# North Star Small Animal Rescue needs help with hoarding case



## Poppyseed (Feb 1, 2007)

"North Star (http://www.northstarrescue.org) is currently involved in a large rescue project involving an overwhelming rat situation in the South Bay. We are still in the process of gathering statistics, but are currently aware of 150 rats that are being displaced from their current home and will be in dire need of our help. Many of these rats have medical condition, and a majority of the females are at risk of being pregnant.

We are in dire need of rat-free foster homes that would like to provide quarantine grounds for homeless rats, long term foster homes for medical treatment cases as well as adopters for some of these sweet, hard luck rats. We are in need of contributions of supplies and monetary donations to help towards our mounting veterinary costs and operational costs of food, bedding, antibiotics, habitats and other supplies for these little guys.

If you can help by adopting, fostering, contributing rat cages, bedding, supplies or money towards our vet bills, now is the time to help us help them! Our primary cost is going to be medication, mite treatment, bedding and food for these incoming rats. For $15 we can pay for the incoming cost of a bath, mite treatment, a round of antibiotics, food and bedding for one rat for the first month. If you can help or know of anyone that can, please forward this information on! "









































This last guy was unresponsive to any stimulation and was gasping for breath.

Cmon guys, these rats need help big time!
For more information: http://www.northstarrescue.org/news.html

I've contacted Lauren from the rescue that there are some rats that have passed quarantine ready for long term foster homes. They provide cage/supplies/vet cost if needed. So, this is perfect for someone who has a case of GGMR but not quite ready to commit for having more rats (like me). They require one month commitment and willing to accommodate your ideal situation.

This is her contact information:[email protected]
_______

Please help these rats! I helped. Wish I could foster but I live across the country.


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## JESSU (Aug 8, 2007)

*Re: North Star Small Animal Rescue needs help with hoarding*

Those poor rats. That cage is gross looking. That 2nd picture is that litter or is that all poo?


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## Hippy (Jul 23, 2007)

*Re: North Star Small Animal Rescue needs help with hoarding*

As horrible as this looks, second to last picture, there is a little rat there looking at the camera, looks like a bear. Brown markings on his face. You know who Im talking about. Only rat looking at the camera.

This is so sad.
Ive emailed to foster at least two males.


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## Poppyseed (Feb 1, 2007)

*Re: North Star Small Animal Rescue needs help with hoarding*

There are some adorable rats there that will probably make awesome pets. That one you mention is sweet Hippy. I hope he gets saved ): Wish I could help but donating is the most I can do. Wish I could donate more ):


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## JESSU (Aug 8, 2007)

*Re: North Star Small Animal Rescue needs help with hoarding*

Wheres this at? It says you cant adopt if you already have a rat. Why?


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## Poppyseed (Feb 1, 2007)

*Re: North Star Small Animal Rescue needs help with hoarding*

No you can adopt with a rat. Where it mentions you need to be rat free- that is quarantine homes only. They need those because the rats need to be quarantined before they go anywhere with rats. Fostering isn't the same as adopting.

The web page linked above tells more. The rescue is based in Novato, CA. The rats were in San Jose. Many are still there from what I read. It's a slow process getting them out and with those who can't be QT'd of can't afford to be save... they are going to be euthanised by animal control ):

There are 150 rats and many of the females are pregnant.


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## Sparker (Jun 17, 2007)

*Re: North Star Small Animal Rescue needs help with hoarding*

Thank you for posting this, Poppyseed. I'm in California and more than happy to drive there.


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## JESSU (Aug 8, 2007)

*Re: North Star Small Animal Rescue needs help with hoarding*

I'm across the country. 
Can you adopt and not foster. I don't think I could foster I would get attached.


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## Poppyseed (Feb 1, 2007)

*Re: North Star Small Animal Rescue needs help with hoarding*

They do need adopters as well, but if you are across the country a rattie train would be very difficult. You can ask to see if it can be done but that's a long trek for a little rat that's already been through so much. Still, if you are interested in adopting I'm sure it won't hurt to ask.

Since I am across the country, I donated $15. That's enough to fund one rats medications and care for one whole month and essentially saves one rat from being euthanized. Crossposting on other locations also helps them out!


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## sonoma (May 26, 2007)

*Re: North Star Small Animal Rescue needs help with hoarding*

Those pictures are heartbreaking. How can people let their pets get into such a terrible state?!

I live a little north of Novato, I will see what I can do to help these poor ratties. Thanks for posting this Poppyseed, I had no idea this rescue was so close to me!


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## DonnaK (Feb 8, 2007)

*Re: North Star Small Animal Rescue needs help with hoarding*



Sonoma said:


> Those pictures are heartbreaking. How can people let their pets get into such a terrible state?!


I'm not sure if hoarders see them as pets, more of a collection?


