By: Las Vegas Now Staff
There's a new causality emerging in the massive plague of home foreclosures in Las Vegas — the pets. It seems that when families or renters are kicked out because the home goes into foreclosure, they are leaving their pets behind.
You walk down any street in Las Vegas and you are likely to see a 'for sale' sign. In many cases, the home is in foreclosure. A closer look at the empty house and you may hear the sounds of pets left behind to fend for themselves.
About 40-percent of dogs with Las Vegas rescue groups are foreclosure causalities.
It's hard to imagine anyone could abandon the precious faces, but it's happening every day in Las Vegas. It happened to both Blue and Princess Sara. Blue is the larger Weimaraner –Princess Sara is the small one. Both were causalities of the home foreclosure crisis in Las Vegas.
Jocelyn Arter, Weimaraner Rescue president said, ”The banks come and put a lock on the door. The dogs are stuck in the home, and the families have to flee. They cannot get their dogs back unfortunately.”
In other cases, a family will just leave the pet behind when they leave the house. Princess Sara was found abandoned in the backyard of her foreclosed home — locked in – without food or water.
“Right here, you could actually put your hand like this around her. She was that skinny. It was terrible,” said Arter.
For one month, she lived off the generosity of neighbors. They threw food and water over the fence.
“A neighbor had called animal control several times and was unable to get anyone to come out. She was very anorexic,” said Arter.
Finally, they called the rescue organization and Arter placed the Weimaraner with Ronna, a doggie foster mom. “It's taken a terrific toll because the dogs mourn the loss of their family,” said Ronna.
She is nursing Princess Sara back to health. She also helped with Blue, whose family lost their house and could not afford him any longer.
“I just give them lots of hugs, kisses, let them get up on the sofa with me and cuddle,” said Ronna.
“The sad part is not everybody is aware of the situation or are just so busy with their lives right now or so stressed out they don't even know that it is going on,” said Arter.
But it is. And the victim cannot speak up to say help me.
So Saturday, dog rescue groups all over the valley will hold a donation drive. It will be at the southeastern corner of Tropicana and Eastern from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. There will also be a cat adoption there, then a dog adoption May 3.
Email your comments to Reporter Edward Lawrence.
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