An animal shelter is a place that houses lost, homeless, or abandoned animals. It’s a temporary home where the animals live until they are reclaimed by their owner, adopted by a new owner, or placed in a different organization. Dana Bartholomew, from DailyNews.com wrote, “The surge in abandoned pets has continued unabated since May 2008, when soaring job losses and home foreclosures were fueling an increase in surrendered dogs and cats at city shelters”. According to the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), 6-8 million cats and dogs are entering shelters this year. That is a scary thought, especially if they are being placed in shelters that still euthanize their animals.
Animal shelters are meant to be a safe and warm place for these vulnerable animals, but if overcrowding continues who knows what will happen next. According to the HSUS, 3-4 million cats and dogs have to be euthanized each year and the problem doesn't seem to be dying out. People need to realize the severity of this problem. Animals deserve a chance at life just like the rest of us.
There are many ways of preventing the mass of unwanted or abandoned animals. The first step is to make sure that you are ready to own and take care of a pet before you adopt one. The worst thing you can do to an animal is abandon them. Don’t be afraid to bring your animal to a shelter, but still know the consequences at hand. An important tip that I think every pet owner should know is to spay/neuter your pet. You can easily prevent overcrowding by doing this.
Pets deserve a fighting chance. I am a strong animal lover. I love all animals and can only hope that there are more people out there that feel the same way.
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Chloe, what local shelter do you support? Have you spoken to any one there about what they do and how it helps our communities?
ReplyDeleteI’m willing to support any shelters that need help; I don’t have a specific one. Last year, a friend and I hosted a Christmas party to raise money that we donated to the Humane Society of Cobb County. We raised over $250 and it was a great success. We spent the money on specific items that the Humane Society was in desperate need of and dropped the items off ourselves. I haven’t spoken to anyone about what they do to help, but I am constantly searching for ideas. I know adoption is always a great success for the shelter. They are also always in need of specific items such as dog food, cat food, cat litter, etc. I am always open to helping animals of all kinds. Here is the link to the Humane Society of Atlanta: http://www.hsus.org/ . You can get all kinds of information from this site regarding animal care and donations.
ReplyDeleteThanks for responding Chloe. Good luck with all your admirable efforts. :P
ReplyDelete