Richmond SPCA Blog

We Were Adopted! (June 3-9, 2013)

We are thrilled to announce that our wonderful adoption counselors found loving homes for 33 cats and 35 dogs last week. That's 68 pets that went to new homes! Our goal is to find homes for 75 orphaned animals this week. Are you an Instagram user? We love posting pictures from around our humane center. You can follow us and join in on the fun!

Here are the cats who were adopted this past week:

From top left to bottom right: (pets not pictured are italicized) From top left to bottom right: (pets not pictured are italicized) Andy, Belle, Blinky, Cher, China, Dione, Donald, Flynn, Godfrey, Grace, Horace, Ian, Inky, Jasmine, Kevin, Latoya, Lester, Leyland, Lonnie, Montel, Patterson, Persephone, Peru, Pinky, Reynold, Rhea, Ronda, Sheba, Sonny, Tom, Wynonna, Zeus, Zyra.

Our Himalayan mixes, China and Peru, were adopted together! Montel was adopted after appearing on a Paws for Pets segment on CBS 6. Leyland found a home after visiting our friends at Lite 98.

Here are the dogs who were adopted this past week:

From top left to bottom right: (pets not pictured are italicized) Abner, Alfalfa, Apple, Artoo, Birdie, Biscuit, Bitsy, Blanche, Boba, Chai, Chewie, Chloe, Cleo, Cookie, Dakota, Dash, Dixie, Dumpling, Ellamae, Gabrielly, Harbie, Hodor, Jamilla, Jango, Kodak, Mara, Owen, Peaches, Pickett, Popeye, Solo, Teddy, Wicket, Wiley, Yoda.

Blanche and Cleo, both dalmation mixes, found a loving home together! It took less than 7 hours for all eleven of our Star Wars puppies to find homes! Visit our Facebook page to see a video of these adorable canine siblings playing.

Interested in adopting a pet from the Richmond SPCA?

Our adoption center is open every day of the week: Monday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday noon to 5 p.m. Visit our website to see some of our dogs and cats currently available for adoption, for directions to our Robins-Starr Humane Center, to view the programs and services we offer, and more. Thank you for choosing to adopt.

Match Finder tool

If you have not seen the pet you’re looking for among the cats and dogs currently listed on our website, we recommend that you try our free Match Finder tool. This online tool is designed to help you find your new best friend by automatically emailing you when a pet matching your desired criteria is available. If you have any questions, please contact our amazing adoption team at 804-521-1307.

Adoption events

The Valentine Richmond History Center invites you (and your dog!) to participate in a walking tour of Bellevue Avenue on Saturday, June 15 from 10 a.m. to noon. A Richmond SPCA representative will be attending the event with a dog available for adoption! Space is limited and reservations are required. Click here to learn more.

Bring the whole family out to the Richmond Vegetarian Festival this weekend for a day full of food, music and fun! This free, pet-friendly event will be held on Saturday, June 15 from noon to 6 p.m. in Bryan Park. Our Tail Wag'N will be at the event for offsite pet adoptions. We hope you will come find us!

On Sunday, June 16 our mobile adoption vehicle, the Tail Wag'N, will be at the Wendy's in Colonial Heights from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. for offsite pet adoptions. If you are in the area, come on out and let our adoption counselors help you meet your perfect match! Click here for additional details.

Adopt a Shelter Cat Month

June is a special month for our feline friends! Throughout the month of June, we're celebrating Adopt a Shelter Cat month and reducing the adoption fee for all adult cats — that's felines 6 months and older — by 50 percent! It's the perfect time to come in and adopt your new best friend!

Seniors for Seniors

Seniors for Seniors is an ongoing adoption program. Adopters age 60 or older who adopt a cat or dog age 5 years or older are eligible for a $50 adoption fee. Adoption of a cat in this program will include a cat starter kit, cardboard scratcher and a toy. Adoption of a dog through this program includes a leash and collar, food and water bowl and a toy. You can learn more about the Seniors for Seniors program here.

Alumni updates

Our staff and volunteers love to know what our precious adoptees are up to, so please keep us posted! If you would like to share a picture or story of your adopted pet, please send us an email. If you would like to see your pet featured on one of our social media sites, please tell us in your message that we may share your update.

To read the biographies of our regular bloggers, please click here.

Before posting a comment, please review our comment guidelines. Please note that our comment policy requires a first and last name to be used as your screen name.

