By: Amanda Michael I am very passionate about animals--my house is overrun with pets, my first job was working in a stable, and I almost majored in animal science. Therefore, animal shelters and the services they provide are very important to me. And unfortunately, many of them across the nation are struggling. The source of the problem is overpopulation, leading to a high rate of shelter intake. About 6.5 million cats and dogs enter shelters each year, some of them strays and others surrendered by their former owners. Nationwide only about 50% of both dogs and cats will be adopted. Of those that remain unadopted, about 1.5 million are euthanized every year, cats more often than dogs. While this percentage varies by state and by county, clearly the future for many of these animals is bleak.
While animal shelters take in more and more pets, they also offer services to help ameliorate the central problem. Centre County PAWS in State College, for example, offers spay-neuter clinics to help owners “fix” their animals at low cost. They also offer vouchers that qualify the holder for a discount for the services of a local veterinarian. The importance of spaying and neutering pets really cannot be overemphasized. As well as cutting down on the companion animal population, there are also important health benefits. According to the Humane Society, “neutered male dogs live 18% longer than un-neutered male dogs and spayed female dogs live 23% longer than unspayed female dogs.” Spaying or neutering also eliminates the risk of reproductive cancers, and can curb undesirable behavior. Unaltered males in particular are prone to urine-marking or spraying, aggressive behavior, and a tendency to roam in search of a mate. Females can exhibit similar behavior when they’re in heat as well. “Fixed” pets are more likely to be affectionate with their owners as well--if they’re not worried about finding a mate, then they’ll come to people for attention more often! As well as advertising the benefits of spaying and neutering animals, an increasingly popular option is to support trap-neuter-release (TNR) programs. Pets Come First, another local animal shelter, dedicates a page on their website to TNR programs. What they do is organize the capture of stray and feral cats, before taking the animals to a veterinarian for the surgery. Afterwards, the animals are tagged in some way, usually on the ear, and returned to their environment. This method not only stabilizes feral cat populations, but keeps the cats out of overcrowded shelters. Pets Comes First recommends a TNR program to people who have been spotting feral cats near their homes, and in fact receive calls about this situation multiple times a week! Currently, their TNR program is hosted through the Hundred Cats Foundation. In addition to offering spay-neuter services, animal shelters can be a center for advocacy work as well. Shelters can promote spay-neuter services and TNR programs through educational materials and by hosting events. Dog jogs, 5k races with the option to run with your dog, are a popular way to raise money for a shelter and spread the word about what it does and what it needs from the community. Local shelters around State College have also partnered with Penn State for de stressing activities before finals that serve the double purpose of relaxing students and raising awareness about shelter animals. While students get the chance to interact with the animal, a volunteer talks about the shelter they’re from. While shelters are working hard to take care of their animals and raise awareness about their cause, they also need the help of the community. Volunteering and donating are the best ways to get directly involved. To do so, check in with local shelters first, as their needs and requirements differ. At Centre County PAWS for example, volunteers must undergo dog and/or cat specific training first before they can interact with the animals. In contrast, Pets Come First does not requires training. What volunteer training programs typically teach their students about proper techniques for “safety, sanitation, proper feeding, cage and litterbox cleaning procedures, medications” and other daily activities like laundry and dish washing. Some shelters will then require a certain number of hours per month of service, otherwise volunteers must be re-trained all over again. This is essential for the safety of both the animals and the humans involved in the shelter’s upkeep. Animal shelters also need donations. This, too, will vary based on the shelter. However, many of the items they need are not limited to dog food, cat litter, and toys, but everyday items like garbage bags, dish soap, and hand sanitizer. Both PAWS and Pets Come First have “Wish List” and an “Everyday Needs” list on their websites with a list of the things they need and things they cannot accept. Many of these are commonly donated items like old towels, food bowls, and grooming tools. Pay attention to brands as well--not all shelters feed every type of food, so when donating cat and dog food, be sure to buy the right kind! For instance, PAWS uses only Fromm brand dog and cat food, but can accept some other kinds of canned food. Donating money is another option. Many people are suspicious of donating in cash, unsure of exactly where the money will be going. Donating items means they must be being put to good use, right? Wrong. Shelters can be flooded with many of the same donations over and over again, and don’t receive a balance of all the supplies they need. By donating money, the shelter can decide where it needs the funds most and use it accordingly. To check and see if the organization receiving the donation is legitimate or not, look for their 501(c)(3) status. This means that they’ve been vetted by the federal government, and the donations they get will be going towards the advertised cause and not into someone else’s wallet. The IRS website has a handy tool for searching charities, which includes places like animal shelters. Finally, there are clubs on Penn State that allow students to get involved. Penn State Animal Volunteers and Project: PAWS are two of them. PSAV primarily works with Pets Come First and is a low-commitment club--good for people who want to help out, but still have a busy schedule. I’m a member of PSAV, and I enjoy the balance this club affords me. Project: PAWS is a more active organization that works with Center County PAWS, for people who want to be more involved with shelter animals. I have friends in Project: PAWS and they are very positive about their experiences with this club. Overall, there are many ways to help out local shelters and get involved in their common goal of providing quality care and homes for the large population of homeless pets. While the root problem of overpopulation is difficult to solve, actively pursuing solutions and educating the public are key to helping the animal population of the United States.
