Sam Davis

ENG 1201

Echols

10/26/21

Why are there so many homeless animals in America?

The homeless animal crisis in America has become a huge problem over the

years. According to dosomething.org, approximately 7.6 million animals are brought into

shelters nationwide every year. About 3.9 million of these animals are dogs and about

3.4 million are cats. No one else is to blame for the homeless animal problem in

America other than humans. For many years, humans have been greedily breeding

dogs with profit being the only thing in mind and not the well being of the dogs.

Breeders over breed dogs and therefore create unwanted puppies that will probably

never have a loving home. People who buy puppies will often abandon the dog because

they are too lazy to deal with the commitment that it takes to raise them. These factors

and more are the reason for the homeless animal crisis in America.

I chose to write about this topic because it is very personal to me, my whole life

my mother has always taken in unwanted animals. Ever since I could remember, there

were always different kinds of animals that would come in and out. My mom takes in

everything from cats and dogs to pigs and donkeys. Right now we are taking care of a

Blue Heeler who was living on the streets with his owner who was a drug addict and is

currently in rehab. He could not bring the dog with him and had no one to look after it,
so we offered to do it. We also have a great pyrenees named Bear who was found tied

to a shed with an extension cord around his neck and was not being fed or watered

properly. He has found a forever home with us. We also own a pig and donkey that were

abandoned by their previous owners who left them after they moved. The list goes on

and on of all the animals we have taken in and either kept or found good homes for.

This is why I chose to write about this topic. I thought to myself, ”Why are there all these

unwanted animals?”. So I am writing this to hopefully find the answer to this question.

You might wonder what happens to homeless dogs and cats. Well they can get

hit by cars, they are susceptible to attacks from other animals and cruel humans. They

will freeze in the winter and suffer from heat exhaustion in the summer. The puddles

that they can find to drink out of will be frozen over in winter and those same puddles

are often polluted with motor oil, pesticides and other substances that will hurt them.

They can contract, spread and die from a variety of diseases. Just a common infection

that is left untreated will eventually kill them. Their lives are filled with fear and

discomfort. To say the least, the life of a homeless animal is nothing short of suffering.

They do not deserve this and we are the ones to blame for their strife.

A very large reason for the mass amounts of homeless animals is people’s failure

to spay and neuter their personal animals. This is enabling their animals to bring more

dogs and cats to this world, a world where there are already more animals than there

are loving homes for them. Just the simple action of spaying or neutering your pet is

already taking a big step into fixing the homeless animal crisis. Getting a pet spayed or
neutered can sometimes be xpenixve and thi is a big reason why many people do not

do it. Although it may be expensive, it is worth the money because it is so important in

helping solve the problem of homeless pets.

Another reason this crisis has become so severe is that as the homeless animal

population continues to grow, more and more shelters are becoming full and therefore

are turning animals away that are dropped off. This is leaving people who no longer

want their animals with no other option then to drop them off in the streets. Cruel people

who have animals that for whatever reason are trying to get rid of them will simply

abandon them wherever they can. This leads to the dogs reproducing with other

abandoned dogs and adding to the crisis. People’s lack of knowledge and impatience to

train their animals leads to them abandoning the animals. Dogs and cats are

domesticated animals who depend on humans to meet their needs for food, water,

veterinary care, shelter, and safety and cannot survive for long on their own, in other

words, it is a person’s responsibility alone to take care of their pet. Many people get a

pet and realize they do not have the patience to continue to take care of it and soon

abandon it.

Accidental litters are a main reason so many dogs end up in shelters. Many

owners do not consider spay and neutering a priority, or they think it is cruel. However,

it is far less humane to euthanize unwanted animals that no one can care for then it is to

spay or neuter them. In 2019 The San Diego Humane Society performed 13,933

spay/neuter surgeries for shelter animals and 3,540 spay/neuter surgeries for owned
pets which is a good start, but more education and low-cost spay/neuter services are

one of the most important ways to prevent unplanned litters, most of whom will end up

in shelters.

In The article, “The Plight of Homeless Dogs in America.” Preston Browne writes,

“Sometimes a dog owner has unrealistic expectations of a companion animal. He may

think getting a puppy is fun. However, not researching breed or temperament could lead

to an unhappy pet owner. Many dog owners do not consider that animals go through

the “teenage” years as well. 47.7% of dogs surrendered to shelters are in their

adolescent years. Rather than getting appropriate training, they relinquish it to a shelter

or dump it on the streets. What it boils down to is that people consider their animal's

temporary property that they can discard at will. The truth is dogs are deeply feeling

creatures with the mentality of a 2-year-old. When someone discards a dog, they are in

essence discarding a toddler. Also, dogs have been conditioned over thousands of

years to bond with humans because of domestication. Once a bond has been formed

between the dog and owner, he will be loyal to the point of death. The consequences of

breaking that bond and rehoming a dog can lead to serious depression and health

issues. He may lose interest in food and play and suffer anxiety after rehoming. This

kind of stress can lead to weight loss and stomach upset. Before bringing a dog home

the potential owner should examine if they can deeply commit to their dog with a “till

death till you part” kind of attitude.” This goes to show how a large reason people

relinquish their pets to shelters is because they simply do not have the patience nor

commitment to own a pet.

 According to the ASPCA, about half of the animals that are brought into shelters

are strays.

