Houses Deserted: So Are Pets
It’s been a disturbing trend that Realtors, banks, and communities are finding. As people lose their homes to foreclosure, they leave their pets behind - often to starve, sometimes to die. We have two dogs at my house, though I am most assuredly NOT a dog person. But I would never dream - even in the worst of times - to leave a pet behind to die of dehydration or starvation. But that’s what Realtor Rebecca Strobel of Lakewood, Colorado has seen too many times, according to MSNBC.
“I’ve walked in before where there was a dead cat in the corner with no food or water,” Strobel said.
Recently, she said, a fellow agent came across a dog that languished in an empty home for two weeks with no food or water.
“You feel sick, and you wonder who could do that,” said Strobel, who said she always carries an arsenal of supplies in the trunk of her car, including dog and cat food, leashes, blankets and first-aid kits.
Even if former home owners are at a point in their lives where they can no longer care for their family pet, why wouldn’t they make the effort to deliver it to a humane society or animal shelter? Do they think that a dog, cat, ferret, reptile that is humanely euthanized is worse off than allowing it to die the terrible slow death of starvation?
The other option people seem to latch on to is simply opening the door and letting their pets run free. A friend of mine has experienced first-hand what it’s like to have her neighborhood full of feral cats,
There appears to be a herd of roaming cats in my neighborhood.
Nobody really knows where they came from or who they once belonged to. Lots of homes have been foreclosed in my neighborhood, and the assumption of those of us who have been discussing the cat problem is that they are probably cats left behind from people who have been foreclosed on. Unfortunately, the pet owners who left their cats behind were irresponsible by leaving their cats behind, but they were also irresponsible in not spaying and neutering.
Along with the adult cats roaming the neighborhood, she spotted a kitten. One day later, she has a new cat.
Russel Ray, a home inspector from California, also found a cat that he adopted. His advice is directed at the neighbors of people who are losing their homes to foreclosure,
Please, Folks, if you know there’s a foreclosure happening in your neighborhood and the owners have pets, make a quick stop to see if they need help finding the pets a new home or taking them to the animal shelter. If you know of a property that already is vacant, make a quick stop and look in the window to see if there are any signs of abandoned pets. A little kindness and thoughtfulness can go a long way in helping both people and pets.
Both Russel and my friend are heroes in my eyes because they opened their hearts and their homes to pets abandoned because of foreclosures.
