In my old stomping grounds of Morgantown, 38 dogs were rescued from a hoarder, completely overwhelming the local shelters. This is personal for me for a couple reasons- Lily was rescued from a hoarder in the same area, and the other three dogs and all the cats (around 20) had to be put down because they were so sickly. If you remember, the first two weeks I had Lily I could not bathe her even though she reeked of cat urine and other foulness because she had a two inch wide open sore running down her spine from mistreatment. The Mon County Animal Shelter is where I picked Lily up, and they are dealing with the brunt of the animals. That’s the place I used to go every payday (when I remembered and had cash) before I had any animals and bring donations of dog food, cat food, and kitty litter. I’d do my shopping for myself, pick up the goods, and then head off to the shelter. Third, Animal Friends of North Central West Virginia is just a great organization and really well run. It’s a no-kill facility located out in the woods, basically, and they take them all. Anything that can not be adopted out by the shelter or other groups, Animal Friends takes. I used to drop food off there and occasionally just stop by to walk some of the dogs, and I always went to their annual fundraiser dinner.
Here are three of the seized animals.
If you have some scratch you can spare, here is a link to the youcaring website for Mountaineers for Mutts, who have a fair number of the animals including a very ill dog with a tumor on her bum. Tell them you stopped by from Balloon juice if you give so maybe they will contact me in the future when they need help.
I’m going to sit and reflect for a while on why it made me cringe when the woman in the video said “tinkle.” For someone with a potty mouth like mine, that’s an odd word to find cringeworthy.
Just Some Fuckhead
This could be you in a couple of years.
Morzer
Just for you, John Cole:
1 Corinthians 13:1
Ruckus
I don’t get hording in the first place but hording animals? Was this an animal lover just got in way too deep?
Omnes Omnibus
@Ruckus: It is my understanding that mental illness is usually involved.
eemom
@Ruckus:
Haven’t seen or heard from her for more than a decade, but I had a friend who kept somewhere around 40 cats in a studio apartment in NYC, and basically devoted her life to taking care of them. I visited the place, and it seemed to me that notwithstanding there being so many of them in a small space, they actually were well cared for.
I don’t know if she’d be classified as a “hoarder” or not.
Ruckus
@Omnes Omnibus:
That’s a given. But animals? Was in a business once where the shop was filled to about shoulder height, wall to wall with little trails going to different machines, most of which were hidden, with just junk. Couldn’t see anything useful, all just broken junk. Had to walk sideways to fit in several spots. I imagine it will take 4 people a couple of weeks to clear it out when he dies. If they find the body.
Ruckus
@eemom:
I get that. Well not really but keeping/caring for a lot of animals is one thing, keeping a lot of animals that you can’t take care of in an apartment or house…..
I used to know a girl whose mom raised show dogs. Had about 10 of them. But of course she got older and unable to actually care for them. We helped but without suspending our whole lives we couldn’t do much. I understand she was able to sell most of the dogs and could still take care of the 2 or 3 remaining ones.
Steeplejack
@eemom:
Forty cats in a studio? Yeah, hoarder. Maybe the world’s most high-functioning hoarder, based on your assessment that they were well cared for, but still—hoarder.
ETA: At bottom it’s a question of cats per square feet.
Morzer
@Steeplejack:
40 blogs in a crowded side-bar…. definitely hoarder behavior!
Steeplejack
@Morzer:
But, but—the virtual page is bottomless!
Mnemosyne (iPhone)
@Ruckus:
IIRC, hoarding is currently considered a form of OCD. People hoard animals because they’re convinced that no one else could possibly take care of them as well as the hoarder does. Usually, though, the hoarder isn’t taking good care of them at all, which is where the mental illness component lies.
agorabum
@Steeplejack: hoarder and mentally ill. Perhaps in a harmless way, but dedicating your life to taking care of 40 cats in your apartment is not of normal thought or mind. To a certain extent, it’s a sort of paganistic worship of cats – and valuing them more than self or other people.
Morzer
@agorabum:
Dude, cats are people. In fact, if anything, people aspire to be cats.
Omnes Omnibus
@Morzer: I am a Leo, but, at the same time, I don’t really aspire to be something I am allergic to. My inner life can be quite complex.
Morzer
@Omnes Omnibus:
But if you were a cat… no, no, I can’t go any further into this hypothetical situation. I don’t want to end up in an apartment hoarding 40 Leos and being diagnosed as a lunatic pagan by the internet.
Omnes Omnibus
@Morzer: I see that you can glimpse some of the complexities.
ETA: Since I am white, it is rather unlikely that 40 Law Enforcement Officers will ever be in my apartment. Although the Pagan thing could change the equation a bit.
Violet
Those poor animals. That’s nice of you to highlight the group’s good work, John.
Hoarding of any kind has to be tied to some kind of mental issue. It’s bad enough when it’s stuff, but when it’s animals that’s just awful. I’m glad they were able to get in and rescue these animals.
