SPCA to close its Langley and Chilliwack facilities

Excerpted from the Langley Advance News, January 17, 2003

Animal welfare: Shelter shut down

The B.C. SPCA announced Tuesday it will be closing down the Langley shelter at the end of March because the shelter does not meet the society's standards for animal care.

The animals in Langley are headed for the Abbotsford shelter, which is to be expanded.

"We are glad they are shutting that one down," said Langley volunteer Patti Dale, "but we feel we need a shelter for animals in our community."

Dale wants a municipal shelter run by Langley Township, and is encouraging residents to write the mayor and council.

Volunteers at the current facility bemoaned the lack of heated floors, and said dogs were damaging their teeth and jowls on the chain link dividers in the kennels.

Sometimes, dogs have been doubled up in kennels built for a single animal, they said, adding that improvements were made by the volunteers, not the SPCA.

"We're just saying that it just doesn't meet our needs," said Lori Chortyk of the B.C. SPCA. The animals were not in danger, Chortyk added, noting however that any shelter environment is a stressful situation.

Aldergrove resident Brian Nelson, a former SPCA employee who built and owns the shelter, said he was "stunned" at comments from the B.C. SPCA.

Nelson built the facility in 1993 to serve as Langley's pound. The shelter adhered to local bylaws and to the B.C. SPCA kennel guidelines which have not changed since then, he said.

The triple-net lease agreement between Nelson and the society means that all repairs and maintenance are the responsibility of the SPCA, and Nelson explained that he is not responsible for wear and tear.

Nelson served as the Superintendent of the Surrey SPCA, and was Director of Field Operations for the B.C. SPCA during his 23 years of service with the organization.

"There's no question this kennel is perfectly suitable," he said.