In her own words: Gwen's side of the story

(See previous articles at http://www.animaladvocates.com/gwen-wilson/)

Gwen Wilson was a vet technician at a veterinary clinic in Vancouver for 22 years. Both then and now she has rescued and succored animals in need. For years people have dumped cats at her gate in Hope or given her cats found dumped on their doorsteps because everyone knew that these cats would be looked after by Gwen.

On January 13, 2006, the BC SPCA raided Gwen Wilson and took Dakota, one of her dogs, and all of her 75 rescued cats.

Many people, including an ex-SPCA Agent, consider this seizure to be an abuse of the SPCA's power under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, an Act that is written to relieve animal suffering, not increase it. (See Legislative debate in 1994 that forewarned of this abuse of power at http://animaladvocates.com/seizures/hansard.htm.)

“It felt like the SPCA had seized Dakota to use as a hostage"

Because Gwen was a vet tech at a Vancouver veterinary clinic for 22 years, she was adept at recognizing and treating animal illnesses and experienced in administering medications and subcutaneous fluids for old cats. Dr. Bates has been her veterinarian and treated all her animals for years. "Everyone knew that I was at Dr Bate's three times a week on average, my car was always parked outside", Gwen told us. Dr Bate confirmed this in a conversation we had with him, saying that he will say in court that Gwen was in his clinic frequently for 20 years.

Gwen told AAS that the only thing wrong with her dog Dakota was that he had an old, small wound on his leg that sometimes he licked open but that she was medicating it. "It felt like the SPCA seized Dakota to use as a hostage", Gwen told us, and indeed it is very troubling that the SPCA behaves as if it has the power to seize a happy, well-fed animal on the grounds of a small sore that is being treated. That criteria would allow the SPCA to seize most animals at some time in their lives. In fact, the PCA Act, the statute which governs the SPCA, does not permit the SPCA to seize healthy animals.

"I asked the SPCA if I could take Dakota to my vet instead of them seizing him, but they said no and took him. My niece went into the Chilliwack SPCA and said that Dakota looked really depressed and sort of lost looking, as though he was in a confused daze. He didn't really respond to her, he just kept his head down. Hearing that he was pining really tore me apart.”

"My dogs and cats had three safe acres to roam and I took the dogs to the creek and on hikes most days for 2-3 hours. All the dogs could come in the house if they wanted to and they did during the day sometimes, but they mostly chose to sleep in the warm hay with the goats and the pig and they chose the freedom of the farm. They were lucky dogs.”

"They (the SPCA) said that the cats were thin and malnourished, but everyone knows that I went every Thursday to the Hope Feed Store and bought a car load of cat food, dog food, goat food and duck and goose food. The cats had all the food they wanted, the feeding troughs were always full."

The SPCA demanded $3800 to give Dakota back

To supplement her small pension, Gwen works at the local Husky station. However, Gwen says that the SPCA gave her very little time to get $3800 together for seizure costs for her dog Dakota or, "It will be put down or adopted." And Gwen was told by Constable Eileen Drever if she didn't get the $3800 together in time the SPCA would dispose of Dakota and still come after her for the money. It was a harrowing time for Gwen with the SPCA's threat of criminal charges plus its demands for "seizure" money.

Hope residents help to raise the funds to get Dakota back

The people of Hope rallied around Gwen. The story in the Hope Standard brought many people together to try to help the woman who many people knew for her soft heart and her willingness to spend what little she had on her animals. A carver donated a "Spirit in the Woods" carving and raffle tickets were sold for a few days, 3 for $10, until someone alerted Lotto BC and Gwen was told to stop selling tickets.

People then sent donations to the Credit Union account that was set up for Gwen, but with only three days left before the SPCA deadline, Gwen was still short $2,200. AAS wired the remaining monies to the Credit Union and Gwen paid the SPCA $3800 to get Dakota back from the SPCA.

"When I went to get him, they led him out. He was stunned looking, vacant, confused. And then he saw me, and he went nuts, kissing, and jumping all over me. I don't know what I would have done if they had killed him or sold him to some stranger. It was one of the worst times in my life. "

It was in the middle of all this that Gwen was told that she had cancer and would have to have immediate surgery. Post-surgery infections and complications have kept Gwen in great pain and in and out of hospital. She is now facing chemo or radiation therapy. Her beloved animals need your help more than ever.

