The Overpopulation Of Pets

In 2000, 68 million dogs were owned in the United States. In 2017, a total of around 89.7 million dogs in the United States alone, lived in a household. As the years past more and more people are adopting dogs. Some of those owners are new to having a pet and should learn how to take care of them.

Pet owners have a wide variety of views about their responsibilities. Some feel that just providing food and water is enough and therefore do not provide a secure environment which is essential for all pets. Without this secure environment, a female in heat is a target for every male around. The males will go to great lengths to get to a female in heat. Her scent is a driving force. Some owners will allow their females to continue to come into heat over and over again, making her a target for every un-neutered male around, without trying to solve the problem. The males' owners will allow their animals to continue to roam freely because they feel they are not the responsible party to the unwanted pregnancies. Homes may be found for some of the offspring, some may die, and some may just wander off. Of those to survive, the breeding cycle can start all over again. Also, many owners do not realize that having a pet is a commitment for the life of the pet. When some owners get tired of their current pet, want a new pet, or get irritated because the pet does not meet their expectations, they will dump the pet thinking it will fend for itself or find a new home. Of the animals taken into shelters, 47% of the cats and 55% of the dogs are not spayed or neutered (Patelis).

Introduction: Today I will persuading my audience the benefits of getting a dog as a pet. Dogs can offer companionship, protection and even improve your health. Sixty eight percent of U.S households own a pet according to the 2017-2018 National Pet Owners Survey calculated by American Pet Products Association (APPA), and majority of the pets owned are dogs, weighing in at sixty percent. Dogs are domesticated animals that consist of various breeds such as Yorkie Terriers, German shepherds and more. There are over three hundred breeds according to the World Canine organization. This organization is the largest registry of certified dog breeds. This canine organization recognizes three hundred and thirty nine breeds of dogs which are classified into ten groups based on the dog’s function or size. There are various unique breeds that can fit into one’s specific lifestyle, giving no excuse not to have a dog to compliment ones personality.

Attention Getter: We all see them, those sad little faces that look up at us with their sad eyes. They need homes and families that love them, they are stray animals.

Dogs are what their owners make of them, they are shere products of their environments and feed off of how their owners treat them. For example, in America pit bulls, over the years have been portrayed as harmful or aggressive. These views have lead to manying uncompassionate acts towards this lost breed. Such as, selling the dogs for drugs to people who could care less about them to forcing pitbulls in harmful dog fights. In America’s society today some often view pitbulls as just a way of breeding dogs. This means that they essentially are not taking part in what it actually means to have a pet. People are suppose to provide, feed, care, and love their dogs and in some cases that’s not their important objective. The underlying issue that

Dog breeding is dangerous because to make a perfect dog they too often inbreed and cause birth defects and other health issues in dogs. Terry Allen, an “In These Times” senior editor who has written the magazine’s monthly investigative health and science column since 2006, argues in “We’re Breeding Dogs to Death” that “neither price, pedigree nor being loved like a member of the family can shield a dog from the pain, breathing difficulties, cancer, panoply of debilitating genetic disorders, mental illness, crippling physiognomy and shortened life span that disproportionately plague purebreds.” The article “Selective Breeding or Artificial Selection” explains that in dogs, the “frequency of being homozygous for rare recessive disorders increases when inbreeding occurs, potentially causing severe

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) describes puppy mills situation to be overcrowded, unsanitary, without adequate food, water, and veterinary health care. Female dogs are even bred at every opportunity without a rest to maximize profit (“Puppy Mills”). Dogs are kept locked up in wired cages, stacked on top one another and sometimes their excrements are not properly monitored. Thus, this leads to unknown genetic disorders and poor genetic quality which makes it difficult for the dogs to live for a long time. In the end, it will cause a lot of stress and problems for the family down the road due to the dogs’ health. Many people who are unaware of these living conditions often tend to overlook their puppies neglect and suffering. When purchasing a new pet from a pet store, many people do not wonder where their pet may have come from, instead, they are more engulf in their excitement to bring home a new family

The number of dogs in the streets has risen these past few years and it’s only going to rise even more. Not only does this harm the dog themselves, it puts a burden on humans too. The dogs can attack people and they can often bring destruction to a neighborhood. Puppy mills are often unsanitary and are too cramped for the dogs. They force the female dogs to give birth, even at poor conditions. They puppies get ill

There are 1.5 dogs and cats put to sleep every second & 4-6 million dogs and cats are euthanized every year, states the Humane Society. The pet overpopulation epidemic has become more than overwhelming. But who is at fault for the ever increasing number of homeless and euthanized pets each year? The public, government and breeders all have their hand in this catastrophic epidemic. So who is to blame for this

The effects of pet ownership have been shown to be beneficial for humans as well as animals in need of a home. People purchase pets for a variety of reasons, spanning from a need to get more exercise, a desire for companionship, to a desire for unconditional love. Other people simply just love animals and their lives feel complete without a furry friend. However, not all of the causes of pet ownership are positive. Some people purchase a pet because they think the animal looks cute but abandon the pet after they discover the hard work it requires to train it and keep it healthy. Other people do so out of ego, such as purchasing a large, vicious pet they hope will intimidate others and later find they cannot control. The motivational causes of owning a pet will determine the eventual effects of ownership.

The U.S. owned-dog population is 78.2 million and it is growing steadily. With a population so large it is no surprise that the pet

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

If simply one dog procreates and has five puppies, then if those puppies procreate over a lifetime, the one dog and five puppies will proliferate into a multitude of dogs. The reality is that 75% of these dogs will ultimately end up in shelters and euthanize.

The average yearly rate of healthy dogs that get euthanized is 1.5 million. That is 1.5 million opportunities to have a bestfriend or to give a dog an amazing life. So many dogs are rejected because people want cute puppies to play with. What most people do not understand, is that grown dogs can be just as energetic and cute as puppies. Also with most grown dogs, people would not have the hassle of house training the dog.

In my opinion, this is a terrible issue. These animals are dying because of this with no fault of their own. If the overpopulation in shelters continues we will not have a place to put all of these animals except for in the ground. A shelter is supposed to be used as a safe place for lost, homeless pets, but it is being abused and turned into a trashcan due to the overpopulation. Some may argue that there are “no kill” shelters, and although that is true to some extent, it is not entirely true. The sad truth is that “in most cases even when a shelter calls themselves a ‘no-kill’ shelter it simply means they give the dogs they don't want to a shelter that IS a kill shelter” (Maguire). Overpopulation is costing animals their lives. Do you know what else overpopulation is costing? Us. It costs the United States taxpayers $2 billion a year “to impound, shelter, euthanize, and dispose of homeless animals” (“Animal Overpopulation”). These statistics are hard to take in, but they are very real and this is why I think something needs to change.