A Hoarder’s Sickness, A Community’s Problem
Description
By Syma Chowdhry
July 2, 2008
MADISON, N.J. -- We've all heard jokes about the “crazy cat lady.” But while they may be well intended, animal hoarders often devastate the very animals they try to help.
“You have a large amount of animals,” said Jacqueline Fahey of St. Hubert’s Animal Welfare Center in New Jersey. “Not only to go and remove (them) from these filthy homes, but then finding a place to put them when you bring them back to the shelter.”
The conditions of the animals are often poor, Fahey added.
“You don't know their vaccination history, (they are) usually filthy, sometimes starving.”
The St. Huberts Animal Welfare Center got a call in April to rescue 19 dogs and one cat from an elderly woman's home. They found the animals living in deplorable conditions.
"Horrible odor, just horrible” is how Gail Ilguid of St. Hubert’s described the scene. “Some of them -- you couldn't even tell if they were males or females they were matted so badly."
"The cages were really small, probably 3-feet-by-3-feet, and they would have at least two dogs in there, so there was no room for them to defecate,” Fahey said.
Examinations indicated the animals were unkempt and had rotting teeth, but otherwise were well fed.
“They weren't underweight, which was quite a surprise because normally in hoarding cases they are not fed,” Fahey said. “And you will find dead animals in the house, and in this case there were not any dead animals."
Getting the animals cleaned up, though, wasn't an easy job.
"It was almost like they had a hair cast put on them,” Fahey said. Demonstrating, he added, “There was about this much fur and then all along the outside, encrusting their whole body, is fecal matter mixed with urine, mixed with dirt."
Animal shelters sacrifice space, man hours, and lots of money when dealing with hoarders. Fahey said vaccinations, spaying and neutering, and teeth extractions will run at least $600 per dog.
Most of the animals in the St. Hubert’s case found new homes, but three were still up for adoption at the time this story was filed.
The American Veterinary Medical Association provided the following statistics: 700 hoarding cases annually; 76% of hoarders are women; 80% of cases had dead or sick animals; in 60% of cases, hoarders did not acknowledge their hoarding.
Psychotherapist Brian C. Della Pesca has dealt with hoarders before and says it is difficult to help people who don't think they need it.
“Whatever the reality might be, they live in an irrational world where they say 'I can care for this. I can take it,’ ” Pesca said. “They have an overwhelming impulse and so they kind of give into this impulse.
“It is hard to tell somebody that this is a problem because they feel so good about it at times, but again, they are not paying attention to the reality of the situation."
“They can't care for all these animals, deep down,” Pesca said. “They don't have the finances. They don't have the room, they don't have the space. They don't have the ability to recognize they can't care for the animals.”
As a result, the animals suffer, said animal behavior specialist Arden Moore.
“Some of them might become anxious, some of them may become withdrawn, and some might become Velcro and cling to this person any chance they get,” she said. “But the bottom line is that it is not a healthy relationship.”
“It really, really bothers you to think these poor little things were in that kind of environment,” Fahey said. “They really have a painful look in their eyes when they come in like ‘Oh my God, thank you for getting me out of there.’ They really, really have a ‘thank you’ look in their eyes. It is amazing."
July 2, 2008
MADISON, N.J. -- We've all heard jokes about the “crazy cat lady.” But while they may be well intended, animal hoarders often devastate the very animals they try to help.
“You have a large amount of animals,” said Jacqueline Fahey of St. Hubert’s Animal Welfare Center in New Jersey. “Not only to go and remove (them) from these filthy homes, but then finding a place to put them when you bring them back to the shelter.”
The conditions of the animals are often poor, Fahey added.
“You don't know their vaccination history, (they are) usually filthy, sometimes starving.”
The St. Huberts Animal Welfare Center got a call in April to rescue 19 dogs and one cat from an elderly woman's home. They found the animals living in deplorable conditions.
"Horrible odor, just horrible” is how Gail Ilguid of St. Hubert’s described the scene. “Some of them -- you couldn't even tell if they were males or females they were matted so badly."
"The cages were really small, probably 3-feet-by-3-feet, and they would have at least two dogs in there, so there was no room for them to defecate,” Fahey said.
Examinations indicated the animals were unkempt and had rotting teeth, but otherwise were well fed.
“They weren't underweight, which was quite a surprise because normally in hoarding cases they are not fed,” Fahey said. “And you will find dead animals in the house, and in this case there were not any dead animals."
Getting the animals cleaned up, though, wasn't an easy job.
"It was almost like they had a hair cast put on them,” Fahey said. Demonstrating, he added, “There was about this much fur and then all along the outside, encrusting their whole body, is fecal matter mixed with urine, mixed with dirt."
Animal shelters sacrifice space, man hours, and lots of money when dealing with hoarders. Fahey said vaccinations, spaying and neutering, and teeth extractions will run at least $600 per dog.
Most of the animals in the St. Hubert’s case found new homes, but three were still up for adoption at the time this story was filed.
The American Veterinary Medical Association provided the following statistics: 700 hoarding cases annually; 76% of hoarders are women; 80% of cases had dead or sick animals; in 60% of cases, hoarders did not acknowledge their hoarding.
Psychotherapist Brian C. Della Pesca has dealt with hoarders before and says it is difficult to help people who don't think they need it.
“Whatever the reality might be, they live in an irrational world where they say 'I can care for this. I can take it,’ ” Pesca said. “They have an overwhelming impulse and so they kind of give into this impulse.
“It is hard to tell somebody that this is a problem because they feel so good about it at times, but again, they are not paying attention to the reality of the situation."
“They can't care for all these animals, deep down,” Pesca said. “They don't have the finances. They don't have the room, they don't have the space. They don't have the ability to recognize they can't care for the animals.”
As a result, the animals suffer, said animal behavior specialist Arden Moore.
“Some of them might become anxious, some of them may become withdrawn, and some might become Velcro and cling to this person any chance they get,” she said. “But the bottom line is that it is not a healthy relationship.”
“It really, really bothers you to think these poor little things were in that kind of environment,” Fahey said. “They really have a painful look in their eyes when they come in like ‘Oh my God, thank you for getting me out of there.’ They really, really have a ‘thank you’ look in their eyes. It is amazing."