You can help spread the word about our available pets and more by "liking" and sharing our social media posts on the following sites:

Posted by RichmondSPCA on June 11, 2013 at 09:15 AM in Adoption, Cats, Dogs | Permalink | Comments (0)

June 18, 2013

We Were Adopted! (June 10-16, 2013)

We are thrilled to announce that our amazing adoption counselors found loving homes for 35 cats and 25 dogs last week. That's 60 pets that went to new homes! Our goal is to find homes for 80 orphaned animals this week. You can help spread the word about our available pets and lifesaving work by "liking" and sharing our social media posts on Facebook and tumblr. You can also follow us on Instagram if you simply like seeing pictures of cute pets!

Here are the cats who were adopted this past week:

From top left to bottom right: (pets not pictured are italicized) Alexandria, Ashton, Babylon, Barclay, Beatrice, Bessie, Bridget, Buzz, Cameron, Cash, Cassidy, Coral, Crockett, Davey, Evie, Giza, Gretel, Hali, Hansel, Hobart, Imogene, Jessie, Jillian, Kate, Lafayette, Maci, Pearl, Rhodes, Shamus, Tessa, Tubbs, Viola, Weezie, William, Woody.

Here are the dogs who were adopted this past week:

From top left to bottom right: (pets not pictured are italicized) Abba, Amy, Bambi, Beezie, Bravo, Brennan, Caramel, Carl, Champ, Dale, Durango, Glenn, Iris, Maple, Mortimer, Muffin, Nebula, Pomegranate, Primrose, Rick, Savannah, Shamrock, Shane, Skipper, Sybil.

News and notes

Short Pump Town Center has asked the community what they would like to see at the mall when they begin extensive renovations in early 2014. Tell them you’d like to see Short Pump Town Center join the growing number of pet-friendly locations in the Richmond area. And the most pet-friendly action of all? Support the adoption of homeless dogs and cats by making retail space available for the Richmond SPCA to open an adoption center at Short Pump Town Center! Click here to sign the petition.

Our adoption center will be closed to the public on Sunday, June 23, for our annual Staff Fun Fair. This day is an opportunity for our staff to be together for a day full of fun outside of our humane center!

Interested in adopting a pet from the Richmond SPCA?

Match Finder tool

Adoption events

On Friday, June 21 our mobile adoption vehicle, the Tail Wag'N, will be at the Kroger on Mechanicsville Turnpike for offsite pet adoptions from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Other activities at this Adopt a Pet event include: Cooper Vineyards wine tasting, a low cost vaccine and rabies clinic by Jessica Beath Clinic, a hot dog eating contest, discounted dog baths offered by Pups N Sudz and more!

Offsite adoption

In addition to having many wonderful cats at our humane center, we also have several felines at two PETCO locations in the Richmond area - Short Pump and Carytown. We also have cats available for adoption at the Children's Museum of Richmond - Chesterfield. If you would like to learn more about these felines or set up an appointment to meet them in person, please call our adoption team at 804-521-1307.

Adoption specials

Alumni updates

Posted by RichmondSPCA on June 18, 2013 at 08:26 AM in Adoption, Cats, Dogs | Permalink | Comments (0)

June 10, 2013

'Ag Gag' bills must be defeated to preserve Americans’ right to be informed of abuses on factory farms

Another excellent editorial on the topic of the despicable ag gag bills appeared in the Washington Post over the weekend. These bills have been introduced in a number of states and have been actually passed in several. They criminalize the activities of people who have the laudable courage to gather and to pass along truthful information about the horrifying abuses of farm animals in factory farming facilities. The reports of what goes on in slaughterhouses and in factory farming operations (such as that of Smithfield Foods in Virginia) allow people to realize what dreadful suffering and abuse is inflicted on sentient animals in order to produce meat cheaply and inclines them to rethink whether they really want to support such an industry.

That is their right. Our country is founded on the principle of freedom of speech and nothing is more crucial to that right than the free flow of information. Our country needs more free flow of clear, truthful and unsparing information about the horrifying realities of what goes on in these slaughterhouses and plants, not less. If corporations are trying to get bills passed to prevent the truth from getting to us then we have to know that the truth is something they are ashamed of, and that we need to and have every right to hear. Let us do everything in our power to speak out against all ag gag legislation.

