Ten Ways We Can Help Dogs and Be Better Humans
The beauty, healing power and intelligence of dogs and how humans can benefit by helping them
“I have found that when you are deeply troubled, there are things you get from the silent devoted companionship of a dog that you can get from no other source.” – Doris Day
Loyal companion, friend and family
More than 42.5 million households in the US have ownership of either one or more dogs. The United States of America has the most dogs worldwide, with roughly 90 million canines in the country.
There are between 700 million to 1 billion dogs globally, with approximately 30% of households worldwide that have a dog.
Stray dogs, feral dogs, wild dogs, street dogs and village dogs are free-range dogs that are not contained, and make up about 75-85% of the global dog population. Stray dogs are differentiated from feral dogs in that they were socialized before becoming free-ranging, whereas feral dogs are raised without human socialization.
Owen’s transformational journey from abuse to a loving fur-ever home is a true survival tale. He lived on Desert streets and in a kill shelter in Phoenix, AZ. My brother volunteered as a dog walker and discovered that Owen was afraid of men in hats- a common trait among rescues.
New Animal Sheltering Data Indicates 3.2 Million Dogs Entered Shelters in 2023
While 2.2 million dogs were adopted in 2023, dog adoptions are still 5% lower than in 2019 (-108,000 dogs adopted). In 2023, 3.2 million dogs entered shelters and rescues.
Non-live outcomes are on the rise for dogs, 360,000 dogs were euthanized, in other words, 9% of total intakes were killed, sometimes barbarically. The local animal shelter spoke of the gas chambers and showed us a film when I was in elementary school. I remember that powerful, impactful and painful presentation to this day.
A total of 900,000 animals have entered and lingered in our nation’s shelters and rescues since January 2021. This surplus is on top of the population already residing within organizations, resulting in an ongoing capacity crisis for the 4,915 shelters and 9,514 rescues in the U.S.
“Dogs have a way of finding the people who need them.” - Thom Jones
The Healing Power and Intelligence of Dogs
Dogs help reduce blood pressure, cardiovascular risk, and loneliness in humans by providing social, emotional support and motivation for physical activity.
Speech naturalness detection and language representation in the dog brain show that they understand words and human emotion.
According to a study published in Bioacoustics, researchers claimed to have found laughter across at least 65 species of animals, which include dogs, primates, cows, foxes, and seals, as well as a few bird species such as parakeets and Australian magpies.
“The world would be a nicer place if everyone had the ability to love as unconditionally as a dog.” -M.K. Clinton
How We Reduce Animal Abuse
10 Action Steps to Help Dogs
Ask your State Representative to cosponsor the bipartisan Accountability in Foreign Animal Research (AFAR) Act (HR 5020/S 2716) to permanently end taxpayer-funding for animal experiments in China, Russia and other hostile nations, and demand that Congress permanently BAN government labs from spending American tax dollars to slaughter dogs and cats abroad in the meat trade and beyond.
Urge China to stop Yulin’s dog and cat meat cruelty.
Adopt don’t shop: An estimated 10,000 puppy mills exist in the country, with Missouri having the most and the highest number of abusive mills.
Find your family of fur babies at your local shelter or on petfinder.
Include your dogs when you travel- find pet friendly hotels, B&B’s, vacation rentals, and things to do!
Volunteer to walk the dogs at shelters- contact your local shelter for details.
Report animal abuse to the police, local animal control agency or humane society if you witness it. Acting as soon as possible can prevent any further abuse of the animal.
Set a good example of how to treat and respect animals, and teach children the same so they can advocate for animals when they get older.
Purchase products that do not test on animals.
Did you know…
Animal cruelty laws vary by state.
Close to 10 million animals die from abuse or cruelty annually in the United States.
The Law Enforcement Training Center provides training to thousands of law enforcement officers each year on investigating and prosecuting illegal animal cruelty and fighting crimes.
Pitting animals against each other in a fight to the death for spectators often goes hand-in-hand with a wide range of criminal activity such as domestic violence, drug trafficking, illegal gambling and organized crime.
Recent molecular evidence shows that dogs are descended from the gray wolf, domesticated about 130,000 years ago.
“Bliss is the result of a silent conversation between me and my dog.” - Unknown
About Robin
I’m a writer-poet-artist-advocate, nature and animal lover with a rebel mind. You can help an underdog sniff out the algorithms and bark louder: share Wildlands and upgrade to a paid subscription!
My mission to help humans heal in ruff times, to increase love and reduce harm. I also share an occasional simple, healthy recipe.
Wildlands- where our connection with nature inhabits health and well-being.
“Dogs are our link to paradise.” - Milan Kundera
What’s your rescue story?
https://robinmotzer.substack.com/p/ten-ways-we-can-help-dogs-and-be
Amy E. says, "Beautiful, thank you, Robin, love your art and dog essay and I found a great place to take my dog with one of the links you shared". Amy also shared a photo of her rescue dog, Oreo in the Sequoias.
Thank you to Steve S., who sent a message saying, "he loved my dog essay and sketch of Owen".