Modern Misconception

Nichols 1 Ashley Nichols ENC1102-12 Mrs. Pilcher 2 March 2012 A Modern Misconception Think about your best friend in the entire world. Imagine all the fun times you’ve had together and all the great memories that haven’t yet been made. Now, imagine hearing that your best friend is being abused, starved, manipulated, and completely disregarded as a living creature; you would do anything and everything in your power to prevent harm from ever coming to them, you would stop the abuse. The same predicament goes for any animal, but more specifically for dogs; they are important living creatures that deserve and need to be rescued from situations much worse than this. Approximately 64.5% of reported abuse cases, in 2007, involved domestic dog abuse and mistreatment (“Animal Cruelty Facts and Statistics”). Growing up in a family that rescues just about every dog we’ve owned from a shelter or puppy mill gives me a lot of knowledge and sympathy for these poor animals. We’ve rescued dogs from every situation you can imagine: Roxy was left in a basement during a record level flood, Koby came from a pet store that forced him to lay in his own feces and neglected him medical treatment and Jake was saved from a lifetime of greyhound racing and all the hazards that go hand in hand with that industry. My family has saved more dogs than I have fingers or toes and each dog has been both a blessing to us and a part of our family; it makes me wonder why the people that abused them didn’t see how wonderful they were. Owning a dog means taking the responsibility to care for and love them; because there are people who don’t understand the concept of owning a pet, there should be stricter laws put in place to enforce the fair treatment of pets. Legal animal rights should be extended, and more strictly enforced, to protect canines from abuse, abandonment, product testing, and reckless recreational purposes.

Nowadays there are in fact laws put in order to punish those who abuse dogs, but it can be debated whether or not strong enough action to uphold and enforce these laws is being taken and if these laws are strict enough. In Florida, a person can be fined up to $5,000 and be imprisoned for up to a year for animal cruelty (Stray Pet Advocacy). For worse cruelty, bordering on torture, there are harsher punishments include higher fines and a psychological evaluation. The fact that there are laws in place is a great improvement from recently having none, but what good are laws if they aren’t adequately being enforced? In 2007 about “1,212 dogs were reported with some sort of animal cruelty cases” (Humane Society). This number is just a small fractional representation of the many dogs that don’t get reported. For abused dogs the only way they will ever be saved is if someone reports it, but in most cases the owners wouldn’t report themselves. An owner committing this kind of illegal activity certainly wouldn’t do it in plain sight, so for them to get caught isn’t as easy as pulling someone over for a speeding ticket; it’s much more difficult.

Nichols 2 ‘Abuse’, best described by dictionary.com, is “to treat in a harmful, injurious, or offensive way.” This can be interpreted in many ways depending on who the person is and what their moral/ethical beliefs are; for the most part any humane person would understand the unspoken laws of correct animal treatment. Abuse can be loosely classified as an emotional release (i.e. kicking your dog out of frustration), too tight of collars, not providing veterinary services or maintaining shots, and poor living conditions. A picture speaks a thousand words and what better way to convey the perils of dog abuse than through a slideshow? In a YouTube picture video there are several disturbing images that people would usually shy away from; the fact that watching them is unbearable speaks for how horrific dog abuse is and can be ("Stop Animal Abuse - YouTube").

There are even theories that physical abuse can lead to an equally harming emotional abuse; of course a dog’s emotions isn’t nearly as extensive as a human’s, but that doesn’t mean they feel things. “While it is clear that your dog has a rich emotional life, scientists cannot measure exactly how happy or fearful he [the dog] may be…” (PURINA). This notion of dogs having heightened emotional feelings might seem outlandish and although science might not be able to fully prove it, a dog’s body language communicates how they feel. “Behavioral studies show that animals instinctively respond to a dominant presence or to fear in one of three ways: they freeze, they flight, or they flee” (Milani). This idea that a dog can outwardly display how they are inwardly, emotionally, feeling towards their owner’s actions can be directly applied to abuse. If a dog is being yelled at or physically harmed, his ability to defend himself is eliminated and he would instinctively submit to his owner. Signs that indicate the dog recognizes his inferiority include: “tail lowered”, “ears flattened”, “gaze averted”, “trembling,” etc. (Milani).

