We know that there weren't any pigs on your table this Christmas, but were there pigs at it? At a festive Christmas party in Goa, India, not only were pigs at the table, they were also the guests of honor.

The Panjim Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) had intercepted a group of people who were illegally transporting about 100 pigs and who intended to slaughter and sell them for holiday meals. But PAWS rescued all the pigs and took them to safety at its shelter. So, since the pigs were no longer becoming the feast, PAWS and PETA India decided to throw them one instead.

The gleeful pigs happily munched on corn, spinach, strawberries, grapes, and other treats, while their proud rescuers doted on them. And as news cameras caught the pigs' mirthful antics, they also captured the not-so-subtle message that PETA India had prominently displayed at the table: a sign that implored, "Give Pigs the Gift of Life: Go Vegan."

What happens when a precocious bunny gets his paws on a hunting guide?

This isn't even the gruesome photo. We'll spare you the picture of the carnage from later in the day. 

What could be cuter than a rat with a cotton-ball tail? OK, cuter and real? I nominate this "Awww"-some video of Tinkerbell taking a bath:

Rats are not only adorably squeaky clean but also super sweet and smart—not that hygiene, looks, and/or IQ should ever be a requirement for caring about rodents or any other animal.

Written by Karin Bennett

Alert Cute Overload—we have a code-red cuteness emergency!

This may very well be the cutest new product that the geniuses in PETA's Merchandise Department have come up with this millennium (with the exception of the legendary Notta Nugget, of course). In fact, it's possible that it's actually too much adorableness for one piece of iMachinery to handle.

Nah, not a chance. But you have a chance to have one of these laptop covers for your very own. Just post a comment below explaining why your "other laptop" is so special and you could be one of two lucky people who will be able to turn their laptops into the most huggable hardware on the block. (Winners can choose between a "dog" and "cat" laptop cover.)

The contest ends on September 8, 2010, and we'll select two comments that warm our heart drives as the winners on September 10, 2010. Be sure to read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you're agreeing to both by commenting. May the force of Hello Kitty be with you.

Written by Alisa Mullins

Vegetarian George Lopez star Constance Marie and too-cute-for-words Luna sure know how to break out the bibbly:

Marie and her daughter (and my quarter-life crisis) have got me thinking—bibs and onesies for everyone! Seriously, don't we all get a little messy when we eat?

Written by Logan Scherer

Today is National Take Your Dog to Work Day, which means that dogs across the U.S. left their casual doggie sweaters in the closet and opted for something a bit more business-like.

Here at 501 Front St., we are overflowing with lucky dogs who don't have to wait for a special holiday to accompany their human companions into the office. They come to work every day, rain or shine, and diligently distract each and every employee by asking for belly rubs, distributing kisses, and just being so darn cute. Want to meet a few of them? Of course you do.

Tyler works in PETA's Campaigns Department, but he routinely makes the rounds of the building. Tyler likes to sunbathe, but he's conscious of his tan lines and will flip from side to side to ensure that he's getting evenly toasty. Contrary to what you might think, he's not as worried as he looks (he uses those wrinkles to his advantage—namely, to get treats).

Sugar, whose full name is Princess Sugar Pants, hangs out in the PETA Foundation's Interactive Media Department. She was found cowering in the rain outside a local grocery store on Valentine's Day 2007. She lives to gut every toy she's given, play tug of war, give the sincerest doggy kisses, wrestle, and love on her human friends in the office. She can jump higher than any dog she's ever met and can outrun most of them too!

Over in the Foundation's Human Resources department, Whimsey rules the roost. She's been coming into the office since 1998, and she loves playing in the PETA dog park. She can never get enough treats (especially peanut butter), and she even tries stealing them from other dogs around the office (they still love her anyway). Give her a high-pitched squeal and she'll wiggle her butt with joy.

Cooper and Louie help out the PETA Foundation's Development Department on a daily basis. Louie is a wonder-genius and has repeatedly shown compassion to many other species by helping track down lost animals since she was a puppy. If you want to get her out of bed without giving her a belly rub, you'll have to pick her up. Cooper is always smiling and ready to go. He came to the PETA Foundation after his former human family decided that it couldn't care for him anymore. If you need a good laugh or a great game of fetch, Cooper's your man.

Does your dog ever visit the office? Tell us all about it below.

Written by Shawna Flavell

OMG … this is the cutest, most fascinating video that I've seen in a long time. Prepare yourself for intense adorableness.

You are now officially armed with even more proof that animals are emotional, sensitive, and complex beings.

Written by Christine Doré

The tabloids are constantly filled with breathless speculation about who various celebs might be sleeping with. But we already know who a few lovely stars are taking to bed: their mutts!

Some celebrities who are hooked on rescued mutts include Sandra Bullock, Simon Cowell, Kristen Bell, and—hopefully—even the next president of the good ol' U. S. of A. And according to ecorazzi, actor Kate Bosworth is so used to sharing her sheets with her mixed-breed rescue dog that any man who can't deal with those sleeping arrangements will find himself bounced. Of course, mutts are so cute that it's hard to resist a snuggle.

Even if you're not a star—and so many of us aren't these days—you can still get in on the mutt-loving action by entering your mixed-breed dog in PETA's Cutest Mutt Alive contest. PETA is celebrating mutts because they are typically healthier and live longer than their purebred cousins who are pumped out by puppy mills and other breeders. Plus, every mutt is one of a kind!

Written by Jeff Mackey

So today's a fairly slow news day (ya know, Labor Day weekend and all), but we wanted to be absolutely sure you all were fully prepped for your long weekends of not being at work! To give yourself one of those warm, fuzzy feelings, we thought we'd take a new direction with our videos and show you some cute videos for a change (instead of our typical videos that, ya know, make you think).

Enjoy!

Written by Christine Doré

You heard me. We needed to know who was the cutest vegetarian child in the world, and thus began a painstaking, epic search throughout the land for the most adorable—but also compassionate re: animals—young lads and lasses that have been produced in the last 10 odd years of human procreation. Our quest for the World’s Cutest Vegetarian finally came to an end when we happened upon young Caitlin Rosendorn of Bloomington, Illinois, and her male counterpart, the undeniably adorable Ian Kaminski of North Syracuse, New York, both of whom beat out a very tough field of extremely lovable little kiddies. So without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the winners of this year’s World’s Cutest Vegetarian Kids contest—you can learn more about them at PETAKids.com. Out of sheer laziness, I’ve copied these bios from the text written by my good friend Patricia Trostle who runs our PETA Kids department.

Seven-year-old Ian Kaminski of North Syracuse, New York, is a proud vegetarian who never misses the chance to tell others what's wrong with eating meat. Ian's mom, Christina, tells us he's so compassionate that he knows he shouldn't even kill bugs and that after finding destroyed bird nests on the ground, he discourages his friends from climbing trees in order to protect other nests.

Caitlin Rosendorn loves Tofurky sandwiches and Morningstar Farms corn dogs, and when asked about being a vegetarian, Caitlin lets others know that she loves animals and doesn't want to eat them. Not only does this little lady with a heart of gold have a great sense of style—just look at that ensemble!—she also has great taste in music and loves female-fronted bands like Rainer Maria and Rilo Kiley.

I seriously can’t get over the fact that this young lady is way into Rainer Maria. Not only is she precocious enough to have worked out the practical ethics of meat consumption for herself, but she already has the music taste of a disaffected Brooklyn scenester at the tender age of 6. I love it.

Congratulations, Caitlin and Ian! It’s not always easy to make a compassionate choice like going vegetarian when a lot of your classmates are doing something else, but it’s impressive as hell, and it’s something that you’ll never regret.