Running head: ETHICAL CANINE ADOPTION 1 The Ethical Way to Adopt a Canine Companion Yolanda B. Student ENG122: English Composition II Professor I. M. Jackson August 31, 2016 ENG122 Sticky Note The student has revised the title of the paper so it is more descriptive. ENG122 Sticky Note Since the student revised the title of the paper, the running header was also updated with a new shortened title. ETHICAL CANINE ADOPTION 2 The Ethical Way to Adopt a Canine Companion Dogs are important members of many families, especially since they live for many years and can be with children from childhood all the way through until they become adults. People without children also enjoy having dogs in their lives as surrogates for the parent-child relationship. There are many ways to obtain a dog in America and similar western countries. Many people choose to obtain a puppy from a pet store in a shopping center, mall, or another commercial storefront. Others seek out puppies from seemingly licensed breeders; however, many puppies are also supplied by unlicensed or home breeders. Because of the sheer number of dogs lost or abandoned, shelters and rescue organizations that take care of homeless or unwanted pets until a forever family can be found. Family pets should be seen as a lifetime guardianship commitment and not a frivolous financial business transaction. The ramifications of treating living creatures as consumer goods are great. Due to the pet overpopulation in America and the exacerbated medical ramifications of selective breeding, it is more ethical to adopt a rescued dog than to purchase a commercially bred puppy. Pet overpopulation in America may be the cause of numerous environmental and sociological problems. Pet overpopulation can lead to larger numbers of unsupervised and homeless animals across the country. Pet waste left behind by dogs without human guardians is not just unsightly and smelly; pet waste left in the open can have a major impact on ground water quality (Paterson, 2011). If pet waste is left on the ground, it seeps into the groundwater, gets washed into storm drains, makes its way into streams and lakes, and is left as untreated sewage in the natural water cycle. Rescue organizations reduce the pet population in America by spaying and neutering all animals before they are released. There were 3,500 individual animal shelters operating at ENG122 Sticky Note The running header, title, and overall formatting is correct. This paper is written with good APA formatting. ENG122 Sticky Note The student has revised the introduction paragraph based on specific marked-up paper feedback provided by the instructor. ENG122 Sticky Note This thesis statement has been revised and reflects a targeted approach to the argument. This sentence is clear and can stand alone as a complete representation of the argument. ENG122 Sticky Note During revision, the student found ad ...

1. Running head: ETHICAL CANINE ADOPTION 1
The Ethical Way to Adopt a Canine Companion
Yolanda B. Student
ENG122: English Composition II
Professor I. M. Jackson
August 31, 2016
ENG122
Sticky Note
The student has revised the title of the paper so it is more
descriptive.
ENG122
Sticky Note
Since the student revised the title of the paper, the running
header was also updated with a new shortened title.

2. ETHICAL CANINE ADOPTION 2
The Ethical Way to Adopt a Canine Companion
Dogs are important members of many families, especially since
they live for many years
and can be with children from childhood all the way through
until they become adults. People
without children also enjoy having dogs in their lives as
surrogates for the parent-child
relationship. There are many ways to obtain a dog in America
and similar western countries.
Many people choose to obtain a puppy from a pet store in a
shopping center, mall, or another
commercial storefront. Others seek out puppies from seemingly
licensed breeders; however,
many puppies are also supplied by unlicensed or home breeders.
Because of the sheer number of
dogs lost or abandoned, shelters and rescue organizations that
take care of homeless or unwanted
pets until a forever family can be found. Family pets should be
seen as a lifetime guardianship
commitment and not a frivolous financial business transaction.
The ramifications of treating
living creatures as consumer goods are great. Due to the pet

3. overpopulation in America and the
exacerbated medical ramifications of selective breeding, it is
more ethical to adopt a rescued dog
than to purchase a commercially bred puppy.
Pet overpopulation in America may be the cause of numerous
environmental and
sociological problems. Pet overpopulation can lead to larger
numbers of unsupervised and
homeless animals across the country. Pet waste left behind by
dogs without human guardians is
not just unsightly and smelly; pet waste left in the open can
have a major impact on ground water
quality (Paterson, 2011). If pet waste is left on the ground, it
seeps into the groundwater, gets
washed into storm drains, makes its way into streams and lakes,
and is left as untreated sewage
in the natural water cycle.
Rescue organizations reduce the pet population in America by
spaying and neutering all
animals before they are released. There were 3,500 individual
animal shelters operating at
ENG122
Sticky Note

