Say “animal” to any American, and there is a decent chance that the first image brought to mind will be a cat or a dog. Domesticated animals such as these permeate American culture, from the Puppy Bowl to the ongoing dog vs cat debate on Facebook posts and Internet forums. But although pets seem to be everywhere, millions of them every year slip through the cracks, winding up on the streets or vying for limited space in an animal shelter. This overpopulation makes animal homelessness in America a problem that needs to be addressed.
At the current moment, American shelters play host to far more animals then they can ever hope to place in a forever home. According to the ASPCA, noted animal rights group, every year, about 6.5 million dogs and
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As domesticated animals, cats and dogs have been bred over centuries to have high reproductive rates, much higher than that of their human counterparts. Animals can also reproduce at a younger age; for example, a cat can theoretically have kittens starting at about 5 months of age. Add in the facts that cats can have two litters a year, with an average of six kittens per litter, and one finds that the number of unwanted pets can very quickly skyrocket. Thus spaying (removing the sexual organs of female animals) and neutering (removing a male animal’s testes) procedures become incredibly important to maintaining a manageable level of homeless pets in America (“Pet Overpopulation”). Unfortunately, while many owners do “fix” their pets, a significant percentage do not, for a variety of reasons. Some believe that they cannot manage the financial cost of a spay/neuter operation, and yet others think that their pet’s personality will be negatively warped by losing their reproductive capacity Less common justifications include confusion over either what age to spay/neuter an animal or the health consequences of not having at least one litter, and a desire to have children experience “the miracle of birth” (“Reasons People Don’t Spay or Neuter Their Pets” ). These erroneous beliefs lead to the drastic increase of homeless animals nationwide when non-fixed …show more content…
As stated previously, homeless animals in America do not have enough loving homes to go around. While not all these alternative sources of pets are necessarily bad, they remain a factor keeping so many of the 6.5 million dogs and cats entering shelters out of homes by taking spots away (‘Companion Animal Overpopulation”). Furthermore, despite the existence of reputable breeders and pet stores, numerous places like these actually locate their animals from puppy mills. Puppy mills churn out dogs quickly by keeping their animals in inhumane conditions, and when dogs are deemed no longer profitable, they can be abandoned or killed, helping to contribute to the surplus of unwanted animals (“Top Reasons to Adopt a
“Approximately 7.6 million companion animals enter animal shelters nationwide every year. Of those, approximately 3.9 million are dogs and 3.4 million are cats” (Pet Statistics). Many animals are rescued and taken to shelters all around the United States. These shelters provide all the resources and take care of the animals until they are well or adopted. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, or ASPCA, is a non-profitable organization that is dedicated to preventing animal cruelty. You should donate money to the ASPCA or even adopt a pet if able to because it provides money to the animals to give them the necessities they need, it supports the animals that have been poorly treated, and it helps get animals out of poor
Imagine walking into an animal shelter, seeing the dogs and cats locked up behind bars wanting to be adopted. At an animal shelter, homeless animals are continuously looking for a home everywhere. An animal shelter in Ohio is CHA animal shelter, they are a nonprofit organization. They provide temporary care and shelter for cats and dogs and try their best to find them a loving home. Also, they provide surgery to spay or neuter the animal, and give the animal it’s required shots. Adding to, they provide an implanted microchip so the owner can track their animal if it is ever lost. CHA animal shelter has also provided a public website to view pictures of the cats and dogs and a brief background on the animal. They also have an option for donations for emergency situations, food, and supply, etc. The fact that they offer donations is remarkable because some individuals do not want to adopt a pet, but want to be apart of promoting adoption and give support to the organization. Not only does the organization try to make the pet’s life the best at the animal shelter, but CHA also hosts events to get people’s interest and gives the animals time out of the cage. I have adopted a dog from an animal shelter and it has been the best decision ever. Knowing I saved animals live brought more joy and love into my life, and nevertheless, he is the best little jack russel ever. Although I could have got a puppy from Petland, the choice of adopting a dog not only saved me money but also allowed me to save his life as well and improve his quality of life. An individual who adopts a pet is rescuing it from neglect and is giving that precise animal a second chance. In conclusion, I believe that CHA animal shelter is the best place to adopt a pet because it is less expensive than buying an animal from a pet store, it decreases puppy mills, and the individual can pick a dog or cat of any age.
An animal shelter is a place where stray, lost, abandoned, or surrendered animals, mostly dogs and cats and sometimes sick or wounded wildlife, are brought. Animal shelters are essential in the United States because of inattentive pet proprietorship and uncontrolled breeding of animals. People often get pets without a full understanding of the time, money, and space that they require. Regrettably, that recurrently results in pets being abandoned or abused by these owners. Apart from accountable breeders, owners should spay or neuter their pets to stop the serious overpopulation problem, which is happening in the United States. Shelters do not treat or stop the problem of unwanted pets but without them the stray pet population would be astronomical. There would be more problems with disease spread and an increased incidence of stray animal-induced injuries. A shelter should also be a domicile where animals could be benign and feel loved and taken care of; not just a drop off. The shelter in my community tries to do their best with their animals, but I feel that the shelter needs to be able to do their jobs better and for the animals to feel comfortable.
