DSPCA complaints

ppink

Has anyone ever complained in writing to DSPCA and had it responded to.......if so to whom did you send the mail?

babychuckles

When I emailed the dspca with a complaint I wrote to manager@dspca.ie
That was back in 2007
They have another email address info@dspca.ie

The person who wrote back got my name wrong so that was not a good start eventhough I had signed it with my correctly spelt name!!
The reply to my complaint was sarcastic to say the least but that would not stop me writing again if i needed to.

The missif that I recieved ended in the following statement:
"The Society rescues and helps 15,500 animals and birds every year I trust that this information may help you in future to make a valid and justified complaint,
Yours sincerely Jimmy Cahill General Manager"
Someone seemed to have gotten out of the wrong side of the bed that morning

There may or may not have been a change in management since 2007 but if i was doing it again i may have had the sense to write to the dept of environment or register of charities and the dept of agriculture with the same letter eventhought i believe the charities register has no powers over them but one never knows as someone might take notic. And of course the dept of agriculture decide what monies if any are given to registered charities for their work near the end of each year (about September) so a complaint if the dept think it is pertenant may be listened to as its taxpayers money that charities recieve.

Dont feel that you should not complain because it is important to let them know if something should be reported. what ever the reply i hope that they have improved since i dealt with them.
BC

TooManyDogs

babychuckles wrote: »

There may or may not have been a change in management since 2007

Nope. As far as I'm aware Jimmy Cahill is still running the place

babychuckles

Oh well maybe he did not like the fact that i am from the rebel county.

ppink

Thanks for that BC. There was no reply at all in this case...emails sent to 3 different email addresses too. However judging on your reply it is probably better there is none!!
DSPCA could do with a proper public liaison officer thats for sure.
thanks again

seamus

lori.davis -at- dspca.ie is the PRO. (Yes, that info is in the public domain).

I can't say if she'll respond, but if you have a genuine grievance and a suggestion about how things could have been handled better, she should appreciate the feedback.

ppink

thanks Seamus. the only emails that we found were on there website which were the [EMAIL="manager@dspca"]manager@dspca[/EMAIL] and [EMAIL="media@dspca"]media@dspca[/EMAIL] (which I assume is Lori??)

Discodog

I am a bit baffled as to why the DSPCA need a PRO ?. There can be little doubt as to who the DSPCA are & what they do.

They should welcome complaints & see them as an opportunity. If I were running the DSPCA I would put my personal email in a prominent place on the site & urge people to comment.

Bit of a contrast to the Dogs Trust. When I email your complaints to them their CEO replies within hours !

Yenwod

Although I think the DSPCA do great work and long may it continue, they do seem to be very high & mighty with their ideals...unreasonably so sometimes. They need to get a bit more with reality and realise they may not be 100% perfect.

Discodog

I don't think the words 100% perfect & any SPCA/ISPCA go together. Ireland desperately needs a proper nationwide ISPCA & it should be every bit as good as the RSPCA.

boomerang

RSPCA are far from perfect though... Euthanise a lot of healthy animals and have now moved away from rehoming animals altogether. Plus there was the recent controversy of the German Shepherds who were euthanised with a captive bolt gun.

Discodog

Oh I agree. But having said that I don't think that the RSPCA or ISPCA should be involved in rehoming. Their specific job is to prevent cruelty & prosecute offenders. There are plenty of specialist rehoming centres that do a far better job.

The ISPCA run Pounds also kill far too many healthy dogs.

One of my gripes with the RSPCA was the R bit seeing as the Royal Family shoot virtually anything that moves :rolleyes:.

But they are in a different league to anything here. I often got called out in the middle of the night by RSPCA inspectors for wildlife rescue & I have a lot of respect for them. They & the Police would go to extraordinary lengths to help an animal. We were trying to catch an injured deer one night that was running on a motorway. The cops turned up & just closed the road - it involved about 6 police cars & total chaos for one deer !.

seamus

Discodog wrote: »

I am a bit baffled as to why the DSPCA need a PRO ?. There can be little doubt as to who the DSPCA are & what they do.

Her primary role is marketing/event management - all geared towards fundraising.

They should welcome complaints & see them as an opportunity. If I were running the DSPCA I would put my personal email in a prominent place on the site & urge people to comment.

Yeah, I don't know what communication with the top-level management is like, but I imagine they're very old-school. Jimmy Cahill isn't a businessman, so I imagine he doesn't treat the DSPCA as a business, where you need to engage with the public and put yourself out there in the media.

Remember that the DSPCA was just a few sheds until a few years ago when they came into a big chunk of cash (I think someone left them a few million € in her will), and expanded massively. I don't think the business attitude of the management has quite adjusted in line with the scale of the operation that they're now running.

ppink

Thanks Seamus. That explains a lot with regards to DSPCA, it is a pity as it could be far better than what it is right now.

iheartthailand

Just incase anyone gets confused, the ISPCA and DSPCA are two completely seperate organisations.

Discodog

And to make things even more confusing some SPCA's are affiliated to the ISPCA & some are not.

There should be one nationwide organisation like the RSPCA in the UK.

ppink

i had always assumed the DSPCA were affiliated to the ISPCa and it made me wonder when I heard recently that the DSPCA have horses kept in a field with sheepwire and barbed wire on top, yet the ISPCA specifically say no way to do that. It is odd.
I did know about the SPCA's a long time ago but never figured it with DSPCA for some reason!
I would say the majority of the general public have no idea that some of these are individual organisations, and they have no regulation either as far as I know...or do they?

seamus

ppink wrote: »

I would say the majority of the general public have no idea that some of these are individual organisations, and they have no regulation either as far as I know...or do they?

They're usually registered charities, so bound by whatever rules are there.

They also obviously have to abide by the meagre laws in this country in relation to the treating of animals, but a blind monkey could own a dog and manage to comply with our laws.

EGAR

There is no such thing as a registered charity in Ireland. It is simply to keep track of the organisation who have applied for tax relieve. Pure and simple. No other conditions apply as in other countries. It is easy peasy to get a charity number but the word *registered* is an add on which many organisation chose although it applies just they have tax relief, that's it.

Anyone can name themselves SPCA and apply for a charity number.

Discodog

Some excellent PR by the DSPCA with a full page article in today's Star.

They say that they are the busiest shelter in Europe having rescued 4500 animals - it doesn't say over what period.

However I think that Miriam Kerin's, their education officer is wrong in saying that "neglect can be down to plain ignorance". It may be true in a few cases but not for the majority.

You do not need to be educated to know that -10c is cold or that animals need food, water, shelter & exercise.

I can't link to the article as it appears that the Star is not available on line.

Octomomma

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Cherry Blossom

Octomomma wrote: »

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Hi Octomomma,

I appreciate that your new to boards but please have a read of the forum charter at the top of the forum.