Once was Lost..

2.

     Around the world there are many homeless animals walking around trying to find somewhere safe to stay. Not many people know the reasoning behind why these animals become homeless in the first place. Many times it is the owners fault for not keeping a better eye on their dog around their property. Homeless animals are everywhere around the world and should be brought to everyone’s attention. The statistics are high for each state on how many homeless animals there are and can be brought down if everyone new the reasons behind why it happens.

     The American Society For The Prevention Of Cruel Animals is a website where you can find facts about the cruelty of animals, ways to adopt animals, and also to get more knowledge about how animals end up homeless. According to The American Society For The Prevention Of Cruel Animals (ASPCA) “Many strays are lost pets that were not kept properly indoors or provided with identification.” If owners do not have a fence or an electric fence around their land then it is easy for their animals to run away and not find their way back home which would leave them homeless and or picked up by the humane society. “About twice as many animals enter shelters as strays compared to the number that are relinquished by their owners” ASPCA has shown that owners are the most at fault for animals being homeless.  If they treated their pets like they were family then they would not have to be looking for a new home.

     Another reason why animals end up homeless is because there is an overpopulation of animals and not enough owners who want them. Some owners accidentally or intentionally reproduce their animals, which makes “excess” animals killed annually. More animals having babies, raises the risk of having more animals ending up as strays. According to the Humane Society of the United States  “By having your pet spay/neutered is a proven way to reduce pet overpopulation, ensuring that every pet has a family to love them.” If animals do not reproduce then they will always have a family to go to, if they do reproduce there is a higher chance that they will not be bought, or will end up homeless. Another way to prevent overpopulation is adopting a pet. By adopting a pet you can make sure that the pet you buy will have a safe and loving home. Instead of wanting your pet to have babies, you can go save more animals by rescuing them from shelters instead of making 5-7 or so more babies who may or may not end up with a home.

         There are many reasons why animals become homeless, but the Best Friends Animals Society took a different look at why animals end up in shelters. They think that the reason millions of pets end up in shelters each year are due to divorce or breakup, house foreclosure, death in the family, economic problems, no tag identification, and minor behavior problems. ACCORDING to the Best Friend Animals Society “More than seven animals per minute are killed in shelters unnecessarily. That means more than 9000 animals per day.” The more animals that come into the shelter, the higher the chance that they will die in the shelter.

         The ASPCA gets many animals being brought into their organization and shelter. Of the dogs entering shelters, approximately 35% are adopted, 31% are euthanized and 26% of dogs that came in as strays are returned to their owner.  The same statistics apply to cats. The statistics are not very high for those who get adopted or get returned back to their owners.

      Over the years, homeless animals have been becoming a bigger and well-known problem in each state. The amount of homeless animals around the world is increasing and should be brought to people’s attention. By having the knowledge people across the world can know THE RIGHT STEPS to take when owning a pet and minimize the amount of homeless animals.