Discuss some issue of local, national, or international concern and its importance to you (500 words or less)
This is 503 I think. Any suggestions? I need to cut stuff out, but that will come as I make edits. Thanks!
One of my earliest memories of my childhood in India is of entering my aunt's house and being smothered in licks and kisses from all six of her dogs. Rough, Lassie, Spike, Lily, Max, and Paco always provided plenty of entertainment and love, and all seemed to appear in one of the many hungry, homeless dogs I saw lining the streets. They proved to be the root for my passion for animal protection.
Driving through the streets of India, I never failed to see a forlorn dog trying, quite weakly, to get scraps from men and women who passed by. However, no one even seemed to see it lying in the street. It was just another small detail in their everyday lives. After seeing this again when I visited India only a few years ago, I was old enough to realize that something had to be done, and that I could help.
While I would have loved to travel throughout India to promote respect for animals and educate them about the effects they have on wildlife, I simply did not have the means to do so. Instead, I decided to start in my town. While dogs do not line the streets here, shelters are full to the brim with animals waiting to go to loving homes.
Apart from advocating to my friends and family to adopt animals, I realized children younger than I had to learn about the world around them. For this reason, I started to volunteer at the Alley Pond Environmental Center. Not only did I help take care of abandoned animals, such as birds, snakes, ferrets, and turtles, but I was also given the opportunity to teach children about where the animals came from. After telling them about a turtle who got run over by a car after being abandoned by the side of the road, a little boy told me he no longer wanted to buy a turtle because he was not sure he would be able to take care of it. While he was sad that he no longer would get a new companion, I was impressed that he realized the responsibility that comes along with buying or adopting an animal, a fact many do not consider. People are charmed by the idea of having something to love them, but then realize the responsibility is too large. They abandon them, just like the turtle with the scars on its shell.
Every time I see my dog, Molly, I am reminded of the many dogs I left behind in India. There are still dogs lying on the street, waiting for a home, but for now there is little I can do but help one animal at a time. Molly was rescued from a puppy mill, my turtle, Mikey, given to us from a woman who no longer could care for him. The work that still has to be done to save the world's animals is astounding but I realize that results can only come one step at a time.
This is 503 I think. Any suggestions? I need to cut stuff out, but that will come as I make edits. Thanks!
One of my earliest memories of my childhood in India is of entering my aunt's house and being smothered in licks and kisses from all six of her dogs. Rough, Lassie, Spike, Lily, Max, and Paco always provided plenty of entertainment and love, and all seemed to appear in one of the many hungry, homeless dogs I saw lining the streets. They proved to be the root for my passion for animal protection.
Driving through the streets of India, I never failed to see a forlorn dog trying, quite weakly, to get scraps from men and women who passed by. However, no one even seemed to see it lying in the street. It was just another small detail in their everyday lives. After seeing this again when I visited India only a few years ago, I was old enough to realize that something had to be done, and that I could help.
While I would have loved to travel throughout India to promote respect for animals and educate them about the effects they have on wildlife, I simply did not have the means to do so. Instead, I decided to start in my town. While dogs do not line the streets here, shelters are full to the brim with animals waiting to go to loving homes.
Apart from advocating to my friends and family to adopt animals, I realized children younger than I had to learn about the world around them. For this reason, I started to volunteer at the Alley Pond Environmental Center. Not only did I help take care of abandoned animals, such as birds, snakes, ferrets, and turtles, but I was also given the opportunity to teach children about where the animals came from. After telling them about a turtle who got run over by a car after being abandoned by the side of the road, a little boy told me he no longer wanted to buy a turtle because he was not sure he would be able to take care of it. While he was sad that he no longer would get a new companion, I was impressed that he realized the responsibility that comes along with buying or adopting an animal, a fact many do not consider. People are charmed by the idea of having something to love them, but then realize the responsibility is too large. They abandon them, just like the turtle with the scars on its shell.
Every time I see my dog, Molly, I am reminded of the many dogs I left behind in India. There are still dogs lying on the street, waiting for a home, but for now there is little I can do but help one animal at a time. Molly was rescued from a puppy mill, my turtle, Mikey, given to us from a woman who no longer could care for him. The work that still has to be done to save the world's animals is astounding but I realize that results can only come one step at a time.