Persuasive Essay Proposal

For my persuasive essay topic, I’d like to advocate requiring a permit in order for people to be able to own pets. The problem today is that many people see a really cute kitten or puppy at the pet store and decide to bring them home without thinking seriously about the commitments and responsibilities required to be a dutiful pet owner. As a result, many people later end up neglecting or taking improper care of their pets afterwards. By requiring a permit for pet owners and having pet care classes (like driver’s ed classes for a driver’s license), steps would be taken to ensure that people would overall be better pet owners and that each kitten or puppy would be able to find a home where their needs are able to be met.

My target audience would be prospective pet owners and legislators who would be able to enact this change. Many people believe that they are doing an animal a favor by adopting them and bringing them home. However, the pet’s living conditions may be much worse if the caretaker is negligent or ignorant of proper care. In my essay, I would highlight the fact that the most common cases of animal cruelty involve neglect and abandonment on the part of the pet owner and that many pet owners are unaware of the harm they cause to their pets. I would also argue that people should make sure they fully understand the commitment and responsibilities involved before deciding to be a pet owner. As for the specifics of the permit, I was thinking that it might require all pet owners to be able to provide the basic necessities like shelter, food, water, veterinary care, and access to sanitation. Also, pet care classes could describe things like healthy body conditions and nutrition so that owners know what to feed their pets and when to bring their pet to the veterinarian.

To substantiate my claims, I would need to do a lot of research on animal neglect and law as well as the proper care of common household pets like dogs, cats, rabbits, and fish. (Fish, I would assume, would be some of the most abused pets because of their lack of vocal ability.)

For my advocacy project, I plan on either writing a letter to the local government voicing animal rights concerns or creating a website compiling my findings and advocating the need for stronger animal rights legislation.

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4 Responses to Persuasive Essay Proposal

  1. Chloe Bellwoar says:

    I think that you picked a really good topic to use–you bring up a point that I have never really heard before. I think that with your main audience (prospective pet owners) you have a good possibility of being successful in your persuasion. I think it is important, though, that you consider the arguments against what you are proposing. For instance, people could argue that the number of pets treated well when adopted warrants adoption at will. Further, I get the impression that many pet adoption systems are low on funds as it is, who will fund these programs? And lastly, would these restrictions apply to owners buying pets from breeders?

  2. Angie Galofre says:

    Hey Mary,
    I had never thought of your proposal. It is a very good idea. My question is and you don’t have to think about it if you don’t want to but my question is would the people who want a pet have to pay for all of those classes and such, and how would you make it so people would be able to take those classes to get the permit without them missing school or work or taking out a big chunk of their day. Would the classes be online? In my opinion if it becomes that hard to obtain a pet then maybe less people would get one and then more in adoption centers would have to be put to sleep. I’m not sure if that’s how adoption centers work so don’t kill me on that one but these are all things that maybe you would like to take into consideration. I would love to read your paper when it’s done though i think it’s a very good idea don’t get me wrong. And i’m totally for no more animal abusing and im sure this will lessen it but i’m afraid that it would make less people want to get a pet.

  3. Jihyun Oh says:

    Hey Mary! This topic is especially interesting to me because that was the topic I chose for an online deliberation! I had a discussion with a person who agreed but also had one who disagreed. Some say that it will lower the animal adoption rate, but is that a bad thing when looking at the long run? I agree with your position that people should have a license or get a certain kind of certification that they understand that they are making a commitment that is more serious than it seems. I’m looking forward to see how it goes, good luck!

  4. Bethany Latten says:

    Hi Mary- I really like the topic that you’ve chosen to write about. It seems like you have a good understanding of what you should research to support your opinion, but also be sure to research the arguments against your idea. For example, family friends of mine were turned away by the SPCA because they already had two cats (despite their very loving and caring home!). With this in mind, maybe you could propose your own set of standards for who should be able to adopt pets. Should getting a permit be based on income level, educational background, age, marital status?

    I also think it would be great if you could start your essay with a grabbing story (i.e., a pet adoption story with an unhappy ending…). To find such a story, I’d look for newspaper articles reporting animal abuse.

    It seems that you already have a firm grasp on what you’d like to convince people 0f (that pet adoption does not always benefit animals in the long run, so people should take pet adoption more seriously). Carry this through in your essay, and it will be great!

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