Case Study: Bows For Paws

In the field of therapy, there are numerous of therapy available out there for different type of individuals and situations as well. There is one type of therapy that usually contains people and animal, it is animal-assisted therapy is a therapeutic approach that brings animals and individuals with physical and/or emotional needs together to perform the therapy. Animal-assisted therapy tend to be focused on individuals either children or elderly for them to be able to connect with the animal thus feeling comfortable talking with the therapist. Pet therapy works for all ages, whether sick or not (Lanchnit, 2011). Although, this paper, most of the focus is on animal-assisted therapy towards children using dogs.

Every day in the United States, approximately 10,000 people and 70,000 puppies and kittens are born. There will never be enough homes for all of these animals, and as a result millions are killed by animal control or die by themselves every year. If people would adopt their pets from a rescue or shelter, and not buy from pet stores or breeders, many lives would be saved and a lot of misery would be averted. Also, you end up with a great animal.

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.

Animals that enter shelters are either lost pets that don’t have ID tags or microchips or stray and feral animals who have never known the love of a human.

In the United States, about 7.6 million companion animals enter animal shelters every year. The overpopulation of these animals and the fact that they have no homes leads to about 40% of them being euthanized (ASPCA). This is a global issue, but the root of it can be found within the local community at The Humane Society of the Ohio Valley.

Have you ever seen the ASPCA commercials where they show pictures of abused and neglected animals while the Sarah McLachlan song “In the Arms of an Angel” plays in the background? It is heart wrenching to watch and I always want to help those poor, defenseless animals. I took this opportunity to volunteer at the Town and Country Animal Shelter; a non-profit, no-kill shelter run entirely by volunteers serving eastern Nebraska and beyond. They are dedicated to providing a safe and caring living facility for pets in need until a loving home can be found, as well as helpful information for those wishing to rehome or adopt an animal. I chose this organization because they are a no kill shelter and they take in animals of all different sorts.

Have you ever been watching tv and the ASPCA commercial comes on, you know the one that has the song “Arms of an Angle.” The commercial makes you feel super sad for the poor animals that have been abused and victimized because of cruel behavior. They ask you to donate money to help these animals recover. What if when these animals do recover they were turned into Service animals. This is a matter of great concern in our community because we could help get most, if not all the animals adopted into a loving home. In order to understand the issue more completely, I looked at turning shelter animals into service animals. Other members of my Group project are looking at TNR/Euthanasia, Physiological aspects of owning a shelter animal, and Worldwide

The facility has not had to euthanize a healthy dog due to lack of space for several years. Programs have been developed such as the “special needs fund,” which allows for expensive medical treatment, rehabilitation, and adoption for many dogs who may not of had that opportunity in previous years. However, cats provide additional challenges due to overpopulation issues. Last year approximately 800 treatable-rehabilitable/manageable cats had to be euthanized. However, programs such as the trap/neuter/release program, foster care in private homes, PetSmart and veterinary clinic housing/adoptions, and free cat adoption incentives greatly reduced the overwhelming difficulties with housing/adopting cats (Nebraska Humane Society, 2014).

With nearly 3,000 adoptions each year the Longmont Humane Society in Longmont, Colorado is a magnificent animal shelter to adopt from, however, behind the scenes is a completely different story. The Longmont Humane Society has an overwhelming environment, dangerous situations, and emotionally draining events. As a result, this shelter negatively impacts the physical and emotional well-being of it’s employees.

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.

Well, luckily, there are shelters in different places that help animals that aren’t able to take care of themselves. Did you know that every year 3.3 million dogs and 3.2 million cats enter animal shelters in U.S.? If you think that figure was huge, now imagine around 1.5 million of them are being euthanized every year because the shelter doesn’t have enough money or volunteers (ASPCA) to take care of them. However, this number can be significantly reduced if we start to make a change. With my speech, I would like to persuade you to from now on look for pets in a shelter instead of a pet store. In order to do this, I will provide information about the differences between shelters and pet stores, reasons to adopt a pet, and how to do it.

Another concern for the use of animals in occupational therapy is how the therapist will obtain therapy animals (Cipriani et al., 2013, p. 215). If no suitable animals are immediately available from other sources, the cost of the therapist obtaining, training, and certifying their own therapy animal is not insignificant. However, if an animal is available from another source, whether it be a volunteer or an organization, proper investigation must be done to determine the reliability and legitimacy of the provider and of the therapy animal. Winkle suggests that appropriate therapy animals can be obtained from organizations that train professional assistance animals. Although therapy animals require different skills than assistance animals are trained for, much of the intermediate training and skills are the same (Winkle, 2012, p. 11).

Over the centuries, animals have suffered from cruelty from humans. In the United States, animals are beaten, neglected, or forced to struggle for survival. Animals have been inflicted with pain from humans for reasons other than self-defense. They have been slaughtered for their food and fur for personal gain in profit. In a majority of cases they have even been abused for someone’s own personal amusement or out of rage filled impulses. In some cases animals are found and rescued. They are given the second chance in life to experience what life should be like compared to what they once had.

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

Pet adoption brings myriad health benefits. One of these benefits is the loyal companionship of shelter animals. GAWS shelter’s acting chief executive, Mia Shaw states, “There are big positives for a person’s mental and physical wellbeing in adopting a pet – there are so many benefits to adopting a dog or cat, including companionship and friendship” (qtd. in Sum 19). These animals help human beings physically and mentally by providing another incentive to exercise, and by providing a steady companionship. These benefits could potentially save the lives of depressed people and improve the lives of incapacitated people. Inclusively, shelter animals reduce stress and other health-related issues. Rescue cat owner, Lisa Barley notes, “Not only will you benefit from the joys of a furry friend’s unconditional love, but a pet can have a positive impact on your health, from helping you stay physically active to reducing stress and lowering blood pressure” (48). Adopting a pet is much like obtaining a best friend, who will provide unconditional love and support when the person needs it the most. Furthermore, most of the shelter animals are caged for days or even months, resulting in being restricted from social environments. Consequently, these animals end up being friendlier when they are adopted and placed in a steady home, unlike the ones obtained