Hi Dana, Sheila, Jane...and thank you for your responses. (Thanks, Jane, for reblogging)...Sounds like we all agree. I hope more folks will find their way to this article...it brings to light an all too common occurance. My hunch is that many real estate agents are not aware that this even goes on (unless they are tenured REO agents perhaps). Anyone you might recommend this article to would be appreciated...thanks so much.

Thanks again for your feedback...have a safe and fun Holiday Weekend!!!      : )  

Thanks for the responses...hope everyone has had a nice weekend.

@ Donne >> So it appears I called you by MY name in an earlier post...Yep, it's true...I have officially lost it. HA  Oh well...if you knew me, you would know that this was a foregone conclusion anyway, so...   Anyway, I have the article set up where it can be re-blogged; have you tried and not been able to do it? Hmm...not signed in, maybe? Not sure what to say, but let me know if you are unable to re-blog it and I will contact Brad for advice. Everything appears normal on my end.

@ Tammy >> Cool asset manager! And good for you for making that happen! I have had a number of kitties over the years left behind, and only one have I found dead inside the house. The rest have been inside alive or outside still hanging around. It is heartbreaking to see the longing in their eyes--it is SO obvious that they had a family. Luckily, cats tend to be more resourceful than dogs and their mortality rate is subsequently much lower when left behind (assuming they are free). It's great to hear that you have rescue animals--my oldest daughter would be so proud!  : )     And I have taken your advice and made this article public--thanks for the suggestion.

@ Liz/Bill >> (I'm guessing Bill...am I right?) You are so right! Bizzare! And it IS a chaotic time--perhaps the most chaotic of their life...

It can be almost surreal...but it is NOT surreal, it is REAL. And even when the walls are falling down around you, you have to do ONE THING if you do nothing else: you have to get ALL LIVING THINGS OUT OF THE HOUSE! That's what you do in a fire, that's what you do in a hurricane (hopefully) and that's what you do when you leave your house for the last time, KNOWING you're never coming back. Anything less, and you have killed a living, breathing creature, just the same as if you had put a pistol to his head and pulled the trigger. And all I can say to that is...I am not the one to judge you because I have way too many shortcomings to be telling folks how screwed up what they are doing is...but this is my wish for you if you do such a thing...you who walked away and let your friend die alone...i hope than when you die...that if you believe in Heaven...that you find yourself next in line to see God...and you round the corner to find that God is a shelter dog--scruffy and lean--and that as you draw nearer, your mouth hanging open, that you see at God's right hand...your old friend--the pup that you left to die all alone in a hot, dry house...and as your eyes bulge in disbelief and the very spirit within you begins to panic, I hope you notice the look of contentment washing over his body...And when God looks over at your "old friend" and asks, "Which way shall we send him?", I hope the flashes of a thousand photographers capture your reaction the second you realize who holds the key to eternity for you with a simple wave of his paw...and I hope that a thousand books are written of the irony seen in all of Heaven that day as your old friend tells God, "Let him pass, Father...for I remember he fed me when I was hungry...and I remember he gave me water when I was thirsty...and I remember he played with me when I was young...and I remember he...he..." "What, my son?," God will say.  "...he loved me."  Then God will say, "But isn't this the one who left you? The one who left you to die alone?"  And his words will run through you like the purest cocaine--first you will believe the lie you tell yourself, then the suffocating truth will come crashing down into you..."It's okay Father...He would have come if he could...And I died knowing he loved me...Please, let him pass..." And then you will buckle to your knees, a forgiven man, invited into Heaven, but relegated to a Hell of your own making...that is my wish for you. But I'm not bitter or anything...And hey...who knows, maybe you'll get lucky and God won't be a dog, and your "old friend" won't be up there at all...maybe it will be the "real" God and you'll just get sent straight to Hell to begin with. Good luck!

Looks like we had a little overlap there while I was on my soapbox..haha

@ Don S. >> Thanks for re-blogging...the more exposure the better on a subject such as this. (Poor goldfish)

@ Ted J. >> I agree...and the fact that they ask for so little in return is perhaps the most powerful lesson for me...Oh, to be that kind of friend...

