SPCA: 85 animals rescued from Hinckley Township farm

by Lisa Hlavinka

HINCKLEY TWP. — Eighty-five animals were rescued from a farm Tuesday in what appears to be another case of animal hoarding.

More than 40 dogs, two horses, four sheep, three rabbits, two potbellied pigs, cats, waterfowl, chickens and roosters were rescued by the Medina County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Executive Director Stephanie Moore said.

“Last week we received an anonymous email about a possible case of animal hoarding in Hinckley,” Moore said. “That was forwarded to our humane officer, and she went out on Monday and this is what she found.”

On Wednesday, many of the animals were awaiting medical treatment at the SPCA’S animal care facility, 245 S. Medina St., Medina. The livestock were at foster homes, but two dogs needed to be euthanized, Moore said.

All the dogs have serious dental diseases, and some have missing eyes, ear infections and lameness. Three dogs with severe injuries were hospitalized. A veterinarian treated the other animals at the SPCA office, she said.

Depending on their medical needs,some will be ready for adoption by June 4, Moore said..." More

150 Dogs Rescued from Hoarder, Shelter Overwhelmed

I received an e-mail from a long-time volunteer with the Austin Humane Society in Austin, Texas, and would greatly appreciate it if you would consider sharing the following:

Beginning last Friday, until yesterday, we started intake on almost 150 dogs voluntarily surrendered by a couple in rural Bastrop County, Texas. This one couple owned all of the dogs and became overwhelmed, as you can imagine, and reached out to Bastrop County Animal Control for help. BCAC, in turn, reached out to us.

We are overwhelmed by the magnitude of what these dogs need right now. Austin is very much a dog-loving city, and the people have been more than generous with their donations of money and supplies. Some of the dogs that were in better shape will be available for adoption beginning Saturday, but we still have at least 50 dogs out in foster, and the 59 we brought in yesterday are in much worse shape both medically and behaviorally. Some of them need specialist vet care that we hope will be donated to us by local vets and vet hospitals. This doesn’t even count the pregnant mommas we’re keeping tabs on..." More & video

Animal Rescuer Gets Jail For Hoarding Cats In A U-Haul

By Ben Yakas

There's a thin line between being a cat rescuer and a cat hoarder: a Brooklyn man who ran a nonprofit animal rescue group, and claimed he was a cat rescuer, was sentenced to 60 days in jail for hoarding cats. Steven Hock was arrested for animal cruelty for housing 69 cats in a parked U-Haul van without air, food or water two years ago. "He is what the mental health community considers a hoarder but he considers himself a rescuer," said Brooklyn Deputy District Attorney Carol Moran

Hock, who ran nonprofit Kitty Shockwave, was convicted of 69 counts of confining an animal without food or water, eight counts of overdriving, torturing and injuring animals, and eight counts of carrying an animal in a cruel manner. In addition to the jail time, he'll serve three years of probation with psychological counseling, and is not permitted to own or harbor any animals for the next three years..." More

Animal cruelty ‘not neglect’

By Thomas Tracy

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

A man convicted of keeping 69 cats in cages in the back of a U-Haul truck tried to claw his way out from under the guilty verdict last week by claiming his actions weren’t as bad as animal cruelty laws suggest.

Defense attorney Donald Yannella admitted that Steve Hock did indeed keep the cats in a locked U-Haul found at the corner of 23rd Street and Sixth Avenue back on Oct. 12, 2008, but did not “neglect to supply the animals with a sufficient supply of good and wholesome air, food, shelter and water,” as outlined in the criminal statute.

All he did was “impound or confine” the cats, which is also outlined in the charge.

Hock claims that the animals may have been locked in the back of a truck, but he did keep tabs on them and made sure they were fed.

Since there is no evidence that he had starved the cats, the entire animal cruelty charge against him should be rendered moot and the conviction vacated, Yannella claimed.

But Judge John Wilson didn’t see it that way.

In his March 31 decision, Wilson let the charge stand, claiming Hock was splitting hairs.

“It is inconceivable that the legislature intended that a person could provide an animal with three out of four of these necessities and not be guilty of the underlying crime,” he wrote.

Their info from Petfinder.com:

Kittyshockwave

Our Featured Pets...

LUCY! DYLAN, LAUREN, KERRY, RANDY and more!

News

We are currently involved in assisting Brooklyn and Upper West Side street cats. Our rescued cats are well-traveled and diverse (not to mention darned lucky!). Check 'em out!

Who We Are

KITTYSHOCKWAVE is an all-volunteer, independent not-for-profit organization founded to help rescue cats and kittens and find them permanent homes. We currently do adoptions by appointment (call us at 718-238-4605!) Rescued cats are normally neutered, given their first shots, and tested for feline aids and leukemia .

PLEASE MAKE A DONATION or VOLUNTEER!

Please send donations to

KITTYSHOCKWAVE
#155, 7304 5th Ave., Brooklyn, NY 11209

Adopting a friend

It's easy! We have some questions to help us learn which cats would be good matches for your situation. We ask for an adoption donation to help with veterinary and rescue expenses. Call us at

718-238-4605

or email us at: kittyshockwave@yahoo.com

Come Visit Us!

