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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.

Visit DEAN & DEAN’S TEAM CHICAGO at BlogChicagoHomes.com.

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.

From boom to bust

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.