“Viewpoints” is a place on Chapelboro where local people are encouraged to share their unique perspectives on issues affecting our community. If you’d like to contribute a column on an issue you’re concerned about, interesting happenings around town, reflections on local life — or anything else — send a submission to viewpoints@wchl.com.

 

Why People Should Get Dogs

A perspective from Olivia Chan

 

Dear Chapelboro,

On average, 1.5 million animals are euthanized each year in the United States. Recently, there have been many animals that are getting returned to the shelter because people don’t have time for pets and a lot of people got a pet during quarantine because people were bored.

An estimated 3.3 million dogs enter the shelter each year. It is sad to think that every year about six million animals are put in animal shelters because no one wants them or they’re either lost animals who got put there. If animals don’t get adopted they get killed if they are too old. Many dogs in the world do not have homes and are in animal shelters not getting love and attention which makes dogs sad. People who are lonely should get a dog because they are loving pets who can make pet lovers happy, and dogs are very cuddly, they are also very smart and can do a lot of things. I think that animals should get homes with loving people because the animals are going to be happier, and the animals that were in the animal shelter will get a lot of attention and care.

If pet lovers get a pet, people save the pet’s life, and the pet can make a person happier. People who want pets can also train pets, and pets can protect people who are scared if people are single, a pet could make someone not single. Getting a dog lets people exercise more which is good for people’s mental health.

“You can not change a dog’s past, but you can rewrite the future.”- Agnes Carass

By getting a dog, people can make the dog happier and people can also be happier because someone saved a dog’s life from a really bad past, and people adopted the dog to change the dog’s future.

People should get a dog because dogs can make people happy and people can get a lot of exercise just by walking a dog. Getting a dog can improve someone’s health, and people can make a dog happy just by getting a dog that had a harsh life before. My dog was left behind just because she only had part of her tail, and it is sad to think that some people are mean and only choose perfect things. I hope this inspires people to adopt a pet from the animal shelter.

Sincerely,

Olivia Chan

McDougle Middle School, Chapel Hill, NC

7th Grade, Age 13


“Viewpoints” on Chapelboro is a recurring series of community-submitted opinion columns. All thoughts, ideas, opinions and expressions in this series are those of the author, and do not reflect the work or reporting of 97.9 The Hill and Chapelboro.com.