Why Do Pets Become Unprotected?

    Due to the domestication of cats and dogs their populations have skyrocketed. This is due in part to the lack of pet owners acting in a responsible manner. These responsibilities include the spaying and neutering of  pets. These numbers of

“In the early nineteen-seventies, for instance, the biologist Erika Friedmann, of Brooklyn College, studied how heart-attack patients respond to social support. Patients who had a dog or cat, she found, were more than four times as likely to survive a year after a heart attack than those who didn’t have a pet” (Bilger, part 3, paragraph 21). If the research is done, it is easy to see that humans generally live longer if they own a pet. Caring for a pet can be emotional also. Sharing a living space with another living being will allow you to get attached to them and build relationships you probably had never thought you’d have before. In the article, The Last Meow, it explains how Karen had suffered injuries in an accident and found later that she could not get pregnant. Knowing that she could not start a family and living in pain everyday was taking a toll on her mentally and emotionally. However, when they had started caring for their cats, she found a way to fill her depression. “Karen had studied enough psychology to suspect that her feelings for Lady were party misplaced mothering instincts, but she also knew that relationships like theirs could have a particular intensity” (Bilger, part 3, paragraph 21). Owning the cats made her happy. It is obvious why she would go through debt just to save the

National estimates suggest that nearly 2 million youth experience homelessness (Rhodes, Wine & Rice, April 2014) and that between 5-25% of those have some sort of pet. While it appears that pet ownership may contribute to a wide range of benefits, this also presents conflicts that arise within the homeless population. Homeless respondents also have stated that the general public tends to treat them better or are more likely to talk to them because of their pets, with the pets acting as “social facilitators” (Ibed). Pet ownership can strike such a strong emotional chord within a homeless person that it has been found within research that had not specifically focused on pet ownership within the homeless community have identified pets as a self-reported barrier to having access to social support mechanisms. This attachment to their pets are many times so strong that they (homeless) would sacrifice personal healthcare and other social services if no one was available to care for their pet while utilizing said treatment (J. Wasserman and J. Clair, 2010).

In most places owning a dog or cat is second nature, but what about a tiger, bear or maybe python? Exotic pet ownership is far from having a clear right or wrong answer but it is in need of a ban for both the protection of animal and owner.For exotic pet owners, owning a wild beast insures a sense of power and uniqueness. It is also their way of contributing to the conservation of a species by having a “backup population” once human population growth and habitat destruction has resulted in extinction (Slater 113). But in reality the ownership of wild animals as pets only helps to damage already fragile ecosystems, both the one from which they came from and the new one in which they find themselves. Animals in captivity are also stripped of a natural life in the wild, free of confinement and unsuitable care. Finally, the risk to humans is very large, injuries inflicted from exotic pets are dangerous and possibly deadly. Bans vary from state to state, ranging from no ban to partial ban to complete ban, but even in states with full bans, exotic pet ownership still occurs. Private ownership of an exotic animal as a pet should be banned in the US, due to disruptions in ecosystems, the dangers that wild animals are exposed too, and the risks to the owners of these pets.

One would think that if the pet had a close connection to a person, and that person has passed away that someone who misses the person that has passed may use the pet to help with the loss. The main character’s

An animal that would take care of your house when nobody was home and protect the owners from burglars from breaking in. This movement or trend started forming in recent years. As Cesar Chavez once quoted, “We need in a special way , to work twice as hard to help people understand that the animals are fellow creatures , that we must protect and love them as we love ourselves” Animals today have as much equal rights as family members today. As many more pet parents are adopting and falling in love with these animals and being able to connect with them on an emotional level, Pet parents are able to relate and equate animals to human children. Many more couples are finding themselves with fewer children or not wanting to have the burden of raising actual children. As a result this trend keeps growing. Another reason that people are starting to see the increasing number in this trend is some adults are finding themselves with the loneliness, where the children they once had are moving away. These animals are feeling a void of loneliness. According to a recent survey done by Stanley Cohen about eighty-one percent of people do not consider themselves to be just a pet owner, but a pet parent and treating their pets equal to their children.

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.

