Animal shelters across the country have been experiencing extreme storms this season as it rains cats and dogs... literally.
Each year, shelters experience an increase in stray pets, specifically in cats and dogs. As shelters acquire more and more pets, it becomes more difficult to take care of all of them, thus euthanasia is often the solution. Shelters are recognizing that "approximately 6.5 million companion animals enter U.S. animal shelters nationwide every year" (ASPCA). When 6.5 million companions enter animal shelters every year, 6.5 million families are ripping away love and homes from those pets and giving them the misfortune of living without a family.
Thankfully, animal rights activists are on the road to new goals and reform. Such reform includes, banning euthanasia, which is "the practice of intentionally ending a life in order to relieve pain and suffering." As happy as it makes me to say that less cats and dogs are being intentionally put down, I must point out the fact that those new goals must be satisfied as well to truly save stray animals. Their goals include encouraging people to not only adopt rather than buy pets, but also to make sure you can really commit to the responsibility of owning a pet before taking any fur ball home.
How these dogs and cats need to be saved is by you. And by your neighbor... and by your parents... and by that woman across from your cubicle at work whom you've never even spoken to. Even if you yourself are not in the correct spot to be adopting an animal, people of society must urge each other to adopt and save pets.
The fact is that people need to realize pets need humans, but often fail to realize that humans need pets just as much. Statistics from the Anxiety and Depression Association of American have shown that mental illnesses "affect 40 million adults in the United States age 18 and older." Numerous scientific studies show that adopting a dog or cat relieves stress, anxiety, loneliness, and depression. So how ironic is it that millions of individuals need stress relief, and millions of pets need homes?
It's been raining cats and dogs all April, so why not dance in the rain and go adopt a pet?
