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Photographers like the Washington Post's Carol Guzy documented the toll that natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina take on animals as well as people. But even when the rising waters are financial metaphors for the real thing, the sense of desperation and the need to flee can seem equally great.
BlogHer Contributing Editor Maria Niles posted Overcoming Bag Lady Fears During a Recession last week, sparked by a report on CNN of a woman living in her car - with her dogs - following a layoff and loss of her home. The mortgage crisis and accompanying spike in foreclosures has terrible ramifications for families across the country, many of them with pets in tow. So what happens when a forced relocation means a life change for everyone? Sometimes, for pets, it isn't pretty.
Envirolink linked to "Pets feeling families’ economic pinch" by Evie Blad, that originally ran in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette
Animal control officers in several Northwest Arkansas cities are reporting an increase in the intake of well-trained, purebred dogs as cash-strapped homeowners slash items from their household budgets.
“It’s not behavioral stuff. It’s because they can’t afford to keep them,” said Rhonda Di-Basilio, director of the Rogers Animal Shelter.
And there’s anecdotal evidence of owners of foreclosed homes leaving their pets behind.
Last year, the Rogers shelter teamed with animal control officers to remove two animals from abandoned homes. In the first four months of 2008, they’ve seized five dogs left behind in uninhabited homes.
Rogers code enforcement officer Rick Riedesel discovered the body of a golden retriever last week when he was called to inspect the overgrown yard of a foreclosed home at 11 th and Oak streets. After scratching at the door of a locked room, the animal died of starvation, Riedesel said.
Officers later found a full bag of dog food in another room, DiBasilio said.
“I think a lot of people think if they leave the dog, someone will pick it up and feed it,” she said. “If you lock a dog up in a house and you don’t come back, to me it’s just neglect and abuse.” Animal control officers typically find out about neglected animals from concerned neighbors. The shelter works with the city attorney’s office to seize the animals and cite owners with misdemeanor offenses under the state’s animal cruelty statute.
Springdale’s animal shelter has seen an increase in expensive pure-bred dogs that were purchased as puppies for hundreds of dollars, said Sam Goade, Springdale’s director of public works.
Owners surrender the animals because they can’t afford to maintain them or they are moving to an apartment where animals aren’t allowed.
Donna Miles, director of the Bella Vista Animal Shelter, said the downturn in the economy is evident in the center’s kennels.
Fifty-seven animals were taken in by the shelter in April, an increase of 17 compared with a year ago.
Elaine Vigneault at Read My Mind listed 4 Ways to Help Foreclosure Pets.
Rena Murray at PawPersuasion says there are way better alternatives to foreclosures.
The Real Estate Bloggers call them by the newly coined term "Foreclosure dogs", surely accompanied by foreclosure cats, birds, hamsters and any other pet who costs money to care for and needs space to live in. (And that's all of them.)
Liz at lizardmarsh, with the tagline "rescuers are needed to protect" gives notice of two rescue dogs available in Stockton, Calif.
"Stockton CA: Foreclosure capital of America. 2 sweet orphan dogs. Pls RESCUE THEM ASAP"
Rescue Dog Central says "Abandoning animals following foreclosure , without finding them an alternative place to go, is nothing more than inexcusable animal cruelty."
Joey and Maggie at the Long and Short Of It All For Dachshund Lovers introduce CC, a lucky foreclosure Dachshund who was adopted by a Realtor who found her abandoned in a home.
Carol Vinzant at Wallet Pop says "Pets are victimized by foreclosure, too.
Animal welfare groups around the world have been noticing a new victim to the housing downturn and foreclosure crisis: pets. The lucky ones with responsible owners are turned in to local shelters. The most unfortunate dogs and cats are left imprisoned in locked homes with no food or water. They face a slow, tortuous death by starvation or dehydration.
The Human Society of the United States started noticing the problem in January. The same problem has turned up in England, the Daily Mail reports. A lack of money or landlord permission have both long been among the top reasons pets are
