PHOENIX -- Real estate agents around the Valley said they're walking into foreclosed homes and finding abandoned pets.

One agent found a pooch named Sophie and another dog dicthed by their last owner.

"They were left in a back yard that was all dirt," said Carrie Singer, a Phoenix-area real estate agent. "They were drinking water out of a paint bucket."

The animals were discovered a few days ago at a foreclosed Phoenix home.

"That's happening more often than I'd like to think," Singer said.

Foreclosure fever is bringing out the worst in irresponsible animal owners who move without plans for their pets, Singer said.

A mortgage research company recently said the Phoenix-Mesa metro region has the 15th highest rate of foreclosure activity among the nation's largest 100 metropolitan areas.

ONLINE: Read Full Report With All Top 100 Cities Listed

A study by RealtyTrac said during the three months ended September 30th, there were 18,328 total foreclosure filings in the Phoenix-Mesa areas.

Since most foreclosures take months, pet owners should have ample time to find a new place that takes animals, or at least take them to the Arizona Humane Society, agents said.

"I think sometimes people may be thinking they can pull themselves back out of it so they kind of wait until the last minute," Singer said. "Then when it doesn't end up happening, they kind of just leave."

Singer and thousands of others from Tucson to Flagstaff have started an E-mail network of adoptive pet owners to battle the latest downside to the real estate slump.

PACC911 brings together the many animal welfare organizations from throughout Maricopa County in an interactive manner, providing opportunities for all to work together for the greater benefit of the animals.

Click here to find out more information.

Another resource is a group called Best Friends. It works with humane groups all across the country to bring about a time when there are no more homeless pets.

SLIDESHOW: See The Greatest Video Games Ever Ranked

SLIDESHOW: Top 10 Vending Snack Choices

SLIDESHOW: How Well Do You Know Your Celebrities?

SLIDESHOW: Red-Hot Redheaded Celebrity Women

SLIDESHOW: View Images Of What Not To Wear To Work

SLIDESHOW: Celebrities Commit Fashion Faux Pas

SLIDESHOW: 20 Internet Acronyms Parents Should Know

ELSEWHERE ON KPHO.COM: A Peoria woman is charged with first-degree murder in the death of a 4-month-old infant she was baby-sitting, the county attorney's office said. CLICK HERE for details.

MORE SLIDESHOWS: From the bizarre to the tragic to late-breaking news, visit the KPHO.com slideshow section and click away! CLICK HERE for images.