I visited an animal shelter for my community service. There I saw and learned things that pertain to our class discussion about inequality and social norms. Specifically, I want to talk about puppies and kittens that are adopted more, and animals with "defects" that are adopted less. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay I will tell you about a beautiful, fluffy, young cat. This cat was young and short-legged. She was beautiful with her soft gray fur and big blue eyes. When I saw her, I knew she would have no problem being adopted. There was a problem though, she had gotten out and become muddy and covered in dirt. A girl my age and her mother came in and decided to adopt the beautiful cat. They asked the woman at the front desk if they could clean the cat before taking her home. He agreed and sent me to do the task. The cat was very sweet and was surprisingly patient with me washing, scrubbing and shearing her. I dried her off and took her back to the front. The girl and her mother were very excited. They signed the papers and left. It didn't take long for them to realize something was wrong with the cat. It turns out that the cat's tail was broken and that's why he had large lumps of feces on his back side. When they brought the cat back, they were no longer oohing and aahing at the beautiful kitten. They seemed disgusted by the cat and its deformity. Outraged at having adopted a defective cat, they wanted their money back. Because the cat had a broken tail, he was deemed defective and put to sleep because the animal shelter would not pay to have his tail removed. Even though those people adopted the cat and took legal responsibility for its well-being, they sent it back because it was broken and they didn't want to deal with it. This cat was kind of a minority. I initially thought he had a much higher chance of being adopted. In reality, his physical condition made him “unadoptable,” so he was put to sleep. Whether the cat had any say in the matter or not, the cat was not following the norm that was expected of him. He was a beautiful furry cat and was expected to be perfect and flawless. When the adopters discovered that the cat was injured and would need more care than they previously thought, they brought him back. Please note: this is just a sample. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay This cat was not treated the same as other cats because he did not meet the norm of being perfect when he was adopted. When a person adopts a cat, they expect it to be sweet, already settled, house trained, cute and healthy. This beautiful and sweet cat was put to sleep because he did not meet the expectations of the people who adopted him.