WRITING 60
Animal Research- Giselle Gin
Welcome to my Writing Showcase!
This is where I'll publish my scicomm article and advocacy project. For my scicomm article I will be focusing more and dog cognition and my advocacy project I will talk about the dangers surrounding puppy mills.
What I learned!
While researching dog cognition, I learned about their incredible skills and how intelligent they are within the first few weeks of their life. The study I focused on proved their advanced abilities at such a young age to identify human cues and how to find resources. For my advocacy project, I focused on puppy mills and the unhealthy conditions they are put through. As a result, we must continue to use the media and spread awareness of the issue surrounding dog rights.

Scicomm Article

About
(Canine olfactory system)
For this class, we conducted a Scicomm article based on the animal we have chosen. A scicomm article is a summary of a scientific study using different elements such as narratives and graphics to help be understood by non-scientific researchers. For my particular scicomm article, I chose to base it on a study of dog's cognitive abilities to understand how they can potentially be better service dogs. My article highlights the fascinating abilities dogs have at such a young age and how understanding this could lead to them helping us in the future. Service dogs are crucial to helping us with our medical needs. If we can understand their cognitive abilities at a young age, we can train them accordingly.
Reflection
After completing this scicomm article, one of the things that stood out to me was how such a complex study can be transformed into a more basic, understandable story. The original study that I based my article on, seemed intimidating at first because of all the charts and graphs that were listed as a result of the longitudinal study. By simplifying the study, I was able to transform it to make it more understandable to myself and my readers. It helped that I broke down the tasks to make them more concise and explained the overall significance of the results. Another interesting thing that I learned from this article was how using narrative and graphics can engage the reader. For example, for one of the tasks that were conducted, I provided a graphic to help give a better idea of what was going on. Often, simple tasks can seem confusing when talked about, providing graphics not only engages readers but makes it more understandable. Additionally, utilizing narrative elements creates more engagement and excitement in the overall study. Often, studies can seem overwhelming because of the amount of information that is being talked about. I believe using storylines helped make it more engaging and overall easier to digest by readers. Overall, writing this scicomm article helped strengthen my skills as a writer and researcher which will be beneficial in my future writing courses.

Advocacy Project
Adopt, Don't Shop! The Heartbreaking Truth of Puppy Mills
Introduction
The Sad Truth Behind Puppy Mills
With all the excitement of looking for a new dog, we often forget that dogs are like us, have feelings, crave attention, and want to feel loved. Dogs are not only a pet to us, but part of our family. They are highly intelligent animals who are capable of helping us in so many ways such as being at our service, putting a smile on our faces and even saving our lives. They are our most loyal companion who care for us deeply and will protect us at all costs. Dogs are even capable of detecting illnesses in us and often they can even sense when danger is nearby. Here is an incredible story, Dog sniffs out cancer about how a dog detected cancer in their owner before they knew it. As a result, the owner was able to get treated early when the cancer wasn't at a severe level. With this being said, shouldn't we do the same for them? Sadly in this world, there are places called puppy mills where irresponsible breeders put these dogs through inhumane conditions to sell them and obtain a profit. These facilities contain thousands of dogs in unsanitary conditions where they are used to breed and sell. They tend to sell these dogs online; sometimes, they are resold at the pet store. As a result, these irresponsible breeders continue to mass breed these dogs in these facilities where they develop medical conditions, become malnourished, and often, die. It's unethical that we allow these facilities to run as they continue to put dogs through pain and suffering to obtain a reward.
In these puppy mills, dogs are often neglected and do not receive the proper survival care. They are forced into unsanitary cages where they are put with many other dogs not allowing enough space to be comfortable. Here is a heartbreaking video of what a typical puppy mill looks like Puppy-mill Video. As you can see in this video, these puppies shoved into unsanitary cages filled with algae causing their food and water to become contaminated. As a result, these dogs are developing health conditions left to right as they begin to infect each other and not get treated. How could we allow this to happen to them? These dogs are suffering and some of them may never get to live the long healthy lives they deserve. Another common problem that occurs in these puppy mills is overbreeding. Oftentimes, female dogs are the ones at risk of developing the most health problems as they are often overbred and do not receive the proper care to recover from giving birth. As a result, these become weak and are often brutally killed as they are physically unable to produce more puppies (Female Dog Breeding).

