Richmond SPCA Blog

Frivolous Friday Felines #5

For your Friday frivolity and enjoyment, we give you this gem. Caption away! 

And the best of week #4 goes to Cindy McCray... 

 

To read the biographies of our regular bloggers, please click here. Before submitting a comment, please review our guidelines.

Show off your compassionate side: Five ways to help homeless animals without leaving Facebook

 Slactivism – I first heard the word last week at the Social Media Club of Richmond. It elicited a chuckle from the crowd, who may have been more familiar with the term. While it’s meant as a pejorative, there are plenty of ways that you can help homeless animals with just a few clicks of your mouse. Sure it’s a feel-good move that doesn’t take much effort, but spreading the word about the lifesaving programs and services we provide as well as events that benefit the animals in our care have real impact. [Disclaimer: sometimes after the click we ask you to follow through with real-world action, but it’s usually relatively painless and often even fun.]

1. Click the Facebook like button on this post. You’re already reading it and even stuck around past the first paragraph, so maybe you really do like it. Using the Facebook “like” button is a way of sharing our blog with your friends.


2. If you’re not already a fan, go to the Richmond SPCA page on Facebook and like it too. We try not to fill your newsfeed with too many updates, unless of course it’s about adorable puppies and kittens and other wonderful animals who are so deserving of a good home. You can also be a fan of our gift shop for special offers and promotions. 


3. Now that you see our updates, when you like one, share it with your friends too. Facebook knows there’s a bit of a slacker in each of us, so they’ve made it easy. Each photo or video or link we post has a “share” link just below it. You can post it to your own news feed and even add comments to let everyone know why you support animal welfare.


4. Visit our events tab on Facebook to see upcoming events that benefit the pets in our care. If you see one that interests you, let us know you’ll attend then select more guests to invite. Facebook only allows page administrators to send event invites to the people we’re personally connected to, not to everyone who likes our page, so we rely on you to spread the word about our events.


5. Make a post of your own! Have you adopted your best friend from our Robins-Starr Humane Center? Had a pet spayed at our Smoky’s Spay/Neuter Clinic? Found your pet’s new favorite toy at our Lora Robins Gift Shop? Let others know! You can even post a photo or video to our wall on Facebook to give us an update. We love to hear how much joy our alumni bring their families, and maybe it will inspire someone else to give a home to an orphaned pet.

Tabitha Hanes is the community relations manager at the Richmond SPCA. To read her complete biography, or that of our other bloggers, please click here. Before submitting a comment, please review our guidelines.

Sizing up the right dog

Among my “guilty” pleasures are the home shows on HGTV and TLC. Since I rent in an apartment in the Fan, maybe the pleasure lies in the fact that anything that requires improvement or repair isn’t my responsibility, so I can sit idly on a Saturday and watch other people’s headaches instead. One of my favorites of these shows is “House Hunters International,” and an episode I saw recently featured a couple’s search for an apartment to buy in Paris. I don’t bring this up because of the three tiny apartments they were shown, or the magnificent views of the city, but it was, of course, their dog that caught my attention.

After the couple decided to purchase an apartment that would be considered almost inconceivably small by American standards, they were shown walking through a Parisian park with their adorably large black lab. What a difference in attitude! I’ve often been surprised by visitors to our center who state, “We’re looking for an inside dog,” after walking past wonderful dogs who are already housetrained and know basic manners. It’s not the personality or training or anything about the dogs’ behavior that have cause them to be passed by, only their size.

It’s not a fenced yard in suburbia that a dog like the adorable 50 lbs. Shelby longs for. An attentive owner who will take her on leashed walks and rub her belly while she lies at his feet would be a much better match. Providing enrichment for a dog of any size is part of giving her a loving home. In Richmond, there are a great number of options to make that one of the most enjoyable things about having a dog. Flyball anyone? How about dog parks? Giving your dog exercise and stimulation isn't just good for him. It’s good for the human too! 

Tabitha Hanes is the community relations manager at the Richmond SPCA. To read her complete biography, or that of our other bloggers, please click here. Before submitting a comment, please review our guidelines.

Find your soul mate at the Richmond SPCA

As you’ve watched TV in the last week, we hope you’ve seen our adoption advertising campaign, or maybe you’ve viewed it on YouTube. It’s a fun campaign that first launched two summers ago, and it still makes me smile each time I see it. The creative concept was conceived by the excellent team at Barber Martin Agency, which has been providing pro-bono creative services to the Richmond SPCA since 2004. Park Production Group of Richmond produced the spot, and it features terrific local actors – including one of our own alumni. Gus the dog belongs to Pat Manning, a member of our Board of Directors. He was adopted from the Robins-Starr Humane Center in 2008 and trained by our own behavior team to perform in the commercial.

