Near my residence in southern Illinois, police recently entered a mobile home belonging to the nephew of a local woman after neighbors complained of the foul odor emanating from inside. 136 cats and dogs were confiscated, nine of them dead, many sick and underweight after living in filth and their own feces for months without veterinary care. Several were so asocial, they had to be euthanized. Most were inbred and unidentifiable as any particular breed.
That evening, I took in the news report as the animals were carted into the Metro-East Humane Society by the dozen, overwhelming the already exhausted staff there. As I watched, a blonde woman talked to a reporter. "She's an animal lover," she said. "She loved them and was trying to help them, so we have to help her."
WRONG!!! WRONG!!! WRONG!!!
The woman who perpetrated this atrocity is a glaring example of "Animal Collector Syndrome". These people, also called "animal hoarders", are sick and cause incredible suffering for the animals in their possession, yet they are repeatedly mistaken for true animal lovers gone wrong.
Animal Collector Syndrome has come to light only in the past 10 years or so. It is characterized by the hoarding of animals without regard to their health or medical care, and often, no regard for their basic needs. Many times, these animals are starved, and deprived of water. They also suffer without true human companionship as, all the while, their torturer claims to "love them". This syndrome is indicative of an addictive personality, frequently with obsessive-compulsive components. The animal collector does not believe the evil they are committing. The animal collector does not recognize the horror of their actions. A collector can be holding in her arms a dog dying of thirst and starvation at her own hands, while screaming at authorities that she loves the dog (see Profile of an Animal Abuser: The Twisted Case of Animal Collector Vikki Kittles).
In the case of Cheryl Dashke (her real name), she's been at it for years. The recent confiscation was in Granite City. In 1997, Fairview Heights police were called to her home there because of the strong odor of urine. At that time, 26 cats and 17 dogs were confiscated. One previous landlord from her rented Collinsville home was quoting as saying he had to use a shovel "to remove urine and feces from the kitchen floor". And this was 10 - 15 years ago! She has been a collector for a long time. Like most persons afflicted with animal collector syndrome, she was unable to cease her collecting behavior and moved from city to city to avoid the authorities.
Want to hear the worst thing about this case? Madison County Associate Judge Lola Maddox allowed her to keep three of the animals left alive after the confiscation. Nothing like a fresh start, is there?
Read more about Animal Collector Syndrome in "Animal Collectors: What The Experts Say".