Housing Crisis Hard on Pets, Too

America's pets are feeling the subprime fallout these days as more homeowners are foreclosing and abandoning them, the Chicago Tribune reports. A recent spate of deserted animals—including 24 horses on an Oklahoma farm, and 21 Great Danes left to die in Pennsylvania—inspired the national Humane Society to issue a plea: If you can't afford to keep pets, at least take them to a shelter.

Animal shelters don't track foreclosure-related drop-offs, but one advocate said it's common for pets to suffer when the economy wilts. Some citizens are even stepping up to help: One Cincinnati artist adopted a pair of the 63 cats abandoned in a local house, and found homes for most of the rest. She told the Tribune that there are 20 left over, for any feline lovers out there. (More subprime mortgages stories.)