With the faltering US economy and home foreclosures at a high the situation in some parts of the United States is dire. People are being forced out on the streets with nowhere to go. A consequence of this is that the animal rescues and shelters are being overrun with animals, as people who have lost their homes are forced to give up their pets. With most people preferring to turn their animals over to no-kill shelters, some are at or beyond capacity and are being forced to turn dogs and cats away, leaving local animal shelters as the only option. Most local shelters euthanize when they have run out of space.

In just one animal shelter in Georgia, Henry County Animal Care and Control, their intake of pets was up seventy one percent in the first four months of 2008, with other shelters also reporting a severe increase. To help with the cost of the extra animals, the Humane Society has stepped in. According to an article in the New York Times,

The Humane Society recently started a foreclosure fund, which offers grants of $500 to $2,000 to help nonprofit animal rescue groups weather the crisis. Since late March, when the fund was announced, 133 groups have applied for aid and 11 have been given grants.

In the same article Ms. Dueringer, who is the director of the Henry County shelter, points out that the situation is not just stressful to those giving up the animals, but also to staff at the shelters. “You pick up the young, adult, healthy dog and its only crime is that it’s alive. And you have to put it to sleep. It’s torturous to staff. It’s heartbreaking.”

As an animal lover myself who has rescued several birds and has a house full of animals, I can only imagine how horrible it must be to have to give up your beloved pets because you have nowhere to live or you are renting somewhere that doesn’t allow pets. It is an aspect of the epidemic of foreclosures that I had never really thought of. These poor people are not only losing their homes but have to give up family members that they know are most likely going to be euthanized.

I am wondering if there is anything that shelters in other parts of the country can do. While it is great the Humane Society is helping out, there isn’t much that can be done if a shelter simply runs out of space. If shelters in other States maybe pitched in and helped by taking some of the animals it would relieve some of the heartache of those having to give up their pets and would give the animals a fighting chance.