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## twilight (Apr 20, 2007)

*Re: North Star Small Animal Rescue needs help with hoarding*

That is so sad and a shame. They are gorgeous rats, even with the filth and flea bites, who deserve better. Thank goodness for rat rescues and people who care.

Edit: From my understanding, often times hoarders have serious mental problems.  Alot of times they do not realize anything is wrong. They love their pets (emotionally) and just do not understand. It seems in this case, though, it was just breeding that got out of control.


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## Sparker (Jun 17, 2007)

*Re: North Star Small Animal Rescue needs help with hoarding*

You're right, Twilight. This is from an article about hoarding:

For most people, the term "animal hoarding" conjures up images of an eccentric "cat lady." Despite the stereotype that collecting animals is simply a quirky behavior, recent research has pointed to a direct correlation between psychological problems and the tendency to hoard.

"Hoarding is very often a symptom of a greater mental illness, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder. For most hoarders, it is likely that their actions are the result of a true pathology, even though they are still usually able to function quite well in society," says Randall Lockwood, HSUS vice president for Research and Educational Outreach.

Because animal hoarders quite often appear to lead normal lives, it's important to recognize when a person's fixation with animals has gotten out of control. The HSUS defines an animal hoarder as a person who has more animals than he or she can properly care for. Another defining characteristic is the hoarder's denial of his inability to care for the animals and his failure to grasp the impact his neglect has on the animals, the household, and the human occupants of the dwelling.

What's more, hoarders are usually well-educated and possess excellent communication skills. Many hoarders have an uncanny ability to attract sympathy for themselves, no matter how abused their animals may be, which is often how hoarders manage to fool others into thinking the situation is under control.

"Very few hoarder cases simply involve good intentions gone awry, despite the insistence of the hoarder that he or she loves the animals and wants to save their lives," says Lockwood. "It's unbelievable how someone who reports to love animals so much can cause so much suffering."


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## Kimmiekins (Apr 14, 2007)

*Re: North Star Small Animal Rescue needs help with hoarding*

Hording is a psychological problem, a form of OCD.  The sad part of it is that - as far as research is aware - there is no "cure". That is why you'll see repeat hoarders. It's so so sad. Much like some hoarders collect "junk", animal hoarders collect animals. They THINK they are doing the right thing and often can't see what conditions the animals are really in - they can not see it for what it is. They believe they are "saving" them. They think the animals are better off with them then dead. The intentions are good on a basic level, but as *we* all know, they're doing severe harm to the poor animals.

I think I agree, Twitch, though I also think in cases where breeding gets so out of control, that they do reach the fine line between "out of control" and hoarder. Hard to tell.

Heh - Posted at the same time, Sparker.


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## Sparker (Jun 17, 2007)

*Re: North Star Small Animal Rescue needs help with hoarding*

That is because great minds think alike. ;-)


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## Sparker (Jun 17, 2007)

*Re: North Star Small Animal Rescue needs help with hoarding*



Kimmiekins said:


> Hording is a psychological problem, a form of OCD.


Actually, I did more reading:

Several psychiatric models have been suggested for problematic animal hoarding (Lockwood, 1994). The delusional model suggests that *people who hoard animals suffer from a highly focused form of delusional disorder. *Two pieces of anecdotal information support this model. First, in our pilot study, participants all firmly believed they had a special ability to communicate and/or empathize with animals. Furthermore, the hoarders insisted that their animals were healthy and well-cared for. This claim, in the midst of clear and immediate information to the contrary, suggests a belief system out of touch with reality. One interesting finding is that, outside the context of their relationship to their animals, many of these people appear reasonably normal and healthy. 

:-(


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## Sparker (Jun 17, 2007)

*Re: North Star Small Animal Rescue needs help with hoarding*

Also these theories. No one really knows.

*Another possible model for animal hoarding is an attachment model in which the individual suffers from early developmental deprivation of parental attachment and is unable to establish close human relationships in adulthood. *This situation may result from childhood experiences of absent, neglectful or abusive parents or caretakers. The chaotic households and inconsistent parenting observed in the HARC interviews, as well as the desire for unconditional love from animals described in Worth and Beck's report (1981), provide some support for this model. This model is also consistent with current theorizing about the hoarding of possessions. 

*Perhaps the most parsimonious model ties animal hoarding to OCD *(Lockwood, 1994). Two major features are consistent with the OCD model. People with this syndrome appear to experience an overwhelming sense of responsibility for preventing imagined harm to animals, and they engage in unrealistic steps to fulfill this responsibility. OCD patients experience this same sense of excessive responsibility for preventing harm and engage in unrealistic ritualization to prevent it.


