Four Paws’ “pimple ball with bell”:
Be careful with this toy.

Update: Wonderful news, everybody! This toy has now been recalled! For more information, please see the alert on Four Paws’ Web site here.

If your dog’s toybox (and every dog should have a toybox!) contains a toy called the “pimple ball with bell” made by Four Paws Products, please take a hard look at it.

I have heard of dangerous toys in the past―toys with small parts that can be chewed off and cause choking, for example―but if the allegations against this toy are true, then allowing your dog to play with it might not be a good idea. Because there is only one hole in the ball, a dog’s tongue could potentially get sucked into the hole and stuck because of a vacuum-like effect. If the circulation to the dog’s tongue is cut off, the tongue also might begin to swell which could make it impossible to extract from the ball without veterinary assistance. This is reportedly what happened to Chai, a 10-year-old lab mix, according to the blog post recounting the ordeal, and Cole, a “5-year-old bouncy beautiful lab mix,” according to his guardian, as well as at least two other dogs mentioned in Chai’s blog.

Cole, whose guardians report “wagged his tail up till the very end when we let him cross the rainbow bridge due to the horrendous injury to his tongue,” was euthanized. Chai survived but endured an enormous amount of pain, had to have his tongue amputated, and also had to learn new ways of eating, drinking, and cooling himself, which was a monumental task for him and his guardian.

Both Cole’s and Chai’s guardians report that they have contacted Four Paws about their respective ordeals but that they were not notified of any changes that have been made to the product that would help prevent tragedies like this from happening to other dogs.

If you have one of these toys, please exercise caution and consider removing the item from your dogs’ toy box. Please also ask Four Paws to make changes to this toy to prevent future tragedies from happening.

Image: pet-dog-cat-supply-store / cc

Tonight, the Regeneration Tour—featuring the bands A Flock of Seagulls, The Human League, Naked Eyes, and Belinda Carlisle—is in my town. It’s a new-wave dream come true—much like Medusa’s Make-Up.

With eye-popping jewel colors like “Rapture” purple and “Radioactive” turquoise, this striking line of cosmetics brings out the ’80s in all of us. Boldly going where no makeup has gone in at least 20 years, there is more to Medusa’s Make-Up than its vibrant pallet of 60 pigments and 45 glitter hues—Medusa’s Make-Up is also all-natural, affordably priced, and not tested on animals!

Time is almost up for you to enter to win an awesome pack of makeup and brushes that will get you from zero to glamtabulous in no time. There are only three days left to enter, so turn on your favorite ’80s new wave and enter the contest now!

shoparooni / cc

So, I was downtown with some friends the other week, and I spotted the cutest shoes. I picked them up, and there—in big, beautiful, shiny gold letters—was the word “Vegan” printed inside the soles! I usually find fab leather-free shoes at places like Target or Payless, but this clearly called for a splurge. Besides, I say there’s nothing selfish about buying animal-friendly shoes: Every time I get compliments on them, I get to help animals by saying, “Thanks! They’re leather-free!”

Whether your style is comfy and casual or spiked and sky-high, cute vegan shoes have never been easier to find. To prove it, here’s our list of the top 10 places to find vegan women’s shoes!

1. Zappos.com is an especially good place to find sporty sandals and sneaks (just sort by “vegetarian” shoes)—and you get free shipping! There is something for everyone, and you can even get Stella McCartney’s line of vegan shoes for Adidas!

2. Bourgeois Boheme has causal and elegant dress footwear—with lots of stellar boots, bags, wallets, belts, cosmetics, and more.

3. There’s no “moo” in Moo Shoes, but you will find tons of fun slip-ons, unique heels and sandals, and even some cozy boots.

4. Payless ShoeSource sells tons of adorable vegan shoes for so cheap that you don’t have to feel guilty about buying three or four pairs at a time!

5. Target hits the mark with surprisingly stylish and always affordable leather-free kicks.

6. Chinese Laundry has a super-amazing vegan line with sexy, strappy sandals, kitten-heeled pumps, sweet Mary Janes, and just about anything else a girl could want.

