The Law VS Feelings
By Bill McDonald, CEORecently The Winnipeg Humane Society participated in one of the largest dog seizures in our history. Sixty-four dogs were removed by the provincial Veterinarian’s Office from a dreadful hoarding situation. The condition of these dogs was the worst many of us have seen in our careers at the society. Hoarding would appear to be something new, hence the popularity of cable shows such as "Hoarders", but we at the society see it close up and personal year in and year out! Even Barbara Amiel in Macleans magazine has written that “compulsive hoarding by humans is this decade’s mental illness of choice.”What is so sad about the hoarding situations that The WHS deals with is that they all involve animals.
Animal hoarding has been around for a long, long time and we won’t see it disappear. In 1999, Dr. Gary Patronek, Director of the Centre for Animals and Public Policy at Tufts University in Massachusetts, conducted a survey of 54 hoarding cases from 10 animal control agencies across the United States. He found that 76% of hoarders were female, 83% were over 40 years old and roughly 50% lived alone. These statistics fit the seizures we participate in and we have even raided the same homes several times.
This is not easy work for shelter staff. It is hard to imagine the conditions that we sometimes encounter when we conduct a seizure. In extreme cases so much material is decaying in the residence or building that the oxygen levels in the structure are so low, personnel have to wear breathing apparatuses to enter the building. To then remove dogs or cats from such situations is simply heartbreaking. Almost always the animals are sick or injured, filthy, underfed and void of human contact.
Often when we are on a hoarding seizure the media is present as well. During the seizure of the 64 dogs I was interviewed repeatedly and asked about the conditions of the dogs and what the buildings were like. I was also asked how I felt about this situation. At times I struggled to suppress a very large amount of anger at what had just occurred. At the same time all of us at the shelter operate on an extreme emotional range when dealing with these situations. Far, far to one side we feel almost happy that we are engaged in removing these poor animals from absolutely appalling conditions because we know in our hearts we are ending this hell on earth for these dogs. Far, far to the other side is an anger that at times is difficult to deal with. As the person responsible for finding new homes for 4,500 animals per year the answer to how to I feel is simple. I was, and remain, outraged that this type of behaviour occurs. There is a disconnect with the people who do this type of hoarding. They believe that they are “saving” these animals and will deny that they have in any way harmed the animals and strongly believe this.This is why I state there is a disconnect with reality. I also get asked what should be done. Under this province’s Animal Care Act there is no clause stating what animal hoarding is and what the penalties should be. However the law is very clear when it states, “an animal is in distress if it is subjected to:
- confinement in an area of insufficient space
- confinement in unsanitary conditions
- confinement without adequate ventilation
- not being allowed an opportunity for adequate exercise and
- conditions that cause the animal extreme anxiety or distress
Each and every one of the sixty four dogs was confined in the manner described above. This is unacceptable and if charges are laid by the province it is my sincere hope that a judge will order a ban on these individuals ever owing animals again. Meanwhile the shelter staff slowly get over the emotional roller coaster that occurs during the seizure procedure. We get over it because we start to see the result of our work walk out the front door of the shelter on a leash, get into a car and drive off to it’s forever home. Copper was the first dog to leave and every staff member had a lump in their throat because we saved that one! And yes, Bongo is next and then Lucky and the list goes on – happy dogs at last.
