Casual Argument- Username

Posted on March 10, 2024 by username1132005

How’s Dogs Can Save Humans

Imagine minding your own business, taking a stroll down the street of a busy city, and stumbling across a person alongside a dog in clear distress needing help. Anyone with any sympathy would think to themselves, maybe I should take some time out of my day to help someone in need. The homeless people around the world every single day are struggling for their lives. The homeless could benefit from having a companion like a dog to help them get through life. Dogs in general provide companionship and strike emotions to their owners and people around them. Dogs are crucial for many people to have in their lives due to the vast amount of benefits, but for a homeless person, they are that much more important. 

There has been a rise of homelessness around the world through the years due to many factors such as pandemics, and the new rise of inflation. It is getting harder to afford basic necessities due to the rise of costs, and the pandemic ended up putting many out of work. The article titled, US homelessness up 12% to highest reported level as rents soar and coronavirus pandemic aid lapses, by Freking states how due to inflation, there were, “…more people being evicted…”(Freking, 2023). The evictions and house costs that rose were some of the factors for why the homeless numbers rose. Due to these factors, many have been left homeless with only themselves and hopefully some faith because of the costs. If one is lucky, they could have a companion with them to guide them through life, and to make them stand out amongst other homeless people. The emotional appeal dogs bring to the table is one of the leading factors for why they can help a homeless get some help, and could maybe even turn their life around. The homeless who have dogs realize that if they have them with them, they can get better results for themselves due to the appeal they provide. That would be a smart move for any homeless person, not only for the appeal, but the other benefits that come with it emotionally. 

Covid 19 was a deadly virus that went around the world causing a multitude of stress, depression, death and life changes. This virus caused some people’s lives and realties to be flipped upside, and changed in the blink of an eye. As a result of these changes, and even becoming homeless, that would have been the best time for someone like a homeless person to purchase a dog. The emotional aspect of these animals take over any price and complication they could potentially have. While someone could be walking the streets and not thinking about anything other than doing what they need to be doing for their day, they could come across a human and their furry friend. The best outcome would be that the stranger would approach the homeless and have a conversation with them to hear out their story and why they are where they are, and how they want to improve their life. A cause for making the homeless have a better outlook on life and improve their mental health, they may need to take that step and get a dog. The benefits go on and on, which the article titled, The Science behind Why We Love Our Dogs, by Padmabandu states how, “Interacting with a dog can lower blood pressure, reduce stress, and provide other health benefits”(Padmabandu, 2023). Dogs have health benefits on top of the other benefits that the homeless need, like drawing in attention from the strangers walking on the streets. 

Dogs are a great conversation starter, especially if someone is really a dog lover. Some people prefer dogs over humans, which could be an amazing situation for this case between a homeless person and their dog. If someone really loves animals and wants to help them out, they could provide a donation. That donation would hopefully be more than the average due to the fact that there are two beings that need help and money. The dog could have the benefit of for example money to increase because the dog and its owner need to get their basic necessities. Homeless not only need to try and take care of themselves as much as possible, but if they have a dog they have that to worry about and take care of. If the homeless could have more conversations explaining their circumstances and their situation, they would hopefully be able to get more donations. Having people hear out their story of why they ended up where they did could cause people to be sympathetic and help them out. In return the stranger helping would get their good karma due to the fact that they helped out a homeless, but also an animal.  

Some may claim due to stereotypes that homeless people do not have any drive for their life and have no responsibility. If they had a dog with them though, those claims would be put to rest. Anyone that owns a dog or knows someone with a dog knows that they are expensive and a ton of work. It is not easy to take care of dogs in a house, but imagine on the streets. A homeless person having a dog with them, and strangers seeing them trying to take care of their dogs show huge responsibility and drive. It shows that they are humans too with hearts and a drive to take care of something. According to the article titled, People with Pets Experiencing Homelessness, by ASPCA states how, “Studies have shown that people experiencing homelessness report that their pets provide a sense of responsibility and are a reason to live, reduce substance use, and motivated them to seek healthcare”(ASPCA, 2024). It is good for a homeless person to be in charge of something, so that they have something to live for. Being responsible for a dog is going to help the homeless in more ways than one and will definitely make the strangers see that they are responsible enough to take care of another being. The responsibility that the homeless show with dogs could strike people by surprise and make them more inclined to wanting to stop over and help the homeless and their dog. 