‘Ag-gag’ laws will deter reporting on animal abuse, Washington Post Opinions

Read it. And weep.

Robin Robertson Starr is the chief executive officer of the Richmond SPCA. To read her biography or that of our other bloggers, please click here. Before posting a comment, please review our comment guidelines. Please note that our comment policy requires both your first and last name to be used as your screen name.

Posted by Robin Starr on June 10, 2013 at 11:02 AM in Animal Welfare Philosophy, Current Affairs, Legislation | Permalink | Comments (0)

June 07, 2013

Sign our petition on Change.org to ask Short Pump Town Center to add a Richmond SPCA adoption center

Earlier this week, the leading headline in the BizSense Daily NewsFeed proclaimed, "Short Pump goes shopping for suggestions." The story explained that upgrades to the 10-year-old are planned for 2014. The mall's management group is seeking input from customers on improvements they'd like to see, and we were inspired. What would we like to see? An adoption center!

Shopping centers around the country have begun offering space for humane societies to open adoption centers. It's time for Richmond to join the trend, and Short Pump Town Center is the perfect location.

Sign our petition at Change.org to ask Short Pump Town Center to give space for the Richmond SPCA to open an adoption center. Then share the link to the petition – http://chn.ge/11p4w9x – the site makes it easy to email your contacts or share on Facebook or Twitter.

Malls across the country that give rent-free space to local humane organizations have been making the news since 2011.

70 Malls Across US to Ban Pet Sales,
Global Animal.org, October 11, 2011
Humane Society Opens Store In The Mall,
Vero Beach Magazine, November 2011
Malls push animal adoption centers over pet stores,
azcenttral.com, July 22, 2012
Homeward Bound Adoption Center in Freehold Mall Opens
New Jersey Newsroom April 27, 2012
Pet adoption center may be coming to The Gateway,
The Salt Lake Tribune, June 7, 2013

In many shopping centers, nonprofit adoption centers are replacing for-profit pet stores that sell commercially bred animals from puppy mills. To their credit, Short Pump Town Center has never been home to any pet store selling puppies. Let’s encourage them to embrace the progressive, lifesaving trend by adding a Richmond SPCA adoption center!

Tabitha Frizzell Hanes is the director of advancement for the Richmond SPCA. To read her biography or that of our other bloggers, please click here. Before posting a comment, please review our comment guidelines. Please note that our comment policy requires a first and last name to be used as your screen name.

Posted by RichmondSPCA on June 07, 2013 at 01:23 PM in Adoption, Community relations, Current Affairs | Permalink | Comments (3)

June 05, 2013

Our staff gets an “A” for helping students

Whether they are budding journalists, aspiring veterinarians or future animal welfare professionals, we find that students often wish to make companion animals the focus of a school assignment. Staff members at the Richmond SPCA are contacted by students in elementary school, by doctoral candidates and at every level of education in between. We strive to nurture students’ interest in animal welfare and accommodate as many of these requests each semester as possible.

Many of the students who select topics relating to the Richmond SPCA have first encountered our organization’s work through either a field trip to our Robins-Starr Humane Center or a presentation given by our staff in their classrooms. In the last 12 months, our Humane Education department has given 147 tours and classroom visits. Others have participated in a program or event and want to dig deeper when an assignment gives the opportunity.

Such was the case for Emily Kinsey. She first became involved with the Richmond SPCA as the captain of the “Princesses for Pets” team at our annual Dog Jog and 5K Run in 2008. Emily has participated in numerous pageants, always with animal welfare as her platform. She is now 11 years old and completing the 5th grade at Springfield Park Elementary in Glen Allen, Va. Earlier this year, Emily’s teacher, Mrs. Nowicki, assigned her students the task of selecting a community leader they admired. Emily chose to interview Richmond SPCA Chief Executive Officer Robin Robertson Starr. Emily’s thoughtful questions and Robin’s answers are insightful, and we hope you’ll enjoy watching Emily’s resulting video. We hear she got an A!

Robin Starr - Richmond SPCA Interview from HCPS Instructional Technology on Vimeo.

Although the school year is coming to a close, opportunities for students to learn compassion for all creatures, get a preview of animal-related careers and put reward-based training theories into practice abound as part of our full slate of summer programming at the Robins-Starr Humane Center. Our weeklong day camp programs are incredibly popular and there are only a few spots remaining. Learn more and register your child at www.richmondspca.org/camp.

