Americans are surrendering their pets to shelters en masse in 2024, reports from the start of the year reveal.
Americans from Tallahassee to Upper Michigan, Atlanta to Amarillo, are surging to surrender their pets in 2024, according to a series of local area reports. The number of surrenders is getting so high that at least one animal shelter in Raleigh, North Carolina, is no longer accepting owner surrenders so the staff can keep caring for genuine strays who need help.
“I cannot tell you how many people have moved from California, Illinois everywhere, and then they can’t find a place to rent. Because they can’t keep their pets. So that’s really frustrating,” one of the shelter workers explained to ABC 11. And the same thing is happening across the country for absolutely no good reason.
“We are seeing more animals come in than we’ve seen in the last three years,” one shelter from Tallahassee told WTXL, the timing of which suggests people are also abandoning their COVID-19-era pets. “Rent goes up, pet deposits go up and people are running out of options. Unfortunately, we are the last stop with that, and sometimes they have no other choice,” another shelter from Atlanta told News First.
Why are people like this?https://t.co/hp69PbeReL
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) August 30, 2023
I understand surrendering a pet to a new family, or someone who can care for them when you can’t. I would never abandon my pets, personally, but I know people who’ve been in extreme circumstances and had no other option (and most of their pets end up with me).
What I cannot fathom is how anyone with a soul could give up a pet because they can’t be bothered to find an apartment that allows them — even if there is a deposit. I guarantee half of the people who gave up their pets because of “fees” wouldn’t have done so if the $150 to $500 deposits were broken down into tiny monthly payments. But people are mostly stupid as heck so probably didn’t realize … so maybe they didn’t deserve pets in the first place? (RELATED: Family’s Dog Goes Missing For 8 Years, Is Found In Most Bizarre Place)
And since pets are such a normal part of our lives, surely it’s time for apartments to cater pet fees into the overall rent? It’s just one idea that could stop the devastation of animals who may only be in our lives for a time, but we are supposed to be in their lives forever.