As the economy continues to worsen, more people are being evicted, going into foreclosure and selling their homes. All over the US people are having to give up their pets because of the struggling economy, and people simply cannot afford to care for them anymore.This has lead to a near epidemic status of pets that are being abandoned and given to the Humane Society. In Missouri alone, The Central Missouri Humane Society is reporting that they have taken in 5430 animals so far this year. The humane society has an open door policy and does not refuse any animal, but nearly half of the animals they have taken this year have been euthanized because the facility does not have the funds or the space.

This is a very sad time for pet owners that cannot afford to keep their pets as a result of the increases in gas, heating fuel and food. As winter approaches another spike in abandoned and adoptions by the Humane Society, as Americans will most likely feel even more of a crunch as temperatures drop and they have to purchase more electricity and heating fuel.

The Humane Society has tried to address how they will respond to natural disasters, and even addressed the worsening economy's effects on pet owners by creating a Grant Program for shelters and rescue groups:

"To ease the current hardships, The HSUS is offering grants to animal shelters, non-sheltered rescue/adoption groups and animal care and control agencies to help establish, expand, or publicize services or programs that assist families in caring for their pets during the current economic crisis.

Grants range from $500 to $2,000 per organization. Collaboration is encouraged, and preference will be given to organizations that have a cooperative agreement with other agencies in their community such as a food bank or other community service agency."

So far this is a very sad story, but one thing we can all do to help pet owners and pets alike is to support our local institutions trying to make a difference. If you are one of the lucky ones that is not struggling to this point, maybe you can open your home to another animal and save their life from being euthanized? If you feel like this is a sacrifice you can make, then be sure to go by your local animal shelter.

If you have the means you can donate money to your local shelter, or to the Humane Society (click here), who also promotes environmental safeguards as they are doing with Prop 2: http://yesonprop2.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=102&I...

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