Animal Shelters

All I want for Christmas is a – Puppy?

Jazmine Luna (8)

Two dogs that were adopted by a campus teacher. The small black chiweenie was adopted from the Helotes Animal Shelter. The brown chiweenie was rehomed from a hospice patient that couldn’t care for her anymore.

Every 60 seconds there is an animal suffering  from abuse on a daily basis. It is estimated that every minute there is an animal being mistreated. State laws try to prevent this abuse and some areas of the U.S are better than others. Also in the U.S alone, 10 million animals are abused to death according to https://animalcardonation.org.

Want to hear something else disturbing? Animal shelters and pounds are a place where strays, lost, abandoned or surrendered animals, mostly dogs and cats are housed. The word “pound” has its origins in the animal pounds of agricultural communities, where stray livestock would be penned or impounded until they were claimed by their owners. Animals that are sick, old or don’t even get taken to a home usually get euthanized.     

According to  https://www.petfinder.com, approximately  8-12 million companion animals enter animal shelters nationwide every year and approximately 5-9 are euthanized (60% dogs and 70% cats).

I feel like people only like dogs when they’re small and all cute, and when they grow up they just don’t like them anymore. Like if you’re just gonna not like them when they grow up, why even get them in the first place. The thing about having an animal is them growing up with you and showing them how the world works, loving and caring for them, giving them a nice warm loving home.                                   

70% of Americans want a pet for Christmas according to the American Pet Products Association, 70% of American households own a pet. That is a lot of homes and loving families for a lot of animals, yet we still have an abundance of animals stuck in the shelters.

With Christmas around the corner, think before you purchase. And if an added four legged member of the family is in the future, go to the nearest animal shelter in your area and adopt a dog and to save another life.

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