- 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.
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- And -- more tragically -- neighbors, police and foreclosure
agents are finding increasing numbers of pets left to fend for themselves
in abandoned homes.
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- "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.
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- 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.
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- It can take weeks for an animal to starve to death and
desperate scratch and bite marks are usually found on doors and windows.
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- "They will eat anything -- furniture, or carpet
or wallboard -- to try to ingest something," Shain said in a telephone
interview.
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- "It's a very fearful and frantic and panicked situation
for that animal to be in."
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- While there are no national statistics tracking how many
animals are abandoned or dropped off at shelters, Shain said anecdotal
evidence has shown "huge spikes" in areas hardest-hit by the
housing downturn that shows no sign of easing.
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- Nearly two million families lost their homes to foreclosure
in the first 11 months of last year after failing to keep up with mortgage
payments, a hefty chunk of which were subprime loans.
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- That's an increase of 73 percent compared to a year earlier
and represents one out of every 63 households nationwide, according to
RealtyTrac which tracks mortgage data.
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- 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.
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- In one of the more shocking stories, more than 60 cats
were found abandoned in a foreclosed home in Cincinnati last May, shortly
after the foreclosure rate began to spike nationally.
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- Twenty of those cats are still being fostered while awaiting
a permanent home, according to Foreclosurecats.org, a group which launched
art projects to help finance the cost of caring for the kitties.
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- Most are not as lucky. Shelters across the country are
habitually overcrowded and underfunded. Even animals which stand a good
chance of being adopted are often euthanized in order to free up much-needed
space.
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- That's why one pet rescue group which used to only deal
with finding homes for hard-to-place strays has started temporarily fostering
the pets of owners in distress.
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- "Most of the calls we get are from people who really
want to keep their pets," said Melanie Roeder, the outreach manager
at Chicago's Tree House Animal Foundation.
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- "We try to counsel them and talk about the idea
of fostering, or finding a place on their own."
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- The group took in the cat of one woman who only needed
a few weeks to find a new place to live and is open to helping others.
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- For others who are not able to find such a quick fix,
saying goodbye is the only option.
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- "It's pretty traumatic for everybody, especially
the kids," said Terri Sparks, a spokeswoman for Chicago's largest
shelter, the Animal Welfare League.
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- "It's part of the family and they have no other
options ... people are telling us we're losing our home and have to move."
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- While moving has always been one of the top reasons why
people give up their pets to shelters, Sparks said more people started
mentioning foreclosures a few months ago.
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- About 15-20 foreclosed families are now coming into the
shelter every week with their pets, and police bring in two or three pets
a week found abandoned in foreclosed homes.
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