Comic Ricky Gervais roots for the bulls. Actor Marissa Lewis dreams of a world free of cages and chains. Well, one of my many “perfect world wishes” is that every day could be Valentine’s Day. Not only could I indulge daily in delectable vegan chocolates like those from Harbor Candy, which happen to be this week’s “Win It” Wednesday prizes …

… I also believe that people might become more loving and kinder to everyone around them, including their companion animals. All dogs would be allowed to stop and sniff on leisurely strolls instead of being yelled at and yanked along on hasty morning marches. Cats could enjoy their naps on newspapers, along with some gentle scratches from their human caretakers, instead of being shooed away. I’m confident that my wish would benefit not just my own addiction to chocolate but also the lives of countless otherwise beleaguered and bored companion animals.

So tell us, what’s your “perfect world wish” for animals? If you can’t narrow it down to one, enter as often as you’d like. Make us snort with laughter or choke back tears and you might win one of two boxes of Harbor Candy chocolates. We’ve got a deluxe box of chocolates for the grand-prize winner and a sampler box for the runner-up. If you win, feel free to share them with your sweetheart, but if you keep ‘em for yourself, we won’t tell.

The contest ends on February 3, 2010, and we’ll pick the winners on February 5, 2010. Be sure to read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you’re agreeing to both by commenting. Good luck!

Posted by Karin Bennett

Last night’s Unwrapped, which featured Sweet & Sara’s vegan s’mores, had me thinking that HD stood for highly delicious. Unlucky for me, I was stuck with unfulfilled temptation—the treats in prime viewing range, but nowhere near me to be eaten. Lucky for you, the lure of vegan marshmallows on Food Network last night has resulted in today’s “Win It” Wednesday prize—these Sweet and Sara heart-shaped, chocolate-dipped, cruelty-free marshmallows:

To win these confectionary hearts, tell us how you’ll celebrate Valentine’s Day with the animals in your life. The three readers with the holiday plans that warm us the most will each get three of these giant, hand-dipped marshmallows. If you can’t wait for us to announce the winners, hurry over to Sweet & Sara’s Web site—right now, you can get a 20 percent discount by entering FN20, the Food Network Code, at checkout.

Leave your Valentine’s animal activities in the comments section. The contest ends on February 3, 2010, and we’ll pick the winners on February 5, 2010. Be sure to read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you’re agreeing to both by commenting. Good luck!

Posted by Logan Scherer

Newsflash: The best sequel of 2009 was not Fast & Furious 4. Nope, the best update on a classic was the revamp of one of the greatest fur-busting tools on the market—the FURminator. As far as brushes for companion animals go, the FURminator 2.0 is like The Godfather II (or New Super Chick Sisters)—it may be the second installment, but it’s the mane event. With a new ergonomic rubber handle and a FURejector button that allows the brush to clean itself, the “deLuxe” FURminator is an awesome advancement in companion-animal hair removal, making life a little nicer for your furniture and for Fido (dogs who are brushed regularly have healthier skin and coats).

petsitusa / CC

How can you win this groundbreaking gadget? Just pick a movie and come up with a clever title for its animal-themed sequel—like “Catvatar: The Feline Colonization of Pandora.” (Admit it, you’d see it!) We’re giving a FURminator 2.0 to the reader who comes up with wittiest title, so put your linguistic superpowers to work. Come on, I know you can do better than “Catvatar”!

Enter by posting your sequel idea in the comments section. The contest ends on January 20, 2010, and we’ll pick the winners on January 22, 2010. Be sure to read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you’re agreeing to both by commenting. Good luck!

Posted by Logan Scherer

I don’t know about you, but I’ve already accomplished my first goal of the new decade—to spice up my bedtime. I’ll admit it: Before I got myself a pair of PETA’s plaid pajama bottoms, I was just a gray-sweatpants kind of guy. I mean, don’t get me wrong—I love myself a good pair of sweatpants, but plaid is the Stella McCartney of nighttime couture.

With 2010 just days away, I know we’ve all got the future on our mind, but all this talk about PJs gets me thinking back to the days when I was sporting onesies and sleeping with Piggy, my favorite stuffed animal. By the time I was 5, he had one-and-a-half ears and had turned from piglet pink to who-knows-what brown. To win a pair of our plaid pajama bottoms, tell us about the plush animal you used to (or for all you young-at-hearts, still) bring to bed with you. (Come on, we all had one!) We’ll give a pair to the three readers with the most original slumberland memories—make us laugh, cry, and wish we were 5 again!

Enter by posting your anecdote in the comments section. The contest ends on January 13, 2010, and we’ll pick the winners on January 15, 2010. Best sure to read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you’re agreeing to both by commenting. Good luck!

Posted by Logan Scherer

Being, um, male, I don’t frequent Forever 21. But I’ve made some pilgrimages to the fur-shunning shopping holy land in my lifetime—with my female friends, who all swear by it. And I believe that real men sport purple and pink, so I’d totally tote (sorry, had to!) Forever 21’s “Love You Tons” tote bag and the matching water bottle:

Parched yet? This awesome twosome could be yours—just tell us what you’re planning to do to help animals in 2010. We’re giving away a tote and a water bottle to the reader with the resolution that inspires us the most, and the five runners-up will all get water bottles.

