Marisa and Angel 3/23/11

Today we talked about another student's essay, and going through that essay we learned that we should stick to the templates we have because that'll better prepare us for college writing.

Angel Torres 03/14/2011

Today I learned more about sticking to the main topic of the essay and going through it the whole way.

Compared to my essay, this one we worked on definitely has different elements that my essay didn't have, but there are some elements that I had in mine that the essay we worked on today didn't have. Like I had a few of my own experiences put into my essay and the one we worked on didn't, but which essay was better written probably the student example that we worked on today.

Angel Torres 03/14/2011

Today I learned more about sticking to the main topic of the essay and going through it the whole way. Compared to my essay, this one we worked on definitely has different elements that my essay didn't have, but there are some elements that I had in mine that the essay we worked on today didn't have. Like I had a few of my own experiences put into my essay and the one we worked on didn't, but which essay was better written probably the student example that we worked on today.

Marisa and Angel 3/10/11

Today we learned that we all as a group, that still have a long ways to go in our writing. We got to see a college student's essay that is on the same subject of what our essays are about. The essay that we saw had great topic sentences that it could go off of, the sentences were holding hands, but what she did best was starting off with her own experiences with pets.

Angel Torres On Demand Writing Assignment 3/9/11

      In this paragraph Bilger states that many Americans spend a tremendous amount of money on all kinds of care for our pets, than money being spent on welfare grants. To some Americans pets can be more than just pets they can be apart of the family, to be treated as if they were children. Theres Americans spending hundreds to thousands of dollars on surgeries for there pets. There is so many people out there that will go as far as possible just to hold onto there beloved pets just a bit longer.
      I can agree with the idea of doing whatever it takes to keep your pet alive longer because you love them so much and don't want anything to happen to them, I know that feeling from my own experience. I have a little brown fur colored Chihuahua, and she has dislocated her legs so many times, and I would think after all the times that she's done it, I would learn to deal with her getting hurt a little better but that fact of the matter is I treat my dog like if she was a baby. I cant help but over react every time she gets hurt because I care for her so much.
     Even though many Americans will do anything possible to help there pets where there on the brink of death, when one surgery can make a difference, but at what cost? Pets cant make there own decisions thats where there owners come in. There could be pets that have a life changing surgery and get to live longer but in the time that there alive after that surgery they could be suffering in pain. Theres a certain point where you just have to say stop. I could not be able to handle seeing my little Chihuahua in pain. So if it was time for her to go then I wouldn't let her suffer anymore and she could finally rest. If people value the life of an animal just as much or even more than another human being then. They should be able to make the choice of doing whats best for there pet and letting them rest. Our pets should be highly valued and cherished because most of the time you don't know what you had with you pet until there gone.
    Bilger states that "Clearly, our love affair with our pets has gotten out of control." In some cases it is but what wouldn't you do for the ones you love.
    

03/7/11 :) Angel and Marisa

The main points in this article are showing how attached people get to their pets as if they were their children, and showing how far they are willing to go to keep their pets for as long as they can. Some might pay up to or more than 15,000 dollars for one surgery as a way to show their undeniable love for their pets. Some owners leave their lifelong estate or entire life saving to their animals because they are considered children. 

 

Pathos is reflected in not only the author's writing, but also in the emotional reactions we had in class while reading this article. There is not a part where there isn't any pathos in "The Last Meow." We would always catch the emotional feeling whenever it came up while reading. The reactions in class were mixed. Some people were happy at parts because they were reminded of their loving pet, and others were sad because of a loss of a pet, or even an absence of feeling.

Logos is presented while describing doctors, the animal hospitals, and statistics from related studies. This paints a picture in our minds because we then understand what professionals these doctors are, and their facilities that they work in to care care of other people's pets. We get a sense of how qualified everyone is, and how Lady, the cat, is in good hands. Referring to the statistics, we really know now how people love their pets, and how people spend more for their pets, then for actual people on Welfare.  

Pathos is much stronger in this article then the logos. This article is all about a man's struggle to keep his wife's dying cat alive, while he can barely afford to live. Shawn Leverings doesn't even have a real assurance that the cat will even live. The love for the cat takes over, and in the end Shawn knows it was the right thing to do because Lady, the cat, was like one of his own children. This was all in effort in making his wife happy, by doing that he made himself happy, and reassured himself that he made the right choice. In the end, we feel that Shawn made the right choice because of all the pathos, and how we felt while reading it.

We agree with the author because we too can relate to experiencing that love for an animal. We have always wanted to care for our animals, make sure they are always happy and love them unconditionally like they do for us. Although we love our animals, the thing we don't agree with is the cost of doing anything for them. We think Shawn is crazy for spending 15,000 dollars on a cat that might die or may live. Also, he doesn't have the money to spend anyways. While others have different opinions, and like the Leverings, they would do anything to make their animal live a little longer, Angel and I like to think it's not the biggest priority.