Foreclosures Hurt Pets, Too

Today’s Wiki Wednesday Feature: Who Will Take Care of Abandoned Foreclosure Pets?

(Photo courtesy EForeclosureMagazine.com) 

In the past few months, we’ve blogged about some unimaginable stories that have emerged from the foreclosure crisis, from a family forced to live in a camper to people who’ve lost their homes and all of their possessions. Add another heartbreaking story to this list: pet abandonment.

This week’s featured wiki article, Who Will Take Care of Abandoned Foreclosure Pets submitted by user “lets03,” brought this sad story to my attention. As more and more people lose their homes to foreclosure, there has been a rise in cases of pets being left behind in foreclosed homes, or even just set free to fend for themselves. It’s become so rampant that a new term has been coined: foreclosure pets.

A clip from this California pet foreclosure article shows just how common it’s become:

“Leo Nordine, a Hermosa Beach, Calif., broker who specializes in selling repossessed homes, said he finds abandoned dogs at least once a month these days. Sometimes they’re chained in a yard, sometimes locked in the house. They’re often emaciated, if they’re alive at all.”

What can you do to help? This abandoned foreclosure pets article offers some things you can do if you suspect a pet might be in danger in a foreclosed home: 

• If you know that a home in your neighborhood is being foreclosed upon, why not ask the occupants if they have made plans for their pets?
• Some home owners might willingly turn over their pets to an animal welfare agency that specializes in rescuing stray and abandoned pets, if they knew where to take their pets.
• Leave animal rescue literature with the owners; it’s better to offend and apologize than to do nothing.
• After the owners have moved, check on the home to see if any pets were left behind or tied up in the back yard.
• Call your local humane society to find out how you can help to rescue abandoned pets.
• Call a local real estate agent and ask the neighborhood specialist to inspect the home for abandoned pets. Most will gladly oblige at no obligation.
• In some states, animal cruelty is against the law. If you suspect animal cruelty, call the police.

According to a recent USA Today article, the number of pets being released to animal shelters is also increasing by alarming rates in places where foreclosures are high. These pets are the “luckier” ones – at least they have a chance of being adopted. Some shelters are even creating special programs to help foreclosure victims and their pets. The Pennsylvania SPCA, for instance, offers their “good-home guarantee” program, which promises the shelter will keep the pet as long as it takes to find a new home, free of charge for foreclosure victims.

Ed: Wiki Wednesdays is a weekly feature that highlights helpful or interesting articles from the Real Estate Guide.