Should Dogs be Caged?

Should Dogs be Caged?

Ameena Cole-Black

The term house pets is derived from the meaning: “A pet or companion animal is an animal kept primarily for a person’s company, protection, entertainment, or as an act of compassion “.If these animals are kept as companion and protection are they locked up at night or during the day. I always that that House pets are most commonly treated as one of  the family. If this is the case they why are some kept in cages. Most common house pets are dogs, cats, guinea pigs, goldfish and birds. Some of these animals are kept in cages for their own safety, such as guinea pigs and birds, but why dogs.. I’ve seen dogs locked up in cages, instead roaming the house as a family member.

In my family we had a dog when I was younger that we treated him like he was one of the family. What we ate he ate… wherever we went,  he was there with us. My neighbor has a pit bull that he keeps locked in a cage. “We had him since he was a puppy, he is here to protect us if someone tries to break in” (Sean Elworth, class of ‘19). Crate training should be limited to specific times, like when you are sleeping. Dogs are social creatures and staying in a cage all day is harmful to their health. Once dogs move outside of their puppy (destroying) stage they should be able to voluntarily go in and out of their crate. The dog was taken in to protect the family, but how can he protect the family if he is in a cage. Sean had no response for my question.  I know a girl that has a bird that she doesn’t keep in a cage, “ I let my bird fly around the house when I’m home, He only gets in his cage at night” (Samantha Ross, class of ‘21). A bird is usually kept in the cage for their safety, But Samantha loves him like a member she lets him sit on  her shoulder spend time.And of Course Cats are not caged animals, They like to roam free. We use to have a cat, but he shed too much, so we gave it to a shelter. A couple of my friends and I were having a conversation about our house pets and (Kayla Hinton, class of ‘20) said “We have two cats, a girl and a boy, the boy loves to play, but the girl likes to lay around”. Neither of them are kept in cages, but they do have a cat tower she says.  Dogs, on the other hand, love to be around humans as much as humans love to be around dogs. They’ll sit with you on the couch, follow you into the kitchen sleep with you at night and serve as your co-pilot on rides. House pets just want to please their owners, and their friendly attitude goes a long way in helping them succeed. At the end of the day, they shouldn’t be caged, they should be loved.