Dog Fighting Essay Example for Free

Dog Fighting Essay Fights between two or more animals have always been popular spectacles. Dog fighting is one of the most in-humane types of animal cruelty out there today; unfortunately pit bulls have been caught in the wrath of it all. Dog fighting is an animal abuse issue. Pit Bulls happen to be the breed most used in dog fights. But if Pit Bulls did not exist, dog fighting would still take place. There is no quenching the blood lust of human ‘kind’. Brutality against animals in the form of staged matches or fights between animals or even between man and animal is an activity almost as old as man himself – it was in existence long before the Pit Bull. History The original, old-time bulldog was used for all manner of stock-related work, particularly as a catch dog: used by the butcher to manage unruly bulls, and by the hunter for help in catching and holding wild boar and other game. The sport of bull baiting became popular in England, having arisen from these functional jobs that the bulldog performed for humans. The modern bulldog breeds descended from these dogs and those re-created through breeding programs include: alapaha blue blood bulldog, American bulldog, aussie bulldog, banter bulldogge, English Bulldog, French bulldog, Olde English Bulldogge, Olde Boston Bulldogge, and Victorian Bulldog. All of these breeds have kept close to the original type and traits of the ancient bulldogs, even when adapting to their local living conditions (Luca, 2010). Pit Bulls are descendants of the original English bull-baiting dog—a dog that was bred to bite and hold bulls, bears and other large animals around the face and head. Bulldogs were bred to hang on without releasing their grip, until the animal was exhausted from fighting and from loss of blood. When baiting large animals was banned in the 1800s, people then started to fight their dogs against each other instead (ASPCA, 2013). Treatment. With fighting Pit Bulls, they are raised in an environment that reinforces and maintains fighting behavior. All fighting dogs are conditioned from a very early age to develop what dog-fighters refer to as â€Å"gameness. † The scope and method of training varies dramatically depending on the level and experience of the dog-fighter. Dogs are run on the treadmills to increase cardiovascular fitness and endurance. Dogs are put on a manmade machine is called a cat mill or jenny also. Jenny: Apparatus that looks like a carnival horse walker with several beams jetting out from a central rotating pole. The dogs are chained to one beam and another small animal like a cat, small dog, or rabbit, is harnessed to or hung from another beam. The dogs run in circles, chasing the bait. Once the exercise sessions are over, the dogs are usually rewarded with the bait they had been pursuing (Gibson, 2005). People that so called train pit pulls for fighting will also have a spring hanging down from a pole to which a rope, tire, or animal hide is affixed that the dogs jump to and dangle from for extended periods of time. This strengthens the jaw muscles and back legs. The same effect is achieved with a simpler spring loaded apparatus hanging from tree limbs. A variation of the spring pole is a hanging cage, into which bait animals are placed. The dogs repeatedly lunge up toward the cage (Gibson, 2005). Granted these people think they are real dog trainers, they will take care of the dog’s health to a certain extent. Dogs are given vitamins, supplements and drugs to condition them for or to incite them to fight. Commonly utilized vitamins, supplements, and drugs include: iron/liver extract; vitamin B-12; Magnum supplement; hormones; weight-gain supplements; speed; steroids and cocaine. The dogs are trained against one another and against older, more experienced dogs. In the early stages of training, the dogs are incited to lunge at each other without touching and engage in quick, controlled fights called â€Å"rolls† or â€Å"bumps. † Once the dogs appear match ready, they are pitted against stronger dogs to test their â€Å"gameness† or tenacity in the face of exhaustion and impending defeat. If the dogs pass the test, they are deemed ready to fight. Types of Dog Fights All across the country, humans abuse dogs in heinous ways. From nonchalant, impromptu ‘street fights’ to the large-scale organized matches held on a regular schedule at set locations, dog fighting still occurs every day. Most law enforcement