Homeless Animals
Amanda Tucker
Haviland
Cause of Homeless Animals
April 19, 2013
Lend Me a Paw
What seems to be a harmless
visit to the neighborhood pet store
soon turns into a very emotional
encounter for me. Every Saturday,
Panzer (my dog) and I visit a local
pet store to purchase food and
treats for him. I pass by a dozen of
shelter volunteers eagerly
showcasing homeless pets before
entering the pet store. Shelter
volunteers are special I stop and
greet each new animal that I see in
need of a loving home, I then walk
away emotionally grieving and
trying to holding back tears. My
sadness soon turns into anger,
when I realize I cannot adopt every
homeless pet. While reading a
book by Lucia McKay I read that
“After conducting a study, it was
determined that four times more
cats than dogs were euthanized in
county shelters”(139). The pet
population is an increasing crisis in
America, Author Erin McKenna
says in her text “Enter one of the
more than 5,000 animal shelters in
the United States and you will
likely be inundated with sensory
stimuli: the institutional feeling of
the concrete-and-steel
construction, the sometimes
overwhelming cacophony of
human and animal voices, and the
ever-present smells of animal
waste and disinfectant”(212) These
animals would not be in this
difficult situation if owners of
animals would do these three
things to keep the overpopulation
of dogs and cats from getting out of
hand: Equip animals with
identification tags or microchips,
spay or neuter pets, and be
educated before purchasing or
adopting a pet.
Identification tags are the
most basic identification, they are
widely available and they come in
many shapes and sizes. Microchip
identification is also becoming
more common and it is a
permanent identification. Some
animals are confined at home but
somehow slip out unnoticed
Haviland
Cause of Homeless Animals
April 19, 2013
Lend Me a Paw
What seems to be a harmless
visit to the neighborhood pet store
soon turns into a very emotional
encounter for me. Every Saturday,
Panzer (my dog) and I visit a local
pet store to purchase food and
treats for him. I pass by a dozen of
shelter volunteers eagerly
showcasing homeless pets before
entering the pet store. Shelter
volunteers are special I stop and
greet each new animal that I see in
need of a loving home, I then walk
away emotionally grieving and
trying to holding back tears. My
sadness soon turns into anger,
when I realize I cannot adopt every
homeless pet. While reading a
book by Lucia McKay I read that
“After conducting a study, it was
determined that four times more
cats than dogs were euthanized in
county shelters”(139). The pet
population is an increasing crisis in
America, Author Erin McKenna
says in her text “Enter one of the
more than 5,000 animal shelters in
the United States and you will
likely be inundated with sensory
stimuli: the institutional feeling of
the concrete-and-steel
construction, the sometimes
overwhelming cacophony of
human and animal voices, and the
ever-present smells of animal
waste and disinfectant”(212) These
animals would not be in this
difficult situation if owners of
animals would do these three
things to keep the overpopulation
of dogs and cats from getting out of
hand: Equip animals with
identification tags or microchips,
spay or neuter pets, and be
educated before purchasing or
adopting a pet.
Identification tags are the
most basic identification, they are
widely available and they come in
many shapes and sizes. Microchip
identification is also becoming
more common and it is a
permanent identification. Some
animals are confined at home but
somehow slip out unnoticed