View Full Version : Cheap Accommodation at Balmore
According to e Courier it now costs the Cooncil £275 per week to keep a stray dog at Balmore SSPCA.
I can have a week full board in Spain for that much and I think it cost in the region of £35 a week to keep the dowg in private kennels last time I checked.
Are these dowgs eating filet from 24 carat dishes or am I missing something ?
cuddlepop
16-Sep-09, 16:26
According to e Courier it now costs the Cooncil £275 per week to keep a stray dog at Balmore SSPCA.
I can have a week full board in Spain for that much and I think it cost in the region of £35 a week to keep the dowg in private kennels last time I checked.
Are these dowgs eating filet from 24 carat dishes or am I missing something ?
Wages,electric etc.
It is expensive and I read in the paper that the SSPCA are going to charge Strathclyde police force far more than they do at present because of rising costs.:eek:
I do think £275 week seems alot but as mentioned in the previous post the SSPCA have wages, electric, heating, vet bills etc to pay which im sure costs them more than the £7 per dog, per day the council were previously paying. After all the SSPCA is a charity that relies on donations to survive. As also stated in the paper at £7 per day the SSPCA are really subsidising the council for a service which is ultimately their responsibility.
I also states in paper that if after 1 week the dog is not claimed it is deemed homeless and no longer a responsibility of the council - it then becomes a welfare concern. Presumably the dog is then be handed over to the SSPCA for rehoming meaning the council only ever has to pay for 1 weeks keep of the dog before the charity has to bare the cost.
purplelady
16-Sep-09, 23:14
According to e Courier it now costs the Cooncil £275 per week to keep a stray dog at Balmore SSPCA.
I can have a week full board in Spain for that much and I think it cost in the region of £35 a week to keep the dowg in private kennels last time I checked.
Are these dowgs eating filet from 24 carat dishes or am I missing something ?
what kennels do you use for that price i pay a lot more than that for home boarding and thought that was reasonable x
BalmoreSSPCA
17-Sep-09, 00:33
I do think £275 week seems alot but as mentioned in the previous post the SSPCA have wages, electric, heating, vet bills etc to pay which im sure costs them more than the £7 per dog, per day the council were previously paying. After all the SSPCA is a charity that relies on donations to survive. As also stated in the paper at £7 per day the SSPCA are really subsidising the council for a service which is ultimately their responsibility.
I also states in paper that if after 1 week the dog is not claimed it is deemed homeless and no longer a responsibility of the council - it then becomes a welfare concern. Presumably the dog is then be handed over to the SSPCA for rehoming meaning the council only ever has to pay for 1 weeks keep of the dog before the charity has to bare the cost.
Thank you for your support and appreciation of the situation.
hobbes1962
17-Sep-09, 08:55
I do think £275 week seems alot but as mentioned in the previous post the SSPCA have wages, electric, heating, vet bills etc to pay which im sure costs them more than the £7 per dog, per day the council were previously paying. After all the SSPCA is a charity that relies on donations to survive. As also stated in the paper at £7 per day the SSPCA are really subsidising the council for a service which is ultimately their responsibility.
I also states in paper that if after 1 week the dog is not claimed it is deemed homeless and no longer a responsibility of the council - it then becomes a welfare concern. Presumably the dog is then be handed over to the SSPCA for rehoming meaning the council only ever has to pay for 1 weeks keep of the dog before the charity has to bare the cost.
Well said - All the other council areas affected agreed to the new charge whereas this one didn't and, according to the paper, wanted a cheaper rate. The SSPCA can't charge eight Council areas one rate and one Council area something cheaper.
I have no wish for this to turn into a public slanging match but feel obliged to provide people with a few facts after which they can make up their own minds. I am the dog warden for the Highland Council so as you will understand this development affects me greatly.
The local authority have a statutory responsibility to pick up any stray dogs and house them for 7 days during which time an owner can claim them. If after 7 days they are not reclaimed then they can be disposed of humanely, or rehomed. The local authority are not an animal charity and have no facilities or public donations to keep these dogs until homes can be found for them unfortunately, which is where until the 1st of September 2009 the sspca come into the equation. They received payment for kenneling of strays from the council for the dogs that were not claimed and then were at liberty to sell them after the 7 days. They also received revenue from members of public reclaiming their dogs.
The sspca have mentioned in their press release that they were concerned that their kennels were becoming congested with stray dogs which was stopping them with being able to help genuine welfare cases. In order to help with this the Council are willing to deal with and house their own strays during the 7 day period which they are legally responsible for strays. They then requested to enter into some kind of agreement with the sspca and pay an entry fee so that the sspca could give these homeless dogs a chance to be rehomed with loving families rather than be put to sleep. It is my belief that an ordinary member of the public can decide that they no longer want their family dog and the sspca will take this animal in for an entry fee of £35 so what confuses me is why is the Highland Council being quoted £275 an extra £245 !!!!!!!!
