Monday, February 15, 2010

ANIMAL HOARDING...What is an animal hoarder?

So....What is an animal hoarder?
1/ Animal hoarders are people who amass more animals than they can properly care for.
These people often fail to recognise, or refuse to acknowledge..when their animals are being neglected, or that their own coping skills are becoming a problem...and everything is out of control.
2/ Animal hoarders often need to have lots of animals. Often, their homes are full of clutter too.
They are often stubborn, refusing to seek help for sick or stressed animals, being in denial that anything is wrong with the way that their animals live in cramped cages or are without food. Animals die frequently as the hoarders dont usually see that their animal is in decline. Some hoarders like to keep their dead animals in freezers, as they cant part with them.
3/Tackling hoarding....Animal hoarding is a very serious issue, and the solution to it need to be community based. Mental health professionals, animal welfare groups, and Vets ..all need to work together to address the psychological element involved.
Medical professionals are now believing that this psychiatric illness is closely related to OCD...( obessesive compulsive disorder).
4/ Both animal hoarders ,and the animals involved suffer greatly. The mental health issue here suggests that hoarders often neglect their own health, and tend to be in denial about how they are coping.
The animals involved often dont get the right diet, sanitary, or Vet care, or the normal everyday care needs that other pets get.
How you can help...show some compassion to the hoarders , as most of them are in desperate need of psychological help.
The animals of hoarders also need our help..lots of love and patience needs to be shown to them as most of these poor animals are in shock, theyve lived in cramped conditions...and now have a fear of open spaces, had no real love / or human contact shown them, irregular feeding , and flea and worm infestations.
LUCKY...that dogs are more forgiving than we humans.
Jayne
16th Feb 2010.

2 comments:

  1. Good work Jayne! Yes, Hoarders have some deeply seated issues, and one one of their collections are unfortunately animals, which they believe they are protecting, not abusing. They are people who may have been abused themselves. Difficult probelm, as Jayne says, both suffer greatly. not to be confused with people who have many animals all well taken care of!

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  2. Here is a short video of an animal hoarding...SAD.....very sad.
    Link: http://www.fox8.com/videobeta/?watchId=cc810e7a-517e-4521-8134-6d9d0d5b898e

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