Can You Resist?

The Possibilities and Success to a Happy Ending With a Pet Ghowntxi Tiffany Yang English !"

#nt$oduction% The Wo$d &Pet' What comes to mind when you see or hear the word pet? Many see it as simply an animal that is domesticated and does not have feelings. These sorts of people have an I can toss it whenever I want attitude. That is like saying a pet is an accessory or a toy you can play with whenever you want and toss it when it gets old or tiresome. This mindset tells me that this sort of person is irresponsible and incapable of giving a pet a proper home to fulfill its needs. ust the thought of bringing an animal home is a greater task than one would think. There are many things to consider. ! couple key "uestions that pop up are# !re you ready and willing to open not only your home to an animal but yourself? !re you aware of the e$tra costs you might need to spend or invest? %an you provide proper healthcare and social treatment? The list goes on. &ow I'm not writing this to tell you the hardships and discourage one from obtaining a pet or tell you that the way you raise a pet is wrong. I want to stimulate positive thoughts when one does choose to spend a part of their lifetime with something put in this world to accompany us and provide that social attention we need. It only makes sense to return the favor to these animals as well. ust like humans( they need that social affection and attention. They want that love) they seek it. We are there to provide it. This whole ordeal is a give and take cycle that should be respected. &ow it comes to the topic of( *reat( now that I know the basics( which is better( buying from a pet store or adopting? The concept of buying from a pet store seems reasonable at first. Why so? Think about it( everyone has his or her dream of owning a cute little puppy or kitten( then raising them from its childhood so you can grow up with it and live happily ever after. Well( it is not as easy as it looks. !gain( more thinking and serious planning is needed( but do people care? &o. Many people +ump to conclusions thinking( ,h( that puppy is so cute( I'm going to buy him- ! week later( the puppy goes home( both owner and pet are happy. Two weeks later( careless owner blames the puppy for every wrong doing. ,ne year later( the puppy turns into a young adult dog and is at its peak of playfulness(

then all of a sudden( owner surrenders the puppy to a shelter. The puppy is put up for adoption( but no adoption re"uests have been put forth in a time limit( so there we go( euthani.ation of the animal occurs. /appy ending received. 0ut for who? ust for the owner? 1oes that even make sense. 2ater on in the paper( I will be able to show reasons why it is not +ust the owners fault for an innocent life being taken away( it is the corrupted system of a pet store. 2ooking at a shelter has its pros and cons( but compared to the pet store( definitely more pros outweigh the cons. !dopting from a shelter is what I personally believe is the way to go. There is one catch to adopting from a shelter. ,ne has to be aware that animals who are put up for adoption are in need of a true home. Many have never had a home or have been given up because their previous owner could not take care of them. These shelter animals also e$perience hardships. !dopting from a shelter will take e$tra work( sweat( and blood. Many animals are not social( since many have been rescued from dire circumstances. 3our own willingness to train and work with the animal you adopt is necessary. This I believe will be the most rewarding and you can grow stronger as an individual. 3ou will be able to learn the needs of yourself and your pet. There is a saying along the lines that if you have been through it( you will get through it. Think about it( it also does make sense that if you are in or have been in a dire situation( you are more willing to mature and be thankful for what you have if you are given a chance to begin again. Well I like to apply this concept to animals who have been through rough times as well. To wrap this up( I will also be providing statistics and more information on topics such as animal overpopulation( ways and ideas to help one achieve their lifelong dream to a happy ending when it comes to bringing a pet home( and a couple of personal e$periences when it comes to obtaining a pet. (ite$atu$e Re)iew% How to *atch +ot Choose You$ Pet 4eterinarians Marder and 1u$bury have written an article on how to match a prospective pet owner to a pet rather than choosing one. 4eterinarians can help prospective owners approach the selection process with realistic e$pectations. 5 !rmed with information about where to obtain a dog and

