Summary 1:
There are over 600 million strays worldwide, which is a man-made problem. Stray animals run a risk of being hit by a car, dying from diseases, and other dangers amongst the streets. Strays are a risk to communities and the general perception of that community. There are three types of stray animals: Lost, abandoned, and dogs born as strays. The solution to reducing the number of strays is to have responsible dog ownership. For an individual dog to maintain health and well-being in their environment, it’s important that they have freedom. This freedom includes: Freedom from hunger and thirst, freedom from discomfort freedom from pain, injury, or disease, freedom to express normal behavior, and freedom from fear and distress. To reduce the number of strays owners should not abandon their animals, have them kept properly in a contained environment, have them microchipped and registered, and have them neutered.
http://www.zerostraypawject.org/strays-explained
Summary 2:
Out of the 70 million stray animals in the US, 20% are euthanized annually and the 10% that were lost were returned to their owners. The dangers of stray dogs are that they carry parasites, distemper and rabies, and can have behavioral problems like aggression. Strays also increase the stray animal population by breeding with one another. The common diseases amongst stray dogs are: Canine distemper, parvovirus, fleas, parasites, heartworm disease, kennel cough and canine influenza, digestive issues, mange, ticks, and trauma. To help stray dogs in communities, people should support, or help rescues, support or make a local group, research strays needs by talking to shelters, vets, and humane societies in the area. If people get into contact with stray animals, they should call a local shelter.
(2019, October 6). Stray Dog Rescue: How to Help Your Community. Pet Place. Retrieved from, https://www.petplace.com/article/dogs/pet-care/dog-care/stray-dog-rescue-how-to-help-your-community/
Summary 3:
Roaming animals are a result of pet abandonment. Owners give up their animals, leaving them to survive on their own. Breeding amongst stay animals is not controlled, leading to more stray animals. Stray animals are likely to crossroads, causing accidents. Sending stray animals to shelters doesn’t solve the overpopulation problem. Some shelters neglect the animals’ needs, as they are not properly cared for through service, interaction, and care. In Asia, many animals are stuck in overcrowded shelters. When no one adopts a stray animal, they are euthanized. However, some euthanasia practices are through poison, traps, electrocution, beatings, and shootings. 24,000 animal cruelty cases were reported in India in the last 3 years. Some make money off of stray dogs for dog meat trading as if pets are seen as consumed goods. There have been 100 million dogs and 4 million stray cats who were killed for the dog meat trade in China alone. The stray animal population also burdens taxpayers. Euthanizing animals costs money and by euthanizing 25,000 animals, that costs taxpayers 20 million.
Gochi, Don. (2019, July 7). Consequences of Stray Dogs Overpopulation in Asia. Medium. Retrieved from, https://medium.com/@adopsiorg/consequences-of-stray-dogs-overpopulation-in-asia-11e3c44d6e0c
Summary 4:
In college towns, unwanted animals are common due to inexperienced owners who don’t understand the amount of time that goes in to raising a pet. Some shelters do not allow college students to adopt pets. Kay Stout says, “They were wonderful (pet) owners in September, October, November,” she said. “Then we have them all back in May and June.” The problem of stray animals is common because people don’t understand why they should spay or neuter their pets. Another reason people give up their pets is because they give their pets up when they can’t handle their needs. For college students, they don’t think about the time and care that goes into taking care of a pet.
Harkins, Paighten. (2012, May 3). Mass Breeding, Careless Owners to Blame for Stray Pet Overpopulation. OUDaily. Retrieved from, https://www.oudaily.com/news/mass-breeding-careless-owners-to-blame-for-stray-pet-overpopulation/article_b27d7513-5beb-5aa4-ba03-9caa9c3d3e6c.html
Summary 5:
Pet overpopulation has not only been a concern for communities but for wildlife as well/ Because stray animals aren’t vaccinated, they can pollute an environment and spread diseases. Parasites can also be passed along through feces which threatens wildlife when the feces contaminate food and water. Every year there are a growing number of wild animals killed by stray cats and dogs. Because stray animals have to survive on their own, they end up killing birds and small mammals, while dogs can kill larger animals like goats and sheep. Oahu in Hawaii has about 300,000 feral cats. Their fecal matter poses a threat to animals and humans by spreading toxoplasmosis. With about 25 million stray dogs in India, diseases such as rabies and parvovirus are a threat to animals and humans. To reduce the amount of breeding and overpopulation, there are “Trap-Neuter-Return” programs where animals are sterilized, then returned to the streets.
