StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

The Mistreatment is of Animals - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
 The writer of this essay talks about visit to the RSPCA re-homing unit at Bothwell, the place he bought his dog Keira, has made him reexamine the concept of animal cruelty and how it affects the behavior of people with others.The essay gives an answer: Is the mistreatment of animals a crime?…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER98.6% of users find it useful
The Mistreatment is of Animals
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "The Mistreatment is of Animals"

 The Mistreatment is of Animals While at the re-homing unit, I witnessed the consequences of animal cruelty first hand. As I looked through the rows of cages I saw a variety of dogs of all ages, colours and breeds. While some remained decidedly normal, the ones that were deemed ferocious enough to be kept in a separate section of the re-homing unit sent chills down my spine. My first impressions were reserved, as I attributed such differences in behavior to their nature as animals. However, reason quickly turned into apprehension when I realized why they were located discreetly; they were separated in order to avoid possible skirmishes with other dogs. We were told that these dogs were so badly treated by their previous owners that they could not be reintegrated into a normal family home due to their antisocial behaviours. At that point the whimpering of a small brown dog caught my attention. Witnessing it cower in the corner in its malnourished state immediately aroused a sense of compassion within me. When we were told that the scars on its back were caused by the previous owners extinguishing their cigarettes on its back, a sense of helpless rage momentarily filled me up inside. It only heightened my degree of compassion for the animals. We moved on, taking notes as to which dogs might make for suitable pets. I had a particular interest in a black and white cross breed that appeared visibly sad in its caged state. I was subsequently told by the RSPCA advisors that this dog was not suitable to go into a home environment that had children as a result of mistreatment by the previous owner. The news sent a wave of shame and disgust up my spine for the cruelty of those responsible. I embarrassingly moved on to my next choice, which was a small white dog with black flashes. This dog was deemed suitable and was brought by a handler to the walk area. It was noticeably unhappy in the environment, barking at every dog it passed; this dog clearly had spirit but, having heard the severity of mistreatments, I had reservations regarding its aggression. When brought into the large meeting area, the dog proceeded to sprint two laps of the area and only then came to meet us. In a way, I was drawn towards its aggression, and my nervousness quickly turned into elation when I met this friendly, inspiring cross breed named Keira. It became certain to me that this was the dog I wanted, although my heart truly went out to all the others there. At home, Keira developed her own little personality. She refused to go upstairs and constantly followed me around the house so much so that we considered changing her name to shadow. I was quick to attribute this to her inherent friendliness, but soon it became apparent that she had a dark side. Any raised voices, even on TV, would make her cower in apprehension. I realized that my pet had some way to go before it could fully adjust to a normal household. After a few months of training and reassurance, Keira was less reactive, but still displayed errors in judgement especially around adult males. It dawned on me that her past distress had caused this permanent change in her behaviour. My emotions were subsequently shrouded by the reality of owning a pet dog. After all, Keira was only a three month old puppy which needed constant discipline, training and attention, a task that often came at the expense of my usual routine with friends and school work etc. I also realized that she did not just need a walk on the lovely warm days but in the rain, wind and snow as well, homework or no homework. It was a tedious process domesticating her, which sometimes involved standing out in the snow or wind waiting for her to answer the call of nature. In those conditions, my love for Keira would be subsided by impatience. The irritations were minor and slow to grow, and most often than not went unnoticed by me up until the time a family member pointed them out. It immediately caused me to hark back to the black and white pup in the re-homing unit, and how embarrassed and ashamed I had felt at the time. Was I turning into someone I had initially scorned upon? Before I had time to mend my ways, my father made a very paternal decision. Since he believed Keira was not being adequately looked after, he found another family for her who had the time and experience to train and give her a good home. Keira left on a Wednesday morning in March. That day sent waves of sadness and regret up my spine, knowing that now, I had only her memories to live with. The absence of Keira’s enthusiasm was immediately apparent. I would come home from school with no one to chase me around and bump into my feet. It felt empty, as if something crucial was missing. At night I would lay sleepless and wonder how the new family was treating her. Was she happy? Did she miss me? What was the new family like? How could I know that they would not hurt her and make the same mistake I did. The guilt quickly became unbearable, and I begged my father to get her back, promising to be a better mom to her. To my amazement, Keira was returned the next day. Although it did seem a little like a ploy by my dad to make me realise the importance of cruelty to animals and in particular, the significance of Keira, I was too happy to care. The experience surely heightened my awareness towards the cruelty of animals. After Keira, the drive against cruelty on TV and elsewhere made more sense. The advertisements in particular made me realize how important a role I played in the middle. Would Keira still be alive if I had not re-homed her? And what of the people who inflict harm on such innocent creatures? If they are capable of this, what is stopping them from doing the same to their children or partners? Statistics show that nearly two-thirds of female-abuse victims reported having their abusive partner threaten, harm or murder their pets. In effect, those who are cruel to animals are more likely to physically and emotionally abuse other people. There is also a strong correlation between childhood abuse of animals and violent crime in adulthood. I realise now that the responsibility of a helpless animal has made me think more about people. It has caused me to empathize with my elderly neighbour, to offer her company from time to time, to assist her around the house and help her shop. I know that my aunt appreciates some help looking after her child as well since, as my experience with Keira taught me, nurturing a baby requires a great degree of attention and effort. Most of all, it has greatly increased my respect for mothers, including my own, who spend commendable time and exertion with limitless love turning us into who we are today. Through my relationship with Keira, my understanding of people has greatly increased, while at the same time it has taught me a few lessons about patience and observance and how it aids the need of animals. Serving them is very much part of being human. Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Reflective Essay, Scottish Higher Grade English Essay”, n.d.)
Reflective Essay, Scottish Higher Grade English Essay. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/creative-writing/1574667-reflective-essay-scottish-higher-grade-english
(Reflective Essay, Scottish Higher Grade English Essay)
Reflective Essay, Scottish Higher Grade English Essay. https://studentshare.org/creative-writing/1574667-reflective-essay-scottish-higher-grade-english.
“Reflective Essay, Scottish Higher Grade English Essay”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/creative-writing/1574667-reflective-essay-scottish-higher-grade-english.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF The Mistreatment is of Animals

