Written by Michelle Kretzer
A crate on a slab of concrete is no home for a dog. But 21 dogs being held by a Florida hoarder each had only a crate and a dirty piece of bedding inside a concrete-floored kennel to call home. All the dogs were filthy and unaltered and denied regular veterinary care. And their exposed outdoor kennel gave them little protection from the myriad dangers that they faced, including other animals and cruel people.
After PETA was tipped off about the hoarder, we contacted officials with the county's animal services division and urged them to convince her to do the best thing for the dogs: to surrender them. Animal services talked to the hoarder and told us that, as is often the case in hoarding situations, the woman had taken in too many dogs and quickly become overwhelmed.
She agreed to surrender the dogs, who fortunately were all still friendly and in relatively good health, even after living in such deplorable conditions. After some much-needed vet care, grooming, and spaying or neutering, every dog was relocated through animal services and local humane societies and put up for adoption.
Like people who hoard material possessions, animal hoarders usually suffer from mental illness. They fail to provide for animals' basic physical and social needs, and the animals suffer as a result. If you suspect an animal- hoarding case in your area, please alert police and animal control immediately.
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If you have a general question for PETA and would like a response, please e-mail Info@peta.org. If you need to report cruelty to an animal, please click here. If you are reporting an animal in imminent danger and know where to find the animal and if the abuse is taking place right now, please call your local police department. If the police are unresponsive, please call PETA immediately at 757-622-7382 and press 2.
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