MAN BITES DOG
That's an interesting title. Man Bites Dog is actually the name of a card game that my husband and I play when entertaining guest at our home. The object of the game is to make headlines from the cards you are dealt. Hey they sounds like blogging and real estate. In real estate you are dealt cards; you have to make things happen with what you have. Now this article is not about a man actually biting a dog, but how animals are bitten, so to speak, by abandonment.
In real estate we owe our fiduciary to our client and his family, we are to be honest, confidential and to protect from harms way as far as any real estate transactions we are, or will, or were involved in. Does that also apply to the four (4) legged member of that household? Of course there is no confidentiality, or honesty involved, but what about protect?
Hmmmm, protect, what does that mean? Let's suppose you list a property on a short sale that is due to foreclose in the very near future. The Seller advises you that they are moving out of state and the home will be vacant by the end of the week.
Few days later you enter the home to access the condition, and who meets you at the door? FLUFFY!
Fluffy is hungry, dehydrated and scared. He is so thirsty that when he "meows", his voice cracks as a result of a parched throat. SO WHAT WOULD YOU DO? a) Immediately shut the door and pretend you didn't know; b) Take Fluffy home with you; c) Call the Seller and give him a piece of your mind; d) Call the Shelter to pick up the cat?
Thousands upon thousands of animals are abandoned each year, and the numbers will get higher as the foreclosure rates increase. As a real estate practitioner, I feel that we have responsibilities to our client, the customer, and the extended family; yes even their animals.
If you find that the family leaves their pets, it can be as a result of one or two reasons; 1) They could not find the animal at the time they left - (surely they would ask you to watch out for the pet or 2) Abandonment - they had no intention of taking the animals.
We are fortunate that here in the Phoenix, metro area, there are several agencies to help distressed animals. For dogs:
http://www.valleydogs.org/ and for other animals
http://www.animalrescuecenter.org/ . If you find you are looking in the big brown eyes of Fido, or Fluffy - don't become the
Man Bites Dog headline - be a rescurer!
I have homes for sale throughout the Valley whose pets have found loving homes, please visit my website:
http://www.homes4saleaz.com/ to give your pet a new home.
