SLP PROJECT: ANIMAL SHELTER

Erik Ewing
SLP PROJECT
I recently volunteered at the Denton County Animal Shelter and it taught me a lot about the treatment of animals. I love animals and going to this place to volunteer was an excellent activity for me. I got to play with all the dogs and see all of the animals that the place had to offer. They made me clean the animal’s cages, and I even got to take some of these awesome dogs out on a walk. I also got to see the hurt animals that were soon to be put down or die of natural causes. This really saddened me since I thought maybe there would be more someone could do to help out these poor animals. I realize they are in cages most of their time at the shelter and getting them out made me feel better about their living situations. I believe that Francione would disagree with the animals living conditions in the animal shelter since he states that “We deprive them of sleep, keep them in solitary confinement, and cage them for most of their lives.” Even though there is love at the animal shelter I do agree with Francione’s opinion on the matter since the animals are fed rarely and kept caged for a lot of the day. I noticed this when I walked through the shelter while volunteering and saw animals packed in cages down a hallway. This would not be fun for humans so why would we think it’s ok to treat animals like that. This also agrees with Francione’s ideals since he believes humans think of animals as property and not living creatures. He goes on to say that people believe “animals are nothing more than things despite the many laws that supposedly protect them.” I like a quote from Kant’s reading on “Duties to Animals are indirect” when he says “for he who is cruel to animals becomes hard also in his dealings with men.” I believe Kant is trying to say that we have corresponding duties towards animals just as a house pet would have towards its master. In these animal shelters, from what I saw, the place was run very short-handed and did not have enough staff to care and tend for these animals that have a right to live a normal life. In addition, Kant shows a great point when he says that “animals develop humane feelings toward human beings.” If this is true then why are we treating the animals with such disrespect like at these shelters? I realize that these dogs and cats would be out on the streets if it weren’t for shelters, but I know there is a more humane to go about treating them when they should be treated like a human in the first place. Montaigne makes a good point in his reading on “Difference does not Justify Domination” when he states “In the vanity of our presumption we prefer to owe our superiority to our own powers rather than to animals.”As humans we have a certain thought in our mind that we are superior to every other living thing. We should not treat these animals badly, or not take enough care of them, just because we believe we are more superior.
These readings and my volunteer work helped show me how badly some animals are treated in these shelters. They should not be locked up in cages so closely together, and I can even relate my experience to some of these author’s writings.