The foreclosure crisis has had a huge impact on family pets.

As foreclosure rates hit historic highs in states across the country, many homeowners have been faced with tough financial decisions. As a result, many animal shelters and pet food pantries are seeing increases in the need to house and feed family pets.

Some time ago I blogged about how a few distressed homeowners simply left their dogs and cats to fend for themselves when they lost their homes to foreclosure. But for some of the more responsible homeowners, parting with their beloved pets was never an option. And now many of these families have to face the challenges of keeping their pets' belly full at night — public aid and food stamp programs don't cover the cost for pet foods.

Pet assistance
As the need for pet assistance continues to grow during these hard economic times, there are many organizations across the country providing some type of aid. The Chicago Tribune reports that here in Chicago, the PAWS No-Kill Animal Shelter offers a pet food bank, available by appointment only, out of the organization's main intake facility at 26th and Drake in the Little Village Neighborhood. The bank is open by appointment only — (773) 475-9426 — and caters especially to those with a sick pet, or those who have hit financial hard times and just can't afford to feed their pet.

Cat owners facing hard times can contact the Treehouse Humane Society at 1212 W. Carmen Avenue. This no-kill cat shelter has a food pantry for cats in need.

On the South Side of Chicago, the Animal Welfare League near 62nd and Wabash, offers a food pantry for those pet owners over the age of 65 or those on public aid. You can contact them at (773) 667-0088.

In Grayslake, IL., the staff reports a 20% increase in relinquished pets compared to a year ago. In neighboring Mundelein, IL., dog trainer Cathie Sabine started Pooch Pantry about a month ago. She accepts donations of dog and cat food all week long, and then gives out the food to pet owners in need every Saturday morning. Sabine's pantry seems to be the first of its kind in Lake County. You can contact her at (847)566-1960 for more information.

Each shelter operator emphasizes they are not open to feed all dogs or cats, but are here to offer some pet assistance for those who have fallen on hard times.

Check out this list from the Tribune of places offering pet food assistance.

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With the economy continuing its descent and the housing market still unable to rebound, foreclosures have begun to affect thousands of homeowners across the Chicago area these days. And it appears that local businesses have also become vulnerable to this ballooning problem. The Chicago Tribune recently reported that Mr. Beef, a popular Italian beef sandwich restaurant in the River North area, is facing a foreclosure lawsuit filed by a bank seeking more than $600,000. The eatery has been around for 30 years, and garnered national attention a few years ago when it was featured on Jay Leno's Tonight Show.

According to the Tribune, 'Joseph Zucchero — one of the owners of the restaurant — had two loans with Midwest Bank that matured late last year. Attempts to refinance the loans were unsuccessful — both applications were rejected by the bank. When the original principal was not repaid on the old loans when they matured, the bank filed a foreclosure action, Zucchero told the Tribune. Zucchero says the bank is attempting to collect $300,000 on the loan collateralized by Mr. Beef, and another $300,000 relating to another Chicago restaurant partly owned by Zucchero.

Mr. Beef still cooking
The owner contends the beef stand is not closing and says his business is strong! Zucchero's attorney, Jim DiChristofano, indicates the bank is awaiting approval of refinancing, and is not acting to shut down the homey Chicago beef joint at this time.

Jay Fritz, Chief Executive of Midwest Bank, refused to comments specifically on the Mr. Beef situation, but said his bank continues to 'lend aggressively' to both new clients and old desperate situations for other businesses across Chicago. With several banks still not lending to small businesses – even success establishments like Mr. Beef – the situation has become desperate for the owners and for their customers who may soon get turned away from their favorite establishments.

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As more abandoned buildings and foreclosed signs dot the streets of neighborhoods across the country, two U.S. metro areas have been hit hardest by the housing market meltdown. Forbes.com recently reported that Las Vegas edged out the Detroit for the title of America's most abandoned city.

Atlanta came in third, followed by Greensboro, N.C., and Dayton, OH. Their rankings, a combination of rental and homeowner vacancy rates for the 75 largest metropolitan statistical areas in the country, are based on fourth-quarter data released Feb. 3 by the Census Bureau. Each was ranked on rental vacancies and housing vacancies; the final ranking is an average of the two.

Metro declines and growth
Rapid industrial decline over the last decade has paralyzed the economic growth of cities like Detroit and Dayton. Others, like Las Vegas and Orlando, are mostly victims of the recent housing down turn. Boston and New York are among the lone bright spots, while Honolulu is the nation's best with a vacancy rate of 5.8% for homes and a scant 0.5% for rentals, according to Forbes.com.

Forbes reports that empty neighborhoods are becoming an increasingly daunting problem across the country. The national rental vacancy rate now stands at 10.1%, up from 9.6% a year ago; homeowner vacancy has edged up from 2.8% to 2.9%. Richmond, Va.'s rental vacancy rate of 23.7% is the worst in America, while Orlando's 7.4% rate is worst on the homeowner side. Detroit and Las Vegas are among the worst offenders by both measures — the Motor City sports vacancy rates of 19.9% for rentals and 4% for homes; Sin City has rates of 16% and 4.7%, respectively.

Detroit rose to fame as an automobile giant when Henry Ford built his first Model T automobile in 1904. William Durant, the Dodge brothers and Louis Chevrolet quickly followed, elevating Detroit to prominence as the nation's automobile capital. Although many of these factories have since relocated, Detroit still remains the hub for General Motors, one of the world's largest car makers. Many economist blame rapid suburbanization, outsourcing of manufacturing jobs and a lack of economic diversity for the city's precipitous decline.

