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my cat that i had awhile ago was doing pretty well but i had to get rid of it cause i had to move to a new apartment

I just adopted a cat from the Erie County SPCA and I want to let everyone know that they are the best shelter around! They are so helpful and really care about the animals there. I hope they win the makeover because they really deserve it.

This is one of the best organized shelters that I know of and has some of the most caring and outstanding employees. I hope it wins the makeover so that the shelter can bring its top-notch services to a whole new level!

Hi: Is it to late to vote for Erie county? We got our furball from there and they throw the cat attitude in free. I am so happy with what they do for animals. I think I will volenteer when I get better. I live in Niagara county and they really need an attitude ajustment. They give each other raises weather they need it or not. More to come later with that subject. Have a good one.:)

Thank you Zootoo for coming to the SPCA Serving Erie County. This organization is amazing and should win the makeover!!!

The SPCA Serving Erie County is an incredible organization. They have strived and worked for so many years to help animals and educate the surrounding community in so many ways. In addition to all of the animals that they have saved, the abuses they have exposed, the surgeries they have performed, they have implemented many educational programs. Where do they find the time? They are so well structured and organized, under the direction of Barbara Carr, that they have been able to provide opportunities for "at-risk" youths to spend their afternoons in the TLC, Teaching Love and Compassion Program, training and working with dogs to help make them adoptable, family pets. Wow!

Over the years, my children have been able to participate in Girl Scout badge programs, Summer Humane Education Camp, even been given the unique opportunity to observe a spay surgery! They were facinated and just can't get enough of this incredible organization. By the way, you can view surgeries from the Surrender Lobby viewing window whenever they are going on! How cool is that?

The SPCA Serving Erie County also provides many opportunities for animals to get adopted. There is, of course, many on-site adoption kennels and cages. But in addition to this, the SPCA has sought out off-site opportunities for animals. The Whisker Wagon goes out full of animals to far reaching corneres of the county to reach people who might otherwise have trouble getting to the shelter to view available pets. Local pet stores, businesses and Vet offices have been successfully solicited to house cats available for adoption. Animals are also available to view on the website, and then find out wear to go to meet them!

They are forever surprising me with new ideas and I proudly donate all I can to their cause each year. A shelter make-over for them would be used in so many ways to serve so many more animals and people.

Erie County Legislator Lynn Marinelli was in attendance at the SPCA Serving Erie County's April 16 Zootoo.com rally marking Mr. Thompson’s visit to our humane society. She was so moved by Mr. Thompsons' words and by the possibility of the SPCA receiving a million dollar makeover, she decided to recognize the contest with a resolution! The resolution will be presented for approval at the Thursday, April 24 meeting of the Erie County Legislature. A copy of the resolution is pasted below. Please visit YourSPCA.org for more details. A special thanks goes out from the SPCA to Mr. Thompson and his knowledgeable staff for making the trip to this shelter of which we’re so proud, and to Legislator Marinelli and staff for making this exciting competition a priority in this great a forum!


A RESOLUTION TO BE SUBMITTED BY
LEGISLATOR MARINELLI


RE: IN SUPPORT OF THE ERIE COUNTY SPCA, A FINALIST IN THE ZOOTOO.COM COMPETITION FOR A MILLION DOLLAR SHELTER MAKEOVER


WHEREAS, the SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) of Erie County has entered the Zootoo.Com competition for a million dollar shelter makeover; and

WHEREAS, for more than five months, the SPCA has encouraged members of the community to help the Humane Society qualify for a makeover; and

WHEREAS, through the SPCA’s popular website YourSPCA.org, as well as through direct e-mails, hundreds of supporters of the SPCA were prompted to visit the Zootto website, earning our local Humane Society a spot in the program; and

WHEREAS, the SPCA of Erie County has been named a finalist, one of twenty animal shelters across the country under consideration for this wonderful prize; and

WHEREAS, on August 16, 2008, the SPCA held an outdoor rally, press conference and public tour at its site on Ensminger Road in the Town of Tonawanda to both rally and demonstrate the enthusiastic community support for our local SPCA; and

