Animal shelter ‘dilapidated’ and ‘rat-infested,’ says SPCA
By Grant Warkentin
The Mirror
Sep 20 2006
The SPCA is desperate for a new home.
“Your existing facility...has a number of problems,” said Bob Busch, general manager of operations for BC SPCA, calling the animal shelter on Merecroft Road “dilapidated” and “rat-infested.”
Busch and Kathleen Embree, shelter manager, spoke to council as a last-minute delegation Monday night. Busch travelled to Campbell River from Vancouver to plead with council for help in doing something to help the city’s needy animals. The local shelter needs an isolation room for sick animals built as soon as possible – currently the SPCA is so full cats are living in boxes in the laundry room and there’s no way to keep sick animals away from the healthy ones.
“We don’t have any place to house sick animals,” he said. “This results in the euthanasia of hundreds of animals each year.”
But an isolation room would only be a short-term solution. The SPCA needs a brand-new building because its current facilities are inadequate.
“The long term objective is for help in building a new shelter,” Busch said.
Dogs are kept in damp, concrete kennels. Cats are confined in small spaces. The facility is 30 years old, too small and outdated. But that would change if the city helped the SPCA build a new building, such as the $1.5 million building under construction in Penticton. Busch showed slides of the new building, which show spacious, clean areas to keep cats, isolated rooms for sick animals and better treatment for dogs.
“The dogs are going to be housed in what we call dog apartments,” Busch said.
Campbell River’s SPCA takes in almost 1,900 animals per year, close in number to Penticton. Busch said the city could do what Penticton’s government is doing – donating land for the building, while the SPCA pays for the building costs.
Council promised to look at building a new facility.
“After 30 years it’s time to move forward with something for the animals of the community,” Mayor Roger McDonell said.