The new pricing system means that the Highland Council would have to pay £275 for every dog taken to the sspca shelter, whether they were claimed within a few hours or not (aprox 60% are).
The bottom line of this is Money! and it looks like the sspca are willing to turn their backs on healthy young dogs which often through no fault of their own have been abandoned by their owners. This does not strike me as an animal charity with the interest of the dogs at heart but as a business. I am sure most people that donate to the sspca do so believing that their donation is to help animals in need. Well strays that are not claimed by their owners are very much in need and i for one cannot bear the thought of perfectly healthy dogs being put to sleep.
Thank u for this excellent explanation.Very sad if healthy dogs are going to be put to sleep,because an animal WELFARE society will no longer help.
If/when this new ruling is implemented,I will no longer support the SSPCA.[disgust]
I have no wish for this to turn into a public slanging match but feel obliged to provide people with a few facts after which they can make up their own minds. I am the dog warden for the Highland Council so as you will understand this development affects me greatly.
The local authority have a statutory responsibility to pick up any stray dogs and house them for 7 days during which time an owner can claim them. If after 7 days they are not reclaimed then they can be disposed of humanely, or rehomed. The local authority are not an animal charity and have no facilities or public donations to keep these dogs until homes can be found for them unfortunately, which is where until the 1st of September 2009 the sspca come into the equation. They received payment for kenneling of strays from the council for the dogs that were not claimed and then were at liberty to sell them after the 7 days. They also received revenue from members of public reclaiming their dogs.
The sspca have mentioned in their press release that they were concerned that their kennels were becoming congested with stray dogs which was stopping them with being able to help genuine welfare cases. In order to help with this the Council are willing to deal with and house their own strays during the 7 day period which they are legally responsible for strays. They then requested to enter into some kind of agreement with the sspca and pay an entry fee so that the sspca could give these homeless dogs a chance to be rehomed with loving families rather than be put to sleep. It is my belief that an ordinary member of the public can decide that they no longer want their family dog and the sspca will take this animal in for an entry fee of £35 so what confuses me is why is the Highland Council being quoted £275 an extra £245 !!!!!!!!
The new pricing system means that the Highland Council would have to pay £275 for every dog taken to the sspca shelter, whether they were claimed within a few hours or not (aprox 60% are).
The bottom line of this is Money! and it looks like the sspca are willing to turn their backs on healthy young dogs which often through no fault of their own have been abandoned by their owners. This does not strike me as an animal charity with the interest of the dogs at heart but as a business. I am sure most people that donate to the sspca do so believing that their donation is to help animals in need. Well strays that are not claimed by their owners are very much in need and i for one cannot bear the thought of perfectly healthy dogs being put to sleep.
From what I made of the article in the paper the SSPCA are going to charge the council £275 for boarding a dog for the first 7 days in which the dog is classed as a stray and is the responsibility of the council. The article stated that the council has no facilities for boarding dogs yet in your post you have advised that the council are willing to deal with and house their own strays for the first 7 days?
I am now confused as I thought, from reading the newspaper, that the charge of £275 was for the SSPCA boarding the dog on behalf of the council for the initial 7 days it is classed as a stray, yet from your post i get the impression that the council look after the dogs for the first 7 days and then if the dog is not claimed and they want to hand them over to the SSPCA for rehoming they will then be charged a £275 entry fee??
I too do not want to turn this into a slanging match but I am now confused as to when and why the £275 will be charged??? :confused
crashbandicoot1979
17-Sep-09, 11:30
I am now confused as I thought, from reading the newspaper, that the charge of £275 was for the SSPCA boarding the dog on behalf of the council for the initial 7 days it is classed as a stray, yet from your post i get the impression that the council look after the dogs for the first 7 days and then if the dog is not claimed and they want to hand them over to the SSPCA for rehoming they will then be charged a £275 entry fee??
???
Yes, after the 7 days they will charge the council £275 entry fee to hand over the dog. The £275 charge is not for the 7 days, it is a charge for handing the dog over. From what I could gather from the article, the council currently has temp accom for dogs arranged in Golspie for the 7 days, which is what I think the dog warden means.
It is being charged from 1st Sept, and the reason for this appears to be that the SSPCA claims this is what it costs to look after a dog. Do the public have to pay this to hand in an unwanted dog????
From what I made of the article in the paper the SSPCA are going to charge the council £275 for boarding a dog for the first 7 days in which the dog is classed as a stray and is the responsibility of the council. The article stated that the council has no facilities for boarding dogs yet in your post you have advised that the council are willing to deal with and house their own strays for the first 7 days?
