Can anyone provide me with assistance on what else I could include? I am really struggling with adding information! And I need 1000 more words... Please help! Thank you!!
Introduction
There has been an increasing number of strays throughout the city of Norman. This increase has caused major problems to each animal shelter in regards to space and funding. Animal shelters have tried to combat these problems by raising funds and trying to expand. However with the current economy, this solution is not helping the underlying roots of the problem: Animal Abandonment.
Common Reasons for Animal Abandonment
Animal shelters exist because society needs them to not only attempt to reunite lost animals with their owners, but also to find new homes for those who were abandoned or surrendered. Animal abandonment is common throughout the city for many reasons including but not limited to the following: pet owners do not understand the responsibilities that come with pet ownership, they are unable to financially provide for the needs of the animal, the pet is considered to be destructive/misbehaved, etc.
The current economic crisis, which started in 2006, affects everyone, including pets, in one way or another. During this crisis, shelters have seen "an increase in the number of homeless pets they must care for" (ASPCA, 2009). The current economic crisis has increased foreclosures, causing hundreds of animals in the city to be abandoned. National financial estimates suggest that "approximately one in 171 homes in the United States are in danger of foreclosure, [meaning that] hundreds of thousands of pets are in danger of being abandoned or relinquished to animal shelters" (ASPCA, 2009) in the United States. The ASPCA states that roughly 63% of US households have at least one pet. Table 1, shows the estimated number of household both in the US and in the City of Norman containing pets.
TABLE IN ACTUAL PAPER
According to the US Census Bureau, in 2009 there were approximately 103,595 people living in Norman, Oklahoma. Of those 103,595 people, an estimated 30% own at least one animal and 15. 8% (as shown in Table 2) individuals were considered to be below the poverty line. If 30 percent of the 16,368 (15.8%) individuals owned pets, 4,910 animals are at risk of being abandoned.
TABLE IN ACTUAL PAPER
Where the Abandoned Animals Go
Most abandoned animals end up in the different animal shelters across the city. Between 2009 and 2010, the Norman Animal Welfare alone "took in more than 3,159 animals" (McCormick, 2010). This does not include the thousands that other animal shelters such as the Second Chance Animal Sanctuary have taken in. This means that in any given month of the year, roughly 263 animals came into the Norman Animal Welfare, but how can the shelter maintain so many animals each month when they are only able to accommodate 73 dogs and 42 cats? The answer is that they can't maintain this large number of abandoned animals. Instead, many animals are euthanized, in order to open a space for the next pet, but some will be lucky enough to either be adopted or taken in by no-kill organizations such as the Second Chance Animal Sanctuary. However, with the current economy, decreasing adoption rates and limited space, numerous abandoned animals will reside in these shelters for long periods of time.
Oklahoma citizens should feel upset with the fact that for several thousand animals, their only hope is to be taken from rural Oklahoma and moved into other states. Dave and Connie Guthrie have started a group called "save our strays," in which they take animals from rural Oklahoma to Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Guthrie's transport animals from Oklahoma twice a week, and have recently transported their 2,000th dog to the Humane Society in Minnesota. Many Oklahoma areas do not have the resources to maintain these animals, so in one aspect, this can be seen as a blessing. However, when you look at the situation from a bigger picture, it is distressing to think that Oklahoma cannot take responsibility or care of their animals. Does the City of Norman really want to contribute to this disappointing situation?
The Human's Fault, Not the Animal's
Many pet owners often choose to purchase puppies or kittens, without the understanding that the animal will grow up and need a lot of attention and training. This lack of understanding and knowledge of animals can be considered a substantial reason for their abandonment.
Behavioral problems can often be linked to the pet owner's lack of knowledge. Behavioral problems can be serious, but are often common issues for these pets such as destructiveness, barking/meowing, compulsive behavior, aggression and house soiling. Dr. Debra Horwitz, a veterinary behaviorist and professor at the University Of Missouri College Of Veterinary Medicine, has researched animal behavior and believes "that [an] animal's perceived inappropriate behaviors...play a role" in animal abandonment. Such behavioral problems can be corrected once they are recognized and dealt with, but many pet owners lack the knowledge or commitment needed to accomplish the task.
Currently, many pet owners may seek help from animal trainers, which can cost anywhere from $50 for group classes or up to $2500 for dog obedience schools. In the current economic situation, the extremely high costs of training often discourages pet owners from training their animals, which can inevitably result in their abandonment.
Animal shelters and organizations should offer to help current and future pet owners with these types of situations. By offering training and pet care courses, as well prior pet owner counseling at a lower rate, the animal abandonment rate will decrease. This is because pet owners will have the necessary understanding of their future responsibilities and ways of dealing with different pet behaviors which may have previously been deemed inappropriate. This can also increase animal shelter funding which can be used to maintain the animals.
Are Microchips the Answer?
Another important issue pertains to microchipping pets and the current animal protection within the Oklahoma Statutes Section 4. Currently, Oklahoma Statute 4 Acts 1691-1692 prohibits and punishes the "abandoning of domestic animals along streets or highways or in any public place." However, the state should also require pet owners to microchip their animals. Microchips will assist law enforcement officers in finding such offenders which in turn will discourage many people from abandoning these animals.
Microchips will also help reunite lost pets with owners. A study published by Lord et. al, in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association researched the effectiveness of microchips in reuniting pets with their owners. This cross sectional study was conducted using 7,704 microchipped animals that entered 53 participating animal shelters between August 2007 and March 2008. Out of the 7,704 animals, 53% were reunited with pet owners with the remainder of the animals surrendered or having incorrect registry information. The study showed that 74.1% of dog owners and 63.5% of cat owners who had microchipped their pets were reunited. This can be related to the city of Norman's increasing problem of animals entering shelters. As stated previously, the Norman Animal Welfare, alone, took in 3,159 animals (1,933 dogs and 1,166 cats) over the past fiscal year and because the shelter can only house roughly 73 dogs and cats, this meant that many were euthanized. By applying the results from the study, it can be said that roughly 1432 dogs and 740 cats could have been reunited with their owners, or at least brought some justice to their abandonment.
Conclusion
Today, many people treat animals like a disposable item. In order to stop this, we need to act now on the main issues at hand: pet owners are unaware and lack the knowledge of their responsibilities. Additionally, city regulations are not sufficient. "We recognize animal suffering, [and] wish to see it controlled, but are generally not prepared" (Rollin, 2005), to deal with this growing problem. By following through the proposed solutions, hundreds of animals will be safe with families that have the knowledge of how to treat, train and commit to a permanent relationship with their animals. With the offering of information sessions and training courses, the current decrease of adoption rates will begin to increase causing a reduction of unwanted pets in animal shelters each year.
Recommendations
There are various methods that the city of Norman can use to combat the problem of animal abandonment. In my opinion, the two main solutions would be to require that animals are microchipped and have pet ownership/training education.
