Animal Advocates Watchdog

Negative feedback upsets Nanaimo's SPCA workers *LINK*

Negative feedback upsets Nanaimo's SPCA workers
Staff members, volunteers often criticized for being rude to members of the public
Danielle Bell, Daily News
Published: Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Combatting negative publicity is an ongoing battle for the Nanaimo SPCA.

People are passionate about pets and have strong opinions about the operation and work of animal welfare officials, much of it highly emotional and negative.

It can be frustrating and disheartening for the people who work there, says shelter manager Leon Davis.

While the animal non-profit has its loyal supporters, there are others who criticize and question the SPCA.

Animal stories always generate a flood of feedback from readers of the Daily News.

People have questioned everything from rescue missions to ignoring complaints when it comes to the work of the shelter.

A Daily News article on Wednesday about the number of animal adoptions down substantially this year drew several comments complaining about rude or ill-informed staff.

From a poster entitled No Excuse: "While it may be true that every person and organization usually have both fans and critics, one does not have to wander far to find someone who has been treated disrespectfully by some of the staff in the Nanaimo SPCA."

It is not the first time reaction has criticized shelter staffers and officials are aware of some comments.

Davis used to regularly read through the online forum to look for any constructive criticism but he no longer does because of the viciousness of some posts.

"I think it's because animals are such an emotional topic," said Davis.

"I'm not saying there's not areas of improvement. We just realize we work so hard."

SPCA staff at shelters across B.C. just finished customer-service training. The move included "mystery shoppers" and phone calls. Further workshops are scheduled to start soon.

The organization spends considerable time explaining to frustrated or annoyed people what their role is and how things work. It is a job officials say can lead to high amounts of stress, burnout and turnover.

Negative reaction is also not new to shelter staffers at the Victoria SPCA, who deal with their share of critics.

Manager Penny Stone has had guns and knives pulled on her, a crate thrown at her and websites dedicated to hating her from disgruntled people in her seven years of experience.

"You're either loved or hated," said Stone. "People aren't in the middle anywhere."

Most times, complainers view the SPCA as someone who either takes an animal away or rejects someone from adopting an animal.

While Stone says sometimes staffers have been short with someone, it's often because they have just returned from a horrific animal cruelty case or an animal has died.

"That's not an excuse," said Stone. "Sometimes we're not nice but you don't know what just happened."

Messages In This Thread

Negative feedback upsets Nanaimo's SPCA workers *LINK*
Number of adoptions at Nanaimo SPCA is way down
Re: Negative feedback upsets Nanaimo's SPCA workers
Re: Negative feedback upsets Nanaimo's SPCA workers
Experience with SPCA was not a positive one

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