@ Liz L. >> I have had the very same experience you described, Liz. The last one was with a little stumpy, short legged mutt whom I watered and fed daily for about a week before one of our aents offered to adopt. They named him 'Mojo.' I hope that even if you are right about the neighbor being responsible for Chaffee's disappearance, he ended up in a home somehow and was taken care of again. Never know...he may have gotten an upgrade!

@ Jeff B. >> Yeah, the valuables are hard to get your mind around--just doesn't make good sense. But not only is the abandonment of an animal cruel, it is illegal, and in most states it is a felony. Thanks for dropping in, Jeff!

@ Elyse B. >> Well, I know what you mean...it really does tear at your heart. I became emotional when writing the last response above...the fictional, "my wish for you" response where I have the person who abandoned his friend to die alone, meeting God...and deciding what that dog who had died and gone to be with his maker would say about his former "person..."  and I thought and thought...and I realized, that unlike a human who might exact revenge, given that power, the dog doesn't even CONSIDER it...not for a second. And so he implores God to, "Please, let him pass."  It's just a story, a product of my imagination, but I defy anyone to say that the dog would send him the other way. 

@ Geri S. >> I feel ya sister! Sounds like my post was part 2 of a one-two punch! Has your day gotten any less emotional? Or are you going for the tri-fecta? And when it comes to animal cruelty, I find myself waxing a little primitive myself! Thanks for stopping in--hope you are smiling right this very moment!   : )

@ Endre B. >> Unfortunately, I fear that your statement will forever be true--this (and your) article will always be timely. What an unfortunate truth, too. Thanks for saying hello, Endre! Have a great day! 

@ Leolina B. >> I am so very sad to hear that you lost your friend this week, Leolinda. Can you say anything about that? Would it help? What was his/her name? How long had you been friends? What was his/her favorite thing? Your favorite memory? If you answer none of these, no problem...just know that your are being thought of by everyone who reads this who knows how it feels to lose a loved one...

@ Juli V. >> Well, you apparently are not alone in your emotional response (including me), so I hereby declare us all absolved of raving lunacy!  Cruel, inhumane, beyond me...yep...that about sums it up.

@ Don S. >> Well, sir...I hope your sentiment is shared by others and ultimately comes to fruition--it would be my first! (Yay!) As for the law coming down on folks, we have tried on many occasions to enforce the law (and it IS a law--see below), only to find tat law enforcement is "unable" to do much because they cannot definitively pin down intent or any number of other reasons. It always feels to me like they simply don't want to get involved...like it isn't a REAL case.

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Animal abandonment means leaving behind an animal alone or permitting the animal to be abandoned in circumstances which might cause harm to the animal. Owner of the animal is answerable for the suffering caused to the animal. This is a serious criminal offense in the U.S.

The following is an example of a state statute (Oregon) defining animal abandonment:

According to ORS § 167.340 a person commits the crime of animal abandonment if the person intentionally, knowingly, recklessly or with criminal negligence leaves a domestic animal or an equine at a location without providing minimum care.

It is no defense to the crime defined in this section that the defendant abandoned the animal at or near an animal shelter, veterinary clinic or other place of shelter if the defendant did not make reasonable arrangements for the care of the animal

Thanks everyone, for sharing your comments and stories, and for re-blogging to help give voice to those who cannot speak for themselves. This is a sensitive issue which moves us all...

@ Tim M. >> Reading your words, Tim, has caused me to rethink my "wish" for the person who does this to an animal. I would like to stick with what I said IF that person lives his life and never looks back, no regrets, no remorse. BUT, if that same person were to look up in the months that followed that most turmultuous time in their life (loss of home) and realize what they had done...and if the full magnitude of life and death rained down on them and they realized at their core that they had taken a life, that they had caused death in someone they loved...and they became burdoned with that reality, deep in their soul...then I would wish peace for them...because everybody screws up, and most of us have screwed up BAD at some point...and nobody who has touched that pain deep inside should have to carry it if they are truly sorry for having inflicted it. As for you, I sense your true remorse over the little rats...and you do not deserve to carry the guilt any longer. Thank you for sharing your story...I hope you can forgive Tim now. 

