As the economy continues its downward spiral, an increasing number of people are being evicted, selling their homes and going into foreclosure. As a result, across the United States people are giving up or abandoning their once beloved pets due to a perilous economy. Pet owners that have lost their homes simply can no longer afford the expense of pet ownership. All of this has contributed to what has been described as a nearly epidemic state of pet abandonment or given to the Humane Society. The central Missouri Humane Society has recently reported that they have taken in over 5,500 animals so far this year. The Humane Society has a well-known open door policy and will not refuse any animal. Sadly, almost half of the animals they have taken in this year have been euthanized because facilities simply lack both the funding and space to properly care for the influx of unfortunate animals.

This an extremely sad and upsetting time for pet owners who are faced with the reality that they can no longer afford the pet they love due to inflationary increases, foreclosures and evictions. The cold winter months are approaching and Americans will face increased electricity and heating fuel bills.

The Humane Society has attempted to plan for how they will effectively respond to natural disasters, and even confronted the challenge of planning for a worsening economy's effects and pet owners that are simply overwhelmed by various economic impacts upon their lives by establishing a Grant Program for rescue groups and shelters:

"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 pet 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 such a cooperative agreement with other agencies in their community such as a food bank or other community service agency."

To date, this a very sad story, however, one thing almost everyone can do to help out pet parents and their animal companions is support our local institutions that are making an effort and significant difference. If you are fortunate enough to not to be struggling, perhaps you can welcome another animal into your home and save their life from being euthanized. You can make contributions, large and small to your local animal shelters. Another way to get involved is to go to Petlane.com and investigate how to host a party to raise funds for local animal shelters or the Humane Society while earning a residual income. There are many options you can take to help alleviate the crisis of overwhelmed animal shelters. Ultimately, the choice is yours.