There's something different about the dogs and cats in this pet shop. Shoppers didn't spot the difference. Would you?

What's wrong with these dogs and cats? Not a thing :) When an organisation in Brazil -- Quatro Patinhas -- swapped out animals in pet shop windows with rescues, buyers still fell in love with them as hard and fast as they would've a purebred puppy. And I think I can safely say that the feeling was mutual :)

I love the tag line on this video -- better than buying a life is saving one. If you'd like more people to hear this beautiful message, please share this video. And make the pledge today to be a lifesaver and always adopt your pets.

P.S. Have you seen our latest ad exposing the truth about puppy factories in Australia on national TV? Click here to watch it.

Normally when there's talk about politics I'm all like:

But I heard some news that made me go like:

Last weekend was the state election in Victoria. And the new Labor government has promised that they will make sure that NO cats and dogs are sold in pet shops UNLESS they're from an animal rescue group :) 

So not only will more animals like me get a second chance and a comfy bed and walks and cuddles, but it means that people can be sure that their new friend doesn't come from a horrible puppy factory. (Yup, it's true. Most pet shop puppies come from puppy factories :( See for yourself.)

I reckon this should be the rule in ALL Australia don't you? Maybe you could write to your local politics person and ask them to do the same in your state. I would but ... I'm a dog.

The best news is you don't have to wait for any rules to be changed to be a friend to dogs and cats and help stop puppy factories. By pledging to always adopt, rather than buying from a pet shop, you will be a hero for someone just like me :)

I just heard some news that really made my tail wag! This really awful puppy factory place has closed down for good! That means no more dogs like the one in the picture will have to live in this sad, sad place at Kerang (Victoria).

They call it a puppy factory but I call it dog prison. I used to live in one and take it from me, it's not nice. Concrete walls and no love -- that's what dogs in a puppy factory get. And this one in Kerang was just like that. I don’t even want to think about how many puppies got taken away from their mums who had to stay in the prison.

But thank my lucky paws for caring people because somebody told Animals Australia about this puppy factory and do you know what they did? They showed everybody! And just like me nobody wanted dogs to have to live in that place anymore. And now, after being investigated for cruelty, the owners have decided to shut it down!

One day I think all of the puppy factories will be closed down. Since I was adopted I have only met really nice people who want all the dogs to have waggly tails like I do now and so I think that with all these people in the world it won't be long before all the dogs are freed and getting so much love they can't even keep their paws on the ground because of all the waggling.

The way that you can help make this happy, happy day come true is by saying that you'll always adopt animals from a shelter when you are looking for a new best friend. Animals Australia has shown that puppy factories often sell puppies in pet shops and online so if you want to make sure that you aren't supporting puppy factories then adopt, adopt, adopt! And the best part is you will get a loving friend like me who needs a home for life :)

G2g steal a toy off Buddy (my brother) now. Byeee!

Do you know that song "how much is that doggy in the window?" My grandpa used to sing it to me. But I could never have imagined the real cost of pet shop window puppies ... the hidden suffering that goes on behind closed doors.

A new investigation has revealed the secret ties between one of Australia's biggest puppy factories based in Victoria, and a number of popular pet stores. If you love dogs, this will shock you:

This is the true cost of many pet shop puppies — a life of misery for the dogs left behind. Not just in Victoria either... Puppy factories are still legal across Australia, and the RSPCA estimates that most dogs sold in pet shops come from puppy factories.

I'm not surprised that some of the pet shops in this investigation were caught misleading customers when they were asked where their dogs came from. Who would want to own up to supporting a puppy factory?

The dogs who are used for breeding in these places will never get to chase a ball, run along the beach or get a belly rub. They will never feel the love of a family. Most of them are forced to have puppies over and over again until they can't any longer. Then they're killed.

As someone who has always had dogs in my family, this breaks my heart. It's sadly ironic, don't you think, that the animals in these places have been bred to be "man's best friend" but they are deprived of any human love :(

But there's some good news! It's easy to make sure that you never ever ever ever EVER support puppy factories. Simply make the choice to always adopt your furry family members from an animal shelter.

Animal shelters are overflowing with dogs and cats who desperately need loving homes. Be a lifesaver and make the pledge to always adopt today.

You might even give an animal the love of a family that they've never known! Unleashed's very own Nellie was adopted from a shelter and she had spent the first five years of her life as a breeding dog in a puppy factory. But I'll let her tell you the story herself ;)

Have you ever adopted an animal from a shelter? I'd love to hear your story in the comments.

Have you ever had a sick pet? It can be utterly heartbreaking. Leighton Naylor was devastated when his goldfish Einstein got an illness that affected his swim bladder, making it impossible for him to swim anymore. He would just sink to the bottom, stuck on his side.

“He just looked depressed,” says Naylor. “I thought I’m going to have to do something about this.”

So he used some recycled tubing to make a flotation device just for little Einstein. Now... well, just look at him:

The best thing about this story is that every animal deserves kindness, no matter how small or scaly or different from us they might be. And Einstein was lucky enough to get just that :)

I know that, like Naylor, you’ve been going out of your way to help animals. So what’s something kind you’ve done to make a difference for animals? Pop your story in the comments below.

I'm just as guilty of humming along to Justin Bieber's 'Baby' as the next person, but I am fed up with hearing about this guy's complete disregard for the proper care of companion animals.

