By Jane Clifford
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
June 9, 2008
The dogs sensed something was up and turned to Anna Jaramillo for answers. That only made things harder for her and daughter, Eyannah, 9, who were at the San Diego Humane Society to relinquish their beloved pets.
Jaramillo moved recently from one house in Santee to another and can't keep them.
“The bank showed up 13 days ago,” Jaramillo said, with a notice that her rental property was being sold, the result of foreclosure. “The landlord didn't bother to tell me this was happening.”
It's a scene being repeated across the county, and the country, as the economy squeezes people – and their pets.
Rising costs for fuel, groceries and health care along with the housing crunch leave four-legged family members with cheaper food, fewer physicals and, sometimes, just out in the cold – on the side of the road or in backyards and houses their owners have left or lost.
“We are up 1,700 animals more than this time last year,” said Dawn Danielson, director of the county's Department of Animal Services, which serves San Diego, six other cities and unincorporated areas. “There had been a steady decline over five years, and this is the first year we now have an increase. We attribute that to a lot of people losing their homes.”
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