Police Search and Rescue Dogs The Animal Rights Debate

Every day, domestic pets and livestock face a litany of horrible abuses that range from neglect to violence to torture. Since police dogs are generally well trained, fed, and housed, they are not often the focus of the animal rights debate. When discussions regarding police dogs do come up, the concerns arent usually over whether or not the dogs should be used for police work, but rather with a view toward their safety in dangerous situations, their longterm health, and eventual retirement. Arguments in Support of Police Dogs While law enforcement has experimented with other animals (such as vultures or wasps) for tracking, search and rescue, and cadaver searching, none have been found to be as versatile and effective as dogs. Here are some of the reasons dogs are often regarded as law enforcements best friends: Search and rescue dogs can save human lives by locating victims of crime and natural disasters quickly.Dogs help capture criminals. When criminals flee on foot, tracking them with a police dog may be the most effective way of finding them. Typically, dogs are faster on their feet than humans and can chase and hold a suspect until police officers arrive.Cadaver dogs, those trained to find human remains, can locate bodies of crime victims as well as persons who perish due to natural causes. Finding a body leads to crimes being solved, missing person cases being closed, and offers closure to families of victims searching for a lost loved one.Dogs trained to sniff out bombs, drugs, or other dangerous substances can help prevent crimes before they occur.Dogs can be sent into situations that are too dangerous for humans or tight spaces that people cant fit into.Police dogs are trained using mostly—if not exclusively—positive reinforcement. Abusive training methods are rarely an issue.Dogs often live with their human handlers—even after retirement—and tend to be treated very well. The Arguments Against Using Police Dogs Some animal rights activists take an extreme view that using any animal for a work-related purpose violates that animals basic right to be free. While police dogs are generally treated as valuable members of their teams, their work is not without danger and sadly, not without the potential for abuse. Here are some animal rights activists major concerns regarding police dogs: Brutal methods are not unheard of in K-9 training. In November 2009, a video of a training session by the Baltimore Police Department surfaced, showing a dog being repeatedly picked up by the collar and slammed onto the ground. An off-screen trainer can be heard giving instructions to the officer handling the dog. This is the exception, not the rule.Some dogs are bred specifically to be trained as police dogs, however, not every puppy bred has the temperament or skills for police work. Dogs that dont make the cut often find themselves in shelters, thus contributing to the pet overpopulation problem. Another concern with selective breeding is inbreeding, which can result in inherited health conditions such as hip dysplasia (especially common in German Shephards).Dogs can be killed or injured in the line of duty, but unlike their human counterparts, they never knowingly consent to the risks. Activists argue that if a situation is too dangerous for a human police officer, it is too dang erous for a dog but sometimes dogs pay the ultimate sacrifice.Criminals are more likely to kill or injure a police dog than a police officer attempting to do the same job. Penalties for killing or injuring a police dog are much lower than those for killing or injuring a person.Dogs who fail out of training or age out of programs can be left with potentially violent tendencies and may have to be put down.Search and rescue dogs that come in longterm contact with dangerous environmental conditions can develop cancer, respiratory problems, and other health ailments that can lead to suffering and early death.

The City Of Chicago, Illinois - 1378 Words

The city of Chicago, Illinois has a total population of 2,695,598. The largest population out of my three cities, the population is composed of 31.7 percent non- Hispanic whites and the second largest contributor to the city’s total population is Non-Hispanic Blacks with 32.4 percent. Hispanic or Latinos consist of 28.9 percent of the population. I have chosen this city as an immigrant city due to the sheer numbers of Hispanic population. Another reason it was chosen as such, was because out of the 2,695,598 people there are 572,416 foreign born people and out of that total Hispanic origin people consist of 28.4 percent. This is not looking into the naturalized citizens and the non-citizen’s percentages of those who are foreign born, I†¦show more content†¦These new comers arrive to Chicago in the hopes they could get a better lifestyle, but fail to have the appropriate requirements to legally work causing the unemployment rates to rise. The city’s hike in population also has caused a major construction of housing units, but there seems to be a substantial disconnect between the increase in homes and the decline of occupied homes. This could be contributed to the fact that perhaps that although more homes are being built the population cannot afford to occupy them. The city of Chicago may also have such a successful population (in terms of quantity) due to the grid system of the streets. It has been proven that a city with a stable and easily comprehensible grid system is more likely to succeed no example of a city we can see that had a decline is Detroit of part of its failure was due to the structuring of the city. The city of New Orleans, Louisiana has a total population of 343,829. The smallest population total out of all my three cities, the population declined by 140,845 people from 2000-2010. This is taking into account the divesting damages hurricane Katrina (2008) left behind. The Hurricane misplaced many people, homes an d jobs. The city of New Orleans consist of 30.5 Non-Hispanic whites and an immense 59.6 percent Non-Hispanic Black population. This percentage of Non-Hispanic Blacks being centered in one area caused some controversy because it is/was believed that this was the