Here is a picture of a mother in a puppy mill. As you can see, she is ill and unable to provide as much nutrients needed for her puppies. Additionally, this is a common occurrence in puppy mills. These mothers are in constant pain and physically weak, unable to be caring for their pups like they would. Another common problem in these puppy mills is that most of these dogs are inbred. Meaning, that these dogs are being bred with their relatives so that they will become purebred. Purebred dogs are another leading cause of death in puppy mills due to the genetic disorders dogs develop. Often, purebred dogs are more attractive in the eyes of people, causing irresponsible breeders in the puppy mills to inbreed them so they can make more money. While they may look completely normal on the outside, the chances of them developing genetic disorders later in life and perhaps even with the time being in unsanitary conditions, they will go through life suffering from this (Howard). As a result, these irresponsible breeders will not tell you the dog is sick and still sell them to the public.
This article, corporations-like-petsmart-encourage-inbreeding-and-support-puppy-mills, highlights how even big corporations contribute to the reselling of these inbred dogs where the chances of them having medical conditions are high. In the long run, this will cause a financial burden as these dogs have no vaccinations and will eventually need other healthcare as they are incapable of not having health problems. Despite the financial problem thousands of these facilities still exist, and there is a significant amount of money being sent to these puppy mills allowing them to still operate these unhealthy, mass breeding businesses.
Approximately in the U.S., about 10,00 breeders are contributing to this to make a profit by selling these dogs. It is commonly stated that “Those operating puppy mills frequently prioritize profitability at the expense of their animals' wellbeing.”(Burger, Kailey). This statement highlights not only the cruel world we live in, but the ongoing mistreatment of dogs. Despite the conditions of the dogs, these irresponsible breeders continue to sell these dogs oftening scamming people and in some circumstances, these dogs end up in the pet stores. As a result, people who buy from these facilities often don't know where they are coming from since they have no official papers and tend to get scammed. If people continue to buy from irresponsible breeders, the ongoing mistreatment of dogs will continue to exist in this world and many will go through a lifetime of suffering, not being able to experience the love and care they deserve. It's important to be aware of where a dog is coming from when looking to adopt. How could we live in a world where people put dogs through these conditions? With all the love and care that give us shouldn't we return the favor to them?

Here is a picture of what a typical puppy mill looks like. Several dogs in a small cage stacked on each other because of the limited space. As you can see, there is very little food for them to eat and they are ultimately living in conditions where there is no space for them to roam. This could ultimately lead to further injuries.
Solutions to the Puppy Mill Crises
While puppy mills tend to be an ongoing global crisis, solutions to this problem do exist. One of the biggest puppy mill businesses is located in Missouri. In 2010, Missouri created Initiative Prop B, the Puppy Mill Prevention Act to improve the conditions of the dogs (Burger). This proposition coincides with the Animal Welfare Act as it proposes the safety and well-being of these dogs were in danger. Animal activists in support of this were able to advocate for the inhumane conditions these dogs were put through and gather support from other national organizations. The proposition ended mass-produced puppy mills with over 50 breeding dogs. This is significant as it puts an end to mass breeding, one of the leading causes of death in puppy mills. When dogs are overbred, they become weak and since puppy mill dogs don't receive the proper medical attention needed, these dogs sadly pass away. This is one of the best solutions since Missouri is one of the biggest states known for containing puppy mills. This proposition was able to put an end to some of the suffering these dogs go through and ultimately, save more lives. Another solution to the problem is to advocate for stricter animal welfare laws that minimize the suffering of these dogs and set laws that enforce better treatment for them. The more the government can hear our voices, the better outcomes we will get. Puppy mills are a cruel system of breeding that deserves to be banned. So what can we do Specifically? By working with more human-focused groups and utilizing the media to bring awareness to puppy mills, people will stop supporting these places and put them out of business. The more we support businesses like puppy mills, we are only giving those people a profit for treating these dogs in such inhumane ways.

https://www.passion-4-paws.org/social-media-strategies-to-help-market-our-p4p-pups/
Here are some tips on how to spread awareness on social media.
Another solution to the problem is to advocate for stricter animal welfare laws that minimize the suffering of these dogs and set laws that enforce better treatment for them. The more the government can hear our voices, the better outcomes we will get. Puppy mills are a cruel system of breeding that deserves to be banned. So what can we do Specifically? By working with more human-focused groups and utilizing the media to bring awareness to puppy mills, people will stop supporting these places and put them out of business. The more we support businesses like puppy mills, we are only giving those people a profit for treating these dogs in such inhumane ways. While exploring the media, one story that stood out to me was a New York article Breaking: In a major blow to puppy mills, New York ends the sale of puppies in pet stores. This article talked about how New York prohibited the sale of puppies in pet stores since they were coming from the puppy mill. The overwhelming support of the people caused lawmakers in New York to pass a bill, ultimately saving thousands of dogs' lives. As a result of this, people began to adopt from the local shelters and more dogs were able to find the loving home they deserved. This heartwarming story emphasizes how coming together with a community and using the media, to fight for animal rights is possible to make changes. Although this only applies in New York, this is a beginning step to convincing other cities and states to make this change too. The more we come together, the more the government will hear our voices and make changes to the laws. Another powerful tool is utilizing Twitter to campaign for animal rights. I've learned about the various problems from my classmates and other researchers while doing so, allowing me to further my knowledge. Social media is a strong base to utilize to help spread awareness of a problem. For instance, with the #UCanimals community, I've become more aware of some of the inhumane conditions different animals go through. Even if posts don't get as much attention, social media is still a good place to start as people start to see them and can repost them to their accounts. This tool was useful for spreading information amongst my classmates about the dangers of puppy mills and others on Twitter.
Another helpful solution to stopping the puppy mill is by supporting shelters and rescue centers. By adopitng dogs from the shelters and rescue centers, this will put Puppymills out of business as they will not be getting the fund needed to operate (Bradley). There are thousands of friendly loving dogs waiting to be adopted from the shelters. If they can provide us with happiness and love shouldn't we do the same? By adopting from the shelter, you're not only saving a life by adopting a new member into your family but the most loyal companion. Ultimately, you are also supporting a good cause by adopting instead of shopping. We must encourage others to do the same to get into better habits as a community. Additionally, shelter dogs are far beyond healthier as they are up to date with their vaccinations and receive the proper nutrients to live a long healthy life (Rowan). Often, people think shelter dogs are there because they misbehaved and were abandoned by their owners. This is not true (Cost difference, rescues, and puppy mills). This article highlights the cost difference and benefits of adopting from shelters, not puppy mills. Ultimately, shelter dogs are looking for a loving environment where they can live a healthy lifestyle.
Here is a video of a dog getting adopted from the shelter. Look how happy they are. Wouldn't you want to adopt a dog like this too? And give them the best possible life as they give to us. We must advocate for our local shelters to prevent people from buying from irresponsible breeders and puppy mills. It's unethical that we allow ourselves to live in w world where dogs are constantly being mistreated for money. Dogs are part of our family too and should get treated the way we would want to. It's heartbreaking to see such conditions they are put through just for money. They are far more important in this world they shouldn't have to go through a lifetime of suffering from something that can be put to a stop.
What Can We Do Moving Forward?
While puppy mills still operate to this day, that doesn't mean they can't be put to an end. As shown earlier, it's possible to stop these unsanitary mass breeding facilities and put them out of business. We must continue to advocate our voices in the media and bring public awareness to the issue. Dogs are truly our most loyal friends and family members. They are willing to help save our lives so why don't we do the same for them? There are plenty of dogs waiting to find a loving home at the shelters and the more we continue to support these shelters, puppy mills will be put out of business.

