Bunnies are cute. But worth going to jail for? Photo: notsogoodphotography/Flickr
In 2007, 47-year-old Miriam Sakewitz of Oregon was arrested for housing over 250 rabbits in squalid conditions. She was convicted and forbidden to own any animals for five years, reports Breitbart.com.
Sakewitz's compulsion is so strong that while awaiting sentencing, she broke into a holding area to try to get at her rabbits. And just three days after the plea deal, police busted her with a rabbit and jailed her for three days.
This week, Sakewitz did it again. She barricaded herself in a hotel room with over a dozen rabbits, violating the terms of her probation.
Police stormed the premises and found the Oregon woman surrounded by eight adult rabbits and several baby rabbits, one of whom was dead. Some of the bunnies were caged and others roamed free.
Is Sakewitz an animal hoarder?
It appears that Sakewitz may be an animal hoarder, a baffling behavior linked to various psychiatric illnesses, including obsessive-compulsive disorder. The hoarder continues to collect animals, even when he or she is unable to provide even minimal levels of care --- leading to charges of animal abuse and cruelty. Unfortunately, the cause of animal hoarding is unknown and it's difficult to treat, according to the Psychiatric Times.
What are the characteristics of a typical animal hoarder?
According to the Hoarding of Animals Research Consortium (HARC), all types of people have been known to hoard animals: men, women, young, old, married or single, and professionals.
That being said, HARC does identify the "stereotypical animal hoarder" as a "single, older woman, living alone and socioeconomically disadvantaged."
What kinds of animals are hoarded?
A variety of animals have been documented, says HARC, including "cats, dogs, rabbits, ferrets, birds, and guinea pigs, to farm animals (horses, sheep, goats, chickens, cattle), to exotic and sometimes dangerous wildlife." Cats are often hoarded with more frequency because they are easy to obtain and easy to conceal, as compared to dogs.
To read more about animal hoarding, visit the HARC website.
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No, she should have gotten help with her problem. Not locked up. People who are addicted to drugs get help, why cant people addicted to animals get help. God rest her soul and at least she died happy with what she loved. Unless it was suicide then the police are to blame for not getting her help.
Will someone tell me where the person that posted got this lady is head. I read that is she is on probation not dead. Now, she may wish she were dead if she is jailed. But where did you read that she is dead?
The woman obviously has psychiatric issues. Since the government can no longer care for, or house people like her, she is free to roam the streets. Many like her or worse are roaming our streets now. It's really getting dangerous out there .....