SPCA Tampa Bay Puppy Mill Partnership: Panic, Pause and Permanently Poisoned

“There are two kinds of problem solvers: Those who actually want to solve the problem, and those who simply want to make money on the existence of the problem–without actually solving the problem. Unfortunately, some charities fall into the latter camp, where they essentially become fundraising operations.” – Humane Watch 09/2020

Search: “SPCA Tampa Bay and Puppy Mills” and you get an idea of how lost is SPCATB.

Trust in the SPCA Tampa Bay has been irremediably broken. The agency has misled the community and betrayed local animals. Instead of working for them, it has been working against them. SPCA Tampa Bay CEO Martha Boden has abandoned the pets of Pinellas County. In truth, if you really knew her history, she never really embraced the animals of Pinellas County. Her role has been that of an imposter operating an agency for self-enrichment. SPCATB is strictly a fund-raising enterprise that has robbed the pot of donor dollars for the self-enrichment of the two-legged animal.

Donors wake up.

An agency that rewards its CEO with a $180,000 annual salary for crafting policies for self-enrichment is wrong. SPCATB does not deserve your donation or support. Look elsewhere for an authentic local humane organization to support.

Timeline / Fill in the blanks

SPCATB CEO Martha Boden traveled to Chicago to attend an animal “acquisition conference” where she sat at the table with puppy mill owner/dog broker Chris Flemming of Pinnacle Pets.

Q. A CEO of an animal shelter does this why?

A

Made several trips with staff to visit the Missouri based Pinnacle pet facility.

Q. Is this how donor dollars are to be used?

A

Entered a partnership with Pinnacle Pets (and local retailer Sunshine Puppies that receives puppy mill dogs from Pinnacle) to import dogs from MO for the SPCATB to sell for up to $1,000.

Q. Who imports dogs from the puppy mills of Missouri into a community (where animals are killed daily for space) to sell as high-income producing inventory?

A.

Withdrew participation in the spay/neuter voucher program. (09/28/2023) and instead

provided SPCATB veterinary care to retailer Sunshine Puppies. Puppies whose mother was lucky to ever see or feel the sunshine

Q. What kind of person does this?

A.

No less than 14 national and local animal welfare organizations have condemned the behavior of the SPCA Tampa Bay.

After local and national pressure, SPCATB President Catherine Mitchell and CEO Martha Boden put out a joint announcement that there was to be a “pause” in the partnership program.

Q. Is this a “pause” until next week? A “pause” until people forget about this, A “pause” until when?

A.

I guess we might get an answer after consultation with the B2 PR firm?

Observations:

The general adoption fee for dogs in Pinellas County area is $125. The high pricing of dogs from the SPCATB sends the message that some animal’s lives are recognized as more valuable than others.

SPCATB accepted and sold more than 20 dogs from the puppy mill dog broker before announcing to the public the “Partnership program”. The cost of these dogs? $700 – $1,000.

Even after this so-called “pause”, SPCATB continues to have the greatest number of cherry-picked dog breeds than any other shelter. And those dogs cost 700-$1,000.

Q. Is this adoption? Or is this retail sales?

A.

Numbers:

Florida is fourth in the nation for killing adoptable animals.

Well-funded SPCA Tampa Bay managed to save only 54.3% of the dogs in their care in 2022,

Pinellas County Animal Services, an open admission municipal shelter, had an 83.7% save rate in 2022, compared to SPCA Tampa Bay’s overall cat and dog save rate of 59.21%.

SPCATB 2022 YTD stats reports 212 dogs transferred from outside FL.

In August, nearly 270 at-risk dogs and cats were taken out of over-crowded Florida shelters and flown to shelters in New Jersey and New Hampshire.

The SPCATB has lost credibility. No humane organization in the country trusts this agency, pause or no pause.

Compensation

After learning of the generous $180,000 annual salary that is provided to CEO Martha Boden, a local veterinarian comments:

“My management salary for all 3 Harmony locations is 67,000 per year. This is (inexcusable). I will never understand why someone goes into the animal industry, let alone the non-profit sector of the animal industry if they don’t have the purest intentions. There are plenty of other industries that you can take advantage of. It’s just evil to use the pain and suffering of animals to pad your paycheck”.

Stephanie Sabshin DVM 10/02/23

Note: Dr Sabshin is a skilled veterinary surgeon who has a dream, “a dream to provide high quality low cost surgeries to animals in need. Along with her highly trained and dedicated team, she performs approximately 40 surgeries per day…

What a difference could be made in the community if SPCA TB had a tincture of this commitment to helping animals

1. Who allows the SPCATB to be run as a fund-raising only agency?
2. The SPCA TB board of directors. And they are:

Catherine Mitchell – President

Andy Gaunce – Past President

Tina Thomas – Treasurer

Andy Gaunce – Secretary

Stacy Nethercoat – Governance Chair

MEMBERS

Beverly Frank

Dr. Julie Kessel

Sasha Lohn

Mark Martukovich

Erica Maxwell

Stephanie Morge

Michael Price

Julie Rockwell

Trevor Tillwick

These individuals, regardless of their professional acumen have apparently lost sight of any accountability and moral compass by allowing this agency to become the most despised animal welfare organization in the country. Do they give the same or such little attention in their respective professional positions?

1. Why do they allow this?
2. Weak? Afraid? Heartless? Beneficiaries in some way of this fund-raising enterprise?

We really do not know the answer to this.

1. What is the message Ms. Boden and the directors should hear?
2. The commitment of the animal welfare community is that there will be NO PAUSE to the disinfectant of sunlight on your role in protecting and sustaining the continued presence of SPCATB CEO Martha Boden. There will be no “pause” until Ms. Boden is dismissed. There will be no “pause until” you either turn this agency around to be one guided by authentic compassion, or you resign from your position as a director.