THE HOARDING OF ANIMALS

     A Rising Problem in Society

Victimizing Animals

         By:  Lois Myers         

Animal collectors, more properly known as animal hoarders exhibit enough stereotypical characteristics, attitudes, and behaviors that animal hoarding can be referred to as an actual behavior disorder. According to Gary J. Patronek, VMD and PhD, animal hoarding is “an under-recognized problem in a difficult-to-study population”. Patronek further states, “Despite the detrimental effect of animal hoarding on both people and animals, this behavior has not yet been linked with any specific human psychological disorder”.

  There is much to be studied in this area before an effective treatment of the animal hoarder will be successfully developed.  There is a distinct profile associated with animal hoarding behavior, and as of now, the treatment programs are not effective.  The animals in these cases are suffering horrific instances of abuse by being loved to death by the hoarder, the hoarder is seriously jeopardizing his or her own mental and physical health, and animal shelters are being overwhelmed by the sheer number of animals that must be housed for prolonged periods of time.  Until legislation is changed, the community is educated, and solid treatment programs or punishments for the hoarders are developed, there will continue to be recidivism rates that are almost 100%, and new instances of this behavior disorder will be on the rise.

Gary J. Patronek, VMD and PhD, is one of the leading authorities on the subject of animal hoarders.  Dr. Patronek is on the board of H.A.R.C., Research Consortium at Tufts University. In the Case Report Form being used for this research project, the following profile of an animal hoarder is used:

Someone who has accumulated a large number of animals and who fails to provide minimal standards of nutrition, sanitation, and veterinary care; and fails to act on the deteriorating condition of the animals (including disease, starvation, or death) and the environment (severe overcrowding, extremely unsanitary conditions) or the negative effect of the collection on their own health and well being and on that of other family members (Animal Hoarding Monitoring Project, Case Report Form).

Statistically, 76% of hoarders are female, and of this percentage, 46% are 60 years of age or older.  Cats are involved 65% of the time, dogs 60%, farm animals 11%, and birds 11% of the time.  There was a median of thirty-nine animals per case, but four cases (7%) exceeded one hundred animals.  In 80% of the cases, animals were dead or in extremely poor condition, and in 58% of the cases, the hoarder denied that problems existed.  Legal results of the prosecution of these hoarders are as follows: 17% were prohibited from owning animals for a period of time; 10% were ordered to cooperate with ongoing monitoring; and 13% were ordered to undergo psychological evaluation.  In 26% of these cases, the hoarder was eventually institutionalized or placed under guardianship, and 11% of the time the residence of the hoarder was condemned.  These statistics were based on 54 case report forms, and the reports were submitted by ten well-established investigative agencies in the USA (Patronek).

The hoarder typically exhibits characteristic behavior patterns such as the need to hoard many inanimate objects as well as the animals.  Simply stated, they have an addiction to clutter.  The hoarder is unable or unwilling to part with the clutter, and is insulted when it is referred to as “junk”.  Likewise with the animals, the hoarder will not consider euthanization of the aging or sick animals, or adoption of any animals to good homes.  Often times, the hoarder will even keep the dead animals, either because after death she still can’t part with them, or for fear of discovery.  The deceased animals are sometimes stacked in a closet, garage, or corner, and are many times put in the freezer.  Often times the dead animals have not yet been discovered and are still mixed in with the live population.  This, of course is only one of the major health hazards created by the hoarder.      

            Not only does the clutter present a fire hazard, the sheer number of animals living within the house poses a set of health problems in itself.  The hoarder literally lives like an animal.  Feces and urine collect on the floors, countertops, furniture, and open living spaces.  Often times there are no working utilities inside the home, and the sink and stove are so piled up with animals or their debris that it is not even possible for the hoarder to prepare meals for themselves. 

Animals are often kept in small makeshift pens on a twenty-four hour basis.  If there are outbuildings, trailers, buses, etc. on the property, they are usually filled up with animals as well (Metro Active News and Issues).

The hoarder’s biggest fear is discovery. They go to great lengths to keep their friends, neighbors, authorities, and the public from finding out just how many animals they have.  Privacy fences, tarps, blackened windows or heavy curtains, overgrown shrubbery, and of course never letting the animals go outside are a few of the ways their disorder is hidden.  The hoarder stops having company, won’t answer the door, and continues to carry on a seemingly normal life outside the home.  If they are employed, they are able to go to work and function well.  In one case, amid the piles of feces, leftover food, dead animals, and garbage, they found a sparkling clean nurse’s uniform hanging in the bathroom to dry (Handling Animal Collectors, Part 1, The Shelter Library). 

