Animal Abandonment At All-Time High, Rescuer Says

MOUNT AIRY -- Family pets once thought of as family members are being treated like expendable trash, said the head of a local pet rescue program.

A girl found a 23-day-old kitten in the middle of a Mount Airy road with its umbilical cord still attached.

Dogs Star and Grazer are victims of a house fire that left one with eye damage and both without a home.

Spencer's story goes beyond his two bad legs. His family was growing, leaving no room for a disabled dachshund on wheels.

"They're moving, they're pregnant, something happened in the family," Linda Mooney said. "There are so many, we just don't have enough foster homes."

Linda Mooney runs the Surry Animal Rescue Program, which is currently housing 50 animals.

She said abandoned animals are at an all-time high. She blames foreclosures, fast movers and lazy homeowners.

"Last week, we had one that was left in a basement and starved, and that was one of the lucky ones," she said. "There have been times when we found a dead dog in a closet because someone just took off."

Pets are the bottom of the financial food chain during rough times, she said, when owners often let go of the responsibility and leave them on the streets.

Within hours, many abandoned pets in the area end up in one of the kennels at Surry County Animal Control.

Strays are picked up and, within 72 hours, a red circle is placed on their kennel meaning their time is up.

"We wish we could save them all, but we do the best we can," an animal control employee said.

A local police officer said he does his best to prosecute the people responsible for abandoning their pets. He said he's pressed charges 25 times this year

"I think the fees and the laws ought to be stiffer to where we can do our job efficiently," he said.

Mooney said prosecuting is messy, including paperwork, lawyers and tracking families down. But she said she believes everyday citizens can be part of the solution.

"They should go to court and back us, back animal control," she said. "Don't turn the cheek, drive by a dog that's been hit by a car and think somebody else is going to help it."

Shelters Blame Economy For Overcrowding

The faltering economy is affecting how many animals rescue operations can take in and how many lives can be saved.

The Twisted Whiskers Farm Sanctuary in Pinnacle operates specifically for special needs animals, like cats with leukemia and AIDS or dogs with terminal health problems.

The owner of the sanctuary said donations are at an all-time low and she's having a difficult time paying for things, like expensive veterinarian bills and food.

Kristina Rieck said she gets dozens of calls and e-mails to take in animals, but she said because finances are stretched thin, she has to turn them away.

"It's about giving them a quality of life, not just bringing in a quantity just to save them," she said. "You get to a point where you can only do so much, and you have to give them the quality that they already have."