Realtor Linda Davreux is asking people to drop off donated items for the SPCA at her office at Royal LePage Desert Oasis Realty. Furry friends need support too, she says. (Richard McGuire photo)
While many organizations collect toys and donations for needy children and families at Christmas time, Linda Davreux wants to make sure that animals aren’t forgotten.
For the ninth year in a row, the Royal LePage Desert Oasis Realty office is collecting items for donation to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) in Penticton.
“My children and I have always had a very strong fondness for animals,” said Davreux, who bought the company in 2006 and runs it with her husband. “We visit the SPCA regularly and when I purchased the company, it was something that was very important and dear to my heart.”
Davreux said she takes several trips to the SPCA in December and delivers the donated items directly. While some of the items on the SPCA wish list are for the animals, the organization also needs other items including office supplies.
The SPCA wish list is posted on the door at Royal LePage and includes such items as unopened pet food, treats, toys, clean blankets, garbage and recycling bags, antibacterial soap and office supplies among others.
Davreux will also deliver monetary donations to the SPCA.
Donations are being accepted now right up to when the business closes for holidays at Christmas, she said.
Davreux said the SPCA needs help from the community because it doesn’t have adequate funding.
“I really don’t think they would be surviving or doing as well as they are without support,” she said. “I think it really helps them quite a bit. I just keep hearing that they still have a difficult time getting by.”
The South Okanagan/Similkameen Branch of the SPCA is located at 2200 Dartmouth Drive in Penticton. The animal shelter helps hundreds of animals every year to find new homes. The BC SPCA doesn’t receive provincial funding and relies on the community for support.
Davreux said the shelter is able to help keep stray or abandoned animals alive by finding new homes so that they don’t need to be put down.
“It’s got all sorts of animals,” she said. “Everything from rabbits, guinea pigs, cats, dogs. Just about everything. If somebody reports abuse situations with animals or puppy mills or something like that, I’ve seen them occasionally bring in a whole litter of pups including the parents. They nurture them and take care of them and bring them back to health and find homes for them. They do a really good job.”
Davreau said her two daughters, Jennifer and Alaina, used to collect items at the school, but now they’ve moved away from home and so donations are only collected at the realty office.
She wants local residents also to “help take care of our little friends,” this Christmas time. “They need support too,” she said.
RICHARD McGUIRE
Osoyoos Times
