{ENG 122} Outline for Research Paper (Topic: Telecommuting)

Running head: RESCUE AND SHELTER DOGS 1 Rescue and Shelter Dogs: Outline Yolanda B. Student ENG122: English Composition II Professor I. M. Jackson August 31, 2016 RESCUE AND SHELTER DOGS 2 Rescue and Shelter Dogs: Outline I .

Introduction A. Thesis statement: Due to the pet overpopulation in America and the exacerbated medical ramifications of selective breeding, people should adopt rescued dogs rather than purchase a puppy from any type of breeder or pet store.

I I. Body Paragraph: Pet overpopulation A. Pet overpopulation is causing environmental and social problems.

1. Pet waste left behind by unsupervised and/or homeless animals have an impact on ground water quality (Paterson, 2011).

B . Rescue organizations reduce the pet population in America by spaying and neutering all animals before they are released.

1. There were 3,500 individual animal shelters operating at capacity in the United States in the mid 1990s (Motavalli, 1995). The numbers grow because too many pets are allowed to breed freely without control.

2. According to environmentalist Jim Motavalli (1995), the average female dog can produce two litters a year, which means that one un-spayed girl dog can be responsible for 67,000 births during her fertile years if her offspring are also left intact and not spayed or neutered.

I II. Body Paragraph: Genetic modification A. Designer and purebred dogs are created by artificial genetic modification through selective breeding practices. RESCUE AND SHELTER DOGS 3 1. Since humans have selectively bred dogs for physical and behavioral characteristics through inbreeding, pedigree dogs can be plagued by g enetic disease (Farrell, Schoenebeck, Wiener, Clements, & Summers, 2015). B. Selective breeding practices result in exacerbated medical conditions in canines. 1. Previously, breed standards were focused on aesthetics and temperament with disregard for health, le ading to increased medical issues in pedigree dogs. Indrebø (2008) found that it will take “several generations to change the breed through genetic selection in order to eradicate the unhealthy over -typed dogs” (pp. 1 -2). C. Rescue organizations do not partic ipate in selective breeding for designer or purebred animals. IV. Body paragraph: Commercial breeding A. Pet stores do not take the steps necessary to ensure healthy pets. 1. The only way breeders can ethically create healthy litters is through ongoing diagnostic screening of all dogs along with genetic testing regardless of arbitrarily chosen aesthetics of the animal (Farrell et al., 2015). 2. There are ten recommendations for ethical breeding programs that require all breeders to only breed very healthy dogs, calcul ate percentages for breeding stock, limit “matador breeding,” exclude female dogs who are unable to give birth naturally, screen for polygenetic diseases, conduct DNA testing, and practice natural puppy -rearing with birth mothers ( Indrebø , 2009). V. Body para graph: Preservation of breeds and standards A. Counterargument: Pedigree dogs represent a cultural history. RESCUE AND SHELTER DOGS 4 1. Desire for a pure -bred dog may be based upon popular culture trends rather than more rational or logical decision -making processes (Ghirlanda, Acerbi, & Herzog, 2014). VI. Body paragraph: Guarantees of health A. Counterargument: There is no guarantee of a healthy pet when adopted from a shelter where the animal’s history is unknown. B. Rebuttal: While it’s true that there is no guarantee of health when a pet is a dopted from a shelter, it is not financially supporting breeders who are breeding animals with disregard for health and welfare. 1. Many municipalities are banning the sale of puppy -mill animals due to the animal welfare concerns (Taylor, 2015). 2. Purebred do gs suffer needlessly and genetic diversity, as exhibited in mutts from the pound, is preferable for a healthy and stable pet (Jeppsson, 2014). VII. Conclusion A. Call to action: The sale of commercially -bred puppies from pet stores should be banned unless all ethi cal recommendations become legally mandatory. B. Concluding statement: In the meantime, many mixed -breed dogs in shelters are in need of homes. Therefore, families should first consider adopting a dog from a shelter or rescue organization rather than purchas ing a puppy from an unregulated commercial enterprise like a pet store or large breeding enterprise. RESCUE AND SHELTER DOGS 5 References Farrell, L. L., Schoenebeck, J. J., Wiener, P., Clements, D. N., & Summers, K. M. (2015). The challenges of pedigree dog health: Approaches to combating inherited disease. Canine Genetics And Epidemiology , doi:10.1186/s40575-015-0014 -9 Ghirlanda, S., Acerbi, A., & Herzog, H. (2014). Dog movie stars and dog breed p opularity: A case study in media influence on choice. PLoS One, 9(9), 1-5. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0106565 Indrebø, A. (2008). Animal welfare in modern dog breeding [Special Section]. Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica , 50 (56), 1-6. doi:10.1186/1751-0147-50 - S1 -S6 Jeppsson, S. (2014). Purebred dogs and canine wellbeing. Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics, 27 (3), 417 -430. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10806-013 -9470-y Motavalli, J. (1995). Our agony over animals. E: The Environmental Magazine , 6(5), 28.

Paterson, J. (2011). A greener pawprint. E : The Environmental Magazine, 22 (3), 22-27.

Taylor, J. S. (2015). Anti-puppy mill legislation across the country is dogging pet stores. ABA Journal . Retrieved from http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/anti_puppy_mill_legislation_across_the_co untry_is_dogging_pet_stores