The Pros And Cons Of Animal Shelters

Introduction- Amber

The best things in life are rescued. Animal shelters take in unwanted animals and give them a chance to a better life. Animals found on the street are usually abandoned or lost. These animals are taken to a shelter where they work to find good homes and a chance to a better life. Along with this also comes the abuse. Animals in shelters that fail to be adopted can face abuse, where they may not be fed or they can be forced into a cage with many other animals if the shelter has accepted too many animals and becomes overpopulated. Though animal shelters have many positives, they also hold negatives. Animal shelters keep animals off the streets and in good homes; however, they can easily become overpopulated and create unnecessary

Pets often get lost, from wandering off, to running away. Once out of their safe zone animals can easily get lost. Some are even given up from families that can no longer care for them, to that just no longer wish to have a pet. Animals that are given up often have a hard time moving into new homes, some adjust quickly, “Fred had been given up by his previous family. During adopted him, set him up in a warm bed, smothered him with affection, and fed him well” (Bornstein, 2015, p 1). Animals have feelings too. Being given up can be hard, animals can have a hard time adjusting to a new home. Though they are not out roaming the streets for food and a safe place to sleep, the adjustment can take a toll on the animal. As they get scared of their new surrounding and start to miss the ones they loved they can develop depression or anxiety, so new families have to find ways to cope and help these animals. Many get stuck in shelters because people do not see them as fit for a family, only because of the stories told about certain breeds. To help these animals many shelters find ways to get them out in the community and show them they are not bad animals,“‘Community Pet Days’ that promote responsible ‘pit bull’ and pet ownership in low income, urban areas where dogs are traditionally seen to be a problem”(Barrett, 2011, p 4). Giving these animals a chance to go back to their homes has greatly made an upward

Shelters take animals in to help them find better families. These families can take better care of them and show them the love they deserve. Seeing the development of shelters and the good they are doing Inga Fricke states, “The progress that we have made in reducing shelter euthanasia rates show not only a huge change in rescue operations but also positive trends that have transformed the way people care for pets”(Mach, 2012, p 1). When recovering animals off the streets and going through the process to prepare them for a family, shelters take their time on finding the animal a family. There is a long process each adopter has to go through in order to adopt an animal. They check the adopters from top to bottom to make sure they are fit for the animal they wish to receive. They want to make sure these animals are going into good caring homes, as Darrell says, “If it’s not the right home, you’re setting up that dog for failure” (Greenwood, 2018, p 2). Shelters many times allow potential adopter to come spend time with the different animals to let them see if they have a connection or not. This makes it more likely for a potential adopter to get attached to an animal finding a home for that certain animal. Another reason to this is to get people use to the different kinds of animals to get them thinking about a breed that maybe they had though would not fit them. They can have them