Posted by RichmondSPCA on June 05, 2013 at 01:45 PM in Humane Education, Students, Video | Permalink | Comments (0)

June 03, 2013

We Were Adopted! (May 27-June 2, 2013)

We are excited to announce that our wonderful adoption counselors found loving homes for 24 cats and 34 dogs last week. That's 58 pets that went to new homes! Our goal is to find homes for 75 orphaned animals this week. If you love cute pictures of pets and happy stories, be sure to look for our alumni updates on our Facebook and tumblr pages. Are you an Instagram user? Make sure to follow us there too!

Here are the cats who were adopted this past week:

From top left to bottom right: (pets not pictured are italicized) Ariel, Applejack, Arya, Bobby, Daenerys, Debbie, Deirdre, Della, Dice, Drake, Evelyn, Felicity, Harrison, Jazzi, Joaquin, Lane, Natasha, Paltrow, Peggy, Phillip, Potts, Shasta, Templeton, Virginia.

Aldrich, Virginia and Peggy, all 2 months old, were the youngest cats adopted. Evelyn, at 9 years old, was the oldest feline adopted.

Here are the dogs who were adopted this past week:

From top left to bottom right: (pets not pictured are italicized) Abigail, Agatha, Alphie, Angel, Antoinette, Archer, Babette, Bailey, Beaumont, Becky, Benjamin, Bert, Bethany, Billy, Bonsai, Boris, Bosco, Bunny, Charlie, Dotty, Dylan, Ernie, Fannie, Iggy, Ladybug, Oscar, Pixie, Polly, Ramona, Raphael, Rene, Sailor, Selma, Sherman.

Bert, a 4-year-old mastiff mix, was adopted after visiting our friends at WRIC 8. Sherman, a 4-year-old terrier mix, found a loving home after being featured in a Paws for Pets segment filmed by CBS 6. Ladybug, a 3-year-old plott hound mix, was adopted after visiting the Rock 96.5 radio station. Raphael, Bonsai, Iggy, Polly, Pixie and Sailor found loving families at the Broad Appetit offsite adoption event.

Interested in adopting a pet from the Richmond SPCA?

Adoption fee

The adoption fee per dog or cat of any age is $99. If you adopt two pets on the same day the fee is $185. The adoption fee includes spay or neuter procedure, age-appropriate vaccinations, free behavior helpline support, a packet of valuable discount coupons and special offers and more! In addition, all pets adopted from the Richmond SPCA are microchipped prior to adoption. Registration with 24PetWatch for the first year is included. All Richmond SPCA alumni (and housemates that are spayed or neutered) also qualify to become clients of the Clinic for Compassionate Care.

Match Finder tool

Adoption events

On Saturday, June 8 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. our mobile adoption vehicle, the Tail Wag’N, will be at the Ashland Strawberry Faire. This event is free and family-oriented. Activities include: music, arts and crafts vendors, contests, and offsite pet adoptions. The Ashland Strawberry Faire will be held at the Randolph-Macon College campus. Click here to learn more.

Adopt a Shelter Cat Month

Seniors for Seniors

Alumni updates

To read the biographies of our regular bloggers, please click here.

Before posting a comment, please review our comment guidelines. Please note that our comment policy requires a first and last name to be used as your screen name.

You can help spread the word about our available pets and more by "liking" and sharing our social media posts on the following sites:

Posted by RichmondSPCA on June 03, 2013 at 04:50 PM in Adoption, Cats, Dogs | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 29, 2013

We Were Adopted! (May 20-26, 2013)

We are thrilled to announce that our wonderful adoption counselors found loving homes for 52 pets last week! Our goal is to find homes for 75 orphaned animals this week. If you love cute pictures of pets and happy stories, be sure to look for our alumni updates on our Facebook and tumblr pages. Are you an Instagram user? Make sure to follow us there too!

Here are the cats who were adopted this past week:

From top left to bottom right: (pets not pictured are italicized) Ariel, Atlas, Cinderella, Devon, Jacques, Jordan, Kayla, Luke, Noel, Pancakes, Rapunzel, Rascal, Reese, Rolly, Sally, Shauna, Tony, Waffles.

Cinderella, Devon, Rapunzel and Reese found wonderful homes at our Ninth Annual Lucy's Weekend. Ariel, a 3-year-old domestic medium hair mix, was adopted after visiting our friends at NBC 12.