The hoarder justifies the conditions that the animals live in by remaining in denial.  They believe that the animals are all healthy and are lucky because they weren’t run over or euthanized at a shelter, they deny that extreme overcrowding causes severe emotional and health problems for the animals, and claim that animals confined to small cages are quite comfortable. 

This death grip on denial remains even if the hoarder is discovered.  An extreme example of this is taken from a case that was being tried by DA Irene Holmes in Redwood City, California: when confronted at trial with a photograph taken at the time of the rescue showing a dog that was so emaciated it was shedding the rectum and intestines and died within hours of being photographed, the hoarder finally commented, “I guess it did seem a little ill” (Metro Active News and Issues).

            The attitudes and beliefs of the animal hoarder are also very distinct.  The hoarder actually believes that they are doing a great service for these animals and the following reasons are characteristically given by them: that no one can love their animals like they do; only they can cure these animals with their secret or special remedies (usually herbal); that the animals are being saved from certain death; the animals are like their children; no one else would take care of them; and animals are their only friends or companions (Animal Hoarding Monitoring Project, Case Report Form). 

In some cases hoarders are intelligent, articulate, and have the funds available to fight a long, hard court battle.  In the case of Vikki Kittles, she claims to have chosen an alternative lifestyle, and does not believe in euthanasia.  She constantly admonishes veterinarians and shelters for euthanizing animals on a daily basis.    Kittles further claimed that she was being targeted, and what she was going through was akin to religious persecution. Her animals endured a two-year stay at the humane shelter while Kittles fought not only to have the animals returned to her, but also to legally prevent the shelter from euthanizing or treating the seriously ill animals. Many of these animals died painful deaths, mostly related to heartworm disease (Profile of an Animal Abuser).

Once the hoarding behavior has begun, the hoarder looses all sense of reality and is unable to stop taking in animals.  The compulsion to collect animals has completely taken over their lives, and the psychological aspect is now one of control over the lives of the animals because the hoarder is lacking control over his or her own life. The living condition inside the home of the hoarder is total and complete squalor.  At this point, the hoarder is living like an animal and in a constant state of denial.  A statement such as, “I can’t let you in the house right now, it’s a little dirty” translates to:  the house is really three feet deep in feces and urine (Profile of an Animal Abuser). 

What a humane officer has to face during an investigation is living quarters so contaminated and piled with clutter that many times masks, Vicks Vapo Rub, and contamination suits are the dress code to enter and inspect the premises.  The ammonia from the urine is so strong it literally burns the lungs when inhaled.

The living conditions outside are no better. The hoarder will stash the overflow of animals in anything from a garage to a school bus or trailer. The animals are in small, makeshift cages and are never allowed to go outside for fear of discovery. The effect on the animals is abhorrent: the caged animals become “kennel crazy" from being confined to a small cage and being deprived of necessary emotional and human contact; the animals are unaccustomed to noise; and because they are in extremely poor physical condition, the stress of the rescue alone will sometimes cause further injury or death.

When the smell gets overwhelming outside the dwelling, or someone is concerned by the condition of the hoarder a complaint is usually filed. The humane shelter cannot simply demand to enter the premises because the hoarder is protected by the Fourth Amendment against unreasonable search and seizure in a place where they have an expectation of privacy. A humane officer must first put a notice on the door of the hoarder’s house advising him that a complaint has been filed and must be investigated. Should the hoarder consent to an inspection and invite the humane officer in, there will easily be enough proof in plain view for a warrant to be obtained. A hoarder allowing anyone in the home would be extremely unlikely.

If law enforcement is not willing to help, or an attorney does not assist in obtaining a warrant, the situation will be at a standstill unless one of the following conditions is met: eviction of the hoarder when housing standards and health codes are violated; a seventy-two hour evaluation at a mental health facility; or by establishing a legal guardianship for the hoarder.

If evicted the hoarder would be charged with abandonment unless there were immediate homes found for the animals. The shelter is the only option at that point. The hoarder is required to pay a fee per animal to have them returned, and in most cases there are no funds available for the hoarder to do that. 

If the hoarder is court ordered to a seventy-two hour evaluation, the animals are considered involuntarily abandoned and can be seized. To be on the safe side, a second warrant must be obtained for the seizure. If it is not obtained, then the seizure could be considered illegal and the animals could be ordered returned to the owner.

