sad, forclosures and animals

[frugalfarmwife]

The below article was posted on a forum I frequent. Sadly, it shows the crisis going on daily for animal owners/pet lovers


Four walls no more for 4-legged friends
By MATT McKINNEY, Star Tribune

January 29, 2008

The ever-worsening story of foreclosures in America now counts among
its victims the family dog, the pet cat and even the farmer's horse.

Animal rescue volunteers say they're seeing more animals abandoned or
dropped off at shelters as families are forced to move from homes that
they can no longer afford.

"I'm getting skinny horses in here that people have walked away from,"
said Drew Fitzpatrick, director of the Minnesota Hooved Animal Rescue
Foundation, based in Zimmerman, Minn.

It used to be that for every abandoned horse there was a story of
mental illness, divorce or cancer of its owner, said Fitzpatrick.

"Now it's bankruptcy and ARM foreclosure. Rural America is really
starting to get punched."

More than 13,600 Minnesotans lost their homes to foreclosure last year,
double that of 2006, according to RealtyTrac.

Nationally some 2 million Americans are headed into foreclosure because
of subprime loans.

No one keeps records of foreclosure abandonment, but many shelter said
the problem is growing.

The Humane Society of the United States even issued a statement this
month urging pet owners to take their animals with them when they move.

Of the 150 animals turned in during the past two months at the Rice
County Humane Society at least 51 were because of foreclosure. "That's so
far," said Michelle DeWeese, who works at the shelter.

"We have owners who are so upset that they have to give up their
animals because of foreclosure," she said. One returned nearly every day for
two weeks before her black Labrador, named Sarabi, was adopted.

The stories of woe get worse: A Faribault family lost its home in a
foreclosure, then its business in a bankruptcy. The final blow: leaving
the family dogs of 8 and 9 years at the local shelter before moving to
California to live with a relative.

"The family was absolutely in tears," said Sadie Wakal, director of the
Safe Sanctuary in Faribault. "Everyone came to say goodbye. It was
like they were leaving their children behind."

That story had a happy ending. The yellow and black Labs, named Toby
and Mocha, found good homes, Toby to a family with a small child and
Mocha to a woman who lived alone and now dotes on her dog.

But the number of animals coming in due to the foreclosure crisis has
pushed the shelter to its limit, said Wakal.

"We're foster based, so we're stretched for foster homes. We're begging
and pleading and poking dogs in corners."

The problem has been exceedingly acute for horse owners, who were
already facing high feed costs because of rising commodity prices and the
recent elimination of horse slaughterhouses in America. That market -- a
federal ban recently closed the last three such slaughterhouses in the
United States -- once provided horse owners with an option that paid
about $600 per horse, when there was nowhere else to turn.

Reports have cropped up of horses wandering the Florida Everglades and
coal mines in Kentucky, where owners too poor to care for them have set
them free to forage on their own.

A horse owner recently euthanized more than 80 horses, most of them
Shetland ponies, in Grey Eagle, Minn., northwest of St. Cloud, because of
rising feed costs and her own poor health.

"I loved my horses, I was their mother, " said the owner, Gail Carlson,
who said she was spending $2,000 a month on hay. "I couldn't just keep
doing that." She called the decision to put the horses down difficult,
but didn't trust anyone else to care for them properly.

Others are seeking help. "All of our rescue groups are overwhelmed with
horses," said Stephanie Valberg, director of University of Minnesota
equine center.

Fitzpatrick, of the Hooved Animal Rescue Foundation, said she took a
call this week from the sheriff in Morrison County in central Minnesota,
who reported a herd of horses running free in the area. "He just said
it looks like another foreclosure," she said.

Fitzpatrick said she has about 90 animals in her care, about double the
number she had at this time a year ago.

State officials say they've seen enough problems that they plan to
launch a series of roundtable discussions later this winter to look for
answers.

"Our U of M horse team is well aware of unwanted horses right now,"
said Krishona Martinson, an agent with the extension service of the
University of Minnesota. She said talks are scheduled for March in Bemidji
and Morris.

Matt McKinney • 612-673-7329

© 2008 Star Tribune. All rights reserved.

[FreesiaE]

This makes me more angry than sad. Why would you even get a pet if you think they are that disposable? What kind of logic is:
""I loved my horses, I was their mother, " said the owner, Gail Carlson,
who said she was spending $2,000 a month on hay. "I couldn't just keep
doing that." She called the decision to put the horses down difficult,
but didn't trust anyone else to care for them properly."

She was a mother alright; another kind of "mother" that I cannot say here!!!!

[frugalfarmwife]

This makes me more angry than sad. Why would you even get a pet if you think they are that disposable? What kind of logic is:
""I loved my horses, I was their mother, " said the owner, Gail Carlson,
who said she was spending $2,000 a month on hay. "I couldn't just keep
doing that." She called the decision to put the horses down difficult,
but didn't trust anyone else to care for them properly."

She was a mother alright; another kind of "mother" that I cannot say here!!!!

