Pets and Foreclosure

Posted on August 11th, 2008 by saman

Every day, we hear about more home foreclosures across the U.S because of the negative effects of subprime mortgages. With all of the foreclosure bad news it’s easy to forget the smaller victims of the mortgage mess, our pets. When a family loses their house to foreclosure, the family pet also loses a home. Though it is obviously tragic when a family loses the home they believed they would spend their lives in but when a family has to lose their beloved pet because of it, well it only makes matters much worse.

There are some people who do not put any thought into the future of their pet when the family home is lost. Some people simply walk away from their home and leave their pet behind. Others simply turn them loose. Since most foreclosures don’t happen immediately it is important to plan on what will happen to your pet since you know you will most likely have to move. You may want to ask friends and family to see if they or someone they know could take in your pet.

There are many animal shelters that will find your pet a foster home. When your pet is placed with a foster home you will be able to visit your pet. At some animal shelters, the shelter will keep a pet for ninety days if your home is going into foreclosure and the homeowner does not have to pay anything. It is the hope of the shelter that the pet and family can be reunited after a period of time. However, a lot of animal shelters do not have the resources and space to do this because they already have a normal load of pets that are put in the shelter.

It can be heartbreaking to know that you will have to give up your beloved pet and best friend due to your foreclosed home. It is not only traumatic for the family but it is also traumatic for the pet. A pet may not understand what’s going on and why its family is leaving it. Since they cannot understand or adjust it is important that they are tended to and not just left or let loose.

You also need to take into account the affect of losing the family pet will have on your children if you happen to have them. Foreclosure is definitely hard on children who may not understand exactly what’s going on and when they have to leave their pet, it can be absolutely heartbreaking. A child will most likely not forget the loss for a while. There is nothing as sad as watching a child cry and cling to their pet as they get dropped off at a shelter.

As more and more families begin to look for apartments to rent, landlords will have to reevaluate their no cats or dogs policy. Families who go through the heart wrenching experience of losing their home need to get back a sense of control and normalcy in their lives. The family needs a place to stay in order to get their lives back together. This includes getting back the family pet. Families who are going through or have gone through foreclosure need compassion and they should receive all the help they can with their lives and their family pets. If this does not happen shelter will be overwhelmed with pets and they will be unable to care for them.