Economy Blamed for Pet Abandonment

The number of animals being dropped off at shelters this month has skyrocketed to more than 1,200.

Officials speculate the bad economy is playing a role.

More:
http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080627/NEWS/80627083


Oh yes, my beloved local paper. The Tennessean. :rolleyes:

I take everything written in that piece of crap paper with a grain of salt but I do believe this to be true.

I see this in my own neighborhood. People losing their homes and leaving pets behind. We have a kennel for beagles and sometimes we get phone calls from shelters asking us if we can adopt these beagles, its sad to say no, knowing they will die.
 
Such a dreadful shame people aren't treating their pets as members of the family. :(
 
Oh yes, my beloved local paper. The Tennessean. :rolleyes:

I take everything written in that piece of crap paper with a grain of salt but I do believe this to be true.

I see this in my own neighborhood. People losing their homes and leaving pets behind. We have a kennel for beagles and sometimes we get phone calls from shelters asking us if we can adopt these beagles, its sad to say no, knowing they will die.

Thank you for all you do for beagles, pixies. :blowkiss:
 
Thank you for all you do for beagles, pixies. :blowkiss:


I second that Floh ~ I have 2 beagles right here next to me, snoring like old men. I love my little ladies. :blowkiss:
 
I second that Floh ~ I have 2 beagles right here next to me, snoring like old men. I love my little ladies. :blowkiss:


We have lots of beagles, it all started with my daughter (who was 9) and my dad wanting to breed beagles to sell them, well after buying the momma dog and the papa dog for 500 bucks each, we had puppies. My dad and my daughter fell in love with the puppies and kept every single one. They are all "fixed" and live in a building that is nicer than my house with an acre to run.
SPOILED!!

I also have a rescue collie/beagle mix. She is the weirdest looking puppy ever but I love her!
 
This disgusts me. I have 1 dog.. I have had hard times lately.. and lived off spaghetti o's. However.. you better believe I still paid for dog food. I could never abandon my dog. He is like my child..
 
My dogs are like my children too. I have two beagles (one was abandoned in our neighborhood about a month ago), a golden retriever (rescued from the animal shelter, owners had almost starved him to death and there will be a trial) and a miniature dachshund puppy.

They should at least call the humane society if they can't afford to feed them.
 
This is heartbreaking.
What must all those puppers be thinking now? :(
Poor babies.
 
There is on way on God's green earth that I would abandon my two dogs. You can bet your bottom dollar (or my bottom dollar) that if I only had money for one burger, it would be split three ways!!! They are my babies. They give me so much love and ask for so little in return.
 
We only have two guinea pigs and when money was flowing in...I never thought about their upkeep. When the budget tightened I started keeping track of how much we spent on their care! I was amazed. They are like our children though, so they won't be affected of course.

I feel sorry for large animal owners (horses, etc) because I know the cost of just hay has increased a lot. :(
 
We only have two guinea pigs and when money was flowing in...I never thought about their upkeep. When the budget tightened I started keeping track of how much we spent on their care! I was amazed. They are like our children though, so they won't be affected of course.

I feel sorry for large animal owners (horses, etc) because I know the cost of just hay has increased a lot. :(

Well since I can't afford gas to buy for my lawn mower maybe I can borrow someone's horse or goat to eat my lawn.
 
That is awful. I guess it is more humane to drop them off at the shelter than to just dump them out in the country where they will starve to death, but I would never do that to my dogs and cat. If times got real tight, I might buy them a cheaper brand of food if need be, but I could never give them up- anymore than I could give up my kids.
 
When I hit bad times financially I pawned our playstation 2 with all the games we had and my beloved guitar and I spent all the money on cat food to ensure I would not be in that situation for at least awhile. They are like my children and there is simply no way, no how, under ANY cirumstances would I ever abandoned them or give them away. You could come knock on my door right now and offer me a million dollars for my cats and I would laugh at you - THEY ARE PRICELESS.

The decision to have a pet is 10-20 year committment which may require you to make sacrifices to ensure they are cared for. They are not accessories and they are not disposable when times get rough. I just cannot understand that mentality. It sickens me. There has been a cat in our neighborhood lately living on the sidewalk and I have been feeding her and worrying about her and the other day a kid came up to me and told me that it was his cat but they got a dog and the cat hissed at it so his mom threw her out. Now she is starving - she eats so fast when I feed her she throws up, she is skin and bones, she probably isn't fixed and will get pregnant very shortly. That selfish woman could not even be bothered to take the cat to a shelter where she might have a chance and would at least be fed.

It is a vicious cycle perpetrated by selfish people(TONS of them) who view animals as accessories and the minute that animal becomes an inconvenience they have no qualms about throwing it out because they have failed to realize animals are emotional creatures too with the capacity to create and maintain a special bond with humans if the environment they live in is conducive.

Don't get me wrong - I understand financial hardships and it would be especially difficult if you owned horses because of the cost but you gotta figure something out. That person made a commitment to that animal when they purchased it. At the very least the owner owes that animal the respect to spend the time and puttng the thought into finding the animal a good, loving home with people who can care for it.

