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Wow...we were watching the news last night,(Michigan) and they had how the recession is having an impact on the animals and shelters. They Took 20 small dogs from ONE house...They ranged from Chiuahuas (sp) and daschunds ect. And the family kept 5. They stated they are going to be ready today to be adopted. I believe they said they have a waiting list of families that called in for the shelter to take their dogs due to not being able to care for them, or losing their homes and moving. ect. If you or anyone is looking for animals...maybe we need to consider starting at the shelters. That story broke my heart, especially when they showed pictures.
Is it like this in your area?
I heard of a similar situation around here. A couple had collected a lot of animals, but then when they lost their house due to foreclosure, they had to re-home all of them.
Surrenders and strays are up all over the country due to foreclosures and hard times. It's very sad for some owners who can't take the pet to the new-and cheaper-apartment and have nothing else to do.
It's a very sad situation. Most apartments don't allow dogs. Also, some pets end up at shelters due to their owners going into an elderly care facility. That's how I ended up with my rat terrier.
On a side note, I've asked my tenant to find another place to live. I've given him up to a year to move (he's welcome to move sooner). Part of the reason is I can't stand his dog. He keeps letting run around loose. It's time for him to find a condo to buy or something. He's about 50 years old, like me.
I would always consider shelter dogs first. I've had wonderful dogs, and the added pleasure of giving a dog a home who needs and wants one.
Petfinder.com is a marvelous resource for searching shelters and rescues for just what kind of dog you might want, what special needs he might have, if any (can't live with cats or whatever). I think adoption has soared since petfinder. I know I couldn't have stepped into a shelter, but can happily search for a dog and go to that shelter.
Depending on where you live, there might or might not be puppies available. In Massachusetts, spaying and neutering has been so successful that there are rarely puppies for adoption. One shelter, Sterling, brings litters up from the South and imports puppies from Puerto Rico, since people want to adopt puppies often.
My puppy days are over, but I think it's a great way to find your next best friend(s).
There are senior-only dog adoption places and people, and they are often small dogs (a lot of seniors want small dogs, or their housing insists on it).
The shelters I know are not in the business of making bad placements. They want to see the animal get a good home and a good match. No one wins if the animal is adopted out and returned, so most are quite careful with placement.
I'm in Massachusetts. Almost all the dogs in shelters around here come up from the South. I see a lot of puppy brokers trying to sell dogs on craigslist. These people bring puppies up illegally from the South and try to sell them. They disguise themselves as rescues or have some sort of sob story about where the dogs come from in order to trick people into buying them.
Last edited by Woof Woof Woof!; 02-07-2009 at 02:11 PM..
I read some posts on the Boston craigslist about one puppy broker that tries to get all the free or cheap puppies and cute little dogs to resell.
I know of one woman that gets puppies for $25 each from a shelter in NC, pays for someone to keep in them in their home for short time to make sure they don't have Parvo, then she pays a guy to transport them up to MA, where she rehomes them, charging a fee to their new owners.
The NC shelter I got Bandit from gets visited once or twice a month by a NJ rescue group who takes all the puppies they have available to rehome. They get the puppies for free... so it's quite a money making racket for these rescue groups.
It is very sad around here, there are soooo many unwanted and mistreated dogs! Sickening. The shelters put most down. Only 3% get adopted.
They showed on CNN this morning, a shelter in Massachusetes that is closing its doors in a few days. They have no money to keep it open, 12 workers will lose their jobs there. They are trying to get as many animals out as they can.
Yes, our rescue now has a waiting list of dogs needing to come into our program. We recently rescued over 2 dozen dogs in terrible condition from a BYB who couldn't afford to care for them any longer.
The MSPCA, the largest animal welfare organization in Massachusetts, just announced that they are closing three shelters, two of which are in economically challenged areas, due to the need for cost reductions as a result of the economy. These shelters handle over 11,000 animals a year and these animals are NOT imported from down south. (There are several reputable rescue groups in the Boston area that do import dogs, but most do not.)
It is scary to imagine what will happen to the animals that would have been housed and cared for by these shelters. Other rescue groups and municipal shelters are hurting too, and it is hard to imagine that they will be able to handle that many additional animals. Cities and towns won't be able to fund shelters when there are families and children who need help. We can expect to see more feral cats and hungry dogs in our cities and towns. Animals will be dumped by the roadsides in increasing numbers to die of starvation, disease and exposure to the elements, or become targets for bored youth. Low-cost spay/neuter clinics will lose funding and have to limit their services. Spay neuter rates will drop. More unwanted litters will be born. It will be ugly.
If there is an adopter in the northeast for a dog in a kill shelter in the South, everyone wins. Most rescues aren't in the business of making money nor are they rackets. Yes, there are some bad rescues, but there is a cost to transporting dogs, vetting them and neutering them. Massachusetts requires 48 hours of isolation in a certified facility for every dog imported from out of state. There's a cost to this that most people don't realize. Deal with a rescue that is a 501(c)(3) and check their audited financial statements so you can see where their money is spent, or support your local municipal shelter. But don't refuse to support a good rescue or shelter just because there are bad ones out there.
IMO, in this environment, in this economy, knowing what we know, it would be unconscionable for anyone who says they love animals to go to a breeder or a pet store to get an animal.
If you have a local shelter, call them and ask what you can do.
Donate what you can.
This is a critical time when every penny will help save a life -- or at least provide a good and humane death.
Last edited by leorah; 02-07-2009 at 03:08 PM..
Reason: added stuff
I'm about an hour away from the Hartford Dog Pound. I've been taking up a collection of blankets and pillows. Someone just dropped off another enormous trash bag full today! I have an entire car trunk FULL of blankets and towels that I'm bringing in next week. There's LOTS of people out there with big hearts who really want to help. It's little things like this that really give me hope. And it helps me heal from my own loss.
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