Dear Future President,

I wanted to make sure you are aware of the countless cases of animal abuse that occur in the U.S. much too often. When I see the horrible things that happen to animals everywhere, I can’t help but want to try and make changes to save these helpless creatures from undeserving punishments Although this issue may not be number one on our nation's list of priorities, I still think it is a very important topic to think about and it is a problem that must be prevented by spreading awareness to the public. I, myself, have two dogs that live with me, and they are some of the most amazing animals. Although this issue pertains to more than just dogs, creatures of all sorts are being harmed for no reason at all, and I am willing to put in all the effort I need to put a stop to this.

Animal abuse is becoming a big issue and most times these cases are not even reported to authorities. State and federal agencies don’t collect information on animal cruelty which can make it difficult to know exactly how many different cases there have actually been. Most people who harm these animals are categorized as hoarders, meaning they have more than they are able to take care of, thus the animals that belong to them are forgotten or neglected. According to pet-abuse.com, in 2011, 70.1% of cases involved dogs, 20.9% cases involved cats, and 24.1% involved other animals. So, it’s not just cats and dogs getting harmed; although, they do make up the bulk of reported abuse cases. This site also mentions that only the severe cases are being noticed which means there are many others that are eft alone.

It has been recorded that 71% of domestic violence abusers also abuse pets and animals during the same time. There are roughly 13,000 community animal shelters nationwide, and if you feel like an animal is in harm's way, make sure you take the necessary precautions to get that animal to safety or to one of these shelters where it can be taken care of properly. I think that it would be a great idea to add even more shelters around the U.S. and place additional restrictions to and penalties for animal cruelty. Doing this will surely help decrease the incidents of animal abuse. Thank you for taking time out of your extremely busy day Mr. President and I hope that you will be able to help me in this journey to prevent and resolve the problem of animal abuse.  Most of all, I hope that reforms will help let these animals live the lives they deserve.

Sincerely, 

Spencer H.