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Annual Report 2006

Our Report to the Community

The goals of the St. John’s SPCA are to relieve the suffering of animals, to promote responsible pet ownership, and to encourage spaying and neutering. The work and mission of the St. John’s SPCA is carried out daily by the staff at our shelter and by hundreds of volunteers. We could not continue with our work without the thousands of supporters in the community who provide critical funding. In recognition of this support we are releasing this annual Report to the Community to describe the work of the SPCA, our challenges and successes and where the fundraising dollars are spent.

On behalf of the SPCA Board of Directors and the shelter staff and volunteers, we thank you for your contributions!

Cruelty Investigation and Complaint Calls

The SPCA has 4 Special Constables who perform their duties under the authority of the Animal Protection Act. They respond to complaint calls all over the Avalon Peninsula. When an animal has been severely abused or neglected, the constables may remove the animal from the premises and hold the person accountable. They may also recommend that the police pursue certain cases of abuse and neglect and seek prosecution in the courts. Currently the vast majority of complaint calls are handled by 2 of our Special Constables. Two other Special Constables are available, but on a limited basis at the present time.

Fast Fact: The most common complaints include, “No food, water and/or shelter,” abandonment and a lack of necessary medical care.

Our Special Constables volunteer their time, money, and personal vehicles to respond to animals in need as far away as Whitbourne, Trepassey, Placentia and Harbour Grace. Municipalities outside St. John’s have not provided any financial support to the SPCA for the provision of these services. In some cases the SPCA has billed these communities, but to date none of these bills have been paid.

The complaints we receive are usually made by concerned members of the public. Members of the RNC and RCMP also file complaints when they come across an abused or neglected animals in the course of their duties. Various provincial and federal government departments may call on the SPCA for help as well

- 665 complaints of animal cruelty and neglect in 2006
- 247 of those calls from outside of St. John’s

Animal Sheltering and Adoption

Fast Fact: In 2006, a total of 1882 animals arrived at the St. John’s shelter. That’s approximately one animal for every 125 people on the Avalon Peninsula!

Although we do our best to find homes for the animals that come into the shelter, it is not always possible. Some animals may not be adoptable due to illness or behavior issues; sometimes the shelter is just too crowded to keep all the animals that come through the door.

In addition to dogs and cats, the shelter also cares for rabbits, guinea pigs, ferrets, reptiles, and other exotic animals each year. Providing a temporary home for such a diverse group of animals challenges our staff and volunteers.

This year we formed a partnership with Petcetera. This pet supply store has agreed not to sell cats and kittens, but rather to take cats and kittens from our shelter to help find homes for them through their store on Kelsey Drive. The adoptions from Petcetera are administered by the SPCA and follow our guidelines.

Fast Fact: These statistics are only for the St. John’s SPCA, they do not include the animals housed at the City’s Humane Services Centre or other agencies.

In 2006, a total of 1882 animals arrived at the St. John’s shelter.

Total Cats and Kittens: 1362
Adopted from shelter: 498
Adopted through Petcetera: 28
Returned to owner: 32
Euthanized: 804

Total Dogs and Puppies: 520
Adopted: 306
Returned to owner: 104
Euthanized: 110

Total Rabbits: 9
Euthanized: 9

Total Guinea Pigs 4
Adopted: 1
Euthanized: 3

Others:
1 Pot Bellied Pig: Adopted
1 Budgie Bird: Adopted

Humane Education

Education and public awareness of animal welfare issues is one of our most important roles. We do this in several ways, through the media, our fundraising events, shelter tours, public seminars, and our Dog Bite Prevention program delivered in partnership with dog trainer, Glenn Redmond.

- 12 groups toured the Shelter this year, including Girl Guides, Scouts, and school groups.
- Dog Bite Prevention program delivered to over 1000 elementary school children.

The St. John’s SPCA launched a “Start a Chain Reaction” Campaign in September of 2006 with a presentation at the Holiday Inn in the evening of Monday, September 18th. This initiative is aimed at making the public aware of the unacceptable and cruel living conditions that many dogs endure and how this relates to dog aggression. It calls on local governments to enact anti-tethering laws and humane treatment laws, as well as regulation of the practice of dog breeding.

The seminar in September was very well attended by about two hundred interested area citizens, including the mayor of St. John’s and other councilors from St. John’s, Mount Pearl and surrounding municipalities. Various animal control officers from different regions of the Avalon Peninsula were also there.

