by researchers Olivia, Zoey, Brendan, and Ingram

chinese version below 點擊此處閱讀中文版本

Our group members want to help the homeless dog that is outside of the animal shelter and make their quality of life higher. Because people will take care of the animals in the shelter, but no one will take care of the animals that are outside the shelter, that's one reason why we want to help them. Water dispensers may be helpful for raising the quality of life of homeless dogs..

Another reason to research the use of water dispensers is based on information gained when we researched the website ipetgroup.com(vJZzyeuGMVZ.html).We found one of the big problems that make homeless animals can't survive in the city is because they don’t have enough water or clean water to drink. Most of the time homeless animals are drinking waste water discharged by humans or rainwater on the ground. When homeless animals drink this water, they will get sick, but they cannot get treatment, so they will die. Therefore, we want to make and place water dispensers for homeless animals to allow them to have a better life. If they have a better life they can be more happy and clean, so maybe they won’t smell bad and fight for food, then people will not be in danger.

This semester we have a science class, in science class we learn how to make a water dispenser for dogs. This dispenser will make sure the stray dogs have clean water to drink, and this kind of dispenser will not cause too much trouble for humans, because it will filter the water by themselves, so people don’t have to change water often.

(Prototype of water dispenser)

This research was conducted through means of direct interviews using a research questionnaire. The subjects included 50 people.

1.Do you think stray animals are an important issue that people should be aware of? 2.Where do you think we can put the water dispenser? 3.What are the hidden dangers of installing drinking water dispensers for stray animals in cities?

(total:50 people)

(total:50 people)

(total:50 people)

1. Half of the respondents think about placement of water dispensers, they will think about parks. 2. A small part of respondents say they want animals to stay away from the city. 3. Every respondent thinks the issue of homeless dogs or cats is very important. 4. Some respondents think dogs gather is not very good and will be dangerous. 5. A good number of respondents worry homeless dogs will vandalize things. 6. Some respondents want dogs and people to be separate. 7. Some respondents think we do not need a water dispenser for dogs.

(total:50 people)

(100% of people who answered this question.) According to the data, 100% of people think that the topic of stray animals is important. Our group believes in real life, even without looking at data, we can feel that there will be people who don’t like animals, so we think that this result may not be completely correct. Because this question involves moral and conscience elements, when people answer this question, social pressure may make them give a positive answer. However this response may not be related to their true feelings on the topic. But this data still shows us, at some level all people think this issue is important.

These stray animals live in the same place with us. In our country, dogs and cats are of special significance to many people. More and more people regard dogs and cats as family members. Now, the number of people raising dogs and cats is about to surpass the number of people having children (see table 1 below). It can be seen that dogs and cats are indeed different from other livestock (chickens, pigs, cows, sheep…), and they are deeply integrated with humans. Business and activities related to dogs and cats can be seen everywhere in the city. It is reasonable to believe that the large majority of people see the issue of homeless animals as an important one.

(table 1)

According to the results of our street surveys, almost everyone thinks that the topic of stray animals is important and people need to pay attention to it. It is reasonable to believe that society will accept the government spending more money and resources on this issue. Based on our findings, We suggest that the government can devote more resources and attention to the issue of stray animals, and the manufacture and use of water dispensers.

According to our data, 8% of people don’t want to live in the same area with homeless animals. For this part, we divide it into three main possible reasons. The first reason is that some people think that stray dogs will affect the quality of life of human beings. The second reason is that dogs emit peculiar smells. The third reason is that they are worried that the behavior of dogs fighting for food will bring danger to humans. The reason why dogs fight for food is because food is not enough. About the food, our group has an idea. We would suggest changing the way the schools’ nature class is taught. Students can plant vegetables and fruits to provide food to stray animals. In the process, students can learn about plants through practical operations and the growth process and students can also further understand the dog's diet. The government can set up a new department to collect crops from schools and send them to designated areas for feeding. (dogs can eat bell peppers, cucumbers, zucchini, sweet potatoes, carrots and green beans.) according to petmily.com. (prepare-a-canine-diet-that-includes-vegetables)

A small number of people think we can do some things that are more important than manufacturing and placing water dispensers, like advocating for everyone to adopt dogs, or fundraising. However, our group members think that many people already take these actions (中華民國保護動物協會、關懷生命協會、台灣動物緊急救援小組). Our group believes that that only helps the dogs in the shelter, so we hope to improve the quality of life of stray dogs. Water dispensers are needed to provide a steady source of water for homeless dogs.

Through this questionnaire survey, we found that although stray animals have now become an existence that cannot be ignored in human life, there are still a small number of people who actually reject living with them. At the same time, we have also found that most people still maintain an open attitude towards stray animals and are willing to support the idea of helping stray animals. We suggest the government make water dispensers for dogs in order to take care of a serious need. The best locations for these dispensers may be parks.

Lastly, we hope to spread the message that even just going to the shelter to volunteer for a day, it will be a great help to the dogs. There are actually many young and energetic dogs in the shelter, but due to the lack of manpower in the shelter, they sometimes cannot get out of the cage for a walk once a week. In fact, the average dog needs to walk at least twice a day. Yes, so your arrival is really important to them. Helping stray animals does not necessarily mean you need to adopt them. Although having a warm home must be the happiest destination for dogs, if you really can’t bring them with you when you go home, there are still many ways to help them. Your help may change their lives, so please work together for the stray animals!

