Sad Story

Recently I had to appraise a home that was repossessed.  It was owned by a local realtor that let his son and daughter in law live there.  They were drug addicts and really destroyed the house.  It was filthy, infested and much of their belongings were left, including baby furniture.  When I arrived the neighbor came over to tell me the whole story.  The 2 had an infant and she said she could hear the child crying at all hours and sometimes it appeared the child was left alone.  I have 2 children so this was upsetting to me on a personal level.  What really struck me was that this woman would go out of her way to come tell me this story, yet when I asked her if she had called the police for this child she said she had not.  BUT she did call about them endangering their dog by leaving it outside all the time.  It really struck me that someone would worry more about an animal than a human being.  I know there are animal lovers out there, and I agree that they need stewards.  But my heart dropped to think that no one had a voice for this child.  Luckily, according to the neighbor, they did lose the baby when they were arrested for breaking into another neighbors home.  I can only hope the child is in a better environment.  These are the heartbreaks we see every day.  Realtors, appraisers, home inspectors, and others.  It is a job, but sometimes it is so hard.