Posted by Susan J on October 21, 2003, at 15:53:51
In reply to Full House, posted by Alexs on October 21, 2003, at 15:31:16
Hi,
I'm sorry about the frustration this is causing. You wife seems to be an animal hoarder (I do some rescue dog/cat volunteer work, and we see this fairly often). Usually, though, it's a woman who lives alone, and it's usually cats...I cut and pasted some information on it for you.
**Psychiatrists are just beginning to study the phenomenon, but humane societies have struggled with hoarders for years. Their behavior is one of the most perplexing mysteries of the human condition.
Animal hoarders are driven to collect many more pets than they can handle. They often live in tremendous filth, endangering not only their animals but themselves and neighbors. The quality of life on entire streets can be destroyed by the foul smell and the insects that hoarding attracts.
“Nobody's really sure what to do with these cases,” says Chuck Vaughn, an assistant Kenton County attorney. “It is such a large problem. If you do shut down (a hoarder), what do you do with the 100 dogs you've got?”
To better understand the problem, a national consortium is studying the motivations and thought patterns of these unusual people.
They tend to be female, older and solitary, perhaps with compulsive personalities or a strong need to nurture. They consider themselves especially in tune with animals, but they fail to recognize when their pets are suffering.
Their behavior may be a warning sign for dementia or other mental illness, says Gary Patronek, a veterinarian and epidemiologist at the Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine in North Grafton, Mass.**
If at all possible, see if your wife will go to a therapist and talk about this issue. Go with her if it makes her feel better. If it's a mild case, perhaps just bombarding her with a lot of information might help. Like, it's *OK* for puppies/young dogs to be split up from one another almost all of the time (I wouldn't split up two dogs that have been together 5 or 6 years, though). And if she's feeding a sense of nurturing something, then she needs to realize that having too many pets is like having too many children. At some point, you can't afford them all and level of quality care could suffer.
>>literally a thousand benie babies. she refuses to sell any of it.
<<I don't know about being a pack rat. Does she say *why* she won't sell it?> Can any one give me advise on this topic? Does this sound like a medical condition or is she just weird?
<<Medical condition. And can become harmful (to her, you, the animals). It's very difficult to maintain a sanitary living area with that many animals inside. (Outside ones, I don't know too much about them). You can do the animals a big favor and find placements for them through a local humane society or an animal rescue group.
poster:Susan J
thread:271554
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20031020/msgs/271561.html