Kelowna Capital News - Wednesday, March 30, 2005
By Kevin Parnell

The Kelowna SPCA says it would never knowingly adopt out a pregnant dog or cat.

But SPCA shelter manager Diane McKeown says while pregnant pets aren't adopted out, there are some that still fall through the cracks.

"We're a non profit organization and we're here for the community and we can only do as much as we can," said McKeown. "But we don't have a crystal ball or that pricey x-ray machine to look at each animal that goes out."

McKeown was responding to a claim form a Westside resident who was unhappy when the bitch he adopted gave birth to eight puppies.

McKeown says it's unfortunate when that happens, but says the shelter offered food to help Neil Strand with his puppies and says the puppies could have been returned with the mom and they would have been cared for.

"We don't adopt out pregnant animals but we can't be 100 per cent," she said. "It indicates in the contract that the adult is supposed to be spayed or neutered as soon as possible which addresses that issue. These things do happen but we're here to help. The puppies and the mom could have been returned."

If an animal is adopted out pregnant, the pregnancy would then be aborted when the animal was spayed or neutered, added McKeown.

The Kelowna SPCA is staffed by nine paid employees and an army of volunteers who took in nearly 3,000 animals in 2004. The organizatin also responded to 591 compaints last year.