Don’t Wait Until It’s too Late

By Angela and Michaela, sixth graders

Ever since we were little, we can remember loving animals.  So, when we learned that every day animals are being beaten, starved, or worse, we were shocked.  It is a problem that we have become passionate about vanquishing.

We see animals everywhere, every day, as guide dogs, therapy animals, even as family pets.  All of the critters doing these jobs love doing it, and at the same time, they’re helping us.  Think about it- guide dogs help people with seeing disabilities get around like a normal person.  Therapy animals help people in hospitals cheer up, and a happy attitude can swing them around to the road to recovery.  Family pets are always there to welcome you home after a long day at work.  All of these pets love what they do, and they play an important role in our lives.  They don’t deserve the abuse that some of mankind give them.

Hoarding is a big problem because the owners think that they are doing a good thing by keeping these animals. The living conditions are horrendous. There is feces everywhere and the house is messy with a rotten scent of urine.  What the owners don’t know is that they are actually hurting the animals. They are killing the animals because they don’t give them food and water, and the smell of urine is constant. They are raising them to be hateful around humans and to other creatures.  When you see a house in such poor condition like this with animals, report it to your local shelter or police station. You would be doing the animals and the owner a huge favor.

Neglect is one type of abuse that most people see and don’t report. Neglect comes in all sorts of ways, but the most common one is not giving animals the necessities that they need to live. People might “forget” to feed or give water to the animals because they were “too busy.” That is no excuse to not feed your animals. These people don’t “forget” to feed themselves, so why do they do that? It doesn’t take more than two minutes to give your animals water and food.

There are three main reasons why people hurt animals.  The first group is people who don’t intentionally realize that they are hurting animals, or they might not care enough to realize that they have forgotten to let their cat in last night, or that they left the car windows closed on a hot summer day with their dog inside while they are shopping.  Most people who abuse animals fall under this category, and with teaching, they most likely will never hurt animals again.  The second group of animal abusers does it on purpose.  They might throw a rock at a stray cat, or hurt a nest of baby birds.  This is usually because they aren’t thinking of how the animal feels as it runs away scared, or because they can’t hurt their parents, so they take it out on the family dog instead.  Some people collapse under peer pressure, so they hurt an animal to show off to friends.  Purposely hurting an animal is serious, and people caught doing it will face an even harsher punishment than those who are caught unintentionally doing it.  The third reason why people hurt animals is the worst.  These people hurt animals because they enjoy violence and pain.  These people would probably hurt people if they could get away with it, but they hurt animals instead because animals are helpless.  A lot of these people want the feeling of being powerful.  They may hurt an animal because they think it gives them control over the animal.  A husband may hurt the family pet to make the wife obey, and to show that he is in charge.  Someone else may make his dog fight other dogs.  Most of the people in this category have serious mental issues and need the help of a psychologist - though that doesn’t make what they’re doing right.  

There are many different reasons why people hurt animals, and all too many animals get hurt each day.  Just because animals can’t speak, and can’t cry for help, doesn’t mean that they don’t feel the pain that some of us give.  Animal abuse is not right, and it should never happen.  If you see or know about an animal being abused, speak up to a trusted adult or an authority – before it’s too late.

Sources:

"ASPCA | Why Do People Abuse Animals?." 2010. 6 Jun. 2013 <http://www.aspca.org/aspcakids/real-issues/why-do-people-abuse-animals.aspx>

"Why Do People Abuse Animals? | Youth Voices." 2012. 9 Jun. 2013 <http://youthvoices.net/discussion/why-do-people-abuse-animals>