我們的小組成員希望幫助動物收容所外的流浪狗，提高牠們的生活品質。 因為收容所裡的動物已經有人照顧，但卻沒有人照顧收容所外的動物，所以這就是我們想要幫助牠們的原因之一。 另一個原因是當我們在網上做研究時，我們發現流浪動物之所以很難在城市裡生存，是因為牠們沒有足夠的飲用水來源 (vJZzyeuGMVZ.html)。大多時候，無家可歸的動物只能飲用人類排放的廢水或地面上的雨水。當流浪動物喝下了不乾淨的水就很容易生病，但卻很少有被治療的機會，最終等待著牠們的就是死亡。所以我們想為流浪動物做一台自動飲水機，讓牠們能過上更好的生活。生活環境的改善會使牠們更快樂、也變得更乾淨，所以也許牠們就不會再繼續散發臭味，不會為食物而戰，也就不再會對人類有危害。

在這學期的科學實驗課中，我們學習到如何為流浪動物製作飲水機。 這個飲水機會保證流浪動物能喝到干淨的水，而且這種飲水機能夠自動補水和濾水，所以在照顧上不會很費心，因為不必經常換水。

(飲水機模型)

這次的研究是通過問卷直接訪談的方式進行的，其中的研究議題包括……

1.你認為流浪動物這個議題是否重要? 2.你認為流動水源可以設置在城市中的哪些地方? 3.在城市中為流浪動物安裝流動水源將有哪些隱患?

(總數:50人)

(總數:50人)

(總數:50人)

1.一半的人想到狗，他們會想到公園(50%)。 2.小部分的人回答說他們希望動物遠離城市。 3. 每個人都認為流浪狗或貓的議題是否重要。 4.有一些人名覺得狗狗聚再一起很危險。 5.有一些人怕狗狗會破壞東西。 6.有一些人認為狗和人要分開。 7.有些人認為我們並不需要給狗狗自作喝水機。

(總數:50人)

(回答問題的人中的100%)

數據顯示，100%的人認為流浪動物這個議題很重要。我們組相信在現實生活中，即使不看數據，我們也能感覺到會有不喜歡動物的人，所以我們認為這個結果可能並不完全正確。因為這個問題涉及道德和良心的因素，當人們回答這個問題時，社會壓力會迫使他們給出正向的答案。然而，這樣的回饋可能與他們對這個話題的真實感受不相符。但是這個數據仍然向我們表明在某種程度上，所有人都認為這個問題很重要。

這些流浪動物和我們生活在同一個地方。在我們的國家，狗和貓對很多人來說有著特殊的意義，越來越多的人將狗和貓視為家人，現今有養狗養貓的總人口數即將超過有養孩子的總人口數（見下表），可見狗與貓和人的關係確實不同於其牠牲畜（雞、豬、牛、羊……）。如今與狗和貓有關的物品和廣告在城市隨處可見。根據我們街頭調查的結果，幾乎每個人都認為流浪動物這個話題很重要，且需要被人們關注，所以我們相信民眾會接受政府在這個議題上花費更多的金錢和資源，因此我們建議政府可以對於流浪動物的議題投入更多的資源和關注。

根據我們問卷調查的結果，幾乎每個人都認為流浪動物這個議題很重要，因此我們相信民眾會同意政府花費更多的金錢和資源在這項議題上，所以我們建議政府可以在流浪動物的問題以及飲水機的製造和使用方面投入更多資源。

根據我們的數據圖表，8% 的人不想與流浪動物生活在同一個區域。對於這部分，我們將分為三個主要原因。第一個原因是有人認為流浪狗會影響人類的生活質量。第二個原因是狗會散發出異味。第三個原因是他們擔心狗爭奪食物的行為會給人類帶來危險。 狗之所以為食物而戰，是因為食物不夠。關於這一點，我們組有個主意。我們建議改變學校自然課的教學方式。學生可以種植蔬菜和水果，為流浪動物提供食物。在這個過程中，學生可以通過實際操作和成長過程了解植物，也可以進一步了解狗的飲食。政府可以設立一個新的部門，從學校收集農作物，送到指定的地區餵養。 （狗可以吃甜椒、黃瓜、西葫蘆、紅薯、胡蘿蔔和青豆(詳情請點擊連結)） (prepare-a-canine-diet-that-includes-vegetables)

少數人認為我們可以做一些比飲水機更重要的事情，比如倡導大家領養狗狗，或者募款， 但是我們小組成員認為有許多人已經在執行了類似的事情，但這只會幫助收容所裡的狗狗，所以我們希望能夠協助那些在外流浪的狗狗，並提升流浪狗的生活品質。

透過這一次的問卷調查，我們發現儘管流浪動物已經成為了人類生活當中，無法忽視的存在，但仍有少部分人其實是排斥與牠們生活在一起的。同時，我們也發現了大多數的人們對流浪動物這個議題抱持著正面的態度。所以我們才會想在人們與狗狗一起生活的環境當中，設置流動飲水機，盡可能地提升狗狗的生活品質。我們也希望多多鼓勵人們去收容所擔任志工，因為即便只是一天的時間，但對於流浪動物們來說都是很大的幫助。收容所裡其實有許多年輕又充滿活力的狗狗，但由於收容所的人力不足，所以牠們有時一週也無法出籠子散一次步，狗狗其實每天是需要至少散兩次步的，所以你的到來對牠們來說真的非常重要。幫助流浪動物不僅僅只有領養牠們這一種方式，雖然能夠擁有一個溫暖的家，一定是狗狗們最幸福的歸宿，但如果真的無法帶牠們回家，也還是有許多方式能夠幫助牠們，你的幫助將可能改變牠們的一生，所以請大家一起為流浪動物盡一份力吧！