Fed up with people who refuse to spay and neuter their animals, people who want someone to wave a magic wand and find a home for their "eight-year-old Rottweiler [who] spent his entire life chained to a tree," and people who allow their dogs to run loose, leaving others to scoop up "Scooby with a plastic bag," a frustrated animal control officer posted an off-the-hook "I quit!" rant on Craigslist that's going viral.

"I wish to god that there was a mandatory spay/neuter law and that the penalty for breaking it was to be forced to spend a day working in the euthanasia room," writes the shell-shocked shelter worker. "Every dog or cat you carelessly add into this world takes away a home for a dog or cat that is already here. So breeding means killing … so have a good day, executioners! I hope the 50 bucks you made off that puppy sure feels good."

The ex-ACO goes on to explain that there's no such thing as a "no-kill" shelter.

Don't send another animal control officer over the edge: Always spay or neuter your dogs and cats and urge your friends, relatives, and neighbors to do the same. Support your local open-admission shelter by volunteering to clean the cages, walk the dogs, and play with the cats. And give a hardworking shelter worker a hug.

This is Kristina.

This is Kristina on Craigslist. Taking inspiration from Animal Friends Croatia, we're "renting out" our vegan experts to help people make the easy and ever-so-scrumptious switch to cruelty-free cuisine.

Kristina "I can veganize anything" Addington—an accomplished cook—will help the highest bidder in Louisville, Kentucky, shop for $100 dollars' worth of groceries (on our dime), and then she'll cook a gourmet vegan meal for up to six people! Don't live in Louisville? Don't worry—PETA will soon be renting vegans in a town near you. Until then, take advantage of this priceless shopping and cooking companion.

Written by Amy Skylark Elizabeth

Cops in Spokane are searching for a frustrated pop who is believed to have put his screaming son up for sale on Craigslist. Apparently the dad didn't know that the "baby & kid stuff" section is intended for the sale of clothing, furniture, and accessories only—and that peddling children is a felony.

But dogs and cats, well, they're a different story. While Craigslist agreed to post a warning about the dangers of "free to a good home" ads few years ago, it has refused to disallow them, so a quick scan of the "free stuff" listings reveals dozens of unwanted, unloved, and "inconvenient" soon-to-be homeless animals. And many of these ads read almost identical to daddy dearest's "free toddler" post: "I don't know what else to do other than find a good family with kids or a couple that wants a son. I just won't give him to anyone."

http://www.flickr.com/photos/psycho-pics/ / CC BY 2.0

Make no mistake: PETA encourages adoptions of dogs, cats, rabbits, gerbils, and other companion animals to responsible, thoughtful, competent, and loving adult guardians—but not just anyone. Simply to hand the leash—and the dog—to the first smiling stranger who pulls into the driveway is not enough to ensure the safety of the animal. Anyone who offers an animal up for adoption should personally visit the home of the potential guardian beforehand and follow up on the adoption later. Bunchers and other cruel humans are all too eager to get their hands on cast-aside cats and dogs from unsuspecting persons looking to find new homes for animals—and the fates of these "free" animals are often tragic.

We've contacted Craigslist about this important issue, and now the site's managers need to hear from you.

Written by Karin Bennett

If you're looking for a good time, or maybe just an entertainment center, Craigslist is usually a great place to start. But there's a really worrying side to the online community that has directly facilitated a number of extremely disturbing cases of cruelty to animals.

Craigslist's "free to a good home" ads seem innocuous at first glance, but the fact is that giving away animals over the Internet to anyone who so much as expresses an interest is just unbelievably irresponsible, and Craigslist's ads have resulted in such hideous animal abuse cases as the recent torture and mutilation of three gray tabbies in Austin, including a 3-year-old cat named Taylor (pictured), who were evidently obtained through one of these "free to a good home" ads.

PETA has been begging the company for years to implement a policy prohibiting these ads for exactly this reason, but thus far Craigslist has done nothing beyond posting a mild warning about giving away animals on their site. So we're stepping it up a notch. If you have a moment, please click here to tell Craigslist to immediately ban these ads from its site before the company sees another incident like the Austin case.

So this was a pretty cool thing to watch unfold: About a month ago, a colleague of mine posted a personal ad on Craigslist under the name Misty, with the title "Ready to have fun." The single males in the area who clicked on the ad got the following pitch:

Turns out a lot of dudes were ready to have fun, too. The ad got hundreds of responses, some of which were very sensitive and caring (though a good number of them were just kind of pornographic). But all seekers were directed to http://www.myspace.com/misty_love_xo, where they met Misty herself, a bowlegged pit bull who spends her life chained to a barrel in North Carolina.

Not everybody had a sense of humor about the whole thing, but a lot of the guys were pretty cool about it, and some even offered to help. (Of course a few people never figured out that this was a stunt and just thought Misty was some girl who was really into her dog, but the less said about those dudes the better.) The Boston Herald picked up the story, which you can read here. Anyway, I thought that was a pretty innovative way of raising some awareness about chained dogs, so, I dunno, hooray for us.