Graphic accounts of animals being tortured to death distress me terribly. The worst of it is that there's nothing I can do for the animal itself, which has usually died an agonizing death.

The organizations reporting these horrors do so because they want me to be moved to donate money. But it doesn't work that way. These ghastly accounts don't make me sit down and write a check. They make me feel helpless, and sick to my stomach.

So it's wonderful to find an organization -- the Animal Legal Defence Fund (ALDF) that takes a different and more empowering approach. When the ALDF tells you a horror story, they also give you the opportunity to do something about it.

For example, when a sociopath in Oklahoma recently dragged his dog to death behind his bicycle, ALDF urged members of the public to email the relevant prosecutor. And they made it so easy. You could add your name to a pre-written letter, edit the letter to suit yourself, or even write a letter of your own. Click, click -- and you'd done something!

I suspect this is more effective than writing a check. Even the most indifferent official will take note when his inbox suddenly fills up with letters from all over America -- especially if he's an elected official. Maybe that's how we'll end animal abuse, one case at a time.