Sarah Whitmore Places in Writing Contest
An essay written by Sarah Whitmore has been selected for publication in the The Medallion writing contest. The contest was sponsored by the Gifted Department at the Northwest Kansas Educational Service Cooperative. The theme for this this year's contest was "Everyday Heroes." The contest judges received over 250 entries from area students. A $100 savings bond was given to the contest winner. Honorable mention winners, like Sarah, will have their writing published in an anthology soon to be released.
Sarah's English instructor, Lisa Gibson, made the following comment regarding Sarah's work, "What an honor for Sarah to have her essay chosen out of more than 250 entries! I am very proud of her!"
Sarah's writing is below for your reading enjoyment.
Sarah Whitmore
USD 297
Freshman
High School Essay
507 words
Everyday Heroes
What would you do if you saw an animal being mistreated? Would you call someone for help, or would you just ignore it? A German Shepherd dog who was tied to a tree and was starving, named Joe Joe, was found by a worker at the “Hearts United for Animals” (HUA) rescue in Nebraska. Joe Joe had been tied to that tree his whole life, and he never knew what love was, until he was rescued.
HUA rescues hundreds of dogs from all across America. They take in any lost, abused, starving, or injured dogs. HUA rescues these dogs and shows them love and compassion. Once these dogs are healthy again, they are put up for adoption for anyone to take home to a loving family. Many times, dogs are rescued from puppy mills, and are given a second chance to live a happy life.
Enchilada, a long-haired Chihuahua, was one of the many dogs rescued from the puppy mills. He was scared, weak, and definitely not in a healthy state. Enchilada has lost most of his teeth from not being cared for at the puppy mill for eight years. Despite Enchilada’s frightful past, he is now a very loving and loyal dog.
“What are puppy mills?” you may ask. Puppy mills are places where dogs are kept kenneled in wire cages their whole lives. They are used only for breeding, and their puppies are sold at high prices. If a dog has been injured at the puppy mill, or has had its maximum number of litters, it is discarded, and often killed. Most of the dogs kept at puppy mills have never felt grass under their paws, or felt the sun warm their fur.
“Hearts United for Animals” are completely against puppy mills, and they will do anything to help these poor dogs. Once a dog is rescued, it is given medical attention if needed. Each dog will be spayed or neutered, so that there is never an unwanted litter. Every dog that comes into the care of HUA is given the shots and vaccinations it needs.
Not one of over 300 dogs at HUA is kenneled. They have a 65 acre farm of trees and grass to run around on and play with other dogs. They have fenced yards that they share with other dogs, too. Any dog that does not get adopted from HUA is kept to live the rest of his or her life happily on the farm.
The workers at “Hearts United for Animals” are very loving towards all dogs. It breaks their hearts to see dogs come into the shelter bone thin, injured, and scared. Seeing dogs like this make them want to help them more than ever.
The “Hearts United for Animals” foundation is doing more than we could ever imagine to save dogs from all across America. They do their best to make as many dogs as they can happy. If saving hundreds of dogs’ lives, and giving them a second chance isn’t heroic, then I don’t know what is!