with specific knowledge about how differences in the age( breed( and gender of the dog may affect their e$perience( owners are better positioned to begin a successful relationship with a new canine family member. 5 6pg 7789: This video link of one of !nimal ;lanet's shows < provides positive actions a shelter looks for in a promising owner( again emphasi.ing on matching a good home to a dog. !s for the people who choose to ignore a proper match=up( love at first sight can be either good or bad depending on a person's tolerance level and knowledge. 2et's say that a first time owner decides to purchase a pet from a pet store. What draws his or her attention to want to obtain a pet in the first place? The fact that having an adorable pet to show off is one thing( but another is( media advertising plays a ma+or role in pet=supply sales( and may contribute to overpopulation. 86pg 99: !s you can see( one thing leads to the ne$t. Most pet store animals are not spayed>neutered( which allow for reproduction to occur and make overpopulation an issue. The /umane ?ociety of the @nited ?tates 6/?@?: estimates eight to ten million companion animals 6i.e.( cats and dogs: are relin"uished to shelters each year and of those( four to five million are euthani.ed 6/?@?( <AA<:. 8 6pg97: ,)e$population% What is overpopulation? ,verpopulation is described as a societal problem( with the individual and collective behavior of people as a causal agent. 86 pg 97: 3ou now know how it occurs( but how can you prevent it? If there were e"ual amount of people in this world willing to take one in a pet( overpopulation wouldnBt be seen as a threat( but since not everyone favors having a pet( over four million companion animals are euthani.ed each year. ThatBs almost C of the ones who are put in shelters to be adopted out. If we are going to take a life by putting these animals to sleep( why not +ust prevent the overpopulation of them? 2uckily there are many approaches any pet owner or promising pet owner can take. The first most popular and most stressed approach by veterinarians is the spay and>or neuter of one's pet6s:. The benefits are not only beneficial to your pet but to you( as an owner as well. ?terili.ation of your cat or dog will increase his>her chance of a longer and healthier life.D !ltering your canine friend will increase his life an average of 7 to D years( felines( D to 9 years.D ?terili.ing your

cat>dog makes him>her a better pet( reducing his>her urge to roam and decreasing the risk of contracting diseases or getting hurt as they roam.< ?urveys indicate that as many as E9F of dogs hit by cars are unaltered. D

I personally adopted from a shelter and my cat has been through so much( but he has remained such a great friend so far. 3ou wonder how he could have gotten through all his troubles of being that perfect kitten who was purchased for what he thought was a loving home( only to find out that once he grew old and ugly( he'd be put on the streets to fend for himself and wind up in the shelter( waiting for his forever home. 2uckily he was micro=chipped when the shelter had found him and contacted the family( but the family surrendered him to the shelter willing. That is when luck brought me to him.

Works %ited
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!dopting a ?helter 1og. !merican ?ociety for the ;revention of %ruelty to !nimals 6!?;%!: website. http#>>www.aspca.org>pet=care>virtual=pet=behaviorist>dog=behavior>adopting= shelter=dog. !ccessed ?eptember DA( <A7D.

<.: !nimal ;lanet. Puppy bowl VII: pet adoption criteria G4ideoH. 1iscovery %ommunications( 22%) <A7D. D.: 0enefits of ?pay>&euter. &orth ?hore !nimal 2eague !merica's ?pay @?! website. http#>>spayusa.org>benefits.php. !ccessed ?eptember DA( <A7D. 8.: Iournier !J( *eller K?. 0ehavior analysis of companion=animal overpopulation# a conceptuali.ation of the problem and suggestions for intervention. 0ehavior and ?ocial Issues. <AA8)7D# 97=5E . 9.: 2uescher !@( Tyson Medlock L. The effects of training and environmental alterations on adoption success of shelter dogs. !pplied !nimal 0ehaviour ?cience. <AAM)77N67=<:#5D=5E. 5.: Marder !( 1u$bury MM. ,btaining a pet# realistic e$pectations. 4et %lin &orth !m ?mall !nim ;ract. <AAE)DE69:#7789=5<( viii. N.: McMillan I1( 1uffy 12( ?erpell !. Mental health of dogs formerly used as Obreeding stockB in commercial breeding establishments. !pplied !nimal 0ehaviour ?cience. <A77)7D967=<:#E5=M8. E.: ?eksel J. ;reventing behavior problems in puppies and kittens. 4et %lin &orth !m ?mall !nim ;ract. <AAE)DE69:#MN7=E<( v=vi. M.: 4oris /%( Wittum TK( La+ala=schult. ; ( 2ord 2J. %haracteri.ation of advertisements for puppies sold online# determinants of cost and a comparison with parent club breeders. ;rev 4et Med. <A77)7AA6D=8:#<AA=M.
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Welton( M. yourpurebreedpuppy. ;et ?hop ;uppies# 0uying a ;uppy Irom a ;et ?tore. http#>>www.yourpurebredpuppy.com>buying>articles>petshops=and=pet=stores.html !pproved <AAA. !ccessed ?eptember DA( <A7D. 3ang( *. 6<A7D:. Levision 1raft < GWordH. Letrieved from https#>>moodle<.uncc.edu>mod>assignment>view.php?idP7DAE5M.

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