 In the 1960s, Hoffmann was President of the Institute for Human-Animal Relationship, an organization which promoted the psychological and therapeutic value of pets.In the 1960s, due to a series of setbacks Hoffmann fell on hard times.After the death of his son from alcoholism, accusations of his using undue influence on a patient for personal gain, his second wife having left him, and the loss of his Park Avenue house, his once-lucrative practice began to decline.