Year One of My College Essays

Animal Abuse and Neglect

I feel really strongly about this topic although I am not to sure about this one. I know these first two essays are being posted kind of close to each other and you might think "what kind of college does that?" but the first essay was turned in about two weeks ago, I just decided now to post them. Anyway, please read and enjoy!

This is my Cause and Effect essay. I got a 68 on this one.  (My English teacher hates me. Fact.)

~~~***~~~***~~~

How we treat animals can say a lot about who we are as people. Keeping animals as pets is a huge responsibility because we have to devote so much of our time and effort to different animals. For dogs a few hours so they can get exercise, for fish a few minutes to feed and clean their tank, maybe an hour for cats for play and exercise.

People often purchase animals as a gift and do not think about the responsibility that comes with, such as the pet owners must care for their pets and treat them well. Choosing a pet often needs a special bond that can not be seen when buying a pet for someone. Most people buy animals for a life long companion or because they see the an animal and fall in love with just how cute it is. Some reasons could be how cute their eyes are, how soft they are, or how small. The same thing will apply for any animal we see, a cat, hamster, bunny, or even a bird.

A dog will lead and follow, no matter what we do. Animals are life long friends and will be devoted to one person for all time. They will never forget who we are. The worst to happen is animal cruelty and abuse, which is mostly seen when a dog gets bigger than someone may have expected or someone declawed a cat because it scratched the curtain before abandoned it out in the wild with no way to protect itself because it would not hunt like it was bought to do. Pets like these are left outside because people do not want to deal with them, dumping them far away from where they are used to, to die or be found by someone else. Although some people can not afford to take care of their pet, it would serve better to take them to a shelter instead of abandoning them on the side of the road. Leaving an animal to defend itself after it has been domesticated for so long is a cruel and unusual punishment for the behavior of people.

Emrys, my friend Emily's dog, was adopted about a year ago and was abused by previous owners. He is startled by sudden movement, loud notices such as metal food bowls banging together, and moving too fast to pet him. He moves back as if someone is going to strike him. We do not know for sure if he was abused by his previous owners, but all that he does directs us to believe that he was. This is proof that abuse to an animal has long term effects and they will not just forget about it and move on.

Buying an animal for the fun of it and then not taking care of the animal is punishable by up to five years in prison for animal cruelty or ten to twenty years for animal neglect. If people decide they want a pet, they should do sufficient research on the animal, make sure to get all the necessities for them, and make sure to have the right amount of time to take proper care of them.

Neglecting pets, in most cases, causes the animals to become aggressive and attack. They are often scared of what someone has shown them people can do, and then that is how they see us. Animals are intelligent creatures and we do not give them enough credit for that.

Treating animals so horribly not only shapes the relationship we have with animals but also with people. People will see how someone treats an animal and will be uncomfortable around them. When someone sees how someone else treats an animal negatively, it gives them a stronger opinion on how to treat their own pet.