PromotingHumaneValuesintheCommunity

ByBrittanyRodgers
WoodhavenHighSchool

OnFeb.17,2015,atapproximately10:00AM,animalcontroldiscovered
a10yearoldChowmixnamedElsafrozentothegroundinEcorse,
Michigan.Thetemperaturesforthisdaywerereportedtobe5degrees
withawindchillof10.

"Ittookaboutahalfanhourtogetherunfrozenfromtheground,"said
PatriciaTrevinooftheRiverRougeAnimalShelter."Theyhadtopour
warmwateronher.Hertwolegswerefrozen.Thesideofherfaceand
herside,shewasliterallylayingfrozentotheground."

Theneglecteddogwasincoherentanddidnotstartwhimperinguntilthe
waterwaspouredonher.Unfortunately,Elsadidloseafewlimbsfrom
thetragicincident.However,shedidmanagetosurviveandwasremoved
fromthecareofherneglectfulowner.Themoralofthestoryisthatcold
weatherisnoplaceforanimalstolivein.Ifitistoocoldforahumanbeing
tobeoutsidemorethannecessary,itistoocoldforananimaltobe
outside.Elsaisaprimeexampleofwhyitisimportanttoeducatepet
ownersandothersinthelocalcommunityabouthumanetreatment
towardanimals.

Manypeopleconfusethewordshumanandhumane,whichhavevery
differentmeanings.Tobehumaneishavingorshowingcompassionor
benevolence.Humanevaluesareimportanttoallcommunitiesaroundthe
worldbecauseeverywherethereareanimalswhoaresufferingor
distressed.Allittakesisonepersonineachcommunitytospreadthe
wordandinformfellowcommunitymembersofhowtoaccomplish
importanthumanepractices.Indirecircumstances,manypeoplehave
familyorfriendstoleanonwheninneed.Animals,however,donothave

thatbenefittherefore,theymightsufferagreatdealandhavenoreliable
sourcetogotoforhelp.Thatiswherehumanbeingscomein.Promoting
thesevalueswillinformpeoplethattherearesufferinganimalsoutinthe
worldthatneedtheirhelp.EveryyeartheHumaneSocietyoftheUnited
States(HSUS)estimatesthatnearly1millionanimalsareabusedorkilled
inconnectiontodomesticviolence.Justlikehumans,animalsareliving
beingswhoserveapurposeinourcommunities.Incontrast,animalsdo
nothaveavoicetospeakoutagainstviolenceorneglect.

Itisimportanttopromotehumanevaluesforagreatnumberofreasons.
Organizationsthatreachouttoprotectandsaveanimalsfrombad
situationslooktoseekoutvolunteerswhoarewillingtodevotetheirtime
tosavinganimalslives.Theyalsoaimtofindpotentialadopterswhowill
takeinahomelesspetandshowtheanimalloveandcompassionthatit
needstorehabilitatefromthetreatmentandneglectitreceivedbeforethe
rescue.Itisimportantforanimalstoexperiencecompassionfromowners
sothattheyquicklyadjusttoabetterenvironment.Abusedandneglected
animalsareoftenscaredorhavetrustissuestowardhumans.Inorderto
changetheiraggressivebehavior,organizationsteachpetadoption
volunteerstheimportanceofproperpetcareandunderstandingduring
therehabilitationprocess.Awaytodemonstratehumanevaluestothe
communityistobeapetownerwithpatienceandbekindwhendealing
withanabusedanimal.Oftentimeswhenahumanbeingismistreated,
he/shelosestrustandbecomesaggressivetowardothers.In
abuse/neglectcases,animalsdotheexactsamethingandbehave
combativelytowardanyonewhomayimposeathreattothem.

Fortunately,thenumberofdogsandcatsthatareeuthanizedeachyear
hasdecreasedtremendouslyfrom1220milliontoapproximately34
million.Althoughthisisastart,thereisstillsomuchmoreworktodo.
Mostpeopleareunawareoftheshockingstatisticsreportedeachyear
fromanimalsheltersaroundtheUnitedStates.Whileabout30percentof

allpetsareadoptedfromrescuesandshelters,anestimated2.7million
healthypetsinsheltersarenotadoptedeachyear.
Animalloversneedtogooutandspeakagainstanimalabuseand
educateothersabouttheeffectsithasontheanimalspecies.Justas
humanviolenceagainstothersiswrong,soisviolenceagainstpetsinour
communities.Neglectisnotnecessarilyaphysicalabuse,butittakesan
emotionaltollontheanimal.Forgettingtofeedananimal,leavingapet
outsideallthetimeandignoringmedicalneedsarealsoformsofabuse.
Educatefamilyandfriendsaboutthebenefitsandimportanceofbeing
kindstopetsandstrayanimalswhoneedcompassionandunderstanding.
Also,informpeopleofthedisadvantagesanddrawbacksofunreported
abuseintheircommunity.Informeveryoneinthecommunityaboutthe
benefitsofhumanevaluesandhelpsavethelivesofourfurry,amiable
friends!