By Kathleen Gray, USA TODAY  Elizabeth Strand says she has been getting more calls than ever in the past year from guilt-ridden pet owners who are dealing with the expense of caring for their pets in tough economic times.  Strand, who started the Veterinary Social Work program at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville in 2002, oversees a free hotline that provides counseling for animal owners and veterinary medicine professionals.  Strand said she recently spoke with a couple having to choose between getting treatment for their small dog, who was suffering from a treatable autoimmune disease, or paying the mortgage.  "The wife had just lost her job, and they had maxed out their credit card trying to keep their house," Strand said. "The dog was like a surrogate child to them, but the animal ended up succumbing to the disease. They were terribly heartbroken."  According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, more than 42 million American households owned a dog in 2007, the most recent year for which data are available. Households spent an average of $356 on veterinary visits that year, it said.  More than 37 million households owned a cat and spent an average of $190 on visits to the vet in 2007, the association said.  Those dollars, pet experts say, are becoming more difficult for some cash-strapped owners to pay.  "Because of the financial downturn, we're hearing from people who can't afford to provide care for their animals," Strand said.  Linda Lawrence, an instructor at Michigan State University's School of Social Work and the founder of a support group for people whose pets have died, said finances are keeping some pet owners from getting hospice care for their terminally ill pets.  "People just don't have the money to do extensive treatments for their pets, so they may euthanize them sooner," Lawrence said. "And people who are giving them up are feeling so guilty. So the recession has also hit our animal kingdom."  Although there are no numbers that show the direct correlation of the economy and pet care expenses, "we're definitely hearing from our members who have concerns about that," Dr. Gail Golab of the American Veterinary Medical Association said.  And, Golab added, "we're seeing the effects on adoptions at shelters and purchases from breeders."  The association has a list of pet-loss support hotlines on its website, www.avma.org/reference/hotlines.asp. The number of calls to hotlines is increasing, Golab said.  Gray reports for the Detroit Free Press. Contributing: Megha Satyanarayana, Detroit Free Press.  You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference.
An increasing number of pet owners aren't able to care adequately for their animals during the economic downturn, a situation that can lead to much guilt.