How Many Bunnies is Too Many???

[RealStories]

We’re looking for people to be in a new Animal Planet series about really large animal families (15+).

Some people can’t say no to a needy animal. They want to adopt or rescue as many as they can, but owning too many pets puts a strain on them, their finances, and their family.We want to see how animal lovers - and their families - deal with these challenges in a new TV series about OVERWHELMED pet owners.
If you know someone struggling with the care of 15 or more pets in one household we'd like to talk to you about how we can help. Specific support can be discussed further but may include vet care, spaying or neutering, animal training, pet supplies or structure building. Pleasecontact us at[email protected]or call us at our toll free number: 1-877-MY8-PETS.

 

[juliew19673]

So your looking to exploit individuals that "hoard" animals for your profit? That is not responsible and just gross. Your description of your show is disgusting and irresponsible.

 

[zweistein]

The title is really missleading..
This kind of exploitation makes me sick.. (im talking about the TV show's theme, and not the title misslead)

 

[RandomWiktor]

There was another post on the forum already about the same program. Anyone thinking of responding should be cautious; we don't know if this is even legit, or some kind of scam. Two accounts, one post on each, both asking for people to join this project? Seems sketchy to me. If you do contact tham don't give any personal info - address, phone number, credit card number, etc.

 

[Pipp]

I briefly checked it out when it was previously posted, it was a show in development, although not sure that it was a 'pitch' (outside producers pitching a show) or commissioned by the network, but it seemed to be legit. I didn't save my notes, though.

I must say I'm surprised at the reaction. Its like somebody calling for experiences with Pit Bulls and everybody assuming it will be bad for the dogs. AP's Pit Boss has saved a lot of pit bull lives.

I'd personally rather see a crew of sympathetic producers approaching this subject with a mandate to educate and actually support the subjects than an officious SPCA, Humane Society or Rescue crew, or just leaving people to cross the line. (They're asking how many is too many, they're not on a witch hunt). I think the producers will ultimately be helpful. They're looking for people who need help, they've lined up support for the subjects. To me it looked a bit like the shelter make-over program.

And ratings are not evil. They provide the programming their audience wants, and their audience is a huge group of animal fans. I don't think anyone would complain that a highly-rated network turned a sympathetic eye towards the plight of abused and abandoned rabbits.


sas :expressionless:

 

[delusional]

I'm slightly offended by the way it's worded, personally - I feel that it implies that if you have 15+ animals then you are overwhelmed.

Personally, I currently have 20 bunnies, 3 guinea pigs, 2 chinchillas and 8 gerbils. I don't find it overwhelming for the most part.

I think that the 'pitch' could have been put across in a better way, and that's possibly the reason for the reaction being what it was.

 

[bengal77]

I'm not offended or upset by this post. I think the person did a decent job of stating that this was for people who are overwhelmed with multiple pets, not people who simply own many animals that they can take care of. Not everyone with 15+ pets are animal hoarders, but animal hoarders WILL have a lot of pets they can't take care of. There was another post where we discussed this in length.

I for one applaud shows like this or Hoarders because it sheds light on a mental illness that a lot of people are too embarrased to talk about. As long as the show targets true pet hoarders in an attempt to help them and spread the word on how awful this mental illness is for both the pets and humans involved then I 100% support it and would watch it.

The true crime here is hoarding animals, not trying to help non-hoarders understand. The key to getting people help is to make them understand what's wrong in the first place. This show could help a LOT of animal hoarders understand they they are mentally sick simply by showing them that they are not alone.

 

[JeffS]

I have reason to believe that this production is nonexistent or not to be trusted. My main reason is that they don't want us to know who they are.

You can do a whois on http://www.petfamily.org to see who owns the domain.

http://www.dnsstuff.com/tools/whois/?tool_id=66&token=&toolhandler_redirect=0&ip=http://www.petfamily.org

It turns out the owner bought the domain name via a proxy company, DomainsByProxy.com, so as to remain hidden.

 

[Luvmyzoocrew]

i want to know how they expect someone to come to them if they are in fact a "hoarder" , a hoader doesnt see a problem of what they are doing, and they dont think they are overwhelmed so therefore someone who is a true hoarder is not going to come to them, right?


I would like a show to shed light on the mental illness that is hoarding, i think it would be a great opportunity for people to see that hoarders dont do it to hurt the animals but to "help" them.

 

[NorthernAutumn]

For those of you looking for more information about the program:

http://www.animalhoardingproject.com/
*** This posting indicates that they will be working with HSUS.

One version:
http://animal.discovery.com/the-spot/casting-couch/full-list/too-many-pets.html

Another:
http://animal.discovery.com/the-spot/casting-couch/full-list/animal-hoarders.html

All of the above sites are from the same Pet Family.org. Hope that clarifies things a bit .

 

[Luluznewz]

I don't think the program that posted this is doing anything wrong or trying to insult everyone.

I think a few people reacted a little strongly and took the post rather personally. If you care for your animals well you are not a horder, do not have a problem, and no one is saying you do.

