The kennel master at the Victoria SPCA quit Wednesday to protest the firing of shelter manager Penny Stone.
Stone was terminated on Tuesday after managing the shelter for 10 years.
Marty Meszeros, who worked at the shelter for four years, said “they were closing in on Penny, taking away her power to speak to the media — that’s a big one.
“I can see the medical budget shrinking, which means less animals, less care.”
There are changes going on, she said, “and I don’t think it’s for the animals’ sake. I don’t understand why they’re changing something that was working so well.”
The B.C. SPCA has made some operational changes at the shelter, including hiring a regional manager to oversee Victoria and other Island shelters.
Meszeros said she was upset when assistant manager Cory Bond resigned on July 20. “I thought my time was coming if Penny wasn’t there. It’s always the most important thing to have a leader, one that has experience and passion.”
While Meszeros loved the dogs in her care, she felt she could do more good by speaking out about what’s going on at the shelter.
“I’m the person that handles the animals and I can see something is changing drastically,” Meszeros said.
“They say they’re not cutting the budgets for medical and I know they are.”
Others are also questioning Stone’s firing.
Gerald Hartwig, a Victoria developer and SPCA donor, once chaired the now defunct committee that oversaw operations at the Victoria branch.
Hartwig said Wednesday Stone has done “an amazing job” over her 10-year tenure as manager.
“She’s a huge animal advocate and my money will certainly follow where she ends up.”
The B.C. SPCA had a budget of $28 million in 2012 and showed a $2-million surplus, Hartwig said.
“They’ve got millions in the bank. You have to question, shouldn’t that money be going to the animals?” he said.
B.C. SPCA posted a notice on its Facebook page saying it cannot comment on Stone’s departure but said it was not part of any restructuring plan: “This was an individual personnel situation,” it said.
Stone created the Friendly Neighbour Fund, a special pool of money that helps the shelter pay to help the worst-off animals. Victoria residents responded whenever Stone put out a plea for help with the fund, which currently sits at about $400,000.
There are concerns that the fund will be absorbed into the branch’s monthly medical budget, so there will not be extra funds to pay for extraordinary cases.
B.C. SPCA said on Facebook that there will be no changes to the fund.
The organization’s recently introduced “capacity for care” program limits the number of injured or sick animals admitted to each shelter. This is taking the B.C. SPCA in a different direction than that laid out in its constitution, Hartwig said.
Stone helped a lot of injured and sick animals at the Victoria shelter, said Carol Broad, who runs Victoria Adoptables.
“I used to bring animals down from the Port Hardy and Alert Bay pounds, which she was allowed to take, but that’s not going to happen in future.”
Broad she was shocked and saddened to hear of Stone’s dismissal.
“She is going to be hard to replace.”
