AAS received a letter of complaint from a Vernon SPCA volunteer. She made her concerns known to the BC SPCA Head Office and received a bouquet of flowers.

The vet clinic that performs the Vernon SPCA's humane destructions is shocked at how many animals the SPCA is still bringing in to be euthanized, as well as the inconsistency that is going on there. No one person (at the Vernon SPCA to discuss options for animal treatment – just whoever answers the phone. They would like to see a better plan to treat upper respiratory in cats – meaning: sanitation.

Dogs are disappearing, and staff is claiming they have been adopted, though no records of adoption can be found. As many as twenty dogs in the past few years I have asked about and no one seems to know where that dog is. Two purebred Border Collies totally disappeared, and when I asked if they got adopted – apparently, they went to a rescue, but as to how they got there, no one seems to remember (the distance away was hours and hours). A little shih-tzu (a small purebred for sure) was given to dog control for Armstrong, Falkland, Salmon Arm.

Euthanasia records are now locked away in a filing cabinet. The euthanasia records for dogs has not been seen in many months, but now cat euthanasia records are locked away too. The last cat euthanasia record I saw was for June and it showed 60 cats killed. I stopped counting at well over 50 on one list of cats that were euthanized. The comments were “sneezed”, “runny nose”, “may have UPS” (upper respiratory syndrome which is endemic in SPCAs), usually the same comments on all forms “sneezed” was the main comment! The records were all kept under the counter with all the other books, however, when I went there again a week later I was told that the books were in the manager's office. I can go to the shelter and they are absolutely filled to the brim – then four days later there are empty cages and there are no cats in the pet carriers outside as four days before. When asked where they all are, I would usually just get told that it is not their decision, “That’s the office staff that determine that”. Yes, once in a while I would be told by a shelter staff – not office staff – that there were quite a few put down because they were so crowded and there was sneezing. I asked numerous times about transferring cats and kittens to the Kelowna branch but was told that it is too stressful for the cats and kittens and they usually don’t make it! So this is usually not done, even though Kelowna has lots of room.

The dog assessor (the person who uses the SPCA's pseudo science test called CAMP to determine which dogs are destroyed and which live) is regularly told to clean cat cages instead of work with the dogs. This, they say, is due to short staffing. Thus, dogs who have behaviour problems are not getting walked and are becoming more agitated. Some of these are the dogs who disappear, and are allegedly adopted. She has admitted that to me that these dogs are good dogs but they are driven crazy by never being out of the cage therefore they start to go stir crazy or act aggressively – and are therefore deemed aggressive. She was hired to be the assessor of dogs as well as dog trainer and help people find the dog best suited for their lives. She spend most days in the cat area, or cleaning dog cages. It was not until after a meeting was held with the staff, Regional Manager Bob Busch, and some volunteers in July this year, and the matter brought up to Mr Busch that the manager finally had the assessor doing assessing... well for three days after the meeting anyway. I don’t know if it lasted though. The assessor was even taking dogs home on her days off in order to train them so they would not be “put down” due to being aggressive. She would call me when I held the position of Volunteer Foster Coordinator almost in tears begging me to find a foster home for specific dogs so they could get out of the shelter for a rest and not be deemed “aggressive”.

One particular dog sat at the shelter with a fresh eye wound. I was told by a manager that the wound did not bother the dog – although when the dog came into the shelter the wound was oozing and extremely fresh as it was still bleeding. I asked several times why the dog has not seen a vet, the answers are always the same either “can’t afford it”, “short staffed, no time”, “I don’t know I don’t decide that”! Eventually the dog was taken to the vet and treated. I inquired about the health of the dog with the gouged eye and was told by a shelter employee, “I think it got adopted”, another comment was, “Not too sure which one you mean”, and yet another, “don’t know”.

