The Recession Spares Nothing, Not Even Puppies
Ever feel like the poor state of the economy is impacting every area of life? Well, it is! A few examples popping up in some surprising places, like animal shelters...
Not only are jobs being lost, businesses failing, and bailout popping out all over the place, but even the more mundane aspects of life are being affected.
Families are cutting back on childcare:
Behind the drumbeat of grim economic news, a lot of quiet shuffling is going on as parents pull small children out of paid child care. Enrollment at some child-care centers is falling and nanny agencies are reporting mounting layoffs as families cut child-care costs — which rival mortgage payments in many households. An October online survey by the women's Web site BettyConfidential.com found that 12% of 100-plus parents who responded are cutting child care.
Pets are being abandoned in droves:
As families lose their homes to foreclosure, man's best friend and his fellow pets are being surrendered to shelters, abandoned on the streets or even left to starve in locked-up houses, according to animal welfare organizations around the country.
According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, between 4 and 6 million animals are surrendered to shelters each year, and approximately half of them are euthanized because there is not enough space to keep them all.
Shelter operators say more animals are being turned over for financial reasons than in the past, and those that don't make it to the shelters are either set free on the streets to fend for themselves or left to starve in foreclosed houses, according to animal welfare groups around the country.
"We are just getting inundated. All of the shelters in the county have been inundated with pets surrendered or abandoned by their owners because of the huge foreclosure rate," said Judith Gardner, president and CEO of the Arizona Animal Welfare League in Phoenix.
"There are so many stories of animals being abandoned - left at a foreclosed home with no food or water. It's just pervasive," Gardner said.
Many are skipping or delaying medical care:
A survey released on Tuesday by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 36% of U.S. residents have delayed medical care in the past year because of cost, up from 29% in April. About three in ten say they have skipped a recommended test or treatment. In addition, a survey conducted in July by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners found that 11% of residents have reduced the number of medications they take or have decreased the dosage because of cost. According to an analysis conducted recently by IMS Health, U.S. prescription drug sales decreased by 0.4% in the second quarter, the first time that sales have not increased in at least the past 12 years.
More are doing "whatever it takes" to make ends meet:
Can-collecting, or "bottle fishing" - in order to redeem 5 cents an empty - has long been seen as a cultural divide between upper and lower class. But with the economy in a nose dive and unemployment in the state climbing to 5.5 percent, more and more people are returning their empty cans and bottles, while others have taken to the streets in search of empties.
And, of course, even holiday spending is impacted:
Almost half of Americans plan to cut their spending this holiday season, and a quarter say they'll spend a lot less on gifts than they did last year, according to the latest Bloomberg/Los Angeles Times poll. Consumers are already scaling back purchases of nonessential items and saving more money as incomes stagnate and costs rise, according to the survey conducted Dec. 6-8. Only 1 of 10 respondents plans to increase holiday purchases.
What's next? If things get really bad we all may need to do something drastic — like cut cable TV, stop eating out five times a week, and eliminate iPhone app purchases. Heaven forbid!
(Photo: Bob Jagendorf)
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The animal shelter thing really pizzez me off / makes me sad. These creatures have done nothing wrong and given their owners un-conditional love, and in return, are left to starve or put down at a shelter. What if we applied this same mentality to people?
I'm wondering how much of this is related to people overextending on a huge mortgage for a McMansion, smothering themselves in expensive, gimmicky electronics or drowning themselves in debt for designer goods. If some people had a difficult time living within their means when economic times were good, how will they manage things now? It's one thing to be in financial straits because of unfortunate circumstances and another entirely to have had clear warning signs every step of the way to the edge of the cliff.
>left to starve in foreclosed houses
If leaving a pet to starve in a too-expensive house that you can no longer afford seems like an okay idea to you, I have abso-fucking-lutely no qualms saying that you've got to be one of the WORST people to ever live and hope that God/Jehova/fate/karma/whatever comes back and bites you BIG TIME.
God, I don't even want to imagine what it'd be like to be all alone, cold and starving in an empty house.
well, I guess if you don't have a job you don't need daycare. Although a voluntary website poll is statistically useless, since it's self-selection and not a random sample.
The pet thing makes me sad - I can't imagine leaving a pet to die of starvation in an abandoned/foreclosed house - it's bad enough dropping it off at a pound where you know it will probably end up put to sleep, but letting it starve to death is evil.
I probably should adopt another cat or two.
If you love your pet so much that you're willing to just lock it up a house with no food or water, then what is the purpose of even HAVING the pet? I can't even bear the thought of doing that to my cat. If I was unable to care for him anymore, I would find him a loving home. If that wasn't possible, maybe I would bring him to a shelter or set him free (he's an indoor/outdoor cat, and would have no problems surviving outside). But locking him up without food or water... I could never live with myself if I did that to him.
@JulesNoctambule: We're a culture of extremists. Living like your extremely poor, even if you are not, will be the next chic thing.
