Pets Suffer From the Oil Spill, Too

Over on the Environment blog, Marah Hardt's Voices From the Gulf series has highlighted how hard the oil spill has hit the people who live and work in the areas affected by the disaster. Between the fishing industry, and all of its related jobs, and the tourism industry, the economy is suffering along the Gulf coast. It's an area that was already feeling the weight of the weak economy, that never fully recovered from the impact of Hurricane Katrina.

At Plaquemines Parish Animal Welfare Society in Louisiana, the shelter is full and the waiting list is 20 percent longer than it was before the spill. Shelter director Jacob Stroman says out-of-work fisherman are struggling to support their families and reluctantly choosing to give up their pets. "We want to help as much as we can, and brace our self for the future because it's probably only going to get worse."

With everyone's attention on what's happening offshore, the inland animal victims of the oil spill have been largely ignored by the media and relief groups. Dogs and cats in shelters are nothing new, and it's hard for them to compete with the heartwrenching photos and headlines focused on the oil-filled dolphins, coated pelicans, and dead endangered sea turtles washing ashore. But just because pets aren't in danger of ingesting the toxic oil doesn't mean that their lives aren't at risk.

John Woestendiek at the Ohmidog! blog writes about a shelter in the New Orleans area:

This one statistic pretty much sums it up: The St. Bernard Parish animal shelter took in 60 dogs in May 2009; this May it saw 288 come in, many of them surrendered by owners who, having at least temporarily lost their livelihoods to the oil spill, said they could no longer afford to provide care for their dogs.

It's easy to assume that the people turning their pets into shelters saw their pets as disposable anyway, but it's not that simple. When people don't know where their next paycheck is coming from, or how they'll feed their families, pet food and vet care often end up on the list of expenses that could be cut to get by. For some people (including most, if not all, of the readers of this blog), it's inconceivable to ever give up their pets. No doubt some of the people who are dropping off their pets at Gulf area shelters once held that belief before they lost everything. Some people turn in their animals in the hopes that there's someone else out there with the means to provide them with better care. Whatever their reasoning, when times get tough, it means trouble for pets.

The Humane Society of the United States heard of the inland animals suffering in Plaquemines Parish and St. Bernard Parish. They coordinated a shipment of pet food to the area, specifically designated to help fishermen and others directly impacted by the spill. With a driver's license to show residency and documentation to prove they work in the fishing industry, pet owners can pick up a bag of free food. The hope is that these donations will help keep pets with their families. Because the last thing anyone needs when they've hit a rough patch is an uncertain future for one of their family members, and the last thing the Gulf coast communities need right now is more homeless animals.

Photo credit: laffy4k