Dear Editor

Please allow me to add an important point to Ted Colley's article of April 21, 2004 ("Dogs Didn't Have to Die:Rescue"). Mr. Colley reports that Surrey SPCA manager Kim Archibald told him that "sick dogs could not be moved out of the shelter because foster homes for contagious animals are hard to find."

On March 20th, 2004, I adopted a shih tsu from the Surrey SPCA. She was suffering from kennel cough, was quite visibly ill, and was given to me with antibiotics. On that same day, I also offered to adopt a cocker spaniel from the Surrey SPCA. I was told that the dog had two very good applicants waiting to adopt her and that she would be going to a wonderful home. On March 24, 2004, Surrey SPCA killed the cocker spaniel because she had kennel cough. I was not contacted as an alternative to her being killed, despite the fact that I had made it very clear only days before that I would take her.

The BC SPCA is the target of a lot of criticism these days, and this sort of thing is the reason why. It's bad enough that the little dog I offered to help was needlessly killed - what is worse is that Ms. Archibald has claimed publicly that there was no offer to help her.

It's high time the BC SPCA got principled and and truly animal serving. When it does, we critics will stop our dogging.

Jennifer Dickson
President, Okanagan Animal Welfare Foundation