ANIMAL ADVOCATES SOCIETY OF BC - SPCA CLINIC EMPLOYEES NO BETTER

CLINIC STORIES

ROADY

At 12:30 am, on the 24^th of November, 1999, Laurie Hansen of Surrey, found a cat that was lying in the middle of the road in Vancouver, hit by a car. She took the cat to a 24 hour emergency vet clinic, and because he survived the night, and he was a stray, he was transferred to the SPCA clinic in Vancouver.

Laurie loves cats, and because she felt connected to this one, she visited him in the clinic regularly, coming all the way from Surrey. She called him Roady.

At the clinic she overheard conversations among the staff about how many unclaimed strays are killed, so she told them that if no one claimed Roady, she would adopt him, rather than have him killed.

Laurie has a disease which causes non-malignant tumours in her brain and every few years she has to undergo brain surgery to remove as much as the growth as possible. Consequently, Laurie is on a disability pension, a very small disability pension.

Laurie tried to find Roady’s owners, and when they couldn’t be found, Laurie applied to adopt him.

The adoption fee for anyone else would be $95.00, but the clinic insisted that because Laurie had brought Roady in, she would have to pay the full bill, just as though she was Roady’s owner. And even though Laurie had her vet in Surrey phone the clinic to confirm that Laurie wasn’t the owner of Roady, they refused to budge. It looked to Laurie that they would rather risk killing Roady, than let her have him for the regular adoption fee.

Laurie was told the bill totaled $1000 (a pretty high bill considering there was no surgery). When Laurie explained her financial position, the clinic offered her Roady for half price. Laurie got the $500 together and took Roady home.

Two weeks later, only after Laurie’s insistence, the clinic sent Laurie a breakdown of Roady’s bill. It showed a total of $743.56, not $1000.00, so Laurie paid 2/3rds of a bill she should never have had to pay at all.

When Laurie objected to having paid $500, she was told she could surrender Roady to the SPCA and get half her money back. Roady’s chances of being adopted and not euthanized at the SPCA were very slim. In fact, their offer was an almost certain death sentence for Roady.

When Laurie told all this to Animal Advocates, we contacted Pets in Need and Pacific Animal Foundation and between us, we gave Laurie back her $500.00.

(AAS, along with many other truly humane organizations, has helped to pay the bills for animals owned by needy people, after the SPCA has told them to call us. And we have been told countless stories just like the one above.

From a former employee of the Vancouver SPCA Clinic:

August 20/01

Dear Animal Advocates,

I remember hearing about Michael Weeks (CEO Vancouver Regional SPCA before Douglas Hooper) and other upstairs staff and how their salaries etc. were always hushed up. Dr. Dear and others were all too happy to get rid of me and my complaints. It seems that no matter what happens, that group manages to discredit the complainer. I can tell you about a little white kitten who came in scared to death. He was treated for ringworm and other kitten ailments and was just starting to lose that pinched look when the dayshift decided his time was up. We arrived for our night shift and no "Leroy". They wouldn't even give us the chance to take him home . If he had been a Persian cat or a small dog that would have been different. If I give some thought to those years I'm sure I can come up with more examples of the abuse animals suffered and the way donors have been hoodwinked. People still don't want to believe me when I tell them of the benefits vets and techs enjoy in comparison with private clinics.

I was at the SPCA clinic some 11 or 12 years ago and my opinion of the majority of the staff is not printable. My complaints to Dr. Dear were mainly about the isolation ward and the condition it and the animals were in. Dirty, unfed and unmedicated, resulting in numerous deaths. Vets and technicians left dogs and cats in cages undiagnosed and untreated. Animals were often left in dirty cages without bedding, proper food and water. Some things would change (after numerous complaints) but not for long, and as much as I came to dislike those who mistreated animals I came to dislike the staff at the SPCA more. Because they are union they seem to feel their jobs will always be safe. The executive and board members have always been overpaid in and have treated themselves extremely well on donated money in my opinion. I see Jamie Lawson on the news speaking on behalf of the BC SPCA. Apparently he got a raise and a promotion over the Hooper scandal. Also I am told they are busy spending large amounts of money remodeling their offices. Keep the good work up.

Marlene Rosner