NIAGARA COUNTY, N.Y. — The Niagara SPCA recently completed an external audit after allegations were made against the shelter for animal neglect and mismanagement. The result of the three-day audit was given to 2 On Your Side on Tuesday, providing a detailed description of improvements to be made to the shelter.
Former Erie County SPCA Director Barbara Carr and executive director of the New York State Animal Protection Federation Libby Post conducted the audit and found no cases of animal mistreatment by the staff. The Niagara SPCA says they take their responsibility of giving quality care for animals seriously.
As part of the audit, Carr provided a list of recommendations for the shelter to improve upon. Some recommendations involved improving physical aspects of the shelter including new signage, installing portal areas for cats, establishing separate areas for isolation for cats and dogs, and creating a separate adoption lobby.
Other recommendations included establishing an identification method for employees and volunteers, having staff attend conferences, customer service training, and continuing to have the board attend board training.
Carr also recommended running monthly reports on data, which should be cross checked with other reports. Additional recommendations included ways to become more efficient.
You can read the entire report on the Niagara SPCA website.