DOGGED BY CONTROVERSY
Toronto Humane Society’s embattled ex-president wants back on the board,
Tim Trow, a former president of the Toronto Humane Society who was dogged by controversy, has registered as a candidate in the organization’s upcoming election.
Trow was president of the charity in 2009 when it was raided by the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
He was led out of the shelter in handcuffs and charged with animal cruelty, obstruction of a peace officer and conspiracy to commit an indictable offence.
Trow, a retired lawyer, maintained his innocence. Nine months later, the charges were dropped because of issues with the search warrant used in the raid.
This time, he said, things will be different.
“That’s ancient history,” Trow said, adding the organization was investigated from “top to bottom” and the charges were dropped “as soon as the Crown attorney got ahold of them.”
But not everybody is willing to forgive and forget.
Marcie Laking, a member of the THS who served as president for four years after Trow was charged, said she witnessed a long list of disturbing treatment issues during his tenure, including animals being fed mouldy food and sleeping on urine-covered blankets.
“All of these awful things happened. I know that for a fact because I was there,” she said. “The thought of it returning, even slightly, to the way it was under Tim Trow makes me really sad.”
David Bronskill, current chair of the THS board, said the charity has only recently overcome harm done by Trow’s legacy.
“He did a lot of damage, not just to the image of the Toronto Humane Society, but to the animals under his care,” he said. “If Mr. Trow is truly committed to the best interest of the animals, he would allow the Toronto Humane Society to continue with its great work and not continually drag us back to a former age.”
Trow has a long and troubled histo- ry with the THS.
A member since the mid-’70s, he first served as president in 1982, but his tenure was marred by turmoil when a city committee found the organization was poorly managed and intervened.
He was elected again in 2001, a stint that ended with his 2009 arrest.
Trow ran for a board position as recently as 2011but did not win a seat.
He said he’s running this time to stop the “slow-motion decline” of the THS.
“They seem to have closed down program after program, and they’re posting online talking about selling the shelter,” he said. “I think this sort of thing should be talked about at one of our meetings.”
Bronskill said there’s no substance to Trow’s concerns and suggested the former president might have a more selfish motivation.
“They’re concerns he raises in an effort to inaccurately alarm our membership, to pursue his personal goal of being on the board,” he said.
But, according to Bronskill, there’s nothing to bar Trow from running — he’s a member of the Toronto Humane Society and hasn’t been convicted of any animal cruelty charges.
There is no financial compensation for holding a leadership position with the THS.
Trow maintains he doesn’t actually care if he wins or loses the election, as long as its “slow-motion closure” is stopped — but added he’s confident THS members will back him up.
“I know I have support among the members. I always have,” he said.
Bronskill took a different stance, saying re-electing Trow to the board would not be in the best interest of the THS or its animals.
“I have a lot of faith that our members are going to remind Mr. Trow of the damage he did to the THS and, frankly, the impact he had on animal welfare.”