Can You Resist?

The Possibilities and Success to a Happy Ending With a Pet Ghowntxi Tiffany Yang English 1102

Introduction: The Word 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. Just the thought of bringing an animal home is a greater task than one would think. There are many things to consider. A couple key questions that pop up are: Are you ready and willing to open not only your home to an animal but yourself? Are you aware of the extra costs you might need to spend or invest? Can you provide proper healthcare and social treatment? The list goes on. Now 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. Just 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. Now it comes to the topic of, Great, 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. Again, more thinking and serious planning is needed, but do people care? No. Many people jump to conclusions thinking, Oh, that puppy is so cute, I'm going to buy him! A week later, the puppy goes home, both owner and pet are happy. Two weeks later, careless owner blames the puppy for every wrong doing. One 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

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adoption requests have been put forth in a time limit, so there we go, euthanization of the animal occurs. Happy ending received. But for who? Just for the owner? Does that even make sense. Later on in the paper, I will be able to show reasons why it is not just the owners fault for an innocent life being taken away, it is the corrupted system of a pet store. Looking at a shelter has its pros and cons, but compared to the pet store, definitely more pros outweigh the cons. Adopting from a shelter is what I personally believe is the way to go. There is one catch to adopting from a shelter. One 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 experience hardships. Adopting from a shelter will take extra work, sweat, and blood. Many animals are not social, since many have been rescued from dire circumstances. Your 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. You 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 experiences when it comes to obtaining a pet. Literature Review: How to Match Not Choose Your Pet Veterinarians Marder and Duxbury have written an article on how to match a prospective pet owner to a pet rather than choosing one. Veterinarians can help prospective owners approach the selection process with realistic expectations. 6 Armed 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
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experience, owners are better positioned to begin a successful relationship with a new canine family member. 6 (pg 1145) This video link of one of Animal Planet's shows 2 provides positive actions a shelter looks for in a promising owner, again emphasizing on matching a good home to a dog. As 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. Let'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 major role in pet-supply sales, and may contribute to overpopulation. 4(pg 55) As you can see, one thing leads to the next. Most pet store animals are not spayed/neutered, which allow for reproduction to occur and make overpopulation an issue. The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) estimates eight to ten million companion animals (i.e., cats and dogs) are relinquished to shelters each year and of those, four to five million are euthanized (HSUS, 2002). 4 (pg51) Overpopulation: What is overpopulation? Overpopulation is described as a societal problem, with the individual and collective behavior of people as a causal agent. 4( pg 51) You now know how it occurs, but how can you prevent it? If there were equal amount of people in this world willing to take one in a pet, overpopulation wouldnt be seen as a threat, but since not everyone favors having a pet, over four million companion animals are euthanized each year. Thats almost 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 just prevent the overpopulation of them? Luckily 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 pet(s). The benefits are not only beneficial to your pet but to you, as an owner as well. Sterilization of your cat or dog will increase his/her chance of a longer and healthier life.3 Altering your canine friend will increase his life an average of 1 to 3 years, felines, 3 to 5 years.3 Sterilizing your cat/dog makes him/her a better pet, reducing his/her urge to roam and decreasing the risk of
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contracting diseases or getting hurt as they roam.2 Surveys indicate that as many as 85% of dogs hit by cars are unaltered. 3
Comment [ds12]: Good statistical information. Good use of sources.

I personally adopted from a shelter and my cat has been through so much, but he has remained such a great friend so far. You 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. Luckily 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.
Comment [ds13]: Putting personal experience is a good idea.

Works Cited 1) Adopting a Shelter Dog. American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) website. http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/dog-behavior/adoptingshelter-dog. Accessed September 30, 2013. 2.) Animal Planet. Puppy bowl VII: pet adoption criteria [Video]. Discovery Communications, LLC; 2013. 3.) Benefits of Spay/Neuter. North Shore Animal League America's Spay USA website. http://spayusa.org/benefits.php. Accessed September 30, 2013. 4.) Fournier AK, Geller ES. Behavior analysis of companion-animal overpopulation: a conceptualization of the problem and suggestions for intervention. Behavior and Social Issues. 2004;13: 51-68 . 5.) Luescher AU, Tyson Medlock R. The effects of training and environmental alterations on adoption success of shelter dogs. Applied Animal Behaviour Science. 2009;117(1-2):63-68. 6.) Marder A, Duxbury MM. Obtaining a pet: realistic expectations. Vet Clin North Am Small Anim Pract. 2008;38(5):1145-62, viii. 7.) McMillan FD, Duffy DL, Serpell JA. Mental health of dogs formerly used as breeding stock in commercial breeding establishments. Applied Animal Behaviour Science. 2011;135(1-2):86-94. 8.) Seksel K. Preventing behavior problems in puppies and kittens. Vet Clin North Am Small Anim Pract. 2008;38(5):971-82, v-vi. 9.) Voris HC, Wittum TE, Rajala-schultz PJ, Lord LK. Characterization of advertisements for puppies sold online: determinants of cost and a comparison with parent club breeders. Prev Vet Med. 2011;100(3-4):200-9. 10.) Welton, M. yourpurebreedpuppy. Pet Shop Puppies: Buying a Puppy From a Pet Store. http://www.yourpurebredpuppy.com/buying/articles/petshops-and-pet-stores.html Approved 2000. Accessed September 30, 2013. 11.) Yang, G. (2013). Revision Draft 2 [Word]. Retrieved from

https://moodle2.uncc.edu/mod/assignment/view.php?id=130869.