While some people would rather not stop and help someone in need, others would love to do that. Helping someone can make you feel good about yourself all while knowing that you made their day or even providing them with money so they can get a meal or a drink. It could be harder to step outside of their comfort zone and approach a homeless person. In certain situations they could look more intimidating than others. Everyone has their own story, background, and issues, in regards to who is out on the streets. As hard as it could be for some to approach a homeless person, imagine how hard it is for the homeless everyday. Dry mouth, rumbling stomachs, no money, no drive, no nothing. But if they do have a dog with them, that gives them something to live for, and far more approachable and trustworthy. 

Trust is huge for people due to the fact that if there is no trust, there is nothing. For a stranger to approach another stranger who is homeless, there needs to be some sort of trust or comfortability. What can provide those two things are dogs. Dogs make the homeless look more trustworthy and less scary because they are showing how they are good with the dog, so they could be good with talking to a stranger. If their dog looks fine with no wounds and looks taken care of, that would make a stranger realize and see that the homeless hopefully would not hurt them if they decide to approach them. The homeless at the end of the day want money and a meal and some hope. By looking trustworthy and approachable because of the furry animals, they have a better bet of obtaining what they are looking for.  

References

Freking, K. (2023, December 15). US homelessness up 12% to highest reported level as rents soar and coronavirus pandemic aid lapses. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/homelessness-increase-rent-hud-covid-60bd88687e1aef1b02d25425798bd3b1 

Padmabandu, M. (2023, June 5). The science behind why we love our dogs. Embarkvet. https://embarkvet.com/resources/science-behind-why-we-love-our-dogs/#:~:text=Dogs%20give%20us%20so%20much,pets%20tend%20to%20live%20longer. 

People with pets experiencing homelessness. ASPCA. (n.d.). https://www.aspca.org/improving-laws-animals/public-policy/housing/people-pets-experiencing-homelessness#:~:text=Studies%20have%20shown%20that%20people,social%20support%2C%20companionship%20and%20security.

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4 Responses to Casual Argument- Username

  1. davidbdale's avatar davidbdale says:
    March 13, 2024 at 8:35 am

    Hey, Username!
    I appreciate your request for Feedback and will respond to it in the order I hear back from the six students I have not yet served.
    You didn’t specify a time limit for me, but I hope you will.
    As you know, I expect you to spend as much time revising your work as I spend providing feedback.
    So . . . care to set a limit, or prescribe what sort of feedback you’d most like to receive, or . . . just take your chances?
    Thanks! (I hope you’re enjoying your Spring Break!)
    —DSH

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  2. davidbdale's avatar davidbdale says:
    March 16, 2024 at 3:29 pm

    OK, Username, you didn’t answer my question, but I don’t want to return a week later and NOT have given you feedback, so I’ll just dive in and say what I see. I’ll try to limit myself to 30 minutes of feedback on your Argument and Evidence on this first go-round, but I make no promises. You’ll have to match me time-for-time on Revisions before you can get a Regrade or further Feedback. Let’s go.

    Imagine minding your own business, taking a stroll down the street of a busy city, and stumbling across a person alongside a dog in clear distress needing help. Anyone with any sympathy would think to themselves, maybe I should take some time out of my day to help someone in need. The homeless people around the world every single day are struggling for their lives. The homeless could benefit from having a companion like a dog to help them get through life. Dogs in general provide companionship and strike emotions to their owners and people around them. Dogs are crucial for many people to have in their lives due to the vast amount of benefits, but for a homeless person, they are that much more important.

    —It’s a fine idea to start with an anecdotal surmise, Username, but you drop the premise before you develop it.
    —We’re on the street. We hear a dog in distress. It’s not “someone.” It’s a wounded or helpless creature. Our sympathies are moved. We might even seek out the creature to see if we can help.
    —Now compare how we react if a person in rags is lying in the street. Are we equally moved? Do we consider the person “helpless”? Or do we let ourselves do some judging before considering an assist?
    —Now compare how we react when we encounter a homeless person with a dog.
    —I won’t prescribe how you should analyze the three situations, but if you really want to examine the CAUSES for our reactions, you should dive right in to the situation you STARTED to present.
    —The rest of your paragraph is not of much value. You can work those vague observations about a “vast amount of benefits” into your work by enumerating the benefits. THAT’S how we’ll know they’re numerous.
    —Grab us with something instead. Engage our sympathies. Make us feel a little guilty about our willingness to help a dog alongside our reluctance to help a helpless man.
    —Maybe the dog is faking it, too. 🙂
    —Just kidding, but it helps to make a point.

    There has been a rise of homelessness around the world through the years due to many factors such as pandemics, and the new rise of inflation. It is getting harder to afford basic necessities due to the rise of costs, and the pandemic ended up putting many out of work.

