Animal Overpopulation

Animal overpopulation to me means that there are too many animals in an allotted amount of space to provide a healthy environment for them. This includes proper food, water, shelter, lighting, exercise, and veterinary care. House Bill 930 highlights these same principles as being important. This bill is under debate with claims that the bill is "watered down". The section of the bill that I do not agree with is subsection (e) stating: "This section does not apply to kennels operated solely for the purpose of boarding dogs or kennels exclusively used for training dogs for hunting, sporting, field trials, or show." (http://ncleg.net/Sessions/2013/Bills/House/PDF/H930v0.pdf). The rules of humanity should apply to all dogs not matter what circumstances under which they are being housed or used for. In a news article  May 8th, WRAL Representative Jason Saine stated that he supported the bill. His peers reportedly accused him of proposing that dogs were on the same level as humans in relation to importance of care (http://www.wral.com/diluted-puppy-mill-bill-heads-to-house/12424623/). Although I understand that there might be issues of higher importance pertaining to humans, this is an important topic as well.  It needs to be addressed and not swept under the rug. Dogs are a very important part of my family, and the well-being of our dogs are just as important to me as my own. Every time I make a glass of water for myself, I look into my dogs eyes and think to myself "I wonder if they are thirsty too?"...
They cannot speak and tell us what they want.  They are dependent on humans to provide for them. Yes they can scratch at the back door when they need to use the bathroom or gesture at their food bowl, but what if their owner is oblivious to these signs? Not all pet owners have the same passion towards their pets, so standards need to be put in place.  This will allow us to enforce what should be done and can hold these owners accountable . I do agree that the bill needs to be revised, but I strongly agree with what the bill aims to accomplish.

As a society it is obvious that we are not successful at combating animal overpopulation. Animal shelters in every county are full almost every day of the year. Tax payers complain about so much money going to the animal shelters when it could be used towards schools or healthcare. However pet owners are not unanimously upholding the responsibility to spay/neuter their pets. The proposed bill would help cut down on the number of animals in our area but it still comes back to owner responsibility.

Icelandic Breeze (89499)
Such a sweetheart!! She was very well behaved. I love this photograph because it really caught the intensity of her brilliant blue eyes and the detail in her white fur. 

Darla Jean (89218)
Very photogenic puppy! She has nice perky ears and beautiful colored fur with highlights and low-lights. Very well mannered 

Max (89025)
Max was adorable! Very playful puppy who melted my heart! He was one of my favorite dogs that I interacted with :-) 

Tucker (88031)
I love this picture because of the the highlights and low-lights in his fur! His positioning in this photograph was perfect! He also had very nice perky ears 

Deloris (88618)
Very fluffy kitty that made for a beautiful photograph. I love the candid pose, it really shows the viewers her personality. She was a very sweet cat

Chocolate Chip (88666)
Chocolate was very shy because he was just put in his cage when I took the photograph. I absolutely love his eyes and the coloring of his fur with white paws!

Honey Bear (88320)
Adorable little girl who was one of the first dogs I photographed. Although I had a nose print on my camera lens, I still love this photograph. It really shows her curiosity and how soft and lovable she is :-) 

Pepper (88363)
Pepper was one of my all time favorites! He really got my passion started at the shelter. I watched him get surrendered, thoroughly enjoyed taking his photograph, extremely impressed with his manners learned from puppy class, and was thrilled to see how quickly he got adopted! I will always remember this sweet puppy and associate his with good memories from the WCAC 

Mama Mermaid (88626)
The most well behaved cat I worked with by far! She was also very photogenic. I love the split pattern in her fur and her green eyes

Davidson Jones (89147)
By far top one or two dogs I had the privileged of photographing! This was the sweetest most well behaved dog of all. Not only is he very photogenic and this picture above melted even my heart, but he was my favorite to cuddle with. He walked up to me, folded his paws in my lap and just laid his head on me. I wanted to take him home right that second! I know that he is making an amazing member of his new families home.