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The innocent victims of high foreclosure rates!

copyrighted Missy Ohio is 5th in the number of foreclosures. It appears, at least locally, homeowners aren't the only victims.

Tonight on the local news they reported on a story that made me sick.

In one section of the Columbus metro area, where many new homes are being foreclosed, people are packing up their belongings ...

and leaving their pets in the home to die.

The Capital Area Humane Society has seen an increase in this type of abandonment.

Some pets are found in time by neighbors who hear the animal, knowing the humans have vacated. There was one German Shepherd puppy left in a crate in the garage that did not survive. They showed another dog, left in a bedroom, that was seriously malnourished.

There are many shelters around town, and most would understand the circumstances as to why the owners can no longer afford to care for the pet. There's no cost to drop the pet off at the shelter.

But there's just no good rationale for leaving an animal alone in a home to starve and die! That's just awful!

Posted by Elaine Reese, REALTOR® in central Ohio on 11/01/2007 11:01 PM

Comments (28)

central ohio, columbus ohio, foreclosure

28 Comments on The innocent victims of high foreclosure rates!

NOV

2007

OH, Elaine you hit a nerve with me. And I had a seller call today to say she was leaving for 10 days and leaving the cat in the house. I'm worried for multiple reasons.

Cruelty to animals is never excusable. If you can't afford an animal the local humane society is always willing to accept pets.

The people who do that should face criminal charges.

This is awful, people who treat animals like that is disturbing.

Dena: I've known people to go on vacation and leave their cat, but they always have someone visit daily to feed, and empty the litter box. Is someone going to empty the litter for your SELLER. That will certainly get smelly for showings. And what about the furrballs?

Matthew, Renee & Wayne: We're all on the same page. I can't fathom what kind of person is able to look into those trusting brown eyes and shut the door, knowing that doing so will mean a slow painful death.

OMG - that is horrible and was very hard to read because it has now left that image in my head. Maybe it wouldn't hurt for brokerages to split the cost of running an ad in the local homes books that speak about the proper way to handle this in the event of a financial situation ... I mean it couldn't hurt?

Jennifer: The Capital Area Humane Society has a gorgeous building that is easy to get to. They're also very active and well known, so there's no reason for people to not take their pets there. There are many other rescue groups as well.

One of the best ways we can get the word out is through our blogs.

NOV

2007

That breaks my heart! My pets are like members of the family, and I can not imagine leaving one of them behind; not to mention leaving one behind for certain death.

I am squarely on the side of the pets on this issue. No matter how bad it is for a homeowner, there is absolutely no reason for them to leave an innocent animal behind. People that do this should face stiff criminal charges.

That is so sad, they could at least take it to a shelter. My dogs all four of them are like family.

TO ALL: This is reminiscent of Katrina where people were forced to leave pets behind. Our CAHS is well respected and has worked to get some laws changed which gives them more power to charge people who abuse animals. Still the punishment needs to be harsher and pets need to be viewed as more than mere peronal property. It's the "personal property" status that prevents the punishment from being harsher.

Bloggers have a lot of power with our writings. Maybe we need to use our SEO strength to get the word out. Using a combination of keywords - foreclosure, pet abuse, humane society - on such articles with links to our local shelters, may help raise the issue.

BLOG ABOUT IT ON YOUR OWN PERSONAL BLOG!

Elaine: I actually have one coming out soon about breed specific rescue. Las Vegas has always had a tough time with rescue and shelters because of the transient nature of this city. I was one the phone other day BEGGING to have the NSPCA release a seizure ridden Italian Greyhound to Italian Greyhound rescue home. It saddened me that it has to be so political when it really comes down to a dog with health problems lying in a kennel vs being in a home with 24/7 attention.

I am extremely passionate about this and since Las Vegas has ALWAYS had this problem, I guess I never thought about foreclosures making it even worse, YIKES!

Renee: Isn't NV a high foreclosure state as well? A number of years ago I volunteered for the CAHS and like you, was amazed at how political it was. The high-powered movers & shakers would show up for the photo op or get their name on the Board, then disappear. Plus, what the shelter can and cannot do based on the laws they must abide by, is truly sad. Doesn't always benefit the animal's best interest.

I would expect you would have a lot of work to do on greyhound rescue due to the racing.

I also get very upset at people who support Petland puppies. They charge twice as much for the puppies as a regular breeder would and they contribute to the puppy mill trade.

Actually my rescue is Italian Greyhounds (the minis.) We have so many backyard breeder messes we are cleaning up. These dogs are special because they are hyper and hard to potty train. They get abandoned quite a bit. I wanted to call the media along with some other breed specific rescue groups to bring awareness of the issue to the general public and our rep told another volunteer that I "need a muzzle." So many power and ego trips involved with rescue and shelters it is unbelievable. Those of us who want to do the right thing can't!