4. The running header, title, and overall formatting is correct. This
paper is written with good APA formatting.
ENG122
Sticky Note
The student has revised the introduction paragraph based on
specific marked-up paper feedback provided by the instructor.
ENG122
Sticky Note
This thesis statement has been revised and reflects a targeted
approach to the argument. This sentence is clear and can stand
alone as a complete representation of the argument.
ENG122
Sticky Note
During revision, the student found additional research
surrounding this topic. Additional information was added, more
evidence was integrated, and a rough single paragraph was
revised into two fully developed paragraphs.
ETHICAL CANINE ADOPTION 3
capacity in the United States in the mid 1990s (Motavalli,
1995). The number of shelters and pets
in need is large and has only increased over the years. The
numbers grow because too many pets
are allowed to breed freely without control. According to
environmentalist Jim Motavalli (1995),
the average female dog can produce two litters a year, which
means that one un-spayed girl dog

5. can be responsible for 67,000 births during her fertile years if
her offspring are also left intact
and not spayed or neutered. Such prolific breeding increased the
pet population exponentially
with each litter born. Spay and neuter programs have been
found to be most effective in reducing
the pet population along with increased adoptions from shelters
and rescues (Frank, 2004). A
simple choice to adopt a pet from a shelter can greatly and
positively impact the entire ecological
and ethical issues surrounding pet overpopulation today.
Despite the overabundance of dogs available, some people seek
out specialty dogs bred in
through commercial enterprise. Designer and purebred dogs are
created by artificial genetic
modification through selective breeding practices. Since humans
have selectively bred dogs for
physical and behavioral characteristics through inbreeding,
pedigree dogs can be plagued by
genetic disease (Farrell, Schoenebeck, Wiener, Clements, &
Summers, 2015). Breeders who
work in commercial enterprises are focused on breeding for
desirable sellable characteristics
when breeding an animal as a business. With a focus on

6. business, animal welfare can become an
after-thought.
Any selective breeding practices can result in exacerbated
medical conditions in canines.
Because historical breed standards were focused on aesthetics
and temperament with disregard
for health, increased medical issues are now prevalent in
pedigree dogs. Indrebø (2008) found
that it will take “several generations to change the breed
through genetic selection in order to
eradicate the unhealthy over-typed dogs” (pp. 1-2). Shelters and
rescue organizations do not
ENG122
Sticky Note
The student has worked on transitions during the revision
process. Paragraphs now flow with more intention and ease.
ENG122
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Each and every paragraph begins with a topic sentence, contains
a clear claim, and presents evidence that is properly cited in
APA style.
ENG122
Sticky Note
Nearly all evidence is integrated through paraphrases and
summaries. Quotes are used sparingly and only when
necessarily.

7. ETHICAL CANINE ADOPTION 4
participate in selective breeding for designer or purebred
animals. Instead, rescue organizations
accept animals in any variety until a permanent home can be
found.
Rescue organizations do not breed animals, therefore not
participating in selective
breeding for designer or purebred animals. Pet stores, however,
are supplied by breeders who do
participate in selective breeding but may not take the steps
necessary to ensure healthy pets. The
only way breeders can ethically create healthy litters is through
ongoing diagnostic screening of
all dogs along with genetic testing regardless of arbitrarily
chosen aesthetics of the animal
(Farrell et al., 2015). There are ten recommendations for ethical
breeding programs that require a
number of actions, including: all breeders must only breed very
healthy dogs, breeders must
continually calculate percentages for breeding stock, breeders
must limit “matador breeding,”
breeders must immediately exclude female dogs who are unable
to give birth naturally, breeders

8. have to screen all breeding animals for polygenetic diseases,
breeders must conduct DNA testing
on all breeding animals, and breeders must practice natural
puppy-rearing with birth mothers
(Indrebø, 2008). These recommendations are essential for
ethical breeding yet are not mandated
by any regulation or law. Without firm regulations and legal
ramifications, commercial breeders
can continue to breed animals for profit and without regard for
the health and welfare of animals.
There is a rich history in dog breeding and Kennel Club
registration. Some people feel
that pedigree dogs represent an important cultural history. It has
been found, however, that desire
for a pure-bred dog is more likely to be based on popular
culture trends than more rational or
logical decision-making processes (Ghirlanda, Acerbi, &
Herzog, 2014). For instance, films
featuring Lassie led to more demand for the Collie breed. Rin
Tin Tin’s popularity led to more
demand for the German Shepard breed. Popular celebrities
photographed with purse-dwelling
Chihuahuas increase the demand for teacup-sized Chihuahuas.
The desire for designer and

