Sie sind auf Seite 1von 7

Gonzales 1

Ryan Gonzales
Professor Lynda Haas
Writing 39C
6 June 2015
Animal Shelters and the Problems within them
A Hidden Issue
I remember when I adopted my first dog. I recall walking into the Carson City Animal
Shelter and seeing all the animals behind cages. In order to select the right pet, my father had a
process where we would approach a cage and see how the dog reacted to our presence. What
surprised me is that a majority of the dogs reacted in two ways. The dogs either sat in fear at the
end of the cage or barked aggressively at us. One dog simply approached us, sniffed our hands,
and sat there wagging its tail. This one dog that reacted this way was the dog we decided to
adopt.
When we had to come back to pick up the dog a day later, there was something different
about the shelter. Numerous dogs we had seen the day prior were no where to be found. Their
tags attached to their cages showing their information was taken down. During this time, I didnt
think much of what I saw. We simply picked up our newly adopted dog and left the shelter.
Again, we left to loud barking and dogs fleeing. Though I thought that everything I saw were
typical events within the shelter, I would later learn something that is much more terrifying.
There is an ongoing, hidden issue that explains everything I witnessed in the shelter. It is
something that is well hidden and not very public.
A Look at Human Relationships with Dogs and Pets

Gonzales 2

Before I get into this hidden issue, it is important to look into humankinds relationship
with dogs and pets. My family adopted a pet because we heard of the positive effects that it could
have on the family. To give an example, I will be focusing on a historical conversation research
project that I did with human-dog relationships and how pet dogs positively affect their owners.
Though this research is primarily related to dogs, it greatly expands, though with unique
properties, to other common companion animal pets such as cats.
Dogs have been given the nickname Mans best friend due to their great
companionship with humankind. Leslie Irvine, sociologist and professor at the University of
Colorado Boulder, suggest that "several biological and behavioral factors predisposed dogs to fit
easily within human groups" in her book, If You Tame Me: Understanding Our Connection with
Animals (15). Due to this great connection, dogs are the third most popular household pet in
America (Figure 1).Scientific research from scholars such as Leslie Irvine, James Serpell,
Vanessa May, Randall Lockwood, Frank R. Ascione, Lynette A. Hart, Gail Clark, and William
Boyer, shows that dogs have primarily affected their owners in three positive ways:
companionship, health, and responsibility.
Dr. Serpell, professor and researcher of Animal Ethics and Welfare at the University of
Pennsylvania, augments Irvine's examination of human-dog relationships in his book, The
Domestic Dog: Its Evolution, Behavior, and Interactions with People, by presenting the results of
a scientific study that tested to see who represented the participant's most significant relationship
through a technique called the "Family Life Space Diagram". The experiment's outcome came to
many of the surveyed individuals putting their dogs closer to them than any of their family
members (163). Serpell also states, "A further important asset of dogs, although it is one they
share in common with other pets, is that they lack the power of speech and are therefore unable

Gonzales 3

to offer advice, judgment or criticism. Nevertheless, they are affectionate and empathic so their
friendship tends to be seen as sincere, reliable, and trustworthy, while at the same time lacking
many of the threats associated with human friendships (Serpell, 1986a)" (Serpell 164). Animal
ethics researcher and sociologist Randall Lockwood, and professor at the University of Denver
and animal abuse researcher, Frank Ascione, conduct a study that correlates to Seprells
observations in their book, Cruelty to Animals and Interpersonal Violence: Readings in Research
and Application. The researchers found that many asylum inhabitants and prisoners owned pets
when they were younger. The reason for this is because the prisoners felt that their pets were the
only ones that would truly be there for them and not betray them. Their pets offered an
unconditional companionship that the prisoners could not find anywhere else (Lockwood and
Ascione 117).
However, why dogs naturally give their owners positive effects is something that is
explained quite well by Leslie Irvine. She states,
In any case, the domestic dogs who share our homes today exist because of human
intervention, which incorporated both cultural and biological processes (see CluttonBrock 1994, 1995). Biologically, domestication resembles natural evolution. Through
selective breeding, humans canand did introduce changes in behavior, size, color, ear
and tail position, and other features within just a few generations. Culturally,
domestication means that a species is enfolded into the social structure of the human
community (Clutton-Brock 1995, 15). The wolf became a dog, for instance, not just
because its physical and behavioral characteristics changed, but also because these
changes adapted wolves to material, aesthetic, and ritual purposes in human communities.
(13)

