1. 1195 Lower Union Hill Rd.
Canton, GA 30115
April 18, 2013
Judges, Senior Project
Creekview High School
1550 Owens Store Road
Canton, GA 30115
Dear Judges:
My name is Catalina Mejia and for my senior project I chose to write a handbook for new
dog owners. Growing up I wanted to become a vet or some sort of animal worker, so I
chose to write a handbook because I am a big dog lover and I love helping animals.
Overall, I enjoyed the entire process in this project because it really taught me a lot about
my future plans. I plan to go to college; however, through my senior project, I discovered
that I do not want to become a vet or be in that field of work. However, I did discover
that I want to pursue a career in healthcare.
To continue on, like I stated in the previous paragraph my product was a handbook for
new dog owners. My research paper was about the need for more pet care workers. Pet
care workers are the ones that care for animals in animal shelters, animal hospitals, pet
stores, and other places that care for animals. My product relates to my research paper
because many pet care workers write books and pamphlets to give to new pet owners.
Through my research I learned the importance of pet care workers in the lives of the
animals that they care for. In my handbook I talk about the importance of socialization
with puppies and adult dogs that have been mistreated or abandoned. I acquired the
information in my handbook by volunteering at the Cherokee County Animal shelter. The
pet care workers there, along with my project facilitator, and other volunteers taught me a
lot about caring for dogs. They taught me everything a new dog owner must know. I
spent a lot of time writing my handbook and making sure the information was accurate.
One of the challenges I faced while writing my handbook was changing it for dogs only. I
originally wanted to write a handbook for new dog and cat owners; however, throughout
my process I discovered I am highly allergic to cats. Another challenge I faced was
scheduling time with my project facilitator because she was also the project facilitator for
seventeen other seniors. The last challenge I faced was not being able to give out my
handbook at adoption events like originally wanted to do. In the end, I took allergy
medicine to help my allergies, I managed to schedule enough time with my facilitator to
write my handbook, and even though I could not give out my handbook at adoption

2. events, my project facilitator told me she would place my handbook in the lobby at the
Cherokee County Animal Shelter for people to read.
Secondly, through my research I learned a lot about the importance of pet care workers at
places that provide animal services. I also learned the importance of having qualified pet
care workers not just anybody. Not everyone is fit to care for animals with special needs.
Such animals include animals that have been abandoned, mistreated, or animals that have
never had human interaction. I learned that I did not want to pursue a career in animal
services because it is so sad to watch everything that a lot of the animals go through.
Also, knowing that I cannot help every single animal out there would really frustrate me.
I also believe my allergies would get in the way of doing my job. Therefore, I do not plan
on pursing the career of being a vet or pet care worker in the future; however, I do plan to
keep volunteering at animal shelters and animal projects because it is a lot of fun and it
really helps the dogs at the animal shelters from becoming anxious or depressed.
To conclude, I absolutely loved working on my senior project. I got to learn a lot about
caring for dogs with special needs. I got to spend time with dogs that had no one to spend
time with. I got to make a difference in some dogs’ lives. I got to meet a lot of hard
working pet care workers who truly care for the animals they deal with. Even though this
project was very time consuming and it did cause me a lot of stress throughout my senior
year I really enjoyed it and I learned a lot about a career I once wanted to pursue. Thank
you for your time!
Sincerely,
Catalina Mejia