Abuse

Hi again!

I want to talk a little bit about different types of animal abuse to get this started. I found a statistics guide at this website with information about pet abuse that shows a yearly report of the abuse and cruelty committed in each U.S. state. This year alone there have been 674 cases of animal abuse in the country, with 34 cases in Pennsylvania alone!
The most common form of abuse in PA (and the rest of the U.S.) is neglect and abandonment, with 15 separate cases.

Neglect and abandonment is considered when an animal is not properly cared for (left sick or without food and water) or is left alone after its owners may move away or go on a period of absence from their home.

It is possible that many pet owners are simply ignorant of the great responsibility that comes with owning and maintaining an animal. I have also thought that maybe some owners just don't care. I think it happens all too often that animals are bought or adopted on the initial thought that they're pretty easy to take care of and "Oh hey! That one's cute! Let's get it!" There is no thought behind the idea of getting a pet. The best owners sit down and really think about the purchase they are about to make. Some criteria for being allowed to adopt an animal should be:
Do I have enough money to be able to feed, groom, and shelter this animal?
Have I taken into account initial veterinarian bills? Do I have the proper funds in case my new pet gets sick?
Do I and/or my family really have enough time to dedicate to this creature? Remember different animals need different amounts of exercise. If you work a 12 hour day and live alone, a Great Dane isn't the best animal for you.
Am I willing to dedicate myself to this animal as if it were my own child? There is a lot of maintenance involved with taking care of any pet.

I feel that if these aspects of getting a pet were more closely analyzed, more people would stop and realize that maybe they aren't ready to have a new animal.

I found a really good diagram (courtesy of HARC) that shows some criteria for proper animal care that I thought would go really well with this post. Check it out!




Something to think about: Don't judge a person based on how he treats his equals. Judge him on how he treats his inferiors.