So we’re in the middle of a housing crisis - it isn’t good. But when you take away the newspaper headlines, the influence it has on the campaign and the people who are struggling to figure out what to do - what do you really have left?

The answer is more cute and cuddly than you might think. What you have left are cats and dogs - pets left behind by their owners:

Pets “are getting dumped all over,” said Traci Jennings, president of the Humane Society of Stanislaus County in northern California. “Farmers are finding dogs dumped on their grazing grounds, while house cats are showing up in wild cat colonies.”

In one such colony in Modesto, two obviously tame cats watched alone from a distance as a group of feral cats devoured a pile of dry food Jennings offered.

“These are obviously abandoned cats,” Jennings said. “They’re not afraid of people, and they stay away from the feral cats because they’re ostracized by them.” [AP]

The best thing anyone can do to help the pets - if you’re a home owner plan ahead! If you think you might have to leave your house make sure you plan what to do with your pet. If you know that this won’t be a problem for you - check your local shelter for a new pet for yourself - every spot freed up at a shelter means a new animal can come off the street.

The thing everyone can do is to learn about the presidential candidates differing plans to fix the subprime crisis (Super Tuesday is less than a week away!)

Those who want to act on the internet should and learn how you can join up with The Humane Society of the United States.

I started to look for videos for this post and came across a series of videos from The Humane Society of Missouri. They have posted videos of dogs and cats that need homes… I have spent almost an hour watching them. This city girl misses having a furry friend around.