Confessions: Animal Hoarders - Can they be helped?

Most social workers have run into situations where people can no longer care for their pets. When working in the hospitals of the Sun Cities in Arizona, one of our assessment questions was to find out whether the hospitalized elderly patient had pets at home. Often a neighbor or the local sheriff volunteers could help find the pet temporary shelter.

But what about the extreme situations we see on the Animal Planet show about animal hoarders? Have you run into these situations in your practice?

For some animal lovers, their good intentions of providing a loving home for their pets have gone awry. They may have started out with just a few pets, but then those animals began to reproduce. Or perhaps they initially set out to rescue abandoned animals and soon find themselves overwhelmed with the responsibility.

Regardless of how it starts, animal hoarders stockpile creatures who live in inhumane conditions.

Find out more about animal hoarding and how people might be helped. Full article on animal hoarding.