This graph shows a dog’s background before it was brought into a shelter. By

looking at this graph we can see that many more dogs are taken into shelters as strays

rather than being relinquished by their owners. The reason for this could be that the

owners did not take their unwanted pet to the pound, but instead left them in the streets

where they become strays.

 As I said before, a dog will get relinquished because of behavioral problems that

can most of the time, be easily fixed. A behavior will become out of hand because of the

owner’s inexperience and lack of consistency and patience. Behavioral problems that

can be fixed include chewing, barking, digging, and counter surfing, yet these are the

problems that can easily get a dog rehomed. These behaviors can be solved with

patience and consistency, those are two things a lot of pet owners are not willing to put

forward. Aggression or reactivity such as barking, lunging, and growling is more

troublesome but can also be fixed with strong leadership and training. In some cases,

exposing your dog to new experiences can help to desensitize them to the sights and

smells, and sounds that make them reactive. In moderate to severe cases, a

professional trainer might be necessary. But in any case, it is the responsibility of every

pet owner to try to work through behavioral issues before they give up their dog.

This problem has been relevant for a very long time, but there has been a recent

spike in the number of stray companion pets due to the pandemic. Shelters in New York

and Los Angeles are nearing capacity as more and more people who got pets during

the pandemic are dumping them at the pound as the pandemic comes to an end.

According to Fortune.com, Animal Care Centers of NYC saw 1,393 animals brought to

them last month, that is about twice the number of dogs and cats surrendered in

February. Exact numbers are not available in Los Angeles, but Reuters reports the trend

is on the rise there as well. The reason for this spike is that while people were ordered

to work from home, they found themselves having more free time than usual. Some

people picked up a new hobby, learned an instrument, or caught up on their gardening.

But others decided to raise a pet. They had a lot of time to raise the pet because they

were almost always home, but when they had to return to work they found that they just

didn’t have the time to take care of it anymore. So they then rehome it or relinquish it to

a shelter. This is very unfortunate because most of these animals were puppies or

kittens when they were obtained. Now that they are grown and unwanted by the owner,

it is harder to find a new home for them.

Staying on the topic of puppies, according to The Humane Society of America, A

puppy mill is an inhumane high-volume dog breeding facility that churns out puppies for

profit, ignoring the needs of the pups and their mothers. Dogs from puppy mills are often

sick and unsocialized. Puppy mills commonly sell through internet sales, online

classified ads, flea markets and pet stores. In fact, the majority of puppies sold in pet

stores and online are from puppy mills. Responsible breeders will be happy to meet you

in person and show you where the puppy was born and raised and where their mom

lives too. Mother dogs spend their entire lives in cramped cages with little to no personal

attention. When the mother and father dogs can no longer breed, they are abandoned

or killed. Due to poor sanitation, overbreeding and a lack of preventive veterinary care,

the puppies from puppy mills frequently suffer from a variety of health issues, creating

heartbreaking challenges for families who should be enjoying the delights of adopting a

new family member. This goes to show that human greed and the chase of profit has a

terrible effect on the lives of animals.

 As for solutions to this crisis, the absolute best way is to spay and neuter your

pet. This is the simplest, cheapest, and easiest way to put a stop to the needless

suffering and death of homeless companion pets. Veterinarians, non-profit groups, and

other trusted sources all urge people to spay and neuter their pet. There is also a

growing number of low cost and even free spay and neuter programs. Even with all this,

way too many people still fail to provide this simple service to their pets that would save

lives. Some communities are combating this problem by implementing a policy that

requires everyone to spay or neuter their pets. Everyone who does not follow this policy

is required to pay a hefty breeder’s fee. Areas that have implemented this have reported

a significant decrease in stray animals. This is necessary because unfortunately, some

people will not do the right thing unless the law requires them to.

If society were more conscious of how we think of animals, we could combat the

dog homeless epidemic in America. If we were more responsible about spay and

neutering and did not think of our dogs as disposable, there would not be a need for

over 40,000 shelters and rescues in America. Since we have not reached that level of

consciousness, it has become our moral obligation, to volunteer our time and money

and maybe even our homes to ensure that the homeless dogs suffering all over the

country can find the loving homes they deserve.

Only If society were more conscious of how we think of animals, we would be

able to better combat the homeless animal crisis in America. If we were more

responsible about spay and neutering and did not think of our dogs as something
disposable, there would be no need for over 40,000 shelters and rescues in America.

Since we have not reached that level of consciousness, it has become our moral

obligation, to volunteer our time and money and maybe even our homes to ensure that

the homeless dogs suffering all over the country can find the loving homes they

deserve. It is up to us to solve a problem that we created.

 Belvoir Media Group.”Foster Care: Are you a Candidate? How to be a valuable volunteer

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Preston Browne. “The Plight of Homeless Dogs in America”. Bonetiredpup.com. June 2,

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October 17, 2021.

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Samantha Raphelson. “No ‘Easy Answer’ To Growing Number of Stray Dogs in The

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https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/2017/12/29/259326/no-easy-answer-t

o-growing-number-of-stray-dogs-in-the-u-s-advocate-says/ Accessed October 17, 2021.

Chris Morris. “People Are Abandoning Their Pandemic Pets as Returns to Work Loom”.

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Accessed October 17, 2021