@ Missy C. >> If only it were that simple. We do usually get in foreclosures fairly soon after the sale, and quite often immediately afterwards. But there are many times when it might be weeks or even months before we enter a property, for any number of reasons. We don't get the property until the bank gets the legal issues worked out, and we seem to have more than our share of those around here.

@ Mike O. >> I think that is an all too common story, Mike. In fact, we were hiking years back when we came upon this dog who was clearly malnourished. He was digging in the soil and pulling up roots and eating them. Well, that was all I needed to see. We brought him home and put him out to the side of our house. He barked at night. Constantly. Neighbors complained. No problem. Parents live out in the country--he can run FREE!!!  YAY! They took him. Put him on chain at end of home--they couln't see him, he couldn't see them, ???  I asked, "Why don't you let him run free?? Nobody lives anywhere NEAR here!!" Dad said, "I don't want him to run off." (omg) So...he lived and died at the end of a chain. We visited him when we went there, but the poor guy...I have often wondered if we did the right thing or not. Anyway...thanks for the story.   : )

@ Nancy C. >> I totally understand.

@ Mindy S. >> Well I hope you found your dolphins and kittens...haha.  Unfortunately, I cannot advise REALTORS on how to handle situations involving animals left behind because that would be the same as giving legal advise, which of course, I cannot do. Why is that legal advise? Because animals are considered personal property, and I can no more tell you what to do with that cat over there than I can that 50 inch plasma television. That is why when we do a "lock out" or a personal property eviction, the sheriff's department will come and take possession of any animals that are found on the property and hold them for 48 hours--giving the owners the opportunity to come and claim them. Same as their other personal property--it gets put on the side of the road where it is left for 48 hours--giving the owners the opportunity to come and claim it (of course the stuff on the road gets stolen, the animals do not).

@ Michelle G. >> You DEFINATELY did the right thing! I NEVER, EVER, EVER TAKE ANYTHING FROM A PROPERTY!!! I don't care how "abandoned" it looks!

@ J. Philip F. >> Well said! I have nothing to add!

@ Debbie A. >> I understand, Debbie. Thanks for dropping in.

@ Eric M. >> Wow, Eric...I wonder, did she ever know that YOU knew? That would be very awkward for her. Thanks for the story...

@ Chrystina T. >> I understand the emotions...this is a real heart tugging topic. And thanks for re-blogging.  : )

@ Michael M. >> THE GENERAL PUBLIC IS BASICALLY STUPID!!!  How's that? And guess what? No anger to get over! (Preachin' to the choir, buddy...preachin' to the choir)

@ Jim/Linda A. >> I feel you...I really do. Thanks for dropping in.  : )

@ Leilani >> Yes, so sad indeed...Thanks for re-blogging!

@ Debra L. >> There are laws in every state protecting animals (and abandonment is a felony in most) but that is not the problem--the problem is proving criminal intent. These cases rarely make it into our courts around here.

@ Barbara A. >> Hey! Congrats on your first re-blog!  : )   But yes, it is sickening, I agree.  But as I was telling Debra above you, there are laws and penalties in place...the challenge is in getting the offenders in front of a judge or jury.  

Steve and Leanne...Thanks for your feedback. Everyone says the same thing..."I can't understand how people could leave a family member behind," and "There is no excuse for it. Period."

I find it almost more than I can bear to see a cat or dog (or any animal--a FISH, for crying out loud) hanging around, waiting on its "people..." fully believing that they are coming back for him...and he DRAWS HIS LAST BREATH BELIEVING THAT THEY ARE STILL COMING BACK FOR HIM!!! That's the thing about cats and dogs...they don't believe you are screwing them over. They have every faith that you will be back for them any time now...and they die believing it. It just rips me apart.

Hi Marchel...What do you tell your children indeed???  I treat animals like people (in that I respect them and love them deeply) and I take this sort of thing very seriously. It is very difficult to come upon...it feels like child abuse to me. Thanks for dropping in...