Rob Hunter, Development Officer for the OSPCA for Eastern Ontario, presented to the Rotary Club of Brockville on July 14,2025.
The Ontario SPCA is a registered charity and receives no government funding. Operational funding is strictly through donations.
Passionate about the health of animals and people, Rob pointed out that people will generally live longer when there are pets present in the home. The Brockville SPCA is 35 years old and in 2024 they added new dog runs to recognize their anniversary.
They provide emergency sheltering for pets, as well as, reuniting lost animals with their families. The OSPCA does not euthanize animals. If it is determined that this course of action should be considered, the agency follows government regulations, including consultations with several veterinarians. Humane education programming in schools is an ongoing project and in 2024 they served 4848 students with this information. So far this year there have been 225 locally.
In addition, the SPCA has provided 4300 lbs. of food to the local food bank. The goal this year is for 15,000 lbs. Donations for this purpose are welcome.
They also provide working cats for use in warehouses\, barns and other business shops etc. They work closely with the Provincial Dog Rehabilitation Centre in Peterborough. Rob described his own experience in adopting his cat Atticus.
Sometimes they need families to foster for a short time until a forever home is found.
Rob pointed out that they are always looking for volunteers to help in the shelter with such tasks as dog walking, laundry and other tasks.
In the photo above, Rotarians Tom Harrington (left) and President Katherine Hobbs (right) express the thanks of the Club to Rob for his presentation. A guest speaker book will be donated in Rob's honor to the library at Pineview School by the Club.