Really upset with RSPCA

GemJar_2

blackqueen wrote: »

GemJar, I am SO sorry to hear about your missing pet. It is very distressing - I've been in that position myself as my cat wasn't microchipped. She did turn up a few days later in the local RSPCA shelter, where she had been well cared for. Cats do wander though so please don't give up hope. I also found a cat and managed to catch her and took her to the RSPCA and luckily she did have a microchip and was able to be returned to her owner, but she'd been missing quite a while apparently and had wandered a fair distance from home! So there is still hope. But do register your loss on as many pet loss websites as you can because you may strike lucky and at least you'd feel you were doing something positive to get your much-loved furry back.

I also work for a local RSPCA and I can't condone what they did there, it was wrong and I would never support that. It would have come from a call centre and be something to do with head office.

I can assure you that as a local animal shelter, even though we come under the RSPCA, we would have never done that to you. What many people probably don't realise is that money donated to the RSPCA as a whole goes to head office and not your local animal shelter unless you specifically give it to them. That is the case with us, we come under the RSPCA but that's almost just in name only because we receive no funding from head office and have to raise all the funds to run our shelter ourselves (current costs are about £9000 a week!). We are run by a voluntary committee of trustees - many of whom are very elderly and retired and incredibly dedicated.

I also wanted to point out that not all RSPCA branches are the same - we run our shelter OUR way, the way our Committee of Trustees want it run and so long as it is within the broad outlines of the RSPCA, we are left alone to run it how we feel is best. In our case, that means we most certainly do NOT put down healthy animals at our shelter if they are difficult to home, we keep them for as long as it takes to find a new home. Our Trustees would never allow it to be ANY other way.

We had a cat her for well over a year whilst we got her dieted and back into tip-top feline shape but she eventually got the new home she deserved and she is happy and healthy and we are all as pleased as punch that it worked out. Our last current long-stay cat was with us nearly 8 months before she found a home - we knew she would in time, she just needed time. The same goes for our dogs. We have specialist dog behaviourists who work with them to make sure they are ready for a home environment, no matter what they might have gone through before.

We do also take in strays, although space is very very limited and sometimes there is a waiting list, but we will always find room rather than turn a needy animal away.

I know it's not much to say this, but I can assure you that I would NEVER work for and support an animal shelter that puts down healthy animals because it's too much bother to rehome them. I couldn't live with myself if I did. I can't speak for other shelters - RSPCA or any other charities, only my own - and we are definitely NO KILL! Most of us at my local shelter have at least a couple of animals, all of whom have come through our shelter and we have taken them in because the public didn't want them - the dogs with odd habits and behavioural problems (!), the 3-legged cat, the cat with no ears, older cats and dogs that people pass by because they'd rather have a younger one.

I know this isn't helping you in your particular case GemJar and I still agree that you getting a cold call like that was wrong, but I just wanted to put the record a little straighter if I can for anyone reading this. Sometimes it's hard doing what we do, seeing what we see, when you get such negative press and it's not about us as a local animal shelter, but about the main RSPCA. So you see, if you think you know the RSPCA, please look closely at your local branch - what goes on at HQ is not what I see every day at our little shelter.

Sorry for my terribly long post...

Thanks for this blackqueen, I didnt realise that money doesn't actually go to the centers themselves, I usually donate online, from now on I'll be going to my local branch to donate. I have no problem with the centers themselves, I know as well as everybody else on here that they do the best they can its just such a shame that they are let down by awful HQ and cold calling centers

GemJar_2

blackqueen wrote: »

Hi RacyRed - thank you. You are saying exactly what a lot of us at the local shelters say too. We DO care about the animals and none of us have posh cars, fancy offices (really, you should see where I work, lol!!!) - because everything goes on the animals.

But isn't it awful that people don't know the difference or the distinction between RSPCA HQ and RSPCA local animal shelter? I didn't till I recently came here to work and it shocked me that the money goes there and we don't get any of it.

I just wanted people to realise that we are not "them", despite the name above the door and the branding. If I can help just one person understand that, and they can go and tell one more, we're on the right track and maybe then people can look a little more kindly on the RSPCA - BUT on those of us working tirelessly for animals in YOUR neighbourhood. We're quite nice really, honest.

Rak2 - I'm so glad someone else is a supporter of the older cat - me too! My current love is a 14 year old gorgeous tortie who was 9 when I adopted her from our shelter and she had been with them for 5 months and was being overlooked. She's a lot less hassle than my 3 year old cat who's naughty and mischevious. My old gal just wants to sleep and be loved - it can't be any easier than that, eh?

