April 9, 2008

The families started coming in during the winter, parents and kids gathered in the cramped lobby of the Montgomery County Humane Society shelter to hand over their pets. It's a largely hidden consequence of the housing meltdown: a spike in the number of animals being turned in or abandoned as families are forced from their homes.

"We get give-ups all the time, but typically it's someone with allergies or a young animal with behavior issues," said Kathy Dillon, the facility's operations coordinator. "Now every week we're seeing whole families come in to say good-bye to a longtime pet because they have to move. We've had a lot of children in tears."

In the Montgomery shelter, about 15 percent of animals received in the past two months are a result of foreclosures or related economic dislocations, according to J.C. Crist, the county Humane Society president and chief executive. That's up from about 3 percent last year for similar reasons. The facility takes in about 700 animals a month, he said, including many from surrounding counties.

"I just had a beautiful 12-year-old golden retriever given up by a wonderful family because they had to find temporary housing," Crist said. "This is incredible. And I know we haven't hit the peak."

In two of the shelter's cat rooms, a majority of the stacked cages are marked with star-shaped stickers reading "Golden Oldies," meaning the felines inside are 7 years or older. Based on her interviews with the families that drop them off, Dillon said the influx of mature cats also stems from the economic downturn, as families are forced to move or simply can't afford an elderly animal's vet bills.

Likewise for the serene black mixed-breed dog she stopped to pet in the adjacent room, the former pet of a man who said he was losing his house.

"These animals are obviously well-cared-for and socialized," Dillon said. "We haven't seen this before."

For owners who think better times may be ahead, the society has expanded its "Safe Harbor" project. The program, designed to aid domestic abuse victims, military families and others who may have to leave their homes on short notice, provides boarding and care for pets on a short-term basis.

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April 7, 2008

IF OPRAH CAN DO for Fido what she's done for some authors and Barack Obama, dog lovers will wag their tails. They were drooling in anticipation of Oprah's show last Friday.

Oprah's endorsement turns books you never heard of into best-sellers, and transforms lagging presidential hopefuls into odds-on contenders.

As a onetime TV columnist, then gossip columnist, I know that most celebrities are empty-headed clowns who don't have the humility to thank their lucky stars for making them winners in life's lotto.

Oprah is among the exceptions, and when America's most influential woman pushes an issue, Americans respond.

On her Friday show, a teary-eyed Oprah condemned puppy mills, the bitter betrayal of "man's best friend." The canine horror houses are located mostly in Oklahoma, Missouri - and the Puppy Mill Capital of the East, picturesque Lancaster County.

Given that Oprah is a dog lover - her coddled canines live better than you or I - she came late to the anti-puppy-mill party and only after a very public "invitation" by Bill Smith.

The founder and head of 10-year-old Main Line Animal Rescue, in Chester Springs, Smith in February spent $10,000 of a donor's money to put up an anti-puppy-mill billboard near Oprah's studio. It pictured a cute dog pleading: "Oprah - please do a show on puppy mills; the dogs need you."

Friday, the dog's wish came true.

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