Rescue Gone Wrong: When “Saving” Animals Becomes Hoarding
Ari is an adoptable Labrador Retriever mix who has already lived through more hardship than most dogs ever should. He came from a home with at least nine other dogs, where neglect and unchecked breeding created a devastating cycle of suffering. Authorities had been aware of the situation for some time—dogs had even been seized from the property before—but intervention wasn’t enough to stop the problem from escalating.
Ari’s story is just one example of a growing crisis: animal hoarding.
The Tragic Reality of Animal Hoarding
On the surface, cases like Ari’s seem like straightforward animal cruelty—malnourished dogs, overcrowded conditions, and an owner unable (or unwilling) to provide proper care. But the reality is often more complex. Many animal hoarders don’t see themselves as abusers. In fact, some believe they are rescuing animals, even as their homes descend into filth and chaos.
Animal hoarding is classified as a subtype of hoarding disorder, a recognized mental health condition that often coexists with anxiety, depression, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). According to the Mayo Clinic, people with hoarding tendencies struggle with letting go, whether it’s objects, clutter, or, in this case, animals. Over time, they accumulate more pets than they can possibly care for—sometimes starting with good intentions but ultimately creating a crisis of neglect.
When “Rescue” Turns into Harm
Many hoarders begin with just a few animals, but the lack of veterinary care and sterilization leads to uncontrolled breeding. Before long, they are overwhelmed, and the animals suffer. Unsanitary conditions, malnutrition, disease outbreaks, and extreme psychological distress are common. While animal cruelty laws exist to intervene, hoarding cases are particularly difficult to prevent because they often go unnoticed for years.
Even when authorities step in and remove animals from a hoarder’s home, the problem doesn’t always stop. Without proper intervention and mental health support, many hoarders will start collecting animals again, leading to a cycle of suffering.
Embarrassment, fear, a sense of isolation from friends or family members, and other mental health issues can prevent animal hoarders from seeking help before it’s too late. Plus, the idea of parting with animals (even if they aren’t happy or healthy) is often deeply distressing to animal hoarders.
Animal Hoarding For Financial Gain
Animal hoarding cases can also be financially motivated. Puppy mills, for example, may keep dozens or even hundreds of dogs in unsafe, unsanitary conditions, continuously breeding and producing more puppies for the hoarders to sell. For example, authorities in Chatham County, North Carolina seized 150 dogs from a Bear Creek property in February, 2024. The dogs were mostly Schnauzers and miniature Schnauzers being bred and kept in tiny cages that were covered in inches of caked-on feces and urine. As is the reality in many hoarding cases, several deceased dogs were also found on the property. The puppies produced there were sold for profit while the breeding dogs were kept in filth.
Because companion animals are easy and relatively inexpensive to acquire, hoarding cases often involve cats and dogs, but other animals like horses, birds, and livestock can also be the victims of hoarding.
Simply owning lots of animals crosses into hoarding territory when the person can no longer care for animals appropriately, but the line isn’t always obvious to someone suffering from mental health issues. You can see many examples and hear stories of animal hoarding in the docuseries Confessions: Animal Hoarding. Wondering where to watch? This hoarding animals TV show is available on Amazon Prime, Discovery Plus, Tubi, and other streaming services.
What To Know About Adopting a Dog From a Hoarding Situation
I speak with personal experience when I say that adopting a dog that has been the victim of hoarding is difficult and requires a lot of patience, but it is deeply rewarding.
I rescued one of my dogs after he was seized by animal control in Michigan in 2021 along with 39 other small dogs. The man who owned them had allowed them to breed out of control, and was not capable of caring for the animals. They lived in unsafe conditions with uncertain access to food, water, or outdoor areas to go potty. The dogs were largely unsocialized, particularly the younger ones who had been born after the issue was already out of control.
When I met my dog for the first time after he had spent nearly a year with the local humane society and a partnering animal shelter, he was still far from being appropriately socialized. He struggled to focus, was fearful of loud noises and open spaces, and we were told he might never wear a collar, walk on a leash, or learn a single command. He was simply too fearful and shy.
We quickly learned that, despite their best efforts, the shelter environment simply didn’t allow this little dog to be himself. The amount of trauma and stress he had endured was immense, and he had never had a stable home. We knew he had been given a bad start in life, so we didn’t expect him to be “perfect” right away, and instead we changed our expectations and methods to suit his needs.
Instead of pressuring him to go on walks with our other dogs, we used a puppy pen in our back yard to let him potty off leash while we stood nearby. Little by little, he learned the routine, and even started running up to us when he was done. By the three month mark, he was wearing a collar and a leash, and by six months, he was walking perfectly with our other dogs. Now, two years in, he is still shy with strangers, but has become an outgoing, playful dog who loves kisses, playing with his brothers, and going on walks!
What you need to know about adopting a dog from a hoarding situation is that you will need to be patient. You might need to invent new ways to do things, or take things in steps to build your dog’s confidence. Behavioral issues like accidents inside, destructive behavior, resource guarding, and reactivity are completely understandable when a dog has never had proper care.
It can take weeks, months, or years for dogs from hoarding situations to fully come out of their shells—it takes openness, compassion, and sometimes a little creativity to properly care for animals with trauma, but the reward is beyond measure.
