More owners giving up pets in recession
| Saturday, Feb 20 2010 12:00 PM
Last Updated Saturday, Feb 20 2010 12:00 PM
Want to help our four-legged friends? Here are some tips how:
Get your pet spayed/neutered.
License and vaccinate your pets.
Donate to a local group that helps animals. Following is a list of local groups and their numbers:
ALPHA Canine Sanctuary, 391-8212
Bakersfield chapter of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, 323-8353
The Cat People, 327-4706
Kern County Animal Control, 868-7125
Bakersfield Pet Food Pantry, 619-2029
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An owner surrendered German shepherd mix nurses it's 4 puppies at the Kern County Animal Shelter on Mount Vernon Avenue. There has been an increase of animals being surrendered to the shelter recently. Unwanted animals are sometimes abandoned in neighborhoods.
Dogs, some of which are owner surrendered to the Kern County Animal Shelter, try and get some attention.
Two young pups are turned in at the Kern County Animal Shelter by Ernesto Villanueva and Don Lester, not pictured, after the pups were seen being dumped in their Planz and Akers neighborhood.
A 7-year-old owner surrendered rottweiler mix sits in its cage at the Kern County Animal Shelter. There has been an increase of animals being surrendered to the shelter recently. Unwanted animals are sometimes abandoned in neighborhoods.
Kern County Animal Care worker Lacey Grijalva, right, takes 2 pups from Ernesto Villanueva and Don Lester, not pictured, after the pups were dumped in their Planz and Akers neighborhood.
Christmas was coming and Jessica Mendoza's family had just brought a dog into the home.
But then she became a single mother, and in this tough economy, it was a strain to make ends meet. Mendoza didn't want to lose the dog, but she also didn't know how she would be able to support him and take care of herself and her three children.
Stories like Mendoza's have become all too common in Kern County over the past couple of years as the economy slumped and residents were forced to make hard decisions to get by. Eight hundred more cats and dogs were surrendered by their owners at Kern County Animal Control in 2008 and 2009 combined than in 2006 and 2007 combined, according to department statistics.
That's an especially sobering number when you consider that many animals surrendered at the shelter are euthanized.
Animal Control Director Guy Shaw said there's no doubt a poor economy played a role in the increase of owner surrendered animals. When the number of foreclosures drops, the number of owners coming in with their cats or dogs will also drop, he said.
The number of strays brought to the shelter also increased in the past couple of years, and some can be attributed to owners who abandoned their pets. There is a fee when owners turn in pets, and some people probably want to avoid paying it, Shaw said.
In 2009, owners surrendered 2,061 dogs and 600 cats at the shelter. Shaw said more people manage to keep their cats when times get tough because they're allowed in more places. Even if a resident loses his house, many apartment complexes will let people keep a cat. Dogs often aren't so lucky.
Mendoza's dog, however, was one of the fortunate ones. Mendoza contacted Bakersfield Pet Food Pantry and was able to get some free dog food. Otherwise, she's not sure how she would have kept her dog, named Pup.
"It was really a godsend," Mendoza said.
Sherry Bullock, president of the pantry, said they provide pet food to dozens of people like Mendoza who are doing anything they can to keep their animals. Twin Oaks resident Pam DeLuca said the food she received from the pantry made it possible for her to take in two German Shepherd-Rottweiler mixes when the neighbor who owned them died.
DeLuca's husband is unemployed and they already owned three dogs before taking in Caesar and Cleo (short for Cleopatra). If they hadn't received help, she's not sure how they would have managed.
Other local pet-related agencies have also seen a jump in the number of people asking for help.
Sandy Dralle, director of the Bakersfield chapter of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said the number of people who wanted to drop off their pets in 2008 and 2009 was staggering. She said they probably received about 200 dogs from owners who just couldn't afford them anymore.
"One guy said, 'It's either feed my kids or feed my dogs,'" Dralle said.
Sometimes the SPCA was able to give families pet food and help them weather the tough times, Dralle said. Some owners boarded their dogs with the SPCA and were able to take them back once they were in better financial straits.
Dralle told her staff to never judge anyone who dropped off their pets and to be thankful that at least they weren't leaving them by the side of the road.
While dogs make up the majority of animals taken to the county shelter, cats have also received their fair share of problems. Barbara Hays, president of the nonprofit organization The Cat People, said they have people asking them to take their cats every week. The organization can't do that yet because it's saving money for a sanctuary, but it does give out free cat litter and wet and dry cat foods on a weekly basis.
ALPHA Canine Sanctuary also receives dozens of requests from people looking for help. The no-kill sanctuary can only hold 100 dogs, though, director Marilyn Stewart said.
She recommended that people place advertisements and call rescue operations every day until they find a home for their pet. The county shelter should be a last resort, she said.
Shaw, of Animal Control, agreed.
"We don't like to euthanize cats and dogs," he said. "It's a strain on everyone."
State law says shelters have to keep animals 72 hours before euthanizing them. Shaw said he tries to keep every animal at least six days so they have the best chance of getting a new home.
But the odds aren't in the animals' favor, no matter how much time they're given. Shaw said people should do their best to keep their pets, even in a tough economy.
Once a pet is brought to the shelter, "We pretty much know what the ultimate outcome will be," he said.
