Suffering from foreclosure crisis in North County
April 27th, 2008 Posted in Reptile PetsThe American dream — owning a home — has transformed into an unexpected nightmare for people and their pets. Point the blame on the rising, sometimes surprising, adjustable mortgage rates that are forcing foreclosures. We in North County reside in one of the hardest-hit spots.
Recently, I toured the North County Humane Society in Oceanside, only about a mile from my home. Having adopted two shelter dogs, Chipper and Cleo, I know the valuable roles shelters play all over the country in finding great homes for dogs and cats.
I was stunned by what I witnessed. Normally, the shelter has one large dog to a kennel, and sometimes two small dogs share a kennel. But lately, the shelter has been forced to double up — two big dogs to a kennel and up to four dogs to a kennel — because of an unexpected 20 percent increase in pets surrendered from this time last year.
“It’s gotten so bad that we have to keep the small dogs in hallways with their adoption photos posted out front because we don’t have any room for them in our kennels,” said Lindsay Hood, society representative. “What’s strange is that we are receiving a lot of small breeds that usually get adopted out fast, like Chihuahuas, toy poodles and Lhasa apsos. These are well-behaved dogs who are housebroken. You can tell they came from family settings.”
In Escondido, 9-year-old dogs Jasmine and Rocky found themselves in the place least expected for two well-behaved family pets: the Escondido Humane Society awaiting adoption.
Their owner, wiping back tears, told shelter officials earlier this year that the “bank took my house” and he was unable to find an apartment that accepted pets, especially ones like Jasmine and Rocky, who weigh more than 55 pounds each.
Shelters throughout the country are reporting people citing “lost my job,” “lost my house” and “relocating out of state for another job” as reasons behind surrendering pets who have been part of their families sometimes for five years or more. Other pets are left behind in empty houses to starve or are booted outdoors to fend for themselves.
“Frankly, we’re surprised by the reports of pets being surrendered, given the strength of the human-animal bond, but these people are under immense financial strain,” said Kimberly May, veterinarian and representative of the American Veterinary Medical Association in Schaumburg, Ill. “Some feel like they’ve exhausted all options, but the last thing you should ever do is simply abandon your pets.”
And it’s a crime to intentionally abandon pets.
“It’s animal cruelty and in our state of California such people are being prosecuted,” said Alice Villalobos, veterinarian and past president of the American Association of the Human-Animal Bond Veterinarians, which operates a veterinary clinic in Hermosa Beach. “Not only will an individual find themselves without a home but now with a criminal record. Please, no shelter is going to say no. If you feel you have no other option, surrender your pets to a shelter.”
Alice Moon-Fanelli, a certified applied animal behaviorist on the Tufts University faculty, cautions that dogs surrendered to shelters because of economic reasons — and not behavior problems — can be traumatized by finding themselves suddenly in a cage.
“Being separated from his family can be very stressful, and depending on the temperament of the dog, this separation and being in a shelter can manifest as emotional trauma that is perceived as ‘misbehavior’ down the road when adopted by a new family,” Moon-Fanelli says. “It’s hard to predict the emotional scars that will be felt.”
Cats may have it worse because their former owners may assume that they will instinctively know how to hunt for food.
“Some cats who have lived their entire lives indoors may not even know where to get water outdoors or how to avoid cars or even climb trees,” Moon-Fanelli says. “They may starve to death.”
In response, companion animal organizations are conducting educational campaigns and offering grants to reduce the number of homeless pets. The American Veterinary Medical Association (avma.org), the Humane Society of the United States (hsus.org) and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (aspca.org) have advice on their Web sites.
I urge you to visit these informative Web sites if you are facing foreclosure. Share them with your friends and neighbors. Pets bring a lot to our lives.
Let’s work together to keep them in our lives.
Tags: adoption, amp, animal cruelty, animals, big dogs, cats, chihuahuas, county humane society, dogs, dogs and cats, facing foreclosure, family pet, family pets, foreclosure, foreclosures, hsus, humane society, left behind, loc, medical association, mortgage, neighbors, old dog, Pet, pets, prevention of cruelty to animals, shelter dogs, spca, united states, vet, veterinarian, veterinary clinic, veterinary medical associationRelated posts
Tags: adoption, amp, animal cruelty, animals, big dogs, cats, chihuahuas, county humane society, dogs, dogs and cats, facing foreclosure, family pet, family pets, foreclosure, foreclosures, hsus, humane society, left behind, loc, medical association, mortgage, neighbors, old dog, Pet, pets, prevention of cruelty to animals, shelter dogs, spca, united states, vet, veterinarian, veterinary clinic, veterinary medical association
