Years ago, we had a friend who lived on a farm. He & his wife ended up acquiring & attempting to care for well-over 100 dogs, cats, horses, etc.; and, while their hearts were in the right place – their ability to deal with the volume of animals they’d acquired, were not.

To their credit, they attempted to obtain veterinary care for, and rehome, as many of the animals (many of which were either feral, or had been “dumped” at their farm) as possible. However, rather than seek help for their situation, and believing that many of these animals would be euthanized – they errantly decided to keep trying to help. Eventually, the situation grew exponentially larger than their time, abilities, resources, emotions or finances could afford. Ultimately, many of the animals in their care, died, anyway – and several of neighbors called the authorities to report the stench, and the emaciated and/or dead animals on their property.

While it was primarily his very tender-hearted wife who was responsible for taking in most of the animals – he was just as complicit as she; so our friends pled “no contest” to 107 counts of animal cruelty.

Animal hoarding cases turns just about everyone’s stomachs … but because I actually knew a couple who was involved in such a case – I now have a better understanding of “how” these things begin & multiply over time. This, by no means, is justification for our friends’ actions – and while it did give me a more personal look into how these situations can occur – it still doesn’t make it easier to emotionally deal with.