Aditional Information on Puppy Mills
Work Cited
Arnold, Cailin. “Why Large Corporations like Petsmart Encourage Inbreeding and Support Puppy Mills.” Medium, Medium, 16 Feb. 2018, medium.com/@cailinarnold/why-large-corporations-like-petsmart-encourage-inbreeding-and-support-puppy-mills-2fa829c3c783.
“Benefits of Adopting a Pet from Anima Shelter”. Papersowl.com 27 Mar 2023, https://papersowl.com/examples/benefits-of-adopting-a-pet-from-animal-shelter/
Bradley, J., and Rajendran, S. "Increasing Adoption Rates at Animal Shelters: A Two-Phase Approach to Predict Length of Stay and Optimal Shelter Allocation." BMC Veterinary Research, vol. 17, 2021, p. 70. doi:10.1186/s12917-020-02728-2.
“Breaking: In Major Blow to Puppy Mills, New York Ends the Sale of Puppies in Pet Stores.” The Humane Society of the United States, 8 Sept. 2021, www.humanesociety.org/blog/breaking-major-blow-puppy-mills-new-york-ends-sale-puppies-pet-stores#:~:text=The%20bi%2Dpartisan%2C%20overwhelming%20support,both%20animals%20and%20the%20public.
Burger, Kailey A. "Solving the Problem of Puppy Mills: Why the Animal Welfare Movement's Bark Is Stronger than Its Bite." Washington University Journal of Law & Policy, 43, 2013, pp. 259-284. HeinOnline, https://heinonline.org/HOL/P?h=hein.journals/wajlp43&i=267.
“Digging up the Truth about Puppy Mills.” SPCA International, 1 Sept. 2019, www.spcai.org/take-action/puppy-mills/digging-up-the-truth-about-puppy-mills#:~:text=The%20female%20breeding%20dogs%20suffer,is%20brutally%20killed%20or%20abandoned.
Gibbs, Alice. “Dog Sniffed out Brain Cancer Years Before Official Diagnosis, Owner Says.” Newsweek, Newsweek, 22 Sept. 2022, www.newsweek.com/dog-sniffed-out-brain-cancer-years-before-diagnosis-owner-ireland-1745196.
Howard, Mary Elizabeth Greene. "Puppy Mills & Commercial Breeding in Kentucky: The Impure Truth behind the Purebred Facade." Journal of Animal & Environmental Law, vol. 13, no. 1, Winter 2021, pp. 45-[iv]. HeinOnline, https://heinonline.org/HOL/P?h=hein.journals/jael13&i=51.
Neff, Michelle. “The Cost Difference between a Rescue Dog and Puppy Mill Dog.” One Green Planet, One Green Planet, 20 Aug. 2020, www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/cost-difference-between-rescue-and-puppy-mill-dog/.
Rowan, Andrew, and Tamara Kartal. "Dog Population & Dog Sheltering Trends in the United States of America." Animals, vol. 8, no. 5, 2018, p. 68. doi:10.3390/ani8050068.
“Shelter Dogs’ Reactions to Being Adopted.” YouTube, 13 Apr. 2022, youtu.be/YWGzaqigAo8?si=2bbSmeKH16J0jViB.
“The Reality of Puppy Mills.” YouTube, YouTube, 25 Mar. 2011, www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVyFSTYY7zg.