Thanx for listening everyone - and I only came on here to find out the best way to save money on contact lenses, lol.

xxx

Cheaper contact lenses- I'll sing praises about daysoft all day long- daysoft.com they deliver within 5 days its a tenner a month (yes even for two different prescriptions) and they're comfier than the hundreds of different brands I've tried previously. Sorry I know that was off topic.

trudij

blackqueen - hello !!! (and welcome!!)

I had no idea at all, so you have changed at least one persons idea of the RSPCA - I knew the money went to head office and got wasted on advertising rather than concentrating on more important things - but I had no idea at all that none of it went to the various centres around the country.

Will definately be more pro our local lot now - thankyou

MaximumImpact

I am a long time hater of the RSPCA as I have nothing but bad experiences from them, including 4 visits following malicious calls (surely they would have got the point after the second visit!!) and rude call centre operators..I too will only help and donate to my local animal rescue.
I adopt some rescue cases and also provide the final pre release stage for rehabilitated wildlife, however the RSPCA have refused all offers of help from me in regards to providing temporary foster homes for some livestock that they are looking for homes for or even a permanant safe sanctuary for any unreleaseable wildlife.
The reason, one call centre operator gave me, is that the animals need permanent homes not temporary and that pigeons and such like are vermin not Wildlife!!!!!.....Surely it's better that I take the financial pressure of them for a while and take in an animal....Apparently not!!!
My local rescue centre are more than happy for me to help and often call me at all hours of the day and night to go out and do Wildlife rescue.......What happens if you call the RSPCA at night for anything??
Absolutely nothing!!!

As most posters have said, support your local rescue, they need the help and unlike the money grabbing RSPCA, they will gratefully accept your time, you effort, food donations, blankets and don't demand money and don't use disgraceful techniques to fundraise!!!

Mandy_557

Thank you blackqueen for putting in much better words all i was trying to say in the first place. I have seemed to have rubbed people up the wrong way here lol, at least you got a much better response. Good luck in all the work you do at your local branch, alot of work and dedication.

GemJar_2

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1337045/Cat-years-lost-aftermath-Hurricane-Katrina.html if they can get their cat back after 5 years and a hurricane.. there might be hope for my little man yet

gingercordial

Gingham_Ribbon wrote: »

We heard that your [family member] is dying of [disease]. We thought you'd like to donate to our charity to prevent other people from going through this.

Actually I pretty much did have this from Cancer Research, after I did the Race for Life in 2009. A few months later I had a call "from them" (really a cold calling centre) and the guy calling me thanked me for doing the run and asked me why I'd chosen to do it. So I told him about the fact that a good friend of mine had recently died from cancer, at a young age. He used that to tell me how important it was that I should sign up for a regular direct debit donation. I was really angry about that. I certainly didn't sign up for one.

System

Mandy_557 wrote: »

I work for the RSPCA and that call definately did NOT come from your local branch. It would have come from some cold calling centre. People expect so much from us, they lose a pet and hey the rspca must be able to find it, thats what they are there for surely? Life doesnt happen like that, im very sorry for anyone who loses their animals but we cant work wonders. The people i work with are very kind and caring, looking after animals that have been abused by people, 24 hours a day. As for any bad press, well to be honest the RSPCA is a charity and at the end of the day any animal we end up helping is a bonus, no one has a right to run us down, unless you are able to do the job yourself better.

i was looking to adopt a dog earlier this year and went to my local rspca centre there were 4 members of staff in the recepion area chatting about the previous weekends events and could not have cared less whether we took a dog or not.we ended up going elsewhere to a better run independant rescue centre who took the time to talk to us and find out what we were wanting.

frivolous_fay

gingercordial wrote: »

Actually I pretty much did have this from Cancer Research, after I did the Race for Life in 2009. A few months later I had a call "from them" (really a cold calling centre) and the guy calling me thanked me for doing the run and asked me why I'd chosen to do it. So I told him about the fact that a good friend of mine had recently died from cancer, at a young age. He used that to tell me how important it was that I should sign up for a regular direct debit donation. I was really angry about that. I certainly didn't sign up for one.

I think the same guy called me this year! Fortunately I guessed what the call was about and was on my guard. This year doing the Race for Life was very much about 'So you're running this year - great! Here are some other ways to try to get money out of your friends and relatives' I don't mind supporting a cause but some people are blind to the concept of killing the goose that lays the golden egg.

Tropez

The truth is that they're all at it at the moment; well almost all of them.

I've been very charitable in my time - I've donated money to several high profile charities and at times have ended the donations so that I could donate to other worthwhile causes.

As a result, at least once a month these days I get a call from someone representing one of the charities I used to donate to informing me about their new urgent campaigns, asking why I donated previously and then telling me how much worse things are now and asking if I could spare a few extra quid. I've checked out several of these calls and despite numerous charities being represented, they're all coming from the same small group of businesses who are clearly acting as agents cold calling anyone on these charities databases trying to solicit donations.