Euthanasia policy criticized

Allegations have come out accusing the Chester County SPCA of killing adoptable animals

WEST GOSHEN — The rumor mill surrounding the Chester County SPCA is swirling again.

On the heels of criticism that euthanasia isn’t happening enough at the shelter, leaving aggressive dogs on the adoption floor, a new round of allegations have come out accusing the CCSPCA of killing adoptable animals.

The shelter’s Executive Director Emily Simmons said the problem can be traced to a “whisper down the alley effect.”

After a new management and board came into power at the shelter in October, critics said that the shelter’s philosophy of open access while striving to be no-kill meant that aggressive dogs were being put on the adoption floor, something the shelter has vehemently denied.

But this time, the accusations are much different. Simmons said that recently residents and those close to the shelter have been questioning the CCSPCA’s euthanasia policies, leading to board member Pat Biswanger posting a detailed message on the shelter’s Facebook wall Thursday afternoon.

“Some people are spreading falsehoods about how we handle euthanasia at the CCSPCA, so we are going to try to set the record straight here.”

— EMILY SIMMONS, CCSPA executive director

“A word about euthanasia at the CCSPCA,” the post begins. “Some people are spreading falsehoods about how we handle euthanasia at the CCSPCA, so we are going to try to set the record straight here.”

“We made the decision to post this on the page because it seemed like all of the chatter dealt with that (euthanasia),” Simmons said in an interview.

The post goes on to describe the euthanasia policies at the shelter, saying that only veterinarians and vet techs who are certified are allowed to do the shelter’s euthanasia, and the shelter’s process of cremating animals. It also notes that in January the shelter euthanized 19 animals and sent 93 percent to new homes, rescues or back to their owners.

“So, in sum, we follow best practices, our staff is trained, we have the correct drugs, and we respect the animals after death,” the post reads.

“I think a lot of these people are people who hear a rumor that may not be factual and may be uncomfortable with sheltering in general,” said Simmons, noting that euthanasia is used in shelters for suffering animals. “I don’t think that that ever goes away in a community, certainly with an open access shelter, even if the shelter is running really well.”

While some of the commenters to the post, which had received more than 80 comments as of Friday afternoon, voice their support for the organization, others question the integrity of the shelter.

“I know of several people who were reaching out to the CCSPCA to try and adopt dogs that were cleared for adoption and then later euthanized,” one comment reads. “Several attempts at contacting the shelter resulted in multiple misinformations. Get your staff better at communicating if this is truly a “big misunderstanding”. I highly doubt that it is.”

One of the conflicts that may have sparked the debate over the shelter’s euthanasia practices concerns a dog named Patches. Opponents of the shelter questioned the CCSPCA for taking Patches off of the adoption floor — with some asking whether he was euthanized — and lying about it. However, the shelter said that “Patches is well. He is not on the adoption floor because he is a very reactive dog, and he needs more peace and quiet and less stimulation.”

“People speculate over individual animals,” said Simmons. “The thing that is frustrating is that people who seem to be complaining the loudest don’t seem to be taking in these dogs either.

The group of people making the accusations has largely remained private, but some say that they include those who first made accusations last summer of the shelter becoming a “kill factory.” The Justice4ChesterCountyAnimals organization, who led the allegations last summer, could not be reached for comment.

Simmons said that the shelter is striving to be a “life-saving organization,” but noted that if an animal is severely suffering, that humane euthanasia is the right thing to do. She said that since the CCSPCA’s new policy of striving to be no kill while remaining open access has taken place, the euthanasia rate has dropped considerably.

Simmons added that within the next two weeks, the shelter will be posting online a report showing statistics concerning euthanasia and life-saving for all of 2013 and on a monthby-month basis.

While the outcries of high euthanasia are back, Simmons said that she hoped that people would instead focus on tackling the problem of numerous animals coming to the shelter.

“I think that one way the community help us help animals is exercising responsible pet ownership,” said Simmons. “That doesn’t just mean humane treatment in general. That means spaying and neutering, licensing the pet, delivering vet care, never letting an animal become a nuisance, and ethical procurement of pets.”

“I think people can help us help animals and be part of this effort — which needs to be a community wide effort — to lower euthanasia rates across the board with responsible pet ownership,” she added.

Michael Dempsey, a critic of the shelter’s open access, no-kill philosophy and former shelter interim operations manager, agreed with Simmons. While Dempsey said he worries about dogs with behavioral problems on the adoption floor, he said that the people who cry out against euthanasia should be more focused on finding a solution for the problem of overcrowding at shelters.

“Around 80 percent of the animals are strays,” said Dempsey. “And that’s the problem, that owners are letting their dogs become stray. The shelter then acquires these animals that can have issues. That’s where the finger should be pointed.”