What you can do If you’re facing potential foreclosure, go to the Hope Now Alliance or call the toll-free hotline at 1-888-995-HOPE for information and resources. If you have pet-related questions, check out the Best Friends Animal Help resources here.

No one will forget the lost looks on the faces of pets abandoned after Hurricane Katrina. Best Friends Animal Society came to the rescue of thousands of them. Today, Best Friends is helping victims of another disaster – an economic disaster. For many people and their pets, the current mortgage crisis is every bit as devastating as a natural disaster.

Across the country, animals are being found abandoned in foreclosed homes. Other pet owners who’ve fallen victim to the subprime mortgage mess, finding themselves just days or even hours from being homeless, are desperately trying to find someone to take in the furry and feathered members of their families. Some have tearfully left their pets at shelters, not knowing what would become of them, but believing they could at least give them some chance of being adopted.

“We’re seeing more and more cases of people leaving their homes and dropping the dog off at the shelter and the cat in the local park,” says Michael Mountain, president of Best Friends Animal Society. “Sometimes they even just tie the dog up outside and drive off.”

It is never OK to leave the family pet to fend for himself. Many people have been calling Best Friends’ Animal Help department for advice on how to keep their pets as they weather the economic storm. Department manager Liz Finch says she’s seeing an increase in calls and e-mails from people facing foreclosure.

“If there is a short time-frame, we coach them on ways to find temporary care for their animals through kenneling, boarding at a vet's office, fostering with a friend – anything to give them more time to look for the right home for their pet,” Liz says. “They may have the ability to keep their animal if they can find this temporary care, to tide them over until they find a pet-friendly home for themselves.”

Best Friends Animal Help specialists also provide resources to help people re-home their pets, giving them valuable information on how to network in their communities and how to contact rescue organizations.

“If the animal has special needs, we give them more specialized advice and resources,” Liz says. “We want to offer them as many options as possible. The more people who are aware of an animal in need of a home, the more likely you'll be able to find that home.”

A crisis has a way of bringing out the best in human beings, and Best Friends has also been receiving calls from people wanting to help. Mindy Mason, a real-estate agent with Prudential Utah in Salt Lake City and a member of that city’s Board of Realtors, wanted to take action after hearing her colleagues talk about animals they’d found abandoned in foreclosed homes. She’s looking into how she and her fellow real-estate agents can donate proceeds from an annual fundraiser to Best Friends. “I just love what Best Friends does,” she says.

Mindy has some advice for people facing foreclosure – they should get in touch with their lenders. She says many lenders are willing to lower interest rates to help people stay in their homes. “Lenders are being flexible,” Mindy says. “They will definitely work with you.” She says real-estate agents can help if people don’t know how to contact their lenders.

Meanwhile, Best Friends’ Animal Help specialists will continue to help however they can. The ultimate goal is to find some way to help people keep their pets. The next best thing is to help people place their pets in new forever homes.

“It's a very sad reality that people are being put in this position, where they essentially have to give up a member of their family,” Liz says. “We do whatever we can to give them hope for their animals’ future.”

Written by Sandy Miller

In the No More Homeless Pets resource library, How to Find Homes for Homeless Pets offers step-by-step guidelines on how to re-home pets.

The work of Best Friends is possible only because of your generous support. Click here to help us reach our goal of No More Homeless Pets.

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May 8, 2008 : 4:57 PM ET
posted by: PamelaB

Wayne Pacelle of HSUS writes about a recent roadblock to helping animals abandoned due to foreclosures. Here is a bit of his email:

"Let's not let them get away with this.

Last week, in a cynical and destructive maneuver, the Ohio-based U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance (USSA) targeted Meijer department stores for agreeing to donate up to $5,000 through a pet photo contest to a restricted fund administered by The Humane Society of the United States to provide relief to pets abandoned during the foreclosure crisis.

As you probably know, as people have had their homes foreclosed, we've seen a rash of animal abandonment cases, with dogs and cats even left in locked-up homes to languish and die. We've been hearing reports of this from shelters across the country, and we set up a fund to help shelters deal with the influx of animals.

