Nov. 13/04

By Daily Courier Staff

More than a dozen animal lovers protested the SPCA's seizure of a Scotty
Creek couple's horses by picketing the Casorso Road shelter Saturday.
"We¹re all frustrated with this," said Kitt Vogelsang, a neighbour of
elderly Idella and Frank Schwab who own the mare and filly seized by SPCA
officials on Sept. 10.
'The neighbour who complained doesn't know squat about horses. This is a
case of personal animosity involving her dogs and the people who live across
the street. The horses were implicated in something that didn¹t involve
them. If there had been anything inordinate, those of us who have owned
horses ourselves would have said something immediately."
The protest, which began at 11 a.m. Saturday before the shelter opened,
caught SPCA staff by surprise.
"The last thing we want to do is to seize someone¹s animals,² said branch
manager Dianne McKeown.
"We received 787 animal complaints last year. We resolved the majority of
them by talking to people. Every complaint we take seriously."
The Schwab seizure is now in the hands of lawyers so McKeown can¹t comment
on that specific case.
As she read one of the protest signs, she commented: "SPCA targets
seniors. Oh come on. They¹re only hurting the animals. There are other
means of communicating. We have a lot of families coming in her Saturdays. I
just don¹t want anyone hurt."
A Kelowna RCMP member told 15 protestors they could walk along the paved
bicycle path but could not obstruct vehicles from using the SPCA driveway.
Wayne Barron, one of the protestors, said the seized mare was not suffering
from laminitis, an inflammation of tissue in the foot, as diagnosed by the
SPCA's veterinarian.
"They (the seized horses) should have been returned but the SPCA doesn¹t
want to admit it made a mistake. Someone in government should hold the SPCA
accountable, appoint an ombudsman or get the B.C. Ministry of Agriculture
involved like other provinces. Where is the public's defense other than
hiring a lawyer and going to court?" he asked.
Judges don't have any insight into animal cruelty cases because they don¹t
deal with them every day like they do criminal charges, he added.
Neighbour Edna Thiessen, who also owns horses, said the SPCA didn't ask the
Schwabs to help load the horses which was accomplished with great
difficulty.
Nicole Ste. Marie and Michel Petrullis drove to Kelowna from Grand Forks to
join the protest.
An SPCA inspector seized 16 dogs from his home four-and-a-half months ago,
said Petullis, who is still waiting for a court date to fight the charges.
According to him, a veterinarian provided recommendations on food, water and
collars but the inspector said: "I'm taking them anyway."
After the first month, Petullis said he received a $12,000 bill from the
SPCA for the vet, transportation and care of the dogs.