Foreclosures Affect Pets, Too
Increase in abandoned animals linked to economic downturn, officials say
Last updated Sunday, July 6, 2008 6:10 PM CDT in News
By Melissa Sherman
THE MORNING NEWS
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ROGERS — People aren’t the only ones affected by recent foreclosures in Northwest Arkansas — so is Fido.
Animal shelters are seeing an increase in abandoned animals related to the economic downturn. Higher costs to maintain homes and put food on the table also affect what money is available to feed the family pet.
The Bella Vista Animal Shelter receives an average of two to three calls a day from people needing to surrender their pets, said Donna Miles, the shelter’s manager.
Calls include those who say “I can’t keep my pet” to a couple getting a divorce who want to surrender the family pet, Miles said.
During the month of May, Benton County filings for foreclosure totaled 286, up 127 from the same month last year, according to Realtytrac.com. In the first five months of this year, foreclosures have more than doubled — 1,286 filings this year, compared with 540 in 2007.
Washington County’s foreclosure rate in May was up 78 percent — 186 filings compared with 104 a year ago. In the first five months of 2008, foreclosures also increased 78 percent — 769 filings compared with 432 filings in the same period in 2007.
The Bella Vista shelter is a low-kill shelter and has space for roughly 150 animals. The shelter works to place animals in homes — not only locally but around the country — instead of euthanizing them.
The shelter recently worked with a rescue group in Colorado to help place dogs in homes, Miles said. Bella Vista sends pictures and information about the pets to rescue groups that circulate the information. The last transport consisted of 27 dogs from the Bella Vista shelter to Colorado.
The shelter uses Got Orphans, a Little Rock-based transportation company that has converted a recreational vehicle to transport pets to the East Coast, according to their Web site.
Shelters also offer low-cost spay or neuter programs so residents can afford to fix their animals, Miles said. More often than not, shelters receive litters of puppies found abandoned in fields or on the side of the road.
“We live in the Dark Ages in Arkansas,” Miles said, adding pet owners often don’t consider their dog or cat part of the family.
The Rogers Animal Shelter recently has seen an increase in animals surrendered because of rising prices and foreclosures, said James Willett, the director of code management.
Some residents disclosed that they’re moving into apartment complexes which do not allow pets, Willett said.
The shelter verifies why the owner surrenders their animal but does not delve deeply into personal reasons, Willett said.
The shelter can hold 50 dogs, 20 cats and an additional 10 animals in the back building at its Oak Street site.
The Springdale Animal Shelter is euthanizing an average of 60 animals a week because of the increase in abandoned animals related to the economy, said Lindsey Droste, the shelter’s director.
The shelter records if an animal is surrendered by its owner but does not record the reason behind it, Droste said. In the past four months, the shelter has seen an increase in surrendered animals.
The shelter can house 50 dogs and 40 cats, but as of Wednesday, the shelter was holding well more than 95 animals, Droste said.
Many of the animals are found abandoned in a yard or locked in apartments, Droste said. People leave behind their pet because their new place doesn’t allow them, she added.
Droste applied two weeks ago for a $2,500 grant through the Petco Foundation to help cover the increased cost of the shelter related to foreclosure.
The Humane Society of the United States established the Foreclosure Pets Fund, which awards shelters and rescue groups up to $2,000 to assist families or individuals who need financial help to keep their pet, according to the society’s Web site.
The Fayetteville Animal Shelter isn’t experiencing an increase in abandoned animals related to the economy, said Jill Hatfield, the animal services supervisor.
Every spring, the shelter takes in animals abandoned by outgoing college students, but the shelter is used to that type of abandonment, Hatfield said.
The shelter has offered a Pets in Crisis program for 15 years to help people who may be in an abusive relationship, women who have to enter a shelter, those who have a fire in the home or people trying to find a new home. The shelter will take in a pet under the program for 10 days at no cost, Hatfield said.
Clay Morgan, the director of the Rogers Humane Society, said it’s “that time of the year” when adoptions are slow because people are out of town on vacation.
“A lot of the animals you get, you don’t know why they’re left behind,” Morgan said.
If the pet owner can’t afford pet food, Morgan said he’s always willing to help with a bag of food.
Miles, in Bella Vista, said dog food prices are affordable. The Bella Vista shelter will also help an owner in financial need purchase a bag of food, she added.
Morgan suggested that if people have to leave behind their pet, they should start looking sooner rather than later. It’s harder for the shelter to find homes for older, big dogs, he said.
The Morning News’ Kim Souza contributed to this report.
Web Watch
Search For Pets In Northwest Arkansas
www.petfinder.com
Humane Society Of The United States
www.hsus.org
At A Glance
Northwest Arkansas Animal Shelters
• Bella Vista, 33 Bella Vista Way, 855-6020
• Good Shepherd Humane Society Inc., 6486 US. 62, Eureka Springs, 253-9188
• Homeward Bound K-9s, Garfield, 531-1674
• Humane Society of the Ozarks, 413 N. College Ave., Fayetteville, 444-7387
• Lone Pine Ranch Animal Shelter, 916 W. Centerton Blvd.
• Madison County Pet Shelter, 2075 Madison County 6555, 738-1505
• Rogers Animal Shelter, 2935 W. Oak St., 621-1197
• Rogers Humane Society, 407 E. Nursery Road, 636-3703
• Siloam Springs Animal Services, 200-A N. Lincoln St., 524-6535
• Springdale Animal Shelter, 321 W. Randall Wobbe Lane, 750-8166
• Fayetteville Animal Shelter, 1640 S. Armstrong Ave., 444-34560
Source: Staff Report
Reader Comments (2 comment(s))
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pam wrote on Jul 7, 2008 5:20 AM:
Not already registered?
Westcoast Hawg wrote on Jul 7, 2008 1:19 AM:
of Northwest Arkansas are taking these
animals in during the tough financial
times of home foreclosures. "