Pregnant cats that come to the facility are sometimes immediately euthanized. A particular cat was brought in while I was there and it sneezed therefore the staff figured it was suffering from UPS. I was told that if a pregnant cat shows any sign of UPS, it means that the kittens will be sick as well therefore in order not to spread it around they will be put down. I then said that I had called the SPCA's vet clinic and talked to one of the vet technicians and was told that UPS is not a death sentence and usually medication and proper sanitation will provide a cat or kitten with good health within time. The Vernon Shelter seems to have their own idea regard illness. They feel they do absolutely everything in their power to keep the shelter cleaned and sanitized, therefore the problem lies with the people who bring in the cats. At the meeting in July with Bob Busch, a volunteer brought up the fact that she continually goes to the shelter to clean as it is not clean and why is there no time frame between cats coming in to the shelter and being exposed to other cats – like a holding area. Busch thinks that should be happening in Vernon. Will it happen? – who knows. This subject has been brought up numerous times by volunteers to previous the previous Shelter Manager, the current Shelter Manager and now the Regional Manager.

There have been four outbreaks of Parvo at Vernon SPCA so far this year. A pup in the most recent outbreak, three days with obvious signs of something being drastically wrong! Other outbreaks have resulted in pups being put down, as well as individual dogs. The first outbreak this year was discovered due to the fact that I went to take a dog in the adult section for a walk and his cage was filled with blood, there was blood coming out of his cage onto the walkway, as well as his rectum. I was told that he had been sick for “awhile”. He went to the vet that same day and was put down. I do believe the dog in the cage one over was also put down, due to showing signs of illness days previous.

I can't forget little “Jaime”, the black Cocker Spaniel that came in and spent one FULL month in the outside kennels amongst huge dogs, day after day on the cement or a pitiful rubber mat. There was no basket or blankets for her as she could not sit down properly due to the huge growth from her rectum. She lay on the cement or on a wet, cold rubber mat! I was not allowed to put a basket in the cage because “They get too dirty”! I pleaded to have this dog looked at because with every day I visited her, her belly grew. Finally I could not take it anymore and called Cocker Spaniel rescue in Kelowna who came out the next day and demanded that this dog get to a vet! That was the last day of her life as she was put down immediately. Her last month of life was spent in a very cold environment, her only luxury was that some one came up to the shelter and gave her a real good trim as she was matted and filthy. How long would she of sat there had rescue not come and demanded help! My pleas fell on deaf ears. The staff all felt they knew what this little girl was feeling and apparently she was feeling fine! When rescue took her out of the cage to take pictures of her she was so thrilled to have human touch and someone hug her. Her big sad eyes would just look at you. The growth on her behind was appalling as was the size her tummy was getting to. The staff admitted that for the last three days she did not eat anything, but when rescue gave her some dried food she goggled it up! So a dog not eating for three days does not warrant a vet check? Not too mention a growth the size of my fist out of her rectum! Meanwhile the rabbits at the Vernon shelter have gone for two days with no food because someone forgot to order it! Cage mats are not laid down, forcing the animals to sleep on cement. The assessor/trainer has brought this exact fact up many times and was told not to check anyone’s work and it is none of her business what other employees do and do not do.

I am haunted by this particular dog as I know she is only one in a very large number that do not get help. Is the SPCA not the voice for the voiceless? Not in my eyes.

Comment: Many cats carry things like upper respiratory and are asymptomatic until stressed, and of course, it is SPCA cages and prolonged isolation that stresses them. This is a good example of what we know to be true - SPCAs cause sickness, not "the people who bring in the cats". Once again the SPCA is directing blame away from itself and its bottom-line facilities and onto the "irresponsible" public. SPCAs cause sickness by crowding stressed animals together in facilities that are not properly sanitized. Parovirus lives for up to two years in the environment in subzero temperatures, and feline upper respiratory disease is spread through the air as will as through direct contact. Parvovirus is tracked on shoes and on clothing. SPCAs cause death by disease and despair because their facilities are crowded with stressed animals are too often not properly ventilated or sanitized. Blaming disease conditions within SPCAs on the public and well-meaning volunteers is shameful and unfair. If what the SPCA claims were true, then it stands to reason that every vet hospital, boarding kennel, grooming shop, dog day care etc, would also be full of diseased animals, but this is not the case.

Jennifer Dickson, OKAWF
Judy Stone, AAS