I believe educators with a little of their valuable time and free downloadable lesson plans can help ERASE the Pet Overpopulation Problem in the United States. You have the opportunity to educate your students on the importance of spaying/neutering, properly caring for animals and that our family pets are a lifetime commitment.

Please look at these statistics from the ASPCA:

Fast Facts: U.S. Animal Shelters

Approximately 8 million to 12 million companion animals enter animal shelters nationwide every year, and approximately 5 million to 9 million are euthanized (60 percent of dogs and 70 percent of cats). Shelter intakes are about evenly divided between those animals relinquished by owners and those picked up by animal control. These are national estimates; the percentage of euthanasia may vary from state to state.

According to the National Council on Pet Population Study and Policy (NCPPSP), less than 2 percent of cats and only 15 to 20 percent of dogs are returned to their owners. Most of these were identified with tags, tattoos or microchips.

Twenty-five percent of dogs who enter local shelters are purebred. (Source: NCPPSP)

Only 10 percent of the animals received by shelters have been spayed or neutered. About 75 percent of owned pets are neutered.

The majority of pets are obtained from acquaintances and family members. About 15 to 20 percent of dogs are purchased from breeders, and 10 to 10 percent of cats and dogs are adopted from shelters and rescues. (Source: Ralston Purina and NCPPSP)

More than 20 percent of people who leave dogs in shelters adopted them from a shelter. (Source: NCPPSP)

Five out of ten dogs in shelters and seven out of ten cats in shelters are destroyed simply because there is no one to adopt them.
The following data are ASPCA estimates unless otherwise indicated.

It’s heartbreaking, simply heartbreaking. I believe teachers can make a difference.

The ASPCA has free downloadable lesson plans that will serve as guidelines:

http://www.aspca. org/site/ PageServer? pagename= edu_lessonplans

I am pleading on behalf of all the shelter animals for you to somehow fit maybe a half hour of lesson plans into your very busy curriculum. Just a half hour per month will make a world of difference. Your students are the future of America…hopefully, they will ERASE the Pet Overpopulation Problem now existing in America.

Now if I could ask for a few more minutes of your time; would you please watch this flash video? It’s very sad (not graphic or violent) but it does tell a story that needs to be told.

http://www.columbus co.org/shelterdo gs.swf

Thank you so much for your time!

ERASE the POP

Grace Flynn

Bourbonnais, IL

http://erasethepop. org/