By Greg Jonsson
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
01/21/2009

When a bank foreclosed on an Imperial home and the former owners cleared out, they left one thing behind: a skinny cat without food or water.

No one knows what they called the tabby, but the rescue group that has been nursing him back to health since November named him Riley. Volunteers with the St. Francois Society have been feeding him kitten food and tuna fish to get his weight up. They recently nursed him through a lung infection. He's getting healthy again and is up for adoption at the PetSmart on Lemay Ferry Road in south St. Louis County.

"He's just skin and bones, but we're fattening him up," said Connie Konersman, a St. Francois Society volunteer who took charge of Riley. "Once we get him fattened up, he'll make a great little guy for somebody."

The St. Francois Society and other animal rescue groups say Riley's story is all too familiar as the effects of a tough economy trickle down to Fido and Fluffy.

"It's been overwhelming for us to be able to keep up with," said Karen Rugg, the group's volunteer coordinator. "It's almost beyond our ability to handle, it's that bad."

The St. Louis-based Humane Society of Missouri is finding itself conducting more large rescues in rural parts of the state that seem to be related to the economy.

One day earlier this month, it was 33 dogs and two cats from Cass County. Two days later, 19 dogs from Grundy County. The same day, 15 cats from Harrison County. More big rescues are in the works.

"Finances are a major factor," said Tim Rickey, director of rescues and investigations. "There definitely is a surge over what we usually see."

Layoffs and financial challenges are figuring in, but the economy's tough even for the employed, from what Rickey sees.

"Everything is more expensive," he said. "Food and fuel and taxes and everything else have steadily gone up. People are facing tough choices, between paying the mortgage and the rent and the utilities and feeding their animals. The animals oftentimes are the first to suffer."

Rickey said he has sympathy for those who have hit hard times, but that animal owners are responsible for their pets. That's something the group is trying to emphasize to those adopting pets, to ensure that anyone heading home with a new dog or cat or other pet know that they are making a long-term commitment.

So far, the Humane Society hasn't seen a big surge in pets dropped off at their adoption center, though more of the pet owners that have come in have cited the economy as a factor in giving up their animals, said Cyndi Nason, adoption centers director. The group has braced for an increase in drop-offs that may be yet to come.

For the St. Francois Society, the uptick in economy-related rescues began last spring. In one home over the summer, the group rescued seven cats from 100-degree conditions after the animals' owner skipped out. And late last year came Riley.

"I don't know how people can drive off and leave their pets behind, but it's happening more and more," Konersman said.

The upswing local groups are seeing is no surprise to Steve Zawistowski, executive vice president of the New York-based American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. He said animal welfare tracks with human welfare. Our peaks and valleys trickle down to our pets — the Great Depression was shadowed by a pet depression, with shelters taking in many times the normal number of animals, Zawistowski said.

"Every time financial hard times have hit the country, pets have been affected," he said.

This time around is no different, with animals facing a possible "triple whammy," Zawistowski said. People are losing their homes and their jobs and are having a tougher time taking care of pets. Shelters and rescue groups, meanwhile, are having a tougher time raising funds or are seeing tax dollars slashed. Finally, potential adoptions can go down as fewer people feel financially secure enough to take on another mouth to feed.

Tales of pets left behind by foreclosed-upon homeowners are not rare, especially in the areas where the real estate bubble was biggest when it burst, places such as California, Arizona, Florida, Nevada.

There are some bright spots, stories Zawistowski hears of vets waiving fees, and pet food companies donating supplies to balance the stories of abandonment.

"(Economic hard times) bring out the best and the worst in us," he said.

He encouraged those concerned about animals to follow that lead.

"If you're doing OK, check on some of your neighbors," he said. "See if they need an extra bag of dog food or kitty litter."

The prospects for pets likely will get better when the prospects for their owners do. Of course, no one knows when that will be.

"We certainly don't think it's going to get better anytime soon," Zawistowski said.

gjonsson@post-dispatch.com | 314-340-8253

01/21/2009 - St. Louis cats, dogs feeling foreclosure pinch - STLtoday.com

Attachment 15231
Thursday Jan. 15 2009: Connie Konersman, a volunteer with the St. Francois Society, takes a break from cleaning the cages at the Petsmart in South County to give Riley a scratch. Riely was rescued from a foreclosed home in Imperial and is now awaiting adoption at Petsmart. The St. Francois Society is an animal rescue organization based out of Bonne Terre. (David Carson/P-D)