Foreclosed Pets

As most of us know, the economy isn't in a happy place right now and many people are being hit hard. Lots of people are being faced with foreclosure.

BUT what a lot of people don't know is that the animals of these families are not faring so well.

What is happening is not only are people abandoning their homes, they're leaving their animals behind, too.

Real estate agents have come to prepare themselves to be shocked.

“You just pray that there’s nothing in there,” said Strobel, a real estate agent in Lakewood, Colo. Strobel has even begun to bring pet food and supplies to work with her.

Some pet owners have brought their pets to shelters, but unfortunately, that's not solving the problem.

No-kill shelters are having to turn pets away due to overcrowding and other shelters are having to euthanize.

Metro Animal Control shelter in Nashville, Tenn., is so overcrowded that it is euthanizing 30 to 50 animals every day, six days a week.

Some cities are filing criminal charges against owners who are abandoning their pets.

Please, please, PLEASE understand what it is to be a pet owner. Pets are not just cute, fun little pals, well, they are, but they cost money! You have to be responsible for an innocent, defenseless being. Please don't take that lightly. And always consider adoption. But Katherine, you have a pure bred golden retriever, true, but we adopted my Ranger man through a rescue group and he is the most fantastic pet EVER. Check out shelters, talk to rescue groups, petfinder.com has any pet you could imagine!

Okay, I'm done.

Love each other, the world, and yourselves!