Daisy, a mellow golden lab, was given up because of "other pet." The anxious eyes of Teddy, a chow-Lab mix, are blamed on the "landlord."

Then there's Katara, a Louisiana Catahoula Leopard Dog puppy surrendered - not house-broken, but good with kids - because of "cost."

"That's the first I've seen," says Gene Baierschmidt, Humane Society of Utah director. "Maybe something's starting."

Utah animal shelter managers are bracing for the wave of foreclosure pets - dogs and cats cast off as their families lose their homes and move into apartments - that have overwhelmed towns like Las Vegas and Stockton, Calif.

So far, it hasn't hit. Humane Society adoptions are up 18 percent over last year.

"I read The Wall Street Journal every day," says Baierschmidt. "If it follows the trend across the country . . .we're bracing for it."

It seems just a matter of time.

The number of Utahns facing foreclosure in June jumped 141 percent over last year. The Salt Lake City School District is serving 10 percent more free lunches in city parks this summer. And state sales tax revenue dropped $105 million from 2007 to 2008 as gas prices and economic woes cut into Utahns' disposable income.

Baierschmidt figures half of the people who drop off a pet at the Humane Society are honest about the reason. Blaming financial problems might be too embarrassing.

For now, shelters are overwhelmed with cats. Most are kittens - new spring litters from feral cat colonies.

Some are newly abandoned pets. For every dog left at a shelter, there are two cats. The Humane Society is offering free gift baskets with the adoption of an adult cat; take two for $15 each.

West Valley City Animal Shelter Manager Karen Bird says the city's low-income areas create a steady stream of cats left behind as renters move from apartment to apartment. "People figure they can fend for themselves," says Bird. "It's pretty steady."

But No More Homeless Pets' Director Holly Sizemore sees an alarming trend in the numbers. Between January and April, No More Homeless Pets tracked 1,000 extra animals dropped off at state shelters compared with last year. In May, shelters posted the highest intake numbers since 1999.

"Intake in shelters is up dramatically," she says. "If that's because of foreclosures or the economy - that's just speculation. But it's definitely harder to make ends meet."

Whether or not the foreclosure wave hits, Sizemore says Utah shelters are on track to euthanize more pets than last year - the first uptick in nearly a decade.

"So many people wait to call us until the kittens are born. And that's usually too late," says Sizemore. No More Homeless Pets will help well-meaning cat-colony caretakers trap and spay.

"We're really frustrated. We expect the picture to get worse, not better."

walsh@sltrib.com