WHEREAS, Zootoo officials were greeted at this rally by Western New Yorkers and witnessed the enormous outpouring of support for all the good work the SPCA does to save vulnerable animals and find them new homes; and

WHEREAS, an important component of this competition is the Zootoo team learning more about the community served by each SPCA that earned a Top 20 spot, which afforded Erie County the opportunity to showcase our unique challenges and limitless opportunities.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT

RESOLVED, that the Erie County Legislature express its full support of the SPCA of Erie County, a finalist in the Zootoo.com competition for a million dollar shelter makeover; and be it further

RESOLVED, that this Honorable Body pause in its deliberations to recognize the SPCA of Erie County for its very important work in the community; and be it further

RESOLVED, that a certified copy of this resolution be conveyed to the SPCA of Erie County with deep appreciation for the positive difference this organization makes in the lives of helpless animals and those who love them.

Thank you Zootoo team for visting our location, and for your help with shelters across the country. I know that the SPCA of Erie County could use any monetary help it can get, and that it would be able to find a way to put the money to great use!

Thank-you, Mr Thompson for your wonderful visit and enthusiasm for the cause of all who strive to improve the lives of animals in the world. I am thankful that you are working so hard to be a unifying voice in the Animal Sheltering Community - events of late have made it clear that we sometimes need one! As a 14 year employee of the SPCA Serving Erie County, I am so proud of our Shelter, of our Volunteers, Staff, Board Members and especially the amazing Community that support us, each and every day. Thank you for this wonderful opportunity to even better serve our furred, feathered, scaled and hooved friends, and those who love them.

Thank you ZooToo for offering this truly wonderful opportunity. As a member of the board of directors, I'm so pleased to serve this organization and support the critical role it plays in our community. There's a great quote by Dr. Albert Schweitzer that so eloquently embodies the mission of the SPCA Serving Erie Country, "Until he extends his circle of compassion to include all living things, man will not himself find peace." Thank you for visiting, and thank you for your complimentary words and consideration.

Having been involved with the SPCA serving Erie County for nearly 30 years, from volunteer to board president, I was so excited that we are being recognized by a group like Zoo Too!!! We have worked very hard, and under Barbara's leadership, I feel we are now really reaching our potential.. With the money (if we win) we can set a new standard for shelters all across the country.. Thank you Zoo Too for giving us the opportunity to"strut our stuff".. Margot Glick past president board of trustees

I too have visited SPCA Serving Erie County and was equally impressed with the care that is given to each of their residents. They test for behavior with the dogs surrendered to them and I was worried that perhaps many did not pass the test. I(just a simple county bumpkin from this tiny spot in nowhere land) was given a guided tour of the facility by one of the senior vet tech and given ample opportunity to ask about all areas of their operation. I am involved in attempting to rescue cats in the South and I was amazed that they used every bit of space available to them to try to keep as many cats as possible alive. Many organizations would not give these cats a chance.
I was also impressed that dogs that fail to pass certain areas of the behavioral testing are given time and additional training before retesting.
The compassion of my tour guide and the personal attention I was given lets me know that no matter how much an organization grows(ours currently has fewer than a dozen volunteers) you can still convey your group's message to each person that enters the shelter.
Thanks to SPCA Serving Erie Co for sharing your mission and methods with a fellow animal advocate!

Right after the Zootoo crew left the Erie County SPCA I left to drive to West Virginia where I had the privilege of teaching at a Petfinder/Petco sponsored Adoption Options Conference. While in the ‘hollers and mountains of West Virginia I had no access to the Internet or my cell phone. After teaching on Friday, I stopped at our host shelter in Braxton County, loaded up a couple of dogs that had little chance of adoption in WV and then traveled to Akron, Ohio to do another presentation. I was pretty focused on my traveling companions; two very cute medium sized dogs, and never went on line.

