Another sorry story of profound and prolonged pain and suffering ignored by the SPCA for years -of the rescue and the hard work done by a little organization - its only resources being its compassion, will, dedication, and its own money.

This story has been repeated over and over for decades in BC. The little groups were always sneered at by the powerful and wealthy SPCA, but the little groups were doing real prevention of cruelty and real animal welfare and paying for it by holding bake sales and using their pension money while the media and the public credited the SPCA. Many of these dedicated women died impoverished while the SPCA paid itself handsomely, as much as $204,000 a year, and rewarded itself with perks like travel to expensive hotels and new vehicles and union wages for the dog-disposing employees.

This story is especially revealing though because the SPCA actually allowed itself to be given direct credit for little PAWS heart-breaking work - on province-wide television. This would have resulted in a flood of donations and bequests to the SPCA - while PAWS paid the bills. (AAS sent $500 immediately.)

We understand that after a letter-writing campaign to Global resulted in a sort of correction, that the SPCA, probably on the advice of its lawyers (AAS had published its opinion that this was clear theft and that PAWS had grounds on which to sue the SPCA), that the SPCA paid some of PAWS' bills.

These dogs were reported to the SPCA by many people for many years. There are years of witnesses. There is PAWS documentation. There are vet's reports. So why hasn't the SPCA given a report to Crown and asked for a prosecution?

We don't know what reason the SPCA has, it does not reveal this information. But if we were the SPCA we'd be reluctant to shine any light on this case, on its years of ignoring all this cruelty, and of taking credit for it when a small, struggling group did its job for it.

If you read the web page and look at the pictures, please note that PAWS gave its documentation last August to SPCA Special Provincial Constable, Kathy Woodward of the Kelowna SPCA. The Kelowna SPCA has just recently brought itself into some disrepute by its killing of most of the dogs it seized from a backyard breeder in Beaverdell BC.