7. Life Stride’s nearly 100% vegan line of business-casual shoes can be found at department stores like Dillards, and they’re the perfect complement to your power suit.

8. Alternative Outfitters has rounded up an amazing selection of to-die-for vegan “foot candy” for your shopping convenience.

9. Add some funk to your wardrobe with a pair of retro-inspired heels, sneakers, or chunky “vegan leather” boots from T.U.K.

10. If your journey to find great vegan shoes takes you to the mall, Journeys has lots of vegan options for colorful sneakers, platform heels, skateboarding shoes, and more.

Tell us about your favorite vegan shoes!

School is back in session, but if you’re still searching for that perfect vegan bag that’s big enough to hold your laptop and a pile of books, look no further than Tom Bihn.

We are giving away one of Tom Bihn’s “Super Ego” bags to help you get organized to hold all your stuff—so your hands are free to hold your soy latté or to pass out copies of PETA’s “Vegetarian Starter Kit”!

For a chance to win the Super Ego, just leave a short message and tell us something that you are going to do—on your own or with your family—for animals this school year.

The contest ends on September 15, and one winner will be selected and notified by September 22. And just so you know … by leaving a comment, you’re acknowledging that you’ve read and agreed to our privacy policy and our terms and conditions. Good luck!

cmehner / cc

I am fascinated by them all and gaze endlessly from my fire escape at the bats who swoop ’round and ’round each night in search of mosquitoes in my neighborhood. For most of my life, I have been like them—not eating mosquitoes, of course, but pretty much nocturnal. Seriously, for as long as I can remember, I have stayed up all night working on projects, playing video games, studying, and inventing recipes—it’s just when my creative energies are at their fullest. Being nocturnal in a non-nocturnal world, however—that is the challenge. Most of us need to keep office hours that are from the land of the living, so the balance can be tricky. I continually try to achieve this balance. While some coworkers get excited for the end of the workday, I tend to get more productive as the hours go by and have a hard time turning my computer off at 5:30; I start scheming of the projects I can accomplish while burning the midnight oil.

I do want to gain an appreciation for the day, and fortunately, I recently stumbled upon a great blog post titled “Seize the Day—How I Became an Early Riser, and You Can Too!”. The title seemed like it was meant for me, so I checked it out, embraced some of their suggestions, and made them my own. I’m happy to report that this method is working, and this week, I have been able to get up about half an hour earlier than usual, and I have not dreaded it. The tricks that have worked for me?

· Looking forward to a nice vegan breakfast. For years, I have wanted to try getting up to an interesting breakfast, and I am trying to incorporate international styles. Like, for example, a traditional Japanese-style breakfast of miso soup, nori, and rice. Or treating myself to an awesome soy latté.

· Increased appreciation for the non-nocturnal animals. I have now realized that when you get up early, you can spend a few groggy, eye-opening, waiting-for-the-tea-kettle moments gazing at the feisty squirrels and birds foraging on your lawn. Their business makes me super-motivated to start the day. Since I work for PETA, my day involves helping animals, so it’s a completely symbiotic relationship.

· Getting to the office early means an awesome parking space.

If you also are working on being more of an ‘early bird’, please share your tips!

The following post was originally published by Amy Cook on The Veg Cooking Blog. Click here to view the original post.

Remember the days when going out to eat pizza with friends meant that, as a vegan, you were staring at a wall while everyone else chowed down on slice after slice of pies loaded with cheese and meats? Luckily for vegans, those times have passed. It’s now easier than ever to find vegan pizza options in almost any city. It’s so easy, in fact, that I’ve put together a list of the Top 10 Vegan-Friendly Pizzerias in the U.S., and the winners are …

1. Pizza Luce: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Pizza Luce in Minneapolis carries a plethora of pizza options. With its wide array of vegan mock meats—including mock duck and two different kinds of mock chicken—as well as two types of soy cheese and all your favorite veggies, you can put together almost any pizza your brain can imagine. Not in the mood for pizza? Grab one of the several vegan entrées, such as Mock Chicken Parmigiana or the Mock Muffuletta.

