Shelters Overflowing With Homeless Animals Reflect One Heartbreak of Recession : Economy: Pounds and clinics are busier than ever as families are forced to give up Fido or Puff. Horses, expensive to keep, are also being let go.

The recession is taking its toll on all members of the family, including pets.

Animal shelters report that increased numbers of pets being “surrendered”--from cats, dogs and horses to chickens, geese and even Vietnamese potbellied pigs.

“Pets are indicative of any change in society,” said Katy Dwyer, shelter manager at Boston’s Animal Rescue League.

She said that more than 10,000 cats were turned over to the league in 1991, and about 2,500 dogs. Those totals were just slightly higher than in the previous year, but she said there was an intense sadness about it all.

“This past year, a lot of people started to give up older pets, pets they shared their lives with for 10 or 15 years. We found more people being evicted and not able to keep pets--single mothers, people whose economic situations had changed so drastically that they had to give up pets they wouldn’t before,” Dwyer said. She said that 85% of the animals given up are destroyed.

Donna Bishop, director of the companion animals program for the Alliance for Animals of Boston, said she also has seen people take extraordinary measures to keep their animals.

She said that “a lot of elderly women go without food or heat to provide for the animals. . . . It’s not just weird people; it’s pretty widespread, especially in the inner city.”

Jill Pratt of the Colorado Horse Rescue organization said that 110 horses were given up in 1991.

“There have been a lot of sad people coming through here,” said Pratt. “Looking at (how many) horses come through, it’s clear the economy is not getting better.”

Pet owners’ services also are being overburdened.

The Anti-Cruelty Society in Chicago runs a clinic for the pets of the poor. The clinic had 2,000 clients two years ago, but has reached its capacity of 3,000 clients, said Jane Stern, director of administration. People line up two hours early for the monthly pet-food giveaway.

“We also have homeless people come to the pet food pantry and the clinic,” she said. “And they take good care of their animals. We’ll see a guy pushing his dog away in a cart. It’s hard. Boy, those animals are the only thing they have.”

In New York City, the number of strays brought to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals rose by more than 2,500 last year, society official Julie Morris said, a sign that some people are abandoning their pets on city streets.

Staffers at the Phoenix Horse Rescue and Rehab in Broomfield, Colo., reported finding rabbits, dogs and cats left in the driveway.

“They just open up the car door and dump them out,” said Kathleen Sinke, the agency’s vice president.

People have also given up chickens, geese and Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs, said Roger Lauze, a manager at an SPCA farm in Methuen, Mass.

Oscar, a 2,300-pound steer, is one early victim of the recession. He came from an education center in Framingham that closed in dire financial straits.

Oscar, originally purchased to be a poster calf for an anti-veal ad campaign, is only available as a pet. “We don’t want him in anybody’s freezer. We couldn’t bear to see it,” Lauze said.

Horse adoption agencies have been especially busy because horses’ upkeep is expensive. Horse owners pay up to $300 a month for boarding and $75 a month just for feed. Veterinary expenses also are high.

“Horses are a luxury item,” Lauze said. “It’s like a fancy car. It’s like a diamond ring. Those are the things you start selling or start getting rid of when the economy is bad.”