There's no set number of animals which is too many, they say. Though such people have probably always been around, they've only been studied as apathology for a little more than a decade, Lockwood said. Collectors often profess a love for animals, but in practice experts like Lockwood and Fetko say it's a twisted passion which often harms or even kills the animals. Animal collectors often care more about their control over the animals than the suffering that they are inflicting on the animals. Often they are unable to even recognize the suffering.
Collectors also share another common trait, a desire for secrecy.
When a neighbor in Clatsop County tipped authorities to the presence of Kittles' school bus load of animals in an isolated rural area east of Astoria, she was aghast at the prospect of discovery. Knowing from past experience what the attention of authorities might bring down upon an animal collector, she took quick action to try to fend off an inquiry. First she called the 911 dispatch center and told them that everything was OK and that there was no reason to come out and make an in-person check. That just piqued Brunick's interest. When she got a hold of Kittles on the phone, she asked how many dogs there were.