While Las Vegas is uniquely different from Detroit, it is still yet to be seen if the 'Entertainment Capital of the World' will be able to fully recoup from the housing market bust and regain its title as the fastest growing city in the country.

Read more about Detroit and Las Vegas housing market.

RealtyTrac, an online marketplace for foreclosure properties, released its 2008 U.S. Foreclosure Market Report last week, which showed foreclosure activity increased 81 percent in 2008. According to the report, a total of 3,157,806 foreclosure filings — default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions — were reported on 2,330,483 U.S. properties during the year, an 81 percent increase in total properties from 2007 and a 225 percent increase in total properties from 2006. The report also shows that 1.84 percent of all U.S. housing units (one in 54) received at least one foreclosure filing during the year, up from 1.03 percent in 2007.

Foreclosure filings were reported on 303,410 U.S. properties in December, up 17 percent from the previous month and up nearly 41 percent from December 2007. Despite the spike in December, foreclosure activity for the fourth quarter was down nearly 4 percent from the previous quarter but still up nearly 40 percent from the fourth quarter of 2007.

RealtyTrac publishes the largest national database of foreclosure and bank-owned properties, with over 1.5 million properties from over 2,200 counties across the country.

No slowdown
James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac, says many of the foreclosure prevention programs implemented to-date have done little to slow down mounting foreclosures across the country.

The California law (SB1137), which required lenders to provide written notice of their intent to initiate foreclosure proceedings 30 days prior to issuing a notice of default (NOD), resulted in a reduction of NODs from 44,278 in August to 21,665 in September. Notice of Default filings then surged by 122 percent, to over 42,000, in December. Similar patterns have occurred in other states, such as Massachusetts and Maryland, where similar types of foreclosure prevention legislation has been enacted.

Nevada, Florida, Arizona post top state foreclosure rates
More than 7 percent of Nevada housing units (one in 14) received at least one foreclosure notice in 2008, giving it the nation's highest state foreclosure rate for the year. A total of 77,693 Nevada properties received a foreclosure filing during the year, an increase of nearly 126 percent from 2007 and an increase of nearly 530 percent from 2006.

Florida registered the nation's second highest state foreclosure rate in 2008, with 4.52 percent of its housing units (one in 22) receiving at least one foreclosure filing during the year, and Arizona registered the nation's third highest state foreclosure rate, with 4.49 percent of its housing units (one in 22) receiving at least one foreclosure filing during the year.

Other states with top 10 foreclosure rates for 2008 were California, Colorado, Michigan, Ohio, Georgia, Illinois and New Jersey.

November was a classic good news bad news month for foreclosure activity. According to RealtyTrac's most recent U.S. Forelosure Market Report, which shows foreclosure filings — default notices, auction sale notices and bank repossessions — foreclosure activity decreased 7 percent in November from October, but jumped 28 percent from the same time last year. The report also shows one in every 488 U.S. housing units received a foreclosure filing in November.

RealtyTrac officials say there are several indications that this lower activity is simply a temporary lull before another foreclosure storm hits in the coming months.

'When you typically see an increase in unemployment you see an increase in foreclosures,' Rick Sharga, senior vice president at RealtyTrac, said on MarketWatch News Radio. We expect the number of foreclosures to jump in January.'

Nevada, Florida, Arizona post top state foreclosure rates
Nevada foreclosure activity in November decreased nearly 4 percent from the previous month, but the state maintained the nation's No. 1 foreclosure rate, with one in every 76 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing during the month — more than six times the national average. Foreclosure filings were reported on 13,962 Nevada properties, up 109 percent from November 2007.

Florida foreclosure activity in November was also down from the previous month, but the state's foreclosure rate moved up to the No. 2 spot thanks to an even bigger monthly decrease in Arizona. One in every 173 Florida housing units received a foreclosure filing during the month, nearly three times the national average.

With one in every 198 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing, Arizona posted the nation's third highest foreclosure rate in November despite a nearly 25 percent decrease in foreclosure activity from the previous month. Foreclosure filings were reported on 13,136 Arizona properties during the month, up nearly 128 percent from November 2008.

Other states with foreclosure rates ranking among the top 10 were California, Michigan, Georgia, Ohio, Colorado, Utah and Idaho.

California, Florida, Michigan post highest foreclosure totals
Foreclosure filings were reported on 60,491 California properties in November, the most of any state and a 6 percent increase from the previous month following two consecutive monthly decreases. The state's foreclosure activity was up 51 percent from November 2007, and one in every 218 housing units received a foreclosure filing during the month — more than twice the national average.

Despite a 9 percent decrease in foreclosure activity from the previous month, Florida continued to post the nation's second highest number of properties with foreclosure filings — 49,190. The state's foreclosure activity was still up 68 percent from November 2007.

Michigan foreclosure activity in November increased 28 percent from the previous month, giving the state 14,594 properties with foreclosure filings during the month — the nation's third highest state total. Michigan's foreclosure activity was up 27 percent from November 2007, and the state's foreclosure rate ranked fifth highest in the nation for the month.

Nevada, Arizona, Ohio, Georgia, Illinois, Texas and Virginia also reported foreclosure totals that were among the nation's 10 highest.

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