We have an unbelievable amount of foreclosures also. Like I said, I don't see the difference because we have always been a city with a high number of abandoned pets with the transient nature of our residents.

Renee, do you mean that they didn't want YOU to spread the word about the problem?? Did THEY want to be the ones to contact the media or were they afraid it would make the shelter look bad?

I understand the breed problem. People don't do enough research into a breed's characteristics prior to getting a specific breed. Plus, the backyard breeders don't produce a well-adjusted pet that is properly socialized when a puppy.

We have a problem with puppy mills here with the Amish and in southeastern Ohio.

I had a Dobie when I started volunteering for the CAHS. They're another breed that people get for the "image" but then as the dog gets larger, if the owner doesn't become the "boss", Dobies will want to be in charge. They're very smart (and very loving) but they prefer to be the one in control, and you just don't dare let them "think" they are. When Rommel was 5, I took in a 1-yr old rescue female. Her owner had become afraid of her. So I had to work with her for a few weeks to let her know I wasn't afraid of her (she snapped) AND that I was the alpha dog. Once I held firm, she eventually learned her place in the pack.

Now, The Murph ... I don't think I have him convinced that I'm in control. ;-)

As I was reading your reply, my dog was trolling the office trash can for kleenexes to shred..LOL I like your advice about being alpha and I never thought the Amish would do something like that! WOW! Learn something new everyday.

Actually the problems with the rescue I volunteer for precipitated over the course of the day. I hate high school drama.

Naw, the rescue rep is just mad at me because I keep bringing dogs into rescue and I want to set up a little press conference type of deal with the media here to educate the public about breed specific rescues and where to go. She's mad because I want to get these dogs adopted that we have in rescue and seems to want to hold them hostage :(

Another volunteer and I are just going to get the dogs we have adopted out and then go to her higher ups. No rocking the boat until then because we found homes for them.

Renee: have you tried posting the dogs on your blog? One of the agents in my office had a client moving to another country and couldn't take their 8yr old pet. He asked for help from us "doggie" agents so we put the word out and I posted the dog's photo on my WP blog. We found someone and put the 2 parties in touch so the owner could verify the people were OK.

Two of my Dobies were Kleenex shredders! I could never use wastebaskets except for the kitchen one.

NOV

2007

Elaine, I'm beginning to hear about this more and more frequently and we probably will hear about it getting worse. I'm preparing to post about a Mingle with our Mutts program here in Dayton that has gone monthly instead of, I think it was quarterly. There is a likely correlation.

I recently did a BPO on an abandoned property, the neighbor stopped to chat (as neighbors do) and told me that 3 cats had been left behind. He was warning me to be prepared. I have no idea what happened to the cats, I neither saw (nor smelled) anything dead or alive in the property.

I take that back. I was completely covered- knees down- in fleas. I brought my son with me and it took us 15 minutes to pick the fleas off. Yes, real estate is sooo glamorous. Just like on TV.

Teri: We have a Mingle with the Mutts program here. I haven't paid attention to how often it's held, but it's at least monthly if not more often. It's on the TV news quite frequently. It's done by the Franklin County Animal Shelter which is different than the CAHS.

Ew-w-w on the fleas. I've not run into that problem, but Maureen has. LOL at the glam business (I've done 3 winter-spring-fall posts on that topic on my WP blog). I get a kick out of the TV agents that are in high heels, lots of jewels, and dress suits.

NOV

2007

First of all Elaine, I would like to thank you for letting me know about your blog on shelters. This is where we will go to find another dog. I appreciate your thoughtfulness! This article is very sad. I can't believe people leave them behind. As neighbors we should always be aware of our surroundings.

Vickie: so have you been successful yet in convincing your husband to get another dog?

NOV

2007

Elaine, I can't imagine why people like that have pets. If they would do that to innocent pets just think of how they treat the world and others that are connected to them. I won't even go on a trip because I don't want to leave my dog behind. I have one planned in a few weeks but she will be with me. Pets comfort us and keep us sane!

NOV

2007

Lizette, I agree. My heart just breaks when I hear stories of abuse. I personally never fully trust people that don't like animals. They don't have to have a pet - not all people can - but if they just plain don't like animals, it says a lot about them as a person.

NOV

2007

Sadly, pets are not often entered into the equation. People need to take on the commitment for a lifetime.

NOV

2007

Gayle: Yes, most definitely it is a committment. But also important is for these people to take the pet to a shelter if they can no longer afford to properly care for the pet - don't just leave it behind to die.

What's next...leaving your children behind? And speaking of children, how do they explain to their kids that the family pet is going to stay in the house? This is VERY sad. There are people who would help...if they would just ask.

NOV

2007

Elaine (too): You raise a good question about what they tell their kids. Maybe (hopefully) they don't have any. Imagine what kind of trauma or life-lesson this could be for children.

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