Losing an animal who is like family is difficult, however, when it's an animal without a home and no family, it is devastating. Watching my first euthanasia was one of the most heartbreaking things, and made me realize that being in the animal science field won't always be puppies and rainbows. The reason for the euthanasia was that the cat was urinating blood. When I was an intern at the Animal Management and Welfare, I got to see dogs reunited and adopted, but there were some dogs who just never got a home during the 2 months I was there. There were dogs who would be dropped off because they were of no use to their owner anymore, animals who came from abusive households, and animals who would harm others. That is when I realized that humans can be horrible and that not everything is going to be happy. At first, when I was there I was not yet aware of how awful people could be and how often animals are mistreated, But throughout those 2 months that is when reality started to set in. That is when I realized mentally that no matter what occurs, there can be something worse and you can stay in that negative mindset or you can want change. Throughout my time there I wanted to make a positive change. That is what made me want to pursue animal science/veterinary medicine in college because I would hope to one day accumulate money into a program where people can come in and receive free treatment for their animals. The reason why I want to do this is that animals are often dropped off at the shelter because the owners themselves cannot provide the care they need, sometimes it can be because of the cost. However, for those who did abuse their animals, I would want to be able to provide that care for that animal, regardless of cost. The reason is that the shelter should not have to worry about costs, but instead be able to give those animals a chance of finding a better home. I know this won't be a reality for quite some time and that is okay because one day it won't be a dream but reality instead. I do know the risks of going into veterinary medicine, as it is known for its high mental stress, mostly due to the clients and the emotional stress of having another life in your own hands. I want to make a negative into a positive, I want to be that change where people/programs can be able to provide that care for animals without having to worry about having to give up their beloved family member because of money. Watching an animal basically die alone is what made me realize the sad reality when it comes to being in an animal-based field. I will one day make a change, and hopefully, make my old naive self proud of what I will hopefully accomplish in the future.

Losing an animal who is like family is difficult, however, when it's an animal without a home and no family, it is devastating. Watching my first euthanasia was one of the most heartbreaking things, and made me realize that being in the animal science field won't always be puppies and rainbows. The reason for the euthanasia was that the cat was urinating blood. When I was an intern at the Animal Management and Welfare, I got to see dogs reunited and adopted, but there were some dogs who just never got home during the 2 months I was there. There were dogs who would be dropped off because they were of no use to their owner anymore, animals who came from abusive households, and animals who would harm others. That is when I realized that humans can be horrible and that not everything is going to be happy. At first, when I was there I was not yet aware of how awful people could be and how often animals are mistreated, But throughout those 2 months that is when reality started to set in. That is when I realized mentally that no matter what occurs, there can be something worse and you can stay in that negative mindset or you can want change. Throughout my time there I wanted to make a positive change. That is what made me want to pursue animal science/veterinary medicine in college because I would hope to one day accumulate money into a program where people can come in and receive free treatment for their animals. The reason why I want to do this is that animals are often dropped off at the shelter because the owners themselves cannot provide the care they need, sometimes it can be because of the cost. However, for those who did abuse their animals, I would want to be able to provide that care for that animal, regardless of cost. The reason is that the shelter should not have to worry about costs, but instead be able to give those animals a chance of finding a better home. I know this won't be a reality for quite some time and that is okay because one day it won't be a dream but reality instead. I do know the risks of going into veterinary medicine, as it is known for its high mental stress, mostly due to the clients and the emotional stress of having another life in your own hands. I want to make a negative into a positive, I want to be that change where people/programs can be able to provide that care for animals without having to worry about having to give up their beloved family member because of money. Watching an animal basically die alone is what made me realize the sad reality when it comes to being in an animal-based field. I will one day make a change, and hopefully, make my old naive self proud of what I will hopefully accomplish in the future.

For my final in my government class, we had to write to a representative, and I chose to write to one of the board members that are in charge of the funding of the Amarillo Management and Welfare. The following is what I wrote to him. Throughout my life, I have had an interest in animals, which led me to want to become a veterinarian. I had the opportunity to “internship” at Animal Management and Welfare over the summer. The experience was amazing, however, I realized that the majority of the time the shelter was over-capacitated, and the animals were also under-stimulated due to their small enclosures. This is why I’m writing to you, the Animal Management and Welfare should have a larger budget in order for them to educate the public, expand the number of animals they can hold, and have bigger enclosures so the animals won’t be under-stimulated. The reason why having larger enclosures is important is that dogs will have a higher chance of having behavioral issues. This will cause them to be less likely to be adopted and more likely to be euthanized for behavioral issues. This also ties into the reason why there is a need for more enclosures, because of the mass amount of animals that are put down. This year in October alone about 310 animals were put down, and through all on average, the shelter was about 100% at capacity. The Animal Advocates of North Texas also supports the cause of reducing “ the euthanasia rate of healthy animals in shelters”. They provide fundraising to shelters to cover “animals' basic medical and emergency care”, a few reasons why there are animals being euthanized is because of the lack of funding for when an animal gets sick. The entire state of Colorado shelter lives release rates are 93.68% total, and ours is about 63% this year alone. The statute that Colorado has is to “adopt an education program concerning pet overpopulation with emphasis on the importance of spaying and neutering to control pet overpopulation, Accept gifts, grants, and donations…any gift, grant, or donation other than personal services shall be deposited into the pet overpopulation fund.“ They also had an account that supported the spay and neutering and other medical costs of animals in animal shelters and rescues or to support overpopulation education programs. A solution to this issue without having to increase the budget as much would be to implement something similar to what Colorado did. If we could prevent the number of animals in the shelter by educating the public, then there would be less of a need to expand the animal shelter. However, if this is not applicable, we could still increase the shelter budget to assist with the overcapacity that the shelter faces, and with the money, expand or remodel the already established enclosures to give the proper room that the animal needs would also decrease the euthanized behavior. This is why we need to expand the Animal Management and Welfare budget, to help fund the education of the public about the importance of spaying and neutering, and expand the enclosures or the shelter as a whole, which in return the number of euthanizations decreases. And this will eventually allow the animal shelter to hold more animals, so we won’t have as many strays on the streets. Expanding the Animal Management and Welfare budget will not only benefit the animals but also the people since there would be fewer strays on the street because the shelter will be able to have the space for them.

