spca
by Bob Waite
I find out while touring the SPCA in Lahaska that Mrs. Bun Bun is a rabbit. She is in the same room as a chinchilla and a big turtle. In another room there are cats of all ages from kittens to seniors, and there are people talking, petting and playing with them. Outside the building a dog is playing on the grass and another is being walked on a leash. Other dogs are in their own little spaces waiting for their walk or maybe for someone to come and talk to them. A few have signs that say things like, “Please do not stare at me,” or “I am shy, approach me quietly.”
I always loved animals. I remember trying to decipher the enigmatic expression on a cat’s face and laughing when my collie Duke would tilt his head in an effort to understand something I said or did. Animals were fun, friends and companions. And in my childhood innocence I could never imagine such a thing as animal cruelty.
Yet man’s inhumanity to animals has been a problem long before our present time. That’s why in 1824 in England the first SPCA was formed to stop the baiting of animals, cockfights and other kinds of animal cruelty.
SPCA is a generic term. A society for the prevention of cruelty to animals is a term like fire department. This is important because many people donate money to what they think are umbrella national organizations like the ASPCA, and they are not. The ASPCA is, in fact, New York City’s SPCA. Although many SPCAs operate the same, they are not connected organizationally. Director of Communications Alison Levine says, “People get confused about what and who we are. We are the Bucks County SPCA and even though several SPCAs have national outreaches for donations, they are not supporting us in any way and we are not connected to them.”
The staff and volunteers are proud of the Bucks County SPCA because of the quality care they give lost, neglected, abused and orphaned animals, and how they are able to match most of them, after some preparation, with people who adopt them. As I walk around I discover something else they should be proud about. Alison, I ask, “How come this place doesn’t smell bad?” She explains, “Sometimes some areas do for a very short time, but we are on top of it. Cleaning is a major priority. And when you deal with animals, it is something you have to do continually.”
To finish reading this article, turn to page 74 in Fall 2015 issue of Bucks County Magazine.