Pet Perils : Recession Is Worst of Times for Man’s Best Friends

The 12-year-old dog, a friendly Samoyed, was found tied to a post by the front door of the San Clemente Animal Shelter.

A note was found near her, telling of the hard economic times that had forced a family to abandon its beloved pet. “My name is Misha,” the note said. “My dad lost his job and we couldn’t keep our house.”

With the recession stubbornly dragging on, such tales are becoming increasingly common as many families struggle to make ends meet and feel they can no longer care for a cat or dog. Shelter manager Sandi McVeigh said Misha was just the latest in a long string of cats and dogs that have been dropped off at the shelter in the middle of the night--abandoned by those who have owned them.

The summer is also the time of year, McVeigh said, when animal shelters routinely report a surge in the number of abandoned animals, due in part to owners who abandon pets that don’t fit into summer vacation plans. It also is the season when many kittens are born, and the number of strays and unwanted young cats increases.

But McVeigh said the San Clemente shelter is even busier than usual this summer because of the soft economy. She said Misha is now one of about 55 dogs and 53 cats filling the cages at the shelter.

Another 43 kittens and cats, she said, are being cared for in “foster” homes because no room is left for them at the shelter.

“Nobody has seen so many animals in the shelter before, except during the Persian Gulf War,” when military personnel brought their pets to the shelter before shipping out to the Middle East, McVeigh said. “Every run is full.”

Operated for residents of San Clemente, the shelter by policy refuses to accept pets from owners who no longer want to take care of them. Nevertheless, McVeigh said, residents of other cities routinely bring in strays that they find or come in the night to drop off pets they feel forced to relinquish, knowing full well that the shelter does not accept “owner-relinquished” pets.

The San Clemente shelter, which was opened in 1983, also is being stretched to the limits because it is one of only three such animal refuges in burgeoning South Orange County. Laguna Beach and Irvine also have their own shelters, while other cities contract for animal control services with the county, which runs a large shelter in Orange. Mission Viejo and Dana Point are considering opening their own shelters, which could relieve the pressure on San Clemente, McVeigh said.

But the San Clemente shelter also has found that part of its appeal rests with its “pro-life” policy, which states that no animal brought there should be killed unless it poses a danger to people or other animals or is seriously injured. As opposed to the county-run shelter in Orange, the San Clemente facility will keep strays for many months until they are adopted.

This pro-life policy, shelter supporters argue, appeals to people who feel obligated to give up their pets but do not want to live with the idea that the animal may be killed if not quickly adopted.

It may be for this reason, they say, that so many dogs and cats are dropped off at night, accompanied by apologetic notes from the former owners.

The shelter is supported by the city and by the Friends of San Clemente Animals, a nonprofit organization that provides medical care to animals who need it as well as volunteers who walk, brush and play with the dogs and give what McVeigh calls “TLC”--tender loving care--to the sometimes frightened and convalescing pets.

Judging by some of the notes that have been left along with dogs at the shelter’s doorstep, McVeigh said the job layoffs and other money worries spawned by the weak economy are causing havoc among pet owners. These same concerns, she added, reduce interest in pet adoption.

“It is hard to get people to adopt right now,” she said. “I don’t think they have the extra money for food bills and veterinary bills, flea dips and flea busters.”

To ease the expense of adoption, she said, the shelter has offered to waive routine adoption fees for rabbits and is offering two kittens for one fee. In addition, the shelter offers discounted adoption fees and other financial assistance to people who agree to adopt animals that are older or have medical problems and to elderly citizens looking for companions.

But McVeigh stressed that such bargains are given only to people who “pass the application requirements,” which means they convince the shelter’s managers that they will be good adoptive owners.

For those who want a pet, the selection has rarely been so good, shelter officials note. The animals are also an attraction for some parents and children who come to browse and may fall for a wagging tail or a longing, loving gaze.

“I’m here all the time,” said Dee Dee Riechers of Coto de Caza, who this week made two trips to the San Clemente shelter with her three children in tow to window-shop for kittens. She had adopted two kittens when she spotted a large yellow dog the shelter had named “John Wayne” that stole her heart.

“I wonder if he would fit in my car,” she said, as her 5-year-old daughter Peri reached inside the cage and hugged the dog’s head.

“OK. We are going to take him,” she said. But adoptions aren’t keeping up with the influx of new waifs, said McVeigh. The morning after John Wayne’s happy departure, a cardboard box was left at the shelter’s door. Inside were 10 pit bull and Doberman mix pups barely 3 weeks old.

Animal Shelter Policies * Summer traditionally sees an increase in the number of abandoned or stray pets throughout the county. Some families move or go on vacation and leave their pets behind, and other pets are lost during holiday and weekend excursions. It is also the time when many kittens are born. * There are three “pro-life” animal shelters in Orange County (Laguna Beach, Seal Beach and San Clemente) that by policy do not put to sleep stray and unclaimed pets unless they are dangerous, irreparably injured or incurably ill. All will accept stray animals found within their municipal borders but refuse to take owner-relinquished pets. * The Orange County Humane Society in Huntington Beach operates a shelter that will accept animals from owners who pay a monthly boarding fee until their pets are adopted. That shelter also has a “pro-life” policy for keeping all stray cats found in the city of Westminster until new homes can be found for them.