9. ENG122
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The rebuttal is supported by credible evidence from multiple
sources.
ETHICAL CANINE ADOPTION 5
pedigree dogs is often influenced by fleeting cultural trends
rather than complete analysis of the
situation and the animal’s best interests. Such activity negates
the assertion that designer and
pedigree breeding is solely an asset to society, particularly
since trends do not contain regard for
ethical treatment of animals. Dogs that appear to be designer
and pedigree breeds can be found in
shelters alongside obvious mixed-breeds (Strand, 2015).
Without documentation, however,
pedigree cannot be proven for a homeless pet.
Just as there is no assurance of breed when adopting from a
shelter or rescue group, there
is no guarantee of a healthy pet when adopted from a shelter
where the animal’s history is
unknown. While it is true that there is no guarantee of health
when a pet is adopted from a

10. shelter, adoptions fees do not financially supporting breeders
who are breeding animals with
disregard for health and welfare. Concerns over the
commercialization of dog breeding have led
a number of municipalities across the country to ban the sale of
puppy-mill animals due to the
animal welfare concerns (Taylor, 2015). Purebred dogs suffer
needlessly and genetic diversity,
as exhibited in mutts from the pound, is preferable for a healthy
and stable pet (Jeppsson, 2014).
While there are no guarantees when adopting from a shelter or
rescue organization, the overall
impact of adopting pets rather than investing in commercial
breeding is positive.
Pet overpopulation is a real concern in America, negatively
impacting quality of life and
environmental safety. Additional animals bred through selective
breeding for popular
characteristics not only add to the pet population, but they also
suffer from exacerbated medical
conditions and genetic disease. Meanwhile, shelters and rescue
groups are overflowing with
homeless pets in need. Shelters and rescue groups vaccinate and
spay or neuter each pet before

11. releasing them to pre-screened families, reducing the potential
for pet population growth and
assuring better potential quality of life. The sale of
commercially-bred puppies from pet stores
ENG122
Comment on Text
The student corrected all contractions during the editing
process. Contractions like "it's" are not used in academic
writing.
ENG122
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The conclusion has been revised to include all main topics of
the argument with a strong call to action that restates the thesis
statement.
ETHICAL CANINE ADOPTION 6
should be banned unless all ethical recommendations become
legally mandatory. Therefore,
families should first consider adopting a dog from a shelter or
rescue organization rather than
purchasing a puppy from an unregulated commercial enterprise
like a pet store or large breeding
enterprise.

12. ENG122
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There is an appropriate page break at the end of the paper,
which is longer than 1,500 words. The reference list will begin
on the next page.
ETHICAL CANINE ADOPTION 7
References
Farrell, L. L., Schoenebeck, J. J., Wiener, P., Clements, D. N.,
& Summers, K. M. (2015). The
challenges of pedigree dog health: Approaches to combating
inherited disease. Canine
Genetics And Epidemiology, doi:10.1186/s40575-015-0014-9
Frank, J. (2004). An interactive model of human and companion
animal dynamics: The ecology
and economics of dog overpopulation and the human costs of
addressing the problem.
Human Ecology 32(1), 107-130.
Ghirlanda, S., Acerbi, A., & Herzog, H. (2014). Dog movie
stars and dog breed popularity: A
case study in media influence on choice. PLoS One, 9(9), 1-5.
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0106565
Indrebø, A. (2008). Animal welfare in modern dog breeding
[Special Section]. Acta Veterinaria

13. Scandinavica, 50(56), 1-6. doi:10.1186/1751-0147-50-S1-S6
Jeppsson, S. (2014). Purebred dogs and canine wellbeing.
Journal of Agricultural and
Environmental Ethics, 27(3), 417-430.
doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10806-013-9470-y
Motavalli, J. (1995). Our agony over animals. E: The
Environmental Magazine, 6(5), 28.
Paterson, J. (2011). A greener pawprint. E: The Environmental
Magazine, 22(3), 22-27.
Strand, P. (2015). NAIA study confirms fewer dogs, scarce
purebreds in US animal shelters.
Retrieved from http://www.naiaonline.org/articles/article/naia-
study-confirms-fewer-
dogs-scarce-purebreds-in-us-animal-
shelters#sthash.eVrpn8cN.PkESlIas.dpbs
Taylor, J. S. (2015). Anti-puppy mill legislation across the
country is dogging pet stores. ABA
Journal. Retrieved from
http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/anti_puppy_mill_le
gislation_across_the_co
untry_is_dogging_pet_stores
ENG122

