Rescue shelters have been around for quite some time, and through the years, they have helped to improve animals’ standard of living. We have all seen countless photos on social media and commercials on television that show us what these animals go through. From being abused by their owners to strays on the street, these animals are robbed from the love, secure access to food, and proper veterinary services that they deserve. And whenever I saw images like that, I would always ask why. Why would someone abandon an animal that has done nothing wrong to them? Why would someone harm an animal that can’t even defend itself? When I first heard of rescue shelters, I thought that their sole purpose was to rescue animals off the streets or from the homes of their abusers, and then put them in adoption centers where they would hopefully find new loving owners. But through my research I learned that the shelters jobs go much deeper than that, and they do work that goes unnoticed.  

 

What first got me interested in animal shelters and their work was the ASPCA commercial. As I watched the commercial play out on my television, a wave of sadness washed over me. I wasn’t able to grasp why a person would turn their back on an innocent animal that they promised to love and take care of. These animals were unable to defend themselves and were left vulnerable and alone, with no one to come to their defense because no one was willing to. It angered me because it reminded me of the time when I was bullied. Those who yelled constant insults at me never considered the fact that I had feelings, and the same thing goes for the poor animals who were neglected and abused by their owners. Animal abuse goes deeper than just physical abuse from the owner. Dog fighting, puppy mill operations, and animal hoarding are other common forms of domestic animal abuse, and there are thousands of cases that occur each year, but sadly that there are many instances that go unnoticed by others.  

 

Puppy mills are commercial dog breeding facilities where dogs are housed together in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions with the lack of proper veterinary care, food, or socialization (“Puppy Mills”). All the dogs that live in these mills live a miserable life, but it’s the females that have it the worst. The female dogs are forced to constantly reproduce to make more and more puppies, with little to no healing time in between giving birth, many of the dogs die because of the trauma that is put on their bodies from continuously having to give birth to a new litter. If you look up puppy mills you’ll find photos that show dogs living in wires cages that are stacked on top of one another. Since the dogs are not properly taken care of, they are usually infested with flees, and have diseases like pneumonia, heart disease, and many other health issues. So many pet breeders are operating without any government oversight, so it then becomes difficult to actually know how many are actually in existence, but there are as many as 10,000 puppy mills in the United States today (“Puppy Mills”). The animals are then either sold to pet stores or to regular people off the streets. If the breeders don’t sell the animals to pet stores, the dogs are either killed or thrown on the streets, where they then become strays.

 

I discovered that a key factor that contributes to stray animals on the streets is overpopulation. Lack of sterilization (spaying/neutering), proper veterinary care, behavior training, as well as attitude towards pets as objects that can be disposed of when no longer needed are all causes of overpopulation (Greenebaum pg. 289). A major way that shelters work to decrease overpopulation is by fixing every animal that comes through their door. If an animal organization is able to rescue animals from the mills or just off the street, and then take them back to the shelter where animals are neutered/spayed. I know from first-hand experience that the cost of having your pets fixed is quite expensive, and many low-income families are unable to afford such surgeries, and this causes their pets to have babies that they are unable to take care of. In most cases, these pet owners can’t usually afford the costs of extra animals, and so typically these animals are just hoarded in the homes, or the owners put the unwanted pets on the streets. By shelters providing these procedures for free, it takes a major burden off the chests of future owners. I was able to find a shelter here in Tallahassee that provides this service.

 

Ms. Perri Dale, assistant director at the Tallahassee/Leon County Animal Service Center, explained how the local shelter provides the same service, as well as offers educational classes to owners whose dogs aren’t fixed. When she informed me about the classes I was shocked because I never heard of something like that being offered before, and I feel that it’s a great way to help educate owners about the current issue that exits in our nation today. The shelter also has a Facebook page, which I have decided to use for my text. The Tallahassee shelter has many posts, that range from requesting donations to posting about upcoming events that they are hosting. They are able to use social media as a way to broadcast to the local community about what animals are in need of.

 

Most animal shelters also advocate for animal rights, which is the general belief that all animals have the same rights as humans and that “humans should not be able to use animals for their own personal gain or benefit,” (DeMeo pg. 42). In terms of rescue shelters, this belief is very important because through their work one is able to see that they fight for the well-being of animals. Many people are unaware of that animals are capable of having feelings. So, when comes into play, the owner neglects this fact, and shelters, as well as other animals’ rights advocates, fight to inform the public about the animal mind and the impact that abuse and neglect has on them.