Before endorsing, be informed
Dear Supporter of the SPCA Tampa Bay,
I want to recognize and thank you, as an individual, a business owner or local official, for your concern for the welfare of at-risk animals in Pinellas County by being a supporter of the SPCA Tampa Bay (SPCATB). Amongst the many organizations in the Tampa Bay area, the SPCATB is fortunate that you have chosen it to be the beneficiary of your attention and generosity.
Some questions to ask yourself
What is the reason you are supporting/donating to this specific animal organization? Is the SPCATB in financial need? Do you like what you see of the agency’s operations and performance? Is it social or political capital? To what extent do the animals who enter the SPCATB facility benefit from your charity? Or do they? Or does the administration benefit more?
Last year 65 round trip tickets were purchased for the CEO and 12 staff members to make 5 excursions to Missouri to visit a puppy mill breeding operations with the intention of importing dogs to sell from the SPCATB. Is this the nature of how your well-intended donation will be used? https://www.tbnweekly.com/pinellas_county/article_0bf72524-87d7-11ee-9e04-ffabfc692e35.html
The SPCATB has impressive resources for a local “humane” organization.
It has cash and liquid investments of $8,500,000 and a balance sheet reflecting $15,900,000 in assets. Last year its CEO was reimbursed $180,000 with additional incentives for fund-raising. The organization has a top-heavy but talented team that excels in marketing, advertising and fund raising. The website is slick. The administration wields influence with local officials who bend over backward to give the organization preferential treatment over other local animal charities. It has everything going for it financially, including and especially your support.
It all looks good on the outside but do we judge a book by its glossy cover? Do we judge a person or organization by their outward appearance or by the content of their character?
History
Prior to this current SPCATB administration, the organization was an honorable institution that provided a safe haven to neglected and abused animals, strays as well as owner surrendered dogs and cats. There were no surrender fees and no appointments. A helpline and behavior counseling were available. There was a popular, effective, and affordable in-house volunteer-led dog training program. This was offered to help owners understand normal dog behavior for the prevention of relinquishment.
“New leadership doesn’t value animals’ lives unless it equates to profit” – Teresa VanCoppenolle, former SPCATB volunteer
The organization made a 180 about face in 2011 with the hiring of its current CEO. The new administrator’s priority as is embraced today is the acquisition of wealth. Greed displaced compassion. Serving-self displaced serving others.
The first order of business was the firing of staff, dismissing dedicated, long-time volunteers, the dismantling of the programs mentioned above. Soon thereafter, was the termination of the SPCA ambulance.
“This was a 24-hour service for injured strays. After hours these animals were taken to an emergency clinic, treated, and stabilized. The following day they were transported to the shelter.”
“The (current CEO and veterinarian) calculated the number euthanized and concluded the cost was not worth having this service continue even though funding for this service (had) always been a huge favorite of donors. Even after the program was dismantled donors thought they were supporting emergency services for our community animals.”
“I have nightmares and fight depression to this day due to her (current CEO) dismantling of what was once a place of hope and care.”
“She destroyed everything that made employees proud to say we were a part of it.”
- Donna Bainter, Director of Behavior and Training and 20-year employee of SPCATB.
Why were these programs eliminated? Because those commitments were an investment in the care and well-being of at-risk Pinellas County animals who came to the agency’s doors by no fault of their own.
For the last 12 years the SPCATB has masqueraded as an animal welfare organization for the purpose of self-enrichment. It showcases just enough of its efforts and stories to serve the marketing and fund-raising needs. It has become a successful fund-raising enterprise by exploiting the brand “SPCA,” animal welfare, the animals, and the goodness of people like yourself who “just want to help the animals.”
Slick front with a smile and extended hand
How do we feel when we learn we have been duped, lied to, mislead for our money? Angry? Betrayed? How would we know we have been the subject of a hoax unless we have examined beyond the exterior and into the character?
You deserve to know this
Since 2012 the SPCATB has been misrepresenting its animal statistics with calculated trickery.
Why? To falsely inflate its published “Live Release Rate” and falsely justify the killing of adoptable/treatable animals who will not be profitable to the organization.
