There will be no changes to animal care at the Victoria SPCA shelter but there is a new emphasis on balancing efforts to raise funds for both veterinary care and shelter operations, said Craig Daniel, CEO of the B.C. SPCA, on Wednesday.
Daniel would not comment on why assistant manager Cory Bond announced Tuesday she would be quitting as of July 20.
Bond was “a great individual [who] has done a great job,” he said.
Manager Penny Stone, meanwhile, is on sick leave for two weeks after being involved in a car crash on Tuesday, said Graeme Wright, the SPCA’s regional manager for Vancouver Island in an internal memo issued Wednesday.
Bond announced her departure in an email to the shelter’s 300 volunteers, saying she was leaving over proposed changes to animal care at the shelter.
While all SPCA shelters in the province rely on public donations to operate, the Victoria shelter is the only one with a separate source of publicly funded revenue, the Friendly Neighbour Fund.
Stone, who has managed the shelter for more than 10 years, established the fund to pay extraordinary veterinary bills, beyond those covered by the medical budget.
In October, the B.C. SPCA introduced new “parameters” around the Friendly Neighbour Fund, Daniel said Wednesday.
“There weren’t any rules around it,” he said.
“We want to make sure the Friendly Neighbour Fund is part of the overall planning process.”
Stone continues to have discretion, based on the prognosis and other factors, on which animals receive veterinary treatment, Daniel said.
Changes have also been made in the handling of donations. Donations that are made specifically to veterinary care will be deposited into the Friendly Neighbour Fund, he said. But donations that are more general in nature are now put toward the $1.2-million operating costs of the Victoria SPCA.
“We wanted to be very clear in Victoria that our staff understood the need for us to raise funds for both particular areas, not one to the exclusion of the other,” Daniel said.
“It’s important for us to make sure we have enough money to provide for the daily operation of the shelter itself.”
Currently, the amount of donations received by Victoria for operational purposes is on par with other shelters in the province, Daniel said.
Wright, who had worked for Starbucks as a district manager, has filled a new position as regional manager for Vancouver Island to support overworked shelter staff, Daniel said.
“It’s about providing support in areas where our managers may not necessarily be strong,” Daniel said.
“Our branches on the Island do a fantastic job, but in talking to any branch manager, any staff member, they will tell you they do not have enough time to get to all of the issues that they have to deal with on a daily basis,” he said.
“We need to have good management structures in place to deal with that issue. We want to make sure we run an efficient organization.”
The B.C. SPCA “has nothing to hide,” Daniel said.“We’re not trying to get rid of the Friendly Neighbour Fund. There will be no changes to procedures in terms of animal care at the Victoria shelter.
“There should be no concern from the public on this issue.”
Wright’s memo to staff and volunteers called for an end to rumours. One suggesting Victoria would be increasing euthanasia “is untrue and this rumour needs to be stopped immediately,” he said.
“The Victoria branch is a fantastic operation and the rumours that are being circulated are only negatively impacting the branch, staff, volunteers and also animal welfare.”
Other animal activists posted notes of concern on the Internet.
“Victoria and surrounding areas are on the brink of losing an extremely well-run SPCA [that] has repeatedly gone over and beyond to care for the sick and injured animals they take into their care,” wrote Carol Broad, founder of Victoria Adoptables, on her website.
“The Victoria SPCA isn’t Starbucks … they deal with real live animals and animal emergencies every single day.”
