Pet Re-homing Options for Foreclosed Home Owners

Pet owners dealing with home foreclosure don't always think about what will happen to the family pet/s. When the time comes to leave a foreclosed home, too many pet owners end up leaving their pet inside the home because they didn't make arrangements for them. Don't let your pet become one of the many silent voices of pets who are left inside their abandoned home to starve to death or die of dehydration. It's irresponsible, inhumane and it's illegal in all 50 states. You can and most likely will be charged with abandonment and animal cruelty. There are options for pet re-homing and you need to find your pet/s a new home if you can't take them with you. Do not abandoned a pet inside or outside your foreclosed home when you leave.

Rescue organizations that move pets cross country or help with re-homing a pet

ForeclosurePets.org provides a free service to homeowners who need to find a new home for their pet. On their website, you set up an account and then post photos of your pet, information about the pet and contact information to help find your pet a foster home or a permanent home with a new family.

Pilots N Paws is a group of dedicated people who love to find any reason to go flying. They are also pet lovers who volunteer their time and planes to help move pets from one area of the country to another area where the pet will have a better chance of being adopted. Pilots N Paws works with rescue organizations, animal shelters and those who foster pets. Requests for transport are made through a message board set up on their website where people needing to move a pet can request a pilot to fly the pet to a new location. Work with your local animal shelter or rescue group if you have a family member or friend who will care for your pet in another state or if you are moving to another state and need your pet transported to your new home.

Operation Roger is a truck transport system that moves pets to other areas of the country. It was started by trucker, Sue Wiese, after Hurricane Katrina left thousands of pets homeless. She wanted to do something to help homeless pets and the only thing she could think of was to set up a volunteer trucker's transport to move pets to where they can be re-homed. Operation Roger is named after her Manchester Terrier who died three months before Katrina hit the Gulf Coast. If you need to move a pet to another area of the country, you can go to their website and request transportation for your pet. You can also go through your local shelter or rescue group.

Life Unleashed is a professional pet moving company that works with realty companies to help move abandoned pets left in foreclosed homes. Don't leave your pet in your home and hope someone from the realty company will find them in time. Work with a realty company in your area to move your pet to a safe location and don't leave them behind. Life Unleashed has reasonable prices to ship a pet to a new location if you are moving and can't transport your pet yourself or if you need to get them to a relative or friend. Check their website for a quote on the cost of shipping. They also have international shipping available for pets.

Lost Our Home Pet Foundation is a nonprofit organization made up of professional real estate pet lovers. Their goal is to provide assistance to other realty people who find abandoned pets in homes. They also help families find options so they can keep their pet/s with them. Work with your local realty company if you need help with re-homing or in finding suitable options that will allow you to keep your pet.

You might be surprised to find out how many rescue organizations and individual pet lovers there are who help transport pets. Don't be afraid to ask for help in trying to re-home your pet or to get help in moving them to another area of the country if that's what you need to do. Check with your local shelter, breed specific rescue groups or animal rescue groups because they may know of other organizations that can help with transporting a pet to another location or help with finding your pet a home. The solution isn't to leave your pet locked inside your foreclosed home. The humane and responsible thing to do is to re-home your pet/s if you can't take them with you.

Other options

Talk with your local animal shelter, rescue group, humane society or breed specific rescue groups, if your pet is a purebred. Most shelters have limited space so begin your search before you have to leave your home. If you don't want to put your pet up for adoption, ask if they could take your pet for a temporary arrangement. Just keep in mind; animal shelters are overflowing because of the slow economy and the unprecedented number of home foreclosures that are still on going. Fewer people are adopting pets and donations are at an all time low for many shelters. If you surrender your pet to a shelter, there's a good chance he/she will be euthanized, unless you have a no kill shelter in your area and they are able to accept more pets.

Ask family members, friends, neighbors, co-workers or your veterinarian if they know of anyone who could take your pet or if they would consider being a foster pet parent until you can get back on your feet. If you are still working, agree to continue purchasing pet food, cover any necessary vet bills and spend time with your pet. People are more apt to help care for a pet if they don't feel like the pet has been dumped on them. Let people know if you need help with your pet/s.

Check to make sure pets are allowed if you are moving into a rental home or apartment before you sign a lease. Get permission in writing from your new landlord if they allow pets. Never assume you can have a pet in a rental just because the landlord has one.

Banks and mortgage companies are also guilty of animal cruelty. The bank only owns the home and property. Personal property belongs to the evicted homeowner and that includes pets. To avoid implications of theft by the homeowner, banks will fight to keep all personal property with the home until foreclosure proceedings are finished and many lending institutions will resist efforts to rescue pets abandoned in foreclosed homes or allow someone to even give food and water to a pet left behind. California passed a law in 2008 requiring lending institutions who foreclose on a property to make sure pets left in or on the property are properly taken care of. It's ironic how lending institutions want homeowners to be responsible, but it's OK for them to allow a pet to needlessly suffer because a pet owner did the wrong thing. This law should be enacted in all 50 states and lending institutions should also be charged with animal cruelty if they stand by and do nothing to help a pet left in a foreclosed home.

Home Foreclosures and Abandoned Pets

Silent Voices of Animal Shelter Pets: Death Sentences for the Innocent

Animal Abuse Laws and Animal Rights