I don't blame the person for posting here. This is a large animal based site. Its not like they have an animal horder forum. I think they are probably just trying to help out people and animals.

I think its really a good thing animal planet is trying to do, because hording really is a serious problem.

 

[bengal77]

It also appears that they will help provide food, cages, and medical care for the animals of the hoarder. If they're legit and they can help care for some hoarded animals then I think they'll be doing a fantastic thing on top of spreading the word about animal hoarding and getting some people the help they need.

 

[Happi Bun]

I applaudAnimal Planet for recognizing the issue of Animal Hoarding and wanting to help those affected by it.These peopleneed to have light shedontheir plight, one thatwill not demonize them. I hope Animal Planet takes that route. Many times it is due to mental illness that these people hoard animals and it is not intentional cruelty.I would like to postWikipedia's definition of animal hoarding:

"Animal hoarding involves keeping higher than usual numbers of animals as pets without having the ability to properly house or care for them, while at the same time denying this inability. Compulsive hoarding can be characterized as a symptom of mental disorder rather than deliberate cruelty towards animals. Hoarders are deeply attached to their pets and find it extremely difficult to let the pets go. They typically cannot comprehend that they are harming their pets by failing to provide them with proper care. Hoarders tend to believe that they provide the right amount of care for their pets."

 

[JeffS]

I saw an episode of Intervention, which I guess is by the same production company. It was respectful and didn't demonize anyone.

 

[zweistein]

The way the post is written is like: "hey you have problems with too many pets? is you life becoming a hell? cool! come talk to us about it on TV in our show!"

so maybe the show might be a good one, but the way this post is out is either sick or missunderstood....

PS: sorry for bad grammar...

 

[RealStories]

Hello all,

I wanted to thank you all for taking the time to respond to my ad. Let me begin by saying that yes, we are a legitimate production company that is currently casting for our series for a show about people who have too many pets (we are still working on the title). If you see several posts from different users posting about this show, it's because there are several of us working on casting, and we are all trying to find the best means of contacting the animal-lover community, as they are the most likely to know and recognize when people who have too many pets to properly care for.

This show will look at people who range from the full-blown animal hoarder, to the overwhelmed caregiver who took in a large number of animals based off good intentions, but soon realized they do not have the resources to care for their animals. As some of you have pointed out, we are the same producers that do the show Intervention, which aims at helping addicts kick their problems by agreeing to enroll in intensive treatment. On this show, we will also be trying to come up with an all-inclusive solution for the participants. This will include free resources for their pets, including veterinary care and pet cages, pet food, etc. In addition, if the experts feel it is appropriate, we will provide the participants with treatment from therapists who specialize in hoarding behaviors. We are absolutely NOT trying to demonize anyone, nor are we trying to get anyone in trouble. As producers, we take on shows that address subject that are not frequently discussed, and people who are misunderstood. We aim to help people rebuild their lives, not tear them apart.

I would also like to apologize if anyone took this post offensively, or felt it was poorly worded. We are not trying to imply that having a certain number of pets means you are not properly caring for them. The subject of "too many pets" varies widely from person to person, with one being able to easily care for 20, as another struggles to care for 5. 15 is a general guideline that we go off of, as otherwise we get an overwhelming number of responses. Our concern is people who have lost control over their lives as the result of the sacrifices they have made to care for their animals. As for exploitation, it is impossible to deny that television has it's evils. However, I do not think that television is a lost cause, nor do I think that it is impossible to do good things on a television program. During our many seasons of Intervention, we have helped over a hundred people get access to resources they usually could not afford, and many of those people were able to get clean and get their lives back. I hope you will keep this in consideration, and please feel free to respond with further questions or concerns. I will keep checking up on this post, or you can email me at [email protected]. Thank you all, and please keep providing bunnies everywhere find good homes. We need people like you to be the models of good pet-caring behavior for everyone else.

Thanks!

Irina
[email protected]

 

[Luvmyzoocrew]

I think the show is a great idea especially if it will help the animals and owners out, I also have to say i LOVE the show intervention. Good luck with the show.

 

[Mrs. PBJ]

I think its a great post and I think its a great idea.

I hope this show helps as many people as intervention has helped.

I also hope y'all consider spaying and neutering all pets on the show.

 

[NorthernAutumn]

Thank you so much for your through explanation, Irina

I would promote you to post that same description of your production company's objectives alongside your ad on other online message boards, as the ad itself can evidently be interpreted in a number of ways.

I recognize that your casting ads are attempting to reach two different groups, both the pet owners themselves and concerned citizens. Personally, when I read both ads, I felt that there seemed to be an exigent amount of effort to limit which details were available to each user group.
(Ie. two very different websites, with 2 very different descriptions of the program).
Evidently, two different descriptions of a project can result misgivings about true intent.

Thanks again for clarifying the aims of the program, and of the producers.

 

[CiaraPatricia]

I have 13 pets and will probably very very soon have more . . . but I'm not overwhelmed