Last night, Sunday night, after getting home, I said hello to my own dogs and cats and immediately went on line to see if Richard Thompson had posted his comments and video about our shelter. Both were there and I read and viewed them with great pleasure. I then noticed that there were a number of comments as well and clicked to read them.

After so many days of excitement and delight surrounding the Zootoo visit, joined by supporters, staff, and other local animal welfare agencies, then traveling to two areas of the country where I could actually help move other agencies forward, I returned to a cyber fight that could not have moved animal welfare forward even an inch.

I felt disappointment and embarrassment as I read the comments flying back and forth, accusatory, mean-spirited, defensive, and holier than thou, on both sides. What wasted time, what wasted energy.

Let me just state for the record that the SPCA Serving Erie County has and will make mistakes. There is no agency caring for animals that has not also made mistakes. Hopefully we all learn from theses mistakes and from each other. We are not perfect. We want to be better.

I understand that when we are passionate about an issue, our manners and decorum can easily be lost. This is not an excuse, however, and each of us needs to examine what we do when we make choices and verbalize our frustrations in a manner that has some intent to harm. Ask yourself, who is really harmed? Then ask, how can I use this energy to move animal welfare forward? How can I take my ego out of this and take a stand that is helpful to all agencies, to all animals?

Zootoo has given us a tool to use or abuse. Let’s use it wisely. Contrary to what one might believe, the SPCA Serving Erie County is open to questions and suggestions. Many of the great moves ever made by this agency were done so because someone thought the way we did things was wrong. Getting outside opinions allows us to see where we might be failing.

It can be difficult to appreciate criticism when is it put forth with accusatory phrases and words. Let us all use our passion to be heard wisely so that we might actually have the chance to be heard, the chance to help find a better way.

Lastly, for those that have lashed out believing that you do so to defend this agency, perhaps you might use this energy to listen and take in what you perceive as criticism. There might be valuable lessons and we can’t afford to miss them. We are doing everything we know to improve our agency. Leave room in your responses for dialog. Together we can make a huge difference.

Thank-you Zootoo for showing shelters and the people who support them. It's obvious that MANY,many people love animals and are committed to helping them get homes. You have a tough job making your decision and I wish all the shelters luck...even the ones who didn't make the top 20 My hopes and prayers are that your shelter has been put in awareness and donations and adoptions have increased...BEST TO ALL

Seven years ago I walked into the Erie County SPCA for the first time. I was in search of a cat or kitten to love and to serve as a companion for my cat Maxwell. Immediately I felt welcomed by the staff who conducted an adoption interview. Friendly volunteers helped me find my kitten who I named MacKenzie. When I had found the perfect kitten, the staff took the time to talk with me about how to introduce the two cats and what to expect.

About six months after I adopted MacKenzie, I was in PetSmart where the SPCA had several kittens who were up for adoption. I fell in love with a brown tabby who I took home and named Ellie. (The fact that Ellie was at PetSmart was because of the SPCA’s impressive off-site adoption program.)

Six years ago I again walked into the Erie County SPCA for the volunteer orientation. I wanted to give back to the organization that had given me my two cats. During the orientation, the volunteer coordinator told us about all of the exciting jobs and I made sure that I was first in line to be a cat room monitor volunteer. Since 2002, I have been in that position and I can not put into words the satisfaction and warmth I feel when I am able to help a family or a person adopt a new kitty member into their family.

Last year I was lucky enough to become a proud employee of the SPCA working in the Development Department. Though I didn’t think it was possible, becoming an employee of the SPCA has made me even prouder of what our SPCA has accomplished in the past, what the organization is doing now, and the plans for the future. Our SPCA was founded by one of the original communities concerned with animal welfare, and more than 140 years later we continue to be a leader in the animal welfare community across the United States.

Best of all to me, our SPCA is innovative. One of the innovations that I am personally involved with and feel passionate about, is the volunteer cat enrichment team called the AdvoCATS. Under the supervision of Krissi and Debby, our team (perhaps the only such team in the nation), works hard with cats who need socialization, need to be reminded that not all of the hands coming into their kennel are going to give them medications, or who just need some good ole fashioned love because they’re scared. The program is so successful that Krissi and Debby are asked to speak about it across the country.

