Ask Pennsylvania Government to Require Inspections of Vacated Properties for Abandoned Pets
- by: Kelly Rusinack
- recipient: PA Gov. Tom Wolf, Deputy Sec. of Agriculture Gregory Hostetter, PA Speaker of the House Hon. Mike Turzai, President of the Senate Lt. Gov. Mike Stack
In the past 12 months in the Pittsburgh area alone, dozens of instances of pets being left alone in vacated homes or on vacated properties, with no ability to get food or water, have been in the news. Those are just instances that have made the news; how many more animals have suffered with no public recognition is obviously unknown to me. I also don't know what happens in other parts of the state, it can't just be a Pittsburgh thing. In one instance, a woman placed a healthy dog in a garbage can, in the Winter, and left the property; the dog only being found 2 weeks later by the garbage collectors, clinging to life. Another dog was left in his crate curbside, covered with a blanket, died of hypothermia. Just this week before Memorial Day, 4 dogs were found dead in a locked vacant house, who had admittedly been crated by the home owner as she inteded to permanently leave the home; a 5th only survived by breaking from his crate and somehow finding food, including the bodies of the ones who passed. Authorities only found out about these pets when neighbors complained of a stench coming from the house.
Dogs have been left in homes where neighbors think they hear barking or other noises, or neighbors see cats in windows, and think the home is unattended, but are powerless to do anything, and don't want to get involved for fear of some legal repercussions from the property owners/former occupants, or they just don't know what to do, to whom to turn. This has got to stop.
In a civilized society, animals deserve better. If the owners of these pets can't have the caring and sense to at least take these pets to a shelter, instead leaving them to die horrible deaths, the least we can do is require property owners, realtors, landlords, and banks (in foreclosure situations), or allow law enforcement, to enter those properties and search for abandoned pets within a week of the residents' last known presence on the property, and at least monthly thereafter in case the former resident comes back to deposit an animal or animals to evade the initial search.
Entities responsible for properties should be looking over their property once the resident leaves anyhow. In the case of private ownership of a home that becomes unoccupied (e.g., it's clear the resident has moved out or intends to be away for an extended amount of time, such as the mail gets backed up), with animals left alone for more than a week, someone should be permitted to search the property, even if it's from the outside, to look on the outside grounds and to listen on the inside for sounds of abandoned animals. Neighbors often have knowledge if a homeowner had pets and of the comings and goings of the residents, and often hear dogs barking in abandoned homes or see pets in the windows. In these types of cases, Pennsylvania should give impunity to anyone who enters onto the property on an emergency basis, or who calls the proper authorities in a timely manner, to insure that abandoned pets do not end up tragic victims of human apathy, ignorance, and cruelty.
I am calling on the Governor, the legislature of the Commonwealth, and the Department of Agriculture, including the Dog Law Director, to enact laws and/or regulations requiring property owners, landlords, or banks (in foreclosure situations), to search unoccupied properties within one week after the residents' departure of the property and monthly thereafter, and to further permit all levels of law enforcement, the National Guard, Neighborhood Watches and Homeowners' Associations (if applicable), or hold neighbors immune from arrest and prosecution, if they need to enter abandoned properties and/or residences for the sole purpose of rescuing suspected abandoned animals. The presence of the animals should be documented for possible prosecution of the former resident(s) who abandoned the animals before they are taken to a shelter.
No animal should die a horrible death, all alone because their human abandoned them and no one else knew they were there. We humans can, and should, do better. I'm asking the Commonwealth to do so.
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf,
Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Gregory Hostetter,
Speaker of the House Hon. Mike Turzai, and
President of the Senate Lieutenant Governor Mike Stack:
As a fellow Pennsylvanian, I'm calling on you to take measures to combat a growing trend in our great Commonwealth, and that is the abandonment of privately-owned animals.
From horses, to dogs and cats, even pet snakes and iguanas, people are vacating their properties and leaving animals behind, often with no access to food or water, sometimes tethering them so they can't roam free, leading them to die a slow, agonizing death of starvation. Others just walk away from their animals in extreme weather, letting the elements be the animals' executioner.
I know we can do better than this. I'm asking my government to make some changes to Pennsylvania laws or regulations, to better insure that no privately-owned animals get left behind, to become the next horror story on the nightly news. I specifically ask that you consider requiring property owners, landlords, realtors, or banks (in foreclosure situations), to perform a thorough examination of vacated property, indoors and outdoors, to search for any abandoned animals, within the first week it is known that the property has become unoccupied, and then monthly thereafter.
Additionally, I ask that you give all levels of law enforcement, the National Guard, Neighborhood Watches, even Homeowners Associations, where available, the right to enter onto vacated properties, and to give neighbors impunity to explore the grounds, also, if they have reason to believe there are abandoned animals, at least until they can call for the proper authorities so any animals can be removed, documented for purposes of possible legal action against former residents, then taken for appropriate care and shelter.
No animal should suffer from human cruelty. As a developed society, don't we pride ourselves on our humanity? We can take small steps that matter greatly to the rest of the planet. The parties responsible for a property after it's vacated should already be timely reviewing the properties anyhow. There's no reason most abandoned animals shouldn't be found right away. If neighbors are knowledgeable that former occupants had pets and suspect the pets were left behind, they shouldn't feel threatened to speak up, and should know to whom to turn if they suspect there are abandoned animals, not fearing retribution for doing the right thing.
We need to get to these animals before there is a crisis. Before they are emaciated. Before they have to resort to cannibalism to survive. Long before they die. It doesn't take much, it just takes caring people to support and caring leaders to codify what we all know is the moral thing to do. I am presenting signatures of many people who care enough to support this stand, please tell me our leadership cares to take this to the next level.
And the great thing about my solution is that it doesn't cost the taxpayers a penny. The community, and the people responsible for the properties, not the government, will be acting on this.
I hope you take some time to read over the signatures. They come from all over the globe - including PA. When I began this petition on May 25th, it was because I couldn't sit idly by anymore as I saw story after story in the Pittsburgh news of dead and dying animals abandoned inside and outside homes (even in garbage cans) by depraved or inconsiderate former residents. As my petition began to gather signatures, I saw comments, some on the petition, others in personal comments to me, telling me that this isn't just a local problem, it isn't just a Pennsylvania or Appalachian problem, it isn't just a United States problem, this is a global epidemic. But I want us to be the ones who start finding answers to the problem. I need to go to bed at night knowing that someone’s animal who they thought they could just walk away from, has a full tummy, someone cares about them, and they have a chance at a new home, because I asked my government to act, and you listened. It's not enough for me that I'm good to my own pets, I can’t stand one more moment of inaction on my part, for these poor, suffering, lonely animals.
Thank you for taking the time to read this petition, and hopefully, the signatures and attached comments. I think this is just common sense, and very necessary. I hope you do, too.
Very truly yours,
Rev. Kelly E. Rusinack
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