A court appointed legal guardian has the legal right to sign all of the animals over to the shelter, as the guardian is legally acting on behalf of the hoarder at that point. The guardian can also assist the shelter in monitoring the hoarder in the future (Handling Animal Collectors, part 1).

The humane shelter must network with other shelters and foster homes, mental health agencies, social services, the community, law enforcement, and the judicial system, as they need a working relationship with these organizations to get help for the hoarder and the animals.

Once a hoarder has been discovered, the rescue needs to be planned before the legal paperwork is served. Shelters experienced with these large rescues have found that it is best handled by strategically planning every detail, and keeping a list of emergency phone numbers on hand if the situation is worse than anticipated. This is why networking is so important, as there will be members of the community, veterinarians, law enforcement, many county agencies, and businesses within the community that may be needed for assistance at some point.

If more help is required, a list of volunteers that can be called must be on hand. Workstations must be set up so that the animals will be handled as little as possible, triaged for injuries, contagious illnesses, and euthanized on the rescue site if necessary. People need to be assigned to a specific task so that the process can move rapidly. For instance, people assigned as runners bring the animal to the first workstation where they are photographed with an index card containing an assigned ID number, the animal’s sex, and the date. Photographs should include any injuries or special markings. The animal is then sent to the next workstation to be identified as male or female with a colored cardboard collar containing the ID number. 

At the next workstation, the Veterinarian examines the animals. The animals are treated, sent to the van for transport to the shelter, or euthanized if the condition is serious or contagious. If everyone works together at a specific task, the rescue will continue quickly, and be less stressful for the animals and the workers. 

It is also important to remember that all original photographs, videotapes, and audiotapes will be used as evidence in court if the case goes to trial. It is wise to make two copies of each; one for law enforcement and one for shelter records, the original copies will be introduced as evidence in the trial.

Once the animals are rescued and taken to the shelter, they must remain there unless the owner has relinquished all rights, or the court has ordered that they can be taken into the shelter population and processed for adoption. If the battle is lengthy, the animals will be impounded by mandatory court order until the case is settled in court. That may be weeks, months, or even years. This, of course, puts a strain on the shelter as they work from a fixed budget. Volunteers and donations will be a necessity at that point (Handling Animal Collectors, Part 2).

Sometimes the media reports concerning an animal hoarder do not show the shelter in a fair light. The community feels sorry for the hoarder and is not shown the true magnitude of the situation.  For example, when the media shows the hoarder (particularly if she is a little old lady) sobbing and holding on to her animals, the shelter looks like the enemy. Inevitably this will happen, if the media hears of the rescue and shoots footage at the scene. 

The shelter should appoint one spokesperson and arrange for an interview at a calmer time. The spokesperson should be prepared to show the true condition of the animals and the living conditions of the home with video footage or photos taken during the rescue. The very thing that anyone needs at that point is the community donating money for the hoarders’ defense or boarding bill at the shelter. The community then becomes an enabler and allows the hoarder to continue this behavior with financial and moral support. Again, education is the key to treat this disorder effectively.

The quickest legal way to resolve these cases is to work each one on an individual basis.  If the hoarder will cooperate, this shortens the time frame that the animals are impounded. Sometimes, a few of the animals are returned to the hoarder after they are spayed, neutered, and vaccinated, and regular mandatory monitoring of the hoarder’s premises is ordered by the court to prevent continued hoarding behavior. This is the easiest way to resolve a case, but this is rarely the way it works out.  The hoarder will not find it easy or even possible to part with any of his or her collection voluntarily.

    When the hoarder does not cooperate, a lengthy, costly, court battle ensues where everyone looses, especially the animals. Many times the hoarder is charged with several counts of animal cruelty and sentenced to jail, given a period of probation, and ordered never to own another pet.

    Although this consequence helps in the prevention of animal hoarding, it is not considered a treatment.  Even when a hoarder has spent months in jail, it is not a guarantee that the behavior will not be repeated. Vikki Kittles is again suspected of hoarding animals, even after she spent fifteen months in jail (Profile of an Animal Abuser).  

            There is much to be studied in this area before an effective treatment for animal hoarding behavior will be successfully developed.  There is a distinct profile associated with hoarding behavior, and as of now, the treatment programs are not effective.  The animals in these cases are suffering horrific instances of abuse by being loved to death by the hoarder. Until legislation is changed, the community is educated, and solid treatment programs or punishments for animal hoarders are developed, there will continue to be recidivism rates that are almost 100%, and new instances of this behavior disorder will be on the rise.

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