>36% of U.S. residents have delayed medical care in the past year
>because of cost
If only the United States had some sort of health care that could be applied universally...
To be fair, Gray's Papaya has had the Recession Special for years, even through the Clinton years. Of course, the price of the Recession Special has gone up.
I really, really wish my cat didn't hate all other animals with a murderous vengeance, or else I would adopt another cat or three. As it is, I will be setting up a monthly donation to the Humane Society thanks to this post - might as well use my employment stability for good. How absolutely goddamn awful.
Families are cutting back on childcare
Maybe families need to cut back on children.
@failurate: Nice point! Makes me want to put on a little Pulp and watch as my way of life becomes trendy.
@concordia: If only. . .but how?? Too bad there are no other countries with examples of working systems we could study!
@concordia: Amen. Here's hoping all the idiots who do that will find out what it's like themselves someday...
"Even" holiday spending is down? That should be the FIRST thing to go, not animal or childcare.
@concordia: Yes and we should all universally suffer for it. By suffer I mean have to pay for. Id completely support universal healthcare as right after we outlaw every possible risky activity.
It'd favor our gene pool if they abandoned their spawn to expire in their McMansions along with their jettisoned pets.
@ChrisC1234: I live in an area where there are bear, coyotes and raccoons roaming around. If the animal is set free to "survive" as you put it there is the possibility of the that animal turning up as lunch for wild life. Food for thought.
People who don't take their pets to shelters and instead leave them locked up in homes or send them onto the street never deserved to have pets in the first place.
@concordia:
Ask Medicare and Medicaid recipients how great they feel their coverage/quality of care is, then ask yourself if you'd like it, too.
I never understood abadoning animals. Take it to a shelter. But if you just can't be bothered with that, at least shoot in the head. Better than letting it starve to death or be mauled by other animals.
It's a shame these pets are being left to fend for themselves. On a lighter note though, my sausage business is booming.
Sooo let me get this straight... People getting to a point in their life where they are comfortable enough to buy a nice house, or car, or electronic device or what have you, and then have the country turn so terribly that your now below the surplus line because your money is worth half what it was when you got it all, is their fault?
Thats the thinking thats wrong with this country. People want to blame the little guy who is just trying to get what the american dream has promised for so long. Then they get it, and its not even worth it to have it.
President Bush pulls the biggest bait and switch of all time with a war costing our thriving country (before he was president we were thriving) trillions of dollars that would send any country to the exact place we are now, and people like yourself come on here and blame the everyday worker for buying a nice house, car, or iphone or whatever. Come on are you really that safe under that tinfoil hat your wearing? This country is jacked up because while people were gettin comfortable "Big Business" was gettin greedier and Greedier and NOBODY did a damn thing. Everything just kept going up and up in price until nobody could afford it... Now whats happening, cars piling up, houses piling up, jobs going away, everything sucks. Guess i shouldnt have bought that house 10 years ago thats now costing more than 6 times what it was worth then... /end rant.
@madanthony: I've found that people who grow up in more rural/farmy areas have a much lower opinion of pets in general. My father-in-law, who grew up in a little house with a few chickens and one cow out back (and now lives in the burbs and makes plenty of $) had one of their cats euthanized because it peed in the basement. He was all "it's just a cat, who cares", even though he was the cat's favorite human. Bizarre and sad.
*goes off to eat a burger*
Ask anyone in the military and their answer is 'Its not great, but I've always been able to get what I needed.'
Now ask someone who has Leukemia and their insurance has denied their claim for care despite years of paying their premiums on time due to a "pre-existing condition".
Marginal healthcare is better than no healthcare at all.
If you'd still like to use the traditional system, it will be like opting out of public school and paying extra for 'premium' service.
@littlemisslondon: Do your research before donating. If when you say "Humane Society", you mean HSUS, they do NOT OPERATE A SINGLE SHELTER. You would be far better to donate to a local animal shelter in your area.
@concordia: I totally agree. If a substantial number of people are doing this, I am disgusted by humanity. I hope that would be a very rare event (of course preferably never).
Thank you Consumerist. My town has a two-dog limit, unless you obtain a breeder's license.
Since responsible pet owners spay or neuter their animals (both of mine are rescues and have been fixed), this breeder's exemption cannot be used.
I just wrote a letter to my town's government suggesting that the limit be increased. It costs a town little and can generate an increase in pet licensing fees.
Check your own municipality's rules. This is a concrete way people can make a difference.
@cmkennedy: THANK YOU! If I see one more Astrovan unload 5-6 sacks of skin not including parents I'm going vomit all over their shoes... (hopefully I have a big meal before so there's enough to go around)
@NeonNoodle: i'd like to add something as someone not really ever in the surplus/splurge spending cateogory.
guess i should stop buying food now that it costs 4 times as much.
