Author: Gina

Get ready for a furry love connection like no other! The SPCA is bringing the excitement of speed dating to our shelter on Monday, June 26, and Tuesday, June 27, from noon to 8 p.m., removing the need for guest passes and hoping you fall in love at first sight! 💘✨

During these special days, we’re waiving adoption fees for all animals one year and older, making it easier than ever to find your perfect match! But that’s not all . . . in addition to meeting a wide range of lovable animals, attendees will have the chance to visit our adorable kissing booth, where the sparks might just fly! 😘💕

And that’s not all! Adopters will not only leave with their new furry friend but also some fantastic fun favors to kickstart their journey together! 🎁🎉

Don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity to find love and bring home a lifelong companion. Mark your calendars and join us for this unforgettable event at the SPCA. Spread the word and tag your friends who might be looking for their new pet! 🐶🐱🐓❤️ #GetYourFlirtOn

#GetYourFlirtOn at the SPCA all summer >>>

SPCA Animal Cruelty Investigations: Happening Daily, Rarely Discussed

Investigation With Homeland Security, BPD Still Resonates with One SPCA Officer

June 12, 2023
By: SPCA Chief Communications Officer Gina Lattuca

It’s not a secret. Volumes of research point to the link between cruelty to animals and violence towards people. It’s no stretch, then, to recognize the reality of this fact: when SPCA Serving Erie County representatives work tirelessly to end animal cruelty, an impact is made on reducing overall violence in the community.

The SPCA’s efforts towards ending violence in Erie County are indisputably paramount, especially now, as the organization works to transform the model of animal sheltering, care, and protection, with community members playing a larger role than ever before. We all have a vested interest in making Erie County kinder, more compassionate, less violent.

This transformation puts an even brighter spotlight on the SPCA’s animal cruelty investigations. As with all law enforcement investigations, it’s nearly impossible to share with the public details as an investigation is taking place (which could negatively impact the investigation) or even after an investigation has taken place (which could negatively impact future investigations). Because we are not constantly sharing information on animal cruelty investigations, the fact that our officers are engaging in this work every day to help abused animals and keep our community safe can be forgotten.

Hundreds of animals are rescued annually by SPCA officers as a result of cruelty investigations, and speaking with the officers emphasizes the importance of the work being done. Visions of nighttime raids, doors being kicked in, and on-the-scene chaos compete with the reality of the investigation and the emotions experienced by cruelty officers when abused animals in appalling conditions are finally found…animals that can be saved by the SPCA, and especially animals who are past the point of being saved.

SPCA Officer Lindsey Wood described one extensive animal cruelty investigation that took place in February of this year, an investigation that involved not only SPCA Serving Erie County officers but members of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Buffalo Police Department (BPD).

“On February 3, the SPCA received a call from Homeland Security Investigations,” Wood explained. “That morning, officers had executed a warrant for narcotics at a Marion St. residence, and while they were there, they saw three dogs unproperly cared for, malnourished, with scarring.” As HSI officers arrested five people at the property, SPCA officers worked to obtain their own search warrant, allowing them to enter the property to check on the dogs.

By the time SPCA Officers Wood, Paul LeShay and Jennifer Maleskis arrived that afternoon, only one dog was on location. “The poor dog was in an old closet in the basement,” said Wood. “She was tethered to an old desk with a rusty, chain-link lead, only a foot or two long. There was no food, no water, and she was emaciated, dehydrated, covered with scars. Completely neglected.” The two other dogs seen earlier were nowhere to be found.

The investigation that ensued turned up information that the two dogs not located February 3 had been removed; there was a possibility that the dogs were residing at a May St. property, the home of a Marion St. family member. SPCA officers acquired enough evidence to obtain another search warrant, and on the evening of February 8, as approximately 12 HSI and BPD officers surrounded the house, Officers Wood and Maleskis, together with SPCA Officer William Heine and SPCA Agent Nicole Abrams, executed the warrant.

Six new dogs were found at the May St. property. “Two of the dogs were found outside in a garage-like structure, tethered to makeshift dog houses,” described Wood. “Another was left in a very small crate, one was chained on a two-foot lead in a hallway space that looked to be approximately three feet. Two additional dogs were located in the basement area, short-chained to old work benches.”

Also found at the scene? Two loaded handguns. The subject was arrested by BPD officers on firearms charges and the dogs were rescued, transported to the SPCA Serving Erie County infirmary.

Officer Wood, an 18-year veteran of the SPCA, has been involved in countless animal cruelty investigations and rescues. Seven dogs rescued from brutal, violent settings in the course of just six days should offer some peace of mind. Not for Officer Wood.

