The American Pitbulls Terrier appeared for the first time in Europe, and it’s a combination of English Terriers and English Bulldogs to create a robust, reliable, and hard-working breed. Brought later to the United States, the breed is renamed Staffordshire Terrier to be used primarily for hunting, herding, and even as messengers on the battlefield.

Today, Pitbulls are pets loved by several people for their friendliness and remarkable strength. Most Pitbulls that we receive at the shelter are crossed with other breeds such as Labrador, husky, or boxer. This illustrates the great differences in size, color, and behavior. We cannot confirm the breed of an animal unless we have his Canadian Kennel Club papers. We rely primarily on the physical and behavioral characteristics of the animal to establish its breed.

For my part, my story with Pitbulls began the first day I started working at the shelter. Before working on it, I had never been in contact with Pitbulls. Like many people, I had preconceived ideas about this breed by researching and reading many articles. I imagined these would be threatening dogs, difficult to approach, and delicate to control.

And then I met Spotlight a beautiful black and white dog that we hosted at the shelter. She was incredibly kind and sensitive.

I spent a lot of time with her, and I discovered an extremely intelligent dog that I never came across previously, would be a joke if I tell you I was wearing it home-made dog clothes to see the harmony of intelligence and cuteness on it. She had a thirst for learning and stared at me with extreme intelligence. I always had the impression that she spoke to me with her eyes, conveyed to me her joy at watching me or her sadness to stay in her cage at night. I have never seen a dog take a biscuit more gently than Spotlight. For her, there was nothing better in the world than a hug and massage session. I wholeheartedly would say it was a perfect dog! What a pain to have let her go to her new family.

And now, I was in the camp of the Pitbulls lovers!

A long series of Pitbulls followed at the shelter, and I always got amazed by this intelligent Spotlight breed at each of our meetings. These dogs do not only have a thirst for learning, but they love the company of humans.

At the shelter, the Pitbulls are treated like other dogs, and we always take into consideration their characters and abilities during the evaluations. However, we believe that these dogs can become dangerous under the wrong hands, like all other breeds elsewhere. That is why we are always vigilant when adopting dogs whose stature can cause more damage in case of a bite.

In recent years, the media has portrayed the Pitbulls as killing machines and monsters. It is important to note that these cases do exist, but are exceptions. All races have their peculiarities, and dangerousness does not belong to a race.

The Bottom Line for New Breeders or Adopters

When adopting a dog, we invite future adopters to read about the breed that interests them. Since each dog is unique and has the physical and behavioral characteristics that predominate in it. It is accordingly important to find out whether these features are suitable for our lifestyle or no.

Bio: “Obsessed by animal caring and training, I am considerably passionate about animals of all kinds and it gives me pleasure to share my passion with you.”

Sometimes in college, you will be required to write an argumentative essay on a variety of topics. One of these topics can be on animal testing, which, as we all know, has some defenders and opposers. Some think it is ethical while others think it is wrong to perform animal tests. Some think animal testing doesn’t really cure diseases while others think it is a necessary aspect of finding a cure for human diseases.

No matter what spectrum you fall on when it comes to animal testing, there are plenty of issues to cover here that can make a good argumentative essay

1. Is Animal Testing an Ethical Issue?

Whether animal testing is ethical or not has been a topic of hot debate since humans began experimenting on animals. This issue is still relevant today as it was back then, and will probably be for the foreseeable future, making it an excellent issue to address in your argumentative essay.

Many animal rights advocates claim that experimenting on animals is ethically wrong because animals are not just some unfeeling tools we can use for the advancement of human knowledge. Under this view, animals deserve their own special sets of rights that protect them from being caged up and experimented on. If you share this view you can write an essay that argues against animal testing, stating in detail why the practice is not ethical.

However, you might not be of the view that animal testing is always wrong and can write an essay that argues this view instead. People who view animal testing as ethical oppose subjecting animals to experimentation unnecessarily and say that animals are a great scientific resource. You can also argue that even though the animals are being experimented on, they can be treated inhumane ways, like providing them with great living conditions in the lab.

2. Should Animal Testing Be Banned?

There are plenty of reasons people say animal testing should be banned other than claiming that it is unethical. If you agree that animal testing should be banned, you can write a great essay that outlines the reasons why you think that is so. For example, People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) have stated some reasons on their website why animal testing should be illegal, saying it is the bad science, wasteful, and unnecessary. If you disagree with that and think it should not be banned, you can look at these arguments, explain them, interact with them and offer counter-arguments in your essay.

3. Does Animal Testing Cure Diseases?

Whether animal testing works or not is another issue that is highly debated. There are experts on both sides of the fence, allowing you to cite some great scientific studies that support whichever view you take.

Many experts who defend the view that animal testing doesn’t work often point out that animals don’t get the same diseases that humans do. They say that since animal experiments fail to recreate human diseases in animals, animal testing is fundamentally flawed. This means that animal testing can’t ultimately help us eradicate any human diseases.

On the other hand, if you are not of this view, you can also write that while animal testing doesn’t get rid of the diseases, it can offer plenty of insights prior to human trials begin. You can say that the argument that animal experiment is useless because of failure to replicate human diseases in animals is too simplistic. For example, animal testing carried out at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) has led to many medical breakthroughs that have improved people’s lives, even though they haven’t cured any diseases. Animal experimentation has improved the lives of people suffering from diseases like breast cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia, autism, and even childhood blindness.