The SPCATB has taken the liberty to categorize a surrendered animal as “Owner Requested Euthanasia” from wording in a release signed by the person surrendering an animal. It states:
(v) In the event OWNER fails to physically reclaim the animal within the forty-eight (48) hour reclamation period, and the animal has been determined to be unadoptable, then SPCA Tampa Bay shall then be authorized to humanly euthanize the animal. (Underlining for emphasis) https://spcatampabay.org/wp-content/uploads/form-2019-Statement-of-Owner-Guardian-Surrender.pdf
The agency uses this category of animals as an excuse to destroy and omit from the calculation formula that (mis)represents its “Live Release Rate”
Since 2019 the SPCATB has falsely claimed that it uses the calculation formula of the national “American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals” (ASPCA). It does not.
Here is an explanation and details of how this trickery works. https://indysvoice4animals.org/2024/03/06/spca-tampa-bay-falsely-inflates-its-live-release-rate/
Does anyone really believe that in December 2023, 108 people walked into the facility with their animal to ask that their animal be destroyed / “euthanized”? https://spcatampabay.org/wp-content/uploads/2023-Stats_December.pdf
How about for the year 2023, do you believe that 1,216 people walked into the SPCATB to request their animal be destroyed? https://spcatampabay.org/wp-content/uploads/2023-Stats_December-YTD.pdf
This is what the SPCATB publishes and wants you to believe.
For the SPCATB administration, facts get in the way. Nothing to see here, just move along.
Revenue in death / Predatory fee for a phone call
The fee for surrendering a dog or cat is $60 (in county residents) $70 (out of county residents). If the owner wants an opportunity to reclaim their pet if determined to be “unadoptable” by the SPCATB, an additional $100 fee is charged for a single phone call back. https://spcatampabay.org/pet-surrender/ (Services -> Our Call Back Program).
Would you consider $100 for a phone call back to be the compassion as is extolled in the SPCATB core values? “Our Core Values: Compassion, Community, Customer Experience and Teamwork”
In 2023, 8,456 animals came into the facility alive. 3,896 animals never made it out alive. Barely 50% of the animals came out alive. Some were euthanized, the others were killed.
“A Word About Owner Request Euthanasia” re killing vs “euthanasia,” https://indysvoice4animals.org/2024/03/06/spca-tampa-bay-falsely-inflates-its-live-release-rate/
Questions
- Why has the SPCATB transferred 854 dogs from out of state into its facility since 2019? That is an average of 14 dogs/month.
- Why has the SPCATB transferred 2,051 dogs from other parts of Florida into its facility since 2019? That is 34 dogs/month. (Breakdown isn’t available prior to 2019). https://spcatampabay.org/organization-reports/
- Where is the commitment to Pinellas County and its animals? Every dog transferred in from out of state/out of county displaces a Pinellas County at-risk dog.
- Why did the SPCATB arrange a partnership with Pinnacle Pets (a puppy mill broker in Missouri) to import dogs from out-of-state to sell for $700-$1,000 under the ruse of “adoption” when every humane and rescue organization in the Tampa Bay area is filled to capacity?
https://www.tbnweekly.com/pinellas_county/article_0bf72524-87d7-11ee-9e04-ffabfc692e35.html
https://thenewbarker.dog/?fbclid=IwAR1EFGYIzp5EarEROXK4Mpu_zV_G_n8bCTizIjqszeKNAXVopos5jTZfCh0
Q. Why are some dog’s adoption fees much higher than others?
“Our Vision: Create a community where every animal matters.” Well, maybe some animals matter more than others depending on how much revenue they will generate?
Q. Why did the SPCATB withdraw from the low cost spay/neuter (s/n) voucher program last year? S/N is the most effective service to reduce shelter killing of adoptable animals. The SPCATB certainly has the resources to offer this service to the low-income population in the community but declines.
Q. Why did the SPCATB engage to provide veterinary services to the retailer Sunshine Puppies that are selling puppies sourced from the puppy mill broker Pinnacle Pets?
Q. Why is First Home Bank, headquartered in Missouri as is Pinnacle Pets, an SPCATB corporate sponsor?
Connect the dots. Does “follow the money” sound familiar? Does prioritizing financial gain answer any of these questions?
Q. Is this the behavior of an organization with which you want to associate and lend your support?
Caring people like you just want to help.
Do you deserve to be misled by an organization that mischaracterizes itself, has an addiction to deception, an aversion to honesty, an aversion to a spay/neuter voucher program and trolls you and/or your business for your support?