Later, most will end up "Testing Out" a different type of pet. The vast majority of people, who adopt a puppy or kitten, do not keep the animal for life. If this were to turn around and most people were to actually keep their pets through the good times and the bad, as they do their own children, the demand for these animals would go down. With less of a demand, breeders would not breed as many litters. Breeders are only breeding as many litters as they do, because people are buying them. The demand for a cute little puppy or kitten is great, because people do not keep the animal for life. Animals are recycled. If a breeder had a litter and could not sell the puppies, they would not keep having litter after litter. People are buying them, so breeders are breeding them. In a perfect world, breeders would breed less and force people to adopt from an animal rescue, but this is not a perfect world. The solution lies with the general public educating themselves, supply and demand, that's the solution. Lessen the demand and the supply will, on its own, lessen. The power lies within each and every one of us. Scripted by Kim Sturla (of the San Mateo ordinance fame) and her continual cross-country junketing preaching her message: "The problem is simple: we have too many dogs and cats. Too many for too few homes."
The North Shore Animal League will first discuss animal rights and how animal abuse and homelessness is at an all-time high today among animals. There will also be various pictures and statistics shown to offer the audience insight on which dog and cat breeds are the most abused and homeless. For example, due to their small size and temperament with people Chihuahuas are among one of the most abused and homeless dog breeds. The organization will then discuss their plan to remedy the issue of animal abuse and homelessness by opening up animal shelters in urban areas in Staten Island and Brooklyn to lower animal abuse and homelessness. These shelters will provide the animal’s food, water, and medicine, which are the main necessities for them to survive. By opening these new shelters, it will ensure the animal’s safety and well-being until people are ready to adopt and bring them home.
As we grow up in life, we often wonder what it would be like to have a pet. Some parents will go out to the far limits to get that one of a kind dog. Others will just tell their children that having an animal takes responsibility. Whether it is one or the other, we still have that thought in our head. In this paper, I want to look at one place where a child or parents can get that chance to make that dream of having a pet at home a reality. I welcome you to the humane society of San Diego. I often said to myself, this is where are the stray animals go. Not true, when you take a look some maybe stray but others come from a home that just plain got tired of them. Let me show you the journey of what the humane society of San Diego can do when it comes to looking at that pet to come home with you.
A lot of animals go into the shelters each year. For example, in the article, “11 Facts About Animal Homelessness,” from www.dosomething.org, it states, “Approximately 7.6 million companion animals enter animal shelters nationwide
The sheer existence of dog breeding facilities only worsens the pet overpopulation crisis. It was estimated earlier this year that shelters euthanized 5 million dogs annually simply because they couldn’t find homes for them and ran out of room. The conditions at most the puppy mills are horrific. In December of 2006 a writer for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals or PETA, explained how the dogs are caged in “wood and wire outdoor hutches, denied proper nutrition and veterinary care, given algae-coated water, and forced to sit in their own waste. Consequently, the dogs develop many diseases such as epilepsy, cataracts, eye lesions, and mammary tumors.
Countless lives locked away in cages and forgotten about have overwhelmed our society, it has left blood stains on our history as a species and if history has taught us anything, it’s that we have a choice to change our ways of adjusting to situations. A war which was fought in pursuit of ending such criminal means, yet we as human beings do little to nothing to end the horrific crimes of animal deaths in shelters. It is no secret that this world has become infused with problems that have extended from one side of the globe to the other. Amongst these problems lies a terrible truth: nearly every year, sums of almost eight million cats and dogs have been placed in shelters around the world. Out of these vast numbers, half will be
Allison Gray in her article “How Strict Animal Shelter Policies Can Cause Pets to Suffer,” offers a harsh critique that animal shelters hold a very strict adoption process by not allowing unqualified pet owners to adopt. She argues that adoption shelters want to find the perfect owner, but the perfect owner does not exist by her claims. Therefore, pets are not adopted out and are left to suffer in animal shelters. With the guidelines for pet adoption already in place she states that most pets were not adopted out because prospecting owners had an intact pet at home, their current pet was overdue for vaccines and they wanted an outdoor cat. She exudes that it is the shelters harsh policies that are keeping pets from being adopted out and finding their forever home.
US shelters accommodate somewhere around six to eight million dogs and cats every year, which is a significant number of pets to find homes
Animal overpopulation is one of the most impactful killers of animals, leading to about 2.4 million adoptable shelter-pets being euthanized every year in the United States (Humane Society). Such great numbers of homeless pets calls for terminating actions coming together with preventative measures already in place. One action is adopting pets from a shelter opposed to purchasing from a breeder. On a personal level, I have always adopted pets rather than purchase from breeders, in order to support shelter adoption. One particular pet comes to mind when thinking about my beginning love for shelter adoption, Lucky. Lucky was the first pet I remember having and getting from a shelter. He was a low-interest adoption dog due to his "aggressive" predestined nature
With record breaking cold temperatures being the norm this winter in New York, many homeless animals are at risk of starvation and even death. Although animal shelters are available to help and house those particular animals in need, the growing numbers of animals needing assistance are placing an immense amount of stress on the already overcrowded shelters. The lack of funding and space has led some to look for other options to aid in relieving some of the sufferings of the most vulnerable animals.
In addition to fostering, rescuing and adopting animals from shelters minimizes animal overpopulation and abandonment. Puppy mills are places that breed dogs and then sells them, however these places are considered harmful and inhumane to the dogs they are breeding. Many shelters rescue animals from situations like puppy mills, abuse and abandonment and put them up for adoption. Shelters however provide opportunities and gives a second chance to these animals. Therefore shelters have adoption events to help find these abandonment pets a good, new home. As result as well as reducing pet abandonment, getting a rescue from a shelter could also save a life if they are at a kill shelter.
While experiments on homeless pets make national headlines, the reality is that most dogs and cats used in