Vox Sentences - Americans can't afford their pets

Friday, August 18, 2023

Good afternoon! It’s almost the weekend. I’m Izzie Ramirez, and here’s what you need to know today: 

Spotlight: Why animal shelters are in crisis — and what you can do to help.

In other news: Hurricane Hilary barrels toward California, what a romance novel by Elon Musk’s ex-wife reveals about the controversial entrepreneur, and mortgage rates surge to a 21-year high.

As you probably know, we’re experimenting with the Sentences format to make it as useful and accessible as possible to readers. We’d love to hear what you think! Write us at newsletters@vox.com or just reply to this email. 

See you Monday!

Americans can’t afford their pets. It’s pushing animal shelters to the brink.

John Paraskevas/Newsday RM via Getty Images

You probably remember the feel-good stories about Americans adopting more pets during lockdown in 2020. But starting in 2021, shelters began filling back up as there were more animals entering than leaving, and now many are packed to the brim.

The lowdown: Nationwide, shelters are reporting they’re at capacity, forcing an increase in the number of dogs killed due to space constraints.

• Inflation and the housing crisis are two major factors driving the uptick.
• The trend threatens the immense progress that animal shelters have made to reduce the number of animals put down since the 1970s.

• There’s a silver lining: Cat adoption rates are higher than dogs, which makes sense given their relative affordability and lower maintenance. 

The stakes: As the inflation and interest rates have risen, some Americans are being forced to tighten budgets and can no longer afford to have a pet. But the rebalance of demand and supply when it comes to pets can result in mass suffering for animals as shelters are forced to choose between overcrowding, euthanasia, or turning away pets.

In his story, Kenny emphasized that while it’s easy to judge people who surrendered animals because of financial or logistical reasons, empathy is crucial. “Whenever times get tough for people, it often gets tough for their pets too,” Kenny told me.

The takeaway: I spoke with Future Perfect reporter Kenny Torrella about what we can do to minimize the strain on shelters.

One key thing people can do to help — besides donating money or volunteering — is to consider adopting or fostering. 

That means not having your heart set on a “designer pet” of a specific trendy breed. “People are often looking for an animal with a particular look or size, which usually means buying one from a puppy or kitten mill, or breeder, rather than adopting from a shelter,” Kenny said. “The shelter crisis could absolutely be solved if more people adopted animals rather than purchased them, as there are many more bought each year than euthanized in shelters.”

Read Kenny’s full story here »

The latest in Elon Musk’s world  

Alex Fine for Vox

The Twitter — er, X — owner is often at the center of several controversies. Sometimes it’s hard to weave a through line in all the chaos. Here’s what to know this weekend:

• What a romance novel from Musk’s ex-wife reveals about him and how he sees himself [Vox]
  
  
• Elon Musk is killing environmental Twitter, according to a new study. [The Verge]
  
  
• That Musk v. Zuck cage fight probably won’t be happening. Mark Zuckerberg says Musk keeps flaking. [CNN]

🎧 Listen: The future is here ... with robotaxis? Today, Explained explores the new tech.

• A whopping 72 percent of American voters want to slow down the development of AI, compared to just 8 percent who prefer speeding it up, according to new polling. Sigal Samuel explains why slowing down is considered taboo for AI companies, despite what the public wants. 
  
  

• North Carolina is the latest state passing anti-trans laws. The state legislature overrode a veto from the governor and passed several laws that target trans youth on issues including gender-affirming care, sports, and education. It fits into a larger pattern: Republicans are making anti-trans laws a bigger part of their 2024 platform, reports Li Zhou. 
  
  
• Britney Spears and her husband Sam Asghari are separating after a year of marriage. Where does divorce fit in with the pop star’s conservatorship history? Constance Grady lays out the timeline.
  
  
• Talking with kids doesn’t have to be a drag. Charley Locke explores the myriad ways we can all improve our day-to-day convos with kids, including letting their enthusiasm lead and asking good follow-up questions.

• A Category 4 storm makes its way toward California. Hurricane Hilary is expected to weaken before making landfall, but it’s still pretty rare that there’s a hurricane heading to the West Coast. [NBC News]
  
  

• A British nurse is convicted of killing seven newborns and the attempted murder of six others. The case has haunted England since 2016. There will be an independent inquiry into how hospital staff’s concerns were handled. [BBC News]
  
  
• Mortgage rates are the highest they’ve been in two decades. Higher interest rates are the Federal Reserve’s main strategy to lower inflation. [ABC News]
  
  
• Why is Suits popular again? It’s been years since the TV show last aired. The answer is bigger than the Meghan Markle effect — it’s the changing TV labor landscape. [NPR]

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