This quiz takes 5 minutes and is simple. Give it a shot to see if you are a hoarder.
I’ll tell you my score in the comment section. Meet you under the fold.
One of my neighbors went into the hospital about 10 days ago, to the ER. There was a note on my gate to call her or her girlfriend and could I take care of her dog, Baxter.
Sure, I’ve done this before for a few days while she’s gone. Baxter can’t come to my house because he’s not neutered but he is a sweetheart of a Beagle that my neighbor had rescued.
I hadn't seen Baxter in a year, I had figured his owner wasn’t traveling, so I was shocked the first time I went over. He was emaciated, with a great loss of fur and pink sores. His head was sort of cocked to one side and he had a hard time walking.
I called my neighbor in the hospital and asked what in the hell was wrong with Baxter. “He’s just old, 15”, she said. Ok, sure, that could account for some if it. What about the poop and pee all over the floor? “Yeah, he’s done that a few times”, my neighbor said.
A few times? When I went around picking it all up, it filled half of a trash bag. My neighbors house is pretty messy and stinky, but, hey, I’m not there to judge, just feed the dog and let him in and out. I’ve never gone past the kitchen before.
The next day when I went over to see Baxter, I brought a flea pill with me, the little dude just wouldn’t stop scratching. I thought it would be a good idea to give him a bath, so I looked around the house for a bathroom.
OMG! Trash all over the floor in every room. Couches with cushions torn or worn apart and even his mattress was torn and worn. There was a hole in the ceiling of one room that was bigger than a car tire and I could see the sky. One side of the house that appears to have 3 rooms and a bathroom, doesn’t appear to have floors.
The biggest problem for me was that there was NO hot water and NO working toilet. No working toilet! It turned out my neighbor had to have heart surgery. In talking to her on the phone I encouraged her to go to rehab for a few weeks and not come home.
My neighbors girlfriend was checking in with me and I told her she had to tell whoever was in charge of my neighbors care at the hospital, that she couldn’t come home to her house to recover. I told her to say just 2 things, not to go into all the gory details, just say she does not have a working toilet or hot water.
She did tell the hospital staff and I don’t know how far up the chain the message got. In the meantime I took Baxter to my vet, and told the vet I could only spend $200 on my neighbors dog. Turns out what I thought might be mange, was fleas, around 200 fleas on the poor little thing. The vet gave me 2 different flea meds, a flea shampoo, antibiotics and a prednisone type drug to keep him from scratching.
I was also asked if I could fumigate the house. Aarrgghh! I said “See how bad he looks? The house is 1000 times worse!”
My neighbor was still thinking she could come home to recover until I told her a home health aide would be visiting everyday and the first time they came in the house, my neighbor would be removed and the city notified of the condition of her house.
Now, I don't know if I think this is right or wrong, fair or not, but if your house is in bad enough shape, the city does have the right to condemn it, even if you own it free and clear.
I tell myself It’s none of my business. I’m just going over 3 times a day to feed the dog, give it meds, let it out, and keep it company a bit. I brought Baxter one of the many dog beds from my house and a dog coat someone had left behind.
Just trying to keep him comfortable. I know the meds are making him feel not so good and that he misses his owner. This afternoon while we were out, I was petting him and he put his head and half his body between my legs and leaned against me while I petted him.
The whole hoarding thing at this level is too hard for me to understand, but I do know how to keep this dog just a little bit less miserable while he waits for his owner.
Signs that you are a hoarder
~New Stuff In; Nothing Out — no clear path to vacuum or walk
~The Clutter is a Disorganized Mess — can’t find shit
~Braking for Garage Sales — or the free stuff on the street
~Where’s the Value? — no antiques here, piles of worthless stuff
~“But I’ll use it one day!” — there are a finite amount of days
~Defense is the Hoarder’s Offense — most hoarders don’t think they are, or see a problem with it
~A No-Entertainment Zone — “Let’s meet at the corner shall we?”
Waste Not by Song Dong
“Waste Not” is an amazing art display by Chinese artist, Song Dong. 10,000 pieces of “stuff” that his mother had obsessively collected. Oddly, it’s quite beautiful.
Song Dong, the artist himself, and “Waste Not”
This is one of my favorite parts of the Waste Not Exhibit.
