Hidden victims of
mortgage crisis: pets abandoned by their owners
STOCKTON
(AP) – The house was ravaged — its floors ripped, walls busted and lights
smashed by owners who trashed their home before a bank foreclosed on it. Hidden
in the wreckage was an abandoned member of the family: a starving pit bull.
The
dog found by workers was too far gone to save — another example of how pets are
becoming the newest victims of the nation’s mortgage crisis as homeowners leave
animals behind when they can no longer afford their property.
Pets
“are getting dumped all over,” said Traci Jennings, president of the Humane
Society of Stanislaus County. “Farmers are finding dogs dumped on their grazing
grounds, while house cats are showing up in wild cat colonies.”
In
one such colony in Modesto, two obviously tame cats watched alone from a
distance as a group of feral cats devoured a pile of dry food Jennings offered.
“These
are obviously abandoned cats,” Jennings said. “They’re not afraid of people,
and they stay away from the feral cats because they’re ostracized by them.”
The
abandoned pets are overwhelming animal shelters and drawing fury from bloggers,
especially as photos of emaciated animals circulate on the Internet.
The
first people to enter an abandoned house, such as property inspectors and real
estate brokers, have discovered dogs tied to trees in backyards, cats in
garages, and turtles, rabbits and lizards in children’s bedrooms.
No
one keeps track of the numbers of abandoned pets, but anecdotal evidence
suggests that forsaken animals are becoming a problem wherever foreclosures are
climbing. Stockton and Modesto have some of the nation’s highest foreclosure
rates.
Despite
months of warning before a foreclosure, many desperate homeowners run out the
clock hoping to forestall an eviction. Then they panic, particularly if they
are moving to a home where pets are not permitted.
The
situation has become so widespread that the Humane Society urged home owners
faced with foreclosure to take their animals to a shelter.
Shelters
are trying to keep up, but the spike in abandoned pets comes at a time when
fewer people are adopting animals. Home sales are plunging to their lowest
level in decades, and new homeowners are often the most likely to seek a pet.
Even
people who are buying homes are not adopting pets.
“People
are not bringing home puppies because times are tough, and animals cost money,”
said Sharon Silbert, president of Animal Rescue of
Tracy, a community near Stockton.
The
mortgage crisis showed few signs of easing Tuesday after a real estate tracking
company announced that many homeowners started to fall behind on mortgage
payments in the last three months, setting the stage for more foreclosures this
year.
The
San Joaquin Animal Shelter in Stockton is fielding more desperate calls from
animal owners about to be evicted. Many call as a last resort after being
turned down by various rescue groups with no room for more animals.
“They’re
usually breaking down on the phone,” said Kathy Potter, a shelter dispatcher.
“I’m quite direct with them that there’s a 50-50 chance the animals might be
put down.”
Still,
shelter operators say, half a chance is better than none.
“They
may be euthanized at a shelter,” said Stephanie Shain
of the Humane Society of the United States. “But they’ll be fed and have water
and have a humane euthanization, as opposed to
spending the last days of their lives eating carpet or wallboard.”
Bloggers
are furious with the “foreclosure pet” phenomenon, especially after seeing
photos of emaciated animals on the Internet.
Some
critics say the pet owners have already proved they are irresponsible by buying
houses they could not afford or mortgages they did not bother to understand.
“They
see a pet as property, no different than a worn sofa tossed into the alley when
the springs pop,” says a posting about foreclosure pets on About.com.
The
problem is exacerbated because most people grappling with foreclosure are
returning to rental housing or moving in with relatives — two situations where
it can be difficult or impossible to bring pets.
“What
we’ve always known is that when times are hard for people, they’re hard for
their pets,” said Stephen Zawistowski, a vice
president at the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
Abandoning
animals is illegal in most states under anti-cruelty laws, but the laws are not
rigidly enforced.
In
Stockton, shelter workers recently reunited a family with two rottweilers they had left behind in their foreclosed house.
The family was staying in a homeless shelter, the dogs being cared for by
neighbors at the family’s behest. Shelter workers were able to find housing for
the family and their dogs.
But
happy endings elude a majority of foreclosure animals.
“Their
best shot is for the owners to plan ahead some,” Jennings said.
“But they didn’t plan when they bought their
house. I don’t see that happening anytime soon.”