experts divide dog fight activity into three categories: street fighting, hobbyist fighting and professional activity. Street fighters engage in dog fights that are informal street corner, back alley and playground activities. Stripped of the rules and formality of the traditional pit fight, these are spontaneous events triggered by insults, turf invasions or the simple taunt, My dog can kill yours. Street fights are often associated with gang activities. The fights may be conducted with money, drugs or bragging rights as the primary payoff. There is often no attempt to care for animals injured in the fight (ASPCA, 2013). Some of the dogs are thrown out the car on the side of the road, left to die. Worst case scenario the dogs are killed immediately with a close range shot from a gun to the head. Hobbyist fighters are more organized, with one or more dogs participating in several organized fights a year as a sideline for both entertainment and to attempt to supplement income. They pay more attention to care and breeding of their dogs and are more likely to travel across state lines for event (ASPCA, 2013). Last but not least Professional fighters. Who would even label themselves as a Professional dog figh ter? People do; Professional dogfighters often have large numbers of animals (as many as 50 or more) and earn money from breeding, selling and fighting dogs at a central location and on the road. They often pay particular attention to promoting established winning bloodlines and to long-term conditioning of animals. (ASPCA, 2013) Punishment and Prevention Dog fighting, despite its felony status in all 50 states, is still a grave concern to animal advocates. Although the Michael Vick dogfighting case, and his recent release from home detention, have focused the national spotlight on dogfighting cruelties, dogfighting has long been a thriving underground industry across the country in both urban and rural areas (society, 2011). Those who make dog fighting a pit bull issue do the dogs a grave disservice. A new bill in the Senate would outlaw spectators’ willful attendance at organized animal fights and impose penalties for bringing a minor to an animal fight. This bill has bipartisan support (society, 2011). The Federal Animal Welfare Act prohibits the interstate transportation of dogs for fighting purposes. A pending federal bill, S. 382, would create the Animal Fighting Prohibition Enforcement Act of 2005. The Act would amend the United States Code, making it a crime for any person to knowingly sponsor or exhibit an animal in an animal fighting venture if any animal in the venture was moved in interstate or foreign commerce. Additionally, it would be unlawful for any person to knowingly sell, buy, transport, or deliver, or receive for purposes of transportation, in interstate or foreign commerce, any dog or other animal for purposes of having the dog or other animal participate in an animal fighting venture. Finally, it would be a crime for any person to knowingly use the mail service of the United States Postal Service or any instrumentality of interstate commerce for commercial speech promoting an animal fighting venture except as performed outside the limits of the states of the United States. Penalties for violations of the Act would include a fine, up to two years imprisonment, or both. The Act would repeal any conflicting provisions of the Animal Welfare Act (Gibson, 2005). If a person see’s or suspect dog fighting they should not hesitate to report the owner to the authority. Conclusion These dogs are VICTIMS in every sense of the word. Exploited, abused, and tortured for human gain, Pit Bulls are innocent beings caught up in a tragic societal issue. The American pit bull has two powerful enemies: the humane groups working for his extinction, and the modern dog fighter who are producing dogs of dubious genetics and characteristics while keeping them in negative headlines. Dogfighting is tremendously widespread and has reached epidemic levels in America’s urban communities. The devastating impact of social, economic and racial injustice in these communities that are exposed to such cruelty to animals. Are just the tip of the ice berg? America’s finest legal minds, political activists and social advocates have painstakingly dissected the culture of poverty in an attempt to understand the disproportionately high rates of crime, drug use, and social deviance in inner-city communities (Gibson, 2005).

