Pets and The Presidential Debate!

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As we all know the two top presidential candidates, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, have been debating important topics such as Obamacare, foreign policy and Romney’s tax plan.  Although these issues are vital and need to be discussed, I believe that our nation’s companion animal crisis should be addressed as well. 

According to American Pet Product Association’s National Pet Owners Survey of 2011, over 62% of all 

American households include at least one pet.  In 2011 Americans spent over 51 billion dollars on our pets, the highest recorded expenditures ever, even in the face of recession.  This shows how much Americans love their companion animals.  Despite this fact the truth is that between 5-7 million animals enter animal shelters and around 3-4 million of them are killed because of lack of space or become unadoptable.  This is an issue that needs to be addressed and steps need to be taken to ensure that this unfortunate statistic is altered.  The two candidates are debating cutting the funding for Big Bird, while governments in every city and county in the nation pour tax dollars into the rounding up, housing and eventual killing of innocent animals.  Almost every state is operating at a deficit, which creates a drain of the federal government.  This calls for a need to reevaluate and responsibly reallocate our resources properly. 

Although all companion-animal laws are enacted at the state and local level, it is important for each candidate to voice their opinions on this pressing topic.  Both candidates own, or have owned companion animals, which is why they should address an issue that they share with more than half the nation.  On behalf of the millions of Americans and the millions of animals that will not survive their time in shelter this year I urge the leaders of this nation to propose a solution or at least address the issue.