Hoarding is a complicated local issue

As I start my day with another call for an animal caught in a live trap, I try to remember if this is the fifth or sixth one this week caught in the same neighborhood. I wonder if it is an isolated case of a momma having babies or if there might be a hoarder living nearby. I scan the houses to see if I can detect any signs. I don’t see anything unusual, but most houses are hidden from my view.

Animal hoarding involves keeping higher than usual numbers of animals as domestic pets without having the ability to properly house or care for them, while denying this inability. Hoarders are deeply attached to their pets and find it extremely difficult to let the pets go. They typically cannot comprehend they are harming their pets by failing to provide them proper care.

Just because a person has a large number of animals does not mean that he or she is a hoarder. You can have a large number of animals, and if you properly care for them, you are not a hoarder. Some responsible breeders can turn into hoarders when they stop selling their animals and properly caring for them. They get overwhelmed and are ashamed to ask for help.

Why do people hoard animals? Some begin collecting animals after a traumatic event or loss, while others see themselves as “rescuers” who save animals from lives on the street. In many cases, animal hoarders appear to be intelligent and believe they are helping their animals. They often say any home is better than letting an animal die. Many hoarders genuinely think they are helping their animals. They have the ability to gain sympathy and somehow make most people believe their situation is under control. They might start with something as simple as feeding the “starving” animal that came to the house. They do this by leaving food out that attracts other animals. Before long, there are dozens of animals fighting, breeding, passing disease, and urinating and defecating all over the property and neighborhood.

Hoarders often fail to provide even the basic of care for their animals. The primary animal health issues are malnourishment, overcrowding, unsanitary conditions and untreated medical problems that result in disease, and often death. Malnourished animals are more susceptible to diseases and hoarded animals are often very sick with a multitude of ailments. Hoarders are often in denial about the deteriorating health conditions of their animals and will not take them to the vet because of financial difficulties or because they fear the possibility of having to give up their animals.

Hoarded animals tend to lack socialization and can have long-lasting and even permanent physical and psychological problems. Many are beyond rehabilitation, are deemed unadoptable and have to be euthanized.

Animal hoarders seem to collect more than animals. They often have mounds of trash and clutter in and around their homes. This attracts rodents and parasites. All of this causes extreme health risks to the human occupants. There is an increased risk of fire hazards, unsanitary conditions, zoonotic disease (an infectious disease transmitted from animal to human), animal bites and neglect of themselves and everyone else living in the household. Some residences have had to be destroyed because of the severe urine and ammonia leaching into the walls and floors.

I have walked into many houses with the overwhelming smell of ammonia that burns your eyes. It amazes me people become immune to the smell. Within minutes, I am sick and getting a headache. I have seen animals packed into filthy kennels that are stacked to the ceiling and overflowing with feces. I know that not only do the animals need help, but so do the owners. If you know of someone hoarding animals, please help them to clean up and downsize their number of animals or call your local adult services, police department or your local animal care agency.

Darla Erskine is an officer with Mat-Su Borough Animal Care and Regulation.