NotMax
Obligatory Collyer brothers link. Bonus picture gallery.
Morzer
@Omnes Omnibus:
I don’t really see the supposed “pagan” side of the equation here. Jews and Christians are supposed to “love the Lord your God with all your heart/mind/soul and with all your strength” – which is more than most “pagan” deities ever demanded. Nothing in excess and all that good Apollonian jazz. If anything, hoarding seems more Judeo-Christian than anything else.
Omnes Omnibus
@Morzer: I don’t know. The Egyptians were pagans and they had cats and shit.
Morzer
@Omnes Omnibus:
No litterboxes though. Maybe that’s why the Sphinx is out in the desert? Cleaning up after that kitty would have been a BAST-ard job.
eemom
@Steeplejack:
@agorabum:
Sadly, I have reason to believe there was mental illness involved.
Also too, the reason I haven’t seen or heard from her in almost 12 years is further evidence: we had a falling out because eedad and I had agreed to adopt one of the kitties, and in the end she had a weird freakout and wouldn’t let us.
And also three, since I’m in kind of a gut-spilling mood this evening: further sad, because she was really a good person and a very good friend to me at one of the worst times of my life.
Omnes Omnibus
@Morzer: An ancient rugby song informs us that:
Steeplejack
@NotMax:
I don’t know why it is, but I can never remember their name. I always think, “Hmm, it’s a somewhat common name, variant spelling,” and every time I’m reminded of it I make a titanic effort to mentally bookmark it, but I never can. The subject comes up and I’m left thinking, “What is the name of those goddamn hoarder brothers in New York?”
A weird thing, all the more frustrating because I have an excellent memory. An odd glitch.
Steeplejack
@eemom:
In my experience, people can have “zones” of mental illness: normal in every way except when something gets in the zone, e.g., in the case of your friend, pet rescue/care/hoarding. All the more disconcerting because of how normal they are in other respects.
eemom
@Steeplejack:
All of which is further to the fact that mental illness IS illness, just like any other.
Omnes Omnibus
@eemom: Except in public perception.
kc
@Ruckus:
It’s more common than you might think.
kc
@eemom:
I don’t think it’s considered hoarding if the owner is capable of caring for them.
Of course it is eccentric . . .
Omnes Omnibus
@kc: In a NYC studio, 40 cats is …. excessive.
kc
@agorabum:
I fail to see the problem.
Omnes Omnibus
@kc: Allergies.
Sandia Blanca
Total donations of $930 so far, most seem to be from this blog. Keep ’em coming, folks!
kc
@eemom:
Well, that does sound kind of hoarder-ish.
Sad.
eemom
I don’t know what the DSM definition of animal hoarding is, if there is one; or if the psychiatric gurus recognize it as something distinct from the “hoarding” disorder in general, which as an animal lover I would hope they would. That’s why (being a lawyer, and all about definitions) I wasn’t sure my friend was properly classified as an animal hoarder.
I do know that Mnem is right that hoarding is a form of OCD.
raven
Damn, I had to come back to see this post. Threw in some.
kc
@Omnes Omnibus:
OK, that’s valid.
Omnes Omnibus
@kc: Cats notice that I am very allergic and then come sit on my lap. It colors my judgment.
Steeplejack
@Omnes Omnibus:
They’re trying to cure you. Like homeopathy.
Omnes Omnibus
@Steeplejack: Bullshit. They are having a go at me. I’ve looked into their eyes.
Steeplejack
@Omnes Omnibus:
Never look them directly in the eye. They got the devil eyes.
dance around in your bones
I was so busy today, I am running to keep up with you guys!
@John Cole : I say “sprankle” when I’m walking the Foo dog. Please don’t hate me for that. I also talk to him constantly and sing. I probably look like a lunatic.
Also, I watched that drunk Texan video at least twice. I swear that guy passed out on the floor when the cops cuffed him. I hope the video goes viral – “‘Cause ‘Merica!”
Omnes Omnibus
@Steeplejack: I ain’t askeered. I am just allergic. It is different.
kc
@Omnes Omnibus:
They’re just trying to help!
Omnes Omnibus
@kc: I’ve looked into their eyes. Cats don’t want to help. They want to fuck with people.
Comrade Luke
Funny to run into this now. I was just coming home, and I saw someone “disciplining” their dog. Basically, yelling at him and smacking him on the nose, because he wouldn’t sit.
When I see that, I just want to go up to these people, smack them on the nose, and say “Didn’t do a lot of good, did it?”
Makes me sick.
pat
40 cats in a studio apartment? The litter costs alone must have been astronomical, not to mention the kibble. And the smell……
kc
@Omnes Omnibus:
You just haven’t met the right cat.
Omnes Omnibus
@kc: Yeah, I’ll know when I don’t sneeze and my eyes don’t water and itch. Cats leap to my lap and make eye contact. I am not the kind of person who punts the animal (having played rugby, the punt would be epic), but damn….
