In order to talk to Wanda about Sweety the puppy who had undergone surgery, I went to the Humboldt SPCA on Hwy 5.
Sure, I just went there for the interview. I went there because it was a glowing heaven of puppies and kitties.
I was cooing over those little fur balls in 2.5 seconds after walking through the door.
It has been proven in recent years that puppies relieve stress. That is why there are now puppy and kitty rooms in universities during final exams. They are the best stress relief.
Talking to Wanda, it was also a frustrating place to be for two reasons.
The reason Sweety needed surgery was because of owner abuse. Hearing Wanda talk about the dog, who is now recovering at her place, just lights her up. She talks about the dog, not just for the sake of it being a beautiful dog but
because the dog has character. It was great that the community came together to raise money in this dog’s time of need.
This is the wonderful silver lining to a terrible crime.
According to Staff Sergeant Phil Wilson with the RCMP, they are happy to investigate any cases of animal abuse, but they are hard to charge because of lack of evidence. Unless someone is willing to come forward as a witness or someone admits to it, the RCMP has little they can do.
“Any charges would have to be based on evidence uncovered during (an) investigation,” Staff Sergeant Wilson says.
The dog needing surgery in the first place should not have happened.
If you can’t treat a living creature with kindness, then you shouldn’t have it.
Abuse on any scale is deplorable. In this case, the abuse of this poor dog, to the point of it needing a $3000 surgery just makes me seethe.
Abuse should not be tolerated at the human level and it should not be tolerated at the animal level either.
ANYONE who abuses small animals is the lowest form of human.
The other reason SPCAs are frustrating places is the shear number of animals needing a place like an adoption centre.
Looking at the Humboldt SPCA Facebook page, you can see the level of adoption that goes on in the Humboldt area.
Wanda announces adoptions on Facebook. In the month of October (from looking at all the Facebook posts), there were 16 dogs and 1 cat adopted, and yet the SPCA is still full.
My husband and I are looking for a pet for our apartment but we’re unsure of the process with our landlord. Until that is all figured out, we can only look.
When I told Wanda this, her words were along the lines of, ‘come back in a couple of weeks, we’ll have even more then.’ This to me was heartbreaking.
Growing up on a farm, I understand the effect of stray cats. They are hard to track down and majority of the time they are feral.
In other cases, family pets should not be the ones filling these over crowded SPCAs.
If it’s your pet “interacting” with a stray, your pet should not be the one spawning little furballs that you don’t have the manpower or energy to take care of.
Another heartbreaking thing about the SPCA is how they get the animals. There are stories of tying animals up in the middle of nowhere to starve to death. How can anyone do that to an animal willingly?
One post asked about surrender fee. Good for them. This person is willing to accept responsibility for their not being able to take care of their pet anymore.
Another problem with overcrowding comes from pet rules in rentals.
Moving into Humboldt, when my husband and I were initially looking for a place to live, finding pet friendly living arrangements was extremely difficult.
We did eventually find a place but again, the process is rather stiff.
How can we have a community with an SPCA but no places to give these animals a loving home?
We need to be proactive about this. SPCA is a joyful place to be with all the puppies and kitties but I’m sure an empty SPCA would also be a happy SPCA.
In the words of Bob Barker, please have your pets spayed and neutered.
In the words of this editor, treat all animals with respect.
