Louise Dickson
Victoria Times Colonist

May 16, 2005

VICTORIA -- Virginia Beardsley loved tea with Toby.

Every day, the black lab cross picked up his pal Jim Brandor and the two would pay a visit to the elderly Cadboro Bay woman.

"Toby used to lick the porridge off Ginny's face," said Toby's owner Liz Turner. "She'd feed him treats from the table. She loved animals more than people."

On Sunday, the Victoria branch of the B.C. Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was the recipient of that love. They received a gift of $950,000 from Beardsley's estate.

Beardsley was in her late eighties when she died last fall. Her dream in life was to make the largest donation ever to the Victoria branch of the B.C. SPCA, said Turner.

"Toby emphasized the love she had for dogs," said Turner's daughter Melissa Medve, who volunteers at the shelter with her sister Amy. "I remember when my mom told me about the donation, I was amazed."

Although she had no children, Beardsley has a sister who lives in New York. She was really pleased with the donation, said Turner.

So was the SPCA.

"It's phenomenal," said Penny Stone, director of the animal shelter. "We've had nothing this big in probably the last 10 years."

About $500,000 will be spent soundproofing the Napier Lane shelter, said Stone. The animal care agency has had its differences with the city and with neighbours who complain about the noise from barking dogs. The city threatened to take the society to court to enforce its noise bylaw, a situation which was averted by a mediated settlement between the two sides in January.

"It's huge for us. It's going to make that difference between being able to make the city and the neighbours happy. And we can cover the dog runs and stay open and appease the neighbours."

Mayor Alan Lowe said the donation will bring a huge sigh of relief from the SPCA because it can move forward with its building project.

The rest of Beardsley's legacy will help cover the SPCA's deficit for the next two years.

"People mistakenly think this branch has money, but we run at a deficit every year," said Stone. "Last year we lost $500,000 at this shelter alone. The SPCA is so broke. Last year, I think we lost $900,000 in B.C."

Stone heard rumours about a donation for the first time four months ago. She took the news with a grain of salt because people often say they're leaving money to the society.

But it takes a long time to go through the legal proceedings to determine if you actually get the money, said Stone.

People think the shelter makes money when they take animals in, then giving up animals for adoption, said Stone.

"But every kitten that comes in, we spay, we neuter, we de-flea, we de-worm. We have to pay the employees and for the building. We lose money on every animal," she said.