PENTICTON – Leaving animals at the door of the SPCA still amounts to abandonment, according to the Penticton SPCA manager.

Shelter manager Corinne Ross says two kittens were left in a pet carrier at the Penticton shelter's doorstep and were discovered just before the shelter opened at noon, Aug. 7.

Ross thinks the animals were left sometime after 11 a.m. because staff had been through the door earlier in the day.

“I thought the crate was empty at first," she says. "The kittens are in good shape, but were certainly scared.”

Ross says there are better ways of giving up innocent animals.

“We were in the shelter, even though we were closed. All they had to do was knock and let us know, so we could look after them,” Ross says, adding the kittens could have come to harm if left undiscovered for a length of time.

She points out abandoning animals is unacceptable, as spelled out in the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.

Ross says even though the shelter is extremely busy at this time of year they will help the public as much as they can.

The kittens will be treated as strays. They’ll be kept for four days in case the owner wants to claim them. After that, the kittens will be spayed or neutered and put up for adoption.

To contact the reporter for this story, email Steve Arstad at sarstad@infonews.ca or call 250-488-3065. To contact the editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.