Bucks
Michael Vick, Anne Irwin SPCA
Dear Friends,
Good morning. “Hide your Beagle, Vick’s an Eagle,” our daughter, Anne, quipped when I asked her what she thought of the Philadelphia Eagles’ decision to hire this dog killer as a back-up quarterback for two years?
The Eagles signed Michael Vick to a two-year contract worth nearly $7 million. This is the thug who served 18 months in prison for sponsoring dog-killing exhibitions. Prosecutors accused him of killing dogs by drowning, electrocution, and beating. He is a monster.
But he’s a changed man, Eagles Head Coach Andy Reid believes. Sure, he’s changed. And he’s got religion too…$7 million dollars worth!
I asked Anne Irwin for her comments. She’s the Executive Director of the Bucks County SPCA. Headquartered on Street Road in Lahaska, the SPCA has plans to open a second site in Richland Township on a 46-acre tract at the intersection of California and Reservoir Roads.
“The NFL [National Football League] missed an opportunity to address animal cruelty,” she began. “The NFL should have said, ‘we’re adopting a zero policy about animal cruelty.’
“I wish the Eagles hadn’t hired Michael Vick,” Irwin continued. “I’m sorry that they did. I hope that something positive comes out of this decision.”
She told me that former congressman Jim Greenwood was instrumental in having a state law enacted which prohibited dog fighting in the 1980’s. Greenwood was a Pennsylvania legislator at the time. “We investigated the case of dog fighting in Bucks County in 1986,” Irwin wrote in an email. “It was a summary offense, punishable by a maximum penalty of a $300 fine and 90 days in jail.
“Many think that dog fighting is a ghetto crime,” Irwin continued. “It’s not…it’s everywhere. I’m glad that Michael Vick has people talking about animal cruelty. But it will take time to change the negative impact [Michael Vick] and turn it into something positive.”
We turned to the Bucks County SPCA and the changes that Irwin has seen in the nearly 40 years that she’s been with the organization. “I started as a volunteer in 1971,” she said. Her mother, Josephine, was a stalwart with the SPCA before Anne took up the reins. Anne remembers her mother taking Polaroid pictures of animals in the shelter and delivering them to all the Bucks County newspapers for their pet of the week features.
“We had 1,400 dogs and cats adopted in 2008,” she told me. “At the shelter, we have pet rabbits, a friendly rat, birds, guinea pigs, cats and dogs. But, we have no snakes today,” she laughed. “We have 50 kittens in foster homes. They stay there until they weigh two pounds. Then we neuter them and place them in permanent homes.
“Presently, we have 30 dogs and 60 cats at the shelter,” Anne added. “No animal leaves the shelter unless it’s neutered.”
I asked her about euthanasia.
“Cases involving euthanasia have been dramatically reduced,” she replied. The SPCA has successfully increased adoptions and teaches pet owners about animal behavior. We have a “behavior help line” which helps humans understand animal behavior. That apparently is a big factor in convincing owners not to abandon their pets. And we’ve been successful in finding homes for older pets too…even 10 to 12 year old pets.
“Abandoned pets peaked in 1977, she said. The SPCA had 15,000 animals in that year. “Many were saved,” she continued, “but many were not. Today, I can honestly say that we have reached the stage where we never euthanize a dog to make space for other dogs coming in.
“Everyone hopes that some day, there won’t be a need for animal shelters,” Irwin said, ‘but probably not. They’ll always be people who have life changing events. Today, the economy is affecting pets. It’s the last hard choice that a family makes when it has to give up a pet.”
I asked her about animal cruelty cases.
“Last month, we worked with Dog Law officials on the voluntary closing of a breeding kennel in Upper Bucks,” Irwin replied. “We took in 19 dogs from that case. We were able to fit them all in at the shelter in Lahaska, but we wished that the new [Richland Township] shelter were in place.”
Beth Kittrell directs fund raising at the SPCA. She started as a volunteer six years ago. The daughter of a veterinarian, Kittrell interrupted her PhD studies (politics and public policy) at Princeton University to serve at the SPCA. “We cared for 3,500 pets in one year,” she told me.
“The real picture [at the SPCA] emerges when you see our dedicated staff and volunteers in action and when you meet some of the animals in our care and hear their stories,” she wrote in an email to me. “They…the humans and the animals…all make me proud to be part of the organization every day.
“My Princeton advisers may not be happy that I am now taking a wide detour on the already long PhD road, but I know the Bucks County SPCA’s work is too important not to make whatever contribution I can.”
The SPCA is always looking for volunteers. “We even have ‘Camp SPCA’ where kids volunteer during the summer,” Kittrell said.
You can help the Bucks County SPCA. All the contributions are tax deductible. Send them to Bucks County SPCA, P.O. Box 277, Lahaska, PA. 18931. “Some Day you may need our help…we always need yours,” the SPCA newsletter states.
Anne Irwin talked about the 46 Yorkshire Terriers that the Bureau at Pennsylvania Dog Law seized from an Upper Makefield puppy mill. The SPCA saved them. “Once the story hit the news, our phones began to ring,” Irwin said. “From all of the phone calls, emails, and people in our lobby, we soon had over 450 applicants for the 45 dogs in our care.”
That’s a happy ending to a very bad beginning.
Sincerely,
Charles Meredith