A frightening thought, but apparently true. People who study such phenomena say that some 25 percent of those busted for animal hoarding started off as rescuers. Along with hoarding of animals often comes neglect, abuse, and often death of companion animals because the situation has grown beyond the person's ability to manage.
When I was growing up we occasionally knew of a "cat lady" or two around town, which isn't to say those women in any way neglected the pets they housed. But many do now, according to sources such as The Hoarding of Animals Research Consortium at Tufts University. In fact, the consortium is prodding the American Psychiatric Association to include animal hoarding among the psychiatric diagnoses.
A word to those in the rescue business: Keep an eye out on those you know and with whom you work. Is age slowing them down? Have they overcommitted? Are you noticing a slacking off in care or cleanliness of the animals or their environs?
Rescue work is critically important. It would be a shame for it to be sullied by the illness or inability of a few to recognize they are no longer able to care for the animals they love. Let's police ourselves, for the sake of the animals and for the sake of all the good work that most rescuers do.
Here's a link to an Associated Press story on hoarding of animals:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gkVdyC3DqPrZ11ijtWXVkl8pqU7wD9HVVG380
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