It seems obvious that we would choose a romantic partner, roommate or even friend based on more than looks alone. If you’re going to spend any amount of time with a person, being compatible in areas like manners and common interests becomes much more important. The same is true of our pets, and our compatibility survey – known as Meet Your Match – helps adopters examine their lifestyle and other needs to find the right match. Is your home like a library? We can find the “secret admirer” kitty who won’t disturb the peace. Are you an avid runner? Maybe that “couch potato” dog isn’t your best fit, but we can point you toward a “go getter” who will help set the pace for your nightly run. Want your dog to delicately take a treat like the adorable Gus shares a French fry? Well, for that we’ll put you in touch with our training team who can start you out with a Canine Manners class and continue on through our Making Fido Famous program to learn fancier tricks.

We hope you'll share the commercial with your friends on Facebook or with your Twitter followers (shortened URL: http://ht.ly/2f6VJ), as well as the ease of our compatibility survey (http://ht.ly/2gQ6t). Help us spread the word - adoption is the best option, and your soul mate is waiting for you at the Richmond SPCA!

Tabitha Hanes is the community relations manager at the Richmond SPCA. To read her complete biography, or that of our other bloggers, please click here. Before submitting a comment, please review our guidelines.

Frivolous Friday Felines #4

We're a little late with the post, but here's the fourth installment of our weekly caption contest, and it is still Friday at least. As usual, we provide the feline photo and ask you, our readers, to submit your wittiest caption suggestions in the comments before next Friday. 

Photo courtesy of Ron Leone. 

The caption submissions keep getting better. Thanks for the laughs! Several stood out, and this gem from Jaime Green is our top pick. 

 To read the biographies of our regular bloggers, please click here. Before submitting a comment, please review our guidelines.

What's in a name?

I would like to explain the origin of the name on our building because I frequently hear people say things that make me recognize that there is confusion about it.  The name of our building is the Robins-Starr Humane Center.  Because the first name in the title differs from my own first name only by the addition of an “s,” many folks think that the building simply bears my own name.  It is important to me to explain what the name is and how the name came about because it was one of the most generous and thoughtful things anyone has ever done for me. 

Claiborne Robins chaired the campaign for the Compassionate Solution which was the capital campaign that we ran in 1999-2002 to raise the money to create and operate the wonderful humane center that we moved into in 2002.  Claiborne and a large committee of wonderfully committed people and I worked together for several years in order to raise the money that has transformed our ability to save lives in this community.   Claiborne and his family gave generously to the campaign and set a wonderful example for others.  Their gifts accorded them the privilege to name the humane center and, prior to its opening, Claiborne had told me that it would be named the “Robins Humane Center.”  I was delighted with that idea. 

In the weeks leading up to the dinner that we were planning to hold to give our donors a first look at the new humane center that was about to open to the whole community, I tried to make sure that the sign with the name “Robins Humane Center” would be erected in the front on Hermitage Avenue.  The sign company said they would but then would never actually show up to get the work done, much to my frustration and annoyance.  When the night of the dinner arrived, I found out why.  Claiborne had decided that he wanted to recognize the long and hard work that I had put into the campaign by adding my last name after his own to the name of the humane center.  He announced this remarkable kindness to me at the dinner and, while we were in the dinner, had the sign company erect the sign out front with the name “Robins-Starr Humane Center.”  When everyone came out at the end of the evening, the sign was up.  I was deeply honored and grateful and will be for the rest of my life.  To have my last name included in the name of our humane center means all the world to me but it is only a part of the name, not the whole thing!  It was a great kindness and that is why it is so important to me that there be no confusion as to what the name really is and why it is what it is.  Thanks for letting me tell the story again.

Robin Robertson Starr is the chief executive officer of the Richmond SPCA. To read her complete biography or that of our other bloggers, please click here. Before submitting a comment, please review our commenting guidelines.

How things change

Life gives you some moments when you suddenly realize that, slowly over time, things have changed enormously without your ever noticing.  Those times include when your child first goes off to school or first gets behind the wheel of a car, when you say something and realize that you just sounded like your mother, and when you look at a picture and realize how you dressed two decades ago.  Some of these occasions make you realize that the slow process of change has been for the good and some not so much. 

