Compassion

Treat others the way you want to be treated. That is the golden rule, or at least that is what I have been taught since first grade. I was told not to bully or treat others poorly since I would not want to be treated that way. The same thing should apply to animals. We should treat them the way we want to be treated.

SMC Reflection

The Daily SMC allowed me to research a variety of problems dogs face on a daily basis that I was not fully aware of. For instance, after reading and seeing pictures of what happens to dogs, I almost started crying. They are treated so poorly and humans need to do more in order to save all dogs. Some solutions that can be taken include: spreading the word on social media, donating, and signing petitions and pledges. Although these "grassroot" solutions are a start, "global" solutions, like stricter laws, need to be considered as well.

As a whole, the problem that I think is the most important to write about is dog euthanasia in shelters. The reason for this is because it cruelly strips away life from healthy dogs who sometimes may even realize their fate before they die. Shall I repeat this again. The dogs know they are going to die. Put yourselves into their shoes. Imagine you are placed in a tiny, dark gas chamber and your strong sense of smell allows you to notice the aroma of death coming from the urine and remnants left on the floor. You immediately know that this box will be the result of your death, so you do whatever you can to get out by calling for help and clawing at the walls. You are terrified, stressed, and do not want to die. But what can you do? Humans control your future. Okay, now snap back into reality. Was that a fun experience? I would assume no because I hated every minute of it. I am saddened that people treat dogs this way. That is why I chose to write about dog euthanasia. I want to prevent dogs from reliving this awful and terrifying moment. Moreover, there are some solutions for this issue such as laws being passed to eliminate these inhumane actions, spaying and neutering pets, joining a rescue group, volunteering, adopting, fostering, or donating. Out of these solutions, the two that seem the most feasible are the spaying and neutering of pets and volunteer work. The reason for this is because spaying and neutering dogs can stop dog overpopulation, which is the main reason why shelters have to euthanize dogs. They have limited space and too many dogs. Also, not everyone can adopt a dog or has the money to donate, but everyone can volunteer their time in a shelter or online to advocate for dog rights.

Additionally, two organizations I learned more about for my SMC were NKLA, No Kill Los Angeles, and Hope for Paws. Specifically, there was a lot of important information on NKLA's website that I can use to define a problem such as dog euthanization. I actually already referenced and included many of their solutions in the above paragraph that can be revisited if necessary. Overall, the two best tweets I made this week were about NKLA's goals as well as dog overpopulation. The reason why I say this is because they both had the most impressions and total engagements compared to the rest of my tweets. The information was also very educational and hopefully caused my followers to notice that they too can advocate for dog rights.

Making Arguments

The videos I analyzed this week allowed me to learn many different aspects I can use when I write. Specifically, I learned from Yourofsky to not use a critical tone since it may cause people who have not yet helped dogs feel verbally attacked. This might provoke them to not fully support my cause to end dog euthanization. Based on my observations, I will instead use a calm, informative tone in order to convince my readers about my issue as well as solutions. The less people I offend, the more I can possibly influence to join my cause. Also, I can use some of the videos’ models in terms of how they present their argument in my AP. For instance, the context in these videos prove that animals should not suffer in ways that humans do not wish to suffer. They use scientific research to prove that animals experience similar pain as humans. I can mimic or quote something like this in my essay as well since scientific research about pain can allow my readers to ask themselves if animals should be treated with such cruel measures.

Since the AP is intended for a scholarly audience, I intend to use ethos, pathos, and logs. First, ethos can be used by referencing credible and scientific researchers in the field of dog science. Including the author’s name, credentials, and work may allow my readers to understand that my argument is valid and credible. Additionally, I can use pathos by including vivid and strong vocabulary about dog euthanization. This can paint an awful picture in my readers' minds, which may cause them to join me in my fight to end dog euthanization in shelters. Finally, logos can be used by presenting statistics about the amount of dogs euthanized each year in animal shelters as well as facts about the spaying and neutering of dogs. This will apply to my readers’ sense of logic and allow them to understand the importance of supporting my case.

Peer Review

This week, I also peer reviewed one of my classmate's Literature Review. I was supposed to review two, but one of my classmates unfortunately did not submit their draft. Therefore, I only reviewed Songqi Wen's essay. I believe his work has great potential, but needs improvement. For example, some of his paragraphs did not elaborate enough about the three research studies. This is because they either focused too much on the methods or too much on the results, which left me lost and confused. He also did not cite his sources within the essay. As a result, the best advice I gave was that he should reference the "LR Intro," the "LR Body Paragraphs," and the "LR Conclusion" Google Docs Professor McClure provided as well as visit him in office hours. Both of these helped me a lot when it came to writing my essay, so I believe it will help him as well. I told him to read his essay out loud as well since he had a lot of grammatical errors. I hope my advice will be of use to him. On another note, the best advice I received was to add information about how my three research articles are connected in order to give my readers a better understanding of my purpose.

INFOGRAPHIC

My infographic's main focus was to discuss the problem of dog overpopulation and its negative impact on dogs. Dogs who are not spayed or neutered are able to give birth to one to two litters consisting of four to six dogs each, which only worsens the dog overpopulation challenge. More dogs means overcrowded shelters and unfortunately more euthanization procedures. Based on the information in my infographic, I hope to convince my viewers about the severity of dog overpopulation and cause them to advocate, donate, adopt, or volunteer in order to protect dogs' rights and end this issue.