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There are 70 million companion animals in the United States that are homeless. You might think that stray cats and dogs aren't your problem, they don't affect you, but you're wrong. Stray animals harm the economy, wildlife, people, and other pets. “In Wake County only 15,000 strays are sheltered in a no kill facility,” according to WakeGov. I care about this topic because I have two dogs and I would never want them to be on the street or hurt by a dangerous, homeless animal. You should care about this because these animals can cost you money in taxes, veterinary bills, or doctor bills if you or your pet gets bitten by an abandoned animal. This is a problem that can be solved, so let's start working! The Issue As stated above, stray animals can affect the economy, wildlife, people, and other pets. Stray animals can get a disease and spread those to humans that are just walking down a street. Diseases like rabies and leptospirosis can spread from animals to humans. Infected, stray animals can spread diseases to pets, which causes the owners to have to pay veterinary bills. Another very important reason we should limit the amount of homeless animals on the street is they can kill endangered wildlife or animals that are not in season. When abandoned animals can't be taken into a no kill shelter or someone's home, it costs the government more money to pay animal control to take care of those animals. This has always been an issue in communities and we caused it. Animal homelessness is caused by pet owners not spaying or neutering their pets and letting them have babies when they can't take care of them. This issue is also caused by people getting pets when they can't afford it or have time to take care of it. This causes overcrowding in shelters and animals abandoned on the street. If this problem is not taken care of, homeless animal overpopulation will spread diseases more quickly and the streets would become more crowded, which could cause more car accidents. In Montgomery County Animal Shelter, “The shelter, which has the highest kill rate in the state, euthanized nearly 1,200 animals – 100 percent of cats and 98 percent of dogs – brought there last year, according to state records,” says WRAL on kill shelters. Out of the 70 million homeless animals in The United States, only 3.2 million are adopted each year. This means that 66.8 animals are either euthanized or left on the streets. What Others Have Done Many people in our community are working to help homeless animals. There is no limit to who can help and what you can do. Karen Hamza, a homeless lady, has dedicated her life to helping those like herself. Her and her dog, Tippy, started an organization called the Angel Hanz For The Homeless Inc. that helps both homeless animals and homeless people. While Karen Hamza was on the streets, she took a cat and two dogs into her care. Karen Hamza not only understands the plight of the people and the animals she helps, she also offers actual resources to help get them and their animals back into the swing of life (“She's Dedicating Her Life To Helping Homeless People And Their Pets”). Some things they do include getting the word out for the homeless to bring their pets to gatherings, providing key essentials such as food, clothing, and blankets, speaking to schools, on television, and on the radio, assisting veterinary services, and lastly, working to keep animals out of the kill shelters. Kill shelters are something that concerns animal lovers all over the world. Once an animal has been at the shelter for a long time and no one has adopted it yet, kill shelters use euthanasia to kill the animals so that they no longer take up space and other animals can come in. However, there are also such things as no-kill animal shelters. These shelters do not kill the animals even when the shelter is full. They reserve the euthanasia for terminally sick animals or those considered dangerous to public safety. Some of these shelters include SPCA of Wake County, Safe Haven For Cats, and Second Chance Pet Adoptions. I know what you're thinking. These people are already helping, why should I? Well, while organizations in Wake County help between 13,000 - 15,000 animals each year, there are still many more animals not receiving assistance. Lots of people choose to donate money to a local animal shelter or even adopt a pet, giving it a home! Other people, if they see a distressed animal such as a dog or cat all by itself, will help the animal by taking it to a nearby animal shelter or veterinary clinic. What we can do Since most shelters are non-profit organizations, they fully rely on donations to keep their shelter running. That's why I think Martin Middle School should have a fundraiser for the local SPCA. We would accept cash donations, as well as materials for the shelter like blankets and toys. The fundraiser could be held outside the cafeteria during lunch periods so all students would be able to have a chance to donate. Art class students could make posters advertising the fundraiser, which would be put up all over the school. Parent volunteers could run the fundraiser, and keep track of which homeroom donates the most. The winning homeroom class would get a doughnut party and be recognized on the morning announcements. The goal would be to raise $1,000 for the SPCA. There would be no minimum donation, and anything would be appreciated. A donation of $100 could provide full dental care for a pet, or get a dog neutered. Even a donation of just $20 could provide flea, tick, and heartworm prevention for a dog. Bibliography: “She's Dedicating Her Life To Helping Homeless People And Their Pets.” The Dodo. 2016. <https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.thedodo.com/woman-without-a-home-now-dedicates-her-life-to-homeless-animals-1624350728.amp.html> “Disturbing Photos Capture the Realities of Euthanization at Animal Shelters.” PetaPixel. 2013. <https://petapixel.com/2013/02/26/disturbing-photos-capture-the-realities-of-euthanization-at-animal-shelters/> “11 Facts About Homeless Animals.” DoSomething. 2017. <https://www.dosomething.org/facts/11-facts- about-animal-homelessness> “Animal Center.” WakeGov. 2017 <http://www.wakegov.com/pets/Pages/default.aspx> “NC Shelter Kills 99 Percent of Animals.” WRAL. 2012 <http://www.wral.com/nc-shelter-kills-99-percent-of-animals-records-show/11778189/> “Kill Shelters vs. Low Kill and No Kill Shelters.” Pet360. 2015. <http://www.pet360.com/dog/adoption/kill-shelters-vs-low-kill-and-no-kill-shelters/eC_zmPaWME-mF0Gn95SijQ> Image from: “8 Reasons College Students Should Volunteer At Their Local Animal Shelters” The Odyssey. 2016 <http://az616578.vo.msecnd.net/files/2016/03/24/6359438388138710882186156_shelter9.jpg>
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