Pets Deserted When Owners Evicted

May 6th, 2008

The increasing number of foreclosures is responsible for creating a new phrase in the animal welfare dictionary- “foreclosure pets”. It is becoming increasingly difficult for humane agencies to find a solution as realtors find pets deserted when owners are evicted.

This pet problem has become more rampant and most of the times, the owners don’t even bother to make any arrangements for their pets, said Melanie Rushe, a public relations director for the Houston Humane Society. She added that often they would just find a bag of dog food. The owners just leave their pets with a prayer. This is a very disturbing situation. For example, a boxer was found chained to a tree in the backyard adjacent to some garbage. Also, a yellow Labrador was found tied to a water faucet.

The people who arrive first at the foreclosed scene (junk haulers, neighbours, bank inspectors etc) have no right to do anything to the animals. It is a disturbing situation because some owners just leave saying they would come the following day to collect their pets. It’s as though if a crying baby was locked in a car, breaking into the car could save it. The Humane Society appointed two constables to handle such situations. Generally, the constables are called in to take the animals. But it takes some time before they can do so since they have other cases to attend to.

Timmers said that foreclosures are the latest reasons behind deserted pets. They’re just found chained up or loose in the house. Even though people have financial problems it does not mean they can just leave their pets around. There are no exact figures as to how many abandoned animals are found. But Timmers estimates that there were atleast 1000 foreclosure cases in the previous year.

It’s very difficult to bring up cases against animal cruelty because it’s not possible to prove that the animals were left behind with a spiteful feeling. However, when Timmers found dead animals in foreclosed homes, he filed a case against each of the owners. It’s very sad when one walks in to find the dead animals. The owners often try to offer an explanation but there could possibly be no justification for it.

Most of the animals are in ill health. They are rehabilitated and put up for adoption. The owners are totally responsible. They should just drop their pets off when they’re shifting house.