Make no mistake about this, the SPCATB kills animals for space and wants to import desirable dogs and puppies from commercial breeding operations and out of area for profiteering.
Importing dogs from out of area to displace local area dogs is wrong. Partnering with the puppy mill industry is wrong. Withdrawing from the low cost spay/neuter voucher program and instead providing veterinary services to retail stores with puppies sourced from the puppy mill industry is wrong. Equating/translating “…shall be authorized to humanely euthanize the animal” to “Owner Request Euthanasia” is wrong. Number manipulation to falsely inflate the “Live Release Rate” report is wrong. Falsely claiming to use a nationally recognized formula to justify killing is wrong. Hoodwinking the public and donor base is wrong.
I know it, the better-informed community knows it, the entire animal welfare industry knows it, surely you know it. Perhaps you had not yet looked beyond the surface before you became a donor/sponsor/cheerleader?
Sadly, the SPCATB board of directors has ignored and tolerated these practices for the past 12 years. Allowing this performance to continue demonstrates complicity and tells us that these directors do not care. It’s as if they are under a spell.
Do you care? I believe that you do.
Mission statement: “Through passionate collaboration with our community, we transform the lives of animals.”
Sounds good, doesn’t it? Yes, the SPCATB does transform the lives of animals. It transforms live animals that are not profitable for the agency into dead animals that are vanished with a conveniently, deceptive formula. It transforms the lives of animals who will be profitable for the agency into revenue.
A hijacked animal welfare organization whose leadership pretends to care and uses animals for profiteering is not an animal welfare organization. It is a perversion.
Trust in the SPCATB from within the animal welfare community has not existed for the past 12 years. Ask anyone from any of the many local reputable organizations.
This agency is spiritually broken. The administrative behavior is a disgrace and an insult to anyone with a sense of decency. The operations and performance of this organization is a stain on the community and does not represent its values. If you are a local elected official and refuse to recognize this, are you the right person to represent your constituents?
If you have made a financial donation or offered in kind support, it is likely you were unaware of the degree of deception at play.
Where does this bring us?
Florida is fourth in the United States for the highest killing numbers of healthy adoptable animals.
The SPCATB has the financial resources and could make a real positive impact in the Tampa Bay area if it wanted but with the priority and commitment to pursue wealth it is unable. Financially the organization is healthy. Morally the organization is bankrupt.
The absence of honesty and genuine compassion is painfully front and center.
The only chance for this agency to meaningfully contribute to the community of animal welfare will be when a deep house cleaning is done.
What can you do?
Challenge yourself to use discretion in choosing an animal welfare organization to support when the spirit to “just help the animals” strikes.
If you know a director on the SPCATB board, consider sharing with them that you now know how the agency is really operating behind the closed curtain. Perhaps you can remind that director that they are now exposed and it’s not a pretty view.
If you continue to be a financial supporter/sponsor for the SPCATB after learning how it operates behind the curtain then your endorsement is part of the problem. Then ask yourself, “Is it me who is betraying the animals of Pinellas County?” “Could I be supporting an alternative animal welfare organization that is genuine in its mission?”
Thank you for recognizing and standing up to the illusion peddled by the SPCATB and being a better-informed voice for community values and the animals of Pinellas County.
Respectfully,
Warren Patitz
PS: Below are some genuine Tampa Bay area animal welfare organizations that would welcome your support:
Pet Pal Animal Shelter https://petpalanimalshelter.com/
Friends of Strays https://www.friendsofstrays.org/
Sun Coast Animal League https://www.facebook.com/SuncoastAnimalLeague/
Humanae Society Tampa Bay https://humanesocietytampa.org/
Humane Society of Pinellas https://www.humanesocietyofpinellas.org/
Pinellas County Animal Services (PCAS) https://pinellas.gov/donate-to-animal-services/
A donation to the PCAS Animal Welfare Fund is tax deductible.
You can also purchase a Florida Animal specialty license plate, https://floridaanimalfriend.org/
The $25 goes directly to fund organizations that are awarded grants to provide free or low-cost spay and neuter services for the dogs and cats of Florida. These services are often made available to pets of low-income families as well as programs to spay/neuter large-breed dogs or free-roaming community cats. This saves lives. Better to prevent breeding than kill the results
There are also many smaller animal rescue organizations in the local area doing great work to consider as well.
This letter was updated 03/18/24