As the holidays approach, you may find yourself wanting a furry friend to cozy up to, or maybe your kids have asked Santa for a pet. This could be your opportunity to rescue an animal in desperate need of a loving home. Many pets are abused and abandoned, and then go on to live in kill shelters where they are at risk of being euthanized. When you do adopt a pet, please be aware and be ready to take on the responsibilities of this type of pet. Many people adopt animals only to give them up soon after as they were not educated on the requirements of their animals. If you are looking to take in a new family member, please a) do you research and b) adopt, don't shop!
Pet Adoption Statistics (from the ASPCA)
Approximately 6.5 million companion animals enter U.S. animal shelters nationwide every year.
Each year, approximately 1.5 million shelter animals are euthanized (670,000 dogs and 860,000 cats).
Approximately 3.2 million shelter animals are adopted each year.
Animal Cruelty Facts (from the ASPCA)
Dogfighting- Dogfighting is one of the most heinous forms of animal cruelty. It is a felony in all 5o states, but it is estimated that the number of people involved in dogfighting in the U.S. is in the tens of thousands.
Puppy Mills- It’s entirely legal for USDA facilities to keep dogs for their entire lives in tiny cages that are only six inches longer than the dog in each direction. Female dogs can be bred at every opportunity, churning out litter after litter of puppies with little to no time for their bodies to recover. Worse, violations of even these minimal standards often go unenforced and unpunished by the USDA.
Animal Hoarding- Animal hoarding is defined by an inability to provide even minimal standards of nutrition, sanitation, shelter and veterinary care—often resulting in animal starvation, illness and death. Every year in the United States, a quarter of a million animals fall victim to hoarding.
Farm Animals & Livestock Processing- “Factory farm” is a term commonly used to describe an industrial facility that raises large numbers of farm animals such as pigs, chickens or cows in intensive confinement where their movements are extremely inhibited. Animals are not the only ones suffering because of these unnatural, inhumane conditions. Consumers, rural communities, farmers, workers and the environment are being hurt by the intensive farming systems employed on factory farms.
A portion of proceeds from our Paws for a Cause bracelets is donated to the ASPCA. The ASPCA works to fight animal homelessness and cruelty via responses like animal recuse, placement, and protection. The ASPCA’s mission, as stated by founder Henry Bergh in 1866, is “to provide effective means for the prevention of cruelty to animals throughout the United States.” For more information, please visit aspca.org.
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