Entry 1 November 2, 2018
Prepare for trouble, and make it- nah, I'm not Team Rocket. Hello, and welcome to my 20 Time Project. I'm Vivienne Tollenone, or at least that's what I will call myself for the time being. This is a school project that is required for my English class, and I will be working on it all year 'round. I've chosen to focus my project on the adoption of pets, but not just any pets. The issue is, senior pets are typically forgotten or overlooked when people decide to adopt an animal from the shelter. This is a big issue for me, because these animals may have to spend the rest of their life in a cramped cage or kennel. This is cruel, not only to the animal stuck there, but to new animals coming in. Sometimes a shelter can get so backed up with pets that they can't take in anymore of them, but that isn't the point. The point is, I'm going to attempt to raise awareness for the adoption of senior pets, not only by showing the country that their love is as timeless as any other, but showing the statistics and experiences I have with these animals. I have started research on the adoption rates of senior pets, and I should finish the research by next week's blog. I will also begin on a traveling exhibit I will bring around different parts of Illinois and Missouri. I hope you guys will tune in and stay connected for some updates in the future. Over.
Entry 2, November 19, 2018 |
As of the last entry, I've made some progress in research. A study from ASPCA pro shows that out of puppies, dogs, and seniors, the puppies had the highest adoption rate and the seniors had the lowest. With younger dogs' adoption at 60% going out and senior dogs' rate at 25% going out, it's obvious that they are far less appealing to soon to be pet owners. There are many reasons that this could be, whether it would be they aren’t as cute, they have more health problems, and they won’t last as long. I don’t believe that this is the case, the health problems are not much worse than getting a puppy, and the age shouldn’t matter if you truly want to have a dog. However, the return-to-owner rate is far higher for seniors than most other dogs at 49% rather than 23%. This possibly means that senior dogs have even stronger bonds with their owners than other dogs. Another reason could be that these senior dogs could know how to recognize their owner far better than younger dogs can. This is a short blog, but this is about all I've gathered from this specific study. Vivienne Tollenone signing off.
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Entry 3,It's almost Christmas! How wonderfully (un)exciting! With the impending doom that is holiday spirit, there is a lot of pets that could be bought for young children. However rare this may be, there are still pets that will be bought as Christmas presents. Puppies and kittens are seemingly the most common pets, from my experience a long time ago it was a fully grown dog. The time I had gotten a senior dog, she was so wonderful, even if she was kinda sickly. She had heart problems that we had no knowledge of, however, and she died about a year after we had got her. So you do have to be careful, and get a full check up and background of the animal you would like to adopt. If that is not possible for money problems or something else going on in life, I would suggest getting as much information as you possible could out of the adoption center you are getting your new pet.
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Entry 4, December 7, 2018With my talk of Christmas in the last blog post, you would think I would have a lot to talk about. Other than the fact that a lot of things in my life have gone downhill, I've made very little progress. I have not been able to get hold of my cousin, making it difficult to get some updates on her animal fostering. I also have not had much time to look at statistics on adoptions. I have little to update on, save for the fact that both of my dogs, a 3 year old purebred blue heeler and a 5 month old boxer, are both in need of medical assistance. With the boxer, Angus, sick and the blue heeler, Loki, constantly scratching an open wound on his neck(insert meme here), I've been constantly worried for their safety. That has been my biggest concern as of now. With my puppy and (puppy-minded)adult both giving my families grief, I thought I could use it as a issue to bring up here. No matter the age of a pet, you're gonna have problems at some point. From young to old, there are problems that arise and make life difficult for both you and your surroundings, including pets. Vet bills have been getting higher and higher due to inflation, making the stigma of senior pets' constant vet visits even more scary. Hopefully, those who care about most animals can help get rid of this stigma and allow for all pets to be adopted equally. This is Vivienne, signing off.
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Entry 5, January 5, 2019Hello dear pet lovers, I’m finally back after my school's winter break and there is a lot to do still! I’ve just emailed 5A’s director for the ability to volunteer at the shelter from my school account and had to send a second email from my school account to tell him that if he wished to respond, he’d have to respond to my other email. I’m a bit clumsy and forgetful like that. In the email I asked for statistics for the ages of animals coming in and going out, which obviously there is no guarantee of getting. As for a New Year’s resolution, as I was told to write about, mine is to gather more data and to get the poster board and supplies needed to make my traveling exhibit. I’ll need to make a small design of the board to make sure I know what I’ll need to make, and I need to make flyers for people to come to the final showing at my school’s showcasing night. Most of the traveling exhibit things will happen on the weekends during April. I will be going to the pet stores in my area, and hopefully get more attention for the final showing of it. Well, see y’all in the next post, so chow-chow for now.
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Entry 6, March 25, 2019 |
Hello dear pet lovers, it's been a very long time since I last updated this little blog of mine. I've made a bit of leeway, however I've still yet to get anything from 5a's. Sadly, though it's technically only optional, it could be a wonderful addition to add my artistic prowess (even if it's only a little bit of prowess) to my traveling exhibit. I hope to be able to get the exhibit up soon, so that I'll be able to spread the word. Progress has been made on that, but I need to get some of the tape around the edges and some other things need to get on it as well. Other than that, progress is coming along fine. Once I get the tri-fold done, I can get moving on setting up the actual exhibit set up. After that, I can move it all around, create flyers for those that would like to come to the TED talk in April. So, as that is all I can report for now, I'd like to say have a great day! Chow-chow for now!
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Entry 7, March 31, 2019 |
Hello dear pet lovers, I'm back in just a few days for a very, very short update on the traveling exhibit. I've gotten a bit more progress on it, getting the border and the headers finished. I need to get the information of what I'm going to talk about, without finished details so that people actually want to come to the TED talk. Making it is a challenge, however, with my lack of motivation I'm trying my best to get it done. I've been struggling with my depression and outbursts lately. Either way, I'm trying my best to get everything done after I was left behind, making the finishing of my project even harder to get to. Since that's all I have to report, I'll just say: chow-chow for now!
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