Gonzales 4

In this passage, Irvine explains how dogs have evolved and been domesticated because of human
intervention. As a result, they have changed biologically which has affected their appearance and
traits. It is said that dogs have evolved from wolves who greatly differ. Dogs are made to be
mans best friend and to positively affect their owners.
Through these scientific studies, one can see that dogs, much like humans, can truly build
relationships and friendships with their owners. Through these relationships, dogs can positively
affect their owners lives. Other companion animals have been found to give similar positive
effects that dogs give to their owners. However, it should also be noted that some companion
animals, such as cats, have also had their evolution interfered by humans. Nevertheless, it is
important to see that, through research and observations, companion animals are a great asset to
humankind.
The Problem
When one thinks of animal shelters, the words salvation, sanctuary, and care may come to
mind, and this is understandable, because shelters do practice these important activities.
However, these places are not shelters for all animals. According to the American Society for
the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), 7.6 million companion animals enter United
States shelters every year.
Approximately 3.9 million dogs and 3.4 million are cats--and from these, about 2.7
million are euthanized, approximately 1.2 million dogs and 1.4 million cats. For example, one
local Southern California shelter, the Long Beach Animal Care Services Shelter (ACS) alone
euthanized more than 5,100 cats, kittens, dogs, and puppies last year, and between 2006 and
2012, ACS put nearly 41,000 animals to death (stayinalivelongbeach.org). Throughout the
United States, there are even more kill-shelters with kill rates higher than ACS such as the South

Gonzales 5

LA Animal Shelter. Kill shelters have been an ongoing problem in the United States. With large
amounts of animals being killed, it is a large-scale problem that should be further looked into.
The facts of how many animals are killed each year are not easy to find--this is data that is kept
as secret as possible, although it is supposed to be public knowledge
The leading cause of euthanization of animals in shelters can be put in one word:
Overpopulation. According to the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA),
Approximately 6 to 8 million are handled by animal shelters in the United States each year.
Even though some are reclaimed or adopted, nearly 4 million unwanted dogs and cats are left
nowhere to go . Shelters cannot humanely house and support all these animals until natural
deaths-they would be forced to live in cramped cages or kennels for years, lonely and stressed,
and other animals would have to be turned away because there would not be room for them(1).

Gonzales 6

Figure 1. The Pet Overpopulation Challenge. www.catchannel.com

Works Cited

American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. https://www.aspca.org/aboutus/faq/pet-statistics. Web. 19 May 2015

Dawkins, Richard and Singer, Peter. Singer on Animal Rights and Vegetarianism.
Online video clip. youtube.com. n.p, 22 Nov. 2011. Web. 19 May 2015

Frank R. Ascione and Lockwood, Randall. Cruelty to Animals and Interpersonal


Violence: Readings in Research and Application.

Gonzales 7

Irvine, Leslie. If You Tame Me: Understanding Our Connection with Animals.
Philadelphia: Temple UP,2004. 12-32.

Netto, W.j., J.a.m. Van Der Borg, and D.j.u. Planta. "Behavioural Testing of Dogs
in Animal Shelters to Predict Problem Behaviour." Applied Animal Behaviour
Science 35.3 (1993): 292-93. Web. 18 May 2015

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. http://www.peta.org/issues/companionanimal-issues/companion-animals-factsheets/euthanasia-compassionate-option/ Web. 19


May 2015

Serpell, James. The Domestic Dog: Its Evolution, Behavior, and Interactions with People.
Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1995. Print.

Stayin Alive Long Beach.


http://www.stayinalivelongbeach.org/uploads/1/2/1/3/12139294/stayinalivelongbeach
report_2013.pdf. Web. 19 May 2015.

Das könnte Ihnen auch gefallen