Hailey Morelock English 1102 R.A.

Brown Reflection Animal abuse is a nationwide problem that happens all the time without many people knowing. It could be happening right around the corner from your house, and you may not even realize it. According to the Humane Society of the United States, in 2007 there were 1,880 reported cases of cruelty against animals. Thats a lot when you think about it because that doesnt include those cases that were never reported. I believe that a person who is caught abusing an animal should not only have to pay a fine, but should also receive jail time. I think the state is too lenient on animal abusers and they need to start getting mean. Power is the main reason why people abuse animals. Animals are very dependent on their owners to take care of them and provide them with food and shelter. They are also vulnerable and are not able to actually tell people if they are being abused. They dont really have the power to stop the horrible things that happen to them. A person who has the need to abuse an innocent animal tends to have a very dominant personality. They like to display their power over something that is not able to fight back. They like being in control and they feel that when they are abusing an animal, they have complete control over it and theres nothing that the animal can do about it. These people need psychological help. One thing that was interesting to find out was that there is, in most cases, a direct correlation between animal abuse and criminal behavior. A person who displays abuse towards an innocent, vulnerable animal at a younger age tends to continue to want to display that dominance over people as they mature. In history, some of the most infamous criminals

displayed this type of behavior. Like Carroll Edward Cole a man who was accused of murdering thirty-five people. When he was a child, he strangled a puppy. Or the Columbine High School shooters who brought a gun to school and shot twelve classmates before they killed themselves. Before this, they bragged about mutilating animals to people. When I was looking at sources for this project, I learned some disturbing facts. In a study done by the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, they found that people that abuse animals are five times more likely to commit crimes against other people. Also, according to the Humane Society of the United States, seventy-one percent of domestic violence victims said that their partner also abused their animal. One of the articles I read was about a dog named Star being severely abused. I have no idea how someone could do this to an animal. This poor dog was shot in the head forty times with a pellet gun and then buried alive in the ground with all four arms and legs tied together. Luckily, she was found in time and was able to be saved. Another case of animal abuse was in the county right beside mine, where I go all the time. A lady was running a huge puppy mill that included two hundred and fifty-two dogs. She was keeping them in horrendous conditions and breeding them as fast as possible and them selling them for around $400. After finishing reading all the information and examples of animal abuse, my conviction that it is a terrible, heinous crime is even stronger. I just cant comprehend how someone can do that to an animal. No animal does anything to deserve that type of treatment. They are meant to be taken care up, not beaten or abused. I think more laws should be set in place to help stop this from happening. People who abuse animals should get very harsh punishments as a result. I dont think they deserve anything less, especially not to just get off the hook by paying a fine or serving only a year in jail. Also, I believe that if law enforcement kept a better eye on the people

that abuse animals, then that may help prevent some future crime from happening. Overall, this is an issue that needs to be stopped. I liked doing the annotated bibliography over a traditional research paper. The limits werent set in stone like a paper would be and I was able to get a lot more sources and information. The article that I found most informative was done by the Humane Society of the U.S. It contained a lot of statistics that I had not known. Basically, how I found my sources was by just googling animal abuse. There was such a wide range of sources that I could have chosen any. This topic is something that I have strong feelings about and I was able to learn more about it.

My comments on Reflection I like the exploration devoted to the topic and its components. You raise interesting and valid points for thought and later discussion. I would like a greater expansion of the conclusion paragraph, as that is where the reflection begins in earnest, discussing the main, key articles, the researching process you used and how it worked, and what you learned from the type of document and why (plus liking or disliking it).