Kitten season has begun! Over half of the cats adopted from our humane center last week were under a year old. Many of these juveniles were part of our Meet the Fosters™ program before they became available for adoption. The Richmond SPCA is in need of kitten supplies to help support this lifesaving program. You can help by donating items on our wish list, or if you would like to provide monetary support to help us provide all of the medications, food and other essentials for the kittens that are being fostered, please click here.

Here are the dogs who were adopted this past week:

From top left to bottom right: (pets not pictured are italicized) Abbie, Addie, Andrei, Beatrice, Beauty, Bertha, Buchanan, Calypso, Clarabelle, Connor, Decker, Delilah, Ethel, Houston, Jean, Jericho, Keiko, Kiwi, Leonidas, Lucky, Molly, Mona, Nellie, Penny, Richard, Rihanna, Rusty, Saxon, Sebastian, Spencer, Sugar Bear, Tex, Timothy, Woodrow, Yaya.

Beauty, Mona, Penny, Spencer and Sugar Bear found loving families at our Ninth Annual Lucy's Weekend. Buchanan, a labrador retriever/basset hound mix, was adopted after becoming a hit on our Facebook page.

Dogs who are Richmond SPCA alumni receive a $10 discount when registering for our training classes. We offer a wide range of classes and new sessions are starting soon! Our next Good Start Puppy and Surviving Adolescense classes start Thursday, June 6 and our next Canine Manners class starts Saturday, June 15. Visit us online to sign up with your dog.

Interested in adopting a pet from the Richmond SPCA?

Match Finder tool

Adoption events

Our mobile adoption vehicle, the Tail Wag'N, will be at Broad Appetit on Sunday, June 2 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. for offsite adoptions. We hope you will come find us at this fun event!

Adoption specials

To read the biographies of our regular bloggers, please click here.

Before posting a comment, please review our comment guidelines. Please note that our comment policy requires a first and last name to be used as your screen name.

You can help spread the word about our available pets and more by "liking" and sharing our social media posts on the following sites:

Related articles

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Posted by RichmondSPCA on May 29, 2013 at 08:54 AM in Adoption, Cats, Dogs | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 21, 2013

We Were Adopted! (May 13-19, 2013)

We are thrilled to announce that our wonderful adoption counselors found loving homes for 45 pets last week! Our goal is to find homes for 56 orphaned animals this week. If you love cute pictures of pets and happy stories, be sure to look for our alumni updates on our Facebook and tumblr pages. Are you an Instagram user? Make sure to follow us there too!

Here are the cats who were adopted this past week:

From top left to bottom right: (pets not pictured are italicized) Adelaide, Alexander, Anastasia, Andrew, Angus, Blynken, Ciara, Daphne, Doc, Hawkeye, Hickory, Laguna, Nod, Pan, Ruben, Saturnine, Selena, Uhura, Willow, Wynken.

Kitten season has begun! Over half of the cats adopted from our humane center this past week were under a year old. Many of these juveniles were part of our Meet the Fosters™ program before they became available for adoption. The Richmond SPCA is in need of kitten supplies to help support this lifesaving program. You can help by donating items on our wish list, or if you would like to provide monetary support to help us provide all of the medications, food and other essentials for the kittens that are being fostered, please click here.

Here are the dogs who were adopted this past week:

From top left to bottom right: (pets not pictured are italicized) Alice, Bolt, Brutus, Buddy, Carlos, Carraway, Cashew, Cocoa, Daisy, Excelsior, Gatsby, Gertrude, Hugo, Jericho, Khaleesi, Korben, Logan, Mickey, Muriel, Nelson, Olga, Ray, Sonic, Tanner, Tess.

Cashew, the fun-loving jack russell terrier mix, found his new home after visiting our friends at Lite 98. Excelsior, the 3-year old cairn terrier mix, was adopted after being featured in a Paws for Pets segment filmed by CBS 6. Logan, the handsome shepherd mix, found a loving home after appearing on NBC 12.

Interested in adopting a pet from the Richmond SPCA?

Match Finder tool

Adoption events

Please join the Richmond SPCA and Cooper Vineyards for our Ninth Annual Lucy's Weekend. This event will take place on Saturday, May 25 and Sunday, May 26 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Our mobile adoption vehicle, the Tail Wag’N, will be at the event for offsite pet adoptions. Other activities at the event include: wine tastings with Cooper Vineyards and James River Cellars, music by The Taters, crafts and pet vendors, and more! Lawn chairs, picnics and leashed pets are welcome. Click here for additional details.

