Seems like a nice shelter
Reviewed Service
Pros: nice renovation
Cons: euthanizes animals
Reviewed: 6 months ago -- Saturday, January 5, 2008
Pet Service Reviewed by: Daniel P. (Dillo345)
Supporting Shelter: Maxfund No-Kill Animal Adoption Center
Supporting rescue: Rocky Mountain Alley Cat Alliance
Review Details
I looked at your website and saw the new remodel of the dog kennel.
While I believe every shelter should have a chance at the makeover, I don't see how your shelter needs one.
While I believe every shelter should have a chance at the makeover, I don't see how your shelter needs one.
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Discussion
18 comments found.
I looked at your financial statement for the fiscal year ending September 2006. I noticed how your shelter made almost FOUR MILLION DOLLARS IN DONATIONS! Most shelters would be lucky to see this in five years. I really don't see how you need the makeover...
I also noticed how another zootoo user (poppet8) wrote a bad review of your shelter. I don't think you need to gang up on users who don't think you need the review!
I also noticed how another zootoo user (poppet8) wrote a bad review of your shelter. I don't think you need to gang up on users who don't think you need the review!
Well, thats not for you to decide, now is it? Our SPCA is second to none and we have a proven track record of setting an example for other shelters across the country with innovative programs. We could use the money for expansions as well as updating the farm animal & wildlife areas. We take in many, many animals and we need the room for the unfortunate amount of surrenders and seized animals, last June we had over 600 cats! Just because you dont feel we need the makeover doesnt mean we dont deserve it!
So what happened of giving an opinion??? Getting told that is not for you to decide.
THE POINT OF THE CONTEST IS TO HELP A SHELTER WHO IS TRULY IN NEED NOT JUST SOMEONE WHO WANTS TO MAKE THEIR PLACE FANCIER. I SAW THE FINANCIAL STATEMENT OF YOUR SHELTER. YOU MADE MILLIONS IN DONATION TWO YEARS AGO. WE WOULD BE LUCKY TO MAKE THAT IN FIVE YEARS!!!!!
I STILL DONT BELIEVE YOU NEED THE MAKEOVER!
THE POINT OF THE CONTEST IS TO HELP A SHELTER WHO IS TRULY IN NEED NOT JUST SOMEONE WHO WANTS TO MAKE THEIR PLACE FANCIER. I SAW THE FINANCIAL STATEMENT OF YOUR SHELTER. YOU MADE MILLIONS IN DONATION TWO YEARS AGO. WE WOULD BE LUCKY TO MAKE THAT IN FIVE YEARS!!!!!
I STILL DONT BELIEVE YOU NEED THE MAKEOVER!
I know its true that you need the makeover but when you are number two, have millions of dollars in donations, and a ton of volunteers to help you i dont think you need it. There are a number of shelters around the country who dont have enough support who need the makeover SO MUCH MORE THAN YOUR SHELTER. The humane society near my house has 60 cats and has less than 800 square feet. YOU HAD A REMODEL OF OFFICES AND A NEW DOG AREA! Many shelters than DESERVE IT MORE THAN YOU DESERVE IT MORE
I DONT CARE WHAT YOU SAY ABOUT ZOOTOO DECIDING ABOUT THE MAKEOVER BUT I WILL NEVER THINK THAT YOU NEED THE REMODEL UNLESS YOUR SHELTER BURNS DOWN OR SOMETHING TRAGIC HAPPENS SUCH AS AN AWFUL NATURAL DISASTER.
YOU DON'T NEED IT!
I DONT CARE WHAT YOU SAY ABOUT ZOOTOO DECIDING ABOUT THE MAKEOVER BUT I WILL NEVER THINK THAT YOU NEED THE REMODEL UNLESS YOUR SHELTER BURNS DOWN OR SOMETHING TRAGIC HAPPENS SUCH AS AN AWFUL NATURAL DISASTER.
YOU DON'T NEED IT!
