Animal Hoarding

[snakemama]

I'll tell a quick story...A member of another board who I consider a friend recently crossed the line from collector to hoarder when they went through some large life upheavals and became too depressed to take care of themselves well, to say nothing of their animals.

Some local friends made the information public among other friends in the reptile community, and some wonderful people converged to HELP the person out. With CARE and SUPPORT as well as a firm stance about what was expected of them, all but a few of the animals are being re-homed VOLUNTARILY and other changes have been made to assure that this doesn't happen again. Someone stopped by the house today to assist with cage cleaning and taking pictures of the snakes to go with the online postings about finding them homes.

I also once worked with a rat rescue who worked with a hoarder, and that was...gut-tearing, heart-wrenching work. It had gone much farther than the first situation I talked about, and it was a BIG JOB.

In both cases, I really felt like we were tearing the heart out of the person we were trying to help. They both DID have the best of intentions, and they both DO love their animals dearly. In the case of the rat hoarder, we had to convince him that we were there with the animals' best interests in mind before we were allowed to even BEGIN helping. Baffling to me, because the alternative was animal control coming in and seizing all of his animals. With our help, he was allowed to keep a SMALL colony, while we worked on vetting/re-homing 900+ more. Our group worked HARD to help ensure that he didn't serve time in jail, then later to make sure he didn't keep getting more animals.

These experiences have shaped my opinion that what hoarders need is HELP. A firm but caring band of supporters who can get help for the hoarder and the animals, as well as follow up frequently to make certain that 1) The hoarder is still getting help and 2) Conditions in the home have not gone downhill again.

I'm of the firm opinion that "throwing the book" at hoarders does NOTHING to help in the long run. Both of these people were loving, caring, genuinely GOOD people who I feel privileged to have met. Mental illness carries enough stigma in our society, it's time to extend an offer of help rather than condemn people for acts that were not entirely under their control.

Unfortunately, most hoarders DON'T get the treatment/support/follow up needed. It takes a HUGE amount of compassion, as well as a lot of resources, to do such a thing. I don't know what the solution is, since so many hoarders are popping up everywhere now. It breaks my heart, for the people and the pets involved.

[kitten645]

Just a short note...my mother is a hoarder. Not of animals thank goodness but of everything else. Fining, throwing them in jail or any other form of what normal people consider "punishment" won't do anything. They are in a different world. You can correct the problem physically but it will only happen again regardless.
I do not understand it and it's frustrating as hell to deal with. I have seen tendencies in my siblings and myself to do the same and we are check points with each other to say "Enough"
Many hoarders are replacing emotions or people with things or animals. Unfortunately animals are living, feeling creatures. My mom's mom died when she was three. I'm sure there's a connection.
I'm just saying you can't judge before walking in those shoes...worse yet, in the shoes of those closest that have to deal with the consequences.
Claudia

[phesina]

I'll tell a quick story...A member of another board who I consider a friend recently crossed the line from collector to hoarder when they went through some large life upheavals and became too depressed to take care of themselves well, to say nothing of their animals.

Some local friends made the information public among other friends in the reptile community, and some wonderful people converged to HELP the person out. With CARE and SUPPORT as well as a firm stance about what was expected of them, all but a few of the animals are being re-homed VOLUNTARILY and other changes have been made to assure that this doesn't happen again. Someone stopped by the house today to assist with cage cleaning and taking pictures of the snakes to go with the online postings about finding them homes.
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These experiences have shaped my opinion that what hoarders need is HELP. A firm but caring band of supporters who can get help for the hoarder and the animals, as well as follow up frequently to make certain that 1) The hoarder is still getting help and 2) Conditions in the home have not gone downhill again.
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Unfortunately, most hoarders DON'T get the treatment/support/follow up needed. It takes a HUGE amount of compassion, as well as a lot of resources, to do such a thing. I don't know what the solution is, since so many hoarders are popping up everywhere now. It breaks my heart, for the people and the pets involved.

What made the difference for your friend is that she had people who knew her or of her and became PERSONALLY INVOLVED in both HER situation and that of the animals she had taken on. And they have carried on dealing both with her as a person and with her urges to take on more animals and will continue to do so as needed.

These kinds of personal saviors are not readily available to very many people in general out there, let alone to those in so much distress causing so much pain to innocent creatures. So how DO we solve this problem.. help these people and at the same time keep them from causing any more animals to suffer?