(picture of cat hoarding)
Another story of animal hoarding hit the pages of the Reading Eagle today in which 200 chihuahuas from Columbia County, PA were finally rescued. My local animal rescue league took in at least 30 of these victims while my local humane society took six dogs.
According to Mike Pechart, deputy secretary of the Dog Law Enforcement Office in the Agriculture Dep’t, says this case of animal hoarding “is one of the worst cases to be seen in PA.” Let me remind you that Mr. Pechart is part of the Dep’t that oversees PA puppy mills. There isn’t much difference between puppy mills and animal hoarding. Hoarders will give names while puppy mill owners give the animals numbers. They are eerily similar.
(Funny, how Mr. Pechart cares about this hoarding case but doesn’t really give a damn about puppy mills since it took the Dog Law Enforcement Office 15 months to hold their first Dog Law Advisory Board meeting about PA’s horrifi puppy mills. My opinion, but I digress.)
Animal hoarding cannot be taken lightly. I know all to well the consequences of an animal who comes from a hoarder. My best companion, Jazz, came from a hoarder. Jazz’s life started with a woman who accumulated too many dogs. She was asked to give up some of her dogs and Jazz was one of them. Jazz wasn’t properly socialized and all were allowed to breed indiscriminately. I have no idea if my best bud is a product of a mother and son, sister and brother, etc…The bones in his neck aren’t formed correctly. He’s also double-jointed. Jazz also had a huge problem with being overprotective of women. That’s why he was returned after his first adoption. I knew this but adopted him in spite of his issues.With work and patience, Jazz has come a long, long way. The man he once tried to protect me from is the one he now finds himself curled up against on the sofa. Ironically, the hoarder filled her home with more dogs after the retrieval of Jazz and others. And that’s the real issue. They can’t stop.
Hoarders can’t seem to help themselves from accumulating animals. According to Pet-Abuse.com, ” Hoarders often have hundreds of animals in their home, living in filth and without veterinary care. It is not uncommon to discover several hundred animals in various states of neglect at one location. It is also very common to find vast collections of other junk and garbage on the premises, as well as many layers of feces throughout the home.”
“In the majority of hoarding cases, the hoarder firmly believes not only that they have done nothing wrong, but that the animals cannot survive without their “care”. In many instances, hoarders will even be reluctant to relinquish the decomposing corpses of animals that died. Dead animals are frequently found in the freezer or refrigerator, or even laying around the house, embedded in the carpeting, etc. At times, dead animals have been left in the home so long that they have become mummified.”
“Hoarders may feel that they “love” animals, but they can be blind to the fact that they are not caring for them responsibly even in the face of starvation and death. Hoarders are usually unable to bear the thought of euthanasia, but vast numbers of animals are “saved” only to languish in a squalid, crowded environment where they suffer from malnourishment, illness, inactivity, poor ventilation, and lack of human companionship. Dogs and cats have been found kept in cages, crates, hutches, and even kitchen cabinets, some even being allowed to breed. Hoarders often cannot afford to pay for all the spaying and neutering (not to mention the routine veterinary care) needed for so many animals, so their collection grows until the filth, stench, and noise attract the attention of neighbors or health, sanitation, or humane officials. In some situations, the homes of animal hoarders are so run-down and filthy that the local Department of Health actually orders their homes razed to the ground.”
“Despite a correlation to the psychological condition of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), there is no clinical diagnosis at this point. More research is needed. Gary Patronek, director of the Center for Animals and Public Policy at Tufts University, states “We’d like to study it more,” he says. “Is it a syndrome in and of itself? Probably not. But [one day] we might like it to be included as a warning sign [in psychological evaluation].”
“Perhaps the most prominent psychological feature of these individuals is that pets (and other possessions) become central to the hoarder’s core identity,” Patronek writes in Municipal Lawyer magazine. “The hoarder develops a strong need for control, and just the thought of losing an animal can produce an intense grief-like reaction. Preliminary HARC interviews also suggest that hoarders grew up in chaotic households, with inconsistent parenting, in which animals may have been the only stable feature.”
Animal hoarding is a serious psychological/mental disorder. It must be taken seriously. Many rescuers who you may think are saving animals from death may be accumulating more for his/her collection of animals. Yes, animal hoarders can be disguised as rescuers.
Sadly, animal hoarding is on the rise. You will continue to hear more of these horror stories until the courts change the way these cases are handled. The underlying psychological problem isn’t addressed. Animal cruelty charges will be addressed but not what causes this hoarding. According to Gary Patronek also co-authored a paper on the subject that states only Hawaii and Illinois have statutes dealing with the hoarding of animals. He continues to say that animal hoarding is a poorly misunderstood and destructive behavior.
When someone faces animal cruelty charges, counseling is not typically part of the punishment. If it would be suggested, most, if not all, hoarders would resist any counseling because they don’t feel they have a problem. In their mind, they’re helping animals not hurting them.
I was at a hearing which involved a female hoarder. She in no way admitted any failure on her part to help her animals. I’m not a psychologist but it seemed apparent the woman had some mental issues. It’s a personal and not a professional observation.
To say much was done to this woman would be a fabrication. She wasn’t offered any counseling and nor was her hoarding truly addressed. She was allowed to keep her dogs under the ruling that she and her dogs could receive a surprise inspection. What became of her, I don’t know. If nothing was punishable, I’m sure she has continued to hoard more animals.
How do we reduce the number of hoarders and thousands of animals being affected by the actions of those who wish to accumulate animals?
Until the underlying issue is addressed by courts or elsewhere, animal hoarding will continue to rise and never get to the heart of this ever-growing issue.
Animal hoarders, in my estimation, should not be allowed to have any animals. Period. The compulsion has to be stopped. If the local animal control agencies allow them to keep any animals and the psychological issues aren’t addressed, the problem won’t resolve and you will continue to read more stories like this.
What can you do if you suspect someone of hoarding animals? Call your local police or animal control. Otherwise, these animals will live and die in a most horrific manner.
They need you to be their voices!
Read more: Hoarding | Pet-Abuse.Com Animal Cruelty Database http://www.pet-abuse.com/pages/animal_cruelty/hoarding.php#ixzz21MNPk2A4