Influence Starts at the Home free essay sample

Most if not all people have someone in their lives that influence them and their influence can have an impact on their lives. For a high school basketball player they might seek out influence from Michael Jordan, or an aspiring actor might believe that they get great influence from an actor who placed 5th on Entertainment Weekly’s Most Popular Actors of 2009. I too have a source of influence, but my influential figure doesn’t have the title of being one of the fifty greatest players of all time voted in the year 1996, or isn’t hounded down constantly by paparazzi and adoring fans. My influence is someone I’ve known for seventeen years, someone who has been living under the same roof with me since before I learned to walk and talk. This person influences me in so many ways and is the person who makes me want to be the very best I can be and work my way up to the top and succeed in what I love to do. That person is my very own dad. Most students will probably tell you that their parents are of influence to them. Their parents helped them with their homework, and made sure they did well in school. Their parents put a roof over their heads and gave them money for lunch that day and some money to go shopping over the weekend with friends. My parents have done that for me too, but my father has influenced me to a deeper level then just academics and materialistic contribution. My father’s youth story is what drives me to be the best I can be, to be determined to never say no and strive to reach what I know I have the potential to achieve. My father grew up in a small town called Sucre which is located in Bolivia, South America. Given the size of the city, his graduating class added up to about thirty students, most of which had been going to school together since kindergarten. My father chose to graduate from high school in a nearby city of the country called La Paz. Most of the graduating class chose to then pass on to college in the colleges available in the city; my father chose differently. He decided to take a chance and come to the United States to attend college. With fear in the back of his mind about leaving behind the only home he knew, his friends, and his family, my father took the blind step to come finish his school career in Chicago. Excited to be in a new place that my father only knew through watching movies, his life here was far from easy. He had to work late hours to help pay his way through college. Apart from having the language barrier to deal with, my father learned what it’s like to manage himself on his own and fund his daily life by working hard at his job since his parents could contribute little money each month. At the end of his college career, all the hard work paid off as he is now living the life he always dreamed of, established a great life here in Park Ridge, and has a wife and three children who admires him g reatly. How then does my father and his past influence my current and future life? The things my father has gone through and the lessons he learned the hard way are values that my father tries to instill in me. He’s had a long tough journey here in America and every day he works hard to try to alleviate the lives that his children will go through. He went from having so little here to working his way up to a steady life in which he is happy living every day. My father has tried to raise me the way he was so that I’m not just another face amongst a crowd of typical American teenagers. For that reason I believe that I’m different than many students my age. I may have brains in certain areas and I am a first generation Hispanic, but it’s my views and how I live my life that makes me different than all the rest. I’ve been taught to always put my family first since eventually they will be all I have. My views on life have changed because my father has a lways taught me to value the important things in life and forget the materialistic aspects of life. Though I’ve always had a passion for school and learning, my father has worked hard with me to make sure that I work the hardest to achieve my true potential and because of him I’m determined to work my way through college wherever it may be so I can follow in his footsteps and work my way to the top to make my dreams come true. My father has always been a hard worker and is rewarded for his hard work and he passed that trait on to me. He’s always encouraged me to follow my dreams and never let anything keep me away from doing something I know I can. He’s taught me to be optimistic and told me to never falter from trying something new out of fear of the outcome or because I don’t think I can do it. My father grounds me to reality and teaches me to seek out the important things in life and not let the petty bring me down. His optimism on life is refle cted in me as well. Inside each person is something special and my father always makes sure that that special something in me is always shining brightly. My father has really given me the best gift he ever could, he believed in me. Now as the years have gone by and I’m getting ready to take possibly one of the biggest and most difficult decisions I ever have to do, I cant help but feel like an adult. In less than a year I’ll finally be on my own going to college and making something of myself. Mommy and Daddy won’t be there to do my laundry anymore, or tell me to pick up my clothes off my chair in my room. I’ve started taking baby steps towards growing up and being an adult by taking on a job during my senior year at an ice-cream shop. By picking up a job, especially when no one told me to, has taught me to be more responsible and value how hard my parents work to give me all I have. Its grueling to have to come home at eleven at night with my arms hurti ng from trying to scoop out rock solid birthday cake ice cream, and even though when I drag myself out of bed that following morning and ask myself why I’m taking on a job while I’m going through one of the toughest years in my high school career, I realize its worth it. I feel a bit of freedom since I’m making my own money and its exciting to not have to ask my parents to help me pay for something. Most importantly I’ve found a stronger respect for my father since I’m experiencing a small part of what he had to go through for at least four years. Soon I’m going to be on my own and am going to have to make my own decisions and leave my mark in the world. Some kids my age can’t wait to hear the principal announce their name through the microphone at graduation as they know that in a few weeks they can finally move out and party it out at college. For me I’m happy to go to college because as I close the chapter on high school, Ià ¢â‚¬â„¢m starting the new chapter for college. But more importantly I’m happy to go to college because I feel that all my hard work for the past four years is finally going to pay off as I’m going to go to college and I dedicate myself to something I enjoy and end up doing it for a very long time. Even more so the reason I’m happy is because I feel that I will be living up to my father and am repaying him for all the hard work he has done so I can live the life I do. It’s scary to take the next step in life, it’s the same fear my father probably had when he was getting ready to pass on to college and whether I go to college forty minutes by car or four hours by plane, I’ll never forget all that my father has taught me and hopefully I can turn around and teach it to my kids further along the road because I couldn’t have asked for a greater parent to influence my life. It’s now my time to make a difference and like my father I ha ve to take my blind step into the world as well and who knows if I’ll be successful. I may find what I love to do early on, or it may take a few major changes to arrive to, but there’s only one way to find out; I got to just go out there and do it.