I am now confused as I thought, from reading the newspaper, that the charge of £275 was for the SSPCA boarding the dog on behalf of the council for the initial 7 days it is classed as a stray, yet from your post i get the impression that the council look after the dogs for the first 7 days and then if the dog is not claimed and they want to hand them over to the SSPCA for rehoming they will then be charged a £275 entry fee??
I too do not want to turn this into a slanging match but I am now confused as to when and why the £275 will be charged??? :confused
__________________
Hi Just to explain things further until 01/09/2009 all strays picked up by the Highland council were put to Balmore who had the contract for housing of strays. In November 2007 the sspca said that because of congestion in sspca establishments with strays they no longer wished to keep this contract and for all councils to make their own arrangements. They then came back after a year and said that they would continue taking strays but that the price had gone up to £275 per dog whether claimed within the 7 days or not. The Highland Council are willing to provide facilities to house these strays for the 7 day statutory period allowing people to claim thier dogs back. However unfortunately a percentage of these dogs are never reclaimed and then effectively, become dogs on death row , the Council then has the option to rehome them or dispose of them humanely. It was hoped that the sspca would then take these "unwanted homeless dogs" for an entrance fee allowing them the chance to be rehomed, however my concern is that a member of the public can put a dog in and be charged £35 entrance fee but the Highland Council will be charged £275. As i said earlier the highland council is not a charity and has no fundraisers or donations etc so after 7 days unless someone else forms a charity to help take these dogs from the council to rehome them, they will be put to sleep. I will not be posting further on this subject but just wanted to make sure everyone interested had facts.
cuddlepop
17-Sep-09, 13:31
Thank u for this excellent explanation.Very sad if healthy dogs are going to be put to sleep,because an animal WELFARE society will no longer help.
If/when this new ruling is implemented,I will no longer support the SSPCA.[disgust]
I will still continue to support them by donating £5.00 a month.
They receive no financial support what so ever from the council all the money they operate on is donated or from charges such as this.
Its tough times ahead for us aswell as animal charity such as the SSPCA.:(
I continue to support the DOGS TRUST and HEARING DOGS...........;)
BalmoreSSPCA
17-Sep-09, 15:18
We also do not want this to turn into a slagging match but would like to let the Org know the true cost to the Scottish SPCA of caring for one stray dog. We would like to express our thanks to everyone for their continued support and generosity as without you there would be no facility in Caithness for any neglected, cruelly treated, abandoned or injured animals.
For your information:-The true cost to the Scottish SPCA of a stray dog if not reclaimed by its owner is as follows:- On average a stray dog is in the SSPCA’s care for 8 weeks before a loving home can be found for it.
Vaccinations :- £40.00
Worming & De fleaing :- £10.00
Microchipping:- £15.00
Food :-
(£1 per day for 8 weeks) £56.00
Heating & Elect £20.00
Kennel Cough Vax :- £20.00
Veterinary Health Check :- £25.00
£186.00
Staff costs :- 1 Hour per day at minimum wage £5.73 for 8 weeks = £320.88
TOTAL COSTS to this charity is £506.88
This is not including any further veterinary treatment ie medicines, creams, medicated shampoos etc and also does not include any cleaning cost such as disinfectant for parvo virus which is £36 per 5 litres
I am saddened to see this has come to money, and anyone who gives to SSPCA fair play to them, each of us has our own thoughts.
As for myself untilI retired I rescued dogs for 30 years off my own back, with no funding, so I know how much it cost to keep a dog, in every aspect, so this has prompted me to come out of retirement, and do my bit for death row dogs,So great work MOP TOP I have PM you, I will do all I can, I have known the love of many rescues, and nothing else comes close.
So please count me in.
Please no snide comments, I also have my rights, if you cant say anything constructive, please say nought.
cuddlepop
17-Sep-09, 16:07
Unfortunatly in times like these all voluntary sectors will be screaming out for funding as budgets get tightened so it will be tough decisions for all I'm afraid.:(
I am saddened to see this has come to money, and anyone who gives to SSPCA fair play to them, each of us has our own thoughts.
As for myself untilI retired I rescued dogs for 30 years off my own back, with no funding, so I know how much it cost to keep a dog, in every aspect, so this has prompted me to come out of retirement, and do my bit for death row dogs,So great work MOP TOP I have PM you, I will do all I can, I have known the love of many rescues, and nothing else comes close.
So please count me in.
Please no snide comments, I also have my rights, if you cant say anything constructive, please say nought.
Well done..I have also done my fair share of rescue in the past.I have bought dogs in adeath row from pounds[in central scotland] and rehomed them.
Again as we have limited rescue up here,no DOGS TRUST facility[ they never knowingly put a healthy dog down]..there is the great work of ISLA at munlochy.......but not much else.
