People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is the Ron Paul of advocacy groups: Too extreme for the average American, who might sympathize with their positions but can’t abide their tactics.

The difference: PETA has shown occasional flashes of rationality, as witness this ad (a variation of which ran in Thursday’s Wall Street Journal):

Uggie PR via the Huffington Post two months ago:

Your adopted pet may not win an award at Cannes Film Festival or publish his own autobiography … but it’s not entirely impossible. In a new ad campaign for PETA, Uggie The Dog, best known for his recent role in The Artist, poses with the words “I’m Uggie, and I was adopted. Millions of Dogs Are Waiting in Animal Shelters for a Loving Home. Adopt, Don’t Buy.”

Abandoned twice for being too “wild,” Uggie was rescued by professional dog trainer Omar Von Muller. Although Muller never planned on keeping the dog, he quickly fell in love, and Uggie soon joined the upper echelon of thespian canines.

So, yes, adopt a shelter dog. Whether you adopt PETA is another question entirely.