Editor:
Re: Irresponsible pet owners making big shelter unfortunate necessity, letter to the editor, July 8
Unfortunately Ms. Midtdal, a volunteer at the Delta Community Animal Shelter, entirely missed the point of my letter regarding the $1.5 million tax dollars for a new shelter, and seems to think some personal criticism of me will help her cause.
The points I was making:
- why is Delta in the pet adoption business?
- why did Delta take over this facility from the SPCA?
- does Delta really need 9,300 square feet for stray animals?
- why is Delta paying for this when it is the SFPR that is responsible for this relocation?
There were no negative comments about the staff or the work they are doing in my letter.
I am a construction project manager by profession and a member of Tsawwassen Rotary until last year. In 2006 Rotary had a request for assistance from the SPCA to build a badly needed compound at the Delta shelter. At the time I had an unused chain link fence, so I called a business friend at Safeguard Fence in Delta and asked if they would install it for me. The result is the 70' x 70' x 6' high compound with two gates installed at the shelter with no cost to Rotary and no cost to the shelter. That installed compound had a value of between $5,000 and $6,000 so please don't lecture me on volunteering and donations!
In Delta we have numerous volunteer organizations that are passionate about what they do, including OWL and the Burns Bog Conservation Society, and I don't believe they are in line for new facilities built with municipal money!
My issue is with the Delta council, who got us into the pet adoption business, who didn't get the SFPR to take responsibility for moving the shelter, and who now want to pay for it with taxpayers dollars.
By the way, there are no feral cats or stray dogs in South Delta not because of the shelter, but because every night Mother Nature sends out crews to look after them, for free!
Greg Hoover