I noticed a note at the vets too saying they will no longer acceot strays being handed in,unless injured.I did not realise they took strays in.......
I do understand that this new ruling has come from the powers to be[probably in Edinburgh.] and not from the streched staff at Balmore.
Therefore I would like to make it clear that I support them,but not the organisation ,in general.
I think the salary is pathetic.......I have paid cleaners more[nothing against cleaners!!..everyone deserves a decent salary.
I know the stress and heartache rescuing animals causes..........I had to give it up for health reasons.
So to STAFF at Balmore...well done.
to the dog warden...could not do ur job............well done again.
Should/could we organise fund raising for the dogs ourselves????
A sad time...:(
[quote=cuddlepop;596119]I will still continue to support them by donating £5.00 a month.
They receive no financial support what so ever from the council all the money they operate on is donated or from charges such as this.
Its tough times ahead for us aswell as animal charity such as the SSPCA.
:(
I also will continue to support them, the staff there do a fantastic job and work around the clock helping animals.
Stop slaging the balmore centre off- how would u like it if your family ran it and everyone criticising what they done or charged.
I am the dog warden for the Highland Council
Are you the person who deals with dog owners letting their dogs foul the pavements and grassy areas around the towns?
If so, get your finger out and raise some funds bringing some of them to court.[evil] If not, I humbly apoligise. :~(
Are you the person who deals with dog owners letting their dogs foul the pavements and grassy areas around the towns?
If so, get your finger out and raise some funds bringing some of them to court.[evil] If not, I humbly apoligise. :~(
No need for this comment...........and nothing to do with this post.;)
crashbandicoot1979
17-Sep-09, 18:47
As others have said, I feel for the staff at Balmore as presumably this was not their decision, and I appreciate that keeping a dog is expensive. However the council now has a choice - humanely destroy every stray dog after 7 days, or pay £275 for it to go to the SSPCA for rehoming. And bear in mind that it is us, the council tax payer, who is footing this bill. Don't get me wrong, I personally wouldn't grudge this to save a dogs life but at the end of the day the SSPCA is a charity and people should be able to choose whether to support it or not. So effectively we wil be paying for those dogs to be rehomed whether we want to support the SSPCA or not.
Its ridiculous to say the SSPCA as subsidising the council - the dog warden has aready stated that the council has agreed to look after the dog for the 7 days that it is responsible for the animal.
The thought of a perfectly healthy animal being destroyed simply because of lack of money makes my blood run cold. I was also under the impression that the SSPCA was meant to look after animals in need - surely if these dogs are still stray after 7 days they are classed as animals in need? And if this is the case why should the council pay £275 whereas for example I, as a member of the public, can hand a dog over for a mere £35?
To reiterate, I am not slagging off Balmore or indeed the SSPCA as a whole, I am simply pointing out why I think this is unreasonable. I hope the council can come up with an effective solution that prevents any healthy dogs being put down - I am sure everyone involved with the SSPCA will be hoping for this aswell.
crashbandicoot1979
17-Sep-09, 18:48
Well said - All the other council areas affected agreed to the new charge whereas this one didn't and, according to the paper, wanted a cheaper rate. The SSPCA can't charge eight Council areas one rate and one Council area something cheaper.
We don't know for sure that no other council questioned it, do we? Its possible that none of them are hapy with it.
singysmum
17-Sep-09, 19:54
I have read all the above comments on the forum and notice that there has been one fairly important item missed out of the Balmore calculations. All the animals from Balmore are not given away freely and if you want a mixed breed dog you will have to pay £60, or for a recognised breed £90. Also if you rehome a cat or kitten it will cost you, I think, £40. There are many other animals - rabbits etc and I don't know what the going rate will be for them. I also understand that much of the feed for the animals is donated and the food bills are very small.
I owned and ran a boarding kennel for many years and kennelled stray dogs for local rescue organisations and feel that the nature of rescue and rehoming is not one in which a monetary value applies. All charities receive public donations and many people would be dismayed to learn that animals were being turned away just on the basis of money when they have donated for that very reason.
We have recently learned from the news that the council tax level this year is to be maintained and this means that some services will have to be cut. If there is any other way the council can deal with homeless dogs for a cost of less than £275 then that is what they should do. The dog warden has a difficult enough job without having to take any flak for this situation and she is only trying to find the best solution for the poor dogs who are thoughtlessly abandoned by supposedly 'caring' owners. :(
I cannot take in any dogs but will be happy to help in any other capacity if any other organisation takes the responsibility for finding homes for any council strays. Please keep me posted.
Am I missing some thing here, five hundered and six pounds (the true cost) devided over eight weeks is sixty three pounds a week, so where do get two hundered and seventy five pounds from??
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