Call or email us: 718-238-4605 or kittyshockwave@yahoo.com to set up an appointment to have pets brought for you to meet! We're located in the Upper West Side /all of Manhattan and in Bay Ridge/ Park Slope/Cobble Hill/Carroll Gardens/Brooklyn Heights/Sunset Park/ Dyker Heights/Williamsburg/Fort Greene/Greenpoint areas in Brooklyn, but we're happy to schedule a visit bringing kitties to you anywhere in the accessible NYC area!

---

Kittyshockwave
We do adoptions by appointment --call us to make an appointment in the NYC area! (don't be shy about trying again if you don't hear back from us immediately)
Phone:

718-238-4605

or email us!

Psychology Of Hoarding

By CHRISTINE O'DONNELL

The demolition of an Aiken home continued Friday. The county seized the home, calling it a hazard due to hoarding. Doctors say hoarding is a mental health issue that can be treated.

Alisa Hamrick and her husband, Jason lived across from a "hoarder home" for nine years. They spent part of the day removing items from the before the county finishes tearing it down. They say they plan to store the items.

“He definitely can't get rid of anything. He likes to take stuff from our house that we were ready to throw away,” Hamrick said. "I think it's probably gotten worse, [over time] because he tends to collect trash."

Because of the trash the instability of the structure, the county says the home is a hazard, a result of hoarding..." More

Hoarding: Hidden Problem Becoming Increasingly Visible

MANCHESTER, N.H. -- Recently, 24,000 pounds of collected items were removed from a New Hampshire home in what experts called an example of an all-too-common problem -- hoarding.

It's a secretive and often shameful problem that is getting more attention thanks to national TV shows, prompting more Granite Staters to get help.

In the recent case, the family asked to remain anonymous. They said their father enjoyed buying and collecting things, and after his wife died, his stuff began piling up..." More

Hoarding’s Darkest Side

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Most people have some clutter around the house, but at what point does it become a hazard?

We’ve all had times where we can’t see the kitchen table because of clutter, but we clean it off and throw away what isn’t necessary.

For some, they can’t throw anything away and become hoarders.

On March 9, a cold rain only added to the depressing scene inside 113 Elmont Street in Crafton Heights. It was a fire fueled by waist-high trash.

It’s likely that 77-year-old John Rabusseau’s obsession with storing stuff away cost him his life. The body of the retired salesman was found just behind a front door blocked by junk.

For 20 years, no one was invited to Stan Engelman’s Morningside home – including family.

Patti Engelman, Stan’s wife of more than 25 years, became unable to part with anything..." More

OLDER ADULTS WHO HOARD: An Advanced Training for Service Providers Who Serve Older Adults

Mental Health Association of San Francisco

OLDER ADULTS WHO HOARD:
An Advanced Training for Service Providers
Who Serve Older Adults

REGISTRATION NOW OPEN!

Dear Friend of MHASF,

The Mental Health Association of San Francisco's Institute on Compulsive Hoarding and Cluttering is pleased to announce our upcoming training: "OLDER ADULTS WHO HOARD: An Advanced Training for Service Providers Who Serve Older Adults."

Date: Wednesday, June 15th, 2011
Time: 9:00PM -4:30PM
Location: World Affairs Council, 312 Sutter Street, Suite #200, San Francisco, CA 94108

Trainer: Michael A. Tompkins, Ph. D. Licensed Psychologist, Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of California at Berkeley and Founding Partner of the San Francisco Bay Area Center forCognitive Therapy

In this training Dr. Tompkins will address:

• What is compulsive hoarding?
• Why older adults with hoarding and cluttering behaviors often refuse help
• How to help older adults with hoarding and cluttering behaviors accept help
• Their goals, your goals, our goals
• Identifying harm reduction targets and designing harm reduction plans
• Discussion of cases and application of strategies

Registration:

• Early Bird: $130.00 on or before June 13, 2011
• On-Site: $150.00 at the door
• Includes a FREE copy of Digging Out: Helping Your loved One Manage Clutter, Hoarding and Compulsive Acquiring by Dr. Michael Tompkins and Dr. Tamara Hartl
• Lunch included

CEUs for 6 hours at $30.00 per license

Social Work: LCSW, MFT

Nursing: CNA, LVN, LPT, RN

*San Francisco Department of Public Health employee CEU credits are FREE

For more information call 415-421-2926 extension 317 or email mark@mha-sf.org

Click below to:

Then submit your registration form through:
Fax: (415) 421-2928
Email: info@mha-sf.org
Standard Mail: MHASF, 870 Market St., Suite 928, San Francisco, CA 94102

SPACE IS LIMITED SO SIGN UP TODAY!

Hope to you on June 15th.

Mark Salazar
Program Manager
Institute on Compulsive Hoarding and Cluttering

Email: mark@mha-sf.org
PH: 415-421-2926 ext. 317
FX: 415-421-2928
www.mha-sf.org/program/ichc

Spread the word! Please forward this to a colleague!

The Mental Health Association of San Francisco (MHASF) is a non-profit citizen's organization dedicated to improving the mental health of residents in the diverse communities of San Francisco through advocacy, education, research and service. In all its programs, MHASF works together with people and families challenged by mental illness and with the agencies that serve them to promote prevention, access to services, leadership and independence. Visit us on the web atwww.mha-sf.org.