Literature Review

Animal cruelty is an issue that is being addressed more and more as people are further understanding the bond between humans and animals.
This topic has been argued over for many years. The problem with the laws already layed out by governments is that much of the written laws are set for interpretation. There are many theories as to what the causes and effects are of animal cruelty. It has been argued that animal cruelty has a harmful effect on people, reflecting on their character and desensitizing them. This can cause them to lose sight of what is right and wrong, and end up hurting another human in the same way. Thankfully, as more people are becoming aware of the emotional bond that is formed between an animal and its owner, more is being done to stop animal cruelty. This text will review the ways that the connections with animals and people have become more real and have caused people to change the way they look at the treatment of animals.
Just a Dog, by Arnold Arluke is a book that explores the human-animal bond and analyzes the theories that surround why animal cruelty takes place. This book was written with the goal to educate the public on matters that are commonly ignored. Arluke stated that, “by understanding how people make sense of cruelty and why cultural and social factors encourage its persistence, the public might be better equipped to debate and formulate policies to define and combat it.” Many people are unaware of what is going on around them, on a daily basis. They are too wrapped up in their jobs, their lives, their problems, to be worrying about animal cruelty. When these topics come up for debate, there are people who attack the subject, without truly knowing what they’re talking about. Just a Dog aims to inform the public on these matters so that they will have a better understanding of what is going on around them.
Bridging the Bond Tami L. Harbolt is a book that focuses on personal accounts of animal and human bonding. The author beings by telling the story of what brought her to adopt her dog Camille. She then moves on to tell stories of personal accounts with animal shelters, specific animals, and other people surrounding the animal environment. This book emphasizes the trust that is developed between animals and humans. For animals that have been mistreated, it can take a while for that animal to trust again, if ever. Many animals are scarred for life, being always nervous and jittery, afraid to come close to certain kinds of people. Harbolt’s book tells stories of how patience and kindness is needed to help these animals, and that it these kinds of people are necessary to put a stop to animal cruelty.
From reviewing these two sets of literature, I can definitely say that I am going to focus on how the bonds between an animal and a human can change people’s views on animal cruelty. From personal experiences, I can say that it is different to say something, than to do something. A person could say they don’t care about a topic, but the moment that issue becomes a part of their life, their whole outlook on it has changed. I still, however, want to gain more sources on how connections between animals and humans have changed people, and also what people have needed to do in order to rehabilitate an animal.

Took some time...

Alright, so I went by the Humane Society again today and got a good interview and pictures. I interviewed Jamie Burton, who had been there for 14 years. She was very nice, but seemed a little distracted. I think I should have been more specific with my questions because she ended up asking me to clarify a few of them. I also think that if I had been more specific and professional, then she would have seemed more interested in what I had to say. Other than that, I really just wished that I could stay and play with the puppies the whole day!I also remembered to bring my camera this time, so if you see any cute puppies or kittens, feel free to go adopt one!!

First Site Visit!

So on Sunday I stopped by the Humane Society. I did not anticipate the length of the trip in taking buses and walking and figuring out where I had to be. I was able to stop in and check the place out, however, by the time I got there, I didn't have long before I had to leave. I talked to one of the volunteers and am planning on going back this Friday to complete my interview. Now that I know where to go, things should run smoothly.

Interview Q's / Goals

Interview Questions for: The Humane Society of Montgomery County

1. How long have you worked here?

2. Is the shelter purely staffed by volunteers

3. Was it always a ‘no kill’ shelter?

4. On what occasions, if any, do you have to put an animal to sleep?

5. Have you personally adopted any of the animals here?

6. What is your favorite part about your job?

7. What is the hardest part about your job?

8. What is the most important thing people should know about stray cats/dogs?

9. What can people do to help?

10. What do you do with the animals that interact harshly with the staff?

11. Do you have a favorite in the animal shelter?

12. Can you walk me through a typical day for you?


Course Goals:

1. My biggest goal would be to see myself develop as a writer and to be challenged. I love being able to look back and see how I have improved.
2. My next goal is to accomplish or do something I never have before through an English class. This could mean getting further involved in my chosen community, or something later on in the year.
3. Lastly, I know it will sound cliche, but I hope to maintain at least a B+ average. If an A is possible, then an A it is, but seeing as how I'm doing engineering and the corps, I am being reasonable with myself!

Don't Gaze!

As some of you may know, freshman cadets are not allowed to 'gaze' on upper quad. What this means is that you may not look left or right while in the area around the Corps dorms. Basically, your eyes must always be locked forward and your head may not move. If you wish to look to your left, you much complete a facing movement which involves a full body turn.

Now, because of this, it is hard to observe other cadets. I decided to observe the freshman cadets on upper quad. I sat myself down in front of Squires so that I had an open view of one full side of upper quad.

It was an interesting experience to actually be able to see what is going on when we are doing the facing movements. Some cadets take their time, thinking no one is watching them and, therefore, they will not get yelled at for going too slow. Other cadets dragged (a walk/run) as if there were a whole company watching them, even though no one else was around. Another thing that somewhat annoyed me was how long the upperclassmen would stare at the freshman. The purpose for this, as I would assume, was because they were waiting for that freshman to screw up. They wanted the freshman to forget to say, 'good morning sir,' or for them to forget to pivot on their turns, so that they would have an excuse to yell at them.

Now, I am a bit biased in this situation, and there were some upperclassmen that just ignored the freshman. However, there is definitely a different atmosphere on upper quad; students seeming to have a switch from 'normal' to 'cold hearted cadre'. But I digress.

Overall, while I was observing the freshman I noticed a few things I had not been aware of before, but also was reaffirmed on other things. For one, I did not realize there was such a change in attitude of all ages of cadets on upper quad because I had never been able to really look. I also got to see examples of what cadets do when they think no one is watching (that was kind of fun). The one thing I was reaffirmed on was that the freshman look pretty stupid dragging and pivoting around every corner!

Community Project

So I'm really excited about doing the community project, because getting involved in volunteer work is something I've always wanted to do, but either never had enough time or motivation to follow through with. I have done little bits of volunteer work within my highschool or church community, but I feel like the Humane Society is on a different level. I'm not sure how much time I will have to really get involved, but I am willing to try. It's really difficult to have any free time when my main priority seems to always be the corps, but I want to be able to do other things and step off of upper quad for something other than classes!
I'm really going to look into this and see what I can do with it. Worst case scenario, I end up just doing the minimum on this project and only get to do interviews and a few site visits. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed, though!

-CBarry