Family Pets Latest Victim of Mortgage Crisis
Family pets are the latest victims of the sub prime mortgage fall out as hundreds of thousands of home owners are losing homes and a home for thousands of dogs and cats.
CHICAGO (AFP) - Forget about the lost furnishings and finances, the most pitiful victims of the subprime mortgage crisis rocking the United States are the family pets.
Shelters across the country have seen sharp upticks in the number of people giving up their pets in recent months because they have been forced out of their homes.And -- more tragically -- neighbors, police and foreclosure agents are finding increasing numbers of pets left to fend for themselves in abandoned homes.
"We're finding too many animals who have starved to death," said Stephanie Shain, director of outreach for the Human Society of the United States.
While some people dump their pets on the street, others go so far as to lock the animal in a closet where their cries for help are harder to hear, she said.
It can take weeks for an animal to starve to death and desperate scratch and bite marks are usually found on doors and windows.
"They will eat anything -- furniture, or carpet or wallboard -- to try to ingest something," Shain said in a telephone interview.
"It's a very fearful and frantic and panicked situation for that animal to be in."
The Humane Society recently instigated a public-awareness campaign to offer tips on finding animal-friendly rental housing and remind people that pets are much better off in a shelter. Rest of the story with Mira Oberman - Yahoo News
If you know of anyone moving that has pets they cannot care for or you want to adopt a spayed or nutured dog or cat here are some regional and national web sites. Save a life today.
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