Protect Our Pets
by Jordan Cooper

We are not guttersnipes. We know what is proper and should not reject the highest quality ethics at any time. Frequently household pets are used for movies, books, and other commercial purposes without any legal recourse to ensure the care of them or their offspring. A pet can get put down, in a shelter, or be seriously injured in an accident that impedes their ability to live a full life.

Pets are used for many things including helping the blind, deaf, law enforcement, and hunting among other things. Imagine if Lassie, Eddié from Frasier, or the UGA bulldogs are euthanized right after commercial use? This would be a yucky way to handle our pets and unprofessional business ethics. Pets are real someones and should be treated as such.

There needs to be a reasonable pet trust setup when available for pets who have a significant commercial purpose. So they can be taken care of and their offspring, too, as sensibly as possible. If there are space limitations or lifestyle considerations that leave famous pets or their descendants without an owner they should be referred to their breeder/an appropriate pet care organization.

Pets help make our homes safe and increase well-being. Pets are sometimes the centerpiece of families whether you’re a public figure or private citizen. We cannot pay them monetarily but we can show love in other ways. Pets should not be excessively abused commercially or physically. In America we have had some historic happenings in the care of animals. NFL Pro Bowler and possible future HOF’er Michael Vick was placed in jail for felony animal cruelty. He was the first pro athlete to be incarcerated for this.

Animal farming was restricted at the historic Mepkin Abbey because of the treatment of chickens. Animals help your land, mental health, education, and sometimes give you food. Animals should not be mistreated to any degree. It is a show of real cowardice when you are rude to animals.

People who abuse animals should be placed under the monitoring of our state for further abuse. Their rights to have animals in their possession should be restricted based on the conviction. They also should have to go through an educational course on the treatment of animals before they can possess one again.

Animals already live significantly shorter than humans, so we should not hurry them to their last resting place unnecessarily. A state animal abuse registry would be the first for South Carolina in its history. It also will be a step to ensure our globe’s dwellers who are not human are dealt with with seemliness.

Jordan Thomas Cooper is a 2015 graduate of the University of South Carolina with a degree in History and a 2010 graduate of the RealEstate School of Success in Irmo. He is the first African-American to serve in both the governor and lieutenant governor’s office as an aide and first to serve in the Inspector General’s Office in S.C. (Haley) He is also the first person to serve in the top three offices in the gubernatorial line of succession in South Carolina (Haley, Bauer, McConnell). He says research shows he is the second black presidential campaign speechwriter in American history and the first for a GOP presidential campaign (Bush 2015). He also played football for Coach Steve Spurrier.

photo credit: Stanley Zimny (Thank You for 21 Million views) Oliver aka Ollie via photopin (license)