I’m proud that my SPCA is a very proactive shelter. We are always looking for new and innovative ways to help animals while keeping the costs down. It is hard to fathom what the SPCA could accomplish if we had a larger shelter. An addition to our shelter could help us to use the facility more effectively and efficiently and thereby help more animals. It makes me excited just to think about what we could do with the help of Zootoo’s assistance.

The Erie County SPCA is a wonderful organization and I am blessed to be a part of it. I send the best of luck to all of the shelters involved in the zootoo Shelter Makeover Contest! (But of course I am rooting for my SPCA!)

My name is Barbara and I have been a Veterinary Technician at the SPCA Serving Erie County for over 15 years. In that time my job and role here have changed in many wonderful ways.
15 years ago I was one of only 3 Veterinary Technicians examining, treating, and making decisions about 40-50 or more animals a day. Dogs and cats had to be transported to area vet offices for spay/neuter or adopted out with a certificate for Spay/Neuter that the new owner may or may not comply with. If they didn’t, we were likely to see their puppies and kittens coming through our doors within the next year. I would come to work having to make decisions about which animals had to be euthanized based on who was more adoptable due to their color, age, neuter status, whether kittens had ear mites or dogs were house trained. Pregnant cats rarely made it to a foster home, there were just too many. 15 years ago being a Veterinary Technician at the SPCA Serving Erie County meant making immediate decisions about an animals temperament based on how well they tolerated a physical exam upon arrival.
Today we have staff Veterinarians to treat these dogs and an isolation suite to house the sick cats, allowing us to treat them without risking the health of the rest of the shelter population. Today I get to clean the ear mites out of the kitten’s ears and put them up for adoption. I get to take part in orthopedic surgeries to correct fractures due to accident, negligence, or abuse. I prepare animals for spay and neuter surgeries that are performed each morning.
Yes, my job has changed in many wonderful ways. 15 years ago we were ill equipped to handle most behavioral issues which are so often the reasons animals are surrendered to our care. Today, my job has expanded to include a role in our Training and Behavior Department.
Last week we hosted a fascinating 2 day training seminar focused on interpreting canine body language and how dogs communicate with each other. It is and will always be a learning experience, as every animal we have the good fortune to dedicate our mission to is unique with a personality and needs that we strive to meet in the best way we know how.
The evaluation process begins as soon as an animal arrives at the shelter by having the owner fill out a comprehensive profile on their pets. We monitor cats and dogs
consistently throughout their stay. We offer support to the frightened dogs and cats who may need more time to adjust, and enrichment to the happy, bouncy animals who may need more to do in their kennels to keep them occupied.
Our Assessment tool provides us with information allowing us to predict the
likelihood of a dog displaying aggression in the future. It is not an exact science and we don’t treat it as one. Each dog is an individual and we make every effort to meet their individual needs. We have implemented several behavior modification programs to allow us to work with dogs with specific issues identified during this assessment.
Although many dogs that arrive at the shelter seem to adjust to the environment well, it is no surprise that some of these dogs are highly stressed by the sensory overload. In addition to human reassurance and as much TLC as these dogs will allow, sometimes we need to seek other avenues to successfully place these dogs in a manner that will meet their needs with minimum anxiety. Foster homes are provided via the innovative New Leash On Life program which allows dogs to remain up for adoption via our website while living with a family in a much quieter environment. We also network with various breed rescue groups if we find that is the best way to meet an animals needs.
15 years ago I would never have even imagined the possibility of our being able to accept dogs from other shelters. Today we take dogs from various local animal control facilities including the Buffalo City Shelter, Cattaraugus County, and Newstead. We network with shelters in Ohio, Virgina, and West Virginia as a Partner Receiving Shelter with the Petsmart Charities Rescue Waggin’. We are able to receive weekly transports of dogs and puppies from these shelters because we have earned the confidence and commitment from our community. Confidence that they can come to us and adopt their new friend and know that we will continue to be there for them long into the future.
I can’t begin to describe the many ways that winning the Zooto prize would allow us to continue in our mission and the number of animals from here to Kentucky that we would continue to be able to serve in so many ways.
I love working here. I look forward to my next 15 years at the SPCA Serving Erie
County with pride and anticipation. I am immensely grateful to be a part of all the
amazing things this shelter has and will continue to grow to offer to the animals and
people in our community.

