CAPITAL REGION, N.Y. -- Dr. Bart Forlano of the Glenville Veterinary Clinic says business is good. He does clarify, however, that he's serving a rather stable suburban community, but he does have his concerns.

“I don't think we've really seen a dramatic downturn as far as clients coming in for services that they need. But we do have a lot more concerns about what the invoice is going to be like. Questions regarding estimates and what the total expense is going to be,” Dr. Forlano said.

Dr. Forlano recommends taking care of some basic preventative measures at home.

“Making sure you're staying on top of teeth, brushing them. Keeping ears cleaned,” said Dr. Forlano. He says this will help to keep your visits to the vet to a minimum.

He also says if you're in the market for a new pet make sure you can afford it.

“Try to find the healthiest and ask is this the right animal for our household,” Dr. Forlano said.

The Scotia/Glenville Animal Protective Foundation (APF) has a shelter full of abandoned animals. The numbers haven't increased yet, but shelter employees say it's inevitable.

“Things are kind of flat. They're about where they were last year. But we're hearing from people, as they bring their pets into us, it's because they can't afford to keep them,” said Marguerite Pearson, APF Director of Communications.

While APF may not be seeing a drastic increase in surrendered animals, they won't be surprised if it does down the road. They are offering some low cost options for spaying or neutering your animal and a food pantry is also available.

“It allows them to get their pet altered at a very reasonable fee. We know that vet costs can be expensive, especially when the budget gets pinched,” Pearson said. “We're working with the SICM food pantry in Schenectady. When we get excess items here, we pass them on to the food pantry.”

The APF is also compiling a database of pet friendly area rentals to help more people keep their pets when they move.