In Contra Costa County, thousands of people have lost their homes to foreclosure, and some of them leave behind the family pet.
In response to this continuing trend, California Assemblyman Mark Desaulnier,D-Concord, introduced Assembly Bill 2949 this year calling for real estate agents, landlords and property managers to take responsibility for those abandoned pets.
"The previous law inhibited people (real estate agents or banks) from taking any action when they went in the house and saw the animal there because the old law basically said that was private property and they couldn't remove it," said Desaulnier.
The new law says that effective Jan. 1, "any person or private entity with whom a live animal has been 'involuntarily deposited' must take charge of it."
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I can see pros and cons here. Maybe this new law will reduce the number of pets left by their owners to starve and fend for themselves, but it may also place a greater burden of responsibility on realtors and other bystanders in the community. Will fears of being responsible for an abandoned pet decrease a landlord's inclination to allow future renters to own pets? What do you think?
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