As a defendant in the SPCA's defamation suit against AAS, I have strong feelings about the SPCA using its money to silence its critics instead of using its money for action. I have always said I am sure that I do not understand everything it takes to run such a big organization. I do understand that it is extremely hard to please everyone especially the public at large. However , what I do know for certain is that there are some huge problems that do not seem to be addressed by the SPCA, such as the fact that anyone can breed any dogs and sell those dogs probably with no taxes paid and that the SPCA is full to the brim of dogs that originate with these unscrupulous breeders.
The problem arises when there are dogs with behaviour problems due to genetics and/or poor socialization (ie., being left out in yards, tied up etc.) and these dogs end up either dead (SPCAcomes up with some excuse to kill them such as the behaviour temperament test used on the famous, 'Cheech'), or they end up dead when returned to the SPCA, and I am quite sure the SPCA does not know of some of these dogs that end up dead when owners kill them privately at a vet clinic after finding some of these dogs too hard to handle. I also know that many people end up with some hard to control dogs and keep them at great expense, and great hardship to that owner.
From my experience of dogs and people, it is easy to find a dog with no behaviour problems a home, and a good home at that. It is much more difficult to find a home for a dog with any kind of behaviour problem. And the SPCA has not done enough in my opinion, to curb this. There needs to be litter licenses to deter those people who breed to make a profit. Any good breeder does it as a hobby, and never makes a profit. (A good breeder is someone careful about breeding dogs with good behaviour and health, and who is careful about making sure the dog and owner are the right match.) And there needs to be by-laws in place to stop the chaining and tethering of dogs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
For stating my concerns publicly, I am being sued.
Dog catching and the business of killing dogs is not animal welfare. It is not always doing the people any good either. Anyone who adopts a dog and has to return it to be killed would be devastated. Any dog who has to sit in a shelter when there are no shelter improvements being made (those SPCA facilites that house the dogs are unbelievably hard on a dog), is not animal welfare either.
As I have also said, I know there are many front line workers at the SPCA doing their very best and doing what they can for animals under incredibly difficult conditions.
I wish the head honchos would do more for everyone concerned...and use their money for shelter improvements, spay and neuter help for those who can't afford it, and work at putting by-laws in place to curb the mass breeding of eventual unwanted dogs rather than suing those of us who criticize.
Lori Cumiskey,
Vancouver, BC