“I couldn’t get those two dogs still missing from Marion St. out of my head,” Wood shared. “I knew they needed help. I knew I had to find them.”

It was this drive that led Wood to continue the investigation.

After close review of footage from the warrant executions, information came to light that the two missing dogs may be found not in another home…not in a closet or basement or other clandestine location…but they may have been hidden in plain sight. They may have been brought to a public location, a location as public as the City of Buffalo Animal Shelter (CBAS).

On February 13, Officers Wood and Maleskis headed to the CBAS and found two dogs there that fit the description of the dogs HSI officers originally found on February 3. The dogs, like the dog rescued from the location, were also in poor condition, emaciated, and severely neglected. HSI officers confirmed that the two dogs were, in fact, the dogs they saw on Marion St.

At the time of this writing, all dogs were in the care of the SPCA Serving Erie County, and charges against the owners are pending, although the owners have already been incarcerated on the narcotics and firearms charges.

“Being able to help nine dogs, dogs who may have suffered painful, barbaric deaths otherwise, is a major achievement for the SPCA Serving Erie County,” says Wood. “In addition to helping the dogs, two illegal, loaded handguns were removed from the street, narcotics were removed from the street…it’s rewarding. We’re able to assist these poor dogs and help to make the community a little safer.”

Wood commends the HSI and BPD officers who assisted SPCA officers in the investigations, calling it a true picture of organizations coming together to help animals and people. “These are the tasks we can’t talk about every day. We can’t talk to friends or family, we can’t talk to people in the community, as we engage in these rescues and these investigations. It does become difficult, dealing with the emotional pieces of these situations, but we knew what we signed up for. This is what we work to accomplish. Outcomes like this are what make our daily sacrifices all worthwhile.”

The reality of the emotions experienced by officers engaged in animal cruelty investigations is a stark contrast to what some may imagine when they picture the scenes of such rescues. While the details usually cannot be publicly discussed, and while the emotions are typically kept private, they are all part of the SPCA Serving Erie County’s role in the community, part of making Erie County a true humane society.

Be a part of ending animal cruelty >>

Report an animal in need of help >>

#SPCACompassionInAction

SAYING GOODBYE TO OUR STARS at 102.5 FM

June 9, 2023 — This morning at 9:59 a.m., we said goodbye to a radio station that has spent fifty years entertaining those of us in Buffalo and the surrounding area.

Radiothon 2010

Star 102.5 (formerly known as Rock 102, Q102.5, Majic 102, and even WBEN) has brought us music, talk, contests, exclusive interviews, local broadcasting, and, yes, Christmas music, unlike other stations on the airwaves. And for 30+ years, the station has given the SPCA Serving Erie County millions of dollars of airtime.

Paws in the Park

Star 102.5 allowed the SPCA to spotlight animals on a weekly basis for more than three decades, dating back to local legend Sandy Beach welcoming animals into the studio during his morning show produced by Rob Lucas, who started at the station in 1986.

Rob Lucas, Gina Lattuca, Paws in the Park at Chestnut Ridge Park

Over the years, Sandy, Rob, Sue O’Neil, Roger Christian, John Anthony, Jimmy Stelianou, Dave Edwards, Brian DeMay, and other well-known talent supported various SPCA efforts. The station was the first sponsor of the Paws in the Park dog walk 30 years ago, and helped to pioneer the 20-year-old Radiothon fundraiser; combined, just these two efforts have raised millions of dollars to help the animals and animal-lovers in our community through the SPCA.

See the SPCA’s video tribute to Rob Lucas >>

Jimmy Stelianou and Rob Lucas welcome Christmas music in the Star 102.5 studio

Even with no official sponsorship, the station dedicated airtime to the SPCA and allowed promotion of our stories, our departments, our programs, our events, and thousands of our animals, as much as possible.

To the management, sales, on-air, production, creative, and other teams at Star 102.5, we thank you for helping an infinite number of animals over the years. Together with your listeners, you helped us grow from a smaller shelter in Tonawanda to a campus-like setting in West Seneca, with the ability to provide even more life-saving services to animals as we help the people in our community who love these animals. You are a prime reason people in our region know about our SPCA and what it has to offer.

Goodbye to the people and the station that have meant so much to us over the years. Thank you for taking our animals along on the ride.

— SPCA Chief Communications Officer Gina Lattuca

 

Hear final words from Rob Lucas as Star signs off >>

June 7, 2023 — In light of the dangerous air quality in New York State as a result of the Canadian wildfires, the SPCA shares important information on animals and wildfire smoke from the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) . Find that information, which includes caring for pets, livestock, horses, and wildlife, at  bit.ly/AVMA-WildfireSmoke.

