Now, Foreclosed Pets Are Being Rescued as Well.

Houston -- The mortgage and foreclosure crises have spread far and wide, nationally and internationally. Now a new rescue effort includes help for pets abandoned by distressed homeowners.

A mortgage industry veteran is bringing together all rescuers with "No Paws Left Behind" a unique nonprofit that aims to raise awareness and find solutions for what appears to be a growing, yet invisible phenomena of pets left behind by foreclosed owners.

"In an effort to help families coping with the devastating foreclosure process, we are bringing awareness to the growing trend of abandoned pets and offering possible solutions," said Cheryl Lang, president of Integrated Mortgage Solutions here, a collateral protection resource for the mortgage servicing industry, and founder of No Paws Left Behind.

The number of "foreclosure pets" may get quite large. According to recent statistics, the nonprofit said, 63% of all American households have pets. Furthermore, since experts agree that around two to four million Americans will lose their homes before the foreclosure crisis ends, that leaves more than 1.25 million companion animals at risk.

"For more than five years, my company and I have been dedicated to professionally and sympathetically working with borrowers, lenders and servicers throughout loss mitigation and default management," she said. "Unfortunately, it is this experience that has brought me face-to-face with abandoned animals and their heart-wrenching stories. As the mortgage industry and the nation embrace legislative improvements, we must keep in mind those silent victims who cannot speak up for themselves."

That reality inspired Ms. Lang to create an organization designed to help foreclosure victims find shelters for their pets and "bring awareness to all communities the silent victims of foreclosure who have no voice or rights to implement change," the nonprofit said. Its stated goal is "to act as a support group for those who find foreclosure imminent and need help to find shelter for their beloved pets," as well as to serve as a resource for those who find or know of abandoned pets, and to start an organized national movement that will help change "laws categorizing pets as personal property."

Proving there is a need for legal change, the nonprofit said, is the fact that "outdated legislation prevents the removal of pets from abandoned properties prior to the eviction process, placing code inspection officers in a difficult position." So one of the organization's current goals is to repeal this law on the national level. The first step in that direction has been the establishment of a website petition.