One topic that I found very important and hold close to my heart is animal abuse. The reason I chose this topic is because personally I love animals. I’ve had one dog in my life when I was younger. My family just took in my cousin’s dog and I have a cat. I’ve ridden horses before, and many of my relatives have some type of pet. I grew up with animals, and to me they are very good loyal companions. Many people see the commercials of at risk animals and feel the sadness, but only for so long. The commercial can only tell you so much in 3 minutes. That’s why I feel as though I should make this blog post, because I want to be the voice for the animals. I want to bring awareness to this. I feel as though nobody should be abused, but especially those who are defenseless.
First, what is abuse? The definition of abuse means to threaten in a harmful, injurious, or dangerous way. This can mean physical or mental. Many people sometimes don’t even realize when they’re abusing someone. You can mentally abuse somebody just by what you say to them. Negative name calling, purposeful embarrassment, emotional rejections are all examples of emotional abuse. Also, neglecting your pet is a type of abuse. Not feeding them, showing any affection towards them… That’s abuse. Pets do have feelings too. They can tell the difference between “Bad Boy/Girl”! & “Good Boy/Girl”!
If people truly saw the statistics of animal abuse they would be shocked, I know I was. In 2007 statistics showed that out of 1,880 reported cases of animal abuse: 64.5% involved dogs (25% were pit bulls); 18% involved cats; and 25% involved other animals. The fascinating thing about animal abuse is that many of the animals that were abused; their owners were also victims of domestic abuse. Roughly 2,168,000 women and men are physically assaulted by their partner. In 1997, 71% of domestic violence victims reported their abuser targeting their animals. This is truly sad to me. I couldn’t imagine somebody beating a helpless animal, for what? Does that make you feel strong? Does it make you feel like you have power? If you genuinely care for your pet 9/10, they will be loyal to you forever. When I’m at home crying, my cat comes to snuggle up next to me to comfort me. When I’m yelling, my cat comes to calm me down because she hates me yelling. When I was sick to the bone, my cat comforted me. Pets are beautiful, and they can be your best friend if you’d let them.
One thing I would also like to point out is the cat vs. dog debate. No type of animal is better than the other. This is the same thing with people. One thing that definitely gets under my skin is when people say they hate cats. Hate is a strong word. Why do you HATE all of them? Is it because they’re “sneaky” they’re “boring” or maybe is it because of a previous incident you’ve had with a cat? Well, not all cats are alike. This goes for the same as dogs. Let’s take pit bulls for example. Not all pit bulls are mean. Not all pit bulls “FIGHT, FIGHT FIGHT”! Some are loveable. These are common stereotypes. Even though cats do not get abused as much as dogs, they are neglected too. First, cats should NOT go outside. That puts them at risk of being attacked by stray animals, getting hit by a car, being abused by a person, getting lost, etc. The average life for an indoor cat is 15 years, whereas outdoor cats are only expected to live 3-5 years. This is the same for small dogs. Secondly, cats do get attached. If you pet a stray cat, and continuously show them affection they will start to follow you because they like the compassion. Thirdly, feeding a stray cat isn’t bad! However, they will stick around. It’s not like “ok thanks for the food, bye.” They will stick around. I’m just saying, you shouldn’t automatically dismiss anybody or anything because of how previous incidents. Not everybody and everything are alike. Some may surprise you more than you know.
I know some people may question why should they even care about an animal? Why should I care about this cause? What's the purpose of this post? Why would I put an animal before a person? Not all pets are good! Well, I like dogs but I hate cats! The list goes on and on. I’ve heard so many things like this. Well, to begin with, animals are happy to see you even when nobody else is. Animals will listen to your problems, and even if you can’t sing you’re their idol. Also, people who own pets live longer, have less stress, and have fewer heart attacks. Overall, animals are living creatures too. Regardless, if you like them are not… Please don’t contribute to the cycle. You CAN get jail time! Animal Abuse is a offense! You can make a difference! You can BE a difference. Even if it’s just making a phone call.
List of animal shelters and numbers to report abuse
Animal Welfare League: Chicago Ridge: Phone: (708).636.8586
Red Door Animal Shelter: Chicago: (773) 764-2242
Chicago Anti-Cruelty Society: Chicago: (312).644.8338
PAWS Chicago Adoption Center: Chicago: (773)-521-1408
To Report Animal Abuse/ Neglect: (312) 644-8338
HELP PUT AN END!
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