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American family has 1.6, 2, dogs and 2.1, 2 cats.

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Adit, what TE supports that those pets are most common? - Sulayman

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I wonder how many pets the average American has? I'm going to estimate two. This is something I will look up because I'm curious.

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I agree with Aarush because if it was comparing a mother or any other family member, I think that the statistics would drastically change.

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Sulayman, you have to keep in mind that this is stranger vs. Their dog, which is not a fair match. Aarush Agte

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Varun, I agree with you, but although it does say humans care about pets because of their love, I wouldn't think that Americans would actually spend 60 billion dollars. This statistic isn't even based on everyone in the world, but Americans. There are only roughly 3 million people that live in the United States.- Brandon Kiang

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You guys are posting thoughtful comments and questions. Good work. Keep referring to T. E., ok?

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I disagree with Varun because that mostly applies to dogs because cats are much more independent and are more likely to leave their owner.

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Amy, what TE supports your claim? Aarush Agte

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Mrs. Harman-Murray, the average

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In article #2 it said that 42 million cows die because we need them for food. It also stated that one dog was shot and killed. The dog received more attention than 42 million cows. By looking at this information, people are acting as if one dog is worth more that 42 million cows. I believe that Americans have a special place for dogs only and I think that needs to change   Nithi Surender

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Even though we humans can spend that much money on pets rather than the needy, it still doesn't shock me. If those pets were on the streets they wouldn't survive long, they wouldn't know where to get food or water. But poor people they can receive money from others to spend of food and water. Animals are innocent and can't take care of themselves as well as humans. Jocelyn George

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I don't find the statistics surprising for three reasons. The first reason is that according to BDC wire, animals are "filling a hole" for people who are lonely more now a days.//  - Aaron Lim

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I think I would not find how we spent so much money on pets shocking. In Article #2, page 2, it says that we humans need affection, or unconditional love. And unconditional love feels good. Adding on to that, more people are getting married later or having fewer kids. -Faith T.

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Faith, I have to respectfully disagree. While some people may want to volunteer, many others don't have the time or money to volunteer. Aarush Agte

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Having a kid would still cost more than a pet considering we spend maybe a couple hundred dollars on pets each year while for a kid it costs about 233,000 dollars to raise to the age of 17 -Amy Zhao

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I wonder if we should look at this statistic (over 60 billion dollars spent on pets in 2015) in light of how much money is spent on helping the needy. Hopefully we spend more on people than our pets, no?

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I am surprised that Americans spent 60 billion dollars on their pets because they are spending the money on pets, not gorillas, giraffes, rhinos, etc. This is also surprising because in article 2, page 4, it states that people are having fewer kids, which leads to more pets. -Brandon Kiang

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This isn't very shocking to me. According to Article #2, humans care more about pets because of the unconditional love they give. We, humans, love love. Varun Yelluru

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No, I don't find this fact that shocking because humans and pet markets market pets as desirable companions. So humans find these animals as innocent and helpless. This causes them to have a  special feeling towards them. According to article 2, pets offer unconditional love and that feels good.  Amratha Rao

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Americans spend a lot of money on their pets because they care about them. They think of them as their own and love them. I don't find it that surprising because they can relate to dogs more than humans. Jocelyn George

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I disagree with the fact that we should help ourselves first, because animals can go extinct in the process. - Aaron Lim

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I believe that Americans are spending too much money on their pets. Their pets are well cared for and we also buy them special things that they don't actually need. They are not caring about the less fortunate animals that are suffering because of us  Nithi Surender

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I think that we should direct our attention to Mrs. H-M's new question.

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This fact didn't shock me. Spending money on pets is the least we could do for all the things they provide in return. Animals are used as therapy and for blind and deaf people. According to article #2, its even in our biology to crave affection and these animals/pets can provide that for us. - Tejal

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Students, let's change the direction of our discussion just a bit.  In 2015 it was estimated that Americans spent over 60 BILLION dollars on their pets. What do you think about this statistic? Do you find it shocking? Are you not surprised? I'd love to hear what you think. What T. E. could help support your answer?

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I don't find that statistic is surprising when you consider the fact that many more people are choosing not to have kids, but instead to have dogs, accroding to page 4,, Article 2

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I feel as if humans already spend lots of money on helping animals and should switch to helping their own kind. Since 60 billion dollars are spent on pets, that's all going to help an animal. According to article #1 page 2, people would rather help animals in hard conditions that donate $5 for people ding of malaria. They would also spend over 60 billion dollars on pets on average than just donate $5. - Sulayman

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Looking at the big number of 60 billion dollars, it is obvious that the pet industry is a huge market. However, it is not a very big surprise because having dogs, cats, and fish as pets is very common in American families. - Adit

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We can help animals by volunteering to help at an animal organization, or like at a camp according to Article #1, on page 2. -Faith T.

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The 60 billion dollars doesn't  really suprise me, because based on article 2 it was stated hat American families see their pets as family members.

