Economy takes toll on pets, too

By Andria Simmons

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Several pet rescue centers and shelters across metro Atlanta are reporting an increase in animal abandonments, coupled with an influx of calls from pet owners who say they're having a tough time caring for their pets because of financial woes.

In the past six weeks, 16 unwanted animals -- mostly cats and a few dogs -- have been left overnight outside the Georgia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, a nonprofit pet rescue in Suwanee.

Jane Stewart, the executive director, said that in previous years, the organization got only about one "door dump" every three or four months.

Animal control officials in Cherokee County have seen a similar increase in owners surrendering their animals.

"We get a lot of people that say they had to move out of their home into apartments that don't accept animals or that have pet deposits that are too high," said Sue Garcia, who manages the Cherokee County Animal Shelter in Canton. "They've had to move out of their home for foreclosure or downsizing."

In Cherokee, the situation seems to be worsening even as the county's spending on animal services has declined by 4 percent since fiscal year 2010, from $316,000 to $304,000. The shelter saw 250 animals surrendered by their owners in September, compared with 177 during the same month in 2010.

Some metro Atlanta owners who must part with their pets try to find them new homes themselves.

ChiChi Kelley is in a similar predicament as many of the people who turned their pets over to shelters or rescue groups.

At 56, she has struggled through four rocky years with her three "beloved, loyal and precious" Yorkshire terriers. Her string of calamities started when both she and her husband lost their jobs, then had their car and RV repossessed, and finally lost their dream home in Lawrenceville to foreclosure. Kelley recently got a new job and is moving to a mobile home in Sugar Hill. But the owners will accept only one pet.

She opted to keep her oldest Yorkshire terrier, which is 13. She posted an ad on Craigslist seeking a new home for the other two.

"I am now 56 years old and trying to start over," Kelley said. "And now I am losing my beloved loyal and precious Yorkies. I am not complaining, I have a job and a roof over my head."

Prior homeowners who are now looking to rent often get sticker shock when they learn that pet deposits at some apartment complexes, such as Post Parkside in Atlanta, can run as much as $1,000 per pet ($750 of which is nonrefundable).

In many cases, owners turn to county animal shelters when they can't afford that price tag.

Fulton County Animal Services saw 112 animals surrendered in September, up from 86 in September 2010.

"What has increased steadily each month has been the surrenders, the people that have come in and turned their animals over to the shelter for mostly economical reasons," said Tscharner Myrick, a spokeswoman for Fulton County Animal Services.

The county's budget for animal services has not grown along with its animal population; it has stayed the same in recent years. But Myrick said that volunteers are helping employees provide consistent service.

In Cobb County, Animal Control has averaged about 395 owner turn-ins a month this year, but the numbers have fluctuated too much to discern a trend. DeKalb County Animal Control did not respond to a request for shelter statistics.

Gwinnett County Animal Control is taking in an average of three more animals per month this year than it did last year, from 88 in 2010 to 91 in 2010.

The county also maintains statistics on the reasons cited by pet owners for giving up their animals.  The county has taken in 869 dogs, cats, birds, reptiles, guinea pigs, rodents or horses this year. A little more than a third of them were given up for economic reasons such as being unable to afford caring for the pet, being homeless, losing a job or an income, and moving.

Ticky Tabby, a spindly tabby cat with a spunky personality, was dropped off last month along with her eight kittens in a cardboard box outside the Georgia Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

Pet rescue volunteers found her the next morning.

"She was scared to death," said Stewart, stroking the cat's head as it lounged lazily on a play structure one day last week.

The increase in pet abandonments is a particularly troubling trend for GSPCA, Stewart said -- not only because it's illegal to dump animals, but because the facility is already operating at capacity with about 25 dogs and 50 cats.

"If we have some heads up on a situation, we would always try to help even if we couldn't take them," Stewart said. "But when somebody dumps that on you, it's a whole different ballgame."