The outside of this Dearborn, Michigan house was well-kept but the inside of this home was a completely different story – a story so bizarre, it baffles one’s mind.
Between Wednesday and Friday, authorities removed 150 dead dogs and 110 live dogs from this house. Those 150 dead dogs were found packed in freezers and out of the over 100 hundred dogs found alive, 42 ailing dogs were removed this past Wednesday and the others were removed Thursday and Friday.
The man who is the home owner and hoarded all of these dogs was taken to a hospital for evaluation. The 56 year old man apparently “had a mental impairment that stemmed from rubella as a child”.
A classic case of hoarding! But what exactly is hoarding? My dog, Jazz, came from a hoarder. I saw video of the woman’s home who hoarded him along with many other dogs. The inside of the home was despicable- trash everywhere, dogs everywhere, junk strewn all over the place. A relative videotaped this woman’s house because they wanted to save these dogs. Jazz was one of the lucky ones to be removed. However, this didn’t stop this woman from acquiring more dogs. I asked myself- why does she do this? Can she not see the filth these dogs live in? Can she not see she is unable to affoard the expense of having these dogs that was clearly depicted in this video?
According to Hoarding of Animal Research Consortium, they define an animal hoarder as someone who accumulates a large number of animals, fails to provide minimal standards of nutrition, sanitation and veterinary care, fails to act on the deteriorating condition of the animals and fails to act on the deteriorating condition of the environment or the negative impact of the collection on their own health and well-being.
By HARC’s own definition, this 56 yr. old man is a hoarder. But it still doesn’t explain why hoarders take in so many animals. Some theories out there state that hoarders are trying to save these animals’ lives. If they didn’t take them, they would be taken to a shelter and be euthanized. Sure, there is a certain amount of validity to that statement. But the question remains, how do hoarders not know that the conditions they have these animals live in is not a good environmment for them? Many animals become ill and die from starvation, dehydration, diseases etc…
150 dogs packed in freezers in this home- 150 dogs. Where did this man get that many dogs plus the live dogs that were found as well? Why didn’t anyone complain earlier? According to the article, the neighbors had complained in the past about the odor emanating from this house, so why didn’t anyone call animal control? How could the neighbors not hear over 100 chihuahas and chihuahua mix breeds barking and not call the proper authorities?
It is realistic to say this 56 yr. old man has mental issues as do many hoarders. I feel there is a psychological component that plays a key role in a hoarder’s life.
According a study done in 1981, it was found that animals played a significant role in the hoarder’s childhood which was often marked by chaotic, inconsistent and unstable parenting.
Trained professional are even unsure how to treat hoarders. But a psychological evaluation is a necessary step in identifying personality disorders which clearly plays a part in a hoarder’s life.
So what do we, the public, do to stop this horrible way of life for these innocent victims? Be their voices! If you hear, smell or see something that isn’t right, call the proper authorities and keep after them until they do something about it.
Former dog warden supervisor and now fired, Rick Martrich, allowed a hoarder to keep her dogs and did nothing about it when it was his job to remove those dogs. For whatever reason, whether it be laziness or whatever…….he did nothing for a long time! Believe me, I know firsthand because I was there at the hearing of a female hoarder who had dogs removed and she represented herself and she looked directly at Rick and asked why she passed her inspections by him before getting caught by a diligent animal control officer. Rick’s butt got covered by someone else in authority as well that day and the woman got away easy.
My advice……keep calling the authorities until you get action. Go over their heads if necessary to save these animals’ lives! It is up to us to help save their lives.
If I said it once, I’ll say it again, we MUST be the voices for those who cannot speak!