NotMax
@Omnes Omnibus
That’s why they have tails. It’s like the hammer throw in the Olympics.
(But I keed…)
Anne Laurie
@dance around in your bones:
Dogs that are, as the expression goes, exercised on lead frequently have a word or phrase to let them know when it’s okay to let go. (For service dogs, standard seems to be ‘hurry up, now’.) Our dogs have always been taught ‘make a spot’, because with our first, the Spousal Unit wasn’t sure the poor puppy wouldn’t misunderstand when one of us humans let fly with an expletive such as we were wont to use…
JoyceH
I think animal hoarding and hoarding in general is just recently being recognized as a mental illness. For decades hoarders were just ‘punished’, law cracks down on them and they go right out and do it again because their underlying illness isn’t being addressed.
In animal hoarding, the hoarder thinks they’re helping the animals and taking care of them, and seem to genuinely not be able to see that the animals are actually in terrible condition, sick and dying, and that they just can’t cope. It’s a bit like how an anorexic looks in the mirror and rather than seeing the skeletal figure that they’ve actually become, think they’re seeing fat.
dance around in your bones
@Anne Laurie:
Sorry, Anne Laurie – I didn’t see your comment until just now. Have been binging on romantic movies on TCM and writing stories for a guy who fell asleep and listening to my employer thumping around upstairs.
I’m afraid to go up there and ask her what she is doing.
You have such an extensive education/experience? with dogs – I am in awe.
This Foo dog is 3/4 Papillon and 1/4 long-haired chihuahua. He weighs about 9 lbs and rules the roost around here. I get a kick out of walking him and letting him ‘sprankle’ wherever the hell he wants. Like all dogs, he always seems to have a few drops left no matter how many times he has peed.
cckids
@Omnes Omnibus:
This is why many of us like them so much.
Debra
I can’t think you all enough for your support of what we’re doing here. I am the lady in the video that said “tinkle” and yes I can talk like a sailor sometimes too! Anyway – more later as I’m doing a dog transport to get some of these babies on to get the help that they need. I’ve got lots of videos and updates on all the good work that you guys are supporting. more in a bit…. thanks again…
skyweaver
Good on you, John Cole. I just made a tiny donation, it’s literally all I can give until my next payday. And God bless those people who are looking after those animals. I am still haunted by an event in college – we’d drive to New Mexico for some horseback riding. We found a place advertised in the yellow pages (back before the internet) – we drove and found the place deserted but about 40 dogs tied up in the same way. We called the animal control people when we got back to the hotel, but I never knew what wound up happening.
Debra
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCB_2T8XDmI
This is the link to the video for Adelaide the aussie in the lead video. Here she’s been groomed and is enjoying the ability to move and use the bathroom freely after having removed all her matts. The groomer had to use Vics vaporub on her nose to stand the stench of the matts. You’ll see how Adelaide was used as a breeder dog…then I filmed the mass on her rear. We’ve already taken a biopsy and expect the results late next week. According to the vet – it’s not looking good…but we’re hopeful. We will do what’s best for her. Right now she’s enjoying her new found freedom — she’s eating well, bouncy, loves to go on walks and as you can see – she’s sassy! She hops before she sits as if in protest saying “I shouldn’t have to work for a yummy!!” She’s fine with the dogs and cats, very inquisitive on leash — It does my heart good to see her enjoying life. And that’s what this is all about!! She deserves to be pampered!!
Mountaineers For Mutts has also pulled 2 shih tzus, a mama plott hound and her two 2-week old puppies, a pit/lab mix, an adult plott hound and a border collie mix. So far everyone’s doing fine. Scared but fine. The shih tzus were so matted they looked like dreadlocks – so I named them Ziggy and Marley. Ziggy the male had a hernia & a gash on his neck — but he’s all taken care of and doing fine.
Thank you for your donations!!!
If I’m not doing these updates correctly – please advise!!
Seth
Oh my gosh. Adelaide looks so good! Thank you for your wonderful work.
Debra
I just spoke with the vet – Adelaide the aussie’s cytology results confirm it’s a malignancy. The report cannot tell us the type or extent but they mentioned a fibrous sarcoma which may not be quick to spread. The vet offered that he can get a hold of it and move it around which he felt was a good sign. He’s hopeful he can get in there and remove it, but he won’t know until he goes in. So on Monday 11/3 he’ll do a chest x-ray to see if there’s any signs of it spreading and he’ll keep me informed of what he’s finding/doing. If all goes well he’ll spay her too. He said, for example, he’d not spay her if he finds it’s involving her colon or something drastic. And I’ve given him my wishes for him to use his best judgment. The vet and my goal is that the surgery is curative.
So that’s it. As I know more, I’ll keep everyone informed. Please send Addie your prayers and positive energies!!!