Ethnography Concept

My topic for the intermedia project was the abandonment of animals in the U.S.  There are many reasons why owners abandon their pets everyday but there must be a resolution for all of these animals that are being walked away from. Additionally, there is not enough room in shelters for the animals that have been abandoned or animals that are simply born there. I believe it should be illegal to abandon one’s pet. If an owner cannot afford their pet any for financial or medical reasons, there should be a place where these animals can go throughout the United States that is not necessarily a shelter, because most animals in shelters are being put to rest. A way to reduce the number of animals abandoned might be to set up more adoption programs p around the United States that work to place animals in foster and ultimately permanent homes with less time in shelters.

A different perspective on my issue might be from the point of view of the people who work in these shelters, because they are dealing with this issue first hand.  Although it is possible that this perspective is similar to mine, it would be interesting to compare their view and hear how strongly they feel about this subject. Since many shelters are considered to have poor conditions for the animals living there, out of fairness, I think it would be important to take a look at another perspective and interesting to see what it might be like working in a shelter. It might be surprising to learn that there are many shelters where abandoned animals are receive good care. It would be ideal to interview someone working at one but as an alternative I could try to find a YouTube interview of an employee of an animal shelter.

I don’t believe it is faire to blame this issue on a cultural standpoint; however I can blame the government. There are not enough legal restrictions against animal abandonment, which makes pet owners feel as though they can abandon their pets without consequences. By incorporating and interview of an employee of a shelter or an owner or employee at a pet store would offer an alternative perspective through a different media that could enhance my performance. I would like to combine the perspective of my first performance with the perspective of someone who is directly involved in working with abandoned animals to encourage the audience to consider this issue and question what is the truth concerning this issue.