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Mar. 13, 2008
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OVERWHELMING SITUATION: INNOCENT VICTIMS

Animal shelters full of pets that are abandoned during home foreclosures

By SONYA PADGETT
REVIEW-JOURNAL

PETS AND APARTMENTS

When people lose their homes to foreclosure and give up their pets, it’s usually for two reasons: They can’t afford the cost of the pet’s upkeep or they’re moving into an apartment that restricts pet owners, says Doug Duke, executive director of the Nevada SPCA.

Most apartments in Las Vegas require a larger security deposit and sometimes an extra amount of rent from renters with pets, he says. That can be as much as a $400 deposit for one animal and an extra $25 a month in rent. Costs vary but it adds up and can present a problem for a person already in a financial crisis.

Sometimes, apartment managers don’t allow certain breeds or larger pets.

For those facing such circumstances, Duke recommends holding on to your pet as long as possible or ask for help from family and friends. If you may have to give up the pet later, make sure its vaccinations are updated and it’s spayed or neutered before it comes to that, he adds.

For those moving into an apartment who want to keep their pet, Duke advises writing a pet resume and presenting it to the property management. It helps to humanize the animal and shows you as a responsible pet owner, he says.

“It seems crazy but it’s not. Get a resume together for your dog (or cat). Mention they’re up to date on shots, that they’re microchipped. Talk about how long they’ve lived with you,” Duke says. “You’re personalizing an animal so the landlord is making a decision about Fluffy instead of a pit bull.”

REVIEW-JOURNAL

Malcolm the cat enjoys a back scratch from Patty Moore, cat supervisor at the Nevada SPCA. Malcolm, 3, was abandoned by his family after the house they were renting went into foreclosure. He and another cat were brought in by the landlord in a Tupperware box with no air vents.
Photos by Sara Tramiel/Review-Journal.

Houdini, a 3-month-old Vietnamese pot-bellied pig, gets a treat while feline friends eat behind him at the Nevada SPCA. Houdini is a victim of Nevada’s foreclosure crisis.

Pepper, a 5-year-old male German shepherd mix, gets some love from Kay Ventura, animal care attendant/adoption counselor, at the Nevada SPCA. Pepper is a victim of Nevada’s foreclosure crisis, a problem that shelter employees say is escalating every week.

Malcolm, above, and Mattie share a perch at the Nevada SPCA. The shelter is receiving hundreds of calls a month from people who are expecting to lose their houses to foreclosure, says director Doug Duke.

Under other circumstances, it might be a funny anecdote: A man walks through the door with 10 rabbits in his arms, hands them over to Doug Duke then walks out.

But it wasn't the Easter bunny delivering those rabbits to the Nevada Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in February; it was a man who lost his house to foreclosure, leaving his pets to an uncertain future at an animal shelter already overwhelmed with forsaken pets.

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While local pet owners have long been giving up their animals when they move, the housing crunch has contributed to an alarming increase in what many have dubbed "foreclosure pets." And Las Vegas facilities are overwhelmed with them, animal rescue and shelter representatives say.

"It is the No. 1 way we're getting animals right now," says Duke, the executive director of the Nevada SPCA. "We've really noticed it in the last three months and it seems to be escalating on a weekly basis."

Duke says the SPCA has received a goose, ducks, numerous chickens, rabbits, guinea pigs, a potbellied pig and ferrets recently. Cats and dogs make up the majority of the foreclosure pets, though.

It's hard to keep track of the numbers because the shelter receives so many calls, Duke adds, but he estimates 150 animals a month are coming in because their owners give them up or leave them behind when they lose their homes. Las Vegas is among the leaders in the nation in foreclosures.

Prudential Americana real estate agent Linda Pelaez has a reputation as a problem solver. When other agents go into a foreclosed home and find an abandoned pet, they call her because she knows what to do. Lately, her usual solution -- to call the Las Vegas Humane Society for help -- isn't working.

"All of the shelters, all of the resources we'd normally go to are maxed out," says Pelaez, who has been in local real estate for six years. "Before, I was able to get assistance with these organizations."

In the past few months, three or four agents have contacted her because they had listed foreclosed homes where cats and dogs were found abandoned. It's becoming so frequent that agents are naming the animals after the streets they're found on, she says. One cat, McWilliams, is still living outside the empty house where it was found on McWilliams Avenue; neighbors are feeding it.

Recently, a homeowner called her to report a dog chained to a tree stump in the backyard. Because it was still considered private property, Pelaez couldn't go in to the house and help; she had to call animal control. The protocol is for the agency to leave a notice that the animal will be taken from the home in 24 hours, Pelaez says, which can be the difference between life and death for a pet that's starving or dying of thirst.

"One agent even found fish abandoned, left there to die," Pelaez says. "I don't know what chance fish have to survive on their own."

Once a house has been foreclosed, it can take at least a week for an agent to come to the property to inspect it. If animals have been left behind, they can die, she adds.

