Snellville, GA – Two Georgia hoarders, sisters Elisha and Leah Waller, both face charges for animal cruelty and the exploitation of a disabled adult.
Arrests were made Wednesday after authorities discovered 31 dying cats , a dog, and a disabled young man cramped inside a filthy hotel room the night before, according to the Huffington Post .
The women were ultimately exposed after several people staying at the Snellville hotel reported smelling an overpowering stench emanating from the room the Waller sisters shared.
Police identified the disabled man as Leah Waller’s 19-year-old son, who has cerebral palsy. He was found trapped in the filthy room , confined to his wheelchair amid massive amounts of animal feces, urine saturation, and garbage, reports WSBTV .
Cerebral palsy is an umbrella term denoting a group of non-progressive conditions that cause physical disability in human development.
The felines were found, many of them suffering with upper respiratory infections, open soars, and missing hair. Only two were deemed fit enough to survive. The rest, 29 in total, were euthanized.
According to local animal control, there was no other option than to humanely euthanize them due to their unhealthy condition.
This is the sisters’ second abuse-related arrest in less than two months.
Hoarding is a compulsive behavior to pathologically collect to excess, obsessively acquiring objects or even animals. However, hoarders are incapable or unwilling to discard the aforementioned acquisitions, regardless of the clutter, filth, danger or disease that can result, as doing so can cause significant distress or impairment.
Compulsive hoarding has been associated with health risks, impaired functioning, economic burden, and can result in adverse effects on friends and family members – creating frustration-fueled rifts between loved ones. Parents have had children taken away and couples have divorced over hoarding.
The troubling condition often stems from some type of psychologically engrained trauma. For one reason or another, a hoarder developed an unhealthy attachment, clinging to the otherwise innocuous, valueless item others would throw away.
The act of hoarding is dangerous as it puts the individual or others at risk from fire, falling, poor sanitation, and other health concerns.
[Feature image via Wikicommons ]