Animal Shelter Research
Kelley Sagal
Indelicato
English 1 – Honors
10 Jan 2011
Rescuing Animals From Shelters Rather than Purchasing Them From Pet Stores When you come to the conclusion that you are ready for a new furry friend, you also come across many more decisions to make like these: “What type do I want? What should I name it? Should it be a boy or girl?” And the most important, “Should I adopt?” The decision to adopt an animal from a shelter is a big one but after considering these facts your mindset will definitely become altered. It is because of these statistics and information I have found that lead me to support a radical concept: that people should select companion from animal shelters where the animals have more deservingness and temperament.
When considering adoption, you should think about the fact that it is estimated that 3 million to 4 million dogs and cats are euthanized in U.S. shelters each year, which is roughly the population of Kentucky (“Gimme Shelter”) These statistics do not include others that are feral and/ or homeless. This happens while Americans are carelessly purchasing animals from pet shops and breeders simply because most are fixated on owning a particular breed. While some breeders will continue to breed animals out of love, the national obsession of owning a “purebred” is narcissistic and tends to have negative effects on animals that aren’t status symbols (Karasik). Strange things have been happening to animals’ make up in our breeding programs and stands as a result of pressure from human selection. People probably put much more pressure on mutts. A mutt who bites people, or who destroys the house by chewing everything in sight, has an excellent chance of being sent to the pound or put to sleep (Grandin and Johnson). It’s just a theory, but there’s plenty of evidence on the emotional and behavioral problems on purebred animals versus mixed breeds to support the hypothesis that the selection pressures on mutts are more constructive. It has
Indelicato
English 1 – Honors
10 Jan 2011
Rescuing Animals From Shelters Rather than Purchasing Them From Pet Stores When you come to the conclusion that you are ready for a new furry friend, you also come across many more decisions to make like these: “What type do I want? What should I name it? Should it be a boy or girl?” And the most important, “Should I adopt?” The decision to adopt an animal from a shelter is a big one but after considering these facts your mindset will definitely become altered. It is because of these statistics and information I have found that lead me to support a radical concept: that people should select companion from animal shelters where the animals have more deservingness and temperament.
When considering adoption, you should think about the fact that it is estimated that 3 million to 4 million dogs and cats are euthanized in U.S. shelters each year, which is roughly the population of Kentucky (“Gimme Shelter”) These statistics do not include others that are feral and/ or homeless. This happens while Americans are carelessly purchasing animals from pet shops and breeders simply because most are fixated on owning a particular breed. While some breeders will continue to breed animals out of love, the national obsession of owning a “purebred” is narcissistic and tends to have negative effects on animals that aren’t status symbols (Karasik). Strange things have been happening to animals’ make up in our breeding programs and stands as a result of pressure from human selection. People probably put much more pressure on mutts. A mutt who bites people, or who destroys the house by chewing everything in sight, has an excellent chance of being sent to the pound or put to sleep (Grandin and Johnson). It’s just a theory, but there’s plenty of evidence on the emotional and behavioral problems on purebred animals versus mixed breeds to support the hypothesis that the selection pressures on mutts are more constructive. It has