Adoption specials

To read the biographies of our regular bloggers, please click here. Before posting a comment, please review our comment guidelines. Please note that our comment policy requires a first and last name to be used as your screen name.

You can help spread the word about our available pets and more
by "liking" and sharing our social media posts on the following sites:

Posted by RichmondSPCA on May 21, 2013 at 10:16 AM in Adoption, Cats, Dogs | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 15, 2013

Bernard is a dedicated listener for kids who PAWS to R.E.A.D.

When your child learns to read, building confidence is often an obstacle that he or she must work to overcome. The PAWS to R.E.A.D. (Reading Education Assistance Dogs®) program offers children an opportunity to read to a registered, insured therapy dog (and the dog's handler) at our Robins-Starr Humane Center. Reading to a dog allows your child to build confidence as she’s learning because reading to a dog provides an experience that is always positive and free of judgment. Plus, dogs love all kinds of books!

Our dog and handler team varies from month to month. Bernard, a Richmond SPCA alumnus, will serve as the therapy dog for the PAWS to R.E.A.D. program this month. He was adopted in July 2008. Bernard used to be a shy pup, but his experience being a "listener" at Ginter Park Elementary School helped his personality blossom. He is proof that what you give, you receive. PAWS to R.E.A.D. can be a win-win situation for dogs as well as children!

PAWS to R.E.A.D. is a joint program of the Richmond SPCA and Sprite’s HERO, a volunteer humane education and research organization. Sessions are held on the third Sunday of every month from 2-3:30 p.m. in the auditorium of our humane center. All ages of readers are welcome to participate. To sign up for a 25-minute reading session call Gail Bird Necklace, our Education and Training Administrator, (804) 521-1332. You are welcome to bring a favorite title or choose from the wide selection of books in the Richmond SPCA's Exploratorium.

Posted by RichmondSPCA on May 15, 2013 at 06:20 PM in Books, Dogs, Humane Education, Students | Permalink | Comments (0)

May 14, 2013

Contact DGIF by May 30 to advocate an end to horrifying cruelties of fox pens in Virginia

Fox pens are horrifying tools of animal abuse and it is shameful that they continue to be allowed to function in the Commonwealth of Virginia. In Virginia, foxes are trapped in the wild all over our state and thrown into electrified fenced enclosures for dogs to chase them down and frequently maul and kill them. In staged competitions, hundreds of dogs may be judged on how they aggressively pursue the outnumbered, captive foxes, all for a trophy and cash prizes. All the terrified and exhausted fox gets if he or she survives the competition is the chance to live until the next such horrendous occasion. We have urged both the Virginia General Assembly and the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (which licenses, regulates and inspects fox pens) to end this blood “sport,” which is not a tradition in Virginia since it only began in the 1980’s. How can one even think of using the word “sport” when one of the participants is grossly outnumbered and has no means of escape?

Currently, the Board of Directors of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries is considering changes to the Virginia fox pen regulations in response to the public outcry over their abuses. View the proposed regulations here. These proposed regulations are weak and unenforceable, and they will most likely do nothing to reduce the number of foxes injured and ripped apart by dogs in pens. In addition, the Board heard a great deal of expert testimony about the fact that the fox pens constitute a great threat to the massive spread of rabies in Virginia. The Department’s own staff recommended including a new regulation to address the rabies issue but the Board itself struck the proposed regulation down. Virginia citizens need to tell the Board that the time is now to rid the state of its last legal blood sport and stop fox penning.

The Board has asked for public comments on these proposed regulations by May 30. Please send a quick note using the link below to The Virginia Board of Game and Inland Fisheries asking them to prohibit fox pens and to protect us from the spread of rabies. The animals need your voice! There will be no positive change for these animals unless the Board hears from you that you want both the animals and the people of Virginia protected. If they do not hear from the people like you who love animals, then they will believe that no one cares about these precious animals and their fate in these fox pens.