Prayer in Public Schools Essays -- Religion in Public Schools

Prayer in Public Schools An issue that has been constantly debated for years is whether voluntary prayer in public schools should be permitted. A student should be allowed to pray voluntarily at the beginning of each school day based on many reasons. Prayer based on moral beliefs reinforce good citizenship as defined by our forefathers. A daily reminder of a need for the belief of good over evil is a necessary part of this society. Daily voluntary school prayer should be re-instated in public schools due to three reasons, the historical basis of the beginning of the United States government, the serious moral decline since prayer has been outlawed, and the government infringement on the constitutional guarantee of individual freedom of personal beliefs. First, a student should be allowed to pray voluntarily at the beginning of each school day because the United States government was originally based on Christian principles. The Declaration of Independence, a document written to express the mission and purpose of this new country, states, ? We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, that God endows them, with certain unalienable rights?..? Credit for the rights that Americans hold dear is given to God, the Creator, by the founding fathers of this Nation. In order to understand the basic fundamentals of the US form of government, students need to understand the religious teachings that influenced these early leaders; that is the creation, the providence of God and a final judgement day for accountability. Since the government was formed under these principles, it can only stay strong if students understand these beginnings. The first amendment states ?that congress shall make no law respecting the establi shment of religion, nor prohibiting the free exercise thereof The first clause declares that the federal government cannot establish a common state church. Many of the US forefathers left Europe because they did not agree with nor want to be forced to support the established state church. The second part of this clause insures and encourages individual religious belief. The demonstration that religion is important to the workings of the government of this country can be seen when every session of Congress opens with a prayer. Why are the governing bodies of this nation allowed to pray daily, but schools are prohib... ...ople of color, women, and others fight for individual rights. If told they could not talk of their beliefs in public, this country would probably face another civil war. But for some reason, those who wish to practice their religion publicly are treated as criminals. In one instance a child who brought her Bible to school to read during free reading time, was sent home and told not to bring the Bible to school again. Silent messages are sent to children when disapproval seems the norm. Future generations accept this infringement on personal rights, and so goes the country and moral responsibility to each other. Voluntary prayer in public schools should be reinstated due to this country?s founding principles, moral emphasis, and first amendment rights of individual freedom. Due to the non-confrontational nature of those who ascribe to religious beliefs, the government has adjusted to those who have been confrontational. The elected officials of this nation need to re-evaluate volunteer prayer in school, and pass a resolution supporting that as long as beliefs are not forced on a student (citizen) the practice of faith and morality through volunteer prayer should be encouraged.

Excuses, Excuses

Excuses, Excuses Even though some excuses for turning in work late as seen in â€Å"The Dog Ate My Disk, and Other Tales of Woe† by Carolyn Foster Segal, some excuses given are legitimate for turning in late work. Some unforeseeable events, such as traffic accidents, death in the family, weather that causes an evacuation, and a fire are just a few are all events that students can not control, which result in turning in late work. It is Monday morning, students are on their way to the first class period of the day, their paper is due first thing as they walk in the door.Tragedy strikes on their way to school as a mo-torists runs a red light, t-boning the students car and causing a major accident. However the stu-dent could have emailed the assignment to the professor, this professor only accepts copies in pe-rson. The student did not predict the accident he/she would be involved in this morning, or maybe he/she would have left a little later, or a little earlier, or even taken a different route to school that day. Family members getting into an accident could go either way, depending on who the family member is and where they are located.If a distant cousin from four hundred miles away gets into a fender bender, teachers will probably be very skeptical to accept late work. However a mother, father, or immediate family member, gets into an automobile accident could be an acceptable excuse for turning in late work. A death in the family is a very tragic occurrence and could have many different effects on the student and their work they are planning to turn in. Segal states â€Å" What heartless student would lie, wish death on a revered family member, just to avoid a deadline? (461) Hopefully no student would use a death in the family to avoid a deadline. Death is not to be taken lightly, nor used in a demeaning manner. Segal also says, â€Å"What heartless teacher would dare to question a student's grief or veracity? †(461). Hopefully no teacher or professor would call their students out or question that their was a death in their family. Letting the professor know exactly what is going on and when the student will turn in their paper is a proper course of action, to avoid receiving an F for the assignment or incomplete in the class.Nothing is more frightening than having to pack bags and evacuate due to serious and catastrophic weather. Students and teachers, not knowing what to expect when the storm passes, or what damage could come of their campus or surrounding areas. When a storm is a brewing miles away and expecting to hit in the next week, students are not worried about an assignment, they are focused on packing the must haves when evacuating and arriving somewhere out of harms way. Most teachers probably allow students to turn their work in after the storm has passed and once the school opens back up to regular hours.Weather is a unstable force, the storm could hit further away or not be as strong as anticipated, but students do not focus on their school work at this time. Giving them a legitimate excuse for not turning their work in on time, because they were forced to evacuate due to storms and unforeseeable damages that may occur. Fires destroy many homes and buildings each year, leaving the occupants without a roof over their head. In the event of a fire, people are taught not to try and save anything from their houses, dorms, and apartments.Their main goal is to get to safety, and let the fire department do their job at extinguishing the fire. A student that is the victim of a fire, should be allowed to turn their work in late, especially if they have lost most if not all of their things in the fire. Sunday night, the student is putting the finishing touches on their paper due Monday morning, and their computer crashes, not allowing them to save any material to a disc, or thumb drive can be very upsetting. The student arrives in class and tells their professor that the reason they are not t urning their paper in was because their computer crashed the night before.This could happen, and not allow the student adequate time to go to their nearest computer lab or library on campus and redo their paper. This common occurrence with computers and technology could give the students an extension to resubmit their assignment at a later day. This would be at the profess-ors discretion of course, or the professor could ask for proof that the action that did happen, truly did happen. This returns to the question from the death in a family section, just in different words: Would a teacher actually question, why a student is turning their work in late or not.Excuses are thrown around colleges and schools like jokes at a comedy club. Some excuses are just absurd and just a reason for students to get out of doing their assignments; others are legitimate reasons as to why they are not turning their assignment in. The bad excuses make the legitimate excuses seem untrue and just another e xcuse, that students will use to get out of an assignment. Work Cited Segal, Carolyn Foster. â€Å"The Dog Ate My Disk, and Other Tales of Woe† Patterns for College Writing. 12th ed. Ed. Laurie G Kirszner and Stephen R. Mandell. Boston: Bedford, 2012 460-463. Print.

