The Pandemic’s A Crisis For Many Pets Too And It’s Going To Get Worse
More people who are at home because of the pandemic are adopting pets. But even more, who are falling on dire financial straits, are being forced to give their best animal friends up.
And Robert Misseri of the Guardians of Rescue predicts when evictions start again, this crisis is going to explode.
Listen to the podcast here:
Here is the transcript of our conversation:
Gary: The pandemic is affecting many of us in many ways, and a lot of us are very lonely because we’re isolated in our houses. And we are hearing from mental health professionals that one of the best things we can do if we are lonely, even without the pandemic it’s a good thing to do, because it extends our lives is to have a pet.
And so there is a ramped up demand right now, for pets. But there’s also a problem, because a lot of people are now financially unstable, where before the pandemic, they were not, and they’re forced to give up their pets. So we thought it would be interesting to call my friend Robert Misseri, who is with the Guardians of Rescue. An organization that rescues animals that are abandoned or victims of disasters, to see what’s really going on across the nation with regard to this. Robert, welcome. And thank you for joining me.
Robert: Thank you, Gary. Thank you. I’m glad to be here to talk about this subject.
Gary: Now, did I set that up right? We have really a dichotomy here, don’t we? On the one hand, people want pets more so than ever before. But on the other hand, pets are getting abandoned.
Robert: So what we seen in the early stages of the pandemic, last April, were people flooding shelters, thankfully, at that time and adopting. A lot of those people were obviously either furloughed or working from home. So it was an ideal scenario.
Things have now changed. Many of those people have lost their jobs permanently, still sitting home, figuring out how to feed themselves and an animal. The great, great people are going to figure it out. And some of them are not. And those are the ones who would dump in these animals, cats, dogs, either directly out into the streets or they are bringing them to shelters who are now once again overloaded.
Then we have the issue with people who have been struggling from the very beginning of the pandemic and have been putting these animals out. We’re seeing this in the south in levels like we’ve never seen. We are working with some counties that have zero animal services. So when you’re driving down the road, you may just see six, seven, 10 dogs just wandering that once lived in someone’s home, but because of this pandemic, they are now homeless, hungry, many of them are injured.
We have just one county alone, this week, six injuries. Paralyzed dogs, you name it. So we’re seeing a on one hand, a lot of people went out and adopted them. And on the other hand, a lot of people are just dumping them.
Gary: And then you have the issue of people were being forced to downsize. And so they’re moving from homes, perhaps into apartments where they can’t bring their pets.
Robert: Our response team to people just surrendering good people wanting to find a home for a cat or a dog has increased tenfold. People calling us every day begging us and we’re not a shelter. So we’re trying to find the best means. They need to leave. They’re leaving the state. Many of them are leaving the state and they have no place to give their animal to they have no family. So it’s for us. It’s a real crisis. Obviously for these animals it’s a crisis and most people don’t realize how bad this pandemic has been ultimately, for animals.
Gary: Do you anticipate that if they don’t come up with a forbearance program for tenants, because the current forbearance programs are expected to expire the first of the year; if they’re unable to come up with another program, so that folks can remain in their homes. And there’s been a lot of talk about how that’s going to affect families, that this crisis with the pets will explode at that moment?
Robert: If the restrictions are released come January 1, and evictions are able to proceed, we’re going to see an enormous amount of animals being left in abandoned homes, because they will try to make a few phone calls and try to place them but these people will be evicted and leave these animals in these homes. We’ve seen this obviously, in other countries, where they were forced to leave for other reasons, due to the COVID. Forced by their own governments like China and other countries, and those animals suffered, they stayed in those homes and died from starvation.
But the animals that will be forced - people who will be forced on the under a an eviction process - those animals again, will wind up either in a shelter that has no room for them, or they will just let them out of their door. We’re seeing this with cats every single day. We just had somebody who released 12 rabbits that lived inside a home for nine years. And they released them in the backyard, because they had some financial issues. And we are in the middle of trying to trap them. And it’s not just cats and dogs.
We’re also seeing Gary, people panic when there’s a pandemic naturally. And we’re starting to see people who went out and bought chickens so they said, okay, you know what, we can’t buy chickens at the supermarket, we’re going to grow our own chickens, we’re going to have our own eggs, and we’re going to have chickens. And before you know they have a backyard full of chickens. And chickens are not easy to manage. They’re great animals, they’re even great pets. But if you don’t know how to care for them, they get sick. They suffer. So we’re dealing with that whole issue with people all of a sudden becoming their own little farmers.
Gary: I had never thought of that. But that’s very interesting. Actually. I saw a photo yesterday that was posted online. Somebody was walking a leashed potbelly pig down a Manhattan street. I don’t know how legal that is. But you’re correct. It’s not just dogs and cats that people have as pets. So I have two very important questions that this discussion has led me to ask. The first one is, if you are in such dire straits, and you have a pet, and you can no longer care for that pet, and you don’t have anyone you know, to gift the pet to or sell the pet to. What is your best course of action?
Robert: Well that’s a loaded question. There is no real answer to that. I think everyone needs to be aggressive. And not give up. And reach out to your local rescue groups. Reach out to your local shelters and ask them who they may work with. Reach out to your local humane societies. And chances are if you don’t call them 50 times, you’re not going to get a callback. So you must, must be aggressive.
And the last thing you want to do; people think cats and dogs can survive on their own, just by releasing them they don’t realize they suffer a horrible death. So try to figure it out. Good karma will stay with you if you do. But you need to be aggressive. You just can’t make one phone call or get one person to tell you they can’t help and give up at that point. You must be aggressive and continue to try try try try try. Don’t give up. We’re responsible for these animals. And you just just can’t give up.
Gary: And then on the flip side of that question is I’m sure that our discussion is going to tug at the heartstrings of I hope more than a few people who may be listening. What can we do to help alleviate the problem individually if we have the ability to take care of a beautiful animal?
Robert: Well, we here at the Guardians of Rescue are working with so many different counties in so many different states. Texas, Louisiana, Tennessee, obviously New York, Florida, Connecticut, we are dealing with numbers we’ve never seen. Obviously donors are down just because they aren’t working. Obviously the more support we get, the more animals we can help. But it is a much bigger picture. But every animal’s lives matter. So helping us help these animals is critical. But anyone that’s out there listening. If they know of somebody who is in that predicament they’re welcome to reach out to us. We will try to guide them, we will try to find a resource for them as well. But they need to play their role. And that role is to be aggressive with their local townships. And try to find even a friend or family member to hold that animal until your life gets back on track. These are living creatures, we just can’t dispose of them like trash.
Gary: And people can contact you by going on the web to Guardians of Rescue and you have a Facebook site as well.
Robert: We do so they can find us on social media at Guardians of Rescue. Or they can visit us at our website at https://guardiansofrescue.org/.
Gary: Robert Misseri thanks for your great help. Folks. Last night when we were setting up this interview, Robert could only talk to me for about a second or two because he was busy rescuing with his crew, seven dogs that had been abandoned. So it’s a nonstop battle for you. And we appreciate your service to the animals of our communities.
Robert: And Gary, thank you for bringing light to this problem because it really is a problem and most media is not covering it.
Gary: Thank you.
Robert: Thank you, Gary.
