The Hoarding of Animals Research Consortium (HARC), which is linked to Tufts University, has studied animal hoarding since 1997.

The group defines hoarding as the failure to provide proper care for more than the typical number of pets.

In the Greeley case, Timothy Erin Olofson, 38, was keeping more than 102 animals inside a small bungalow.

There were 52 cats, 10 dogs and mix of rabbits, rats and guinea pigs. Police removed the animals Friday.

Though startling, this type of hoarding isn't all that rare.

There are roughly 3,000 to 5,000 reported cases each year, according to HARC. In several cases more than 1,000 animals were seized.

Delving into the psychology behind the phenomenon, HARC concluded that hoarding often derives from a psychological problem developed during childhood.

"Some common themes seem to occur," said Dr. Gary Patronek, a prominent member of HARC. "Themes of childhood trauma ... animals were the only permanent fixture ... (so when there's a traumatic life event) they fall back on old patterns or relying on animals."

For Ron Bailer, a friend of Olofson, it's simpler than that in Olofson's situation.

"I think this is a case of a really good person trying to do more good than he was capable of doing," Bailer said.

Bailer says Olofson loved animals and, in the effort to save them from euthanasia, his friend took any and all animals in.

Dr. Patronek does agree with Bailer in that animal hoarders like Olofson mean no harm.

"They have what psychologists would term a lack of insight into their behavior meaning despite how egregious it is, despite the deteriorating conditions ... they don't see what you or I see and so that does create a problem," he said.

Aside from a few cases, the animals seized from Olofson's home were in decent shape.

Still, feces did cover the floors, many of the animals hadn't been inoculated and there were dead cats in the freezer.

Bailer says Olofson was keeping them there until he had enough money to cremate them.

"There was certainly no mistreatment," Bailer said.

Greeley police have laid out a host of misdemeanor charges.

Olofson is facing 74 counts of failure to provide treatment in a humane manner and 62 counts linked to his failure to inoculate many of the animals and failure to obtain licenses for them.

The house he was living in on the 400 block of 26th Avenue Court has been deemed "unfit for human habitation."