4. Problems with Animal Testing

Whether you are for or against animal testing, we can all agree that it does have its share of issues. One of them has already been highlighted: failure to accurately replicate human diseases in animals, making the results of the experiments hard to apply to human beings. Another problem with animal testing you can talk about is the growing evidence that it is actually not better than other testing models and that researchers still use it because of tradition and not because of necessity.

Your essay can dive into issues like these and try to offer either a solution or discredit the entire practice of animal testing. But whatever your agenda is, an essay on the problems with animal testing can be very informative and engaging if the accurate information is presented.

5. Are There Alternatives to Animal Testing?

As we have seen in the previous section, people argue that animal testing is not necessary because of other forms of testing work just as well. One of the benefits of these other testing methods, they claim, is the elimination of the needless abuse of animals because of the experimentation procedures. You can write an argumentative essay on alternative testing models and explain in detail why they are better than the animal model. PETA also has a useful list of alternative testing models that researchers can use, such as in vitro testing, computer (in silico) modeling and human volunteers.

The five above-mentioned issues can make a great argumentative essay that can get you great marks. As you can see, animal testing is an area that is full of great material that offers you the chance to show your professor you can make and sustain an argument. But if writing an argumentative essay on animal testing is difficult for you, you can let someone else write you a great essay one by hiring a professional writer and seeing how it is done.

 

Caring for pets is a great way to animate any household. And if you simply don’t have the time to look after furry friends such as dogs or cats, then fish might be a viable alternative for you. The brightly colored and vivacious little friends aren’t that hard to care for, and they are rather fun to watch too.

Nevertheless, not every member of your aquarium has to swim around and put on a show. Some creatures serve ornamental purposes amazingly, and starfish are one important category in this respect. And out of all the existing species, the chocolate chip sea star is the most beginner-friendly choice, so let’s see what it is and how you can take proper care of it.

About the Chocolate Chip Sea Star

According to National Geographic, the chocolate chip starfish is a general term used to refer to a class of invertebrates that have a cookie-like appearance. Although marine biologists usually refer to Nidorellia armata when uttering this name, we are actually talking about the Protoreaster nodosus, which is its pet shop cousin.

Although many members of the Oreasteridae family handle captivity poorly, this little fellow is a very welcome exception to the rule. Its color palette is varied, with hues ranging from pale tans to deep and vivid oranges. But they all share one similar trait, and it is also what gives them their name and cookie-like appearance.

Chocolate Star Fish Color Variations

Regardless of their color, chocolate chip sea stars all sport brown-black growths that resemble Hershey kisses in appearance. For this reason, those that are of lighter coloring can look like crisp, star-shaped marshmallows. Needless to say, this makes them amazing ornamental additions to any aquarium.

Nevertheless, they are best kept as members of a fish tank that does not contain small reef formations because they have a tendency to nibble on those. Thus, a fish-only environment is most suited to their behavior. Other than that, they tend to be rather peaceful and play well with others, as long as they aren’t threatened.

The main marine threats that need to be kept away from the captive chocolate chip sea star are lobsters, large crabs, puffer fish, and triggerfish. Any other oceanic or freshwater creatures will coexist harmoniously with them. For this reason, they are a very popular choice among aquarium enthusiasts from all over the world.

How to Care Properly For A Chocolate Chip Sea Star

Unfortunately, the chocolate chip starfish isn’t a viable option if you have a small tank. They are best kept in large aquariums because they grow as much as 15 inches in diameter. Furthermore, because it is quite the passive being, it lives best among mild-mannered fish. Predators will tear it apart because it moves quite slowly.

As long as the tank has a deep and welcoming sandy bed on the bottom, your new friend will do just fine. This is an exact replica of their preferred habitat, so make sure you offer it the appropriate living conditions. If it’s one thing that you must pay extra attention to, it’s the quality of the water.

Just like other invertebrates, the chocolate chip sea star cannot survive in a tank that is high in nitrate. Therefore, make sure that you maintain a healthy cycle in this respect so that every single member of your small marine family can leave a happy and healthy life. But other than that, it is a hardy species that is easy to keep around.

Food and care

Come mealtime, this species of starfish is rather low maintenance. It has a scavenging nature, which means that it can munch on a variety of things it finds lying around in the tank. However, in captivity, it will require supplemental feeding in the form of algae and meaty foods. The best choices for this are scallops, mussels and small pieces of squid or shrimp.

One way to go about it is to place the morsel in its path and wait for the little guy to crawl on top of it. But this method isn’t exactly the best, because it won’t always find its way to it. This means that its tank pears (the wrasse in particular) will pull it apart and devour it before the poor thing has had a chance to get its daily dose of nutrition.

Thus, the best way to feed the chocolate chip starfish its supplements is by lifting it, placing the food on the bottom and then putting the fellow right on top. As long as you handle the animal carefully, this method will work wonders. Remember that they are fragile little creatures that need to be touched by love and kindness.

The Bottom Line

The chocolate chip sea star is a great ornamental addition to any large marine aquarium. Due to its scavenger nature, it will mostly feed off of food that falls to the bottom of the tank. Nevertheless, it does require meaty supplements, and you need to keep it away from soft reefs and predators if you want your emulated ecosystem to be harmonious.

Featured Image Source: Bernard Dupont