Pets in the household are treated like family. However, if parents strive to be a good influence on their children, maybe they should do the same for their furry friends. Unfortunately, one's bad eating habits reflects directly on his or her animal. That's right. According to statistics by the Banfield Pet Hospital, one out of every four dogs and cats are overweight in the U.S. When obesity rates rose in the country for people, who knew it would affect animals as well? The issue has even initiated a "National Pet Obesity Awareness Day" on October 9th.
"Banfield collects nationwide data on pet health through its 800 animal hospitals spread over 43 states", the article states. Research proves that overweight dogs have become 37% more prevalant compared to five years ago. And shockingly, overweight cats have become 90% more common.
However, even with the sickening evidence, around 70% of pet owners do not recognize this as a problem. Veteranarians declare the need to put the creatures on a diet because extra weight means a higer risk of arthritis, heart disease, and respiratory trouble. The same health issues apply to them as well as to humans. It is time for animal lovers all across the country to wake up and pay attention to their pets' health.
The owner's eating habits definitely affect the pet's health. If all the owner eats is junk food then their pet will eat the same junk and will have the same affects. Many owners think that fat pets are "cute" and yes they could be but the owners do not understand that it could be fatal. Animals need as much exercise as humans do also. I love the article Katya. Wonderful job.
ReplyDeleteI never really took the time to think that animals can be affected so badly from being over weight. Reading this blog I realize that animals are fairly similar to humans. They can become overweight and because of that have other health issues, just like humans. Pet owners should certainly pay close attention to their pets. Great job!
ReplyDeletePhysical abuse of pets is often in the news, but that is not the only way one can harm animals. Pet owners should be more aware of what and how much they feed their pets. Most people do not see the harm in overfeeding their animals, but instead view it as being more “caring” pet owners. Katya’s use of quantitative evidence was helpful in proving the raise in overweigh animals. Wonderful job!
ReplyDeleteI would not classify this as physical abuse towards animals. This problem is very serious, and affects pet owners across the United States. Physical abuse towards animals is a deliberate endangerment and a deliberate action to cause harm to animals. It is not so in this case, because most owners do not do it on purpose and they do not realize it. Interesting read Katya!
ReplyDeleteFeeding a pet more then it needs to be fed is similar to animal abuse because animals do not really understand and they will eat as much as they are given. It is very life threatening when an animal is overweight because it shortens their life span. Pets become a part of a persons life because they form a strong relationship with the owner and they should be treated almost the same as a family member would. This blog post caught my attention because I also have a dog myself with which I care about.
ReplyDeleteIn different cultures, pets are not always cherished and loved as in Western society. In the Philippines and South Korea, it is common to see dog meat markets around the cities. The recent culture in Japan has been mimicking the western lifestyle. Owning a pet has been considered extremely fashionable. On the other hand, when the pets do not suit their culture, climate, and ultimately their lifestyle, the Japanese simply abandon their dogs in the countryside. On the contrary, in the United States, pets are treated like a part of the family and in some cases; they are adored and cherished like children. Feeding pets have become our favorite past time. This is a prime example of love gone too far.
ReplyDeleteKatya's blog post is extremely impressive. Her choice of diction is incredible. She has maintained a nice casual tone throughout her summary of the interesting article published by the Huffington Post . Katya's summary is fairly lengthy and indeed captures the main points of the article. Great job, Katya! Keep up the good work!
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ReplyDeleteEveryone wants a pet. It is a trend that is taking over. Unfortunately, having a pet might cause negative side effects...to the animal itself! Being overweight is a serious problem and sadly it is extremely common. It is terrible that this dilemma is now affecting pets as well. However, I do not consider it a form of abuse, unless the owner pries their pet’s mouth open and shoves food down their throat. Katya chose a great, conversational topic. Albeit it was debatable, it was immensely interesting. Nice work!
ReplyDeleteBeing overweight is a serious problem, especially for animals. Animals do not have control over what they are eating; that is completely in the hands of the pet owners. They do not realize how harmful it can be to their pets, resulting in a form of animal abuse. Nice topic Katya! It can relate to everyone, even does who do not own a pet themselves.
ReplyDeleteKatya wrote an incredibly relatable topic to many pet-lovers in the world. Obesity is a diverse and harmful problem in the lives of people all over the world, even pets. My dog, Zorro, loves eating and will not stop eating until all of his food is cleaned off of his bowl. Even though feeding one's pet is vital to its health, overfeeding can take a negative toll. Great work Kat!
ReplyDeleteYet again, another case involving the lack of care and proper treatment towards animals. Although this issue is not viewed as crucial as some of the other problems concerning the well being of animals, obesity is still a main factor as to why their health is declining. Our pets learn from our actions and that is why it is our responsibility to influence them in the best way possible.
ReplyDeleteAlthough seeing a fat cat and dog is most probably one of the funniest and cutest things I have ever seen, it does not mean that it is not a problem. Being overweight is not only dangerous to humans, but to other animals as it can cause the same problems humans get. Although some people feed their pet too much, it does not mean that they are trying to abuse he animal. In reality, they are probably do not even know what they are doing. This shows that Pet owners should monitor how much food their pet is receiving and whether or not it is a healthy amount.
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for this great post.
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