Number of abandoned dogs, cats on the rise

"Guy," a 10 or 11 year old Dachshund, is one of the two dogs recently found abandoned at Brookings' Azalea Park.

In the last year the number of abandoned pets has increased sharply in Curry County, and it’s not slowing down, according to SCHS animal care facilitator Audrey Morris and county shelter Supervisor Catherine Powers.

Monday’s dogs at Azalea Park are just the most recent example of the ongoing animal tragedy.

At about the same time, Brookings Police responded to a report of dogs barking at the park, where they found a Dachshund and a Red Heeler mix tied to a bench with another note indicating that the owner had lost her job and her husband wouldn’t pay to feed them any more.

The dogs, which shelter volunteers have named Guy and Sandy, are 10 or 11 years old, and both are housebroken and healthy except for ear infections, Powers said.

The situation is repeated almost daily in Curry County: families are forced to give up their pets because they can’t afford them.

“We get four or five (pets) some days,” she said.

SCHS has picked up four puppies and three cats from Azalea Park in recent weeks.

“People leave them there thinking kids will find them and take them home,”  Morris said.

Another recent find involved a litter of kittens left by a trash bin at McDonald’s in Brookings.

“They were soaking wet, freezing cold and scared to death,” Morris said.

Cats are abandoned more often than dogs because there is a popular view that cats can take care of themselves.

Housecats and kittens who aren’t raised by a feral mother don’t have the skills to hunt and survive on their own, said Morris.

Dogs are also being abandoned at the shelters.

“One morning I drove up just as a woman was driving out,” Powers said. “She had just tied a dog to the shelter’s door.”

The woman was trying to get out of paying the shelter’s drop-off fee, she said.

If the situation is that bad, the fee can be waived, she said.

A set of covered kennels owned by the county, for Brookings Police to drop off stray dogs, has been the site of several abandonments despite a heavy padlock on the gate.

Animal control only checks the pens, located near the U.S. Post Office on Railroad Street, when they are called, otherwise SCHS checks the kennels regularly to make sure no dogs are left there too long.

“Last year when it snowed we found a tiny puppy left there,” Morris said.

 In recent months, renters have found cats left behind by former owners.

There are also more “strays” found wandering around town.

“No one is looking for them,” said Morris. “We’ve only had stray pets claimed two times in the last three months.”

Both shelters want to keep pets and their owners together, and have several programs to help keep pet families

Both shelters have pet food available, with no questions asked.

“We have puppy food, large dog food, small dog food, kitten and cat food,” Morris said.

SCHS gives away 300 pounds of dog food each month to help feed dogs and keep owners and their pets together.

“We don’t want animals to go hungry and we don’t want people to have to give up their pets,” said Morris.

There is also a program to help owners with veterinary care. In October, SCHS spent $1,200 assisting owners with necessary care for their animals.

Both shelters are also seeing an increase in purebred dogs showing up.

The Gold Beach shelter currently has a Corgi and Border Collies and recently placed a German Shepherd who arrived with registration  papers.

Some of the purebreds are  left at the shelter, but others are strays.

“People who lose purebreds tend not to call us to find their dogs,” Morris said. “They think their dog has been stolen.”

Recently a purebred stray was identified by his owner three months after the dog arrived. The owner came forward after the dog was featured as “pet of the week” in the Curry Coastal Pilot.

“His owners were watching Web sites, waiting for someone to try to sell him,” Morris said.