Usually, hoarding is where dogs or cats are poorly kept, suffering from malnutrition and living in filth. The recent discovery outside of Boulder Creek is a graphic example of this. The police found dogs that were extremely thin and living in horrid conditions.

But the recent story in Morgan Hill, where more than 30 cats were kept in one home, defies some of the stereotypes used to describe most animal hoarding cases. These cats were housed in an upper-middle class home and for the most part, not completely neglected.

Nonetheless, those who were responsible for this situation need help in many different ways. Animal hoarding, keeping large numbers of animals, is against the law no matter how good the intentions of the violators.

Still, when I overheard a discussion downtown about these two situations, I was surprised to hear how misinformed some people were. Two people were trying to compare "these cat people" to Robert Brunette, the man who allegedly abused a large number of dogs near Boulder Creek. And while there are some similarities, there also are some distinct differences.

Brunette says he was breeding the "macho dog." Here's a guy who allegedly taunted police during their search for him, placing dog carcasses on the roof of his home. Reports in the news noted that he allowed some of his "pets" to be devoured by yellow jackets and mosquitoes. Many of these pets had open sores that were untreated. This is an individual who seemed to have a cavalier attitude about what he thought was right and wrong. At least some of his "pets" lived a miserable life. Some died at a very young age.

Any animal abuse is a serious offense and should never be taken lightly. And if some of the stories about Brunette are true, I have to wonder why one of his neighbors didn't report him to authorities sooner.

A person who abuses animals fits the psychological profile of someone who could become a monster who injures or kills other humans. Brunette's taunting of the police, using body parts of dogs to emphasize his greater will, is particularly eerie. We can only hope that one way or another, he gets the help he needs.

But I find it hard to understand how anyone could compare the abuse of these dogs to the plight of the Morgan Hill cats. No one can properly care for so many animals at one time. But to say that these people were guilty of the same abuse attributed to Brunette are wrong.

In any case, these two situations serve as reminders that if someone sees a person abusing any animals, he or she should report it to the proper authorities. Defenseless animals need help when they live in these conditions.

Q:

I heard someone use an old expression saying his father was "long in the tooth," meaning that he was an old man. He said this is common in animals? Do some animals literally get long in the tooth as they age?

A:

You bet they do. There are several different animals whose teeth continue to grow throughout their life.

Horses, for example, have permanent teeth that never stop growing. A horse's teeth are worn as he grinds his teeth together chewing hay and other feed. The molars are usually kept to a proper length by this grinding. But the incisors don't wear down as fast as the molars, the larger chewing teeth.

As a result, the incisors tend to grow longer and start to point outward towards the front of the mouth. An older horse truly does become long in the tooth (or teeth, I suppose). This helps vets determine a horse's age.

But pity the poor older elephant. His story is quite different.

Newborn elephant calves are usually born with two small molars in both the upper and lower jaw. These first teeth are only the size of your thumbnail. Later on, another slightly larger molar tooth comes in and slowly moves from the back to the front, replacing the old tooth. This process repeats a total of six times and the teeth get progressively larger to where the fifth and sixth molars are the size of bricks when they come into the mouth. This impressive dentition is necessary so that elephants can forage on the roughage that makes up the majority of their diet.

When the last teeth wear down in older elephants, there are no replacements. The geriatric pachyderm loses his ability to adequately chew food. He seeks softer vegetation usually around waterways or swamps. But eventually even this vegetation becomes useless because he just can't break it down. He succumbs to weakness and undernutrition because he's unable to eat well enough to survive.

So older elephants are never long in the tooth. Actually they become short on teeth that are necessary for them to eat.

Pete Keesling Pete Keesling is a veterinarian at San Martin Veterinary Hospital. He writes a bi-weekly column for South Valley Newspapers and hosts a radio talk show, Dr. Pete's Petpourri, Sundays at 1 p.m. and Friday mornings at 7:10 on KSCO 1080 AM. If you have questions about pet care, e-mail them to smvet3@yahoo.com.