The Plight of Pets in a Down Economy
Our Pets: Chudleigh
Posted on December 24, 2008 at 9:59 am
Working as a volunteer in a companion animal rescue organization, I see first hand the perils of pets in today's economy. At Nittany Beagle Rescue (an IRC 501c3 nonprofit), we receive over 100 requests a week from people relinquishing their pets and who want us to find a home for their beagle. [And we serve only one county, Centre County, in PA!] At the same time, we find it more and more difficult to get people to adopt pets-in-need and provide them with permanent loving homes. These pets caught in the economic woes of people experience a double-whammy; that is, more than ever, they are either living unloved lives if they are lucky to be alive or are being exterminated at faster rates than we'd like to admit. Couple this with the difficulties in soliciting donations to support the increasing cost of veterinary care, and I have to say - we are looking for solutions! One idea that I have is to create a national forever foster program to help elderly and special needs pets - those that have the highest likelihood of being left behind. If you are interested in helping to fund or be involved with this initiative, please contact me at ann@chattypet.com. Thanks!