I have no sympathy for McMansion dwellers and their hideous homes. People who abandon animals, however, will go straight to hell.
@NeonNoodle: While I agree that the real theft is being perpetrated by the corporate thieves and their accomplices in government, I do think the OP has a point. Buying too big of a house is a major reason people get into financial trouble. People should think about the risks a bit more before they stretch their finance so much.
"What's next? If things get really bad we all may need to do something drastic — like cut cable TV, stop eating out five times a week, and eliminate iPhone app purchases. Heaven forbid!"
Am I the only one who found that insulting? That most of us would abandon our pets and dumpster dive before eating out less and not buying apps?
My mom has been through bankruptcy. She has never lost her house, though. Times have been tough, but she has not abandoned her dogs. Right now, she has four. She is one of the kindest, most compassionate people I know. She'd be out there in a box with four dogs before she'd leave them to starve or abandon them.
I'm not saying everyone should be that devoted to their dogs, but you should have enough simple fuckin' decency to not let them starve or abandon them. Two of my mom's dogs were rescued from the side of the road, or, in one case, in the road after it got hit by a car.
I don't understand some people. Granted, I'm nowhere near as poor as some people, but times are lean now and having two cats makes being poor a bit easier and less stressful, in some way.
@BustangBetty: don't you mean food for bear? in any case, at least the food chain would be benefiting from your generous donation. wonder if that's tax deductible... "i see you've claimed 'food for the wild' here on your form... explain?"
i doubt an indoor/outdoor pet could "survive" in the wild anyways. it's used to being inside, getting it's food from a well balanced source...
I'm one of the Directors of a Sheltie Rescue in VA and every contact I hear from is inundated with dogs and cats, nationwide. Many people are dumping their pets by roadsides, at shelters, in rescues, or just abandoning them in/around foreclosed homes. It's a national disgrace and tragedy.
If you are one of the lucky ones that is doing OK, please consider helping your local pet shelters and rescues. They are desperate for donations of time, material and funds nationwide. Even dropping off a few bags of food, cat litter, paper towels, etc. is appreciated. It's even tax-deductible if the organization is a 501(c)(3).
@BustangBetty: @bgeek: what do sausages have to do with pets? are you making vietnamese sausages out of dogs? are you like my childhood friend who raises pigs as pets, shows them at state fair, then has them slaughtered so he can eat them while saying "mmm, i really did like rupert. he was a good pig. tasty too!" 'cause that's just weird...
@cmkennedy: Glad you're not the only douchebag, huh? Good to have goals.
Seriously. Hoping maybe we can set up some shelters for children, like we do for animals? So when times get economically rough, people can turn in their kids? Maybe they can be euthanized, too, huh?
What is wrong with people on the internet. Where do all these douchebags come from in comment sections?
@NeonNoodle: Sorry, but there are *lots* of people out there who are living way above their means.
If someone is in debt up to their eyeballs, chances are pretty good that their problems are indeed self-inflicted, unless of course it's related to something medical.
Just because a mortgage lender tells you that you, yes you, "deserve" a house and that somehow you're a total loser because you still rent does not mean that it's even remotely true and that you should sign your life away on a house whose value is incredibly overvalued and is pretty much destined to crash in the future.
Just because some gadget-lust website tells you that you're going to be miserable and squinting because you don't have a 1080p TV set doesn't make that true either.
We have been convinced to spend our hard-earned money on tons and tons of crap that we really don't need.
I'm not sure what happened to common sense in the past few years, but I was brought up that anyone who is trying to sell you something, no matter how friendly they may seem, despite the fact that they're telling you they're making you a good deal, chances are good they are going to screw you and it's up to you to make sure that doesn't happen. I was also told that there is a major difference between "want" and "need," to never buy anything that you can't afford and to never pay more than what something's worth even if you can afford it.
@johnva: The problem is, people bought these houses because they were TOLD that they coudl afford them.
It was the lending industry that came up with things like "stated income loans" (not the home buyers) and other devices that allowed them to loan tons of money to people who should never have been sold these homes, then sell the mortgages to investors in such a way that the investors couldn't find out if the mortgages were good or not.
@lannister80: I would agrees that they have a more _utilitarian_ view of pets--i.e., the animal should serve a particular purpose on the farm in order to be allowed to stay--but I disagree that they have a _lower_ opinion.
People in farming communities just refuse to be hypocritical about who has the power in the human-pet relationship--it's not equal, the pets aren't substitutes for humans, and ultimately they're a cuddly form of livestock. That used to be the pervasive view of pets, even in urban communities, until the past couple of decades or so.
Well it only makes sense. If one person is laid off, they can at least watch the kids at home while the other works. You wouldn't keep kids in childcare with a parent sitting at home unemployed.
It doesn't surprise me. I stay home with our toddler, so we don't have regular childcare. But we're staying home more and cutting babysitter expenses, which saves us money twice over.