My grandparents are hoarders who refuse to get rid of anything. There’s no room. I can’t breathe with the smell. How do I anonymously report?

I would report the situation to APS. The phone number for Iowa Adult Protective services is (800) 362-2178. Here is the website:

https://dhs.iowa.gov/DependentAdultProtectiveServices/Families

If your grandparents are considered to still be competent to manage their own affairs then you may not have any options right now. Still, it certainly couldn't hurt to get them on the radar screen of the authorities.

When is your father next visiting? Go with him if you can, and if you can do it without upsetting anyone take pictures. Then sit down with your father afterwards, make him look at the situation objectively, and ask him if he seriously thinks it's his father's wish to be living in a trailer full of fall and trip hazards with his incontinent wife and neglected dog.

I will champion elders' rights to autonomy until I am blue in the face, but the other side of that coin is that you have to be alert to signs that they're not following their own wishes, they're just scared stiff of what happens next. The answer is to make a plan they are happy with, it's not to carry on regardless until somebody gets hurt.

If you can't do this soon, or you don't think it'll get you anywhere, then act on Snoopy's really helpful information without delay. It's the right thing to do: no matter how anxious you feel about "calling APS on them", remember that it's *nothing* compared to how you'll feel if somebody else does.

I'd report to Adult Protective Services and also the SPCA. That pet needs to be rescued. Getting the animal out might be easier than the humans. There also might be Fire Code Violations. Hoarding is said to be a mental health issue and it's difficult to get people out of it. If they are competent, I'd likely let them make their own decisions, though, that sounds cold. But, tackling something like that is a big deal. The county may not want to take it on either, but, for me, the innocent dog shouldn't have to suffer.

Several calls can be made.
Call the local Senior Center. Often they have social workers that may be able to help. (If they can't they may be able to point you in the right direction.)
Call Adult Protective Service if there is one in your area.
Call the Health Department
Call the Fire Department.
Hoarding in most areas is not "legal" and they can be forced to make changes or if they can't or your father will not step in to do anything there is a good possibility that they will be removed from the home and they will have Guardians appointed. This is not the ideal situation as it will cause quite a bit of stress. For all parties.
But it sounds like this is something that has to be done for their safety. So do NOT feel guilty.

The dog may not be incontinent. It could be that no one takes it outside, so the poor thing has no choice but to go inside the house.

What is it with you people and “killing their old dog”. Don’t you think the grandchild has enough on his plate without piling on more guilt? You are not in charge of the area animal services where they live, so you don’t know what would happen to the dog for sure. Have some empathy please.

I completely agree with the advice to call APS and attempt to get help. I’ll also advise not to underestimate a hoarder. My brother is one. We’ve helped him clean out 3 times, at his request, and each time the hoard only grew worse afterwards. This is a mental disorder that is is hard to deal with and almost impossible to overcome. Bless you for caring and trying to help, I hope it goes well, such a tough issue to deal with

Hoarding is, indeed, a mental illness, and although you may address the "cleanliness factor" and feel good about it, in my experience, hoarders can totally re-hoard a place in weeks, as they NEED to be surrounded by junk to feel safe, or valuable..whatever.

Mother's hoarding is pretty mild, since we simply insist that papers and garbage and bags of wet pads and depends GO OUT at least bi weekly. And, WOW does she get mad when I take the newspapers to the recycle bin. It's kind of picking your poison, really. Since she lives in an apartment in a home--the smell travels to the rest of the house pretty seriously. And she's mad at my SIL for complaining for the smell!! I think when you live in someone else's home, you should at least attempt to follow some basic rules.

Addressing the "hoard" is EASY. Addressing the underlying mental illness is nigh to impossible. I actually have never known a "cured" hoarder.

If the case is really bad and the hoarder just freaks out over "loosing their life"..get as many clear plastic bins as you can and just pack those. If they are the clear ones, they seem to calm the hoarder a little as they can see inside) Mother has about 20 in the storage area in the crawlspace. It's ALL garbage and will be thrown away after she dies. It's time to do that again, although we did this about 3-4 years ago, she never forgave me and I am not allowed to so much as scrape the coat of dust off her dead plants. She did recently let my niece cull her closet, only because she didn't have the strength to push aside one item to see another. Niece reported she "gave away" maybe 10 things.

I have long since given up trying to help her. If she gave me 2 days with carte blanche---she'd come home to a clean, sweet smelling MUCH more spacious living environment. Which she would absolutely HATE.

And that will NEVER happen. Never.

I am referred to the heartless daughter who throws away everything.

It’s a safety issue. I agree, you should call.

Call the local protective services agency/hotline. It should be confidential. Try telling your grandparents' doctor or another mandatory reporter. I had an emotional discussion with the hospital social worker when my mother was in the hospital, and the social worker made the call. Or, the visiting nurse made the call when my mother went home. an investigator went to her house and declared it to be a "hazard" and gave her two weeks to clean it, but left her in the house. It took five of us to clean three rooms within those two weeks - it was very difficult with my mother following us around and objecting to throwing away trash and removing vast amounts of clutter and trip hazards from the floor, and clearing kitchen table, counters, and appliances. Mountains of dirty dishes. Two weeks later, the investigator returned and saw that the living room, kitchen and bathroom were clean, but the two bedrooms were still a "hazard". He gave her another two weeks to clean those rooms. Some progress was made, huge amount of "stuff" removed but not allowed to be taken out of the house. However, he never returned. No follow-up inspection. Within one month, the place was trashed again, and over time it became worse than ever. So, if you make a call to protective services, be sure to follow-up with the agency. I still don't understand why my mother was allowed to continue living in the "hazard" - I wouldn't let a dog live there.
Good luck to you. My heart goes out to you.