The psychology of animal hoarding

[redhen]

Quote:
You nailed it exactly on the head...

 

[3goodeggs]

Quote:
Yep.. if i have enough money at the time, i will gladly pay it to save my animal. Sometimes i have it...sometimes i dont.. *sigh*
BUT if i dont have a grand at the time, i WILL bring it in to be seen and if needed put down so it doesnt suffer.

We spent over five on a dog. (The best dog in the world.) I told my husband that we had to stop at three thousand... he inched it up a bit. The dog survived and had about three good months... developed lymphoma and we had him put down before he suffered too badly.
When you love something that much, you don't let it die in pain.

 

[Imp]

Quote:
Yep.. if i have enough money at the time, i will gladly pay it to save my animal. Sometimes i have it...sometimes i dont.. *sigh*
BUT if i dont have a grand at the time, i WILL bring it in to be seen and if needed put down so it doesnt suffer.

You would be called angels or saints.

Imp

 

[redhen]

Quote:
Yep.. if i have enough money at the time, i will gladly pay it to save my animal. Sometimes i have it...sometimes i dont.. *sigh*
BUT if i dont have a grand at the time, i WILL bring it in to be seen and if needed put down so it doesnt suffer.

We spent over five on a dog. (The best dog in the world.) I told my husband that we had to stop at three thousand... he inched it up a bit. The dog survived and had about three good months... developed lymphoma and we had him put down before he suffered too badly.
When you love something that much, you don't let it die in pain.

I 100% agree.

 

[punk-a-doodle]

I really think people are having a hard time conceptualizing, understandably, how issues relating to delusion tie into empathy. To apply common lines of logic to a person with irrational/delusional thinking is not an accurate way to understand what is going on. That is why it is delusional thinking. I think looking into one of the more studied and understood disorders where empathy exists within a person who still performs cruel behaviors will help people to understand more what is going on. Hoarding is even less understood than some other things out there, so start with something like borderline pd. I think this will help understand something that is very hard for more typically functioning people to grasp well.

 

[ChickInDelight]

I cannot help but notice the emphasis on money in this thread.

So a person cannot be classified as an animal hoarder as long as they have the financial means to take care of all the animals? Ultimately, care comes down to finances.

I happen to believe even severely poor people have the rights to a pet - or even several pets. Pets greatly enhance life, and a person that loves a pet greatly enhances that animal's life. Some pets, just like people, grow up in poverty.

I tend to interject this theme in many a post, but I keep my animals according to my own values. I prefer a short, healthy life of freedom over a long life of pain, suffering, or imprisonment. In half a century, I have rarely taken an animal to a vet. Perhaps I have been fortunate by choosing healthy pets.

I don't take myself to the doctor often. I don't screen for cancer. I would rather die of cancer at home than suffer treatment and die in a hospital. I have known many people that died of cancer treatment rather than the cancer. (This is just an example.)

I live a natural life. So do my pets. I have more children than I can afford. I have more pets than I can afford. We all have wonderful lives.

Now, I am going to try to diagnose myself to see if I am an animal hoarder.

 

[easttxchick]

Quote:
I'm sorry but I can't agree with this part of your post.

I think they definately love the animals and it's not just about them. Most think they are helping the animals by picking them up off of the street so they don't get hit by cars or it was a super skinny stray and they just wanted to help it.

Right now I have 5 horses, 1 foal, and 1 yearling jack. One of the horses we "rescued" because she was in bad shape and she actual had a foal back in may that was not expected. Turns out she has a stifle issue and is pretty much useless as a riding horse or even a broodmare (she's not registered or anything, don't even know her breed) and she's not the lovey dovey friendly type that would be a good pasture pet for someone that doesn't ride. So guess what? We're practically stuck with her now. We did it out of the kindness of our hearts.

A lot of hoarders start out like this but since they're "saving" small animals like cats and dogs that are a dime a dozen it's much easier for them to find themselves overwhelmed. The intention was probably to help the animal and rehome it but lets face it: there's not enough homes in the world for all the unwanted animals. They find they can't rehome the animal so they keep it.

Here is where hoarders differ from other people. Take me for example: Next time a see a horse in need I'll take it to a rescue or call a rescue instead of taking it in myself. The animal has been helped but I'm not out any money and I don't have to worry about the animals issues. Hoarders get to where they are because they still want to help the animals but take them in themselves instead of to a shelter. This is fine until they can't find homes for all the animals. Here is where a normal person would say, "You know, I can't afford to be taking in all these animals." and they stop. Hoarders can't see that fine line.

