Welcome to Fairfield County CARES
Fairfield County CARES
We are an education and awareness group designed to help residents of Fairfield County and Central Ohio find information and resources available for animals. At the start, the focus will be on dogs, with information on cats and parrots soon to follow. In the future we hope to include information on wild animals (including feral cats and coyotes).
Also, check out our OHIO PET LINKS page and consider adopting a pet from a reputable rescue organization, rather than purchasing a pet from a pet store (motivated by profit and possibly dealing with puppy mills).
Click here for a Pet Adoption Checklist, free from DreamTime Publishing.
(Photo by www.picsbytammy.com)
Rover Cares about the Economy, Too
Janice Phelps Williams
(The following information originally appeared at Open Your Heart with Pets blog at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Used with permission.
While animals teach us much about living in the moment, relaxing, and stopping to smell the roses, or the dirt the roses grow in... the anxieties and practical dilemmas faced by many homeowners today do not go unnoticed by the family pet.
An online news search of "pets" brings up several articles on what happens to family pets when families lose their homes.
In the Kansas City Star:"House foreclosures often victimize family pets"
In the Salem, OH, News Net:"Pets are oft times victims of foreclosures"
In the Chicago Tribune: "Displaced dogs still need digs"
Fall-out not coming immediately to mind in considering this problem. While I was thinking about dress designers missing the advertising opportunity of the Golden Globe Awards, along with florists, caterers, limo drivers and who-knows-what-else in Hollywood, a place I've never visited and have no emotional connection to, there are people in my town losing their homes and having to place "Buster" or "Snowball" or "Rambo" or "Lassie" in an over-crowded shelter because they are losing their home. This, on top of the already over-crowded conditions that occurs in shelters and rescue facilities after the New Year, when pets are returned.
Perhaps those facing foreclosure lost their job, their health, their self-control, their spouse, their youth... As they worried about their prospects they might have taken some comfort in their pet; not seen it as a cost or obligation, but a listening ear, a warm body, a faithful friend. Now they are going somewhere else--to an apartment, to a relative's or friend's house, to a nursing home, to a campground, or a homeless shelter--and their pet must fend for itself or depend on the compassion and energy of shelter staff.
Opening your heart to pets begins with living consciously, in other words, paying attention to the animals around you. If you are able, ask your local animal rescue organization what you might do to help. Adoption, is great, but there are many things one can do without actually adopting a pet, such as donating supplies (newspapers, old towels, pet food), money, time, or skills (designing a website, making fliers, volunteering at an adoption event).
If someone you know is facing foreclosure, they are likely facing many practical and emotional challenges. They may feel ashamed and afraid and may not answer direct questions about their move or what they are going to do with their pet. If you suspect no plans have been made for their pet, perhaps you or someone you know might be willing to foster or adopt the pet, and could gently ask if they are keeping their pet or looking for someone to adopt it. Particularly if there are children in the home, losing the home, possibly their school and friends, and then the family pet, seems like an unbearable stress for a child. Open your heart and see what you might do to help.
Be conscious of abandoned houses in your neighborhood, houses that once contained pets. If you hear a dog barking hours on end and suspect it is in an empty house, contact the local animal control officer. There are people who abandon pets inside of homes, and these animals will die inhumanely unless a human intervenes.
The first step in openness is awareness of a need, and seeing how you might say "yes" to a solution. You don't have to be the entire solution. You don't have to exhaust or bankrupt yourself to be someone else's solution. Just open your heart, and you will know what to do.
The Humane Society of the United States writes on their website that they help "rental managers, property owners, and pet caregivers solve the challenges of keeping pets in rental properties. It's all part of our Pets for Life™ campaign, designed to keep pets with their families, where they belong. In addition to helping people keep their pets when they move, we also help solve other problems that threaten human-pet relationships, such as behavior issues and allergies." Visit HSUS for more information.
If your community offers programs to help pet owners facing foreclosure, please let me know and I will post that information in a future article.