The BC SPCA handled 8,849 cruelty investigations last year alone. At the Squamish Valley SPCA, there are currently a few open investigations into animal cruelty in the corridor, according to Marika Donnelly, Squamish Valley branch manager.
“We do get a lot of mystery animals… that come in and haven’t been provided with adequate care and have obviously been somewhat neglected, and we never find out who owns them,” she said.
The SPCA’s annual Paws for a Cause raises money to help fund cruelty prevention and education programs and enforcement of animal cruelty laws.
This year’s Squamish event takes place on Saturday.
The event includes a two-kilometre walk (with or without a dog), a barbecue, dog agility demonstrations and dog games. Donnelly said the dunking-for-wieners game for pets is the most popular and will be held again this year.
“It is a lot of fun.”
All the funds raised in Squamish will stay in the community, she noted.
This year’s goal is to raise $9,000 for the BC SPCA Squamish Valley Branch, Donnelly said, adding that animals from throughout the Sea to Sky Corridor are brought to the Squamish location. “It is a big scary number, but we are hoping we can pull it off.”
The biggest challenge the branch faces year over year is securing funding.
“The more animals we take, the more it costs us,” she said.
The Squamish branch helps an average of 300 animals a year. Adoption fees do not cover the cost of care, Donnelly said.
If someone suspects an animal is being neglected or abused, the process is to call the SPCA cruelty line and lodge a complaint, then the local branch does an initial investigation and reports back to the cruelty department to follow up.
“Recommendations can be made to the animal owner, if it is a question of inadequate care,” she said.
“We always want cooperation and voluntary compliance… in the grand scheme of things, we are looking out for the best interest of the animal, but we do have to work within the boundaries of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.”
It always helps to have the complainant’s name in case of a court case, but there is an option to be anonymous, according to Donnelly.
Donnelly acknowledged it does get frustrating seeing animals not cared for and constantly having to fundraise, but she always comes back to there being animals in the community that need the help.
“We are doing it for a bigger reason, I feel,” she said.
Last year, about 40 people registered for the Paws for a Cause walk in Squamish, and about 100 people came just to check out the events and see the animals, she said.
The poochy fun gets underway at O'Siyam Pavilion Park Saturday at 11 a.m. The walk starts at 2 p.m. To register or for more information, go to spca.bc.ca/walk.
To report an animal in distress, call the toll-free animal cruelty reporting hotline at 1-855-622-7722.
