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People Hurt By Economy Giving Up Pets

Tribune photo by JAY CONNER

Sam's owners surrendered him to the Humane Society of Pinellas County because they said they could no longer afford to keep him.

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By PHILIP MORGAN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 5, 2008

CLEARWATER - Sam, a rust-colored boxer-pit bull mix, sniffs around the exercise yard, keeping his distance.

Finally, he works his way over to the visitor and accepts a rub on the back. His head stays down, but doleful eyes peer up.

Sam is trying to adjust to life at the Humane Society of Pinellas County. His owners gave him up because they could no longer afford to care for him. Like thousands of pets around the country, Sam became a silent victim of the nation's economic woes.

"He's fairly new. He's not quite sure about the whole situation yet," says staff member Cheryl Bostwick. "He's coming around really fast for being shy. I'm really proud of him."

The number of pets given up to the shelter because their owners ran into financial problems jumped by 25 percent in a year, says Suzanne Sakal, the society's development director. But these pets are lucky compared with some; the shelter will keep them until they're adopted.

So the staff works with the pets to make them act more appealing. That's not so easy sometimes for an animal suddenly separated from lifelong companions and predictable routines. Pets grieve, just like people, and faced with a situation that many people would have a hard time understanding, one would expect an animal to be confused and afraid.

Bostwick wants Sam to be more outgoing. Honey, a sheltie-chow mix, could use a little public relations work, too. A resident for less than a month, she barks at strangers approaching her cage. Later, in the exercise yard, she, too, allows an unfamiliar hand to stroke her thick fur.

It's hard to see why Mittens has been here since January. The black cat, whose white upper lip gives her a charming little milk moustache, sweetly nuzzles a visitor's hand.

Throughout the Tampa Bay area, animal shelters and rescuers are seeing a lot of new tenants. Some are victims of the foreclosure crisis that has hit Florida particularly hard. Others come from families struggling to pay their bills in the face of job losses and rising prices.

"We've definitely had a number of calls for people in the community looking for a place to put their dogs or cats because of the mortgage crisis," says Sharon Espinola of St. Francis Society in Tampa, which rescues cats and dogs and places them in foster homes until they can be adopted.

Espinola took in two cats over the holidays late last year. A man who had become homeless and was living out of his car had to give them up.

The economy has delivered a triple blow to rescue organizations such as St. Francis, she says. "Surrenders are up, adoption numbers are down, and so are our donations."

The Humane Society of Tampa Bay, also a no-kill facility, takes in only those animals it can find homes for, and the waiting list is long, says director Sherry Silk. It's getting about 20 percent more calls from people who say they've lost their home or can no longer afford to care for their animals.

Silk's organization has started a food assistance program, offering free dog and cat food to people who are having trouble buying it.

So far, the Pinellas humane society is the only organization in the area that temporarily cares for pets whose owners are trying to get back on their feet, but the program is "stretched to the limits," says Sakal.

Until she found out about the temporary care option, Lynn Martin, 57, spent about five months, off and on, living in her pickup truck with her four dogs, she says. Her graying Boston terriers, Buddy and Pitsala, have been with her 11 years. Her pugs, Popychewlo and Bupkis, are 2 and 4 years old.

Martin, a paralegal, suffered a heart attack in May 2007 and resigned from her job at a law firm during the six months she was recovering. She dropped her dogs off at the humane society and is living in a motel, paid for by friends, while she looks for a job. The dogs can stay at the shelter until July 16, at which time she has to retrieve the animals or surrender them for adoption.

"Maybe in someone else's circumstances, they'd have to surrender the dogs. But if I have to pick them up and live in that truck, that's what I will do. I'm not willing to give up my dogs under any circumstances."

On a recent Friday, she played with her pets in a visitation yard at the shelter. She comes to see them for an hour once a week. The shelter staff asks pet owners to limit their visits so the animals can more easily adapt to a new life in case they have to be surrendered.

"I'll be hysterical on the way home," she says, as Buddy, eager for attention, props his front paws on her legs. "I cry every day."

Florida is second in the nation in foreclosure filings. Read about the people and communities affected, and check your neighborhood in our database of foreclosed properties at TBO.com, keyword: Foreclosure.

Reporter Philip Morgan can be reached at (813) 259-7609 or pmorgan@tampatrib.com.

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