In October, alone, the Humane Society has seen a roughly 66 percent increase in the number of cats it cares for and a 75 percent increase in dogs.

Sara Gromley, the Public Relations Assistant for the Humane Society of Southern Arizona, has seen the problem of pet abandonment become all too common and adoption rates become too low.

"Pima County alone, we've seen an increase in 5,000 additional animals last year and a lot of that can probably be attributed to the current financial situation," Gromley said.

Those interested in adopting pets, understand that owning an animals means taking on an additional expense.

After all totaled: food, veterinary care, and even toys and treats can amount to more than one-thousand dollars a year for a healthy pet. If the animal has health problems that price can rise up to six times the original figure.

Bijal Patel, a perspective pet adopter, understands that prices are high and can see how some pet owners become overwhelmed with the cost of care and resort to releasing their animals back to shelter care.

"Its really heartbreaking and it's sad for the pets because they do feel a sense of abandonment and its really hard for the owners too," Patel said. "You think about people in the mortgage foreclosure crisis and they can't even hold onto their houses, let alone their pets which are more of a luxury to have in the house."

Brandy Burke, a supervisor for the Humane Society of Southern Arizona has witnessed the economy's devastating affect on the pet owners, first-hand.

"I see probably anywhere from 50 to 70 percent on any given day going to be owner release due to foreclosure so it is an impact. It's impacting people. There are some very sad stories out there. People are heartbroken, they're giving up family members basically."