Pet Friendly By Sue Pethick

When Mary Ray of Woodbury, Minnesota unexpectedly passed away at her home during the winter of 2012, the last thing she would have expected was that her beloved perfectly healthy, young pet cat would be euthanized by the Woodbury Humane Society shelter instead of being sent to the home she had detailed in a note posted on her refrigerator. In retrospect, this would not have happened if the Woodbury Humane Society shelter had adopted the new and growing trend of “no-kill” philosophy for animal shelters, which simply stated, is an operating philosophy for a shelter that is based upon the premise that no healthy adoptable animal should be euthanized for any reason and that they should be sheltered until they find a loving home. The number of

Animal shelters provide protection and care to animals in need, but sadly have to kill animals from time to time. Ending an animal’s life with minimal pain is called animal euthanasia. No animal shelters practice euthanasia by choice, but most consider it a necessary system. Some reasons for euthanasia are lack of resources and funding in shelters, but the biggest contributor to why euthanasia exists is overcrowding. This problem can be traced to owners allowing their pets to have multiple litters of kittens or puppies without taking the responsibility to properly give them a home. This carelessness creates a huge domestic overpopulation problem. The consequences of overpopulation results in large numbers of animals being sent to humane societies. Animals are then euthanized to avoid overcrowding. Euthanasia is unethical and cruel; it should be banned from shelters.

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.

Animal Shelters have been the source of many rescued domesticated animals. Receiving about 8-10 million animals a year, they are important in keeping stray and abandoned dogs and cats off the streets in order to give them a safe and loving new home. According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), 47% of dogs and 42% of cats are rehomed (ASPCA.org). However, what happens to the other 53-58% of those animals that were not given a new home? Well, many of the animals left will be in the shelter trying to gain the attention of a fitting new owner excited with the thought of adopting them. However, after many months, the shelters become overpopulated with the number of dogs and cats that enter the compound leaving the shelter no choice but to remove the older animals by way of euthanasia. Euthanizing these animals are a way to decrease the surplus population roaming the streets and in the shelters. Although euthanasia may be called for in some cases, such as old age or terminally ill animals, it is inhumane to euthanize perfectly healthy ones for the sake of “space” and controlled population sizes.

Animal shelters put their animals to sleep because there are so many animals given to them. Sometimes, when people are given animals as gifts, they don't want them and drop them off at the local pound. Puppies and kittens are often adopted young and adorable. After a while, superficial pet owners decide that their pets have overstayed their welcome or have outgrown their cuteness and decide to get rid of them. As a result, the shelters become overcrowded with older animals and must euthanize the animals that have been there for a while to make room for new animals that have more of a chance at being adopted. It is a system that must be abolished, as

Every year 7,600,00 animals enter the shelter, and of those animals approximately 2,700,000 are euthanized. These numbers were shocking to me; I thought that no kill shelters were on the rise and I wondered with a heavy heart why so many healthy animals were still euthanized each year. In lecture and through further

There are not enough homes for all the animals that are born every year. Adopting a animal from a shelter helps weaken pet population cycle from overpopulation . “Each year 8 to 12 million dogs, cats, puppies and kittens are euthanized because

Each year, 3-4 million animals are euthanized in shelters. That means every 7 seconds an animal is euthanized (Paws). Most of these animals are healthy, young, and adoptable. Each day 10,000 humans are born in the US, and 70,000 puppies and kittens are born. That represents and human to 15 dogs and 45 cats. As long as that ratio exist, there will never be enough homes for all these animals. The sad reality for the majority of the companion animals that end up in shelters is that the final act of kindness they will experience is a gentle hand ending their life. The number of strays living in the US is 70 Million. The number of animals that die each year from cruelty, neglect, and exploitation, 30 Million. There are 4,000-6,000 animal shelters in the US and the number of animals that enter those shelters each year is 6-8 Million (Oxford Pets). 5 in 10 dogs and 7 in 10 cats in shelters are euthanized simply because there is no one to adopt them.

Overpopulation of cats and dogs is a big problem in animal shelters all over the country. Shelters give an unrealistic time period for adoption, which sadly falls too fast for many animals. A larger number of these animals die not because they are sick or have any behavior issues, although that is a big problem within the shelters. Simply because shelters don’t have the resources to take care of them. Animals, just like people have emotions and when someone is locked in a small space emotion tend to go crazy. A dog could act totally different in a cage than out in a home with a family. An estimated 17 million dogs and cats were killed in America’s shelters every year simply because they didn’t have homes. I believe there is a difference between

Approximately four million animals are euthanized in animal shelters each year in the United States alone. People often cite excuses and burdens related to being a pet parent. If more people understood the benefits of pet ownership, perhaps these animals would find a loving home. Animals are very important to humans for many reasons including: teaching children responsibility, providing companionship, and seem to provide health benefits.

Animal companionship is available through many choices and may include such examples as furry, four legged creatures or those that may slither and frighten even the most ardent animal lover. Still, the mutual bond that forms between owner and guardian transcends the daily duties associated with pet ownership. These emotional relationships are corroborated through personal stories and often presented in heartwarming movies and novels. Pet Friendly by Sue Pethick utilizes an encouraging theme to embody one example, which exemplifies how pet ownership, including the rewarding aspect of adoption, has a magnitude of positive benefits on the physical, emotional, and social well-being of the human companion.

Several animals are waiting in animal shelters to be adopted, but “for every puppy or kitten who is produced by any breeder, an animal awaiting adoption at an animal shelter loses his or her chance at finding a home—and will be euthanized” (“Breeders”). This creates the problem of overcrowding in the shelters and forces the shelter to euthanize animals earlier than they would have to if the shelter had plenty of space to keep the

Many people understand the awful living conditions in animal shelters. Upon entering, one immediately notices the stench of unwashed animals, the dirt and grime that coat the walls, and the pleading, desperate faces of the inhabitants. While this is a serious issue, there is a far more important one at hand: the euthanization, or killing, of healthy animals in shelters. In a population chart of dogs in the United States, “over a third (2.4 million) died in shelters”(Ortega-Pacheco & Jiménez-Coello 235). The high number of dogs killed in shelters emphasizes the need to prevent shelter animal euthanasia. In order to save the lives of healthy shelter animals, methods such as initiating adoption programs, desexing companion animals, increasing volunteer and staff effectiveness, and raising community awareness must be enforced.

The misconceptions of animal shelters and adoptions are perplexing. People do not understand the responsibility it takes to own an animal and they, in turn, do not understand an animal. The fact that society allows euthanasia to be used on misunderstood pets is terrible. People need to be educated that animals from a shelter are just like animals from a store or a breeder. They need to be shown the responsibilities, the facts. If this is not done or even considered then the population of abandoned animals will only increase and in its place, inexperience, selfishness, confusion, and misconception will

For years now, the lives and fate of homeless animals has been at stake. From overpopulation in shelters, abused dogs in mills, kill shelters opening up across the country, and private breeders breeding excessively, animals everywhere are loosing their lives because of these issues. “There are still more than 70 million homeless pets living in the U.S. Of these 70 million needy animals, only around six to seven million are put into shelters each year,” (Henn). Many of these animals without homes, are not even in shelters and are instead dying on the streets because there are too many to rescue in the small amount of time rescuers have. This expanding issue of animals being mistreated needs to come to an end. Many different problems are the