Everyone loves animals. You could be a dog lover, cat lover, or even a ferret lover. Although some animals are fortunate enough to have a loving family, most aren’t. In reality, animals are usually abused, neglected, or overbred, and eventually make their way to the animal shelters, and if they’re unlucky, death. But even in animal shelters, some eventually die from euthanization. Animals go through so much abuse, ranging from rabbits and other small mammals in lab testing, dogs in fighting rings, and over breeding in puppy mills.

Not much people notice it, but the consumer products that they are so used to purchasing could be the very thing that is causing the demise of many animals. Although law does not require scientists to release a number of animal deaths, people have estimated that 90% of those animals are rats and mice. In Britain, the law requires that any new drug must be tested on at least two different species of live mammals. Roughly 2,714,800 different animals were used in the UK in 2000.  In most cases, they are euthanized shortly after being used in an experiment. For example, animal testing for cosmetics is done by placing the substance in the eyes of rabbits to evaluate the damage to sensitive eye tissues. Usually, the rabbits will scream, and/or break their necks trying to escape the restraints. In the Lethal Dosage test, subjects are forced to ingest poisonous substances through various methods until half of them die. The best ways to help these mistreated animals are to buy only the non-tested products and to inform companies of your firm stance on not buying animal tested products.

Much awareness is raised about dog fighting. Different powerful breeds, such as bullmastiffs and presa canarios, while they are trained to be guard dogs, are sometimes misused for dog fighting. The most notorious fighting dogs are generically called it bulls. Pit bulls are fiercely loyal to humans, making them the perfect tool for dogfighters because no matter the scale of abuse inflict upon them, pit bulls will remain non-aggressive toward humans. Dogs are trained to develop ‘gameness’ through vigorous training, such as weights that weigh them down, treadmills, baits that they tear up, and drugs or supplements. When a dog loses, they are usually killed because they have lost money for the owner/betters, and sometimes, even the winning dog could die from wounds. Organizations such as The Humane Society of the United States have reduced large-scaled dog fighting operations in recent years.

When you want a dog, where do you usually go to? The answer is nearly always the pet store. Although it feels like you’re saving the dog, you’re actually funding a horrible cost; puppy mills. If you’ve never heard of it, puppy mills are basically places where animals, such as puppies are overbred in small cages to supply pet stores with animals. What’s so bad about puppy mills? The conditions are horrible, the cages are so cramped, they’re usually standing in their own excretion, and they’re often bred until they can no longer produce. Unlicensed puppy mills usually sell the dogs at the age of 6 weeks old, when the usual age is 8 weeks old. They are cleaned to be rid of feces and odors they have accumulated in the small cages and put into whatever package is available. So, to help those dogs in puppy mills, the best way would be to just adopt a dog from animal shelters. That way, you kill two birds with one stone, you save a dog from death in shelters, and you can possibly run a pet store out of business, forcing them to stop funding puppy mills, which will eventually save the dogs.

Animal awareness is just a simple plan to inform people about animals. All the cruel things done to them and all the harsh conditions they’re placed in. Animals, such as dogs, don’t deserve the pain they’re put through, especially not with their ability to love humans. Take pit bulls for an example; they are very loyal to their owners, even if that very owner has inflicted pain upon them. Or maybe consider the rabbits that go through the pain and agony for the cosmetics and products we buy. And if that isn’t enough, how about the dogs that are overbred in tight cages with minimum room, and maximum cage-mates, only to have their puppies taken away from them, and rebred again? The list of animal cruelty goes on and on, and some are too gruesome to read, but it’s there, and it’s reality for a lot of animals. Donate, adopt, or even raise awareness. Your efforts aren’t futile. Be aware; save animals to the best of your ability.