BC SPCA issuing orders for care in return of animals rescued from Burnaby home

June 26, 2012. For immediate release.

The BC SPCA will be releasing animals rescued from a Burnaby home earlier this month to their former guardian now that she claims to have found a new property where the animals can be housed. On June 13 the City of Burnaby sought the BC SPCA’s assistance in providing temporary care and shelter for 52 dogs and 16 cats after Sandra Simans, who was keeping  the 68 dogs and cats in a rented home in residential Burnaby neighborhood, was evicted by her landlord after months of failing to pay rent.

“This is a very sad case where a rescue hoarder took in far more animals than she was capable of properly caring for and was not meeting the financial responsibilities of housing or caring for the animals,” says Bob Busch, general manager of operations for the BC SPCA. “The City of Burnaby gave her more than a year of extensions to find a new situation even though she was in violation of city bylaws and her landlord gave her numerous extensions after she stopped paying rent, but the situation just couldn’t go on any longer.”

He said the BC SPCA has always made it clear to Ms. Simans that she could claim the animals at any time once she had a location where the animals could be properly cared for. “She contacted us to say she has found a landlord in Surrey who will allow her to house some of the animals on his property and we advised her that she can claim the animals at any time.”  Any animals not claimed by Ms. Simans will be available for adoption into new loving homes through SPCA shelters. “Since the animals are rescue animals, not pets, we assume Ms. Simans will be happy with this outcome for the animals,” says Busch.

While the BC SPCA is returning the animals to Simans, who runs an organization called 1atatime, Busch says the BC SPCA will be closely monitoring the welfare and safety of any animals that are returned.
“Many of the animals we took into care from Ms. Simans were extremely sick, injured and emaciated and were not getting the urgent veterinary care they needed,” he says. “The BC SPCA has spent more than $10,000 in emergency veterinary costs on these animals so far and there will be significant ongoing medical costs for many of the animals before they are ready for adoption.”  He notes that one of the dogs had emergency surgery this week to remove 130 bladder stones and another emaciated Chihuahua who had been in Ms. Siman’s care since 2010 has gone from 2.7 pounds to 4.2 pounds in just a week of being properly fed. Of the 68 animals, one had to be euthanized due to extreme distress and suffering.

“We feel badly for Ms. Simans as she clearly had good intentions, but  the reality is that it is not in the animals’ best interests to take them from one bad situation and allow them to continue suffering in a new situation,” says Busch. “The dogs were kept in plastic crates and were clearly not getting the care they required – she was just overwhelmed.” He notes that legitimate animal welfare organizations and rescue groups have a standard called ‘Capacity to Care’ which sets out levels of health and welfare that must be provided for rescued animals and guides organizations in the number of animals they can responsibly care for given their resources.  “While we are working with Ms. Simans in the return of the animals, we will be issuing orders for their care and will be following up to ensure the animals are not at risk.”

Photo caption: An emaciated Chihuahua who had been in Ms. Siman’s care since 2010

Photo caption: An emaciated Chihuahua who had been in Ms. Siman’s care since 2010

—30—

For more information:

Marcie Moriarty, GM, cruelty investigations, BC SPCA, 604-647-1318 (office), 604-258-8642

Bob Busch, GM, operations, BC SPCA, 604-647-5504 (office), 604-317-2217 (cell)

Lorie Chortyk, GM, community relations, BC SPCA, 604-647-1316 (office), 604-830-7179 (cell)

The BC SPCA is a non-profit organization funded primarily by public donations. Our mission is to prevent cruelty and to promote the welfare of animals through a wide range of services, including cruelty investigations, emergency rescue and treatment, sheltering and adoption of homeless and abused animals, humane education, advocacy, farm animal welfare, spay/neuter programs, and wildlife rescue and rehabilitation.