Save a Life: Neuter Your Animals

This is an excerpt from my argumentative essay, describing the pros and cons of why you should and shouldn't spay/neuter your pets, and my own opinion of why I think it's important to have household pets sterilized.

Due to irresponsible and inexperienced pet owners who did not sterilize their animals, “17,015 unwanted animals were euthanized in Colorado in 2007” (Davidson). Although many people want their beloved animals to mate and have cute, fuzzy offspring of their own, the puppies, kittens, foals, etc., are given away to owners who will sometimes not see those babies the way their loving owners saw them. “All these pups went to 'good' homes -- the gangrene victim to a Prime Minister's house, the rabies victim to my cousin, the abandoned farmhouse one to my son's teacher,” (“Think Again") says an anonymous writer about how her mastiff’s litter went to unforgiving and irresponsible people. Because of this abuse and neglect, the author now preaches about the many positive affects neutering and spaying a pet will make. Sterilizing a pet also has health benefits as well. According to the Denver Dumb Friends League, altering a pet will lessen it’s behavioral issues like fighting, spraying, and will lead to an overall longer life.
Although the health issues and behavioral pros definitely outweigh the cons, there are veterinarians and experienced animal owners who protest the act of neutering or spaying an animal. According to Georgia Cameron, altering a pet too early increases “the reduction in hormones produced by sterilization,” which can then lead to “bone formation issues that can adversely affect hips and joints.” Other experts say that neutering or spaying a pet can trigger problems in an animal’s weight, often giving them an unhealthy weight gain throughout their lives. For many pets, mainly cats and dogs, “obesity offers much the same health risks as for humans. . .the common practice of neutering or spaying pets makes them susceptible to gaining weight” (Battle of the Bulge). Another argument includes the breeders themselves, who enjoy breeding their pets safely for profit and for improving the pedigree of their dogs. For many breeders, they like to “witness the miracle of birth” by letting their pets have a litter of babies (DDFL).
There are strong points made by not sterilizing any pet, but when looking at the big picture, would the quality of life for an animal be worse if your pet was merely overweight, or instead being beaten, ignored, sent to a shelter, and then being put to sleep because families passed him by in that animal shelter? The choice should be clear: give pets a chance by sterilizing them so no more litters of puppies and kittens go stray. If there are any uncertainties about how to buy a dog, keep in mind that by adopting from a Colorado shelter, the animal is guaranteed to have a good temperament, an overall excellent bill of health (being sterilized), and a “forever grateful” attitude towards it’s new owner. There are so many rescue shelters across the state that it’s hard not to find the animal or breed of choice. If owners want to breed their pets, they need to have a license and their litters should be monitored more closely. If breeders are careless and waste countless lives of cats, dogs, horses, rabbits, etc., due to the limited number of adopters and shelters, they should not just be fined for this waste.

The Outcomes of Violence Within Two Cultures

For the literary analysis/synthesis essay, I chose to compare the violence within the two stories by Walker and Alexie. I found that this was my best essay of the semester (next to my argumentative essay, of course!), so here is one of the better analysis' of the essay.


While Maggie’s flighty nature is caused from one horrific fire, Sherman Alexie’s character in "The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven" seems to have had a history of violence for most of his life. As an Indian, Junior may have inherited this violence from stories that began on his family’s reservation before he was even born. Junior’s violence is displayed physically in the book. He explains that him and his girlfriend “would argue and I’d break a lamp, just pick it up and throw it down” (Alexie 340). Junior mentioned he was an alcoholic, and often seemed to find excuses to pick on and argue with his girlfriend. This is because he may have been more disturbed about his past and wanted to find ways to forget it.
Relating to Junior’s past and his family’s history, Gordon E. Slethaug explains that Junior “finds himself both inside and outside his own experience, caught in the seam between past and present” (Slethaug). Apart from his physical violence, Junior describes his dreams from his past that often haunt him. They involve death and destruction, mostly centered around battles between white settlers and Indian tribes. Specifically, he described a scene from a vivid dream where he said, “Three mounted soldiers played polo with a dead Indian woman’s head” (Alexie 341). The trends in his dreams demonstrate that he is angry about how his ancestors were treated and how he thinks he does not “fit the profile of the country” (Alexie 339) because of it.