Here are some topics that you could comment on in your message to the Board if you wish:

Pens are fenced enclosures where dogs are released to chase down captive foxes, often in competitions. No matter the size of the enclosure, the dogs often catch and kill the foxes. In just five years, Virginia operators reported to have taken more than 6,000 foxes from the wild for this cruel enterprise.
We have it in law that wildlife cannot be possessed, bought and sold, yet these fox pen operators take foxes by the thousand for their private amusement and financial gain.
These pens have zero wildlife management value and are a threat to public and wildlife health. It's shameful our state agency is spending resources attempting to manage this fenced game. There is no question (and the experts have confirmed) that fox pens constitute a Russian roulette for the spread of rabies because foxes are a vector species for rabies and they are being transported by unvaccinated people and being attacked by many unvaccinated dogs.
These pens go against our traditions of fair chase and our morals, and no ethical hunter would have anything to do with them. Nor would any real mounted fox hunter. This activity has nothing to do with the tradition of mounted fox hunting.

Send your comments to the following email address: regcomments@dgif.virginia.gov. You must include full personal identifying information for your comment to be considered. Many thanks from me and from the innocent animals whose lives are at stake.

Robin Robertson Starr is the chief executive officer of the Richmond SPCA. To read her biography or that of our other bloggers, please click here. Before posting a comment, please review our comment guidelines. Please note that our comment policy requires a first and last name to be used as your screen name.

Posted by Robin Starr on May 14, 2013 at 03:18 PM in Animal Welfare Philosophy, Current Affairs, Dogs, Legislation, Local Government | Permalink | Comments (3)

May 13, 2013

We Were Adopted! (May 5-12, 2013)

We had an wonderful week in our adoption center with 46 adoptions! Our adoption counselors found loving homes for 26 dogs and 20 cats. Our goal is to find homes for 54 orphaned animals this week. If you love cute pictures of pets and happy stories, be sure to look for our alumni updates on our Facebook and tumblr pages. Are you an Instagram user? Make sure to follow us there too!

Here are the cats who were adopted this past week:

From top left to bottom right: (pets not pictured are italicized) Amanda, Andres, Asher, Ayden, Bastian, Cheerio, Freida, Gander, Goose, Gus, Jeffrey, Karen, Larry, Lenovo, Macintosh, Morris, Ranger, Ryder, Velasquez, Wynonna.

Morris, a 1-year-old orange tabby, was adopted after appearing in a Paws for Pets segment filmed by CBS 6.

Here are the dogs who were adopted this past week:

From top left to bottom right: (pets not pictured are italicized) Adele, Annie, Barney, Bentley, Blanca, Brad, Buffy, Bunny, Candy, Daryl, Elmer, Elmo, Gage, Grover, Leah, Lexie, Madeline, Mischa, Petunia, Pumpkin, Roxie, Selma, Sidney, Sophie, Springsteen, Violet.

Elmer, the 7-year old beagle mix, was adopted after being featured on NBC 12. Sidney, a 104-pound retriever mix, was adopted after visiting our friends at KLR 96.5.

Shop to give

BarkBox, a company that aims to please dogs around the country, is now helping our organization raise funds to support our many lifesaving programs!

If a pet guardian subscribes to BarkBox, his or her dog(s) will receive a monthly package with lots and lots of goodies inside! Goodies include all-natural treats, interactive toys, and high-end hygeine products. Each box containers 4 to 6 items. How cool is that?

If you use the code "RICHBBX1" during checkout, you will recieve $10 off your subscription and BarkBox will also donate $10 to the Richmond SPCA. If you would like to learn more about BarkBox, please click here. If you would like to see pictures of what is in the box (and the happy dogs that received them), visit BarkBox's Facebook page.

There are several other ways you can shop to give to support the Richmond SPCA. Please consider supporting these pet-friendly organizations when making your purchasing decisions. These organizations support the Richmond SPCA by making donations when items are purchased or services are utilized.

Interested in adopting a pet from the Richmond SPCA?

Adoption events

The Valentine Richmond History Center invites you (and your dog!) to participate in a walking tour of Church Hill on Saturday, May 18 from 10 a.m. to noon. A Richmond SPCA representative will be attending the event with a dog available for adoption! Space is limited and reservations are required. Click here for more details.

Bring the whole family out to The Shops at Willow Lawn this weekend for the Fifth Annual Imagination Richmond. This free, kid-friendly event will be held on Saturday, May 18 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Our Tail Wag'N will be there for off-site adoptions.

Adoption specials

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Posted by RichmondSPCA on May 13, 2013 at 06:04 PM in Adoption, Cats, Dogs | Permalink | Comments (0)

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