If you’re a pet owner, you are an animal lover. Whether you’re a dog person or cat person, the family pet is a beloved creature that, more often than not, has the run of the house.

Recent events have brought to light a problem that is seemingly less and less unusual: The hoarding of animals.

Wednesday’s edition of The Times reported a situation just over the county line in Blount County that shows how keeping large number of animals can sometimes cause problems.

Neighbors of Steve and Pat Devine are outraged over the number of animals kept across the street at the Devines’ property. The Devines do not currently live on the property and haven’t for some time.

Neighbor Lynda Evans said several complaints have been made to the Devines and Blount County authorities, and they say the situation is frightening for children and pets living in the area.

The situation led Evans’ brother to videotape the gruesome death of the Devines’ llamas at the paws of their own dogs. They said the dogs “are as vicious as a pack of wolves” and describe how they ate their family’s kittens while children watched.

Steve Devine has a different view.

“They are not vicious or a threat to anyone,” he said. He contends when the dogs killed the llamas, they “did it for sport.”

And that begs a question:

If the dogs only killed for sport, and they’ve wandered onto their neighbors’ property before, what would stop them from attacking a small child in the same manner?

That question alone should make law enforcement investigate the issue immediately.

Will it only become one if one of the Evans’ children or grandchildren are attacked?

Other possible public safety/health issues from keeping large numbers of pets include rabies, worms, Lyme disease and toxoplasmosis, which according to the CDC is the third leading cause of foodborne illness in the United States.

The Devines apparently have dozens of animals including dogs, cats, donkeys, birds and horses. Do they have paperwork showing all their animals are up-to-date on shots and treatments? Authorities should find out immediately before a major health issue develops for local animals and people.

The slow manner in which Blount County authorities are reacting to this situation may be a matter of funding.

A brief search on the Internet found several sites on the subject of hoarding animals. One group, known as The Hoarding of Animals Research Consortium, lists everything from potential causes to state laws and legislation.

The Web site suggests that the lack of officials willing to investigate and prosecute may simply be financial.

The site says, “Under the current laws of several states, animals seized by law enforcement officials during the course of a cruelty investigation are treated as any other property. Seized animals must be held as evidence in a cruelty case and thus cannot be disposed of (adopted, returned to owner) until the case has been adjudicated.”

The financial hardship on Blount County’s animal shelter to feed and house a large number of animals can be high. The animals cannot be put down, and only the owner can allow them to be adopted.

The Devines say they love their animals and truly believe they are doing the best thing for them, but loving them and being able to care for them are not the same thing.

The incident with the llamas shows what can happen when a group of animals go from pets to packs.

We hope something is done before a future animal pack seeks “sport” outside the Devines’ property. The consequences could be devastating.