Dogs, too, are victims of foreclosure crisis

COLUMBUS (AP) — The mortgage crisis unfolding around the country, particularly in hard-hit states such as Ohio, often has an unpublicized victim: the family dog.

Nearly 20 percent of the 182 people who deposited dogs at the Franklin County Dog Shelter by the middle of December this year said they were being evicted.

“There’s even a national term for it: ‘foreclosure dogs,’” said Lisa Wahoff, the shelter’s director. “We started seeing it more about 18 months ago, people writing ‘foreclosure’ or ‘financial reasons’ on their surrender forms.”

The number of foreclosures filed in Franklin County is rising by about 2,200 a year. Last year, it jumped to 8,875.

Last week, the Franklin shelter recorded its own record number — 360 dogs in a building meant to hold 250. About half were surrendered because of their owners’ economic problems.

In December 2005, when foreclosures were lower in the county, only 12 owners surrendered their dogs. Last December, 209 were turned in, 28 of which came during the four days before Christmas.

Franklin County Commissioner Mary Jo Kilroy said foreclosure dogs tell the bigger story. “That’s an incredible marker when you’re giving up a member of your family,” she said.

Pet expenses can become the tipping point for Ohioans struggling with money during troubled economic times.