An unfortunate side effect of a slowing economy is the affect dwindling finances can have on the family pet. When someone needs to weigh buying food for the family vs. buying food for an animal, the family is going to win, every time.
Home sales are down in the Tri-Cities, and foreclosures are on the rise (32 more trustee sales Jan-May than in ’07). When people lose their house, they might stay with relatives, or rent an apartment or another house. So the family has a roof over their head. But, what if they can’t bring their pet with them?
These factors combine to create a sad world right now for local animals. People are dropping their animals off “in the middle of nowhere” and not looking back, as detailed here in this story from KNDU-TV. And even when the dogs are picked up within the city limits and brought in to Animal Control, guess what? When the owner is notified that their animal has been found, they don’t come pick up their pet!!!
This is one of the ways the little ol’ Tri-Cities is like other cities all over the nation. Pet shelters are busting at the seams in places large and small, as detailed in this Consumerist post.
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