Add it up

From the Cape Breton SPCA website
ADOPTION INFORMATION CAPE BRETON SPCA
The payment for adopting a new pet includes:
1. The adopted pet’s FIRST VACCINE and DEWORMING, provided by the SPCA prior to leaving the shelter on the day of adoption
2. A VOUCHER FOR A FREE PHYSICAL EXAM at a LOCAL VET to be used WITHIN 10 DAYS of adoption (compliments of the vet). Additional costs associated with any treatments of diseases are paid at you OWN EXPENSE.
3. A SPAY/NEUTER CONTRACT, which covers a PORTION of the cost for a spay or neuter at a local vet clinic. The clinic will retain this contract after the surgery is completed.
DOG Female - $90.00 Male - $75.00
CAT Female - $60.00 Male - $50.00
The REMAINDER OF THE FEE for the spay/neuter is YOUR OBLIGATION TO THE VET
4. An SPCA pet REGISTRATION TAG and a MICROCHIP


VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
1. Your animal will require a BOOSTER VACCINE, which is your responsibility and is paid at your OWN EXPENSE.
2. If vet finds a problem with your new adopted pet at your COMPLIMENTARY PHYSICAL EXAM, you may return the animal to the shelter for a refund (minus the cost for a tag and cat box fee), or you may treat the animal AT YOUR OWN EXPENSE. It is extremely important to have your new pet examined by a veterinarian, they can find diseases that SPCA shelter staff are not trained to find or permitted to diagnose. We do not willingly adopt sick animals and a physical exam is important to ensure the health of your new pet.
3. Each new adopted animal has a TEN DAY trial period in your home and if it does not work out for any reason, you can return it to the SPCA within those ten days. You MUST bring your RECEIPT and SPAY/NEUTER CONTRACT to receive a refund. We do not refund the cost of the registration tag/microchip or cat box fee.
4. When it’s time for your new adopted pet to have the contracted spay or neuter, make an appointment at your local vet and take the SPAY/NEUTER CONTRACT, with you. Remember you have signed a CONTRACT STATING that you will have the adopted pet altered. Surgery left beyond the approximate surgery date (found on the contract) can cost you extra money.
5. ANY FURTHER CHARGES ARE YOUR RESPONSIBILITY
So let me get this straight.... the adoptables are going home without being altered? Without all their vaccinations? But still with a $100 adoption fee for cats and an $140.00 one for the dogs?
On the uptick, they are continuing with the same cat Spay neuter program that has been in place for the last couple of years. Once again there is a ceiling of 300 cats... and while that is certainly better than nothing it pales in comparison to the annual intake of cats.
According to last years stats, that number stood at 2414. This years stats are not available online yet, and in light of the fact that the Cape Breton branch is no longer supposed to be accepting owner surrenders to kill, the cat intake number may be different this year.
Does that mean there will be less homeless and stray cats in Cape Breton? Of course not, it simply means that they can no longer be brought into the Cape Breton shelter. Does that mean they will have a better outcome? A worse one? Nobody is any the wiser because unlike the society, animal clinics are not obliged to provide public data on the number of animals that are killed at the owners request.
All it means is that the Cape Breton Branch ... in theory anyway .... should have a lower kill rate this year.
Not to be mean ... but dead is dead. Better statistics for the society sadly does not always mean better outcomes for the animals. It simply means better outcomes for the animals they were willing or able to accept.
Mind you all of this is a moot point, because the number of animals at the Cape Breton shelter is a complete mystery to the public. For the month leading up to Christmas, there was only one dog and four cats listed on petfinder and now there are STILL no new listings.
In August, for whatever reason, the society saw fit to showcase the Cape Breton Branch in their newsletter. Click here for the Print Version. I am not privy to the inner workings of the board, but their choice was certainly not made to congratulate them for their use of Petfinder. Perhaps it was made in the same hopeful spirit that saw a President whose country is actively engaged in armed conflict be awarded a Nobel Peace prize.
I'm not going to bore anyone by repeating all the suggestions from Where oh where are you tonight. Nor am I going to speculate on where the Branch is going. Because that is exactly what it would be ... speculation.
Cost of listing animals on petfinder ... zero
Number of pets listed on the cape breton spca petfinder page ... zero
Number of pets actually available at the shelter ... ?
Value of each and every life ... priceless
At the end of the day, better stats don't add up to much if they don't reflect the big picture.