Thursday 27 September 2012

If It’s Necessary For Her To Keep Dumb Animals For ‘The Sake Of Her Mental Health’...

…couldn’t we give her a pair of adorable magistrates? Neutered, of course (or is that redundant?):
A cruel woman convicted of keeping animals in squalid conditions has been banned from having pets - unless they are cats or dogs.




Yeah, that was my response too. What gives? Is she better at keeping them?

Well, no:
Adelaya Boardman, 33, kept ducks and ferrets in horrendous conditions in her filthy flat - including terrapins in her baths.
She also allowed her two pet cats to become infested with fleas and animals including a dog were forced to sleep and eat under piles of rubbish.
The pictures are revolting. And an indictment of ‘care in the community’ that she is allowed to get herself into this state.

The animals, of course, have no choice in the matter…
Boardman admitted a string of animal neglect charges and was banned from keeping animals for three years. But she was allowed to keep her cats and dogs to help her state of mind.
*boggle* Because, of course, she’s ‘vulnerable’…
Sarah Glanville, defending, said she had become 'overwhelmed' by the number of pets and their living conditions had become unacceptable.
But she said the dogs and cats helped her client cope with her mental health problems.
Pity for them.

9 comments:

Curmudgeon said...

If she is "of limited means", how can she afford to keep horses in livery?

Anonymous said...

I don't see where she is 'cruel' -- she's not torturing the critters is she?

So what if she is mad and dirty, cats and dogs don't care, and as long as you don't have to be there, you shouldn't worry either.

Anonymous said...

I'm with the previous anon on this. As long as the animals are being fed I fail to see how keeping them in a dirty/untidy flat is cruel. I do think the kindest thing for all concerned would be to just put the poor woman to sleep.

Noggin the Nog said...

Anon x 2'

Failing to provide adequate medical care for one's animals is just cruel.

It is not unusual for flea infested cats to die of anemia. I'll guarantee they were not wormed either, which also leads to malnourishment and possible death.

People that cannot look after themselves should not be trusted to look after animals. The results are entirely predictable.


Louise said...

If she can't look after herself as a result of some kind of mental illness then should she be permitted to live independently? I guess she could be put in an asylum but then we closed those and razed them to the ground in the last decade of the twentieth century. Oops!

Anonymous said...

Noggin, cats have been feral ever since and flea medicine is quite a recent invention too.

So is worming medicine as well. Nice but not essential and not 'cruel' to not provide it -- the term used here is simply overemotional and inappropriate.

The lady has a lot of problems that can't be solved but only accommodated, and I think humans are way more important than animals, and if the critters help her make it through the day (and the squalor) she should have them.

If people want to 'help' they should go round with a can of flea spray and bin bags, not try and steal the last (furry) friends she has.

JuliaM said...

"If she is "of limited means", how can she afford to keep horses in livery?"

Well, quite! That doesn't cost pennies, does it?

"So what if she is mad and dirty, cats and dogs don't care, and as long as you don't have to be there, you shouldn't worry either."

I'm afraid this in one case where my natural instincts that the State should leave us the hell alone to live as we wish butts up against my certainty that we aren't helping people like this (never mind any unfortunates they may live with) by taking that tack..

"People that cannot look after themselves should not be trusted to look after animals."

Just so. They are her 'only friends'? I don't treat my friends like that. Nor should anyone else be allowed to.

Anonymous said...

Julia, you confused human requirements with animal needs before -- remember the 'muddy' cages with the dogs you thought were 'abuse'?

Same case again -- your standards are nice, but way above what is required by reality.

Noggin the Nog said...

Anon,

You are correct; medical treatment for domestic animals is a fairly recent innovation. One could see it as a sign of progress, of civilisation if you like.

Prior to the invention of worming tablets and flea sprays, the life span of a cat was just a handful of years and death from parasitical infestation is always painful.

It is cruel to keep an animal in such a state, and just because a mentally ill person thinks that harming animals helps them to get through the day is no reason for allowing them to do so.