by Author Name Withheld 7

Created on: July 03, 2008

How many of you own a cat or dog or plan to own one at some point in the future? How many of you want to own seven? According the United States Humane Society, there are 7 puppies and kittens born for every new baby that comes into the world in America, and an estimated 6 to 8 million animals are admitted to the 4 to 6,000 animal shelters that exist nationwide. In this article, I hope to make you all aware of the pet overpopulation issue, dissolve some common myths about shelter animals, and show you that adopting a companion from a humane society is ultimately the best way to help improve lives for animals everywhere.

To give you an idea of how critical the lack of homes for strays really is, let's look at some data. The Shelter Statistics Survey performed by the National Council of Pet Population Study and Policy spoke with 1038 facilities across the country about their intake rate, building conditions, etcetera. It was discovered that approximately 55% of all dogs and puppies and 71% of cats and kittens entering shelters have to be euthanized. Although it's a cruel fate, the humane societies have no choice but to make room for the millions of other potential pets that are starving, sick, or homeless.

And believe me, the word millions' is not an exaggeration. SpayUSA.org cites that in 6 short years, one unspayed female dog and her offspring can reproduce 67,000 canines. The reproductive ability of cats is even more staggering: assuming an intact female cat and her mate produce 2 litters a year with an average of 3 kittens surviving per litter, in 9 years the original two and their offspring can total 11,606,077 cats.

Transition: So how do overpopulation and animal shelters coincide? When you adopt from a shelter, you are not only saving your new pet's life.You are also freeing up space for another stray to get a second chance at life. The United States Humane Society found that only 14% of pets are acquired from shelters, perhaps because of what the West Pennsylvania Humane Society deems the "main" myth: Shelter animals have behavior problems.

In a Northern Ireland study federal, it was noted that dogs from the shelter had a slightly increased amount of behavior problems, partially due to their tendency to be prone to separation anxiety after spending weeks (or months) in a cage with limited human contact. The report states that "the most common type of undesirable behaviors exhibited by shelter dogs based on the shelter's reports were...fearfulness, excessive

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