AAS said several years ago that the SPCA needs to be charged under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act (link below) for causing "distress" and/or "critical distress" at its "shelters" (what a corruption of a good word that is!) and for policies like the "shuffling policy" (moving dogs over and over) that results in the destruction of the body and soul of dogs like Odie. http://www.animaladvocates.com/odie.htm (read more on Odie in "Odie" messages below and see Gail at the Vancouver SPCA asking again, to know where Odie is, http://www.animaladvocates.com/odie-gailpic.htm

This appalling policy that creates severe separation and abondonment stress is being strenuously promoted in the BC SPCA's new dog assessment program, the one hurridly put together to counteract the negative publicity that resulted from the Vancouver SPCA's killing of six nice dogs and then blaming the dogs for their own deaths by claiming they were aggressive http://www.animaladvocates.com/spca-six-dogs.htm)

In the BC SPCA's March 2002 "Animal Management Course" material, under "Transporting Animals", it says: "There is an increased need for shelters in high need areas to transport to other shelters that have room."

This policy would be justified by the SPCA by saying that it results in more adoptions of dogs. That would be true for the ones that survive the psychological trauma of being moved and losing everyone and everything familiar - again.

But it also worsens the behaviours of the dogs that eventually are euthanized for being unadoptable. A dog's best hope in any "shelter" is to be watched closely by the volunteers who get to know the dog, who will know in which foster home the dog will do best, and will know which dogs need training. So shuffling dogs from shelter to shelter may make the SPCA's adoption rates look good, but it is a another SPCA betrayal of dogs.