The SPCA also demanded $1500 in post-dated cheques from Gwen for cat seizure costs and told her that she had to pay another $2500 as well or they would sue her for it. "They told me that they would charge me and sue me. How could I afford to defend myself in two courts?”, Gwen asked. "They told me that I was never going to get any of the cats back but I had to pay them $4000 anyway. I had to surrender the cats. I had to give them the cheques. How could I fight?...”.

After the amazing show of support for Gwen in the community and in the media, the SPCA returned her post-dated cheques. But they said they still intend to press for criminal charges to be laid against Gwen. The SPCA's Manager of Cruelty Investigations has presented the pursuit of criminal charges against Gwen as a compassionate thing to do, so that a court will order psychiatric counselling for her. "Reading that made me feel awful. I was just out of the hospital after cancer surgery and that really hurt me," Gwen told us.

The cats

"People gave cats to me because they worried that the SPCA would kill the cats if they took them there. Everyone knows the SPCA told people from Hope that they had to pay $50 if they took a cat to the Chilliwack SPCA. So people brought the cats to me. The SPCA did not ever offer me any help with spaying or neutering the cats that people gave to me.

About half of the cats had upper respiratory colds. I showed the SPCA all the meds I used to treat the colds , but they took all the cats anyway, even the well ones. They said that the cats' trailer was full of feces, but it was not. Most of them did their business outside and only came in to the trailer at night. The cats had freedom of movement and some of them chose to sleep in the barn with the dogs and goats and the pig that I rescued many years ago. Anyone can tell you that the cats were given lots of love and attention, and one of the SPCA people commented on how friendly they were.

"I had one old guy who had kidney failure and he was living out his last days in my laundryroom in a soft bed with the heater on. I gave him meds and sub-cu fluids ever day and he was happy. I showed them all that and then they took him out into the yard and killed him. They put the cats into those little cardboard cat cases, two in each case, and then put them into the van. Some were in the van for several hours, and then were trucked to Chilliwack. The SPCA said that some were so sick that two died on the way and another had to be put down when they got there, but they weren't dying when they left here.

"What was I to do when people left their cats here? I could take them to the SPCA who would probably kill them, or I could get my vet to kill them (I wouldn't do that), or I could do the best I could for them and that's what I did for them. They were happy here. Sure some had chronic colds but that is what happens in all cat shelters, including the SPCA. I wouldn't kill them, I got them treatment and I treated the sick ones every day. Sure some were thin, but they were old, not ill.

"What became of the healthy cats? Lots were healthy. Only half had colds and they were getting better. I'd like to know what happened to "Talker" a huge black and white shorthaired. He was so friendly. He didn't have a cold, he was perfectly healthy. But they took him too. I didn't think the SPCA could take healthy animals. Talker would get crystals in his urine and his bladder would get blocked and I would unblock it with a catheter. I gave the SPCA all his meds and his catheter. I wonder if he is alive, he was such a nice cat. I kept asking the SPCA where the cats were but all they would say was that they were spread around. They told me I was never going to get any of the cats back, so I surrendered them. And then they still told me I had to pay them $4000 or they would take me to court."

The goats and the goose

"I love all my animals and would do anything for them," Gwen said. One of the goats in the Hope Standard's photo is "Lucky". "Three times Lucky got sick with a kind of pneumonia and he was at Dr Bate's for two to five days each time on IV and I went to see him every day. I paid thousands to make Lucky well.

"They took "Aflack" the Canada goose that someone found in the lake with a smashed wing, it had got caught in a boat propeller. He was brought him to me about two years ago. He hung out with the two other geese; they all toured around the three acres everyday with the ducks and they all slept together in their special house. The SPCA said I didn't have a permit for him and he might be in pain. What pain? He was happy and well fed. When I asked about him a few days later the SPCA constable told me that they had put him down. I still don't know why."

How can this be animal welfare?

"Injuring Gwen financially is taking food out of the mouths of her animals. "How can that be animal welfare?", asked the editor of the Hope Standard in a phone conversation with AAS. Others told us that the whole community has been shocked by the seizure by the SPCA and Hope council is wondering why the SPCA has so much more power than even the police.

"I'm afraid of the SPCA, they might be back and take more of my animals…” says Gwen.