted by Logan Scherer

babble.com / CC

A concerned neighbor reached out to PETA after several high-ranking officials failed to act on his complaints, deeming the situation a parole violation only. With a little work, we were eventually able to locate a district attorney who was willing to prosecute, provided that we could obtain the necessary evidence.

We then found a sympathetic state trooper who agreed to visit the woman's property. According to his account, when he arrived he got the shock of a lifetime. After he told the woman that he had a warrant for her arrest (for an unrelated matter), she reportedly attacked him with a stun gun to his head and neck. When she refused to drop the weapon, he used pepper spray to subdue her, handcuffed her, and called for backup.

Animal control agents arrived to find more than 40 animals on her property, including dogs, cats, parrots, chickens, ducks, alpacas, a donkey, and a pot-bellied pig. Almost all the animals were in cages. The animals were sent to shelters around the state, and the hoarder is now being held awaiting bail.

Folks, you might know of someone in your neighborhood whose yard is teeming with stray cats or someone who has a multitude of neglected dogs barking nonstop in his or her backyard. Please know that there's a very strong possibility that this person is a hoarder—a mentally ill person with a compulsion to acquire "things" they can't bring themselves to discard. Hoarders don't try to find loving homes for their animals—in fact, they usually resist any effort to do so. In this case, more than 40 animals might have died from neglect and disease had it not been for police intervention!

A person who hoards animals doesn't love animals any more than a hoarder who fills his or her house with garbage loves trash. The big difference, of course, is that empty pizza boxes and beer bottles don't suffer and die from neglect—but animals do.

Posted by Karin Bennett

This week, PETA's cavorting cow has been urging people in cities across the U.S. to dump dairy from their diets with a not-so-subtle hint.

Why's this heifer in a huff?

Last week, PETA released undercover footage of cows who were kept on a Land O'Lakes supplier's factory farm in pens covered with feces. They were denied veterinary care and even kicked or stabbed with pocket knives when they were too weak to stand.

If dairy foods were deadly for your relatives, you'd want people to ditch it, too, right? Well, dairy foods have been linked to a slew of human health issues, including allergies, obesity, prostate cancer, heart disease, and autism.

Posted by Heather Drennan

PETA's investigation footage from a filthy Pennsylvania dairy facility that supplies Land O'Lakes continues to receive massive press coverage. All the coverage has prompted the Fortune 250 company to issue an official statement—one that only serves to highlight the profit-driven callousness and lack of concern for animals within the corporation and the dairy industry as a whole.

Jeanne Forbis, the director of communications at Land O'Lakes, said, "[W]hen state-certified inspectors do inspections at dairy farms they are inspecting for milk and equipment sanitation practices, not animal treatment."

Is that supposed to be the "excuse" for why the Land O'Lakes inspector didn't bother to note that cows were living in filth, without bedding or a clean, dry place for shelter? Or that lameness and mastitis were rampant? How about the fact that there were cows who were so debilitated and thin that they looked like skeletons with skin draped over them?

Frankly, the inspector didn't do very well on inspecting for sanitation either. Take a look at the video—animals are virtually swimming in a soup of urine and fecal matter. All Forbis's comment does is raise some serious doubts about the quality of the sanitation inspections that led to the approval of this facility.

Various agencies are now looking into PETA's allegations of abuse, as well as sanitation and food safety violations, against the dairy facility's owners. Abuse of animals in the dairy industry is nothing new, so please consider dropping cholesterol and cruelty-filled dairy products from your diet.

Posted by Heather Drennan

movieline / CC

Tweet collapsed in his pen while being fed on Friday. While giraffes in the wild can live into their mid 20s, Tweet was only 18 years old.

The results of Tweet's necropsy haven't been released yet, but according to a whistleblower who contacted PETA, Tweet's premature death may have resulted from his eating pieces of the blue tarp that covered his enclosure. The whistleblower alleges that Tweet's owner and trainers were notified that the giraffe had been eating the tarp but that they did nothing about it.