Adolescence Is A New Birth - 1106 Words

Throughout the semester we have discussed adolescence in a literary sense applying it to characters and themes. In Latin, the word â€Å"adolescence† literally means â€Å"growing up†. Adolescence can be applied to literature in a sense of its broad message. According to Stanley Hall who wrote the article â€Å"Adolescence is a New Birth†, during adolescence â€Å"awareness of self and the environment greatly increases; everything is more keenly felt, and sensation is sought for its own sake.† (1844-1924) Psychological terms and concepts being applied to this stage of development would be â€Å"persecution complex,† â€Å"myth of invulnerability,† and â€Å"peer pressure.† The psychological term â€Å"persecution complex† relates to â€Å"An Ounce of Cure† because the main character felt as if the world was out to get her so she engaged in risky behavior that resulted in unwanted consequences. â€Å"Greasy Lake† r elates to the psychological term â€Å"myth of invulnerability† perfectly when the main characters bold behavior leads into a dangerous situation. Finally, â€Å"peer pressure† shows up in â€Å"Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?† when the main character falls for peer pressure and is then murdered for it. Adolescent psychology and literacy go hand and hand when discussing the stories, â€Å"An Ounce of Cure†, â€Å"Greasy Lake†, and lastly â€Å"Where Are You Going? Where Have You Been?† An Ounce of Cure is a story of a teenage girl s first experience with alcohol. While baby-sitting, she slurps down two full glasses of whiskey;Show MoreRelatedIn This Paper I’M Gonna Be Talking About The 12 Stages1179 Words   |  5 Pagesstages I will be talking about is Pre-birth which is the stage of potential, Birth is the stage of Hope, Infancy (Ages 0-3) Vitality, Early Childhood (Ages 3-6) Playfulness, Middle Childhood (Ages 6-8) Imagination, Late Childhood (Ages 9-11) Ingenuity, Adolescence (Ages 12-20) Passion, Early Adulthood (Ages 20-35) Enterprise, Midlife (Ages 35-50) Contemplation, Mature Adulthood (Ages 50-80) Benevolence, Late Adulthood (Ages 80+) Wisdom, Death Dying Life. 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It can be â€Å"considered the transitional stage from childhood to adulthood.† Teenagers do crazy things without thinking in consequences, like go out without permission in the night, get a tattoo, fight at school, scape from s chool, scape from home or get pregnant. Pregnancy in teenagers is a problem that can be reduce if birth control pills could beRead MoreHuman, Social, And Moral Development1669 Words   |  7 Pagesand consider developmental knowledge and theories throughout planning, activity selection, and implementation. While prevention and intervention efforts are important during all stages of life, they are especially important during childhood and adolescence, when risk factors may be more easily avoided and protective factors can be established that may last a lifetime (Cohen, ChaÃŒ vez, Chehimi, 2007). Brain, human, social, and moral development are critical to prevention program design and implementationRead MoreYouth Problems826 Words   |  4 PagesYouth problems. 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