| By Judy Benson |
To psychologist Randall Lockwood, someone who keeps more cats, dogs or other animals than they can reasonably care for isn't just a harmless eccentric.
Lockwood and other experts call them animal hoarders, and believe their behavior is harmful to themselves, other people and the animals they're housing.
The problem needs to be taken seriously, Lockwood said, and the underlying psychological disorder that led to the hoarding behavior confronted with treatment and other measures.
| WHAT'S A HOARDER? More than the typical number of companion animals. Inability to provide even minimal standards of nutrition, sanitation, shelter and veterinary care, with neglect often resulting in starvation, illness and death. Denial of the inability to provide this minimum care. Source: The Hoarding of Animals Research Consortium,www.tufts.edu/vet/cfa/hoarding/index.html See also: www.aspca.org/aspca-nyc/animal-rescuers/animal-hoarding.html |
On Friday, Groton Town Police arrested Rebel S. Foular, a part-time Humane Society employee, for allegedly living with 50 cats in a 672-square-foot trailer on North Road in what police and health officials described as neglectful and unsanitary conditions. She was charged with six counts of animal cruelty..." More