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## Kimmiekins (Apr 14, 2007)

*Re: North Star Small Animal Rescue needs help with hoarding*

You're right - it's a theory that it's OCD and isn't technically "labeled" as OCD in a clinical setting (I think... I don't believe it's in the DSM and I believe I recall there being some talk of it being it's own classification, OR being a form of OCD). I suppose I should have phrased it as it having ties to OCD. That's the problem... We just don't know. 

What's even more bizarre is that while animal hording isn't NEW, have you noticed it being severely on the rise? It's utterly terrifying how many hording cases there are a year thought the world. Although, one could always argue that it may just be that we're hearing about it more. I'm not sure.

Excellent reading, though, thank you.


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## Hippy (Jul 23, 2007)

*Re: North Star Small Animal Rescue needs help with hoarding*



Poppyseed said:


> There are some adorable rats there that will probably make awesome pets. That one you mention is sweet Hippy. I hope he gets saved ): Wish I could help but donating is the most I can do. Wish I could donate more ):


Oh god he isn't adopted?!?!! o-o I want him now.
I so wish they let me foster. And they have preggers?
I want to foster all of them now!
o-o"""""


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## Sparker (Jun 17, 2007)

*Re: North Star Small Animal Rescue needs help with hoarding*

You're welcome. I googled it. 

Also, I wasn't meaning to sound like I was trying to correct you or anything... you were right! 

When I worked at the SPCA in my area (up until a couple years ago) we saw a lot of hoarding cases. It is obscene, to say the least. One of them was an employee... I drove her home one day and had to use her restroom (when I say had to, I mean HAD TO...) and she finally gave in and let me come inside. I had burns in my lungs from the ammonia inside the house and vomited a few times before the whole ordeal was over. She had been taking home foster animals and filling out the paper work, claiming to have brought them back. No one thought to check up on her because she was an employee... We ended up removing about 60 cats and 35 dogs from her home. We also found a few bodies in there...

It was one of the most horrific things I have ever been a part of.

Needless to say, she was criminally prosecuted and lost her job.


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## Chivahn (Mar 30, 2007)

*Re: North Star Small Animal Rescue needs help with hoarding*

I donated my food budget for the next week - thank god I like Ramen. This totally broke my heart


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## chrisstrikeagain (Apr 10, 2007)

*Re: North Star Small Animal Rescue needs help with hoarding*

Hippy, I hope you foster! that'd be really nice.

Cases like this break my heart. Im on other side of country so adoptin and forsterin isnt possible But i will try to donate.


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## twitch (Jan 4, 2007)

*Re: North Star Small Animal Rescue needs help with hoarding*



Kimmiekins said:


> I think I agree, Twitch, though I also think in cases where breeding gets so out of control, that they do reach the fine line between "out of control" and hoarder. Hard to tell.


haha! i didn't know i had replied to this before! :lo: but its not the first time i was thought about...  go figure... 

back to topic though, it absolutely terrible this happened again. in a movie about rats i got from a friend they were talking about a horrible hoarding situation that they labeled "Dumbo drop" and another sort of hoarding situation. it was a bit different though as they were the results of the movie willard. after the movie was over they were going to kill the rat actors but some concerned people got involved and nearly all the rats were saved in the end though a lot spent the rest of their lives with the people that rescued them as well. 

i saw another thing about a bunch of rats but i don't know what happened to them. it was for one of the theme parks in orlando, florida. i can't remember now if it was disney or universal that the rats were mentioned, but it was one fo the two. on halloween they make the park extra scary and for one of the attractions they have this woman in a glass coffin with about 30-50 male and female rats crawling all over her. they didn't say what happened to the rats after the preformance, but apparently they do it every year. i would like to assume that the rats all go back to a home to be loved and cared for or at least some happy ending because it was made public that these animals were used but there wouldn't have been a happy ending for the willard cast if it weren't for a couple of people being in the right place at the right time. and animal welfare was never called for the willard cast...

there was another situation i heard about. i'm thinking it was a zoo but it was a while ago and i'm unsure of my memory. but there were a bunch of rats in a shed in small cramped cages with little water and less food. the cages weren't cleaned out for months (new litter was just put on top until there was hardly any room in the cage). there were males and females in the same cages with pinkies and fuzzies and everything. the person responsbile for the rats (this i remember because i got so angry about) when asked why he didn't take better care of the animals said "they're just food anyway. why does it matter?" apparently it mattered to someone higher up, as he lost his job over it. 

its so horrible that things like this happens and worse still that very little can be done about it. sure some of those animals may be rescued, most won't and then there's all the ones that died in those situations before help arrived. but the ways the laws about animals stands right now is abismal. 

for example, a person i know runs a business with dogs. she breeds, boards and grooms. all her dogs are healthy, happy and very well-adjusted. they all get time for lovings and play. but they do live in a kennels. because she has 12 breeding dogs and then 2 more as pets and because she is a business the SPCA will sometimes be called in to give a inspection by a concerned but uneducated person (she once had the SPCA called on her for her horses wearing "blinders"--they were fly masks). but once the SPCA is called they HAVE to check. well she recently had all her dogs seized because she didn't get new lino on the floor of the cages in time. the cages were still always clean. the dogs always had access to water and were well fed. but that's not what gets me. 

