By DAN TELVOCK

This economy is sparing no one.

Not even animals.

Nonprofits and animal rescue groups are taking a big hit during this economy. Donations and adoptions are at an all-time low and pet drop-offs are skyrocketing.

"At the pound, we've been hearing about older people turning in their dogs and cats because they can no longer feed them," said Arlene Mills, treasurer of the Humane Society of Caroline County.

Mills said the humane society is currently having some success with a food drive for the elderly.

"We had one person who turned in her dog and a neighbor found out about it. She went to the pound to get it out, and she was going to help her with the dog food but it was already adopted out," Mills said. "Elderly people need their companions."

Thea Verdak said she is shutting down her Rappahannock Humane Society because she can no longer afford to help people and their animals. Adoptions have been too slow, she said. Verdak said if she were to continue her work, she'd be warehousing animals, which she believes is inhumane.

"Yes, it is devastating, but that's the way it is," Verdak said. "When the foreclosure stories hit the newspapers it was just this massive fallout of people giving up animals.

"We are even hearing from people who can't afford food. We are getting calls from people who can't afford to medically treat their animals, and they are asking for these groups to help them. It has been very stressful."

Verdak has urged local governments to support a mandatory spay and neuter law, but her effort never gained momentum. She said she has spent hours on the phone with people who have to give up their pets because of foreclosures or job losses. The calls take a toll on Verdak as some people cry to her on the phone.

More than half of the homes sold in July in the Fredericksburg area were either foreclosures or short sales.

"I've never known people to be so stressed," she said.