Since then SPCA representatives have met with the Avalon Municipal Joint Council and with the Cities of St. John’s and Mount Pearl. All councils were very interested in making changes to their current animal control by-laws. In fact, a recent meeting that St. John’s had with Mr. Bill Bruce of the City of Calgary, regarding their “Responsible Pet Ownership” system, happened as a direct result of a recommendation made by the St. John’s SPCA to Mayor Andy Wells in one of these meetings.

A petition, allowing people to express their support of this campaign, was also circulated throughout the province through the various SPCA branches and on the internet.

To date this petition contains over 4000 signatures, including 1100 from the on-line petition.

Employees and Volunteers Program

The St. John’s SPCA operations rely on support from our dedicated employees and volunteers. From cleaning the kennels and feeding the animals to updating the shelter web site, from working on major fundraising events and manning information booths to baking goodies for the fairs and bake sales – volunteers are the backbone of the St. John’s SPCA.

- 10 paid employees (includes part-time and full-time)
- 50 volunteers work 7 evening shifts a week plus weekend day shifts at the shelter

Volunteer hours spent annually operating the shelter: Approx. 5500*.
- 80-100 Volunteer bakers for fall fairs and bakes sales
- 13 volunteer members of the Board of Directors
- 210 Volunteer Ticket Sellers
- 116 Volunteers for events
- 7 Grocery receipt counters
- 8 cooks for the Spring Sale and Fall Fair lunch

*This number doesn’t reflect the volunteer hours spent responding to complaint calls or volunteers who work on fundraising activities.

Fundraising

Each year the SPCA must hold a number of fundraising events in order to keep the shelter running. From heat and lights, to paying the staff members and caring for the thousands of animals that come through the facility, fundraising is an essential part of the business of the shelter.

Some fundraising activities include:
- Monthly prize draws
- Information Booths that also collect donations
- Bake Sales and Flea Markets
- Concert and Trip ticket sales
- Annual Walk for the Animals
- Silent Auction and Dessert Party
- Pet Pictures with Santa
- Sale of T-Shirts, Bracelets etc…
- Blessing of the Animals
- Pet Photo Contest
- Sale of Calendars

How can you help?

The St. John’s SPCA is funded primarily by private donations, individuals, and corporations; even school groups make contributions to help us provide services to animals in need. Individual giving opportunities include participating in our special events, making donations and responding to our newsletters and community mailings.

Corporations and other organizations may offer support through event sponsorships, advertising, donations, matching gift programs, grant making, and annual giving. To the many organizations that help keep the SPCA operating we offer our deepest thanks, but there are several that deserve special mention:

We would like to send out a special thank you to The Telegram for their continued support. They print our ‘Pet Pics’ in every Thursday edition of the paper helping us return animals to their owners and find new homes for animals who need them.

On-Hold Communications has also been wonderful in providing our telephone messaging service. We extend heartfelt thanks to them. We would not be able to manage without this service.

To NTV, thank you for getting us out there in the community with your weather hits. The animals always benefit from the media coverage of the shelter and fundraising events.

Steele Communications, with their radio stations including VOCM and Hits FM, have been strong corporate sponsors. They have advertised many of our fundraisers and also helped us out in other capacities. Thanks for the valuable public exposure. We appreciate your support so very much.

Another well deserved thank you goes to Baccalieu Trail Animal Hospital in Bay Roberts and Carbonear for their tremendous support and donations.

Individuals and organizations can also help the SPCA by donating money, time or services. There are also planned giving opportunities, which include establishing a trust, naming the St. John’s SPCA as a beneficiary, establishing an endowment or bequest, or setting up a charitable gift annuity.

Please call 726-0301 or visit http://www.stj-spca.com/ for more information on how you can help.

Financials

It is important to note that although there are many animal welfare agencies in the city of St. John’s, the St. John’s Branch of the SPCA is the only one that provides its services to the entire Avalon Peninsula. Our volunteers are called upon to drive as far away as Placentia and Trepassey to rescue abused, neglected, stray, and injured animals and these communities do not contribute to our budget for these services.

Government Support:
- Municipal Government: $12,000*
- Provincial Government: $50,000**
- Federal Government: $0

* The City of St. John’s is the only municipality that supports the St. John’s SPCA with a grant which must be applied for each year.

**The Provincial Government funding was provided in 2006 for the first time as a result of a letter written to the Minister of Natural Resources outlining the number of services the SPCA provides at the request of provincial departments that have not been paid for by those departments.

Financial Statements for the year ending December 31, 2006 are attached


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