Pittman, Arianna. (2016). How Stray Cats and Dogs Are Harming Native Wildlife and What You Can Do About It. One Green Planet. Retrieved from, https://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/stray-dogs-and-cats-harming-wildlife/
Summary 6:
A feral cat is one that is born in the wild, while a stray cat was born into a home and either abandoned or lost by their owner. Feral cats live short lives due to disease such as toxoplasmosis and cat scratch fever, fighting, or traffic. A method of dealing with feral cats is the TNR method (Trap, neuter, return), which involved trapping cats and vaccinating them, while managing them in a colony, however, cats continue to hunt birds and other animals who may be a protected species. The Endangered Species Act makes it illegal for people to take in an endangered species and will be found liable for taking them. The Migratory Bird Treaty Act protects the claims but there is legal action against colony managers. The number of feral cats depends on their food supply and governments reduce feral cat colonies by sealing garbage containers. Most feral cat colonies exist around dumpsters.
LaCroix, Anthony. (2006). Overview of Feral Cat Population Control. Animal Law. Retrieved from, https://www.animallaw.info/article/overview-feral-cat-population-control
Summary 7:
Stray dogs have become more prevalent due to the development of larger cities in America. Stray dogs are becoming a problem in American Indian Reservations in North/South Dakota. Detroit is known for dog fighting and 50,000 dogs roam around the city in packs. Since hurricane Katrina, there are now 120,000 strays in New Orleans. Stray dogs harm the city environment and human’s health. They cause noise pollution, feces garbage, and traffic accidents. With Michigan being ranged the 23rd for dog fighting, there are thousands of strays who roman the streets at night. Stray dogs are a threat to human health and lives, because they transfer rabies. The biggest cause of stray dogs is because of abandonment, such as family tragedies, moving, marriage, sickness, and physiological characteristics in the pets, financial troubles, and cannot take care of their pets. Most dogs in Detroit were abandoned due to financial reasons. To help stray dogs we need to: shelter, kill, vaccinate/neuter, rescue programs. Shelters struggle to financially provide for strays, because there are so many who need treatments. Disease can also transfer quickly to sheltered dogs, so it is not a fundamental solution. People think killing is a simple solution, but it also costs money, but it puts humans including children at a health risk. Shooting is also an idea, but it’s not easy to do and it’s inhumane. Vaccination and neutering are helpful, but it is not possible due to lack of money. Animal welfare acts in Michigan want to pass a bill that requires adopted pets to be sterilized to increase strays. A five-year plan is a series of policies that deal with strays in cities. The plan includes to: formulate animal rights laws to establish monitoring of strays, provide immunity/vaccination/neutering, services to strays, government has to provide financial/political support for strays, government has to enhance communication with non-governmental organizations, and finally government has to develop measures to deal with strays such as distribution, monitoring, controlling, and enhance advertisement to pet owners.
Lyu, Peijin. (2015). Proposal on Solutions to Stray Dog Problem in American Cities. Journal of Political Sciences & Public Affairs. Vol. 3. Retrieved from, https://www.longdom.org/open-access/proposal-on-solutions-to-stray-dog-problem-in-american-cities-2332-0761-1000175.pdf
Summary 8:
Pets can become homeless by wandering off from their owners, such as being afraid of storms/fireworks. Pets can be scared by loud noises, leading them to get out of their home and not finding their way back. Pet sitters can cause pets to run away, due to the pet being lonely as to why the sitter isn’t caring for them properly or being left alone for a long period of time. When the pet’s owner passes away, the pet can leave and become a stray animal. When a female dog becomes pregnant, the pet owner may not be responsibility of taking care of puppies or kittens so they may abandon their pet. Stray animals can harm humans by spreading disease, biting, or leaving feces near water sources. Stray animals can also cause harm to themselves by getting in fights with other stray animals, wildlife, or getting in traffic accidents. Responsible pet owner should keep their pets in a controlled environment, like a yard or inside their home. It’s also important for pets to be neutered or spayed, because if they do leave their home, they will not produce more strays. Pet owners should put collars on their pets and have them microchipped so if they are lost, the shelter or organization will be able to return the pets to their owners. If someone finds a stray pet, it’s important that they stay calm as to not frighten the animal. People should also check for tags or microchips and if the animal seems dangerous, they should call an animal control service. The stray dog population is larger than the amount of people looking to adopt a pet.