I am a first-generation college student, born and raised in Amarillo Texas. My mother immigrated to the United States when she was about 5 years old, and my father was born here but raised in Mexico. They had me at ages 17 and 18, at the time my father was the only one working minimum wage until my mother (after I turned 1) decided to work as well. It was difficult during my elementary years, but my father ended up getting a job at Bell helicopter. That is when my mom decided to become a nurse. Throughout my middle school years, I watched my parents grow, and I grew with them. Ultimately my mother became a registered nurse and my father now works at Pantex. Their dedication, motivation, and labor impacted my want to pursue higher education. I did not want to struggle like how they did, they taught me that school is important because it can get you places, not only physically but mentally too. They are one of the reasons why I want to go to college. My career goal in life is to become a veterinarian that specializes in exotics and with the money, run a non-profit veterinarian clinic that provides animal shelters the help that they need regarding life-saving surgeries. I want to be able to provide help to animals in need regardless of money. This idea of mine started because, over the summer of 2022, I was an intern and volunteer for Amarillo Management and welfare. The experience was amazing, however, when I watched my first euthanasia of a cat who was urinating blood, I realized that there is little to no funding for these animals to receive life-saving surgeries. I know not every animal can be saved but if I'm able to one day provide those surgeries to those animals regardless of funding, then that's what I want to do. I want to be the same inspiration that my parents are to me for other younger girls who want to make a change. To start making a change in my community throughout my time in high school, I volunteered through the National Honor Society. I helped teachers get ready for the new school year, provided assistance for the Botanical Gardens with the pumpkin feast, and helped with a fall fest which was for younger kids to play games, I donated food for the food bank. I also was doing volunteer work for Amarillo Management and Welfare. I would help by walking dogs, providing enrichment, as well as socializing the dogs. I also participated in a vaccine drive where we vaccinated for rabies and distemper parvo. There was another drive for microchipping dogs and cats. In the upcoming months I will participate in 3 more vaccine drives for Amarillo Management and Welfare, and for the National Honor Society “Girls Who Science '' at the Discovery Center which would provide a fun safe space for young girls who are interested in STEM.

I am a first-generation college student, born and raised in Amarillo Texas. My mother immigrated to the United States when she was about 5 years old, and my father was born here but raised in Mexico. They had me at ages 17 and 18, at the time my father was the only one working minimum wage until my mother (after I turned 1) decided to work as well. It was difficult during my elementary years, but my father ended up getting a job at Bell helicopter. That is when my mom decided to become a nurse. Throughout my middle school years, I watched my parents grow, and I grew with them. Ultimately my mother became a registered nurse and my father now works at Pantex. Their dedication, motivation, and labor impacted my want to pursue higher education. I did not want to struggle like how they did, they taught me that school is important because it can get you places, not only physically but mentally too. They are one of the reasons why I want to go to college. My career goal in life is to become a veterinarian that specializes in exotics and with the money, run a non-profit veterinarian clinic that provides animal shelters the help that they need regarding life-saving surgeries. I want to be able to provide help to animals in need regardless of money. This idea of mine started because, over the summer of 2022, I was an intern and volunteer for Amarillo Management and welfare. The experience was amazing, however, when I watched my first euthanasia of a cat who was urinating blood, I realized that there is little to no funding for these animals to receive life-saving surgeries. I know not every animal can be saved but if I'm able to one day provide those surgeries to those animals regardless of funding, then that's what I want to do. I want to be the same inspiration that my parents are to me for other younger girls who want to make a change. To achieve this though, I have to go to college to obtain my degree in Veterinary medicine. I got accepted to West Texas A&M University and I plan to pursue a degree in Biology with a specialization in pre-veterinary. This is to ensure that I have all of my prerequisites to go to Vet school. Then after I achieve the degree, I will go to the Texas Tech School of Veterinary Medicine. After that, I will specialize in wildlife or exotics then with any excess money, run the non-profit clinic. Throughout all of this, I will be in school for about 12 years. I have recognized that I have to take my schooling seriously, otherwise, I cannot be accepted into vet school. School is important for me because it will allow me to make it further than my parents, I want to be able to provide for my parents just as they did for me.