A Well-Meaning But Overly Simplistic Definition of Animal Hoarding

The veterinarian who wrote this article was attempting to reverse the demonizing of hoarders, but her definition is still overly simplistic. It doesn't take into account changes in life circumstances and it does not address the fact that the definition basically defines any poor person who happens to take in an animal as a "hoarder."

Here is the definition:

When your ability to care for each individual animal is overwhelmed by their sheer volume... you're a hoarder.

Here is my response:

Sometimes what may not be initially too many pets to care for becomes too many pets if circumstances change. That doesn't automatically make the person a hoarder due to this change. Their animals shouldn't automatically be taken from them. There are people who rescue animals who would otherwise be homeless or killed even though they don't really have the proper means to care for them. Isn't it elitist to say that only people with X amount of money should be allowed to have pets or allowed to help animals that may be in as dire circumstances as themselves? The definition of "hoarder" given in this article is a bit overly simplistic.