Dogs at the SPCA Serving Erie County will only be taken outdoors to relieve themselves, and there will be a pause on the Doggie Entourage program until the poor air quality warnings are lifted. Thank you for your understanding.

See this story on WGRZ-TV >>

SPCA Chief Communications Officer Gina Lattuca


FROM THE OFFICE OF
ERIE  COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY JOHN J. FLYNN
March 7, 2023

Update June 5, 2023 — Germanguerrero, who pled guilty in March to felony animal charges after killing his cats, was sentenced today in Erie County Court by Hon. Kenneth F. Case to five years probation and a five year “no animal” order.  

CHEEKTOWAGA MAN PLEADS GUILTY TO FELONY ANIMAL CRUELTY CHARGE FOR FATALLY INJURING HIS TWO CATS

Erie County District Attorney John J. Flynn announces that 23-year-old Moises L. Germanguerrero of Cheektowaga pleaded guilty this afternoon before Erie County Court Judge Kenneth Case to one count of Aggravated Cruelty to Animals (Class “E” felony). The defendant pleaded guilty to the highest charge in the indictment against him.

Read the original story here >>

The defendant became the subject of an investigation by SPCA Serving Erie County following the suspicious deaths of his two cats.

On March 29, 2021, the defendant’s girlfriend brought a deceased cat to a veterinary hospital. The pet was taken to the SPCA Serving Erie County where a necropsy determined that the cat died from blunt force trauma to the head. The investigation found that the defendant hit the cat with a closed fist, which resulted in the death of the animal.

On October 18, 2021, the defendant’s girlfriend brought second cat to a different veterinary hospital to be treated for head trauma. The cat was taken to the SPCA Serving Erie County where it was euthanized due to the severity of the injury. A veterinarian at the SPCA determined the second cat also died from blunt force trauma to the head, which was confirmed by a necropsy. The investigation found that the defendant fatally injured the second cat by hitting the animal in the head with a closed fist.

Germanguerrero faces a maximum of 2 years in prison when he is sentenced on Monday, June 5, 2023 at 2:00 p.m. The defendant remains released on his own recognizance as the charge is a non-qualifying offense for bail.

DA Flynn commends SPCA Serving Erie County Officers Jasil Ivory, Tyler Robertson, Lindsey Wood, and Jennifer Maleskis as well as and Detective Terry Griffin of the Cheektowaga Police Department for their work in this investigation.

“This is a disturbing case of a man who killed his own pets. My office will continue to prosecute animal abusers to the fullest extent of the law. I want thank the SPCA for not only their work in this investigation, but also for the work they do every day to help animals in our community,” said Erie County District Attorney John Flynn.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Megan E. Mahoney of the Felony Trials Bureau and Assistant District Attorney Christine M. Garvey of the Animal Cruelty Unit.

— Kait Munro | Public Information Officer
     Erie County | District Attorney

 

See this story in The Buffalo News >>

See Sean Kirst’s column in The Buffalo News >>>

June 3, 2023 — As we struggle to find the appropriate way…the appropriate words…to honor Debbie Braun, The Buffalo News columnist Sean Kirst showed us what living up to the challenge is all about. Read his emotional, heartfelt tribute to Debbie here >>>.

May 17, 2023 — Our team at the SPCA Serving Erie County is saddened to announce that we have lost our beautiful Paws for Love Coordinator, Debbie Braun.

Debbie’s passing Saturday night, May 13, was not completely unexpected…she’s been battling an illness for quite some time…but the rapidity of her decline WAS unexpected. The family…we all…believed there was more time left with this kind and loving soul.

Debbie came on board as Paws for Love Coordinator in 2006 and grew this program beyond any expectations. What started as a few volunteers visiting a few nursing homes turned into hundreds of volunteers visiting hundreds of locations, and not just medical sites.

Photo credit Chris Caya/WBFO

Debbie warmly welcomed each volunteer team into the program, forming a personal relationship with each and every one of them. She established long-standing relationships with not just nursing homes and hospitals (at one time the only types of locations visited) but little by little identified the need for this healing program at other types of locations…and went on to fill that need. Colleges and all grade levels of schools. Libraries. Rehab centers. Funeral parlors and memorial services. The Family Justice Center, helping victims of domestic violence.  In fact, because of Debbie, in 2013 the Buffalo Niagara International Airport became one of only nine airports in the entire country with dogs on hand to lower stress levels; LA may have been the first airport boasting such a program, but within mere months, Buffalo’s was the largest program in the nation.

