Tails animal shelter story

[murielm99]

Tails animal shelter rescued 250 animals from an animal hoarder in rural Lee County, Illinois.

http://www.tailshumanesociety.org/main.asp?id=27

This is one of the worst animal hoarding stories ever. The rescued animals are being kept in a temporary area until the shelter knows what to do with them. They are not ready for adoption yet, and the shelter does not have room for such a large number of animals.

I am not affiliated with this shelter, but the story moved me to tears. I am not a crazy animal hoarder, so I will not be adopting any of them! I have one cat and one dog in my house, and several cats who live in the barn. As much as I would love to take several of these creatures home, I will be sending money instead. Maybe some DUers would like to adopt or send money. I am sure they would welcome any help they can get.

[Der Blaue Engel]

1. I don't understand what leads people to do such things

:(

I wish I lived in the area; I know I'd be bringing home a couple of new fur babies (even though my small apartment can barely handle the eccentricities of the two I have now).

Donated, kicked and recommended.

[murielm99]

2. I know that animal hoarding

is an illness. It still makes me angry that this illness harms innocent animals. My two spoiled creatures have shiny fur and full bellies. They sleep in my bed.

[mzteris]

3. kick for the day crowd

:kick:

This is so sad. :cry:

[La Lioness Priyanka]

4. isnt hoarding a sign of mental illness?

i wonder why there has been an increased numbe of these incidents. is it that more are happening or does it indicate something else?

[japple]

9. Has there been an increase in the numbers of incidents

of this type, or are we just hearing more about them now? In the past, I think they were just taken care of by the local animal control agencies and we never heard about them, and I think most of the animals were disposed of without trying to save or rehabilitate any. Now, thanks to Animal Planet and the numerous humane organizations, we are hearing about animal collectors and puppy mills. Of course, if there were more funds for mental health, some of the hoarders would get the treatment they need and might not be inclined to "adopt" so many animals. I would love to hear what the mental health and social service professions have to say about this subject.

[IndyOp]

5. K&R and donated. Thank you for posting. It looks like the rescue is

doing a beautiful job. I know they will have major veterinary expenses coming up - all of the animals will have to be bathed and many shaved and possibly treated for ringworm and other infections/wounds, vaccinated... Then off to foster homes to be socialized. It feels like an overwhelming task, but not hopeless...

[mzteris]

6. I don't often donate to "causes"

(can't afford to!) but this story really got to me.

They are going to need the extra $$ to try and take care of this many animals!

My son volunteered with local animal rescues for the past 3 or 4 years. The things people can do to animals. It's just shocking.

[tuckessee]

7. "Hoarding" is such a bullshit word in these cases

American Heritage Dictionary - (hôrd, hōrd) Pronunciation Key
n. A hidden fund or supply stored for future use; a cache.

I doubt these so-called hoarders are stockpiling critters for future use. What are they, the Hunt Bros. of petdom?

What these people are is overwhelmed.

Mostly, they are well intentioned people who get in over their heads trying to save animals.

If people would just spay & neuter (and absolutely demanded it of others) the problem would be largely abated.

[mopinko]

8. no. they are seriously

mentally ill. this is being recognized more these days. unless all the dogs and cats on the planet are neutered, this will continue.
it just pisses me off that vets hate to blow the whistle on these people. i mean, they are sending her notices that 35 dogs need shots, but they don't call the authorities? they don't want them to stop bringing them in, or switch to another vet. after all, one of these clients can add up to a lot of money. but they really have to get better at recognizing and busting on this stuff.

[idgiehkt]

12. there is a reason for it though

I think the terminology is pretty accurate in that it's a psychological syndrome. They have a mental illness which is abated by accumulating animals; I believe that acquiring new animals sometimes is a 'rush' for them like a drug high. However it's the acquistion of the animal that gives them that feeling so they have to keep getting more and more animals to fulfill that need, their is seemingly little or no concern about the lving conditions of the animal because they feel that the animal is 'safe' in their care, i.e. 'nothing bad' is happening to the animal, although in truth the animal is badly neglected. I think a lot of times these folks have the mentality of a 5 or 6 year old when it comes to animals instead of an adult that understands an animal's actual needs for food/shelter/sanitary conditions; their primary focus seems to be keeping the animals 'safe' from whatever they think might threaten it, and I suspect a lot of them were victims of childhood trauma, it's very common for survivors of child abuse/sexual abuse whatever, to become extremely protective of their animals, and the disassociation/denial/just plain 'not seeing' that accompanies survival of that kind of situation in childhood is a perfect set up for how these people can live daily among horribly neglected animals and 'not see' those conditions. It's important to differentiate between those people and puppy mills, the mill people are in it for profit and simply don't care about the welfare of the animal whereas the hoardes seem to believe they are somehow 'helping' the animals in their care, as hard as that is to comprehend.

[Lorien]

13. I think that's pretty much on target. "Hoarders" can hoard all kinds of

things. some collect a particular item (shoes, action figures, etc), others can't throw anything away. I have a friend who compulsively shops on eBay and has filled entire rooms with purchases in unopened boxes. Fortunately, once she got off several prescription drugs her compulsive shopping tapered off. Animal hoarders are one of the worst kinds because they cause so much suffering. A good rule of thumb: each animal you own should be able to find at least one room for itself and itself alone (fish being an exception, of course)in your home. If you only have five rooms in your home, then don't acquire more than five pets. Overcrowding causes stress and disease in many animals, especially dogs and cats.

[mzteris]

10. kick again for the evening crowd!

Come on people! This is a really good cause here. $5.00 or $10.00 even - every little bit helps.

[Critters2]

11. Just donated.

I saw this story in the Trib, and was horrified. Though, when my guys complain about not getting enough attention, food, or toys...I may show them this! :)

No animals should suffer like this, and I'm grateful for those who are helping them.

Thanks for posting this, Muriel.

[murielm99]

14. I'm kicking this again,

just in case anyone else wants to donate.

[mopinko]

15. i am kicking this in honor of my hubbie, mr grinch

who stuck the crowbar in the wallet, cuz he loves bulldogs, and i won't let him have one. he then sent my email around at work, and got a few more donations from people too shocked by his generosity to say no.

compulsive collecting really ought to be taken more seriously. ever been to the house on the rock, in wisconsin? the physical manifestation of a very strange mind, i tell ya. (and very deep pockets!) but when it comes to animals,i think if it was better understood, it would be dealt with more often. and before it gets like this. vets really ought to be required to report this stuff. but they hate to.

[murielm99]

16. Have you visited the website today?

This is very disturbing: some volunteer apparently walked off with one of the bulldogs. The animals are not yet up for adoption, and many of them are ill and in need of socialization.

As if these animals haven't been through enough! And TAILS has enough on its hands. Now they are going to have to watch their volunteers like hawks.

[mopinko]

17. i didn't see that story.

but looking at the pics, it is not hard to see why someone would just do it. those bulldogs are so cute.

[judaspriestess]

18. wow, so many innocent babies

I am so happy they rescued them. The BULLDOGS are gorgeous. I have one myself and he is my sunshine.

[judaspriestess]

19. wow, so many innocent babies

I am so happy they rescued them. The BULLDOGS are gorgeous. I have one myself and he is my sunshine.