The Bone Collector

Collecting or hoarding, there's a fine line.




Stumpy may have crossed it.

While I joke about Stumpy's hoarding tendencies,the tendency to hoard and in particular, animal hoarding,is a huge and growing problem. I subscribe to the Animal Hoarding and News Blog. At least a couple of times a week this blog is updated with multiple cases of animal hoarding.

Hoarding is now classified as a medical/mental disorder, so cruelty/neglect/abuse charges are seldom filed. But animal hoarding is cruel. the impact hoarding has on the animals involved is brutal, physically and emotionally. Too often, animals coming out of these situations are unadoptable and euthanized, as a result.

Learn to recognize the symptoms of a hoarder. Document and report your findings to the local authorities, including animal control, health department and social services.
Listed below are symptoms and signs of animal hoarding.
•They have numerous animals and may not know the total number of animals in their care.
•Their home is deteriorated (i.e., dirty windows, broken furniture, holes in wall and floor, extreme clutter).
•There is a strong smell of ammonia, and floors may be covered with dried feces, urine, vomit, etc.
•Animals are emaciated, lethargic and not well socialized.
•Fleas and vermin are present.
•Individual is isolated from community and appears to be in neglect himself.
•Individual insists all animals are happy and healthy—even when there are clear signs of distress and illness.