"We're getting overwhelmed by them, to tell the truth," Las Vegas Humane Society president Karen Layne says of foreclosure pets. Instead of a shelter, the Humane Society relies on volunteers to foster pets while they await adoption. Right now, they're full.

"Somebody called me, said: 'This guy's got a pit bull, unneutered. He's losing his house and wants to get rid of the dog,' " Layne says. "Another guy found a cat inside his garage; it was fixed and declawed. That's obviously someone's pet."

Layne and other volunteers are encountering what they say is an unusual number of rescued animals with microchips. When they contact the owner on the chip, they discover that person is no longer at the residence or the phone number has been disconnected. While they don't know for sure, Layne says she thinks those animals are foreclosure pets.

Duke says his staff also is hearing reports of real estate agents going into homes and finding dead pets.

Calls come in daily from people who expect to lose their homes this spring and summer, he adds. They want advice on what to do with their animals.

"A lot of these people are in tears, their souls are crushed, their hearts are broken," Duke says. "It reminds me of the Iraq war when people were coming in here because they didn't know if they would be coming home. We see this every day. "

The majority of people who call say they have to find new homes for their pets because they're either moving out of state or into an apartment that doesn't allow pets, Duke says.

"The calls we get from people who expect to lose their homes, they don't want to lose their animals. At least they're working on finding the animals a safe solution," Duke says.

Contact reporter Sonya Padgett at spadgett@reviewjournal.com or (702) 380-4564.

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Please enter your name Name: Please enter your email Email: Please enter a comment COMMENTS : (word count limit is 300) You have reached the maximum number of words allowed Current Word Count: TRUTH BE TOLD wrote on April 13, 2008 01:44 PM: I thought everyone should be aware what the pounds are passing up wonderful homes when people are ready to choose a certain animal while visiting the pound. This is not related to giving the owners thier time to find their pet sitting in the pound. I wanted to purchase a kitten my questions about the nails and ruining my furniture was a concern. I asked Duewy animal shelter in las vegas about declawing. I was not familier of the process during that time but inquired about it. The shelter was over packed with cats roming all over the room and they declined my home because of my question. I would have provided a wonderful life for the pet. I went to lead animal shelter in LV and saw a beautiful kitten with blue eyes. The lady said you can't take that one until tomorrow when it goes up for adoption . I explained I had court and willing to pay $100.00 now. My shift just ended and I'm not allowed to work after the clock. Then you wonder how many more animals could have had homes while employees of the shelter are making matters harder than needed and homes are being passed up. The animals are killed instead of just letting the kitten go a day early or if you had to stay over 15 min for the life of the animal than just do it. Or it's time to find another job! Why don't you pass up another good home because you have to clock out. bridget wrote on April 13, 2008 01:27 PM: Instead of making reasponsible loving owners spay or nuter their animals, your allowing the problem to continue by taking in the litter without making that owner bring in the male and female mom and dad to spay and of course these are the people who are flooding the pounds. If you make inocent people spay their dogs then you better go after shutting down the pet stores or making them nuter and spay all the dogs so buyers like myself don't spend $2,000 before the law was in effect and take my rights from me 4 years later. Animal control has their laws backwards punishes the wrong people, while litters are brought to the shelter taken in without any penalty and their animals continue to create another cycle 5 more times per pet during the life of the pet because your taking in the puppies. You forgot to force the owners to nuter or spay their mother and father to the litter they just dumped off. MattS wrote on March 14, 2008 05:19 PM: Ms Padgett: Exactly when would a person abandoning ten rabbits to an animal shelter be "funny." The fact is that most animals that go into animal shelters do not find homes and are put to death by lethal injection. Exactly when is that "funny." denise wrote on March 14, 2008 10:53 AM: I know Nevada SPCA is feeling the crunch and they are very good at taking care of animals and not putting them down, like other shelters. There are other avenues to aide these pets in finding homes, and that is the rescues that are ready always to take in another. Please try them. Thank You. monicas wrote on March 13, 2008 06:35 PM: Many dogs abandoned in this foreclosure crisis are dogs that are kept perpetually chained in the yards of their owners. Better these poor, lonely, parasite-ridden dogs meet a quick death at a shelter than to have spent 10 years at the end of a chain. Learn why chaining dogs for their lives is one of the most overlooked animal welfare issues out there: www.dogsdeservebetter.org Dee wrote on March 13, 2008 04:17 PM: Thanks so much, Dennis, for capitalizing on the market and not reinvesting your dollars in your local economy on another home. Way to contribute to society and be trailer trash. m wrote on March 13, 2008 09:36 AM: Wow Dennis we are all so impressed with you. You found a place to brag. Why don't you take a pet with you? I'd like to take more but unfortunately I'm maxed out at three. DennisL wrote on March 13, 2008 06:26 AM: We sold our home before the market started going down and can sit back in our fifth wheel and full time RV and watch what is happening to people and pets who have been displaced by the housing crisis. But I don't feel comfortable. I am sad. I am also mad at the mortgage bankers who helped cause this. Greed and moore greed and will we learn our lesson from this? I think not. How sad for the people and the animals....