An act of vandalism that occurred Sunday night will put a dent into the South Okanagan SPCA funds.
Tracy Westmoreland, Penticton SPCA general manager, said someone used a rock to smash the glass doors at the back entrance of their building.
“They got inside and smashed the door to get in, but we are not sure what the point was because nothing was taken and we did a head count and all the animals are present and fine. I don’t know if it was a dare or what it was but they didn’t get very far because we have motion sensors so the alarm went off,” said Westmoreland.
Luckily, no animals were injured from the shattered glass.
“This is a frightening experience for us all, including the shelter animals,” she said .
A pair of turtles were housed in the back entry way but their shells saved them when they were showered with the glass. Westmoreland said blood was found in the area of the break-in and police took swabs.
The doors that were broken were double-paned tempered glass and Westmoreland estimated it could cost up to $1,000 to repair.
“We are a non-profit that doesn’t get government funding so it is a bit of a ding to our finances which is really upsetting,” said Westmoreland. “It wasn’t good for morale either, the volunteers and staff came in and found it this morning (Monday) so they were pretty upset.”
Those wishing to offer financial support can contact the shelter at spca.bc.ca/branches/south-okanagan-similkameen or call 250-493-0136. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.