Pet Friendly By Sue Pethick

The myth of pet overpopulation is a huge campaign that’s considered truth nationwide. The National Animal Interest Alliance (NAIA) explains this myth and why it’s used. Activists use the myth to put all blame of animal shelter death on breeders. Radical groups perpetuate this myth by making breeding restrictions. This myth is the biggest cause of euthanizing healthy, adoptable animals. Per year, about 3.1 million dogs are adopted while 2.1 million are euthanized. However, this number for euthanized dogs is not broken down by reasoning for euthanization. Overpopulation propagandists often claims this number reaches over 6 million each year. While shelters heavily euthanize adoptable dogs and breeders increasingly use puppy mills, each area across

7.6 million animals enter the shelters and with that 2.7 million animals are euthanized in the shelter. The same amount euthanized gets adopted each year, which is depressing. One would think more would get adopted or simply taken in if lost to avoid the deaths or strays of animals such as the cats that was previously stated. Animals are human companions that show love and guard or are just fun to help people out in therapeutic ways. Humans take animals for granted with how we send them to shelters not caring if it’s going to end up with them dead in a week of being at that

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

According to the The Humane Society of the United States roughly six-million animals are handled by shelters and clinics every year; though, only four million are adopted or claimed . The other two million animals are left in these shelters until they die or are subjected to cruel practices of euthanasia. There are simply too many animals and not enough people who are open to adoption. The animal overpopulation crisis and euthanasia cruelty can be prevented by an approach called animal birth control and adopting.

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.

Numerous people have pets that accompany them through life. Cats, rabbits, birds, and dogs are popular household pets. They keep their human owners company and quickly become part of the family. Owners refer to them as their "children," and younger kids in the family consider pets to be their "siblings." Immediately, an unbreakable bond is formed between pet and owner. Cuddling with dogs or cats seem to cause stress to disappear. Everything seems to be okay when a dog or cat sits on your lap. There is a lot of love there. Additionally, dogs seem to be the most popular pets, although I do know lovely "cat people." Actress Maggie Lawson, (Psych) knows all about dogs, how they are our best friends, and why we should all love them.

Results from a nationally conducted survey show that ninety-six percent of Americans agree that society carries the obligation of caring for and protecting animal companions (“Dollars and Sense” 2). This public outcry for better pet treatment applies to Ohioans as well; the movement’s increasing popularity brings up the question of whether or not shelters in Ohio should adopt a no-kill policy or stand by the old euthanasia philosophy. Supporters of kill shelters complain that the alternative overwhelmingly relies on external funds and volunteers and could become overpopulated with pets. In contrast, proponents of the no-kill policy argue that it is more humane than its opponent, employing methods such as neutering,. foster care, and adoption

Did you know that about 3.2 million pets (of which 1.6 million are dogs) are adopted each year? Also, 1.5 million pets end up being euthanized, or put to sleep, each year, with about 670,000 dogs. The main reason is because the shelters are full and do not have any room for new animals. Dogs should be adopted from a shelter instead of a breeder. It is cheaper to adopt, you save time off your dog, and you are saving a dog’s life

In fact, the behavioral issues in puppy mill dogs may not “emerge for months or even years after adoption” (“Model Laws” sec. commentary). Because of these deceiving tendencies, puppy mill dogs appear to be a better deal at first glance. However, ironically, animals that are initially adopted from puppy mills have a high probability of being given to an animal shelter due to their behavioral problems, which make up 10% of all animals brought into shelters (Pet Statistics sec. 2). This means that not only are puppy mills taking up the opportunities for life that shelter puppies should have first dibs at, but they are also taking up a significant amount of the limited space in shelters. As a result of the constant supply that puppy mills churn out, 2.7 million animals that cannot be adopted from shelters in a timely manner are euthanized (Pet Statistics sec. 1). 2.7 million animals will enter a shelter one day, and never be able to leave cradled in the loving arms of a new family. Instead, they meet their end by the prick of a needle, lying on a sterile metal tabletop in the dark back room of a shelter. In perspective, 2.7 million animals a year boils down to more than 5 animals per minute. In the time taken to read this paper, more than 50 unwanted animals across America will be euthanized, regardless of their state of health. This

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.

Although, these groups are generally organized in breed specific categories, such as Greyhound Rescues or Pekingese Rescues, they share the same problem. That problem is finding homes for their rescues that they acquire from their local shelters. Sometimes if they have no potential homes in their data base, they are force to leave the dogs in the shelters, where they are generally euthanized on average after 3 -5 days if not adopted. Even no kill shelters eventually euthanize dogs as well. According to the Humane Society, “about 2.4 million healthy, adoptable cats and dogs—about one every 13 seconds—are put down in U.S. shelters each year” (The Humane Society of the United States, 2016). For these dog enthusiasts, the practice of euthanizing canines is heartbreakingly problematic, which is occurring at an alarming rates despite of their best efforts to find

As a kid, I always loved animals. My first word was doggie, and there was a little, black toy poodle that lived near my childhood home. There was something about being around animals that drew me to them. It could be that I’m typically an introvert, and talking to an animal does not compare to that of a human being; they are a comfort to me, and I enjoy their company wholly. The first time I read about animals was in a book my Nana gave me called What’s a Dog For? by John Homans. The author told a tragic story of the moral issues and challenges of man’s best friend in our culture through a shelter dog named Stella. By this time, I knew the shocking truth about animal abuse in the world, especially through those painfully tear-jerking commercials. Nonetheless, this book encouraged me throughout my later school career to take advantage of every opportunity to help others who had the same determination in animal care as me, which started with shelters. While there, I not only came to see the joy in the dogs’ eyes when I went to see them but the need

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

Most people who own a pet of some sort know that they have a very strong emotional connection to their animals. Man’s best friend. When they read the title they think of their pets and begin to realize all of the great lengths they would go to protect their animals. In some cases pets are more important to the owners than the owner themselves. As you begin to read

Unfortunately, this is the harsh reality of animal overpopulation. Overcrowded shelters have no other choice but to euthanize these dogs and cats in large numbers. In fact, more animals leave these shelters dead than they do alive. Reducing the amount of unwanted pets in the nation is something that I am strongly passionate about. This issue is highly preventable through a variety of ways. Spay and neuter surgery is a main contributor for animal population control. Support from animal care facilities is necessary for these procedures to take place and stop the ongoing issue. Along