About three weeks go a lady came to the Local office with a news story. I have worked with her before and so I took the time to read her docuŽmentation and her claims seriously. She informed me of a situation at the local SPCA shelter where long-time volunteers and staff were resigning due to conflict with shelter manager, Patti Ward, and concerns about the welfare of the animals at the shelter. She wanted me to write a story, but also informed me that the people involved did not want their names used in the paper. This left me in a very difficult position; I was not sure how to deal with. If their claims were true, then the story needed to be told for the sake of the animals. I worried about the animals and if there were enough staff and volunteers left to take care of them. One week later I received a letter about this same situation. At the top of the letter was a personal comment to me about the urgency of the situation and it was signed Kassandra Boheme. At the bottom it was signed Cassandra Boheme. A red flag went up. I asked my contact with the group if they knew this person, as I could not publish the letter unless I could confirm who wrote it. They said they did not know her, and yet the information in the letter matched exactly what they had been telling me. Still I took the situation seriously and mentioned it in my column hoping that someone would come forward and give me the straight goods. The day after the paper was published, I received a call from a dear friend who worked with the SPCA for years.
She was so upset by my comments. She said she had known Patti Ward for years and these claims could not be true. Over that weekend, a gentleman left a voice mail advising me to go to the shelter and see for myself that none of the claims being made were true. Last Thursday, I spoke at length with SPCA media liaison Lori Chortyk. The SPCA took the claims seriously and over the last three to four weeks Chief Animal Health Officer Dr. Jamie Lawson, General Manager of Operations Bob Busch and General Manager of Volunteer Resources Brian Houlihan investigated the complaints and met with the volunteers. Chortyk commented that all complaints were looked into and they found that only filing and data entry had fallen behind. They were unable to confirm any other complaint. We discussed how in-coming cats are quarantined for 10 days to assess their health and they do not receive wet food until they are out of quarantine. Sounded like reasonable safety precautions to me. Last Tuesday I drove up to the shelter to meet Patti Ward and see for myself how the animals were being treated. What I discovered is that the Sunshine Coast has one of the most accommodating and modern facilities in British Columbia. I patted dogs, stroked cats and gave Patti a chance to talk about her history with the SPCA. She has been branch manager at five branches over her seven years of service to the SPCA and she is also an animal rescue officer. She escorted me throughout the facility and introduced me to Candy and Gent, two Siamese cats who have been raised together and need a loving home. This Sunday the branch is hosting their annual Paws for a Cause walk/fund-raiser. Pattie said they can always use more volunteers and to please keep the wet food donations coming. I spoke with a lady who has been a volunteer at the shelter for many years, and has worked under several branch managers. She assured me that if there was any miss-treatment of animals she would be the first to sound the horn, but this was not the case. With any organization, especially volunteer organizations, you can run into conflict of personalities and resistance to change. I am having a hard time at this point believing that there are 22 people involved with these concerns. Who are you? Step up and be counted! I do not appreciate the games you played with me or the position you put me in. My sincere apologies to anyone I offended in my article. Please, please continue to support the SPCA and the good work they do. Thank you.
Pauline Mont,
Publisher, The Local
Sechelt, BC