What an oxy moron! First, you say you know we need the makeover, but then you turn around and say we dont need it. You know what, It doesnt matter what you think anyway. You are entitled to your opinion as am I and it will be up to zootoo to decide who gets the makeover. So. guess you can just step off because whatever you think is just that, YOUR opinion. Maybe you should stop wasting time trying to tell other shelters why they dont need a makeover and concentrate on getting points for your own shelter. You dont get points for comments in reviews and this is a huge waste of time
"Fancier"?! That is such a ridiculous and uneducated accusation! Yes, we have a "better" shelter than many, but it doesn't mean we are undeserving of any extra help. Our organization works very hard for the donations it's received and should be commended, not accused of "foolish spending" as you have insinuated. CARING FOR APPROX. 23,000 ANIMALS A YEAR TAKES A BIG BUDGET. More money would only mean more great care for animals across this state and surrounding states. 30% of the animals come from just the adjoining cities/counties that can't take care of them. They have such great adoption and rehab rates that they save hundreds of animals from the kind of "kill shelters" you've accused us of being. We too don't put a time limits or rehab restrictions on the animals we take in, despite the fact that we don't advertsise "no kill" in our name. You shouldn't tear down our shelter just to build yours up! Leave the judging to the judges. Remember, we're all trying to care for animals.
The Wyoming County SPCA is a NO KILL shelter which houses 260 cats in one room and live there until they find a forever home. Unfortunately their "building" isn't big enough to house the animals and are not set up like Erie County. If you have visited there, you would see which one needs it more. Unfortunately I have visited Erie County, Wyoming County and Cattaraugus County. It obvious the "rich" counties can raise the most money on its residents. 4 million. WOW. Wyoming County just scraped by - They laid off workers and can't even build anything additional because they don't have the money. They hardly break even from year to year.
Thank you, Christine, for putting things into perspective. I used to live in Buffalo and am familiar with this wonderful shelter. But they absolutely do NOT need the makeover! They do a great job, but I have been turned off by the nasty comments some of their supporters have made about other Western New York shelters.
I am an employee at the SPCA , and have been so since July of 1990. What you see when you see our building are donors who recognized that we turn dreams and visions to provide better care for tens of thousands of animals each year (as opposed to a few hundred) into reality. Since we're funded only by donations, the size and condition of our shelter is living proof that community members believe in what we are doing for animals and people in Erie County.
What we are doing is saving lives, and improving the qualities of life for others.
If you take a closer look at our organization, what will you see? Well, here's one example: a cat, Brad Pitt, who has been in our system TWO YEARS. He was surrendered in December, 2005, with an "arm pit" wound that took several months to heal, and is currently up for adoption... in 2008. The SPCA made a commitment to this cat, when many other shelters would have turned him away for lack of space, lack of resources, or lack of caring. Barnacle Bob, currently available for adoption as of 3/17/08, is a NINE -year-old German shepherd who was a stray....yet, despite his age, we accepted this great guy and are working with him on his special needs. We hope to find a home soon for him as well.
What else would you see? A happy adoptee, Kate Moss...a little, young, brindle pit bull who showed signs of food aggression after she was up for adoption for a few weeks. The SPCA's Dog Enrichment Team worked many additional weeks with her on behavior modification. In late February, Kate was adopted to a loving family. Again...many other shelters would have turned her away for lack of space, lack of resources, or simply because of "no pit bull" policies. Other shelters would have put her up for adoption, but would have euthanized when she began to exhibit aggression. Not our SPCA. Again, we made a commitment to this animal.
Here's something else you'd see....a Cat Isolation Room (the size of a closet...because it WAS a closet), from which 567 cats were released and adopted last year. In this room, extremely ill cats were not killed but were treated and cared for...some for 1 week, some for 1 month or more...and then put on the adoption floor and adopted. Again...many shelters would not have even accepted these cats, let alone make a commitment to treat them and then add them to the population of hundreds of SPCA cats available for adoption in our shelters, foster homes, off-site adoption locations and Whisker Wag'n.
We've proven, through these and many other programs, that we have utilized donor dollars and our beautiful space to find alternatives to euthanasia, to enrich the lives of THOUSANDS of animals surrendered to the shelter each year (no, not hundreds...THOUSANDS), and that we have made an incredible dent in animal euthanasia numbers as compared to 1990...because I was here then, believe me - I know that about which I write. Can you imagine how our community's animals would thrive even more if our shelter were larger...? That Isolation Room could be responsible for saving the lives of 2,000 cats instead of 567. We'd have MORE space in which to work with animals on proven & successful behavior modification programs instead of turning away the people and animals who need us.
