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Family pets, Homer Glen shelter affected by mortgage crisis
Reprinted from The Homer Horizon February 3, 2008
Editor
Not only is the current mortgage crisis making it difficult for people to continue standing on their own two feet, it's also forcing them to make some heartbreaking decisions about their four-legged friends.
Recently, about 10 percent of the dogs and cats who are dropped off at the TLC Animal Shelter in Homer Glen have been brought there by families who have lost their homes, said shelter coordinator Janine Carter.
In some cases, the family is having to move to an apartment that either doesn't allow animals, or sets a weight limit, which would mean bigger dogs aren't welcome. Other apartments allow pets but don't have a yard where a dog can run around. In other cases, the family is having to move in temporarily with other family members, who for whatever reason can't or won't take the animal.
"It's just a very sad phenomenon. We do our best to relocate the animals, but you feel so bad for them," she said. "We're doing the best we can here."
One family tried to take their albino Doberman along with them when they lost their home and went to live with relatives. It was a big dog and many of those already living in the house were frightened of it, so as a compromise, the owner crated the dog for 23 hours a day.
But it didn't take long before the owner realized that was no way for her dog to live, so as tough as it was, she brought it to TLC, hoping the shelter could adopt the dog out to another family that could take proper care of it.
Just a few weeks later, that's exactly what happened, Carter said.
She said it's just heartbreaking to see people having to part with their pets, who not only have become part of the family, but also have provided a source of comfort in an uncertain time.
"They'll be in tears. It's an emotional strain on the employees and the volunteers" as well as the families, she said. "We tell them we'll find them a new home, but that's not what they really want."
For some families, like the owner of the white Doberman, the decision to give them up is made out of love. Some owners are just no longer in a financial situation where they can afford to care for a pet, Carter added.
"If they're losing their home, how are they going to afford boarding?" she said. "You feel so badly because there's nothing we can physically or financially do for them except take the animals in."
Many of the families seek out friends and relatives who love animals, hoping they'll take in their beloved pet--but those friends and relatives tend to already have pets of their own to take care of.
"They don't want to give their animals to just anyone," Carter said.
A number of the pets owners are having to bring in because of the housing crisis are older animals they've had forever--and those tend to be the most difficult to adopt out, Carter said.
Carter said they started noticing they were getting more animals dropped off early in 2007, but because there are so many reasons people bring animals to the shelter--moving away, allergies, divorce or other life changes being a few--they didn't put two and two together and realize the mortgage crisis might be affecting the animals, too.
And that crisis not only is adding animals to TLC's rosters, it's also sapping their resources. When people have to tighten their budgets, giving to charity is understandably no longer on the priority list, Carter said.
She said the donations the shelter receives during the Christmas holiday season usually are enough to carry them through to June, when they hold their next huge fundraiser, a walk-a-thon.
But this year, they didn't get nearly as much as in years past, and all their bills--electrical, food, heating and medical--continue to rise. The shelter also needs to replace its roof, which will cost several thousand dollars.
They're hoping their upcoming fundraiser--a cosmic bowl set for Saturday, Feb. 16--will be a big success again this year, and help them put money back in the coffers to care for the animals.
To participate in the shelter's fifth annual cosmic bowl fundraiser at Strike and Spare, 811 Northern Drive in Lockport, which includes dinner and bowling, the cost is $25 per person or $50 per couple. The event, which also will include raffles and split the pot, will take place from 8:30 to 11:30 p.m. Attire is casual, and rental shoes are available for $2.50.
A good number of tickets still remain. To purchase tickets, call (708) 301-1594 between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. For more information about TLC, visit www.tlcanimalshelter.org