The Case for Animal Rights by Tom Reagan

Reagan argues that this does not adequately cover the rights of animals in the society from the actions of human beings.... They state that human beings have the rights while the other living things, especially animals, have rights only in the right view of the human being responsible.... The second argument is considered as the cruelty-kindness theory that states that every human being has the duty to be kind to all the animals in the world, whether they have sentimental value or not; we also have an indirect duty not to be cruel to the animals in the world whatsoever....
3 Pages (750 words) Essay

The Pain of Animals

hellip; We would be outraged, demanding their imprisonment at the very least. Suzuki in his article "The Pain of animals" asks each of us to consider whether we, as humans and at the 'top of the food chain', have a moral and ethical obligation to preserve the rights of all animals.... Summary of "The Pain of animals" by David Suzuki Imagine sitting down in front of the television after dinner, turning on the news and watching a segment about an infant being kept in their crib for months on end, never picked up, never spoken to or never hugged and kissed - The parent, the baby's purported protectorate merely feeding him every four hours....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

Silver Spring Monkeys Animal Abuse

The treatment of the animals was inhumane.... animals have rights.... Many of us know this as true, because it is a fact that humans are also animals, and because there is a strong bond existing between many humans and animals.... Like us, these animals have rights that have to be protected.... It is a fact that these animals have intelligence, perhaps not as high as ours, but they are still capable of thinking....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Response to Kant and Singer

Kent explains the need for the liberation of animals as a fundamental social feature that he likens to the many other liberal movements throughout the history of humans.... Peter Singer shares the ideas of Immanuel Kant who calls for the liberation of animals.... This discussion talks that in their respective articles, Peter Singer and Immanuel Kant address specific issues that explain the behavior of humans especially the relationship that exists between humans and other non-human animals....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Argumentative Paper: Should Animals be used for research purposes

Animals should not be used for biomedical and scientific research because alternative experimental methods currently exist and can replace the use of animals.... Statistics has indicated that more than approximated 26 million animals have been used for scientific testing and commercial commissioning of vaccines and other related chemicals in the United States for every year.... The use of living animals in biomedical and scientific testing can be traced to 500 BC (Grayson, & The proponents of the use of animal for biomedical and scientific testing argue that it has aided in the improvement of various life-saving cures for both humans and animals....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Why Animal Testing Should Be Prohibited

This paper stresses that the law has provided different safeguards that prohibit the mistreatment of animals whether at homes, in the laboratories or even while they are in their natural habitats.... This paper talks that the major difference between humans and animals is the level of intelligence, which in turn creates the self-awareness abilities in humans, which are missing in animals.... However, the abilities to feel pain are the same for both humans and animals....
8 Pages (2000 words) Essay

Keeping Animals in Captivity is Inherently Wrong

The use of animals in exotic pet trade is also another unethical issue.... This essay describes that keeping animals in captivity is not only ethically wrong and cruel but also proves challenging to mimic the exact elements as in the animals' natural environments.... hellip; People keep animals in captivity in various places, ranging from circuses, zoos, pets at home, and other performing environments.... Keeping animals in captivity is not only ethically wrong and cruel but also proves challenging to mimic the exact elements as in the animals' natural environments....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Sociology and Animal Treatment

It must also be considered that human treatment of animals is a sociological topic.... hellip; He argued that sociologists had ignores the position of animals and how they have affected our social behaviour or how we relate with other humans and the bearing taken by our social enterprise.... Studies have revealed that treatment of animals with cruelty is associated with antisocial behaviour that follows including violence by people both for adults and children in and out of the family setting (Arluke, Levin, Luke, and Ascione 1999)....
10 Pages (2500 words) Essay
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us