    —You’ve made this claim for a reason and then suppressed the reason.
    —If the point of your Introduction was to compel us to confront our mixed emotions in the presence of the homeless, the second paragraph is here to chide us for thinking they “brought it on themselves.”
    —You can start with a simple claim like, “Nobody decides to be homeless. It is thrust upon them.”

    The article titled, US homelessness up 12% to highest reported level as rents soar and coronavirus pandemic aid lapses, by Freking states how due to inflation, there were, “…more people being evicted…”(Freking, 2023).

    —I have to step in here and reorganize your citation to meet our class style:

    The article by Freking, titled “US homelessness up 12% to highest reported level as rents soar and coronavirus pandemic aid lapses,” explains that because of inflation there were “more people being evicted.”

    —Delete that parenthetical (Freking, 2023). We don’t use them.
    —The article title gets quotation marks.
    —You can quote a fragment without ellipses (…)

    I’m 15 minutes in so far.

    The evictions and house costs that rose were some of the factors for why the homeless numbers rose. Due to these factors, many have been left homeless with only themselves and hopefully some faith because of the costs. If one is lucky, they could have a companion with them to guide them through life, and to make them stand out amongst other homeless people. The emotional appeal dogs bring to the table is one of the leading factors for why they can help a homeless get some help, and could maybe even turn their life around. The homeless who have dogs realize that if they have them with them, they can get better results for themselves due to the appeal they provide. That would be a smart move for any homeless person, not only for the appeal, but the other benefits that come with it emotionally.

    —I just want to do a paragraph revision for you here, Username, as a model of Brevity and Clarity. Forgive me, please. I shouldn’t do this on a first draft. Here’s that same section after a Brevity and Clarity rewrite:

    Unaffordable rent increases on top of job losses caused thousands to be evicted from their homes, desperate and often alone. The lucky ones had dogs as companions to ease their loneliness and make them more sympathetic to generous passersby. Some even paired up with strays to their mutual benefit.

    —I hope that helps.

    Covid 19 was a deadly virus that went around the world causing a multitude of stress, depression, death and life changes. This virus caused some people’s lives and realties to be flipped upside, and changed in the blink of an eye.

    —I’m sure COVID contributed to homelessness, but I don’t see this as a transition to anything new, Username. Is anything in the sentences that follow a result of COVID in particular?

    As a result of these changes, and even becoming homeless, that would have been the best time for someone like a homeless person to purchase a dog. The emotional aspect of these animals take over any price and complication they could potentially have. While someone could be walking the streets and not thinking about anything other than doing what they need to be doing for their day, they could come across a human and their furry friend. The best outcome would be that the stranger would approach the homeless and have a conversation with them to hear out their story and why they are where they are, and how they want to improve their life. A cause for making the homeless have a better outlook on life and improve their mental health, they may need to take that step and get a dog.

    I have only 5 minutes left in my 30-minute budget (3 actually), so I’m going to do another inexcusable Model:

    Whether purchased, brought from home, adopted, or picked up on the street, a dog improves the lives of the homeless at any time and circumstance. Economically, they pay for their own keep by enticing generosity from strangers. Emotionally, they make a hard life easier to bear. Busy passersby will notice and attend to a person with a furry friend more often than a person alone. The dog inspires sympathy and a natural opening for conversation that can soon expand to the life-story of the down-and-out. Better yet, they demonstrate that the homeless person, too, has a heart and compassion, and is a nurturer worthy of our attention, not a selfish bum.

    —That one goes a little overboard, but you get the idea.
    —Pack your sentences with claims.
    —Eliminate needless words.

    That’s my time. If you’d like more, you’ll have to earn it by spending at least 30 minutes on revisions AT YOUR CAUSAL REWRITE POST.

    Provisionally graded at Canvas. Regrades and additional feedback are always encouraged following significant improvements to your draft.

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  3. davidbdale's avatar davidbdale says:
    March 16, 2024 at 3:30 pm

    MAKE NO CHANGES TO THIS POST. Instead:

    1. Copy and paste its contents into your new Causal Rewrite—Username.
    2. If you require no Feedback, that completes your assignment. You will receive no Feedback, but you could still revise your work without feedback and receive a Regrade.
    3. Remember, your complete Portfolio MUST CONTAIN evidence of Feedback and Revision for two of your three short arguments, Definition / Causal / Rebuttal. If you receive no feedback for THIS assignment, you’ll need Feedback on the other two.
    4. If you DO want feedback following your first draft grade, put your Rewrite in to Feedback Please.
    5. THAT’S NOT THE LAST STEP.
    6. The last step is to leave a Reply on your Rewrite post instructing me how much time you want me to spend on your Feedback. For every hour I spend, you’ll owe me an hour of Revision Time.

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