Experts examine cases of animal hoarding

By Katy Moeller - McClatchy Newspapers

"..."I think of these as little animal concentration camps. It's disturbing," said Dr. Jeff Rosenthal, executive director of the Idaho Humane Society. "The animals suffer horribly."...

...Experts say a common misconception about animal hoarders is that they are people who simply took on too much and fell behind, or got overwhelmed, by the care and feeding of the animals they rescued from certain death.

In reality, hoarders compulsively collect animals and/or allow them to reproduce even as conditions deteriorate. They lack awareness and sympathy for the creatures they inadvertently torture in the name of rescue, said the Boston vet, Dr. Gary Patronek.

"This is not about helping animals at all; it's about helping themselves," he said. "It's about helping fill their own bucket of need through animals." Animal hoarding is believed to be borne of mental illness, but there hasn't been enough study of the problem for medical experts to agree on the underlying causes or possible triggers..."  More

Animal hoarders show behavior patterns

Troubling cases of animal hoarding in Kern County raise questions about who ends up collecting large numbers of animals, and why. There are patterns experts say, and those are reflected in local cases.

Accused of animal cruelty, Cynthia Gudger was finally arrested last October. That was months after her home near Tehachapi was raided, and nearly 50 animals found in what officials called filthy conditions.

In November, eleven horses were rescued from a home in Twin Oaks. Animal control officers said they were badly malnourished, and the owner couldn't take care of them.

In 2003, a Bakersfield apartment was raided, and about 30 cats were found inside. That was Debbie Bracamonte's apartment. She started out with two cats, then took in a neighbor's cat that turned out to be pregnant...." More & video By Carol Ferguson, Eyewitness News

Animal Rescue Foundation: Dog Hoarding Rescue

The foundation rescues 11 dogs from a hoarder in Mobile, Alabama.

You tube video:  here   (Video is without sound)

Bloggers note:  Donations are requested by the foundation for help with the care of the dogs rescued.  It is our suggestion that prior to sending a donation to any person or organization, that you investigate them throughly.

Compulsive hoarding

Compulsive hoarding (or pathological hoarding) is the acquisition of, and failure to use or discard, such a large number of seemingly useless possessions that it causes significant clutter and impairment to basic living activities such as mobility, cooking, cleaning, showering or sleeping. A person who engages in compulsive hoarding is commonly said to be a "pack rat", in reference to that animal's apparent fondness for material objects.

It is not clear whether compulsive hoarding is a condition in itself, or simply a symptom of other related conditions. Several studies have reported a correlation between hoarding and the presence and/or severity ofobsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Hoarding behaviour is also related to obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD). Hoarding unnecessary possessions may be referred to as syllogomania or disposophobia..."  More

How to know if you're a compulsive hoarder

By Eric Adler, McClatchy Newspapers

Barely a decade ago, most researchers considered compulsive hoarding a sub-symptom of other disorders such as obsessive compulsive disorder or — because a lot of hoarders find themselves compelled to shop — an impulse-control disorder. Hoarding is also seen in some people with dementia, schizophrenia and other organic brain disorders. More and more, scientists are also coming to think of compulsive hoarding as a unique syndrome of its own.

Compulsive hoarders are defined by three characteristics:

They acquire, or fail to discard, numerous possessions that appear to be useless or of limited value. That includes stuff that most people would toss away, or even free stuff such as newspapers or advertisements...  More

Field Guide to The Pack Rat: Closet Cases

Hard times can awaken the hoarder within. Your trash is my treasure. 

Psychology Today Magazine By: Elizabeth Svoboda

For more than 30 years, Ange Aguirre rarely got rid of anything. From elementary school on, she squirreled away her possessions in boxes and corners, and when she married at 19, she took it all with her—from the third-grade math work sheets to the letter jacket to the teddy bear she'd been given the day she was born. "I was on my high school drill team, and I had every gift that was ever given to me during a football game," says Aguirre, now 39 and living near San Diego. "I had notes people had written to me when I was in the seventh grade."

Like layers of sediment, Aguirre's belongings piled higher and higher over time, teetering in unwieldy stacks and choking off access to closet shelves. But it wasn't until she and her husband were preparing to move across the country to California that she admitted her tendency to hoard was affecting her life. "We have eight children, and things were getting crowded with their toys and belongings," she says. "I had to do something about it." But when she resolved to tackle the mountain of stuff, her attachment to cherished items got in the way of her judgment, making it almost physically painful to trash them. "They were something to hold on to when the days got tough, to bring me back to a good time in my life."...  More

Too many animals
By Cathy Ingalls, Albany Democrat-Herald

Hoarding is becoming an increasingly troublesome trend 

Albany police, humane society workers, a reporter and a photographer stood on a sidewalk along Santiam Road on a cold weekday morning awhile ago, all struck by the strong stench coming from inside a small house whose doors and windows were shut...

“Until recently, as a society, we just used to chalk hoarders up as the endearing, crazy cat lady down the street, totally ignoring that these are people with serious mental health problems, and they are people inflicting suffering on a number of animals at one time,” ...  More