NO DONE DEAL
SPCA works to counter local rumors
By ROB PRICE THE COURIER-ADVOCATE

The Finger Lakes SPCA has posted signs along state Route 54 to counter innacurate local rumors, according to Dr. Karen Doucette, president of the organization's board of directors.

BATH - As the Walmart corporation contemplates construction of a "super store" on state Route 54, the Finger Lakes SPCA has found itself on the wrong side of the local rumor mill.

According to Dr. Karen Doucette, president of the organization's board of directors, the animal rescue nonprofit is rumored to have been purchased by Walmart with the giant retailer agreeing to build the SPCA a new shelter.

It's not true, Doucette said last week, after the SPCA had erected a large sign alongside Route 54 denying the reports.

Moreover, the organization is bracing for the construction of a Walmart super store that Doucette fears could upset the emotional lives of the shelter's animals. "We will be surrounded by Walmart and any other business that comes in their wake," she said. "There will be extra traffic, noise and lights, and that will be hard for our dogs. ... Our animals are going to be so overwhelmed by the stimulus."

Such concerns account for the bulk of the sign that the SPCA has erected outside its front door: "We will be surrounded! Please help us get a new shelter."

Doucette noted the SPCA owns seven acres of land of Worth Road in the Town of Bath. Building a new shelter on that acreage is "our dream," she said, estimating the cost of the shelter would be about $2

"It sounds like a lot of money," she said, "but we've been told you have to think about building a hospital, instead of a house."

Doucette added the organization will consider removing removing the sign or changing it if a sufficient number of people register complaints. "This is our community," Doucette said. "We're neither pro-Walmart or anti-Walmart. We just want to get the facts out there."

A local veterinatrian, Doucette was elected president of the SPCA's board of directors in January. She served as vice president of the board for the previous three years.