WHEN SHE GOT BACK to her rural home after participating in an animal-rights march in Washington, D.C., my friend Joan let her pet cat out into the yard.  Twenty minutes later she was shocked to find the cat returning with a baby rabbit in its mouth.  Removing the rabbit, Joan placed it in a box, grabbed her car keys and headed for the animal shelter.  On the way she accidentally hit a squirrel.  She stopped the car, put the squirrel in the box and went on to the shelter.  There, a wildlife worker told Joan that he could do nothing for the animals.  "But I'm glad you brought them in," he said.  "Now we can feed the owl."

-- Contributed to Reader's Digest "Life In These United States" by Frank Malandra