Today, the Gorilla’s message is simple: Adopt a pet from your local Humane Society or animal shelter! If you are one of the many people who purchase your pets from breeders, take a minute to consider this: The Gorilla heard an alarming statistic yesterday on the local news and it really surprised him. The story was an informative one, about our cute furry little friends, who occupy our animal shelters across the nation. Now, most of you are certainly aware of the problem, but did you know that on average, 5-9 million animals are euthanized every year? Of these, 60% are dogs and 70% are cats. Of course these are only estimates and the percentages may vary from state to state, but this number is very high.
You may be thinking “well this is certainly nothing new,” but these are the 2006 estimates and since then, unfortunately, due to all the recent home forclosures, those number have jumped 15-20% in the past 6 months! Folks, this is an alarming jump in such a short time, and that number is expected to rise in the next few weeks or months.
So, how high are the foreclosure numbers? Many of you have probably been following the real estate news and are well aware. For those of you who aren’t, here’s how it breaks down: A total of 149,150 foreclosure filings — default notices, auction sale notices, and bank repossessions — were reported during the month, up 7% from an adjusted February total, and up 47% from a year ago. The report also shows a national foreclosure rate of one foreclosure filing for every 775 U.S. households during the month.
It’s not difficult to figure out that when people with animals lose their homes and are forced to move (into apartments that do not allow pets in many cases), the animals are often placed in a local shelter, thus subjecting the shelter to overcrowding, forcing the facility to euthanize in many cases. The report indicated that overcrowding of the shelters is at an all-time high. Folk, these animals lost the contentment and security of having a home and they need our help! Now is the time to consider it. These animal cannot speak for themselves, but many of us have the ability to rescue them from a terrible fate if we so choose. The Gorilla himself already has 3 animals in the home (4 if you include the Gorilla!), but his family has made a decision to adopt another in light of this unusual time in history. There are about 5000 community animal shelters nationwide, so it’s easy to find one in your area. For more info, you can call your local Humane Society or go to www.hsus.org for more information. Good luck, and thank you to all of you who adopt pets from local shelters!