[drawlins27]

I just wanted to mention this so that no one would be concerned about "Joy" hurting her dogs. I don't think that she has Munchausen Syndrome or Munchausen by proxy for a variety of reasons that I won't go into. She feigned illness so that Panama would stop trying to get the puppy back and would not take legal action.

I have no doubt however that she does suffer from a personality disorder. From the posts she made and what I know of the personal interactions she had with others, I think it possible that she has antisocial personality disorder (previously called psychopathic and sociopathic personality disorder). When dealing with someone like this, it always works to your benefit if you know why they act the way they do and I think this could explain the reason behind her behavior. And of course, I just want to stress that this is just an educated guess.

Key features of this disorder are deceitfulness and manipulation. According to the DSM-IV, the criteria for the diagnosis of antisocial personality disorder is a persistent pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others occurring since age 15, as indicated by three (or more) of the following:

*failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors as indicated by repeatedly performing acts that are grounds for arrest
*deceitfulness, as indicated by repeated lying, use of aliases, or conning others for personal profit or pleasure
*impulsivity or failure to plan ahead
*irritability and aggressiveness, as indicated by repeated physical fights or assaults
*reckless disregard for safety of self or others
*consistent irresponsibility, as indicated by repeated failure to sustain steady work or honor financial obligations
*lack of remorse, as indicated by being indifferent to or rationalizing having hurt, mistreated, or stolen from another

In addition, the following criteria must be met:
*There is evidence of conduct disorder with onset before age 15 years.
*The occurrence of antisocial behavior is not exclusively during the course of schizophrenia or a manic episode.

And if she is reading this, then all the better, maybe then she will seek help.