Column by Don Glynn —
Stories about the operations at the Niagara SPCA shelter shape the image of sickening and disgusting treatment of animals.
It’s even more tragic to think that a number of them may have been euthanized only because there wasn’t enough room.
A valid concern now is that some area residents, generous over the years with their donations and gifts, will simply turn their backs on the urgent needs there. That, in effect, will only penalize the current occupants.
Meanwhile, it’s imperative that those striving to restore trust — through a new executive director and obviously changes in the overall operation — in the agency are dedicated to that task.
The existing crisis is much too tragic to simplify it. In a way, it goes far beyond the irresponsible manner in which the local shelter has been operated for who knows how long.
Sometimes you need to look at the bigger picture: pet overpopulation.
Across the U.S., three to four million dogs and cats are killed every year. That doesn’t include those animals that die on the roads or from the unreported animal abuse cases.
One study showed that in Ohio, animal shelters killed 196,831 dogs and cats in a single year. What’s disgusting, only a small fraction were terminally ill or too sick to be treated.
Experts on the subject tend to cite three major root causes: People buying cats and dogs that come from puppy mills and are supplied to pet stores; countless pet owners failing to spay and neuter their animals; and people who treat pets as disposal commodities (e.g. surrendering them to shelters because they’re going on vacation and can’t afford to board).
Lots of remedies are out there. One that would be a step in the right direction is expanding the shelter’s marketing efforts. One caller to the Niagara Gazette suggested that a public relations person — like Gina Browning of the Erie County SPCA — make weekly visits to a TV station with one of the pets up for adoption.
It’s a good way to find a nice home for pets.
•••
OUT OF THE PAST: When Tom Darro, host of WJJL’s popular “Viewpoint” show, called this week to inform me that Lou Harp had died in Little Rock, Ark., it sparked memories of a dark and blustery night 35 years ago.
Harp was director of the Convention Center (now the casino) during the Blizzard of ‘77 and, as you may recall, many people were stranded in the South End and throughout the area that Friday when fierce winds, freezing temperatures and blowing snow made it impossible to even start your car.
Harp quickly realized the sprawling convention center was a perfect shelter for anyone who couldn’t make it home or to a hotel which probably didn’t have any vacancy anyway.
Within a short time, the word spread and people started drifting into the Fourth Street complex. Harp and his staff scurried to provide them with chairs, blankets, water and other vital needs. He even imported a television set from one of the offices on the second level.
My assignment that night was to find any place downtown where people had found temporary shelter from the blizzard. Harp invited to stop by the center for coffee.
It was impressive just to see those people sitting in the main arena, swapping their survival stories and enjoying a television program.
“They don’t seem to have a worry in the world,” I said to Harp.
“Well, except for that hefty guy in the front row,” Harp said, “He ‘s been griping for over an hour that our TV is too small and it’s not in color.”
•••
NEW HOURS: The Local History Department at Niagara Falls Public Library, one of the finest collections in the Buffalo-Niagara area, will now be open on Mondays from 5 to 8 p.m.
That’s in addition to the current schedule with the department open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2 to 5 p.m.
Executive Library Director Michelle Petrazzoulo said the Local History center will be open one Saturday a month, with the dates yet to be announced.
Additional information about the department is available by calling 286-4899.
Don Glynn
Related Photos
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GLYNN: Trust in SPCA shelter must be restored
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