K M I-Search Report
6th/7th Hour Mrs. Santersero 6th/7th Hour
Mrs. Santersero By: Kelsey Moran
May 22, 2009
I-Search Report
For this project, we had to do a lot of fun and interesting things. For one, we had to do three interviews of people that have a part of or play a major role that has to do with our question. My question was” What do ASPCA officers and volunteers think of animal abuse and neglect?” This is an important question to me because I love animals and hope to have a profession dealing with them. Animals are a big part of my life. Not just with current pets, but with my old best friends who died because of cruelty and neglect. Four legged friends. My dog, Annie, died because of a neighbor leaving out a bottle of anti-freeze. She died because of kidney failure the next day. I had always cared about animalswildlife, but that made me want to prevent it from happening from anyone else.
For my three interviews, I spoke to Mrs. Barbara Cooper, Mr. Bill Pickles, and Zoe Findley. They all have experiences and/or volunteer at animal shelters. Some have exotic pets, and others don’t, but these three people are without a doubt some of the nicest and most caring people I have ever met.
During the research for my report, I came across many challenges. Some were sort of stupid and dealt with my shyness to strangers. Others had to do with the inconciderance of others. I don’t like to talk about people in a bad negative ways, but some of the people I encountered were bullies and treated me like a child that needed a brain. I’m not saying that I’m the smartest person, but I know that I’m smart enough to be treated with dignity. Also, some of these people made fun of my interviewees by laughing at them for trying to help animals. They thought that animals were only there to serve us as pets and were filthy vermin. I was very angry with this.
When I interviewed Mrs. Cooper, she commented on how her classes were always making fun of her about having an animal reporting license and she was thrilled to see one of her students with a strong interest in animals and their protection. She was also happy that I wasn’t asking her questions about how it was like to endure that. She did answer it though, without me even asking. ShHe said, ” It is very hard to deal with peer pressure, but never to give in to it” (Cooper). She is an adult, but it is still hard not to do what everyone says and to give it up.” I also asked Mr. Pickles this and his response was
” With my name, life wasn’t easy to deal with from the start. I’m retired now, so most people respect me, but I remember all my classmates making fun of me with my stuffed animals. They would always say that I was too stupid to get into the animal protection programs, but I proved them wrong. I made it.
” With this information, I was encouraged to stop hiding behind the walls, and go into the public, and volunteer at the shelter, not caring what everyone else says. This summer, I will volunteer on the weekends.
I also faced the challenge of asking for interviews. I am very shy with someone until I know them well. I knew Mrs. Cooper well because she is my math teacher and she taught my older brother last year. Mr. Pickles was a completely different story. I didn’t know to whom I was going to talk to because the shelter just told me that one of their volunteers was going to meet with me at a certain time and place. I was very lucky to talk to Mr. Pickles. Even though I usually don’t, I connected with him immediately. He was like a grandpa. He was friendly, with eyes that just said” Ask me anything, honey. I’ll answer, no matter what.” He listened to me carefully and intently and answered everything with detail and memory. It was only a twenty-minute interview, but I with wish it could’ve lasted longer. He had so many stories, and I wanted to hear them all. Unfortunately, it I couldn’t.
While Writingwriting this paper and the notes, I struggled with writer’s block. As I am writing this now, it is hard to put what I am thinking on paper. I finally decided to treat it as if I were talking to my friends. It makes it a lot easier.
One of my questions was “Do you think most cases of animal abuse and neglect are overrated?” All of them disagreed. Mr. Pickles said that he bet that most of the animals in the shelter had never been petted and are too scared to come. That, he said, means that abuse is no joke. Mrs. Cooper said that if an animal is abused, then it is not overrated. It is like saying murder is overrated. Zoe Findley said that the thought of it makes her cringe and that they are ABSOLUTELY NOT overrated.
Another question of mine was “ Do“Do you agree with the ban of pit bulls?” This made is a controversy. Mrs. Cooper and Zoe Findley said that it is not the dog’s fault if they were trained badly, so the owners should be banned, not the dogs. Mr. Pickles, though, had been seriously hurt by a pit bull and said that only if they attack.
One more important question that I asked is “Do you think that there should be more dog parks and places for animals to roam free without the stress of an owner two feet away?” It was a unanimous yes. All of them agreed that dogs get abused most because of bad behavior, and bad behavior is mostly caused by a bad environment or lack of adventure. They say that they are trying to convince the shelter to make a new park for animals to run free.
While I researched through “Neglect” and “Animal Abuse”, I realized that preventing the loss of an animals’ life is very easy. If you see a friend or neighbor or even a family member, you should report them and try to help find a better home for the animal. It is so sad that some people enjoy abusing, or like to see their pets very skinny or very big. When I see them, I do everything in a teen-agers’ power to stop it. I also realized that many people don’t care. I believe that if we all tried to inform everyone and do the right thing ourselves, these things wouldn’t be such a big worry.
Now that I have finished the tasks, I feel a lot more informed. Before, I thought that it was just something that police and ASPCA officers found every once in a while. Now, I know that there are plenty of cases of abuse and neglect every day. People don’t realize it, but all around them animals are dying because no one was there to help them. Both the books and all of my interviewees agree that this is a serious issue, especially in America. After a month of hard work, I have finally come to a final answer to my question. The answer is that man officers and volunteers hate it a lot, but all of them are reaching out to help. They hate animal abuse and neglect as much as an average five-year-old hates broccoli. It is potent poison in their soul and heart. They despise it and every human being that commits it. In simpler terms, they hate with all their heart. And I agree. We need to take a stand and help all the abused and neglected. Not to sound cheesy, but Wwe need to take a stand and help the world become a better place! It will benefit us all.
Works Cited
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