Some sad but predictable news: Soaring inflation is causing some people to abandon or surrender family pets.
According to a growing number of reports, the soaring costs of food, gas, and housing are causing a spike in the number of family pets being abandoned or surrendered to shelters.
In January 2022, the first alarming animal shelter statistics began to emerge. While an average of 6.2 million animals are taken into shelters each year, only about 3.2 million find a home. The other three million are euthanized.
In March 2022, shelters in Cedar City, Utah, noted a dramatic increase in the number of phone messages being left by desperate pet owners who needed to surrender their pets, receiving as many as 30 calls from mid-January through February. Shelter administrators and staff said the number of strays and the number of pets being surrendered voluntarily are on par with the number of phone calls.
In April, shelters across Utah were reporting that millions of pets adopted during the outbreak of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) virus (commonly known as the novel coronavirus) of 2020 were being surrendered again as the high cost of living and the return to in-person working was making it impossible for pet owners to continue to care for their animals.
In May, Orange County Animal Services in Orlando, Florida, reported a 37 percent increase in the number of surrendered pets compared to the same time in 2021. Officials say the increase in housing costs in the area is the primary reason why people are being forced to surrender their pets. In Hernando County, Florida, shelter administrators are seeing a similar spike in the number of family pets being surrendered or simply abandoned on the streets.
This is not to be confused with people adopting pets to keep them entertained during the Flu Manchu lockdowns, only to abandon them once the lockdowns were lifted, a phenomena that experts refer to as You’re A Horrible Human Being.
I highly recommend getting a dog, as they make great companions.
I’m a dog guy, but feel free to adopt cats as well, if that’s your thing.
Austin-area groups I’ve successfully adopted dogs from:
Some other central Texas shelter resources:
Tags: Austin, cats, dogs, Texas, Williamson County
Great public service announcement. Sadly needed.