< Back to Front Page Text size – +

"Foreclosure Dogs"

Email|Link|Comments (1) Posted by Binyamin Appelbaum December 28, 2007 11:01 AM

A perhaps foreseeable consequence of the increase in foreclosures -- more abandoned pets.

A September story in the Globe (available here) mentioned speculation by the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals that evicted families were delivering a growing number of pets to local animal shelters -- or simply leaving the pets behind.

Now, the Columbus Dispatch has put some numbers on the problem, and coined a term for the abandoned animals: Foreclosure dogs.

Apparently, dogs are the primary victims because it's easier to move with other kinds of pets.

The story (available here) says 209 owners have turned in dogs to the Columbus shelter this December, compared with only 12 in December two years ago. Half of the owners said they had been evicted, and couldn't keep the animal anymore.

It's not an easy week to get through to the MSPCA, but I'll update the entry with local information if I do hear back.

< Back to Front Page

1 comments so far...

I just dont understand how someone could leave there pet in a abandoned home. I am a dog owner, and I dont take myself to seriously as one, but I just could not imagine leaving my dog behind, without equating children to a pet, my dog is part of my family. To the people dropping there pets off at the MSPCA, you are doing the better thing, I think you should have thought a little harder about getting your pet in the first place. Again, I dont take myself to seriously about being a dog owner, but I could not imagine just dropping him off at the MSPCA. Thanks for reading.

Alex

Posted by Alex Savage December 31, 07 12:06 PM