Worried about out local SPCA

[ma-vie-en-vert]

K, so I go in there every once in a while just to see if I fall in love with a pup.

The past few times I've been there and some people I know have been there, I haven't been impressed.

My friend was in there and there was a gorgeous Mastiff that she inquired about. It was close to closing, and all the lady said was "oh, her owners are coming to get her" and shooed her out the door. Yet that dog was still there for months later, and then just disappeared. (Keep in mind this isn't a no kill shelter)

Then, same thing when I inquired about some sort of sheltie mix. She was a wonderful dog. Again, unfortunately, close to closing, and I got told she was going to be picked up, and got shooed out the door.

They had two HUUUGE danes. They were in horrible condition. Their "nails" were so long they couldn't stand, walk, nothing.

Dogs with mange, everywhere.

I volunteered there for a while and then just kind of got fed up. The lady who actually runs the shelter is a wonderful animal lover. But the people who are working under her? Horrible people who don't know the first thing about dogs.

Is there anything I can do about this? Other than just volunteering myself and trying to give the animals the help they need?

[xpaeanx]

I'm not sure if there is much you can do. It sounds very much like a shelter by me. They are a kill shelter and the adoption process is kinda lengthy, which isn't bad if the dog has time. They also make it difficult for shelters to pull dogs. There was a dog I liked there once, but my bf(living with) at the time was against home inspection bc he felt that you can't judge a person on their home, and they should go by my vet references/personal references/conditions of my current dogs/etc... Anyway, I would go there everyday bc it was right near my house to visit her and then I asked if I could volunteer to walk her and stuff and they said they had "too many volunteers" yet being that I live down the street from them I would pass them ALL the time and there were NEVER any dogs in the outside dog runs. It sucks doesn't it?

[ma-vie-en-vert]

Yeah it sucks a lot. It makes me so sad. When I volunteered there they almost made it sound like a chore to have me as a volunteer.

I think my worst job there was picking ticks off of 12 lab puppies. And the sad thing is that I honestly think that if I hadn't done it, it never would have been done.

[smkie]

Maybe that is the very reason you should be going because you see there is a problem and you care.

[arklady]

It depends on how the agency is run. You can write a letter of complaint or contact a journalist to investigate. There are shelter inspections through some of the larger groups such as HSUS.

If the agency is municipal, you can go to civic leaders and get some action.

Finally, the better business bureau usually sparks some action since they will contact them about any complaints.

Good luck.