SPCA and APARC break their silence following recent allegations

It states; “The Board of Directors has no legal responsibility to respond to any of these public allegations based on our policies. It is a hard decision for the Board to decide what, if any, information is necessary to be made public. We have not received any direct questions from the former Assistant Manager at this time. The Privacy Act of Canada does not allow discussion of any personnel issues.”

However, Seaton told CHAT News she raised concerns with Board President Krtistina Segall on January 30th, 2019.

Segall told CHAT News on Monday she was no longer on the board. She says she had stepped away from her position as President within the last two weeks in order to focus on fundraising efforts.

The Board did not reference Segall’s departure in it’s statement. The names of all the Board members had also been removed from the SPCA’s website as of Wednesday afternoon.

The Board’s statement also addressed the euthanization of Luhan.

“We have successfully placed 626 animals in loving homes last year.” reads the statement. “We are certainty devastated about Luhan and will continue work to improve our adoption screening process. We would love to hire a part time Dog Trainer or behaviourist but do not have the funding. If anyone is interested in funding this position please contact the shelter.”

The boxer cross had been in the shelter for six months. A dog trainer who spent time with Luhan recommended it would be best for him to go to a home with no other animals.

However, on December 19th, 2018, the SPCA adopted him to a man in Calgary who had two other dogs. According to the Manager of the SPCA, that decision was made following several email conversations and an in person meeting.

Shortly after his adoption, Luhan bit his new owner twice and was brought back to the shelter.

He was euthanized on December 31, 2018 for aggressive behaviour.

CHAT News investigated and discovered that almost 3 weeks after Luhan’s death, the official report from the vet had not been added to the Euthanization binder.

Seaton alleges that’s because the SPCA did not want the public to know what had happened to Luhan.

The Board noted that the public needs to remember shelter animals have major obstacles to overcome to be adoptable according to their policies.

The statement comes as the Alberta Pound and Rescue Centre (APARC) announces it’s suspending animal transfers from the SPCA until a new framework that protects APARC, the SPCA, and pet owners is in place.

APARC made the announcement in a statement posted on it’s facebook page.

It follows an investigation into four cats originally turned into the Humane Society.

Seaton says a married couple paid a $40 fee to relinquish the cats, but someone at the SPCA allegedly tampered with the paperwork making the cats appear feral, in order to be transferred to APARC.

According to a post on APARC’s Facebook page, two of the cats were put down following three days of observation. The cats had been showing signs of aggression that put staff at risk, with APARC saying they were following their proper protocol.

There has also been allegations that APARC was not informed one of the cats had bit a staff member at the SPCA prior to the transfer.

In its statement, APARC says receiving purposefully incorrect information is detrimental to facility operations.

“Our shelter has limited information on the animals that come into our facility. We do not know if they are owned, infected with contagious disease, or injured beneath the skin,” reads APARC’S statement.

“Every last detail is vitally important and may assist us in providing the proper veterinary care to an injured animal or it could be the clue to finding their owners.

APARC also says it believes every person should be able to trust animal welfare organizations. “We have gained the public’s trust through transparency in shelter outcomes, honesty in our practices, and through community engagement.”

Over the last week, APARC learned some additional information suggesting the leadership of a Medicine Hat based animal welfare organization does not value honesty and transparency in the same ways we do.”

As a result, APARC made the decision to suspend transfers noting it was a step that was not taken lightly but one it felt was necessary in providing the best service to Medicine Hat.

APARC added; “our commitment to transparency includes informing the public of any resolution of this matter.”

The SPCA’s Board of Directors did address the situation with the cats in their statement.

“The four feral cats were accepted into our shelter; a former employee of ours accepted stray cats and charged an owner relinquish fee,” says the SPCA’s statement. “While attempting to clean one of these cat’s kennel, a staff member was attacked and sent to the hospital. It was determined at this point, due to display of temperament of the four cats they were transferred to APARC because we only accept owner-relinquished animals and APARC takes lost and found, stray and wild animals. These cats were never admitted into our system as we were unable to handle the cats for assessment and complete intake process.”

The SPCA Board of Directors says they will not be available for any additional interviews, and do not wish to be contacted further at this time.

The Board will be holding their Annual General Meeting on February 13 at the Medicine Hat Library. The meeting is open to the public.

by Scott Roblin & Jessie Weisner

SPCA and APARC break their silence following recent allegations

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