But this doesn't mean they don't care about the animals or that they're only fulfilling their own selfish need. It's because they love the animals but just can't see (for whatever reason) that they are not enough for them. That the animals need something more.

You're right, you probably shouldn't have a dog if this is how you are.

Um, isn't that pretty much a form of selfishness and short-sightedness? Sorry, but if they are blind to the suffering they are causing the animals by hoarding, they surely don't LOVE animals at all-it's all about meeting some SELFISH need.
Imp, to me, is the epitomy of an animal lover. He sees that his lifestyle doesn't fit having a dog, so he doesn't have one. Too bad there aren't more people in the world that think before they start their animal collection.

 

[3goodeggs]

Quote:
Isn't that called sadism? They get a good feeling from others feeling bad?
Maybe I have just witnessed too much, too close, for too long to be empathetic to my hoarders plight.
It really seems to fall into the Narcissistic behavior disorder.

But, I was not the golden child, I was the goat, so I am looking at this from some bitterly tinged glasses.

I will agree to being unenlightened. But it doesn't mean I have to like what happens. And, I have loved the animals that I watched suffer, they were not my animals to remove from the bad situation.
But they were my friends, just not legally my pets.
Yipe. I got deep into this one. Sorry. It just hit a raw nerve.

 

[redhen]

Quote:
I'm sorry but I can't agree with this part of your post.

I think they definately love the animals and it's not just about them. Most think they are helping the animals by picking them up off of the street so they don't get hit by cars or it was a super skinny stray and they just wanted to help it.

Right now I have 5 horses, 1 foal, and 1 yearling jack. One of the horses we "rescued" because she was in bad shape and she actual had a foal back in may that was not expected. Turns out she has a stifle issue and is pretty much useless as a riding horse or even a broodmare (she's not registered or anything, don't even know her breed) and she's not the lovey dovey friendly type that would be a good pasture pet for someone that doesn't ride. So guess what? We're practically stuck with her now. We did it out of the kindness of our hearts.

A lot of hoarders start out like this but since they're "saving" small animals like cats and dogs that are a dime a dozen it's much easier for them to find themselves overwhelmed. The intention was probably to help the animal and rehome it but lets face it: there's not enough homes in the world for all the unwanted animals. They find they can't rehome the animal so they keep it.

Here is where hoarders differ from other people. Take me for example: Next time a see a horse in need I'll take it to a rescue or call a rescue instead of taking it in myself. The animal has been helped but I'm not out any money and I don't have to worry about the animals issues. Hoarders get to where they are because they still want to help the animals but take them in themselves instead of to a shelter. This is fine until they can't find homes for all the animals. Here is where a normal person would say, "You know, I can't afford to be taking in all these animals." and they stop. Hoarders can't see that fine line.

But this doesn't mean they don't care about the animals or that they're only fulfilling their own selfish need. It's because they love the animals but just can't see (for whatever reason) that they are not enough for them. That the animals need something more.

You're right, you probably shouldn't have a dog if this is how you are.

Um, isn't that pretty much a form of selfishness and short-sightedness? Sorry, but if they are blind to the suffering they are causing the animals by hoarding, they surely don't LOVE animals at all-it's all about meeting some SELFISH need.
Imp, to me, is the epitomy of an animal lover. He sees that his lifestyle doesn't fit having a dog, so he doesn't have one. Too bad there aren't more people in the world that think before they start their animal collection.

Yep...Imp is the kindest person i know. He goes above and beyond helping strays.. Hes truly a wonderful person. And his spoiled kitties will tell you the same..

 

[EmtheFishLady]

Quote:
Yep.. if i have enough money at the time, i will gladly pay it to save my animal. Sometimes i have it...sometimes i dont.. *sigh*
BUT if i dont have a grand at the time, i WILL bring it in to be seen and if needed put down so it doesnt suffer.

We spent over five on a dog. (The best dog in the world.) I told my husband that we had to stop at three thousand... he inched it up a bit. The dog survived and had about three good months... developed lymphoma and we had him put down before he suffered too badly.
When you love something that much, you don't let it die in pain.

I agree. My vet told me Socrates wouldn't live a long life...but he lived a good one. He was loved, and well cared for. I had to have him put down recently. It was hard for me, but I recognized I'd done all I could.



I think a few people aren't realizing that it isn't about whether or not you have a lot of animals and are wealthy enough to take them to the vet...that isn't my belief at all. It's about someone genuinely not putting the well being of an animal over their own wants. Just an example being, I have a friend who lost her dog to parvo. This dog had the proper shots, just had parvo, and it died. She was offered a new puppy, and refused. Why? Because she didn't want to chance the new puppy getting parvo. It all comes down to common sense and RESPONSIBILITY.