So not only are people losing their homes in the foreclosure/recession situation, but animals are getting the shaft too. And in this case I actually feel a little sorrier for the pets involved because often they are just abandoned in the homes to die.

What kind of sick, cold-hearted, Grinch are you that you would lock your pet in a house you are leaving behind?! Strike that — even the Grinch took care of his pet!

Even though I love animals and am very much interested in ending needless animal cruelty (for instance, I am really, really against using animals as entertainment, ala the circus), I still consider the general order of things to be humans first, then other animals. (And yeah, I eat meat.) But in this case, I have to side with the pets because it isn’t their fault that the humans either got duped by predatory/shady lenders or were dumb-asses and lost their homes.

This reminds me of a book I used to read to my students back when I was a preschool teacher. I can’t remember what it was called for the life of me but the story was based on real-life events. In the book a family moves to a new home but it doesn’t allow pets so they abandon their pet cat at their old apartment. With no one around the cat starts to starve to death until it finds a sack of bird seed and a leaky water faucet. It is barely alive when the landlord discovers it a month later and takes it to a vet. The cat gets nursed back to health and adopted by a husband and wife who keep the cat in their bookstore to keep them company all day and chase mice away. It all ends well but the story is quite sad in the middle. Even my little preschoolers would tear up and get very worried about the poor little kitty who was abandoned. When 4 and 5-year-olds can see that something is wrong, that’s pretty telling.

And isn’t it one of the first steps of serial killers and other homicidal maniacs that they abuse animals? Guess what? Abandoning your pet(s) because you fell on hard times doesn’t make you that much better, douchebag.

Seriously, abandoning your pet to die is a super shitty thing to do. Don’t do it.

And hey people who like pets, why not adopt one from the over-crowded shelters? Or, call up your friendly neighborhood veterinarian’s office and see if they have had any critters abandoned at their clinic? (My friend is a vet and says this happens pretty regularly.)

Bottom line: If you can’t afford your pet anymore it’s your legal responsibility AND your moral obligation to get that critter a new home — even if it’s a shelter. Give the little four-legged fur-faces a chance!

— E