Left-Behind Pets Find New Homes with Realtors

October 1, 2008 | By Amy Lieberman

Facing foreclosure, Phoenix home owners have been packing their bags, but leaving pets behind. (Pet Pulse Photo Courtesy of Lost Our Home Pet Foundation, Design by Mike Lloyd)

PHOENIX -- With the economy in a fever pitch, tipped off by the mortgage crisis, pets have been caught in the fury, too.

Realtors are often the first to discover the furry financial victims left behind in abandoned homes, and in Phoenix, three Realtors decided to step up to face -- and fix -- the problem.

They decided to combine their two interests and specialties -- real estate and animals -- and established Lost Our Home Pet Foundation in June.

The organization works to locate, care for and re-home abandoned animals in the Phoenix area.

"I would hear these stories from Realtors of pets left in backyards or abandoned homes and I realized this is really becoming a huge issue," said Jodi Polanski, a mortgage lender and president of Lost Our Home. "Once we really got involved, I realized that it was way past a huge problem. It's an epidemic."

Relying mainly on tips from neighbors and other Realtors, Lost Our Home continues to rescue pets on a daily basis.

Organizers only recently started to document the pets on a database, but Polanski says that more than 50 dogs and 40 cats have been rescued in the past month.

Lost Our Home, which relies solely on donations, lacks a facility and relies on foster families to house several animals at a time.

But the number of willing foster families can't keep up with the abandoned animal toll.

Polanski says the team has considered combing the streets looking for abandoned homes, but was deterred by a recent search of two zip code areas, which identified 2,000 foreclosed Phoenix valley homes.

"Much more work remains, and there is no way we could locate all these animals on our own," she said.

The problem is compounded by the capacity local animal shelters have also reached, Polanski says. If owners bring their pets to these packed facilities, the animals will most likely be euthanized.

"We have 30 foster homes and that has been a big help," Polanski, who is housing three cats and two dogs, said. "And we are taking in pets ourselves, too. But we have still reached our capacity and have a waiting list for animals still in the abandoned homes."

Organizers bring the pets still lacking foster-homes food and water on a regular basis, hoping an foster opening will soon appear.

One foster parent and volunteer, Don Leitzen, of North Scottsdale, has taken in more than 20 dogs the past two months.

And with an additional 30 dogs he has also agreed to foster through another non-profit organization over the past two years, Letizen's five acre ranch is "like a playground," he says.

"It would be better if I had 20 dogs, I know, but they are perfectly happy here, and probably better off here than some of the homes they were in before," Leitzen, who is retired, said.

He gives all the dogs -- and his 13 horses and one goat -- free roam of "Phantom's Ranch," but also provides them with a large metal barn, equipped with kennels, and designated play areas.

Some of the costs -- like food and spaying and neutering procedures -- are fronted by local humane societies and donations, but it isn't always enough for his large brood.

Leitzen doesn't seem to mind splitting the difference.

"If I have to spend $50 or $100 a week, it really doesn't make a difference," he said.

On Wednesday, Leitzen was preparing to take two of his most recent additions -- a yellow Labrador puppy and a Long-Haired Chihuahua, both of which he personally rescued at a humane society when he saw their owners turning them in -- to get fixed.

"I'm doing what I can, but I am still turning away a lot of dogs," he said.

All of the pets found by Lost Our Home were not fixed, adding to the list of medical and care costs required before the pets can be adopted.

Volunteer Becci Burke, a Realtor, described a recent visit to an abandoned home, which was "stripped clean of appliances" but replete with "trash and dog waste."

"We found these two purebred pit bulls, who were actually very, very nice, but the conditions were worse than I ever thought they would be," she said. "It just tears at my heart that these people were fine with leaving their pets behind like that, with no food and water."

Polanski mentioned a cat who survived off two cans of wet food for 21 days.

Polanski says it has been difficult to track down some home owners and renters, but that authorities have been "fantastic" in supporting the the mission.

Still, she says, organizers are uncertain if they want to devote their time to the humans responsible, rather than animals in need.

"We got the police involved in two of the bigger cases," Polanski said. "In one, there was a house filled with two dogs, five brand new puppies, 13 cats and some fish. The fish were so hungry they had been eating each other."

Animal cruelty charges, which are a felony in Arizona, will be pressed against both offending parties.

For now, though, Polanski and her team are focused on understanding how this problem became an "epedemic," and what can be done to turn the situation around.

"I can't make sense of any of this, and I have tried," Polanski said. " Somebody may be panicking, and their life is falling apart, and they are thinking 'I can't bring my pet with me, and if I turn it in to animal control services, so maybe if I just leave it here someone will find it."

"What people aren't thinking is that it could be one month before someone finds these pets, and they could die a very slow, torturous death of starvation, dehydration and heat exhaustion."

Burke says that getting the word out is key, and recommends if people know of any pet abandonment incidents to call 480-656-0888 or log on to LostOurHome.org.

"There is no rhyme or reason to why people are still doing this. We have been on every news channel. Just don't abandon your animals. Call us. We will take care of it," she said.

Pet Pulse has previously reported on other aspects of how the economy and mortgage crisis has impacted pets. For more information, search Zootoo.com for "PART I: Pets Caught in Wake of a Nation’s Recession," "PART II: A Solution for Pets Caught in Recession's Wake," "Tough Times: Food Bank Helps Needy Pets," and "Amid Sour Economy Pet Industry Soars."

Tell us what you think about “Left-Behind Pets Find New Homes with Realtors” below. Share your favorite videos by clicking on the ZootooTV tab. Send us your story ideas by e-mailing us at news@zootoo.com or by calling us at 877-777-4204.