Multiple hoarding cases involving animals were in the headlines this month in Lee County. Fighting hoarding is a difficult problem because the biggest signs are usually inside a person’s home.
Ria Brown, a member of the Lee County Task Force on Hoarding and Public Information Officer for Domestic Animal Services, believes Animal Services could field a hoarding case everyday if people reported the actual number of hoarders in Lee County.
Brown and the task force depend on tips. Tips brought to light hoarding stories this month such as a woman who had 73 cats removed from her home and another where 16 dogs were kept in a single room for breeding.
She said people are hearing more about hoarding in the news because the task force is receiving more tips.
“That’s kind of been a common question lately,” she said. “Is it increasing because we’ve seen more cases of it? What we really believe is that it’s just being reported more. But, clearly these cases have been going on for quite a while so they’re not new.”
She said people should call United Way 2-1-1 if they suspect someone might be a hoarder. Brown said be on the lookout for people who have cluttered yards or are regularly dirty.
Brown said this does not mean people whose yards are not pristine are hoarders, but it could be a sign of a larger problem.
