There is a difference between obedience and abuse. Obedience is a skill or trait that you teach to your animal or pet. Abuse is violently hurting, not taken care of, and in worse case leading to death. There are certain areas where animals should be kept. Obviously, a wild tiger from a jungle is not going to live in a house located in Franklin, IN. If so, that would be dangerous for both the owner and the tiger. Also, 70% of animal abusers are known to have records of other crimes. In some cities, you are not allowed to have certain animals on your property depending on where you live. Subdivisions are an example of a place where most animals that are large are not allowed to be owned. You may own them, but they are not on your property at least. Living in rural areas is a plus because you can own whatever animal you desire and as many as you’d like. Most likely if you have the money, and you can support a sheltered area for them to live and roam.

My personal experience with animal abuse is why I chose the topic. It would be dealing with stray animals. I live in the rural areas of Franklin because of farmland and land for my farm animals to live. Once in awhile, there will be a stray animal, that I want to keep so badly but my dad says no, roaming around the roads and fields. I will go to the animal, unaware of how the animal acts, trying to find a collar for names of owners. Most of the time, the animal will run faster away from me or they will be hesitant to come closer to me. That gives me the thought that another human has abused them, neglected them, or they have never been interacted with a “true” human being. It is very sad to feel that they won’t give another human a try because one already messed up their trust. My cat is also a stray and at first, she was terrified of everyone that came near her. Once she came out of hiding, she experienced quickly that she is was in good hands now and was not going to go through what she already had been. Taking action is a huge step towards stopping these horrible actions. All it takes is one call to the police station or better, an animal shelter. There are animal shelters all around you such as ASPCA centers, regular county humane society’s, and a website called Tiny Rescue that will list local hotlines that are in your area. Most animal shelters have their own type of law enforcement, Animal Police you could call them, that are notified when an action is reported whether it be an animal being abused or a human being attacked in some way and injured during that attack.

Identifying animal abuse or neglect is easier than you would imagine it being. The littlest things on animals can lead to harmful diseases and death, that’s why it’s important for animals to get the right care for their different needs. The main identity of abuse is beating, kicking, etc. You wouldn’t begin to think that infested fur for a good amount of time is abuse, but it is seen as abuse because you are not taking care of that animal the way it needs cared for. Us as humans do not get to feel this pain because we are able to take care of ourselves. I would not like it if I had to fend for myself on keeping healthy, not starved, and not dehydrated. Scars on animals may be from other animals, but commonly they are from people who have abused them. If open wounds or gashes that are fresh and able to be infected easily are found on an animal and not treated by an owner is neglect. But it’s hard to tell when the wound happened if the animal is a stray, taking the stray to a vet or animal shelter they might be able to identify what caused the injury and if a collar is found on the animal, that owner may be contacted and take it from there.

Checking for starvation is the easiest out of all the cases. The animal would be extremely skinny, able to see ribs and so thin you can touch both sides of the stomach. Protection against outdoor elements is a common one. You may see a dog, horse, cow, etc outside in some sort of pin with no protection against storms, snow, and other animals. That’s just asking for death when it gets below zero degrees outside or it hails and lightnings in a severe thunderstorm. Access to food and water is mandatory for animals to live, now that’s just common sense. What is not common sense, an owner not letting an animal have that access. Seeing animals tied up outside makes me wonder if they are neglected or they just run away when they have free range. Looking at that situation, if there is edible food and drinkable water in a spot where the animal can get to it, that’s not abuse the animal just runs away and they obviously don’t want it to. In other cases, there is no food or water for access, that is neglect.
My essay was not meant for sounding identical to the ASPCA commercials you’ve seen on T.V. It was meant for getting the word out in a way that will not make you ball your eyes out. It’s the common facts that most people don’t pay attention too, but will start once you’ve read this. Animals play an important role in a human’s life. From just being a house pet, to a best friend, to a service dog helping who are in need. If we didn’t have animals, we would not be happy people on this earth today. Animals can bring out the better side of us without even realizing it. Out of all the animals I have, they all bring an indescribable amount of happiness into my life and I hope that I contribute to theirs. It would be a shame if it gets to the point where no animals trust humans because of their actions.