Portfolio - Essay #2

Essay #2 – I Say - Natasha Tevis
About 2 years ago my brother was play basketball with some of his friends at a local basketball court when this dog, a black lab makes its way onto the court. It looked hungry so my brother gave it some food that he happen to have with him he then continued to play basketball. After the game, as they’re starting to leave the lab starts to follow my brother home. She was probably hoping to get some more food. After arriving at home with the dog my brother and I noticed that there was a big problem. The dog is covered in fleas and is extremely skinny; she looked like she had been on the streets for a very long time. My first instinct is to help this dog in whatever way possible. So we gave her a bath and fed her some of our own dog’s food. We took a picture of her and posted some flyers around our neighborhood hoping someone would claim the dog. After about 2 weeks with no response we gave the dog to our neighbor who was very happy to take her and helped her recover phenomenally.
When I see any animal in distress I get the most horrible feeling in my stomach and will try to do everything I can to help. I love animals and I can’t stand to see them abused or neglected. After my experience with the Black lab, which was later named Angel, I ask myself, what can I do to help prevent and stop animal cruelty?
The answer is a lot. There are so many organizations out there that help to prevent the abuse of animals. PETA for example, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. They are a non profit organization that is fighting to stop the mistreatment of animals. PETA uses petitions and protests to get there messages across to the masses. They also broadcast public service announcements, give speeches at schools and other organizations and they use celebrity influence to help their cause. Just the other day I was watching TV and saw a representative from PETA on “The Janice Dickenson Modeling Agency”, protesting with Janice Dickenson’s models to not use animal fur in the fashion industry. Janice vowed that her agency would become a fur free agency. PETA is a great organization and they do a lot to raise awareness of animal abuse but I think more could be done to prevent animal abuse.
Another show I like to watch on TV is “Animal Precinct” on Animal Planet. The show is all about the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, ASPCA, which is another big organization fighting to prevent the mistreatment of animals. The ASPCA and PETA are very similar to each other in they both petition and do public service announcements however, ASPCA does a lot more. The ASPCA has its own Humane Law Enforcement Department, the HLE. They are the Animal Cops. HLE actually charges and prosecutes the people who abuse and neglect animals. They also have a chain of animal shelters, veterinary hospitals and foster parents for the abandoned and stray animals they find. I think the ASPCA does the best job at preventing animal cruelty because it not only punishes those who are cruel to animals but they also have there own TV show. The TV show helps to reach more people and raises awareness that animal cruelty is a real problem and won’t be tolerated. Michael Vick should have watched the show .He might have learned something!!
Animal abuse is not just a problem because it’s cruel to the anima. It’s also a problem for people. Several studies have found a significant relationship between cruelty to animals and violence toward people. The relationship is found more commonly in adolescents than adults but is still a problem no matter what the age. This is another big reason I believe in the ASPCA so much. They are also helping to prevent violence towards humans. They can catch and convict someone for animal cruelty who may one day have become violence towards people. If someone is convicted of animal cruelty the likelihood of this person being cruel to animals again goes down; as well as the likely hood of it progressing to violence toward people.
Animals should be treated right and respected because they do a lot for us. They give companionship. Animals can be trained to aid in the rescue of someone. They aid in various therapeutic methods. They protect us. I feel it is important to prevent animal cruelty because I believe they deserved to be treated with respect and I believe no one does a better job than the ASPCA.