Many adorable household pets ranging from small guinea pigs to big friendly dogs are brought into homes and suffer a great toll that they didn’t ask for. The issue that I am referring to is animal cruelty. People make dangerous situations for both the animals and others. Overcrowded shelters have led people to make poor decisions. Also pets are being treated like objects rather than living beings. Since people want to have domesticated animals, they should think about taking care of an animal for its full life time.

A couple of dogs rescued after running onto a Phoenix freeway and disrupting traffic, Morgan Bircher (abc15.com).
Deciding on what to do with pets after you don’t want them is the toughest process. Some people make bad choices like dropping them off in the middle of no where, not knowing how much it affects in the long haul. Most of the time the animal is wandering around either looking for shelter, food, or their previous owners. They can end up on roads, endangering themselves and any oncoming traffic. Thankfully, some of these animals are found and brought to good animal shelters that care for them. This is another solution on what to do with an animal you don’t want, but it doesn’t end there.

Lindsay Pollard (PETA.org)
There is a huge overpopulation in animal shelters since there are people throwing their dogs on the side of the street. Some of the people that take their animals to shelters that have no space, decide to take matters into their own hands. I understand that there might be difficulties for people who can’t find their pets a better home, but this is still unacceptable . This ties into my reasoning before, Lindsay Pollard has stated, “ Dogs and cats are increasingly being dumped on the streets to dodge traffic and eat trash, thrown away themselves like garbage, and even cruelly killed by people who had them but now don’t want them, after they were turned away by shelters” (PETA.org). People have even left their pets in the middle of shelter parking lots refusing, to take them back.

This is Fiona, who had went from an expensive. “designer dog” to a low-rent shelter mutt and back again, Alisa Mullins (PETA.org).
Unfortunately there are other people who treat animals only like prizes to hang in their trophy cabinet and don’t care for their actual well being. They are not properly fed and only come out of the shadows when it is time to be shown off. Most of the time they are depressed. These animals are usually priced over hundreds to thousands of dollars. They are worth a large sum of money because of the type of breed or unique features that they may have took after birth such as eye color, fur, etc. When they are done glorifying the animal, the pet is usually where all the others end up; a shelter, dead, or back in the breeding process to make more of its kind.


This is Christmas who was found on the remote island of Taal Volcano in the Philippines before and after pictures (PETA.org).
Don’t get me wrong, not all people abuse animals. Most treat them well. Others need to be more aware on what they do and how things can take the wrong turn, become less irrational when there aren’t any vacancies at shelters, and care for animals like they do love ones. We should not turn our heads to animal abandonment, also known as cruelty. A solution to fighting against this is to spread the awareness to as many people as possible. Show people how to treat and make the best choices when it comes to their pets and what they should never do. “When witnessing an act of animal cruelty call your local animal control agency as soon as possible or dial 911”, as said by (humanesociety.org). Any help at all would be a great contribution to saving the lives of these pets.
Works Cited
Bircher, Morgan “Dogs seen running on freeway in Phoenix up for adoption Saturday.” abc15.com. abc15.com, 9 Mar 2018. Web. Aug 30 2018. <https://www.abc15.com/news/state/dogs-seen-running-on-freeway-in-phoenix-up-for-adoption-saturday>
Milani, Kathy “Report Animal Cruelty.” Humanesociety.org. Humanesociety.org, n.d. Web. 30 Aug 2018. <http://m.humanesociety.org/issues/abuse_neglect/tips/cruelty_action.html>
Mullins, Alisa “From ‘Designer Dog’ to Shelter Mutt and Back Again.” PETA.org. PETA.org, 20 Mar 2018. Web. 30 Aug 2018. <https://www.peta.org/blog/designer-dog-shelter-mutt-back/>
Pollard,Lindsay “Dogs Run Over, Cats Thrown in the Trash: Victims of. ‘No-Kill’ Policies.” PETA.org. PETA.org, 19 Feb 2016. Web. 27 Aug 2018. <https://www.peta.org/blog/dogs-run-over-cats-thrown-in-the-trash-victims-of-no-kill-policies/>
“Report Animal Cruelty.” Humanesociety.org. Humanesociety.org, n.d. Web. 27 Aug 2018. <http://m.humanesociety.org/issues/abuse_neglect/tips/cruelty_action.html>
“This Video Will Melt Your Heart: Christmas the Puppy’s First Holiday” PETA.org. PETA.org, 20 Dec 2017. Web. 30 Aug 2018. <https://www.peta.org/blog/video-will-melt-heart-christmas-puppys-first-holiday/>