Although I understand how you feel I DO also understand her feelings, it's so bad in the horse industry right now that I've been offered 3 horses for free in the last two months, no one would have EVER thought feed prices would spike so quickly, trust me, you do NOT want to see my feed bill monthly. I've also seen personally to many BADLY starved horses, better euthanization than starvation. And horses often live to 30 years, and retirement is NOT cheap with them, you have to continue with farrier work, vet work and feed. Horses are pets, but unlike dogs and cats it's much more common for them to be sold and resold, and you can NOT guarantee their future.

BTW, I did NOT breed any horses for this coming year due to seeing the glut of horses on the market and the falling prices. And my animals all get fed before I do, I brought them to my farm, I'm responsible for their health.

kj

[Jayne]

very sad....I would live on the street with my dogs rather than give them up

[julieb]

I am aware of the mortgage crisis and people losing their homes and am a animal lover. It's funny It never occurred to me that animals were losing their homes as well.

Thanks for getting the word out. We did just adopt another dog from our local animal shelter. He has turned into such a joy and we often say he was loved before he came to us. We can just tell.

[DAAC3DEC]

I am aware of the mortgage crisis and people losing their homes and am a animal lover. It's funny It never occurred to me that animals were losing their homes as well.

Thanks for getting the word out. We did just adopt another dog from our local animal shelter. He has turned into such a joy and we often say he was loved before he came to us. We can just tell.

I was just thinking the same thing!!! So sad for everyone!!

[kaykwilts]

That is so sad.

[KJayEsq]

very sad....I would live on the street with my dogs rather than give them up

Me too. I would NEVER give my dog up. There are solutions - people just don't look hard enough to find them and the animals suffer.

[frugalfriend]

That is so sad . . . but thank you kj, for making us aware, I was not.

[Persimmon Lace]

I love my animals alot BUT, if I have kids at home they come first and if we lost our house and the only place I can find that is safe and affordable doesn't take animals, the animals go. They are animals and people are very very much more important. I would rather people take them to the shelters than turn them loose.

We have suddenly started placing sooooo much value on animals that we forget that people are of more value. I would hate to have to leave Bella and Blue behind but if that's what has to happen to keep my family safe, that's what happens. I believe that animals should be treated well, have food and water, a place to get out of the cold and the rain. I also believe they should be treated like animals which means in a family they are not the priority.

We've become so outraged by the way animals are treated that we seemed to have forgotten about human life. Yes Bella accepts me and loves me, sleeps with us and is a wonderful companion but she is not a human being.
I was upset after watching a portion of a documentary about how they kill dogs and cats in China for their fur and skin them while they are still alive. As upset as I was about that, I am more outraged by their treatment of woman and female babies in the rural areas.

Did you know that fighting dogs or chickens carries with it a fine that is higher and carries more years than a child molester or wife beater in some states? It just seems like our priorities are a little skewed.

[Marie78]

I've never owned a home, I have rented for the last several years and I've always made sure I rented from places that allowed cats. I now have two cats and they will always live with me or family. I would NEVER rent from somewhere that didn't allow them. They are part of my family and it sickens me when people abandon their pets outside, when inside house cats have no real way of caring for themselves, they are too tame.

[Edna_E]

Thank you for sharing this thought-provoking article. I am also a renter with cats, and am lucky to be in an area that has not seen rising foreclosures, but I can't help but wonder whether people in communities where foreclosures are driving up the abandonment of pets are aware of the increased need for funds at the animal shelters. I think this needs to be publicized.

[AmeliaM]

My fiance was part of a rescue team that was called in when someone looking at a farm house that had a barn got a shock. The previous owners had foreclosed and moved out of state without telling anyone that they had a horse in the barn. The place is out in the middle of nowhere and he was back in a shadowed area of a pretty decent sized barn. I don't know if he was tied but he was stuck in a single stall. The floor was covered in his waste-the stench was horrible. I know he was so emaciated that they had to bring in equipment to get him out. He freaked at the movement of the people cause he had been left for months. Since my fiance has an affinity w animals he said it was so hard to calm him down and they had him trying everything they could. He said the vibes coming off this poor animal were not good,he didn't have his mental capabilities you could tell. They had to euthanize him because he was so bad that he had maggots(there were flies all around him) on his body,the hoofs were rotting. He was so malnourished they were shocked he was standing and he couldn't walk. It was a couple who had kids. They are since then on a wanted list and if ever found they will be coming back here for criminal charges. I don't know how someone could do this.

We were passing the house one time ages ago and it was for sale...and he told me why he could never buy it because of what he saw that day. And he has seen some pretty awful things when he did search and rescue. He can sense energy and the feeling he got from that horse and the pain he could feel coming off him had him so angry that someone could do that.
I would imagine that anyone who saw that poor animal would like 5 min w that couple when they are found....and we have 4H clubs that you can donate to here and of course shelters.

I also was thinking that some day if they come across this couple and find out that only one is at fault just imagine how the other is going to feel...not to mention the kids.