The whistleblower also said that Tweet spent the last few months of his life confined to a 20-foot-by-20-foot stall, which was barely large enough for the 18-foot-tall giraffe to lie down in. In their natural habitat, giraffes live in vast home ranges of up to 400 square miles.

PETA is now calling on the USDA to investigate Tweet's death. We're also asking for other people associated with the production of the movie to come forward with additional information about the treatment of animals on the set.

Posted by Shawna Flavell

Since we posted our action alert about Brookstone's boneheaded decision to sell live frogs and snails who are confined to minuscule "Frog-O-Spheres," we've heard from lots of people who've confirmed our worst fears about the likely fate of these animals.

Brookstone has admitted that they aren't screening potential "Frog-O-Sphere" customers, and their woefully inadequate recommendations for care—changing the water twice a year and feeding the frogs twice a week—are leading to snap decisions by unprepared people, as is likely the case with the person who posted this comment on Brookstone's Web site:

"[T]he snail died in about a week (but really, who cares?). And the recommended 2 pellets a week is not enough (the frogs are so hungry they don't move to conserve energy). When I started tripling their recommended meals, they became very active and cool. … Hopefully, they'll last until I can buy a pet snake and feed them to it."

People who are a bit more kindhearted have been flooding PETA with calls and e-mails about frogs and snails getting sick or dying, while callers to Brookstone's customer service department who complain that their frogs appear to need medical attention are merely told to put the frogs in a separate bowl. Those who call about dead frogs and snails have been told that they should throw the corpses in the garbage and that new animals can be shipped or picked up at their nearest location. As a testament to Brookstone's level of care, "replacement" animals are sent through the mail and handed to customers at the stores in plastic sandwich bags.

Other well-meaning folks are asking whether they should release the frogs into the wild, but putting non-native species into area waterways and habitats can wreak havoc on local ecosystems.

The continued sale of Frog-O-Spheres poses a clear threat to these vulnerable animals. Please add your voice to those of people who are demanding that Brookstone stop selling live animals once and for all.

Posted by Jeff Mackey

Last week, Elizabeth Carlisle appeared in court to face cruelty-to-animals charges for allegedly drowning two rabbits while she was working at a Petland store in Akron, Ohio. On the day of Carlisle's arraignment, local PETA members and other outraged members of the community stood outside the courthouse calling on Akron's chief city prosecutor, Douglas J. Powley, to prosecute Carlisle to the fullest extent of the law.

The maximum penalty for each cruelty-to-animals charge is six months in jail—totaling a year in prison if Carlisle is found guilty.

Two peaceful protesters were pushed by members of Carlisle's entourage as they left the building.

Want to get involved? Use this form to urge Petland to end rabbit sales immediately.

This incident is just one example of the abuses animals suffer in pet stores nationwide. For nearly 30 years, PETA has fielded complaints regarding sick or unwanted animals who were cruelly disposed of by pet store employees, all because the cost of caring for or treating the animal exceeded the animal's "price tag." This trial offers an opportunity to send a strong and desperately needed message to the pet-store industry: Pet stores have no business selling animals.

Posted by Liz Graffeo

Late last year, one of PETA's fieldworkers answered a request for a PETA dog house, and she spotted Buxton—then just 8 weeks old—hobbling down the road by himself. When she went to pick him up, he screamed in pain and wet himself. It turns out that his harness had become embedded and had caused deep gashes under his arms and across his chest—the wounds reeked of infection and were oozing pus.

Knocking on neighborhood doors didn't turn up anyone who knew the pup, so PETA's fieldworker, Misty, rushed him to an emergency veterinary hospital where the harness was cut away and his wounds were treated. The vet estimated that the harness had been cutting into Buxton's body for at least two weeks.

Following a lead, our field staff eventually did find Buxton's "owners"—a mother and son—and they told us to keep him. We filed charges against them, of course, and in April, Catina Beasley and Calvin Holland were found guilty of cruelty to animals. They have both been permanently barred from owning animals, and Holland was ordered to pay a $100 fine and nearly $400 in restitution for Buxton's medical care.

As for Buxton? Here he is with his new family:

Buxton has traded in his old harness for something more fitting.

