Julius 1

Emma Julius

Ms. Jizi

UWRT 1104

2/14/17

Past Authoring

(Polished Draft)

When I was in my junior and senior years of high school I had to write a 6-8-

page essay as a senior exit project. The topic I chose for my paper was the

stereotypes surrounding pit bulls the dog breed. I chose this topic because I

had previously done volunteer work at a humane society and I was tired of

people walking through the large dog room and questioning why we have so

many pit bulls there. Also, because whenever my mother would come to pick

me up from volunteering, I would always show her the dogs I had worked

with that day and most of the time they were pit bulls and my mom did not

want me working with that breed. The second portion of the assignment

involved a community service part which I completed by interning at a

veterinary office and volunteering at a humane society. The experience I

receiver at both places played a major role in where I am today.

After my community service was completed I was given the opportunity to

continue my work at the veterinary office by becoming a paid intern. Which

has made working at the office my first real job other than babysitting. I have

been working at this office for almost five months now and have been able to
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see new things every day I work. Whenever I come into work I never know

what I am going to see because some days it could be a bone surgery and

others it could be something as simple as a spay or neuter. We also had

major surgeries come in from animals hit by cars and at one point animal

control had even brought us a dog that had been shot and beaten by the

owner and our office cared for the dog while the owner was on trial. I have

also been given the opportunity to watch surgeries on animals other that the

common dogs and cats but have also seen operations performed on animals

such as a squirrel and fox. Along with working there I have also been giving

the opportunity to foster and basically take my work home with me.

This opportunity has also shown me how resilient the animals can be

because the first dog I fostered was a 7-month-old pit bull mix that had been

hit by a car and came into the clinic with a shattered pelvis along with a

dislocated hip. The puppy was named Polar Bear and was treated for both

injuries but was put on bed rest for about 3 months of his life for his pelvis to

heal. After his pelvis had healed, Polar had to get surgery done on his leg

because due to his injuries the femoral head had been knocked clean off and

had to be removed. The week before Christmas I was given the opportunity

to foster this little puppy and after the first night my family fell in love with

him and he became a Christmas present for the whole family. Polar is now

living happily with me and my family but after his first surgery on his leg two

months ago, he still has not used his injured leg yet and we are now waiting
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to see if he will need another surgery or more therapy to regain function in

the area where the most damage was located.

After this experience, I saw how big of a difference I could make in the lives

of animals and switched my major from engineering to biology. This switch

will help me to pursue my love of helping animals in a way that I never

thought imaginable. To think that this entire situation would not have been

possible without the need to write my paper in high school seems a bit

extreme to me, but the fact is that such a large portion of my grade could

affect such a large portion of my life and family leads me to have a different

view on writing and the impacts it can have on us.