Please! Read this story!! Real horror!!

Urgh. If he was doing it to for monetary gain, I say charge with animal cruelty.

However if he is doing it for compulsive hoarding, I would grant amnesty and hope that they can find the right psychological help for him along with a whole support network on changing his behaviour. It is a misunderstood disorder that is all too-common and is rarely addressed.
 
Hoarding dx or not, this guy should get charged with animal cruelty/neglect/abuse and should face at minimum one year in jail. They can still medicate him and give him therapy while in jail. This way it's a wake-up call to not only stop hoarding animals, but to also seek help. He should be barred from owning pets inside Michigan and should not be allowed to travel out of state effectively rendering it impossible for him to get that many dogs. This will likely be a case that will have to be monitored closely for years to come.
 
This might seem counter-intuitive, but going to jail is the one thing all hoarders fear. Most of them will seek help if they know that they won't be penalised for it. However since there are dozens of news about people going to jail for neglecting animals, children and their own homes, most of them are pigeon-holed and refuse to seek psychological help. So, by putting him in jail, it will only REINFORCE his belief and others' that they can't get the help they need, and will only repeat their behaviour again. Except this time, they will do a better job of hiding it via other means. He probably won't tap into animals again, but he probably will take up something else that seem harmless but just as mentally damaging.

How I know? My parents are hoarders. Mostly it is just electronic stuff and useless tadbits, but they work hard not to let the public know about their issues because they are afraid of what will happen to them. My mom said she will go in to get help if she doesn't have to worry about what society think about her, but until then she will keep it in silence. It is a silent disorder that no one want to get help for because all of society shun them. Something is wrong with the world when Oprah is willing to forgive a child molester, yet is unwilling to forgive someone that have a compulsive hoarding problem.

For the record, I am appalled at how the case had to turn out. I can't believe it had to take someone complaining before the authorities can step in and save the animals. He could had gotten help, if it is a hoarding problem, or be busted for immoral monetary gain far far earlier than it had to be. At the same time, it does show that there is a problem with how our opinions can influence others' actions that lead to such extremes.

To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised if he was running a puppy-mill operation though.
 
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