Thank you so very much for your kind words and encouragement. I am a member of the Board of Directors at our wonderful SPCA. I became involved about six years ago when one of my (feral) cats escaped from my home. I went to the SPCA every single day looking for him, and the wonderful staff kept telling me I could look on the website rather than driving there every day. I continued to drive there. I am so happy that I did, because one day I met Barbara Carr. I told her about my missing cat, she was very sympathetic; I told her that I was a professional fund raiser with a local university and she immediately introduced me to her Director of Development. It has been a love story ever since that moment. I was honored to be invited to join their Board (although I sat on four others at the time), and it is the only Board I continue to remain on.

Our SPCA receives NO government funding. Our SPCA funds itself entirely through private funding. Yes, we do have a $4M budget, but our community supports us by donating that $4M.

I am always proud and always happy to walk into our shelter. We ran a campaign some years ago to give the dogs in our care a comfortable place to be. Our community responded and we now have a beautifully sunlit wing with Dutch-door kennels that allow potential adopters to be close to the dog they will hopefully adopt.

We have an absolutely amazing education program. Our award-winning TLC (Teaching Love and Compassion) program was featured on NPR's Sam Waterson program. People throughout the entire United States are contacting our SPCA to get information on how they can institute this program in their communities.

Our staff and volunteers just blow me away with their dedication. compassion and creativity. Our Marketing/PR Director works on a VERY limited ($1,000 a year) budget. Her resoursefulness in building meaningful relationships with media partners and engaging the media to embrace our shelter keeps us in the headlines at absolutely no cost to us.

Through Barbara Carr, we have become an extremely progressive shelter. We have nearly 900 volunteers. She walked in here, saw issues and determined how best to deal with them. She built our foster care program that takes care of hundreds of animals a year. She instituted a low/no cost spay/neuter program that has a documented rate of decreasing population that would fall upon the shelters to take care of. We have such a loving community that we are able, through Barbara's initiative, to bring animals to Buffalo from states that have difficulty adopting perfectly adoptable animals. And we find them all very loving homes.

I am so proud to be a member of this Board.

Thank you Zootoo for travelling to Buffalo to visit us. Yes, I was one of those folks left standing in the parking lot, because I understood that the shelter tour would best be accomplished with your crew, our Executive Director and Board Chair only. So, for the next hour and a half I held every kitty in the cat room and hugged every dog in the kennels. That is something that everyone out there that day could have and should have done.

And speaking of food - because I love to eat - yes, there was food for the Zootoo crew while they met with the Board....their time was very limited and we didn't want them to leave hungry.

Did I already say that I am so proud to be on this Board? Perhaps I did, but...........

I AM SO PROUD TO BE A MEMBER OF THE BOARD OF OUR SPCA....and our SPCA would not be what we are today without Barbara Carr.

Saw your Video. What a beautiful facility you have. You wll must be very proud of the hard work and fund raising.