what bothers me is right next door is a golden lab that is nearly a year old now that has never been inside a house. not even during the coldest days in winter. the SPCA has been called on them but the dog was never taken and his condition has not improved. my friend won't put the dogs outside if its drizzling out for more then a pee and this lab (puppy at the time of last winter) is outside during storms and everything. but they leave him there to suffer and take my friends happy and healthy dogs. 

the laws are too much full of greys when it comes to animal welfare. and when horrible things like this hoarding happens there aren't strict enough penalties to stop it from happening again. what has happened to the owner of all these rats? how much embarrassing publicity has this hoarder gotten? what fines did she get if any? 

without punishment and a better understanding of would hoard animals there will be no end to it. without clearer laws animals that are in good situations will be taken but those in horrible emotional neglect will be left to suffer. and certainly without more compassion for our fellow animals without voices the crimes against them and against each other will never cease either. 

so right now we're dealing with the clean-up. helping where we can when our laws fail to prevent it but i see no real attention given to animal welfare prevention. the government doesn't even fund the SPCA, even human shelters are seriously lacking in funding and support. our government wants us to look to them for guidance but they don't seem to be guiding us in a very good direction if they can't even show us they have compassion. 

this is why i hate situations like this all the more. you can't win. you can't even pretend that you win. you are merely cleaning up someone else's mess, but if you show hard love the only ones feeling the hard part of it is the animals. animal hoarding and animal cruelty and even our laws to protect them and the methods used to do so go so much further then just that incidence and its there that we should focus as that's the very foundations on where we learn to treat others and our respect for others life. a bit more respect and there would be MUCH less crime and much less devision between the rich and the poor. 

*takes deep breath, steps off the soap box and takes a drink of water* thank you for listening. 

(sorry for taking so long but things like this make me so mad and frustrated. )


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## Kimmiekins (Apr 14, 2007)

*Re: North Star Small Animal Rescue needs help with hoarding*

LOL, I said Twitch and meant Twilight. Oops!  Though I'm kinda glad I said that, I much agree with your post and enjoyed reading. I might come back and reply, though honestly, I'm just nodding.

I think hording is abuse (well, it IS abuse in most cases, and neglect at the very least, no thinking about it) and should be dealt with both with jail time and psychiatric treatment. However, I don't think just one or the other is enough... Although we see time and time again that these people do not ever see the errors of their ways with jail time. I still think, you do the crime you pay the time. I also think while in jail, these people should volunteer at a shelter or help animals in rescues/shelters in some way (safe, because they would not be able to take animals "home"!). I think we NEED to learn more about why people do this, what makes them do this, etc.

I live in fear (well, to an extent) of a rat hording case around here. I would completely take charge if someone else didn't, but the amount of rats in any hording case is astounding. That said, I don't ever want to be in a position of "rescuer needs rescuing".

Another branch off the subject is "rescues" that are actually hoarders. It's what makes some people terrified of legit rescues.

This is a subject that fascinates me and that I could talk about for hours. I didn't even mean to say as much as I did, LOL (gotta get some stuff done).

More thoughts later.


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## :Ash: (Feb 25, 2007)

*Re: North Star Small Animal Rescue needs help with hoarding*

Those poor rats! I'd love to foster some but I'm all the way on the east coast.


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## JoshDeMott2010 (Aug 25, 2007)

*Re: North Star Small Animal Rescue needs help with hoarding*

I think all those pics are horribly sad. If i didnt live so far away i would really try to adopt a few qaurantined rats. Too bad i live where i do. This is one of those moments when i wish i had a debit card so i could help those little guys. I bet there is some pretty good companions in that bunch..... Well Ty for posting this forum and im gonna pass the word onto my freinds... peace -Josh


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## Poppyseed (Feb 1, 2007)

*Re: North Star Small Animal Rescue needs help with hoarding*

I bet they will accept mailed checks and money orders as well. Thanks for passing it on though!

I'm really happy that me posting this has gotten some really awesome responses from members towards helping these rats out! Thanks all!


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## twilight (Apr 20, 2007)

*Re: North Star Small Animal Rescue needs help with hoarding*

The rat cage we where hoping to get $50 for we are planning on driving it over to the rescue (about an hour away). It can hold 3-4 ratties. I also have an unopened bag of Regal Rat. Hopefully our donations will help.


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## Kimmiekins (Apr 14, 2007)

*Re: North Star Small Animal Rescue needs help with hoarding*

I can assure you that every little bit helps! I've never been in a situation on that scale, but that's when they REALLY need the donations - supplies and money.


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