If you happen to not be one of Bieber’s nine million followers on Instagram, then you might have missed the brief appearances of several unlucky animals amongst the incessant stream of shirtless selfies. So here’s an overview:

Johnson

This is Johnson. He is a baby boa constrictor. Back in 2011, he was Bieber’s 'pet' for all of three months before the singer seemingly got bored and auctioned little Johnson off for charity. Interestingly, charitybuzz, who were responsible for the auction, added the disclaimer that "keeping a pet snake is a long-term responsibility." Hmm, clearly this does not apply to floppy haired pop stars.

Johnson was lucky enough to be 'won' by an animal lover who was shocked that Bieber was auctioning off the baby boa. The winning bidder has since donated Johnson to the Reptile and Amphibian Discovery Zoo in Minnesota. "I wanted to make sure the snake would be well taken care of for the rest of his life," he explains.

Pac

This is Pac. He was Justin's hamster. Bieber's sparkly-eyed love for Pac lasted approximately two months. Then, Bieber gave Pac away to a random screaming fan after a concert in Atlanta. The California Hamster Association (CHA) slammed Bieber for this casual handover. "Hamsters are fragile creatures that often succumb quickly to illness and death, especially when faced with sudden environmental change," they said.Three months later, Pac was dead. May he rest in peace.

Mally

This is Mally. Some banana-brain thought it would be a good idea to give this baby capuchin to Biebs as a gift for his birthday in March this year. Monkeys are wild animals and should not be kept as pets, particularly not by a travelling celebrity with clearly very little interest in the welfare of animals.

Mally was with Biebs for a whole month (notice a trend here?) before he was abandoned in Germany as Justin was unable to provide the right paperwork to get him on the plane. Bieber was given six weeks to come up with the right paperwork.

Meanwhile, Mally was kept in isolation in a German animal shelter, alone and only 14 weeks old. Poor Mally. Monkeys are naturally very social animals and baby capuchins will normally stay by their mother’s side until they are a year old.

Bieber continued with his tour and the deadline to collect Mally passed by. Finally Mally was put into a German wildlife park where he now lives happily with other monkeys.

(Interestingly, Bieber captioned this picture of Mally "He's like a human." Yea. Good one Biebs. Feeney49 gets it.)

[NOTE: This comment seems to have been removed.]

Tuts

This is Tuts. (Is anybody else getting exhausted by this list?) She is an adorable ginger Persian kitty. She has been in the 'care' of arguably the world's worst pet owner for a few weeks now. Justin picked her up within what seemed like minutes of Mally being seized by the German wildlife park -- shorter than the time in-between posting half naked selfies on his Instagram.

Tuts looks a little worried doesn’t she? And it’s no wonder, knowing Bieber’s history with companion animals. And also having a picture of herself captioned "Time to die." Hopefully Tuts will have a fate better than Pac’s :(

Mally? Or Mally II?

The latest is that Bieber held up a plane for eight hours in Miami because he wanted to go pick up his monkey from Palm Beach. Can you beliebe it? Whether this is a new monkey, or if somehow Mally has miraculously made it to Florida, my reaction is the same:

This dude is not even responsible enough to mind his temper, let alone an animal of any kind. I sure hope he hasn’t taken Mally away from his furry friends at the wildlife park.

What advice would you like to give to Biebs about taking care of companion animals? (P.S. He’s only a tweet away: twitter.com/justinbieber).

'Don't Litter Australia' is the slogan of this year's National Desexing Month. Isn't it sad that dogs and cats are so often discarded like rubbish because they are unable to be rehomed? Around 200,000 cats and dogs are put down in Australia every year. That's roughly 23 animals put down every hour of every day.

Did you know that one female cat and her offspring can produce 420,000 cats in just seven years? There are not enough crazy cat ladies in the world for that many cats. No wonder dog and cat overpopulation is a big issue.

One of the best ways to do your bit to help prevent this problem is to make sure your furry family members are desexed. And if you haven't already, then this month is the time to do it!

July is National Desexing Month, organised by National Desexing Network. Over 100 vets across the country will be offering cheap desexing this month.

If you have already had your companion animal desexed, then give yourself a treat. You are helping to save lives. What’s more, your dog or cat is likely to live a longer and happier life thanks to you. Desexing helps to reduce the risk of certain cancers and other diseases. Desexed animals are also likely to be more affectionate and become better companions. So give your dog or cat a treat too, just for being so cute.

National Desexing Month is also an opportunity to spread the word about how desexing can help animals. Do you have a friend, relative or neighbour who has not had their companion animal desexed? Maybe they are not aware of the importance of desexing animals or are concerned about the cost. Why not direct them to www.ndn.org.au where they can learn about the benefits and apply for cheaper desexing this month? Or head here to share the message on social media.

I always love hearing about how people got into animal rights. For me, it was discovering how animals are raised for food. Lots of people just always loved animals. But how can someone go from being scared of animals to rescuing them and campaigning for them?

That's exactly what happened to New York activist, Eddie Lama. To find out how someone can make such an incredible transformation, check out this great doco (called "The Witness") about his inspiring story.

(Btw, you can watch the full doco online here. So once you've checked out the trailer below, grab some popcorn and a friend to watch the full film! And just be warned that while most of the doco is inspiring and positive, there are a few graphic scenes.)

Click here to watch the full film online now.

So what did you think? Feeling inspired? Now tell me... How did you get into animal rights?

I hope you and your four-legged friends have a very Merry Christmas!