When a dog submits it’s like raising a white flag of surrender.

Another prominent causation of emotional and physical abuse is poor living conditions.

Just like any other living being, dogs need food, water, and a clean place to live. If the owner doesn’t provide these necessities and the dog has no way of getting these requisitions than he essentially has little to no way of surviving. Poor living conditions are more than just abuse, they’re abandonment. Leaving a dog to fend on his own can lead to starvation, isolation and ultimately death. Florida has set up statutes that if an animal “is abandoned by its owner for a period of more than 10 days after written notice is given” than the animal will be “turned over to the custody of the nearest humane society or dog pound…” ("Florida Dog…”). Although this canon was created for good intentions, the reality of tracking down all abandoned dogs just isn’t realistic. The problem that animal protection laws have isn’t that they aren’t well devised, but rather that enforcing laws to closed doors and private facilities is difficult and seemingly dubious.

The same complication of law enforcement arises with product testing; companies can hide behind their closed doors without ever being suspected. “During the 1990s, thousands of beagles had been used to test the safety of agricultural chemicals, industrial substances, food additives and household products” ("Animal Testing: Dogs”). Along with testing comes side

Nichols 3 effects ranging anywhere from vomiting, diarrhea, convulsion, and damage to any internal organs and even the skin, but even more sadistic is that they are tested until their demise. Dogs are usually tested under an “acute toxicity test (LethalDose50)” where they are “fed a test substance in quantities to find out how much is required to kill them” (Beck). Fortunately there have been laws that made it a requirement for anesthetic drugs to be used on animals being tested, but it doesn’t change the inhumanity in the action. Also, there have been petitions made and a strong stand of companies vowing to avoid animal testing and take alternative testing routes that keep animals out of harm’s way.

As if the list of dog abuses isn’t long enough, there are still plenty of unethical and horrific mistreatments that need to be brought to light in order to be annihilated. Track racing and dog fighting are much more popular today, whereas dog testing is significantly becoming a distasteful and frowned upon practice in society. Greyhound racing has been around since the ancient days of the Egyptians and over time it “continues to be a big business, generating millions of dollars in gambling revenue in the states that still allow it” (“Greyhound racing…”).

The 20th century is full of seemingly great turning points. The cruelty of the dog racing industry has finally been exposed and its popularity exponentially decreased, but on the other hand “the financial losses may be contributing to poor track conditions, which have caused a marked rise in the animal injuries…” (“Greyhound Racing…”). “I read an article in Readers Digest years ago about the abuse of greyhounds after their racing days were over and I was sickened and appalled,” Bob Nichols. “I joined the Greyhounds of America foundation and adopted a neglected greyhound to help make even a small difference.” In 2002, there was a case where over 3,000 dead body remains of greyhounds had been discovered on a racetrack in Florida.

These dogs didn’t die from natural causes; they were murdered due to their ‘old’ age and uselessness in racing. Even greyhound puppies are slaughtered if they don’t meet every stipulation of the ideal race dog. These dog breeders live to win and instead of humanely giving these ‘unneeded’ dogs a new home, they kill them. Just in other cases, it would seem that large racetracks wouldn’t be able to hide their mistreatment and murder of the dogs since the facilities are so large, but clearly it just gives them more hiding places.

This disgusting behavior of using dogs for entertainment continues on to forced fighting and gambling at their expense. The idea of having dogs fight to win a few extra dollars originated from the Civil War ear and rapidly began spreading throughout the states. Since then there have been several laws banning and making it illegal, but just “as with any other illegal underground activity, it is impossible to determine how many people may be involved in dog fighting” (“Dog Fighting FAQ”). In the dog fighting arena, there are three types of people and fights. Street fights typically deal with gang members trying to earn more money or gain bragging rights against a rival gang. Other fighters pay attention to the breed of the dog and are willing to do anything to get a certain dog all in the name of winning. Then there’s the professionals who own several dogs and make it their life to strictly breed the perfect dogs to win. In Florida, as well as in several other states, those caught partaking in illegal dog fights can

Nichols 4 receive a felony, but for some reason it isn’t enough incentive for them to stop (“Stop Dogfighting Chart”). The only help that can really be given to these hopeless dogs is individual action. It is encouraged to do things like write a letter to your senator or sign a petition, but in reality nothing can be stopped unless someone really takes a stand.