Of course, not all dogs are as lucky. Our case workers are deluged with calls. Animals are poisoned, beaten, starved, and neglected—some have even have their mouths duct-taped shut for "barking too much." Cats and dogs are put into microwaves, dismembered, sexually assaulted, hanged, set on fire, bludgeoned, buried alive, and otherwise tortured and killed. Please do something to help, and be an advocate for them all. Being heartbroken doesn't cut it. If you suspect that an animal is being neglected or you witness cruelty to animals, don't hesitate: Report it to your local law-enforcement agency immediately and follow up until it's resolved.

Posted by Amy Elizabeth

This is it, people! The circus industry is built on masking animal torture as family fun—and it's time to force that industry to crumble. As you may know, this week PETA broke our latest undercover investigation into Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. With the powerful footage obtained by our investigator, we are closer than ever to seeing animals freed from the living hell that is life in the circus. Can you imagine being stolen from your mom and chained for an average of more than 26 hours at a time, sometimes for as many as 60–100 hours straight, only to be beaten and forced to perform day after day?

My friends, you're in a position to help end their suffering. How, you ask? For starters, watch the video. Second, sign this petition and forward it to all your friends via every social networking site you're on. (There are even links at the bottom of the petition to help you do it.)

And finally, my personal fave—get your booty on the street and protest like these hipsters!

Just think—this could be you!

Standing up for animals is fulfilling, to say the least. Believe me. So get on out there, y'all!

Posted by Missy Lane

Stimpy was wasting away. Whether he had a medical condition or simply couldn't compete for food against the other, stronger dog on the property is not clear. But he was obviously suffering and slowly dying.

After weeks of watching Stimpy's condition deteriorate while waiting for local authorities to intervene, a concerned citizen called PETA and asked us to step in. Our cruelty caseworkers leaped into action and quickly convinced animal control officers to visit the property. Once the officers arrived, they acknowledged that Stimpy's situation was desperate and convinced Stimpy's guardian to surrender custody of him.

Stimpy is just one example of the countless "backyard dogs" suffering at the hands of neglectful guardians. While these people may not intentionally abuse animals, the end result is the same: misery, anguish, and often death.

Animals left outside are put at risk by a range of hazards—including parasites, diseases, and weather extremes as well as "bunchers" (people who steal animals and sell them to laboratories) and other cruel people.

Our cruelty caseworkers constantly receive calls about "backyard dogs" like Stimpy, and regardless of whether the call is from New York City or Small Town, Arkansas, the stories are almost always the same. We know that abuse and neglect can happen anywhere, at anytime, and dogs like Stimpy rely on people like you to be on the look out for their suffering. So regardless of whether you live in a metropolis or in the middle of a cornfield—please keep your eyes and ears peeled for mistreated animals and speak up whenever you suspect foul play.

Posted by Jeff Mackey

For two days, the exhausted dairy cow had lain in the pasture, dying. Her eyes were missing, probably eaten by birds. A commuter passing by saw her and had been trying desperately to get help, with no luck. Eventually, this kind person, frantic to find help for the tormented animal, contacted PETA's after hours emergency hotline, and we were able to work with law enforcement officials, urging them to take immediate action.

It's hard to believe that this cow was still alive when help finally arrived, but it's much harder to imagine the tremendous anguish that she must have endured.

Our caseworkers stayed on the phone late into the night as deputies knocked on every door in the area, waking up residents in hopes of finding out who owned the property and the cow. After hours of searching, the man was finally located, and the deputies were mercifully able to put an end to the cow's suffering.

Unfortunately, this story is not unusual in the meat and dairy industry, where living beings are looked at as property and products. In fact, cows too sick to walk or stand are so common on factory farms and in slaughterhouses that there's a word for them: downers.

It's easy to look at cows in a field and think that they live idyllic lives, but they're commonly subjected to abuses that could warrant felony cruelty-to-animals charges if they were dogs or cats. Fortunately, though, it's so easy to opt out of contributing to their misery.

And I know that we just talked about this, but it bears repeating: If you see an animal who is suffering, report it to the authorities—and don't give up until they do something about it!

Posted by Jeff Mackey

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