2. Pizza Pi: Seattle, Washington
Pizza Pi in Seattle doesn’t just have vegan options—its entire menu is vegan! Not only is the pizza tasty, there’s loads of variety. Mock meats range from pepperoni to Canadian bacon to veggie sausage, and veggies include sundried tomatoes, artichokes, and capers, to name just a few. Pizza Pi also carries vegan calzones, a wide range of sandwiches, and vegan desserts.

3. Gianna’s: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
A favorite when in the City of Brotherly Love, Gianna’s has enough options to make any vegan happy. From its wide range of mock meats (sausage, beef, bacon, ham, chicken, and pepperoni) to its interesting list of veggies (broccoli rabe, anyone?), Gianna’s has it all. And it gets extra credit for having vegan sandwich options, including a vegan Philly cheesesteak.

4. T.J. Scallywaggle’s: Allston (Boston), Massachusetts
T.J. Scallywaggle’s has an all-vegan menu that is even fun to read. With lots of specialty pizzas named in honor of “Captain Jazelda,” in addition to your standard fare, T.J. Scallywaggle’s is sure to bring out the pirate in you. It also has a bunch of tasty subs, calzones, salads, entrées, and desserts—all vegan!

5. The Pizza Research Institute: Eugene, Oregon
Don’t be fooled by the name! This restaurant is much hipper than the words “research institute” imply. However, with all the one-of-a-kind pizzas on the menu, you would think that there really was a staff of food scientists in the kitchen. One standout is the 3P—pears, potato, and pesto.

6. Slice of Life: Sebastopol, California
Slice of Life in Sebastopol (near San Francisco) is a fully vegetarian, and mostly vegan, restaurant with a huge menu. It includes not only pizza—such as the Cheeseless Wonder—but also other Italian options, as well as Mexican and traditional American dishes too.

7. Mac’s Pizza Pub: Cincinnati, Ohio
Mac’s Pizza Pub is a lively college hangout in Cincinnati. When winding down after an exam (or skipping class!), locals enjoy Mac’s vegan pizza, which is topped with fresh veggies and gourmet vegan mozzarella. But veggie students aren’t limited to just pizza at Mac’s—the pub also offers a Boca burger.

8. Bella Pizzeria: Norfolk, Virginia
The hometown pizza favorite of PETA, Bella’s makes a delicious pie, piling plenty of soy cheese on top of a tasty New York-style crust and, if you like, topping it off with classic veggies. In the mood for something a little different? Try the white pizza, which skips the tomato sauce and uses an olive oil-garlic blend as the base under loads of soy cheese.

9. Pizza Fusion Franchise
With 23 locations across the country, Pizza Fusion is definitely the biggest vegan-friendly pizzeria. As a company that prides itself on being “green,” Pizza Fusion’s got the right idea by giving the option to get vegan cheese on any pizza, because the best thing we can do for the environment is to go veg!

10. The Rudyard Kipling: Louisville, Kentucky
The official pizza place of frontline warriors against Kentucky Fried Cruelty in Louisville is The Rudyard Kipling. The restaurant offers a super-duper healthy crust with more grains than you can shake a breadstick at. Word has it that you can even get polenta on your pies. Also, be sure to check out its famous Vegan Rudyard Burger.

Did I overlook an awesome pizza joint in your neck of the woods? If so, tell us about it!

It’s time to go back to school, and that means back-to-school shopping. If for you this usually means spending long hours browsing racks for yourself or your kids between some extended visits to sit in the massage chairs—all the while only managing to find a couple of pairs of nylons and some lotion—fear not! There is still hope!

Luckily, hip and humane retailer American Apparel is here to save the day by giving away a $100 gift certificate to get you or your family outfitted for stylish study sessions.

In addition to saving the day, American Apparel saves animals. American Apparel shuns all fur, leather, and wool in its designs, and it is also an environmentally responsible business. American Apparel has even introduced an organic cotton line, which results in a pesticide-, herbicide-, and chemical-free product.

