Animal Advocates of B.C.
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ODIE
THE RUIN OF A GOOD DOG BY THE  SPCA SHELTERING/SHUFFLING SYSTEM
ODIE - THE VICTIM OF CROWDED SPCA "SHELTERING"
THE SPCA NEEDS TO BE CHARGED WITH CRUELTY TO ANIMALS.
EVEN UNDER ITS SKIMPY DEFINITION OF THE PCA ACT, IT COULD BE CHARGED BECAUSE OF THE ANIMALS IT ALLOWS TO BECOME "CRITICALLY DISTRESSED" IN ITS DEATH CAMPS.

 

ODIE - BEFORE
Abandoned by his owner at one year old, being walked by an SPCA volunteer, still cheerful, trusting and hopeful

Odie before.jpg (34432 bytes)

 

ODIE - AFTER
After six months of being moved around to various SPCA's in the lower mainland, sick and dispirited.

Odie, after.jpg (18134 bytes)

 
 

From SPCA watcher, Gail Moerkerken in Maple Ridge:
This is Odie, Maple Ridge ID#6793/Vanc ID#17451. He started his SPCA journey on Oct 4, 2001, at the MAPLE RIDGE SPCA, at one year old. The second photo was taken approximately March 30 2002, after six months of living at various shelters (Maple Ridge, Coquitlam, Surrey, Vancouver). He now has ear infections, and is on a special diet to clear up the blood in his stool.

This information has come from a group of SPCA volunteers who have kept track of Odie.   How could an animal that entered the SPCA system in October end up in such horrific condition six months later.......while still in the same system!

After several months of persistence by Gail, letters, phone calls, and appearing at the SPCA offices with posters, the SPCA relented and supplied Gail with a photo of Odie in his new home.  Gail posted this message for everyone following Odie's saga:

Odie, A Happy Ending....finally!

Posted By: Gail <careerco@shaw.ca>
Date: Thursday, 20 June 2002, at 12:41 p.m.

Because you stood beside me during my long search for Odie....because you provided support and encouragement, because of you, I was able to continue through many challenging moments to finally discover, to my absolute DELIGHT that "our" Odie is indeed healthy, happy and being loved as any animal should!

This morning I meet with Dean Edmonds, Vancouver shelter manager, and viewed the most wonderful photo of Odie! He was snuggled up against his new Mom's leg, his physical health is returning and most of all, the happiness he now feels came through so clearly in the photo.

I needed to share this incredible, positive outcome with all of you as soon as possible, and to once again, thank the community of animal lovers who cared so much for one little lost soul!

And then this....

Odie's death confirmed

Posted By: Gail <careerco@shaw.ca>
Date: Wednesday, 17 July 2002, at 1:09 p.m.

It is with great sadness that I tell you Odie has indeed lost his battle for life.

A very kind and compassionate person (who knows the facts and whom I trust completely ) provided me (privately) with the details surrounding his death....

This poor soul who was bounced and "shuffled" from shelter to shelter could not make a successful transition from distrust to trust. There had been too many months in the system, too many cells to survive in, too many uncertainties...

His aggression escalated to the point where he had bitten two people and despite the intervention from the adoptive family and a trainer, his anti-social behaviour grew worse.

The adoptive family made the final decision...and Odie has now crossed-over to join Keisha, Chubby, Reggie, Jazz, Austin, and thousands more who have left this world for many inhumane reasons; dumping, abuse, neglect, ignorance, and a throw away attitude.

I cannot express to you how grateful I am to the person who had the courage to confide in me and share the truth.

With the new SPCA policy inplace against, "shuffling", I pray that no other animal will suffer as Odie and so many other's have.

Thank you, each and everyone of you, who stood by me during the past 5 months and I have made a promise to Odie that his death will never be forgotten, nor his struggle to survive..for he was a miracle and I know in my heart that he now plays with my Dad who cares for all the animals who NOW have a voice.....

Gail with posters at the SPCA demanding to know where Odie is, click here
Gail takes on the Maple Ridge SPCA and Jake, click here
Gail and the memorials to Chubby and Harley, killed by the SPCA, click here
It is the SPCA's policy of shuffling dogs from branch to branch that killed Odie.  He was reported by several volunteers to be happy and well-adjusted. It is clear that the SPCA cannot cope with so many animals in its "care". And yet it will not stop taking owner-surrendered animals when it is full, and it still has pound contracts which also fill it up.   Those two policies are why the SPCA has so many animals in its "shelters" (what a corruption of a good, kind, decent word) and why it must kill thousands and neglect even more. (Read more about the business of sheltering, click here)  

The SPCA has pound contracts and a pound cannot legally refuse to take stray dogs, cannot say it has no room, so all the animals suffer from lack of care and attention due to crowding and if it takes another animal in, some other animal is going to have to die or all the animals are going to get less care and attention than they deserve. 

This has been confirmed to us over and over, but Brigitta MacMillan has described in detail how cats fare at SPCA death camps:

HEALTH: New animals were not routinely checked for health and animals are adopted out with fleas, ear mites and worms. Cats are not consistently given inoculations; some are and some are not, for no better reason than that staff didn't have time when the cat was received. Cats frequently sit in a cage for hours without food and water because staff don't get around to them. Surely this should be their top priority. (AAS comment: The SPCA in Maple Ridge, as with many SPCAs, has an animal control contract which it can lose if it ignores; staff are busy controling stray dogs, that is why animals are ignored.) Last summer and this summer the shelter ran completely out of canned cat food and rather than buy more, as we had been assured they could do by SPCA Executive after bringing it to their attention, they fed all the cats, from tiny kittens to elderly cats, donated dry food that was stale dated by several months. Pet supply stores have told us they have donations for the SPCA but that no one comes to pick it up.

Upper respiratory infections (URI) - a cat flu - are very common in shelters. In a home a cat can recover fairly quickly. In the stress of shelter life, URI can be serious. It's highly contagious among cats though it cannot affect other animals or humans. Young kittens die from it and their death takes days. The SPCA adheres rigidly to a rule that all strays must be held for a number of days (varies from shelter to shelter) in case an owner comes forward to claim the cat. Only 3% of cats are ever reclaimed by an owner. But nearly every cat will contract URI before the waiting period is over. Yet staff put tiny kittens and terrified older cats into a room full of sick cats knowing that they will contract the illness and knowing some will die from it. Staff have rejected volunteer's suggestions for protecting healthy cats from sick ones by setting up a makeshift isolation ward or by fostering them over the mandatory holding period. Everything is done for the convenience of the bureaucracy at the cost of the animals.

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Animal Advocates Society of B.C. Canada

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