People always realize when they are neglecting others because those people can speak out for themselves; however, they hardly ever acknowledge when they are neglecting pets because people cannot understand pets. Why is it that people fail to realize the boredom and pain they put on pets? Most people answer and explain that it is because pet owners are far more concerned with their lives and their problems, so they cannot recognize their pet’s pain. In “Is Your Pet Lonely and Bored?” by Jessica Pierce, when Pierce revealed troubling aspects of an unhealthy relationship between pets and pet owners. Pets are lonely and bored, and most pet owners do not seem to care, so they ignore it. Pierce became sympathetic for pets because of their conditions and came to a conclusion that pet owners should what it is like to be a pet from their perspective.

Natalie Angier, discusses that we spend a lot of money on cats; yet cats are wild at heart. Peter P. Marra and Chris Santella authors of Cat Wars, view cats as “cuddly killers.” Cats are viewed as invasive species as a contamination to the environment. Outdoor cats are a threat to wildlife as predators. Also cats are a danger to human health from different types of illnesses. The Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR), view cats as human alternative to euthanizing strays.

Animal abuse is defined as either the physical mistreatment of an animal or neglect where the animal is denied basic necessities of care. The mistreatment of animals is a serious issue within society. It often goes unreported because many people believe it is only abuse if it is intentional. This lack of understanding allows minor cases of neglect to progress into major cases that can end in the death of the animals involved. Animal abuse needs a better definition due to the results of neglect, psychological issues, and ethical components.

Cynthia Gamble, a 52-year-old owner of multiple big cats, was found dead at her residence in Sandstone, Minnesota in April of 2006. Family and friends of Gamble claim that she never thought her pets would attack her because of the emotional connection she shared with them, but she was tremendously inaccurate. Her pet tiger mauled her while she was trying to feed it. Not only was the tiger aggressive, but it was also extremely malnourished, weighing just 100 pounds, nearly 400 pounds underweight. There are countless other incidents similar to Gamble’s, making owning exotic animals an immensely dangerous situation with horrific consequences. Because of the growing interest in buying, selling, and owning exotic animals, people should not be able to purchase or own exotic pets.

In the latest 10 years, raising pets has become a fashionable trend in modern cities. Meanwhile, the number of stray dogs and cats are increasing as well. Most of stray dogs and cats are abandoned. According to Bissell Pet Foundation (2012), the accurate number of homeless dogs and cats is difficult to count but it can be roundly estimated to 70 million. As the growth of stray dogs and cats is increasing rapidly, only a small part of them can live in the pet shelters. The situation stated can worsen if society takes it lightly when raising pets.

Cats have been in the homes of humans for thousands of years. "All 600 million housecats in the world can be traced back to five females of this species". (pets. the nest) Ancient Egyptians worshiped a cat goddess and they often had their beloved pets mummified and buried with them. All cats are a unique

Thesis/Preview: Today, I about the interesting history and mythology of cats: ancient Egyptian cats, negative cultural superstitions, and modern day domesticated cats.

Pets can fill a void in an owner’s life, by allowing them to nurture something and receive a sense of satisfaction. Socially pets have become so much a part of our daily lives that they are often treated as if they were children, some lucky pets even attend daily play sessions, and are treated to extreme indulgence; all to make their owner feel as if they were an infant or a child. Blind owners rely on their seeing eye dogs to guide them around wherever they go; they are trained to guide them past and around obstacles. The National Institute of Health states, “More than half of all U.S. households have a companion animal. Pets are more common in households with children, yet there are more pets than children in American households. There are more than 51 million dogs, 56 million cats, 45 million birds, 75 million small mammals and reptiles, and uncounted millions of aquarium fish” (np). Many movie stars and rich and famous people have begun using pets as a status symbol. Millions of dollars are spent finding the perfect and most valuable pet even to the extent that the original breed of animal has become unrecognizable or even extinct. This need for high status and perfection has resulted in safety risks to both pets and the people they live with. Inbreeding and tampering with cross genes in animals often result in an animal of inferior security and emotional stability, thus resulting in an aggressive and violent temperament. In an attempt to