|
|
|
|
|
Help for Animal Hoarders |
Confessions: Animal Hoarding
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. In fact, the number of pets
matters less than the care they're given. A handful of cats
living in filth and feces without adequate food or water are
obviously more problematic than a dozen felines living like
royalty. But here's the rub: animal hoarders continually add
pets to their collections, and as volume builds, so do
logistics. (Hundreds of animals at a time have been seized from
self-proclaimed rescuers.) Overwhelmed but in denial, animal
hoarders are unable to care for their pets but believe no one
else can live up to their "high standards" of care.
The truth is, animal hoarding isn't really about the animals at
all. It's prompted by a deep-seated emotional trigger that's
difficult to pin down and even harder to treat. Many animal
hoarders have experienced childhood or adult trauma, and
hoarding offers a misguided way to cope.
Animal Planet’s series, Confessions: Animal Hoarding, brings
together family support, psychological experts and regional
animal welfare organizations to address animal hoarding cases
before they become criminal cases.
They are dedicated to finding comprehensive long-term solutions
and believe therapy to be key to this. They bring in experts and
have the resources to help both people and their pets. With a
full-time aftercare department that helps find homes for the
animals and tracks out participants, making sure they are
attending their therapy appointments long after the cameras have
stopped rolling.
Of the 32 stories featured in the first season, pets were
voluntarily relinquished in all but two. Thanks to the aftercare
and ongoing therapy provided, the recidivism rate has been near
zero (as compared to nearly 100% when pets are forcibly
removed).
Animal hoarding is any situation where a person has far more
pets then they can care for. It is a burden on communities, a
strain on families, and a tragedy for the animals.
If you are aware of a case in your community learn more by
visiting
www.animalhoardingproject.com you can also submit your story
to be on the show and be helped by Animal Planet’s experts. Or
call the Confessions: Animal Hoarding casting team at
1-877-698-7387.
Contact us about listing your site. Social Work World values
reciprocal links!
|
|
|
Subscribe to
Our Free Moderated Social Work Listserv |
|
Come
discuss Social Work issues with social workers and students from
all over the world. One day it's burn-out and the next day it's
ethics. You are welcome to post on this SPAM-free moderated
listserv.
|
|
|
|
w
|
|