I also fail to understand people who have to evacuate because of floods, fires, hurricanes, etc and just leave their animals behind. There was a bit on the news the other night about all the animals who have been abandoned in the midwest because of people fleeing the flooding and just leaving their pets behind. The guy from the shelter being interviewed was holding two 3month old Lab puppies someone had just left with no food for days.

It is a very difficult world to live in if you are an animal lover.

Edited to add: I used the pro-noun 'you' generally. I was not addressing anyone in particular....just venting.
 
Back in the past dogs just ate table scraps--I know some people might have to leave pets behind because they have to move in with relatives or other housing and can't take their pets, but I think a lot of people who abandon their pets are just selfish.

Our oldest cat was left behind in a move (we think) when times were good. She is by far the smartest, most people-sensitive cat we've ever had. Somebody else's stupidity was our gain and our blessing.
 
I also fail to understand people who have to evacuate because of floods, fires, hurricanes, etc and just leave their animals behind. There was a bit on the news the other night about all the animals who have been abandoned in the midwest because of people fleeing the flooding and just leaving their pets behind.

Part of it (not all, by all means) is that when neighbourhoods are evacuated, the emergency personnel tell the residents anything that will get them to leave. They'll tell people "sure, you'll be allowed to come back to get your cats" if that is what it takes to get that person out of there. If the person acts like they're hesitating, they scream at them and threaten to arrest them. If the person asks them to make sure their pets get out, they'll promise anything to get that person out of danger.

I can understand that--from the point of view of the police or sheriff's deputies, it is an emergency situation and whatever they have to do to get people out of immediate danger, they do.

The police or deputies are going from door to door, yelling at people to get out NOWNOWNOW! People get flustered because even though they usually knew there was a risk, they were still hoping it wouldn't happen. Most of those people have never had any significant contact with law enforcement in their lives and most people are heavily conditioned to obey authority (see the Milgram experiments).

It's a tough, scary situation to be in. I honestly believe that until someone is placed in that situation, they really and truly do not know how they will react. No pet owner wants to think they would leave their pets behind! But until they're in the situation, they don't understand all the forces at work. It's scary, chaotic and confusing.
 
Living in a State park I see this all the time.. You would be amazed at how many people think its a great place to drop off no longer wanted pets!

I can't say I have seen an increase yet.. Buuuut I am sure its coming.


As for the comment about people leaving pets behind during a hurricane ...
I have never had to but I can imagine a situation like Katrina in NOLA where people did not know how bad it was going to get and once the waters starting rising they had no choice but to save human lives first.
 
Part of it (not all, by all means) is that when neighbourhoods are evacuated, the emergency personnel tell the residents anything that will get them to leave. They'll tell people "sure, you'll be allowed to come back to get your cats" if that is what it takes to get that person out of there. If the person acts like they're hesitating, they scream at them and threaten to arrest them. If the person asks them to make sure their pets get out, they'll promise anything to get that person out of danger.

I can understand that--from the point of view of the police or sheriff's deputies, it is an emergency situation and whatever they have to do to get people out of immediate danger, they do.

The police or deputies are going from door to door, yelling at people to get out NOWNOWNOW! People get flustered because even though they usually knew there was a risk, they were still hoping it wouldn't happen. Most of those people have never had any significant contact with law enforcement in their lives and most people are heavily conditioned to obey authority (see the Milgram experiments).

It's a tough, scary situation to be in. I honestly believe that until someone is placed in that situation, they really and truly do not know how they will react. No pet owner wants to think they would leave their pets behind! But until they're in the situation, they don't understand all the forces at work. It's scary, chaotic and confusing.

Welcome to websleuths! This is a great post. I also wanted to add that when people are evacuated and sent to emergency shelters, most shelters do not accept pets. I can't imagine how heartbreaking it must be to be separated from your beloved pets during an emergency.
 
Welcome to websleuths! This is a great post. I also wanted to add that when people are evacuated and sent to emergency shelters, most shelters do not accept pets. I can't imagine how heartbreaking it must be to be separated from your beloved pets during an emergency.

Thank you for the welcome.

Several years ago, friends of mine were evacuated in the middle of the night because of a flash flood. The deputy told them that he would make sure their dog was okay but they had to go NOW.

They were sick when they found out that the deputy didn't do anything to save their dog. They never saw her again and don't know what happened to her.

I can see the deputy's point of view--it was an emergency, the flooding was not expected and they had to get all the people in this little hollow out ASAP. He didn't have time to stop and argue with people, he had to get them to leave and get out himself.

But it was a terrible heartbreak when they realised that their beloved dog had probably drowned.
 
Thank you for the welcome.

Several years ago, friends of mine were evacuated in the middle of the night because of a flash flood. The deputy told them that he would make sure their dog was okay but they had to go NOW.

They were sick when they found out that the deputy didn't do anything to save their dog. They never saw her again and don't know what happened to her.

I can see the deputy's point of view--it was an emergency, the flooding was not expected and they had to get all the people in this little hollow out ASAP. He didn't have time to stop and argue with people, he had to get them to leave and get out himself.

But it was a terrible heartbreak when they realised that their beloved dog had probably drowned.

That is an awful thing to go through but in that type of life or death situation, those in charge of rescuing as many people as possible simply have no choice.
 

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