Pet Hoarding...
The topic is pet hoarding. More than 16 years ago, a woman down the street from me inherited the house from her parents. She was caretaker to her mother until the old woman died.I knew this lady going back to the 1960's as her family was one of the first to purchase in the neighborhood. Her profession was nursing and after a divorce she moved back home.
We would often say a friendly hello when greeting on the street, but not much more than that. She had several dogs and would take them for walks usually in the evenings.
An story comes to mind about someone in New Jersey where city officials had to 'go in' and rescue more than 270 dogs in a situation they referred to as an "extreme hoarding situation" and it reminded me of what happened to 'dog lady' as she too was a dog (and cat) hoarder.
I first noticed this especially when morning jogs (before sunrise) around the corner brought me alongside her wooden fence. I could hear dogs barking and the stench of poop had filled the calm air. This actually went on for years.
The city has restrictions/limitations on the number of animals one can legally possess. All dogs be registered and rabies vaccination updated yearly. They allow a maximum of 5 dogs. Cats don't require shots or registration and they are also part of the 5 pet limit. I know for a fact this woman has many more than the limit. She told me herself... they're her babies and she's too attached to give them away.
While she was trying to do good her pet population was out of control.
It's expensive keeping a pet as the medicines are only available from a veterinarian. If the animal isn't registered, you cannot obtain the proper medicines for heart worms, antibiotics, fleas and other problems. So her pets were not registered (except for her favorite one) and went without health care. Since they have no registration, the city cannot monitor them... they go 'under the radar' is a common street term for this.
One afternoon, I was nearing home for lunch and several police cars along with news team trucks were in front of her house. That night dog lady made it to the 5 o'clock news report. They arrested her for animal abuse. It seems that a AT&T worker needed access to her property to service telephone lines in her utility easement. More than 50 dogs and 20 cats were alive. If I recall correctly, there were another 30-40 dead animals inside her house and around her wood fenced property!
I believe it was the AT&T worker who tipped off county Animal Services to send and agent to inspect. The registration of her one dog had expired and they had reason to gain access to the property.
What annoyed me the most was an interview of one neighbor who claimed this went on for a few years and when the noise and stench was too much to bear, he reported this trouble to the city several times for more than 8 months, but no one was sent out to respond and investigate.
When interviewed by the local TV news, the woman's comment was "They're my babies."
She was arrested and fined. I read a followup to the case where the judge ordered psychological evaluation, hopefully they got her treatment as she was in a downward spiral that probably included deep depression. She was employed for a while as a private nurse, but that fell through. What you can see of her house (over the wooden fence) was in disrepair, broken shutters from a hurricane. Probably burned up her inheritance too.
The city mayor at the scene that day. Mister 'big shot' was reported saying the house was condemned and would be torn down. Where was he or his people 8 months earlier?
I guess no one put him on the spot wanting to know why his animal control department didn't do their job!
The house wasn't torn down. I know the woman was forced to sell and leave town. She planned retirement and wanted to live in Central Florida on some farmland near Orlando.
Hopefully, she got her wish and this time isn't hoarding pets... again.
Comments (2)
At one time it was my main source of income. It allowed me to be a full time lone parent and work from home.
Tailoring is labour intensive and I'm too long in the tooth to work day and night anymore.
I still want to keep the business, but use it as an artistic outlet and side income.
The problem I currently have is finding the time to use up and reduce stock because I work long hours.
I don't want to throw stuff away if I can help it, as I focus my work on upcycling and recycling. I'd like to make some extra income from the stock as well as I'm saving up for a change in direction.
There is a hoarding element to it as I have stock that I simply don't need, but I recognise that. My circumstances have changed several times over the last two years which has affected the usefulness, or not, of my stock. I'm on my second run of re-evaluating based upon potential financial, or creative value. It's not a vast amount, but it's a slow process deciding what can be sent straight for raw material recycling, what would be useful to a charity shop and what has realistic value for me to keep for resale.
In answer to Mack's questions, how can anyone evaluate a need for 'treatment', whatever that is, without more details of each scenario? Even Sarah with 216 cats may run a rescue and re-homing charity.
It should be up to each person to decide what they keep, unless it causes harm to others, or themselves. Even if outside authorities step in to alleviate harm, it would still be up to the alleged hoarder whether they accept psychological support, or not.