Animal group looks to fill gaps left by Vernon SPCA closure

Nov 29, 2023 | 5:45 AM

The SPCA closed its shelter in Vernon less than two weeks ago, but the move is already having an impact on a non-profit society that is looking to fill gaps created by the sudden shutdown.

Romany Runnalls, president of the volunteer-driven Okanagan Humane Society, said they have been providing animal care for close to three decades in the valley, including in Vernon, but some people are not aware of what they do.

“Enough people know about us, but they don’t necessarily think of us immediately. We do a lot of work on the ground,” Runnalls told Vernon Matters.

She said they are getting more North Okanagan calls since the Vernon closure on Nov. 17, but adds they would have gotten some of those regardless as referrals from the SPCA to deal with animals in the community.

However, Runnalls has noticed a change to the recent calls for help.

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“I think people are maybe panicking a little about the animals now because they don’t know what the resources are going to be like and who’s going to be taking care of those animals.”

Runnalls says most of their calls for help are for found animals.

“Stray, abandoned, lost cats mainly. That’s the biggest problem in most of the communities. We don’t see a lot of stray dogs anymore and the dog control in communities in set up for those typically.”

The OHS will be talking with the Regional District of North Okanagan about possible ways to work together on dogs in the RDNO area.

Other calls are for injured animals that need a place to go to, and people surrendering pets when moving out of homes.

“Our model is, we don’t have a shelter, but we do have a very large foster network of people that are available take animals into their home for us after an animal has been rescued and checked out with a vet.”

The society’s website, okanaganhumanesociety.com, is set-up to take in reports from around the Okanagan, and they have been providing service in Vernon for 27 years.

“This isn’t new to us. It’s very much part of our program currently, but a lot of people don’t necessarily think of us — and that’s OK because we can’t do it all. We’re a very small charity with a very small budget. We don’t have a $52 million budget like the BC SPCA does; we have a half-million dollar budget, and it’s for the entire Okanagan, so we do the best we can.”

Runnalls said of their $500,000 budget, most of that comes from donations, along with private grant funding and a gaming grant, but no municipal or government funding.

She said all of the donations go to the care of animals.

“We are not including a lot of funding for administration. We have no paid salaries or staff, we’re all volunteers. We don’t have a shelter that we have to maintain that funding for infrastructure, so it’s a very efficient model financially.”

Image credit: Okanagan Humane Society

Runnalls said they absolutely need to ramp-up their funding in the Vernon/North Okanagan area, and the society is creating an online fund specifically for the Vernon area so that people can donate directly to help Vernon area animals.

“People in Vernon are very concerned that they’ve been supporting the SPCA for years and they want the funds to stay directly in the North Okanagan-Vernon area,” Runnalls remarked.

The fund is used to pay vet bills as the society partners with five local veterinarians in Vernon and Armstrong.

“The animals go there, they get vaccinated, de-wormed, spayed or neutered. Our main mission and mandate is to stop the breeding, so we do a lot of that population mitigation by spaying and neutering and that’s been going on for 27 years.”

Runnalls said she’s heard from corporations, businesses and individuals that want to ensure there are services in the North Okanagan.

The society covers an area from Osoyoos to Salmon Arm, an area that now includes three SPCA shelters, formerly four.

“I can tell you we have between 100 to 200 animals in foster at any one time which is probably double, triple or quadruple what the total number of animals is in all of those [SPCA] shelters combined.”

Runnalls says other organizations also provide animal services in the Okanagan but feels the OHS is the largest and most well-established.

The OHS has its Angels for Animals campaign underway until Dec. 31 where donations can be matched up to $25,000.

“It’s a good time for people to donate and help support our efforts in their community, and they get a tax receipt for their portion of the donation.”

The volunteer president said the main needs at this point are for foster homes for animals, and funds.

“If we have foster homes and funds, we can expand and keep our programs running and do the best we possibly can in that area.”

People can go through the website to donate or get more information at okanaganhumanesociety.com.

The Vernon SPCA facility on Haney Road shut down on Nov. 17 due to what the BC SPCA said were a number of safety concerns about their 35-year-old building which was built on the site of a former landfill.

The closure was announced two days before it took effect.

by Pete McIntyre

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