Barbara Yaffe has written an excellent column on problems within the SPCA at the shelter level. I went to her with another person who had clear and incontrovertible evidence of serious neglect. This evidence had been presented to head office who waffled and stalled in their responses until the matter appeared to be dropped.

We wanted Ms. Yaffe to know the SPCA admin staff were not seen to address concerns brought to their attention. We wanted her to see how caring people within the shelters can feel completely isolated and helpless if something goes wrong because admin staff seem to hide in the ivory tower and throw out platitudes to keep them at bay. We wanted her to know that we believe animals are still at risk within a system where care was not provided on documented occasions.

I told her of similar incidents dating back to '99 from the SPCA shelter in my community which were brought to management's attention so the complaints were nothing new to them by the time they received the documentation from the other shelter, and I also told her that the shelter in my community had improved greatly since my complaints in '99 and was no longer a problem.

I showed her an excerpt from an SPCA admin email dated Jan 19/02 that said, "The animals in our care receive veterinary attention when needed. Our medical records, both at our own animal hospital and through the local veterinary hospitals can substantiate this." Clearly not completely true in light of the photos and documentation assembled in 2003.

SPCA admin staff have asked me to go through channels and report problems to them first. I agree with that. I've done that. In each case discussed with Ms. Yaffe, several management people had been advised and asked for help. Head Office hasn't told me what my options are when concerns appear to remain unaddressed and I feel like I'm left hanging with a problem situation. If they wonder why people become whistle blowers and go to the media, to politicians and to the web, that would be why.

Brigitta MacMillan
Maple Ridge