14. Sticky Note
Additional sources have been added to the reference list. All
sources cited in-text are listed accurately with a full reference
citation.
ENG122
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This reference page is formatted in correct APA style and all
references are complete and correct.
ETHICAL CANINE ADOPTION 8
Running head: POLICE BODY CAMERAS 1
POLICE BODY CAMERAS 3
Police Body Cameras
Jaumecal K. Fowler
ENG122: English Composition II
Instructor Lisa Walsh
October 3, 2016

15. Police body cameras
Police conduct has been a federal concern in recent year due to
increased reports and complaints of unprofessional behavior by
the law enforcers. Consequently, this has forced administration
bodies to seek remedies to the burgeoning conundrum. The need
for a workable solution led to the suggestion of a new tool
designed to record police activities during working hours. The
tool, a police body camera, aims to tape and record all activities
undertaken by an officer including all sorts of interactions with
civilians and colleagues. The proposed solution has also
received its fair share of criticism from skeptics who claim the
move is a violation of officer rights and risks exposing personal
lives of citizens and families engaging with the officer while on
duty. The use of body cameras by the policemen will serve to
create better relations between the American public and the
police force as it will reduce the chances of misconduct,
enhance the push for more great community engagement and
will ensure the evaluation of the police officers that allegedly
use excessive force.
The use of cameras will improve police and citizen interaction.
This will help ease down citizen frustration toward police
frisking which makes a majority feel violated. According to
Smith (2015), the knowledge of a camera will help increase
citizen confidence in the system as they will be sure the officers
must conduct themselves professionally. Consequently, the
cameras will improve the relations between the police and the
public since there will be reduced unnecessary stops for
frisking.
The cameras will offer additional evidence in crime scenes and
police investigations. The cameras planted on the officers will
help provide evidence in times of investigation. This will assist
in resolving the issue of insufficient crime scene evidence.
Also, a camera is usually important for suspect determination
and investigation. The cameras can be used to prosecute
offenders as well as officers who act out of their professional

16. lines (Smith, 2015). Moreover, the camera is designed to
monitor police activities and offer necessary information in case
a dispute involving an officer is reported
The cameras will improve responses between officers and
citizens. Both officers and citizens will have to be accountable
for their actions since they will understand that the camera is
recording each part of the interaction. For officers, this will
help increase professionalism and reduce instances of
aggressive handling of citizens and invading personal privacy
through vigorous frisking (Scalise, 2013). Also, the video
recordings will discourage citizens from improper conduct
during police stops. Citizens will have to improve their conduct
to avoid prosecution upon retrieving the police video.
The police body cameras will compromise officers` privacy and
risk revealing classified police information during proceedings.
Skeptics argue that the policy is not police friendly as it will
provide too much information including classified information
about police incidences. Revealing top security information to
the public may risk state and national security or give leads on
advanced investigations during a review. Some officers claim
that the use of police cameras is an indication of reduced faith
in the police and is a demotivating and embarrassing policy to
police officers who dedicate their lives to protecting citizens
(Scalise, 2013). However, others also argue that police officers
require no personal relations at work and should therefore not
complain about reduced privacy. Also, the videos will be used
in investigations and would not be revealed to the public, but
only the senior chiefs and necessary content provided for the
case.
The police body camera appears as an appropriate solution to
increased cases of both police and citizen misconducts. This is
because the videos will act as a source of additional evidence to
prosecute offenders who disrupt the execution of the law. Police
officers will have to conduct themselves professionally at all
times due to the knowledge of constant surveillance; this will
help increase professionalism and police performance.

17. Similarly, the cameras will also help improve offenders`
conducts as they will have to regulate their behaviors to avoid
incurring additional charges and risk longer sentences or
retrospective punishments.
References
Smith, C. (2015). Criminal Justice in America. Boston: Cencage
Learning.
Scalise, F. (2013). Police Body Cameras. New York: John
Wiley and Sons.