Using the Powers of Emotion to End Homelessness

For the group projects, my group (Shannon, Chelsea, Erin, and I) chose to write about the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless. For our essay, we decided to divide and conquer by choosing different sections to write about and then compiling them all together for an effective essay. My part was about the housing, so here is an excerpt from the essay:

One of the many ways that the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless provides aid to our homeless population comes through building housing and shelters across the state. These buildings include houses, apartments, and lofts made for low-income families and to accommodate those with mental and physical disabilities. They are located in convenient areas, making trips to and from work or school easier.
The Colorado Coalition for the Homeless has built 15 apartment complexes and lofts in the Denver area. The Renaissance Civic Center apartments have won five awards. Three were awarded in 2004 for Affordable Housing & Community Preservation, and two in 2008 for "outstanding dedication and commitment in support of chronically homeless individuals" and another for affordable housing. Residents off the Civic Center apartments also have access to on-site management, abuse treatment, and mental healthcare (Coalition 2010).

Celebrities Influence Commercials

Here is an excerpt from the rhetorical analysis essay. A big part of my essay was how celebrities increase the credibility of advertisements, such as Sarah McLachlan in the ASPCA commercial.

Advertisements with facts and emotion built into them are by far the most effective ones. Whether the emotion is humor or sadness, it draws an audience in and then convinces viewers to donate to their groups with specific details and arguments about the organization‘s work. The audience seems to be targeted most in emotional commercials when they see an idolized celebrity, like Sarah McLauchlan in the ASPCA commercial. Tears are jerked and hearts go out to the pictures of abandoned and abused animals seen on the television screens. This commercial is effective because of the sorrowful music, the sad faces of the animals, and Sarah's pleas to donate a certain amount of money each month to help animal shelter rescues. Whether Sarah McLauchlan is an ASPCA supporter or not, the commercial's facts and images are still convincing enough to persuade other people to contribute money and support their cause. Between January 1, 2009 and September 30, 2009, over three million dollars was raised across the United States (ASPCA) because of Sarah's memorable commercial.

Tarantino Goes European

Here is an excerpt from the first essay, where I did a review on Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds:

Like his other films, Tarantino builds a rep for the "good guys" whipping out pistols and swords towards the gangsters, sketchy cops, and bloodthirsty villains. However, unlike his past films, it was refreshing to see this violence turned onto an army of coldhearted Nazis because this represents every humane citizen's dream: Hilter being barbecued and the Nazis surrendering before much more destruction could occur. The dialogue throughout the movie was another work of art by Tarantino. Gripping phrases such as, "Why do you have your Walther pointed at my testicles?" to simple, humorous ones like Raine's Italian impression of, "Bon Journo," with a giveaway American accent. It is obvious that Tarantino still knows how to keep audiences absorbed and bracing themselves for what happens next.

A definite strength of the Paintball essay was how the author made a strong argument on his view of the activity. He explains how paintballing builds a stronger sense of positive teamwork and how it also provides as a healthy activity for anyone. The author describes how the cooperation and communication within the team builds a positive environment for every player involved. While he argues that this is important, he also claims that this activity can release a lot of stress and is popular with many people in the business world. Because there is no physical contact between players, he argues that paintballing is very safe as long as the players are wearing the appropriate equiptment such as safety goggles.

One of the weaknesses I thought of while reading the paper was how he opened with such violent descriptions when he was trying to argue that paintballing is not as violent as many people claim it is. Then, at the end of the essay, the author tells us that he DOES think paintballing is "violent to a degree" (406). Although I thought the author made a very good argument, it was not limited to just black and white, but he included a lot of the gray areas as well.