Our shelter staff and volunteers are so thrilled to be in the top twenty and to have had your folks visit us - even the weather cooperated to give us a nice day. It is such a shame that people who support other shelters can't just do that and not waste their energy trying to put anyone else down. We aim to help ALL animals and the people that love them and I think we do a fair good job of it. Our facility may look clean, but that doesn't change the fact that it was opened in 1963 and much of it hasn't been mechanically updated since then. We certainly could use the help to open up space here so we have more group cat room areas, better veterinary spaces, more room for our wildlife rehabilitation department, better areas for small animals and birds and to completely rehabilitate or rebuild our barn since the structure isn't too good anymore. Yes, we do take dogs in from other areas, but only when we have space for them. Yes we do sometimes have to euthanize animals here, but generally only if their temperament isn't considered safe, they have health problems that we can't afford to treat or are untreatable, or if we have no space for that species and the owners can't or won't take them back and wait until we do have room. Winning this makeover would not only help animals in our community, but in a number of others that still have such problems that they have to euthanize litters of puppies that come in because there are so many of them. It would help so many kinds of animals in our area as we try to help any animal in need that we can possibly house and validate the support our community gives back to us which just goes to show how much they care about what we do and how important animals are to them. It may seem like we have a PR budget that is large, but unless you think large is hundreds of dollars, not thousands, then you are just mistakenly looking at the wonderful relationship we have with some of the media in Buffalo who often go out of their way to help us help the animals. Isn't that what this is really about, after all - helping the animals?

Dear ZooToo Team,

We can not thank you enough for coming out here to visit The SPCA Serving Erie County. It was such an honor to share our shelter with you.

It was truly a wonderful and inspirational day, one we will not soon forget.

I’m so proud of the entire ECSPCA staff, our board of directors, our army of volunteers and our caring community. Everyone gave their love, support, time and dedication to make this day so very special for all of us.

Mr. Thompson, your vision offers such inspiration and hope to all animal lovers out there and through your work the animals are the true winners here.

Thank you!!!

Thank you Zootoo! The Erie SPCA is the second oldest in the US, and there are generations of people who love animals here. Our county is poor, but we love our animals. The loss of many major plants and thousands of jobs over the last several decades in the Buffalo area has left a lot of abandoned houses and even more abandoned animals. Erie county's animal overpopulation rivals that of much larger cities, and the SPCA works around the clock to try to keep up. There are still so many animals to save, and never enough space, manpower, or funds. We struggle to help every animal we can, and Erie SPCA rescues pets from the city's pound whenever it can. The shelter works very hard with local businesses to get animals new homes. There are adoption viewing areas anywhere they can be squeezed in, even if it's just for a few hours once a week. There's even one at a gas station near my home. All the lives saved appreciate the hard work of the great people at the SPCA.

For those not in our area, I encourage you to check out the diary of the Vet Services Manager at our shelter: www.yourspca.org
In 18 days in March, the shelter took in 297 Cats, 267 Dogs, 12 Bunnies, 6 Birds, 11 Pocket Pets, and 5 Ferrets. Buffalo might have lost at some Super Bowls, but we're fighting to win the battle at the food bowls.

Zootoo, I've got my fingers and toes crossed for the animals of Erie County!

It must be nice to have 4 million dollar budget and a PR department whose budget rivals that of most shelters. while animals are helped, which is never bad, lets not pretend that this is a shelter in need. Im sorry if it seems like infighting, but a shelter that is not no kill is not deseving of this makeover.

I just want to say "SPC"YAHHHHHY" Since I was 6 years old I have wanted to be a part of this shelter. I cried for 2 weeks when I got hired. I could have a very bad morning with my four sons and get in my car and head to work and have a smile all the way. I think...no I know that this is where I was meant to be!I also know that the possibilities for this shelter are endless!!!! I can't even imagine this community without the SPCA serving Erie County! Mark you know what it is like to work and voluteer here, and how you could not imagine being anywhere else.This shelter may be big, but it could be bigger and do soooo much more. The possibilities are endless..... SPCA serving Erie County I and my family love and respect you. Keep up the good work.You know it, you deserve it, you need it more than words can say. To all the homeless helpless so called worthless animals out there we are here and we will be there for you when ever and where ever you need us.

Thank you Zootoo team for this informational site, your fantastic help with shelters across the country and for your time in looking at the Erie County SPCA. This shelter has done so much for our community and other communities across the country. If it were to win the make over I couldn't imagine all the animals and not just cats and dogs that would greatly benefit from it. I also would like to congratulate Barbara Carr and all the staff and volunteers that make the SPCA Serving Erie County what it is and it will be in the future. Good luck to everyone on winning the make over.