Again, we have demonstrated the ability to turn animal welfare visions into reality. Our desire to do even MORE of that is ADMIRABLE, not unnecessary. The need at this organization surpasses every single other animal organization in Erie County, NY, because we receive more than 20 times more animals at this organization. THIS is why we need help to do more. Community members TRUST us to do more.
How SAD that those of you who witness a growing organization meeting the needs of thousands of animals each year should not express a desire to do more. How apathetic. What a lack of vision.
If you ever feel you'd like a guided tour of the shelter so we can show you the pro-active programs currently in place, and those we'd like to grow to assist even more of our county's animals, please contact me directly at 716-629-3505. Thank you. Gina Browning, SPCA Serving Erie County
What we are doing is saving lives, and improving the qualities of life for others.
If you take a closer look at our organization, what will you see? Well, here's one example: a cat, Brad Pitt, who has been in our system TWO YEARS. He was surrendered in December, 2005, with an "arm pit" wound that took several months to heal, and is currently up for adoption... in 2008. The SPCA made a commitment to this cat, when many other shelters would have turned him away for lack of space, lack of resources, or lack of caring. Barnacle Bob, currently available for adoption as of 3/17/08, is a NINE -year-old German shepherd who was a stray....yet, despite his age, we accepted this great guy and are working with him on his special needs. We hope to find a home soon for him as well.
What else would you see? A happy adoptee, Kate Moss...a little, young, brindle pit bull who showed signs of food aggression after she was up for adoption for a few weeks. The SPCA's Dog Enrichment Team worked many additional weeks with her on behavior modification. In late February, Kate was adopted to a loving family. Again...many other shelters would have turned her away for lack of space, lack of resources, or simply because of "no pit bull" policies. Other shelters would have put her up for adoption, but would have euthanized when she began to exhibit aggression. Not our SPCA. Again, we made a commitment to this animal.
Here's something else you'd see....a Cat Isolation Room (the size of a closet...because it WAS a closet), from which 567 cats were released and adopted last year. In this room, extremely ill cats were not killed but were treated and cared for...some for 1 week, some for 1 month or more...and then put on the adoption floor and adopted. Again...many shelters would not have even accepted these cats, let alone make a commitment to treat them and then add them to the population of hundreds of SPCA cats available for adoption in our shelters, foster homes, off-site adoption locations and Whisker Wag'n.
We've proven, through these and many other programs, that we have utilized donor dollars and our beautiful space to find alternatives to euthanasia, to enrich the lives of THOUSANDS of animals surrendered to the shelter each year (no, not hundreds...THOUSANDS), and that we have made an incredible dent in animal euthanasia numbers as compared to 1990...because I was here then, believe me - I know that about which I write. Can you imagine how our community's animals would thrive even more if our shelter were larger...? That Isolation Room could be responsible for saving the lives of 2,000 cats instead of 567. We'd have MORE space in which to work with animals on proven & successful behavior modification programs instead of turning away the people and animals who need us.
Again, we have demonstrated the ability to turn animal welfare visions into reality. Our desire to do even MORE of that is ADMIRABLE, not unnecessary. The need at this organization surpasses every single other animal organization in Erie County, NY, because we receive more than 20 times more animals at this organization. THIS is why we need help to do more. Community members TRUST us to do more.
How SAD that those of you who witness a growing organization meeting the needs of thousands of animals each year should not express a desire to do more. How apathetic. What a lack of vision.
If you ever feel you'd like a guided tour of the shelter so we can show you the pro-active programs currently in place, and those we'd like to grow to assist even more of our county's animals, please contact me directly at 716-629-3505. Thank you. Gina Browning, SPCA Serving Erie County
The Wyoming County shelter, yes, they take in a LOT of cats BUT they DO NOT check on the people they give them to. I KNOW first hand! They didn't check on me...they NEVER checked up to see if I had the cats fixed!!!....they PUSH a person who is not really ready for cats, to adopt and just ASSUME everyone in the household is ok!!! ALSO, the DOGS come in way behind, not by the helpers, but by the OWNER!!!. Sue is QUICK to have animals put down by the word of her VET, which again, I have witnessed first hand(sadly)...any more info please e-mail me at payper_or_plastek@yahoo.com
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