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1. Animals and the forest stand for who people are and what they represent. According to Article #1 Page 2, the Martial Yvon Amolet of the Center for Human Rights of Bayanga states that the “Baaka Pygmies appreciate the conservation efforts “because for Baaka, the end of the forest is the end of their culture and identity.”” The forest and the animals in them stands for who they are and what they represent. Varun Yelluru

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I agree with Linn because the world moves in a natural way but we should try to fix the mistakes that we caused.   Nithi Surender

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I think giving more funding for animal care is an ethical way to help them. There are many donation websites out there and the government can set up a tax for animal care. Aarush Agte

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I am usually more empathetic towards animals because I feel that animals are usually not as strong and smart as humans. If they were smarter or stronger, they would be able to take care of themselves and we wouldn't have to worry about their safety. -Brandon Kiang

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Many of you are talking about how you feel more dedicated to helping animals. HOW does one do this? Is adopting a rescue animal, for example, one way to do this? Is donating money to SPCA another way?

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Linn, could you rephrase that because what I think you are saying is that you don care for either species Amy Zhao

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i am more dedicated to helping animals because our species have raided their homes, killed them and their children, and used their bodies for selfish reasons when they have done nothing wrong! Us humans have had our time to cause our chaos and so now its time to start giving back by first helping the species we hurt - Tejal

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I agree with Amy. As it is not fair to care about endangered species, but not other species. We eat so many cows, chickens, and pigs and don't even try to save them. Many people care more about a specific animal rather than another animal. For example in article 2, it said that Cecil was very popular, and if another lion died, barley anyone would care                                                                                                            I don't find this statistic surprising because many people buy pets, and as they have a shorter life span people could buy new pets to replace the "hole" the other pet left. Also in article 2 Herzog says            "Humans can speak for themselves, as a group, while animals are helpless." As some dogs and cats are abused and put into shelters people could also be spending their money to buy a pet there to help the animal.           -Lisa Oshiba

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I disagree with Amy because we can do a lot more than animals and they can't speak for themselves so it is our job to stand up to all the animals not just the endangered animals  Nithi Surender

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I agree with you, Lisa. We have harmed so many innocent, poor, and helpless creatures in the past. So now, we should reverse our mistake and try to save them. Varun Yelluru

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I agree with you Amy. We take use animals as foods and for entertainment. On page 6 of the 2nd article, it says that problems about dogs dying are spread so fast and people care about it so much. Where as deaths of cows and chickens, nobody cares.

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I am more dedicated to helping animals, because animals are harmed by us. They are also beneficial to us. Aaron Lim

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Nithi, While I agree that some animals are given different care than others, I respectfully disagree. If we gave more support for animal care, then they won't suffer as much. Also, some animals don't need as much care as others. Aarush Agte

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I don't really care about both, because humans are just more intelligent animals that made a choice to harm other animals. While, at the same time animals would harm other animals. It's a predator prey world.

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Some animals get more attention than others and it is not fair because a lot of animals are treated unfairly and the attention is driven away from the "normal" animals and to the "cool animals"  Nithi Surender

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Students, do you feel like you are more empathic towards animals who suffer or humans who suffer? How do you show that empathy?

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I personally think that we should help both animals and humans, but currently I feel that we should focus on humans. Animals are getting a lot of media attention and a lot of action is being taken. I agree, a lot of humans are being abusive toward the animals in many ways, but not all humans are bad. Humans such as the Pygmy villagers were dying of malaria and could be saved with $5 mosquito nets. They didn't abuse animals or do anything and yet they didn't get enough attention.  Amratha Rao

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Considering the causes about which I care about, I am more dedicated to helping animals for countless reasons. While humans can sustain in today’s world without getting harmed, animals are helpless and they need help to thrive. The mere existence of humans is based off flora and fauna. Varun Yelluru

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I agree with Aarush, I am more dedicated to helping animals because they are more innocent and we have a higher intelligence level than them. So we have the ability to help them. Jocelyn George

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I am more dedicated to helping animals because there are only a limited amount of animals in the world. There are around eight billion humans in the world, but not eight billion dogs, sharks, or cats. If we decide to put ourselves first, than the number of animals in the world will plummet down. - Brandon Kiang

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I am more dedicated to helping animals because more humans know how to save themselves than animals do. Most humans can do martial arts while other animals like dogs are not smart enough to save themselves when self-defense is needed. -Adit Garg

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Notice how I'm typing my post here and then clicking POST.

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I am more dedicated to helping animals more because many times we end up hurting them more than they hurt us. Aarush Agte

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I am more dedicated to helping humans because this can benefit us in the future. According to article #1, humans have watchful eyes on elephants so they aren't poached. If the watchful eyes are switched to humans, there could be less murders but more poachers. Then there would be less elephants which might be better because food would be more plentiful making less starvation. - Sulayman                             Sulayman, I like how you used T. E. to support your position.

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I would be more dedicated to helping animals because they live by their instinct and environment. We, humans built our own environment on where they live. Animals have fewer chances of survival when we can harm them, and have more advantage over them. -Faith T.

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I am more dedicated to helping animals because we hurt them and in return we should help them. Even though animals eat people as well, the amount that we kill heavily outweighs the amount animals eat us. - Lisa Oshiba

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I am more dedicated to animals, but only certain animals (live stock and endangered). I think that these are the animals we should pay our debt to. Humans, of course are important too, but at a population of over 7 billion, I think that is the least of our worries. Amy Zhao                                                                               Amy, how do you show that dedication?

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I agree with Rishi- we have made the problem of hurting them to help ourselves so the least we can do is try to help them now - tejal

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Students, put your full post here and then click POST. (Add your name at the end.)

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Respond to guiding question #3