0 Comments
By: Amanda Michael I went to another of my section’s deliberations, “Take Back Our Campus: Preventing Sexual Assault at Penn State” on March 2nd. Even though it was in the 3:30 time slot, which is usually less crowded, this one was very well attended, which was good to see. I think that sexual assault is a big problem on our campus that both students and the administration keep talking about, but don’t do very much about. This would have been an excellent choice for some of said administration to come and listen in on, but unfortunately, the participants were all students. In better news, more boys came than I expected. This is their problem too, and even if they were just coming for extra credit I think their input on the issue is necessary as well.
The deliberation started with a nice introduction, which involved a lot more active audience participation than the first deliberation I attended. Most weren’t eager to speak up at the beginning, but I’d been in this group’s shoes the night before and tried to talk as much as possible. This subject really interests me as well, which helps. The transition into small group discussion was good and well thought out--one of the moderators introduced the topic to the whole group, and then the individual tables started their conversation amongst themselves and the moderators. I had an active group, which was nice and allowed us to jump right into deeper questions. However, I did think that our first moderator was too involved in the conversation. We were happy to carry on the conversation ourselves, but he kept jumping in at small pauses to ask another question. I can understand wanting to cover certain topics, but he didn’t let the conversation flow as naturally as it could have. The options laid out by the moderators were the impact of alcohol, university services, and the bystander effect on the high levels of sexual assault here at Penn State. I thought these were good options to get people talking, but I would have preferred more of a discussion on the cultural reasons behind why sexual assault is so common and why so many instances go unreported. On the other hand, this could easily lead to fighting and more debate rather than deliberation, so I can understand why they might avoid subjects like rape culture and victim shaming. What my group ended up talking about the most was the drinking habits of normal Penn State students, and why there might be more drinking at Penn State than other universities. Someone brought up the point that Penn State is very isolated, and there isn’t much to do on weekends besides drink and go to frat parties, leading to more frequent and heavier drinking. We also decided that the university needed to change the way it educated incoming students about the negative effects of binge drinking and getting drunk. Their current methods are honestly impersonal at best and patronizing at worst. By the end of the deliberation we’d covered a lot of ground in terms of drinking, university involvement, and encouraging bystanders to intervene. These are tough subjects to talk about, since there’s no clear answer and even if there was, it would be difficult to implement. It’s easy to say that students should watch out for each other at bars and parties, but much harder to make people actually do it. Regardless, I felt that the conversation opened me up to some new ideas and I left feeling more educated on sexual assault and how to help kids in trouble than I did before I came that afternoon. By: Amanda Michael On Tuesday February 28th I attended one of my section’s other deliberations, “College Tuition: Can You Pay for a Brighter Future?” I enjoyed going to this deliberation and engaged in some good, insightful conversation even if the event itself was not absolutely perfect.
The deliberation started with the entire group talking as one unit with all of the students running the deliberation sitting on a small stage above us. This is where I had my greatest concerns since this large group meant only a few people spoke up readily. There were some good points brought up, but this method didn’t truly connect the attendees. I did like the discussion on the culture of the United States and how that impacts the taxes Americans might be willing to pay to support college students and pay some or all tuition fees. What it got down to was that many Americans are very fond of the free market system and suspicious of any similar to socialism or communism. Even though other countries in Europe pay for students to go to a university, Americans don’t want to spend that much in taxes. The benefit of providing college education does not outweigh the costs of a greater tax burden. Conversation picked up when everyone was broken down into smaller groups. I liked the choice of the moderators here to continue from one option to the next seamlessly rather than changing groups. I believe this allowed the shyer people to feel more comfortable. The moderators were also good at mostly staying out of the conversation, letting us as the participants take the possibilities of each option and explore wherever we liked. In these groups the roles of individual students as well as the university itself were discussed. What my small group talked about the most was using AP test scores to lessen a student’s time spent at a university and, consequently, the amount they have to spend. Everyone at our table had taken at least one AP class in high school, and felt that as long as you kept track of what credits your institution accepts, you are in much better shape. Next we tackled the university's role in controlling the cost of college. We did not spend much time on this option, since the last one was much more interesting to us, and something we all felt more connected to. Despite that, we gleaned some good information about where the university spends their money and how difficult it can be to cut back on that kind of spending. By the time all the small groups came together for the conclusion, a few good points about teacher salaries and frivolous spending were brought up, but the discussion here was not as productive as it was for other options. Coming together as one large group at the end was a good way to share everyone’s ideas and let people propose anything they felt was missing. The other groups had very similar thoughts to mine about the student’s role in reducing the cost of college, but they had more ideas on the university’s role. They decided that schools should reduce Gen Ed requirements so getting a degree is more efficient, and perhaps force students to stay on a single major track and not switch, so students can move through faster. I personally take issue with this, since it seems harsh to force teenagers to make a choice at the end of high school that they must stick to for the next four years of their life. Regardless, at the end of this deliberation I was glad to have come and came away with some new perspectives on the topic. I can carry them on into my adult life as I become more involved with my own finances, and eventually the college education of my own children. |
Categories
All
|