Local groups advocating animals get good marks

Some unrated groups vow to do paperwork

Three black and white cats sit in the cabana at Maumee Valley Save-A-Pet. Groups receiving an A+ grade in the annual Better Business Bureau Foundation charity giving guide included Maumee Valley Save-A-Pet, Planned Pethood, Toledo Animal Shelter, and Toledo Area Humane Society.

Animal-related groups in northwest Ohio and southeast Michigan fared well for the most part in the annual Better Business Bureau Foundation charity giving guide.

Groups receiving an A+ grade included Maumee Valley Save-A-Pet, Planned Pethood, Toledo Animal Shelter, and Toledo Area Humane Society.

Those that received an FTD grade, or failure to disclose, meaning they did not supply the required data to be graded, included Animal House Rescue, Humane Ohio, and Paws and Whiskers Cat Shelter.

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Aimee St. Arnaud, Humane Ohio director, said the low-cost spay/neuter group did not realize it would get an FTD grade and plans to complete the necessary paperwork to be graded in next year’s guide.

“We called the BBB years ago to see what it would take to be listed because we thought it would be good to be listed, and they sent us the packet of info,” she said. “It was a lot to fill out — much more than just financial statements — and we didn’t have the time to fill it out, so we set it aside. We didn’t realize that by contacting them to ask for that and then not filling it out that it would result in a failure-to-disclose grade.”

Jody Goins, co-founder of Neapolis-based Animal House Rescue, said she isn't sure why the group got the “FTD” since it never received paperwork from the BBB about the guide.

The Humane Society of Monroe County received a C-. The group, which sent audited financial statements for the year ending Dec. 31, 2010, did not meet several standards the BBB examines in grading process.

One standard involves having an annual report available to all, on request, that includes the organization’s mission statement, a summary of the past year’s program service accomplishments, and a roster of officers and members of the board of directors. The annual report must have financial information that lists total income the past fiscal year, expenses in the same program, fund-raising and administrative categories as in the financial statements, and ending net assets.

Wendy Bullen-Beaubien, Humane Society of Monroe County’s interim executive director, declined to comment.

Contact Tanya Irwin at tirwin@theblade.com or 419-724-6066.