A dog locked up in crate at a shelter. All American shelters should treat dogs humanly 4. A timeline from homeless to rehomed 1. Why do dogs get put in shelters? 3. "Dog school" 2. What makes animal shelters different? 5. Conclusion 6. Bibliography Intro Imagine being on the street and having no place to go home to, or your owner can’t afford you. Let’s talk about that! Power words Humanly – with feeling or kindness

Why Do Dogs Get Put In Shelters? One reason is owners can’t afford taking care of them. Dog food, toys, dog license, collar and leash, and especially visits to the vet can be expensive. Another reason is that when their owners move to an apartment or house that don't allow pets, the owner needs to give up their dog. A third reason would be if their owner gets ill, sick, or is elderly. They could no longer be able to care for you. A dog at an animal shelter is ready to be adopted.

What makes animal shelters different? One type of animal shelter is a no-kill shelter. The PAWS organization of shelters is one example of a no-kill shelter (we even have a PAWS in Norwalk!). The nice thing about no-kill shelters is that the rescue dogs get spayed/neutered. These shelters try to prevent the problem of the shelter dogs having puppies and then MORE dogs to take care of. Another type of shelter would be a kill shelter. Kill shelters put the dogs down by euthanizing them. Kill shelters euthanize dogs because there simply are too many dogs for them to take care of or the rescue dog is too old or sick. A PAWS animal shelter in Chicago, Illinois. Power words  No-kill - the shelter doesn't kill any of the dogs.  Kill – the shelter euthanizes the dogs.  Euthanize – to humanly put the dog to sleep by an injection.  Spayed/Neutered – fixing a dog so it cannot have puppies

“Dog School” Training: When you buy your dog and it’s a puppy, you need to train it. This means you need to teach it to sit and/or stay or any other tricks you want (fetch, rollover, DON’T eat my homework, make my breakfast, etc.). Caring: When you buy your dog you need to care for it. You need to give it a bath, take it for walks, feed it at least twice a day, and make sure he or she sees the vet on a regular basis for their shots, check-ups, etc. Buying: When you buy your dog you need to purchase supplies for it: food, treats, bowls, leashes, crates, beds, collars, etc. Dogs need a lot of stuff!

Timeline from Homeless to Rehomed The owner’s moving or is ill Dog gets dropped of at the side of the road someone calls or the shelter picks the dog up Dog goes to shelter (and hopefully gets spayed/neutered) or the dog is euthanized  Family visits shelter and brings the dog home Power words Rehomed – to find a new home

Conclusion I think that all shelters should be no-kill shelters but I know that this is probably never going to happen. The problem is that running a no-kill shelter is REALLY expensive and you need a large space which is not possible for every shelter. The truth of the matter is that you simply can’t save every homeless dog out there. We have to try and stop the spreading of the problem by educating the public on getting your dog spayed/neutered. It should be a law that in order to get a dog license, you must provide proof that your dog has also been spayed/neutered. After doing the research for this presentation, I now realize that kill shelters exist but they’re not all bad – they do their best to only put down the dogs that are too old or too sick. It’s an unfortunate way of controlling the shelter dog population. Until there are spay/neuter laws both types of shelters need to exist  I hope this made you think of animal shelters in a different light. Now go help out at a local shelter! If we all do a little something, hopefully this problem will change. And don’t forget to tell your parents that your dog should be spayed/neutered!!

Bibliography