Under Debbie’s leadership, thousands upon thousands of people’s lives were touched by Paws for Love through our incredible volunteers and through the efforts of our Debbie. Her loss will be felt not only by family and friends, not only by the SPCA, but by an entire community that did not even know how hard Debbie was working behind the scenes.

Debbie’s obituary can be found at bit.ly/DebbieBraunSPCA .

Those who would like to share special memories of Debbie or how, through her guidance, the Paws for Love program touched their lives are encourage to email MemoriesofDebbie@yourspca.org . With these emails, the SPCA will create a special memory book for Debbie’s family.

Bob and Debbie Braun in 2018

Condolence cards and/or other notes to be shared with the family can be sent to Gina Lattuca, SPCA Serving Erie County, 300 Harlem Rd., West Seneca, NY 14224, ATTN: Memories of Debbie .

A celebration of Debbie’s life will be held at the SPCA Serving Erie County Sunday, May 21, 1 p.m. – 5 p.m. Debbie’s family and Paws for Love volunteers and pets will be available to greet visitors and share favorite stories and memories of Debbie (SPCA Adoptions and animal viewing areas will not be open).

To those organizations and business that have encouraged Paws for Love visits, and to volunteers past and present who have participated in this program, we thank you for recognizing the importance of the bond between animals and people, and for believing in an animal’s ability to provide moments or hours of solace to those in any type of emotional need. This bond is what Debbie believed in with her whole heart and soul, that to which she dedicated much of her life, and this belief is the motivation behind ensuring Debbie’s legacy, the SPCA Paws for Love program, lives on.

–SPCA Chief Communications Officer Gina Lattuca

 

Injured Bald Eagle Rescued by SPCA Serving Erie County After Buffalo Police Hear “Loud Crash” Outside Building Yesterday

May 25, 2021
By: SPCA Chief Communications Officer Gina Lattuca

See the full story from WGRZ-TV on “2 The Outdoors” >>

UPDATE 5/31/23: Congratulations to WGRZ-TV Ch. 2 photographer Terry Belke! This month, Terry won an award for his story on this bald eagle rescue and release from the New York State Outdoor Writers Association! Terry received first place in the Excellence in Craft for TV, Radio, and Audio category! (By the way, he also tied for third place in the same category!) See more on this coveted distinction here >>.
Terry, we are honored you chose to tell this story, and convey the emotion and sentiment associated with this beautiful animal, her rehabilitation, and her release!  

UPDATE 9/12/21: This afternoon, the injured bald eagle found by Buffalo Police & rescued by the SPCA Serving Erie County returned to the skies of Western New York! As detailed below, the eagle was operated on by staff at Cornell University’s Janet L. Swanson Wildlife Hospital on May 27, and on June 30, the incredible team at Messinger Woods Wildlife Care & Education Center, Inc. in Holland, NY  picked up the eagle for extensive rehabilitation led by Marianne Hites! Today, the Messinger Woods team (pictured here), joined by members of the SPCA and local media, released the bald eagle at Wendt Beach in Derby, NY! Check out video of the release below:

See the full release video complete with photos here >>

To learn more about Messinger Woods and the fine work the organization does in caring for the wildlife of our community, please visit their Facebook page here >>

Thank you to all who played a part in this gorgeous creature’s return to our skies. An entire community came together to save her life, from the Buffalo Police to members of the SPCA Serving Erie County, to the team at Cornell, and finally to the crew at Messinger Woods. Neither the SPCA Serving Erie County or Messinger Woods would be able to do the work the organizations do and save the lives of so many animals each year if it wasn’t for the donors who make our work possible. On behalf of Messinger Woods and the Wildlife team at the SPCA Serving Erie County, thank you to the donors who help us give these animals second chances.

UPDATE 5/28/21: On Wednesday, May 26, the bald eagle spotted by members of the Buffalo Police Department & rescued by the SPCA Serving Erie County after flying into a window in the City of Buffalo was transported to Ithaca, NY. The eagle was dropped off at Cornell University’s Janet L. Swanson Wildlife Hospital for surgery on a severely fractured femur; the center wanted him immediately because, as our own Wildlife Veterinarian Dr. Karen Slote and Wildlife Director Barbara Haney explained earlier this week, after that fracture the muscles contract and can make surgery much more difficult.

Today, we heard from staff there that the eagle is doing “great” after surgery! Now he’ll have time to rest and they will create a rehabilitation plan for him. Exciting news for the eagle, and for this community!

Also of note: in the photo here, you’ll notice a thin, thread-like spike (for lack of a better word!) at the tip of the eagle’s wings. Barbara Haney tells us that is indicative of the eagle’s status as a first-year eagle born sometime this calendar year, probably February or March. According to the National Eagle Center website, bald eagles fledge at approximately 10 – 14 weeks, which tells us he has not been out of the nest for long.