I had one of those times on Monday and it was a realization of what a major positive change has happened.  On Monday, we celebrated the remarkable accomplishment of having performed 75,000 spay/neuter surgeries for the animals of this community.  I remembered back to my first year on the Board of the Richmond SPCA (about 16 years ago) when the male Board members actually discussed the fact that we should only have the female dogs and cats spayed but not neuter the males because, well, that would just be wrong.  I am actually not making this up – ask Emerson Hughes because he remembers too.  I also remembered back to how hard we struggled to raise the money to create our own spay/neuter clinic in our own new building and how anxious we were about whether we could actually make this work. 

Well, work it did and work we did!  We assembled a truly remarkable clinic staff led by the indomitable Dr. Angela Ivey – she leads the best surgical team that exists.  Kate Hall joined us bringing capable management along with clear headed reason and an infectious can-do spirit.  We got our community to respond willingly and be supportive despite some bumps along the way.  And, momentum built and we never stopped or even waivered and somehow 75,000 surgeries got done.  This appears to be the second largest number of surgeries done to date by any humane organization in the country.  Quite an accomplishment!

We still have lots more to do for the animals of our community but Monday was a wonderful moment when you get to take a step back and realize that your little baby has grown up and has become magnificent. Looking forward to the next 75,000!

 

Robin Robertson Starr is the chief executive officer of the Richmond SPCA. To read her complete biography, or that of our other bloggers, please click here. Before submitting a comment, please review our comment guidelines.

What is the moral difference?

When I write for the newspaper or when I speak publicly, I often receive comments from people who argue that time and money should not be spent on animal welfare efforts because "human problems are more important."  These folks often seem to believe that their viewpoint is somehow morally superior.  The most radical members of this group are those who responded very aggressively to the outrage at and prosecution of Michael Vick, and to our public criticism of him, arguing that he should not have been punished because he just hurt animals and that is no big deal, certainly not so important as human issues. 

It is always interesting to me that these folks never deny that animals suffer pain and fear when abused.  They also routinely say that "human problems are MORE important" suggesting that animal concerns are of some importance, just not as much as human concerns.  But, their real response to these issues is to deny that there should be any effort or money at all spent on the care of suffering animals or that animal abusers should be punished at all.  So, their actions suggest that they actually believe that animals’ suffering is of no importance at all.

In support of their position opposing animal welfare and the serious punishment of animal abusers, they invariably describe the differences between humans and animals, but still never deny that we are alike in one crucial way - animals and humans are both sentient beings that feel pain and suffering.  So, then, what is the moral relevance of the other distinctions between humans and animals to the issue of their being protected from pain and suffering?  What about such distinctions these folks usually make, such as the human’s possession of language skills or rational thought or even a soul, would support a moral distinction being made with regard to the infliction of pain and suffering on them.  How do these differences lead to the conclusion that the intentional infliction of pain and suffering on people is morally unacceptable but on animals is okay?  In fact, would not the possession of a soul mean that humans have an even greater duty to emulate the kindness and compassion of their creator? 

Robin Robertson Starr is the chief executive officer of the Richmond SPCA. To read her complete biography, or that of our other bloggers, please click here. Before submitting a comment, please review our guidelines.

Frivolous Friday Felines #3

This is the third installment of our weekly caption contest. We provide the feline photo and ask you, our readers, to submit your wittiest caption suggestions in the comments before next Friday. 

Photo courtesy of Rich Terrell

All the great caption submissions last week made it a tough choice, but we've settled on this comment from Mary Archer as the best of the bunch: 

Honorable mentions to these submissions as well: 

Hey! No cat napping at work...that's my job!
Skye Mullarkey

Okay, time to play ! No more computing, more interaction with my fur please!
Cathy Lindner 

To read the biographies of our regular bloggers, please click here. Before submitting a comment, please review our guidelines.

Editorial is a call for mercy

In his editorial that appeared in today’s Richmond Times-Dispatch, Bart Hinkle explores the callousness and indifference of the human species to the suffering of animals and highlights recent prominent animal-related crimes in Virginia to demonstrate how pervasive the problem of animal cruelty is in our society.

He asserts that human beings have a responsibility to show mercy to other sentient beings who share our earth, and I agree. Our animal companions may not enjoy the same rights and privileges that people do, but we should never mistake this distinction for one that implies their lives have no meaning and do not deserve our protection. To the contrary, it is our obligation and moral duty to treat them with compassion and respect.

To read the editorial, please click here.

Tamsen Kingry is the chief operating officer of the Richmond SPCA. To read her complete biography, or that of our other bloggers, please click here. Before submitting a comment, please review our guidelines.