Comment

Comment by Jane on April 8, 2011 at 9:00pm

Those are great guidelines!

Comment by Finnley Mae on April 8, 2011 at 6:03pm

I do understand O.C.D. because I have been treated for it. I just have a hard time understanding the disconnect, as my issues were not animal related.

I sincerely hope that I did not come across as insensitive, as that was not my intention.

I will word my blogs more carefully going forward.

Thank you all for you comments.

Comment by Teresa Gilpin on April 8, 2011 at 4:55pm

I agree!  I wish I could rescue every dog I see that needs help!  Especially corgis!  So I make a donation to "Corgi Aid" every month.  And also to the ASPCA.  I think you are doing the best thing, care well for your babies then try to help others in need.  I am afraid we can't fix the world so just try to do what you can.  And know there is a special place in Heaven saved just for you!!!

Comment by Stephanie on April 8, 2011 at 4:50pm

Hoarding is a mental illness.  These people are very sick.  In their minds, they do love these animals and think they're helping them, reality on the other hand is a different story.  It's like asking, "Drugs cause so many problems in ___'s life, why don't they quit doing them?"  I'm not defending them in any way, but it is a serious illness and sadly only coming to light now because of television.

 

I LOVE your strategy/tips on helping homeless animals - some of the best tips I've read in a long time.

Comment by Sam Tsang on April 8, 2011 at 3:39pm

Hi Finnley,

 

To answer your question: "how can animal hoarders not see that they are causing their friends pain?"

 

Animal Hoarding is a delusional disorder, similar to OCD, which requires medication / behavioural therapy. Animal hoarders cannot comprehend their actions are harming their pets, they believe that they can provide the love and care for their animals.

 

If you take a look at a positron emission tomography scan of a hoarder, you'll notice damages to the frontal lobes of the brain, which affects judgement and emotion, damages to the right medial prefrontal cortex of the brain is what cause the compulsive hoarding.

 

The closest thing that I've ever dealt with was a cardiac patient with dementia. Within 2 years, she became more delusional, she made bad judgment and lost the ability to recognize danger. It takes a lot of patience and understanding to provide her with proper care. It was very difficult for the medical staff - knowing there's little we could do for her. It was heartbreaking for her son, even with all the money in the world (he's a famous billionaire), her mother can no longer recognize him.

Comment by Jane Christensen on April 8, 2011 at 3:11pm

I agree that it is very hard to walk away from animals. I do believe that the hoarders really have some mental health problems going on or things got out of hand and they don't know what to do? You have some great ideas and for me I donate collars and anything usable(towels/blankets) but I stay away from the shelters. I do find projects of my own though that I do such as getting Zip the obese corgi (in June). Sometimes I have to. I also have rehomed Rainy (thanks to Joanna, Rainy and Calvin(another rescue of mine) plus Jennifer has Jackson another rescue. So sometimes finding a person who can take a dog and lining this up  is a great  way to help to the animals. That sounds like what you do on facebook. Also I love the idea of how you make a donation toward their adoption fee...thank you!