My passion for the correct treatment of dogs, and animals stems from literally growing up with a flowing number of rescue dogs being brought into my home; there hasn’t been a single memory in my life that doesn’t include one of our dogs. The very first dog I can remember being in our family was Dusty. Our house was basically a beacon for strays and that’s how Dusty found us; he showed up on our lawn and after calling around, it turned out his owners didn’t want him anymore and they abandoned him. We took him in as our own family member, as we do with all our dogs, and there was something a little off with him. When we’d feed him he would become extremely territorial over his food, growling at anyone who came near it, but as soon as he was finished eating he’d return to his normal happy-go-lucky demeanor. We had evidence to believe that his previous owners had beaten him and this became solidified when someone would pet him; Dusty would whimper and get really skittish, almost as if the hand offering love was a weapon. Our love for Dusty expanded immensely once we realized the way he’d been abused and from then we made it our goal to give him, and any other dog we rescued, an overflow of love and affection.

Ever since Dusty entered my life, my eyes have been opened more and more to how common these varying types of abuse are. Each dog that has been adopted into our family had a different story of their past abuses, none being more or less important than the other. I was fortunate to be taught at a young age how to respectfully treat dogs and overall animals in general. My parents instilled in me the vitality of loving every animal and treating them as if they were your sibling. I know it sounds typical cat-lady to look at a pet as if they are related to you, but if you don’t you’re more susceptible to treating them as an inferior, even if they may be. A pet has feelings too and deserves the courtesy of being treated properly-giving them love, food, water, and a happy and healthy environment.

It would seem that the most effective way to eliminate both domestic and industrial animal abuse would be through extending legal animal rights, however there are plenty more ways to take action. A person’s actions and moral beliefs usually stem from their parents’ and the way they were raised; therefore in order to ensure a person won’t abuse a dog is to essentially start young. If we were to educate children on the perils of mistreating dogs and the effects abuse can have on them, then slowly, generation by generation, a movement can be made. As an incentive for adults who feel the need to abuse dogs there should be, aside from stricter laws, be harsher punishments and higher fines out into place in all states and of course all around the world. Another solution that hasn’t been pondered too much by humane societies or pounds is creating a method of approval for people who decide to own dogs. Maybe if they have an idea of the person seeking dog ownership is, they can decide whether or not the person has the ability to own and care for a dog. Agencies do an extensive assessment of families adopting children, why

Nichols 5 not give dogs a slice of that consideration? The process to wiping out and halting dog abuse has been a step-by-step process, one that needs a little push every once in a while in order to maintain momentum, and these cacophonous suggested stipulations could be just that in this generation.

I look at dogs not as human beings, but as emotional and physical creatures seeking love, attention, care, and happiness. An unknown author spoke how a man-dog relationship should be he said: “He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion.” If a dog can sacrifice his life to make you happy and be there probably better than any friend could then why can’t you treat him with the same respect?

As our society slowly becomes more and more aware of the cruelness behind all doors of dog abuse, they are slowly making moves to stop it. While each individual alone can make a difference, sometimes that single act isn’t enough, but if we could group together and actively take a stand together, the messages and outcomes could be that much greater. The laws that are around today have made a small dent in the abuse that has previously been acceptable. Fewer companies allow for animal testing to occur and for those who do standards have been made; racing has become less popular and laws regulating dogs’ treatment have been put in place; fighting and gambling has completely been banned; more laws against domestic abuse have been created. While these things are indeed making an impact, so much more could be done to make a bigger change in the way people treat dogs. Small steps, such as writing letters to the senator or partaking in an event, could escalate into a much needed large-scale revolution. “My role has been to adopt dogs from shelters and to say informed of the issues,” Nichols. Dog abuse is real, prevalent, and horrific, but it’s also something that can be ended through several avenues of action. Legal action should be taken to end all aspects, both domestic and industrial, of dog abuse in order to ensure protection and safety for these innocent animals.