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Pets Likely Affected as 40 Million People Face Restart of Student Loan Payments
06Sep’23
Pets Likely Affected as 40 Million People Face Restart of Student Loan Payments
Identifying, Utilizing Resources, Plus Preparation Could Help Prevent a Wave of Pets From Being Surrendered to Already Overwhelmed Shelters
ATLANTA, GA, 9/06/2023 – Shelter Animals Count (SAC), the most trusted and current source for animal sheltering data, encourages pet owners to plan and prepare if they’re among the 40 million people whose student loan payments come due again in October.
Across America, ongoing economic challenges involving inflation, cost of living, and housing have already tested people’s ability to care for and keep their pets. On top of this, the restart of student loan payments after a 3 ½ year pause could create a perfect storm of monetary stress that would be tragic for pets, their owners, and animal shelters.
“For all the financial stressors already affecting pet owners, it’s worrisome to imagine the consequences of 40 million people with another significant payment each month. This could trigger a wave of pet owners giving up – or considering giving up –their pets because they feel unable to care for them,” said Stephanie Filer, Executive Director of Shelter Animals Count. “For the owners, their pets, and the shelter system that’s already stretched beyond capacity, it’s urgent for people to look at their budgets, create plans, and reach out to shelters now to help connect them with resources. The hope is that planning ahead will allow them to keep their pets at home and out of shelters.”
According to the Education Data Initiative, the average monthly student loan payment is an estimated $503 based on previously recorded average payments and median average salaries among college graduates.
A survey by US News and World Report, shows the vast majority of borrowers (85%) think they’ll face financial hardship due to student loan repayment, and about half (49%) say they’ll have a hard time paying other bills. According to Forbes Pet Ownership Statistics 2023, 66% of U.S. households (86.9 million homes) own a pet. Of those, 74% of pet owners are Gen Z, Millennials, and Gen X. According to bankrate.com, Generation X holds the largest share of federal student debt, with Millennials a close second, followed (due to their age) by Gen Z, with the least federal debt. The total outstanding debt between these three generations is $1.1 trillion.
“Just from a housing perspective, a new monthly payment could make it difficult to meet rent or mortgage obligations, in a market lacking affordable, pet-friendly housing, and often high pet deposits, pet rent, and breed restrictions,” Filer said. “This is especially important as shelters report housing as a top reason people surrender their pets –particularly dogs. Planning ahead and identifying community resources as a safety net will be vital to keeping people and pets in their homes.”
Shelters are already in their third year of having too many animals and not enough adoptions, especially for dogs. Dog adoptions are forecast to remain flat and even dip below 2022 numbers, while an increase in shelter intake January-June 2023 continues to be driven by dogs, which saw a 4% increase compared to the same months of 2022. Dog intake is nearly 15% higher than 2021.
The gap of cats and dogs waiting for an outcome reached 7% in the first half of the year, leading to an increase in animal populations at already overburdened shelters, rescues, and government-funded organizations in every region of the U.S. Download the full SAC Q2 2023 report PDF here.
The following tips and resources may help pet owners save money on pet care, and keep pets at home and out of shelters when owners are facing a financial crisis:
Discounts on pet supplies – Many online retailers of pet supplies offer subscribe and save or autoship programs, which offer a generous discount for the first order, and an ongoing discount after that. Watch for sales or discount codes, and if you can, stock up when things are on sale. Sign up for text and email alerts to make sure you don’t miss out on any discounts.
Gifted pet supplies – Watch neighborhood apps or social media marketplace and “buy nothing” groups to pick up gifted pet supplies. Sometimes people try a new brand or flavor of food, or a new scent of cat litter, and either the pet or the person rejects it. Many of those items are given away free or sold very cheap, and pet owners can pick those up.
Spay/neuter and vaccines – Low-cost, high volume spay/neuter clinics and clinics affiliated with shelters offer very discounted spay/neuter surgeries. Call around to those types of clinics and book an appointment sooner rather than later, because many are booked out weeks or months. Many of these clinics also offer vaccines and sometimes dentals. Shelters often have shot clinics at very discounted costs, so follow your local shelters on social media, or give them a call.
Emergency medical care – Pet medical care can be expensive. If your animal needs a medical procedure that you can’t afford, there are organizations that may be able to help.
Pet food pantries – An increasing number of shelters provide emergency food assistance to help people avoid giving up their pets due to financial strain. Many more of these donation-based pantries have been established since the start of the pandemic, and they are grateful to receive donations from individuals and stores to sustain their programs. In addition, it’s worth checking human food pantries which often have supplies of pet food available as well. Often, a bag of pet food is all it takes to keep a dog or cat at home, saving the owner from having to make the heartbreaking decision to surrender their pet to a shelter.
Pet retention programs – Many shelters offer resources to help people keep their pet at home if they’re facing a crisis and considering surrendering it. Programs vary, but shelters may offer help with medical care, behavioral resources, temporary fostering, pet care supplies such as food, litter, leashes, collars, and bedding, lists of pet-friendly housing, and may even help with installing or repairing fencing.
Adopting vs. purchasing a pet – When looking to acquire a pet, you can save money by adopting from a shelter or rescue group, rather than buying from a pet shop, breeder or online puppy seller. Shelters and rescues receive an amazing variety of pets of all ages, sizes and types, including purebred dogs and designer mixed breeds. Plus they’re generally already spayed or neutered, vaccinated and often microchipped. Those services can cost hundreds of dollars, so when you adopt a pet, you not only save a life, you save a lot of money, which leaves more in your budget for future pet care.
About Shelter Animals Count (SAC): SAC is a collaborative, industry-led nonprofit organization formed by a diverse group of animal welfare agencies to create and share The National Database of sheltered animal statistics, providing facts and enabling insights that will improve animal welfare throughout the country.