The Grand Rapids, Mich.-based Meijer agreed to help with the foreclosure fund. But for some reason, Meijer capitulated to the extremists at the U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance, which is a de facto trade association for arms and ammunitions manufacturers, bowhunting companies, hunting guides and outfitters, and other suppliers of hunting equipment and services. The group has a very small rank-and-file membership, but it masquerades as a group speaking for sportsmen. It's really just an arms and bowhunting industry front group.

It's time to teach the USSA a lesson, and I hope you'll help.

So this group has denied pets the help they need. They'll continue to attempt to intimidate businesses from helping animals until they see that their actions are counterproductive."

This is only a part of the email, but it does show the lengths a group will go to when, however erroneously, they feel threatened.

April 29, 2008 : 4:40 PM ET
posted by: djcat1nky

From Louisville, Kentucky

This is a much larger problem and has been for quite some time. I have a horrible job in so many senses-I am a "field inspector" for a company that is contracted by banks and mortgage companies to check occupancy status on homes in "financial trouble". This translates to foreclosures and bankruptcy. I think the general public may not have a realistic idea about these situations. Most of the foreclosures we see are not because of people trying to live beyond their means. The biggest responsibility lies with these morgage companies who solicit these high equity loans, enticing homeowners into a "better life". The second culprit are the builders who have "hooked" up with appraisers and banks. The houses are appraised at a much higher value than the houses are worth and many of these people actually leave the closing with cash in their hand. They boast and brag that they are able to get anyone qualified to buy these homes. Most of these people are first time home buyers who are only trying to live the "American Dream". And then we have to look at our own government-many of these settled families are losing their jobs due to many companies leaving this country. And then many of the older people have had a spouse who became ill and a equity loan is necessary to pay medical bills. This ridiculous mortgage crisis is much more than most people realize. I inspect over 800 homes a month and probably 90% have pets. This is just a small area of the city as well. I have been doing this for over four years so now we no longer travel without dog and cat food and water!! Hardly a day goes by that we are not faced with a animal crisis. One of the first instances was a house where two dogs and three cats had been abandoned in the home. Last October I found a dog that was tied up in a yard-the owner had passed away and the family moved into the house until it was foreclosed on. She had been out there from Febuary 2006 until I found her in October 2007. I immediately took her to my vet and the vet had never seen a dog so flea infested. She also had heartworms. I found her a home and she is a healthy and happy dog today!! Just last week we had a 10-year old Basset Hound and 3-year old Australian Shepherd that was getting ready to be taken to a shelter (and not a no-kill). We told the owners to wait and God answered their prayers as they were adopted together. The 10-year old has been grieving some but the saddest part was watching their owners say goodbye to them. They said it was much easier to come to terms with losing their house then losing a "child" of ten years. A grown man with tears in his eyes over losing a pet is a very sad thing to witness. I have spent 100's of dollars having some of these animals treated in order to get them homes. Like I said, this has now become a daily problem and I don't think many people see how severe it really is. I am all for helping others across the world but we do have MUCH work here that needs to be done and that includes protecting our animal society. I think Americans need to wake up and take a look at what shape this country is getting in and help here at home. I hope people take heed to your article and try and find a way to keep the animals from not only losing their homes but in many cases, losing their lives. The shelters are all over-crowded and animals have to be "adoptable" in many cases just to live past the front door and many of these animals are older and not considered as such. I agree with the article about trying to network and find solutions if possible. I think there are some good people out there willing to help. And hopefully, more people will rise to this occasion and watch for signs of these abandoned animals. So many go unnoticed for well too long. Best Friends is the greatest thing to happen for animals and I know we can spreadthe NO More Homeless Animals all over because of the dedication and generosity!! God Bless Best Friends!!!

April 21, 2008 : 7:11 PM ET
posted by: SUNNEE

There are some great ideas being posted. Maybe banks mortgage companies and realtors should develop a system to visit these homes immediately after a foreclosure. It's up to caring and responsible peole to prevent tragedies and pick up the pieces If there weren't strict laws in place which are being enforced in regards to child abuse you would find babies and toddlers amongst the abandoned pets also. One evening watching the news will clear up any doubts about that issue. In many or some States it's actually against the law to abandon pets. It's just poorly enforced. Whoever leaves a pet in an empty house for any reason and moves away is immoral and cruel and there shouldn't be anybody out there who proclaims to love animals trying to explain it or dilute it on any level.