----- Original Message -----
From: Fran O'Dell
To: board@spca.bc.ca
Cc: cdaniell@spca.bc.ca
Sent: Saturday, July 09, 2005 5:46 PM
Subject: To President and Board of Directors of the BC SPCA

Dear President, Board and C. Daniell,

I have been able to follow a few things about your law suit and your raids against Animal Advocates and other rescue groups, and I must say that I am puzzled as to how several different countries can get together to save a whale, oil covered birds, counties and agencies band together to save an animal trapped in a pipe under a street and on and on, yet the SPCA here in BC seems to have a different set of priorities. You seem to be more interested in putting your efforts into skirmishes with organizations rather than organizing to help animals. The hundreds of thousands you are spending on lawyers would have helped thousands upon thousands of animals and given them better lives. You still place a value on dubious publicity above the actual helping of animals. I keep hoping you will change before thousands more animals have to live lives of torture, abuse, and abandonment.

I watch with interest the SPCA programs on the Animal Planet television channel and see the marvelous work they do. Those SPCA agencies I would not hesitate to donate to, for their work is what I had expected from the SPCA here. I had believed that all the branches had the same goal in mind…Animal's welfare. I now donate to the WWF, Service Dogs in Training, and other organizations as they show the importance of animals to our life cycle, their concern is not being the only organization, but one of a group working together for the animals.

I do see some slight changes, you still send me literature even though I had asked to be removed from your list. I personally need more than 'slight changes' though to be reassured that the BC SPCA is back on track, giving God's creatures the care they deserve. I know from personal experience that my animals were on the "death row" at the SPCA and for a few hundred dollars of medical care, they have lived long and much loved lives. I know that there is the argument that, "Well a few hundred times many adds up", yes I agree, but it still amounts to possibly just one week's pay each of some of the upper echelon who could well live very quite richly without it and therefore so could many more animals keep their lives. Many of us live very well on less than half the amount earned by senior personnel (I remember the scandalous amount published that one of your BC people was earning as centers were closing or not being maintained properly) yet we are able to work together to help God’s creatures.

Thankfully our Lord has always opened Heaven's gates to His creatures and according to His words in the bible, they will not remember what was done to them here but will live with Him and be loved eternally. I hope to run a small sanctuary when I am able to retire, and I hope not to tangle with the BC SPCA, but God is in control and the future is not mine to see.

Thankfully God has given a heart for animals to many like WWF, Service Dogs, AAS, and the courage to individuals to speak out to/about others who are forcing the organizations who aren't keeping their priorities in reality as claimed in written and vocal words...to bring them into line and to look into the eyes of His creatures and see their own actions and judge themselves....and change....for the creatures they claim are important, even if only because their darkness is now brought to light in this modern age of communication.......

Fran O'Dell
Surrey, BC