Long-time SPCA volunteers cannot remember the SPCA making an appeal like these before. Are they terrifed of another "Cheech" on TV and in the media for weeks?

Posted By: BCSPCA Vancouver/ Burnaby Branch Manager
Date: 15:45:13 9/3/2004

I am posting this email as an update to a previous plea by our AHT for a foster home for Buddy.

On his temperament assessment Buddy received a score of yellow (low to moderate) for excitableness, aggressiveness and anxiousness). This puts him in the category of treatable with high chances of success for rehabilitation. He is on anti anxiety drugs and we have started behavioural treatment for all his problems. Unfortunately, even with our staff and wonderful volunteers doing in-shelter remediation, Buddy is starting to show signs of frustration, which have resulted in a couple of growling incidents. Unfortunately, dogs that growl out of frustration can sometimes become aggressive while at the shelter. Their behaviour is reinforced because it seems to be effective by the immediate departure of the person growled at. At this rate, Buddy will get worse if he remains in the shelter.

Once Buddy is outside of his kennel, when undergoing treatment sessions in our remediation area, he is wonderful. He is very playful and energetic and that is why he needs to be out of the shelter environment. The continuous frustration in the kennel, which might lead to learnt-aggression, will make it very difficult to remediate his behaviour in the shelter.

We are in an urgent need of a foster home or even a suitable permanent home. We will provide the behavioural management support that is needed in a foster home as well as post adoption.

Please contact me if you are able to help Buddy.

Thanks,
Mark Takhar
Vancouver/Burnaby Branch Manager

(Mark Thakur was one of the Head Office heavies that Craig Daneill sent to the Delta SPCA to make sure that Cheech got killed after AAS phoned Daniell and offered to save Cheech's life by fostering and rehabilitating him. But the staff and volunteers were too fast for them and Cheech was spirited away before Daniell's order could be carried out.)

-----Original Message-----
From: Lorie Chortyk [mailto:lchortyk@spca.bc.ca]
Sent: August 19, 2004 12:28 PM
Subject: Seeking Help for Buddy

Hi folks,

Please accept my apologies if this doesn't relate to your region - we wanted to get a message out quickly regarding a dog in the Lower Mainland, but we're unable to pull only LM email addresses from our Fasttrack database.

We are desperately looking for a foster home for a 2 ½ year old shepherd/lab cross named Buddy. Buddy was classified as adoptable in April. He has not adapted to the shelter and is now suffering from very poor welfare. He was fostered in June in a household with two young children. He was returned for being destructive when left alone (separation anxiety). He is now showing some defensive aggression (not pertaining to his temperament) and his welfare continues to deteriorate due to the long-term confinement. He would greatly benefit from spending time in a foster home that can provide separation anxiety therapy, de-stressing exercises and some basic obedience for mental stimulation. The use of Dog Appeasing Pheromones is also recommended.

If you or anyone you know might be able to help Buddy, we would love to hear from you as soon as possible. Please call Nadine Gourkow at 604.709.6714.

Thank you!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lorie Chortyk, General Manager, Community Relations
BC SPCA
1245 East 7th Avenue
Vancouver, BC V5T 1R1
Ph. 604.647.1316 Fax. 604.681.7022

Cell 604.830.7179
www.spca.bc.ca lchortyk@spca.bc.ca