We may not receive another eagle update from the wildlife hospital for a few weeks, but when we do, we will definitely share that update with you.

Once again, we thank the members of this community for your care and compassion. Your constant support of all types is what makes our work possible.

UPDATE 5/26/21: The bald eagle spotted by Buffalo Police & rescued by the SPCA Serving Erie County after flying into a window in the City of Buffalo was dropped off moments ago by the SPCA’s Gina Lattuca at the Janet L. Swanson Wildlife Hospital, an annex of the Cornell University Hospital for Animals. He was photographed upon admission. We will provide updates on his progress as they are made available. Thank you to this caring, compassionate community, for all of the interest in and prayers for this magnificent bird. Your concern, your donations, and your constant support of all types are what make our work possible.

A juvenile bald eagle is in critical condition at the Wildlife Department of the SPCA Serving Erie County after flying into a high building window in the City of Buffalo yesterday.

Photo courtesy of Buffalo Police Detective Mark Costantino

The SPCA received the call yesterday afternoon from Tracy Masiello, crime analyst for Erie County, after Buffalo Police Detective Mark Costantino and Officer David O’Brien heard a loud crash outside of their offices at Court and Franklin Streets in Buffalo. They ran outside and there, across the street, a large bird was struggling on the sidewalk. The crash they heard was the bird flying into a window of a building across the street, approximately 30 feet high.

Photo courtesy of Buffalo Police Detective Mark Costantino

“He tried to raise himself four or five times, but he was struggling and we could see he couldn’t lift up,” Detective Costantino said today. Despite the fact that the bird didn’t have a full white-feathered head, Detective Costantino said he knew right away that the bird was a bald eagle. “He was enormous, and his talons were so large, I could tell we were looking at an eagle.”

After receiving the call from Masiello, SPCA Serving Erie County Animal Rescue Team Officers Jennifer Maleskis and Tyler Robertson arrived at the location, retrieved the young bird, and rushed him to the SPCA’s Wildlife Department hospital, where they were met by Wildlife Director Barbara Haney and, within the hour, SPCA Wildlife Veterinarian Dr. Karen Slote.

 
  “By the time the bird made it to us, he was obviously quite stressed,” says Haney. “In addition to not being able to stand, he had an injury on his beak and blood in his mouth. He was open-mouthed breathing, a clear sign of his high stress level.”

Dr. Slote was able to provide an initial examination and determined the bird, a first-year bald eagle, has a fractured femur. Further assessment and radiographs this afternoon confirmed a severe fracture.

“We are doing everything we can for this magnificent bird, considering its compromised state at the moment,” said Haney, when asked whether the bird will survive. “We’re careful not to provide any solid prognosis at this time because the bird is still in critical condition and the outcome is uncertain.”

At this time, Dr. Slote will consult with wildlife professionals at Cornell University’s Wildlife Health Center, and will send them her assessment of the eagle along with the radiograph images. If the bird survives and responds to the supportive care, fluids, and medications it is receiving at the SPCA, Haney says, “…then it’s our hope that, once he is strong and stable, Cornell will accept the bird for surgery. The surgical team at Cornell is much better-suited for this sort of surgery…they perform it much more frequently…and they have the equipment and the pins and the other necessities large enough and strong enough for this extremely large animal.”

Haney adds, “Our primary hope right now is that the bird does, in fact, survive. That’s what we’re focused on right now. We’re doing everything in our power to help his survival so that we can actually have that discussion with Cornell about surgery and rehabilitation.”

This eagle is not the first cared for by the SPCA Serving Erie County Wildlife Department. “Eagles have made quite a comeback in the last 30 years or so,” Haney said, “and we’re starting to see them in all parts of Western New York, the City of Buffalo included. It’s possible this bird became disoriented for what could be one of several reasons, possibly even due to his reflection in the window of the high building, or he may have been in a territorial scuffle with a peregrine falcon, as hypothesized by our contacts at the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.”

The SPCA wishes to thank Buffalo Police Detective Costantino, Buffalo Police Officer O’Brien, and Erie County Crime Analyst Masiello for their cooperation, and for contacting our officers when they found the eagle and saw that it was in distress.

Keep watching YourSPCA.org/EagleRescue2021 for updates on the bald eagle.

Thank you to Detective Costantino, for providing us with the video and photographs from the scene of the rescue.

YOU can be part of saving these beautiful, wild animals in Erie County! Consider making a gift to the SPCA’s Wildlife Department right here >>

 

 

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