Enter by posting your New Year’s resolution in the comments section—and follow us on Twitter for another chance to win a water bottle on January 4. The contest ends on January 6, 2010, and we’ll pick the winners on January 8, 2010. Be sure to read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you’re agreeing to both by commenting. Good luck!

Posted by Logan Scherer

We all know that the secret lives of our animal companions are fascinating—and now we can prove it. The Pet’s Eye View Camera—the first-ever digital collar camera—snaps photos from your furry friends’ point-of-view, so you can finally see what they do when you’re not around. And its sleek, sturdy design ensures that no animal will even know it’s there.

gadgetmadness / CC

Say “soy cheese,” because this awesome camera could be yours. We’re giving away one of these groundbreaking, snapshot-taking marvels to the reader who comes up with the cleverest and most photo-friendly saying to get even the most camera-shy to smile.

Enter by posting your “cheese” substitute in the comments section. The contest ends on December 30, 2009, and we’ll pick the winner on December 31, 2009. Best sure to read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you’re agreeing to both by commenting. Good luck!

Posted by Logan Scherer

As I’m a firm believer that a gal can never have too many purses, I think this week’s “Win It” Wednesday is quite possibly the most drool-inducing one yet. Check it out:

Bird Handbags hooked us up with its fabulous “L’il Lady” bag, which retails for $214 and is made from recycled Army tents (not a stitch of leather on it). I have a feeling that some lucky winner will soon proclaim this designer bag to be a new fave.

Here’s how you can win: Imagine that you’re calling in a dedication to a radio station—include a brief message and name the song (and its artist) that best sums up your feelings about your favorite bag. If I could enter (sniff—I can’t), here’s how my entry would go:

This is Karin from Brooklyn. To the one who is always by my side, the one who never complains about carrying all of my cruelty-free lip glosses and anti-fur stickers, I dedicate “Little Green Bag” by the George Baker Selection.*

Have a go—and please have some fun with this challenge. Submit your most heartfelt or funniest dedication. The person who wows us wins the prize.

The contest ends on December 16, 2009, and we’ll choose one winner on December 18, 2009. Be sure to read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you’re agreeing to both by commenting. Good luck!

Posted by Karin Bennett

*Obviously, my dedication was influenced by this week’s prize, as I don’t even own a green bag—yet.

Knockers. Melons. Doobs (as in “dude boobs”). I’ve been thinking about breasts a lot lately.

I’ve also been seeing pink. No surprise, really—after all, October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which means that retailers everywhere are displaying pink wares. The problem is that many of the charities that benefit from the sale of pink merchandise fund cruel and misguided experiments on animals, although the Love/Avon Army of Women is on the right track by only funding research involving human test subjects.

PETA’s got the perfect cure for those who want to show support for breast cancer awareness and animal protection—our “Breasts, Not Animal Tests” tank top, which is the prize for this week’s “Win It” Wednesday challenge.

How do you win it? Come up with another cruelty-free breast cancer awareness slogan. I can think of a lot of fun possibilities, so please be creative. We’ve got three tank tops to give away to the people who submit the funniest entries. The contest ends on November 11, 2009, and we’ll choose three winners on November 13, 2009. Be sure to read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you’re agreeing to both by commenting. Good luck!

Posted by Karin Bennett

Star light, star bright,
First star I see tonight,
I wish I may, I wish I might
Eat an entire Chocoholic Basket tonight.

Seriously, I bet I could eat this Pangea gift basket in one sitting. But it sucks to be me right now because I can’t enter “Win It” Wednesday contests*. You, however, can win this chocolate-lover’s dream—simply post a comment to submit your clever, funny dialogue, à la Go Fug Yourself, for the picture below:

commons.wikimedia / CC

We’ve got one Chocoholic Basket to give away to the author of the caption that makes us laugh the hardest. The contest ends on October 28, 2009, and we’ll choose one winner on October 30, 2009. Be sure to read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you’re agreeing to both by commenting. Good luck!

Posted by Karin Bennett

*Actually, that’s probably a good thing.

It’s almost time for Halloween: my favorite holiday. Every year, I’m eager to gorge on vegan Swedish Fish Sea Kittens and decide on a costume.

This year, I’ve been thinking about going as Evil Ronald McDonald, with frizzed-out red hair, a hatchet, and a blood-splattered yellow jumpsuit—all topped off with PETA’s Ronald mask.

Now PETA’s quirky “Tofu Never Screams” tee and tote, which just happen to be this week’s “Win It” Wednesday prize, have me thinking about a second costume idea. I may finally have a perfect use for that big, horrible block of Styrofoam in my hall closet.

How do you win one of this week’s prize packages? Share your most creative, animal-friendly costume idea and the tote (perfect for carrying home that mountain of candy) and the T-shirt can be yours.

The contest ends on October 14, 2009, and we’ll choose the three most creative comments as winners on October 16, 2009. Be sure to read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you’re agreeing to both by commenting. Good luck!

Posted by Karin Bennett