Hoarder Dogs

Saving dogs from Hoarders can be one of the hardest things a rescue can do. Most hoarders think they are either saving these dogs or in love. Some simply don't spay and neuter and then when the puppies come they can't give them up, can't afford to spay or neuter and the cycle continues. Soon the Hoarder is in over their heads and they lose control. They can't keep up with cleaning, cost of food and vet bills or socializing necessary for all pets.

When you have 100 dogs in your house and yard there is no way to give them all the affection they need to love and trust humans. These dogs will run from humans and seek to hide in the pack. Although pack life can be hard, too. Smaller dogs are often starving as the minimal food offered is often claimed by bigger more aggressive dogs.

Hoarder dogs are often aggressive because its how they had to survive. All are fearful of people and new places. The world which used to be confined to a pen, home or yard is now huge and they don't know what to make of it.

Another problem with Hoarders is that they don't want to give up their dogs. We had one incident where the woman with 130 dogs in an apartment in the city agreed to let rescue take her pups. She knew she was in over her head and neighbors were now complaining of the smell and noise. When several rescue groups arrived with crates and leashes the woman changed her mind and refused to let the rescues take any dogs. Luckily for the dogs, the police who where present told her either the dogs go with the rescue or he would have the moved out by animal control. The woman relented and the dogs were taken into rescue.

One of these dogs was Madison (little black dog pictured above) who came to my house skinny and extremely shy. It was evident she had just had puppies but there were no puppies found in the apartment. I set up a crate and put her bed in there with a small blanket. I was worried she'd be cold since she was so thin. For the first week I fed her next to the crate and she ventured out only to use the wee pad. Luckily, she knew what those were for. Gradually, she ventured closer to us, first for a sniff only to run back into her crate. We tempted her with treats and sometimes that would work. It was a few weeks and then she was on the couch getting belly rubs. When company would come she's hide behind the couch. That changed too over time.

Madison went to a good home. She learned her social skills and how to accept people as part of her pack. It was a slow go. Her normal socialization was stunted by a Hoarder who, although she meant well, was in over her head. She may always be a bit on the shy side but I know she'll have a happy life. Madison is a very good dog.

Dog Breeders vs Hoarders

Dog breeders are motivated by greed. Make no mistake, there is no other reason to make a dog have litter after litter of puppies. Don't tell me they love puppies and people want them. If they truly believe that then they're uninformed and simply selfish. Selfish in that they either close their eyes to the truth because they don't want to stop having puppies, or they're just trying to justify  careless actions. Breeders do what they do for greed, plain and simple. If they loved dogs they'd be working in shelters or rescues. Lets look at the facts for each litter bred.

Say there are 6 puppies in the litter and you sell all 6 dogs. If its a pure bred and popular breed you could get at least $500 per dog. Five time six? That litter earned $3000. (Now tell me this isn't greed?)

Percentage facts? If 2 of these dogs get good long term homes where they'll be well taken care of their whole lives, that's luck. The other 4? Chances are good that they'll end up in a shelter or just be victims of abuse or neglect. Will someone with unrealistic expectations adopt one of these precious pups and then realize the dog is more work than they thought? Will that puppy face a life in a cage? Kept there more than 10 hours a day because dogs are work? If the dog's lucky, they'll be pulled from the shelter by a rescue group and these loving souls will find the dog a home. If the rescue is full, or the dog's plight just doesn't reach the rescue in time, the dog will be euthanized. Shoved in a tin box with dozens of other unwanted dogs and gassed. Was that worth it? Breeders don't care about the long life of the dogs they breed. They care about cash.

The parents of those cute little puppies in the window? They're caged 24/7 with little or no human contact. They're often fighting infections without proper veterinary care and will be bred over and over again while still sick. The puppies they breed have a good chance of developing congenital defects that might not be evident right away, but something the buyer will have to deal with for the rest of the dog's life.

Once the parents are too old to breed or not producing sell-able puppies, they are sold off, dumped in shelters, or simply put down, often by crude and cruel methods.

This is Gracie. She's a puppy mill survivor. Castle of Dreams Animal Rescue was contacted by a shelter in Missouri. Some breeder dumped a bunch of dogs at the shelter and they needed homes. Puppy mill dogs who have never lived in a home, were not housebroken, never had any human contact so probably couldn't live with kids, and most were sick in some way.

Gracie came to my house as a foster dog. She wouldn't look at me, cowered whenever I came near her and had infections in both ears and her spay incision. She was completely shaved down because the breeder had never had her groomed and she was completely matted when she arrived at the shelter. After a few weeks she was feeling better physically but still had a long way to go. She never barked, played or acted like a dog. She was fearful and didn't like to be touched. When adoption applications came in I hesitated. It took me a little bit but I finally admitted this shy little pup had stolen my heart. We worked on housebreaking skills, tempted her with treats and toys and eventually, slowly she opened up. One day I came in from work and she barked. She'd been here almost 3 months and it was the first time I heard her bark. I almost cried.

Now Gracie plays with toys, raced through the house and barks when we come home. She snoozes on the couch and hides her treats under the cushions. She was one of the lucky ones, she got out.

Tomorrow: Why Hoarders are different from breeders.