Raising Awareness Among Children About The Adoption Of Animals

Adopting means giving a second chance to helpless animals that have become homeless. Let’s make the children aware of this matter!

The abandonment of pets is a social problem that mainly affects dogs and cats. It is unacceptable that this continues to happen in the 21st century. Therefore, it is very important to educate children about the adoption of animals, so that they understand that this allows them to give them a new opportunity.

In addition, it is convenient that the new generations know and value the work of the animal protection services. These are responsible, among other things, for collecting and sheltering those domestic animals that are abandoned and defenseless on public roads.

The problem of animal abandonment

It is said that dogs are the most loyal friends that human beings can have. In fact, they are the most popular companion animals in Spanish homes. Although, curiously, they are the most abandoned by their owners. Also, it is usually chosen to have cats as pets. But, unfortunately, these too are frequently abandoned.

According to the Sector Report carried out by the Madrid Association of Companion Animal Veterinarians (AMVAC), in Spain there are approximately 20 million pets, of which 5,147,000 are dogs and 2,265,000 are cats.

This figure must be contrasted with those published in the Affinity Foundation Study, entitled He would never do it , which indicate that a total of 104,834 dogs and 33,473 cats were abandoned and picked up by a shelter in our country during 2017.

But why do people decide to abandon pets? Some of the causes are:

• Family members do not agree to have a pet.

• A change of address.
• Lack of time to care for the pet.
• Lack of patience to educate the pet.
• The pet has a birthday and requires special care.
• Appearance of allergies towards the pet.
• The bad behavior of the pet.

It should be noted that none of these excuses justify the abandonment of animals. Giving up is an intolerable action!

Raise awareness among children about the adoption of animals

To educate children about the adoption of pets and about the problem of abandonment and mistreatment of animals, it is necessary to lead by example. In other words, families have a duty to act:

• Promoting positive coexistence and interaction between animals and children.
• Transmitting various values ​​related to the care and protection of animals.
• Informing children about basic pet parenting behaviors.
  

• Developing ethical and civic behaviors with animals.
• Raising awareness of the importance of maintaining dignity and respect for animals.
• Instilling responsible behaviors in the care and treatment of animals.
• Enhancing interest in the participation and improvement of pet care.

In addition, so that the little ones can observe first-hand the reality of abandoned animals, it is convenient to organize a family visit to an animal shelter. In this way, they can know:

• The work and functions of the protector.
• The facilities in which these animals live.
• The stories of some of the pets.
• The importance of services for the collection, reception and protection of abandoned animals.
• The operation of the animal adoption process.
• The importance of reporting irresponsible behavior towards pets.

Thus, children understand that adopting is better than buying animals, as a new home is offered to pets that have suffered greatly.