This contest is now closed. Check out our guide to compassionate clothing companies for more cruelty-free shopping ideas. Thanks to all who entered!

kaboodle / cc

Back-to-school styles have to include the latest, trendiest shoes for fall. This year, MooShoes.com is teaming up with PETA to offer 10 percent off your entire online purchase. With such a huge selection of beautiful all-vegan styles—from dress boots to sneakers to strappy sandals—to choose from, you’ll be able to show your friends that compassion is the only fashion!

Visit MooShoes.com now and start shopping. Enter the code “veganstyle” at checkout. Hurry, because this coupon expires September 30!

ecx.images / cc

The first book I bought when the pregnancy test revealed two lines instead of one wasn’t What to Expect When You’re Expecting (aka “What they never told you about pregnancy that you wish you’d known before you got yourself into this state”). It was a small tome called Happy Kids, Happy Dogs.

Giehl and I share our home and lives with two wonderful dogs and two very cat-like cats (who are far too busy and important to be photographed today). Clyde and Emma are both around 3 years old, and they’re full of enthusiasm for life (and food). While kids and dogs are often a great combination (I loved the dog we had growing up more than I loved most of my friends and family, I think), too often, the dogs in the house get the short end of the stick after the baby arrives—and bad things can happen as a result (e.g., neglected dog starts acting out, neglected dog then becomes neglected and yelled-at-a-lot dog, then neglected and yelled-at dog gets dumped at the local animal shelter). Happy Kids, Happy Dogs talks about how to ensure that your human baby and your canine child grow up to love and respect each other, starting in pregnancy and all the way through adolescence.

So just as you’d prepare an older sibling for the arrival of a baby brother or sister, Giehl and I started to prepare our dogs early on for the arrival of a baby boy. We bought a doll and started carrying it around in our Ergo carrier, sitting on the couch with it pretending to feed, putting it in the swing … things that will become part of our routine when the real baby arrives. The trick is to make sure that the experiences the dogs have with the fake baby are positive (e.g., while I’m sitting on the couch feeding the fake baby, I’m also giving Clyde and Emma little bits of treats while they sit or lie quietly next to me). We also spent a lot of time working with them on some basic training. As Karen P., PETA’s resident dog expert, will tell you, dogs like to have a job! Our dogs’ only job is to sit nicely before they ask for something, but it makes a big difference in their overall mental health (and, therefore, in our sanity).

There’s just too much good stuff in Happy Kids, Happy Dogs to put in one post, so look for more later. And once B-Day (that’s Birth-Day) comes and goes, I’ll be sure to let you know how it all plays out in real life!

RachaelQ / cc

There’s a reason why I don’t move very often, and that reason is … moving stinks! And I’m not talking in some metaphorical way, like I’ve been cranky and tired and sore for the last two weeks and thinking “this stinks!” No, I mean quite literally that moving stinks. People use bleach, window cleaners that are full of chemicals, “all-purpose” cleaners, and wood cleaners that smell like fake pine trees … blech! Usually when someone moves out of my apartment building, the whole place stinks like a chemical waste site for days.

This can’t be good for our health, the environment, and animals. Lots of household products use outdated, cruel, unnecessary, and inaccurate tests to determine the safety of their products. Sorry, but smearing chemicals into Peter Cottontail’s eyes during a Draize test to see what will happen is just plain wrong. Rabbits may endure blindness, bleeding scabs, and ulcers.

But fear not! There are plenty of household cleaning products that are not tested on animals! You can check out a full list here.

I just used method products to clean my apartment. They have wood cleaners, glass cleaners, all-purpose cleaners, toilet bowl cleaners, and the “omop,” which Method brands as “nontoxic microfiber floor love for wood floors.” I mean, these people have everything you could ever want. And with scents like lemon ginger, cucumber melon, sweet water, almond, and ylang-ylang, your house will smell like a farmers’ market instead of a toxic dump. They are available at a fair price and are easy to find (lots of grocery stores carry them, as do most Target stores), and they destroy dirt like no other. And by not buying products that were tested on animals, you can sleep better at night knowing that rabbits’ eyes are safe and you and your neighbors aren’t choking on icky fumes and chemicals.