Pete, Tonya. (2020, September 24). Responsible Pet Ownership: The Solution to Stray Animals. Examiner-Enterprise. Retrieved from, https://www.examiner-enterprise.com/story/lifestyle/2020/09/01/responsible-pet-ownership-solution-stray-animals/5685832002/
Summary 9:
Stray dogs and rabies are linked to low-income countries with large stray dog populations. The Dog Population Management wants to improve the health of stray dogs, reduce the problems it causes, and reduce the stray dog population in size. The DPM wants to control the rabies spread by promoting responsible dog ownership and better vet care. Sterilization could reduce the population, but it’s important to understand the local dog population and the community to see how DPM should contribute to be successful. Surgical sterilization is a frequently used and has reduced the population size, but they are not government funded. Costs and time are barriers, and more tools are needed to be effective in the control of rabies. The three factors that limit the practice of eliminating rabies are lack of data collection, improved understanding of costs to be effective, and a sterilant for female dogs could increase possibilities for DPM to improve rabies control.
Taylor, L., Wallace, R., Balaram, D., Lindenmayer, J., Eckery, D., Watkiss-Mutonono, B. (2017, July 10). The Role of Dog Population Management in Rabies Elimination—A Review of Current Approaches and Future Opportunities. Frontiers in Veterinary Science. Vol. 4. Retrieved from, https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2017.00109/full
Summary 10:
Shanghai implemented a policy of one dog per family in order to control the animal population and reduce rabies. Rabies takes 55,000 lives per year with a much smaller number in the United States. However, that received backlash due to owners not wanting to give up their other pets. Adoption programs reduce the number of stray animals. Websites such as, PetFinder.com offer the opportunity to adopt pets. PETA released an ad campaign that blames pet owners for purchasing dogs, meaning that shelter dogs are going to be killed. Animal Rights Organizations try to focus their campaigns on spay and neuter programs. In Taylorsville, Kentucky, the town is overrun by stray cats but have been focusing on transporting the cats to spay and neuter them to reduce the stray cat population. Other organizations, such as 600million.org propose sterilization to cut down on the animal population and reduce abuse and killing of animals. Many countries don’t have laws against animal cruelty, and some are poisoned, hanged, throat slit, beaten, electrocuted, and shot.
Zelman, Joanna. (2017, December 6). Animal Overpopulation: What’s the Solution to 600 Million Stray Dogs? HuffPost. Retrieved from, https://www.huffpost.com/entry/animal-overpopulation-sterilization-adoption_n_863322
General Topic Area
• Stray Dogs and Cats in the United States
Refined General Topic Area
• Stray Animals
Specific Description of Topic Area
• Stray cats and dogs in the United States have become a problem because they cause diseases, traffic accidents, and harm wildlife. Stray cats and dogs are becoming a major problem due to owners neglecting their animals and stray animals breeding with one another to produce more animals.
Specific Problem in the Topic to Solve
• How can I help stray animals in the United States to reduce the number of strays?
Combined Topic and Problem
• Stray cats and dogs have become a major problem in the United States because they are rapidly breeding, cause diseases, traffic accidents, and harm to wildlife. How can I help stray cats and dogs in the U.S. to reduce the numbers of stray animals?
How Design can Solve the Problem
• Stray cats and dogs have become a major problem in the United States because they are rapidly breeding, cause diseases, traffic accidents, and harm to wildlife. I want to use UX design to reduce the number of strays by creating an app that allows people to take photos of stray animals and having a shelter or rescue take in the stray, locate lost or missing pets, successfully take in stray cats and dogs who are harmed, and collect feral cats and dogs to use the TRP (Trap-Neuter-Return) method.
I am researching stray animals in the United States because I want to find out how to help them and decrease the number of stray animals and use UX design in order to solve the stray animal population.