The Forgotten Victims of the Foreclosure Crisis

Losing your home to foreclosure is bad. But losing your home to foreclosure AND having to give up your family pet? Sounds like rock bottom to me.

I'm a dog person, through and through. My sweet pup, Crash Davis (named after Kevin Costner in Bull Durham), is the best little guy ever. Like most any dog-, cat-, bird-, snake-, horse-, or turtle-person, there are few things that would tear me away from my hyperactive, slobbery, goofy, and oh-so-lovable dog.

That's why it was so upsetting to learn that dogs, cats, and other pets are becoming the forgotten victims of the foreclosure-turned-economic crisis, according to ConsumerReports.com.

"We've been hit really hard (economically)," she (Leanne Potter of Bellyrubs Basset Rescue) says. "Tennessee is leading the nation in personal bankruptcies. We're getting a lot more calls from individuals who want to give us their dogs because they're losing their homes."

"With all the foreclosures and job losses, the animals are the final victims," adds Potts, whose organization has rescued 71 dogs this year. That's a 50 percent increase since 2007. "They're the forgotten victims in all of this."

Animal rescue groups and shelters across the country echo Potts' concerns. Many tell ConsumerAffairs.com they've seen an increase in the number of pet owners forced to give up their dogs and cats because of the ailing economy.

"We've seen a lot of that," says Kathy Burkley, executive director of the Humane Society of Westmoreland County in Greensburg, Pennsylvania. "A lot of people are either losing their homes or can't afford their homes."

It's easy to understand why victims of foreclosure and job loss are having to make this heart-breaking decision. Many apartments are not pet-friendly (sadly) and just about every homeless shelter (with a few notable exceptions) do not allow animals. For the humans involved, it becomes a matter of survival.

Desperate times call for very desperate measures, indeed.

Luckily, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is helping animal shelters and rescue organizations handle the increased demand for services since the economy has taken a nosedive:

Earlier this year, the HSUS started a special foreclosure fund to help "establish, expand, or publicize services or programs that assist families in caring for their pets during the current economic crisis."

"We started seeing that pets were getting into trouble as people got into (financial) trouble," Nancy Peterson, manager of the HSUS's Feral Cat Program, told us. "I would say this is a national phenomenon. That doesn't mean every shelter in every community is effected to the same extent, but we know it's happening."

Under the program, animal shelters and rescue groups can apply for grants of up to $2,000.

"So far, we've given out about $80,000 to 46 organizations," Peterson says. "We seeded the grant with $15,000 and now have $105,000 thanks to the generosity of a lot of wonderful people. And we will continue to provide grants as long as we have money."

To learn more about all things animal, check out change.org's Animal Rights blog.