Richmond SPCA Blog

Alumni feature: "I'm so glad I took a chance on Fritz"

Editor's note: Today's guest blogger is Tracy Kennedy, who shares her adoption story.

I have to say that I've never considered myself to be a so-called "cat person." I was raised in a dog-centric home with a poodle and a schnauzer, and the few cats I had met at friends' homes were always so shy and withdrawn from me that I had started to assume that I must exude an anti-cat aroma.

Then I met Snuggles.

He certainly lived up to his name when I spent my Kitty Calming session with him last Sunday. Snuggles was constantly cuddling up to me, slowly making "air biscuits" with his white mittened-paws while I scratched his head. I had never met such an affectionate feline and I ended up spending over an hour just tickling his belly and brushing his back.

Over the next couple of days, I couldn't get him out of my head. I kept checking the Richmond SPCA's adoptions section for cats, fully expecting to see Snuggles get picked up and unsure of how I'd feel if he did. Jealous? Happy? It was hard to tell. As Monday and Tuesday both passed and my anxiety over him grew, I realized that I had fallen for the little guy and decided Monday night that I was going to adopt that cat.

The following Tuesday morning went by entirely too slowly. To say I wasn't nervous would be a huge lie. I feared the unknowns of cat ownership: what would I do if Snuggles started overtly hating me? What if he became an incorrigible furniture destroyer and territory marker? What if the canned food I bought for him wasn't to his liking? My "what if" fears were countless and gave me pause even as I pointed him out to the Adoption Counselor, but getting to spend time with him again before adopting him calmed some of them and reminded me why I was there.

After an hour of form filling, I happily paid Snuggles' adoption fee and carted him home.

To my great relief, Snuggles settled in almost right away. The Friskies I had bought was exactly to his liking and he gobbled it up that first night. The laser pointer I had picked up is now his favorite toy and he meows for it whenever he gets bored. Whenever I've needed to study, he's always been quick to jump up beside me and cuddle against me while I work, and at night he's started sleeping on my feet. He's constantly purring and curling his tail, so I take it that he's happy with his adoption, too.

Since he wasn't responding to his old name, I did end up renaming him "Fritz," though in reality, he ended up choosing it himself because it's the only name he perks up to. Whenever I call for him, he comes to me now just like a little dog and then starts begging for cuddles, which I'm more than happy to give.

I think it's safe to say that Fritz/Snuggles has found his forever home. Thank you all for all of your help and guidance during this adoption process, and for taking care of Fritz while he was between homes. I'm so glad that I took a chance on Fritz, he's an amazing cat.

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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.

Related articles

We were adopted! (April 1-7, 2013)

Fall in love at the Richmond SPCA

We were adopted! (April 8-14)

We Were Adopted! (April 29-May 5, 2013)

We had an excellent week in our adoption center with 37 adoptions! Our adoption counselors found loving homes for 27 dogs and 10 cats. Our goal is to find homes for 57 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: 

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From top left to bottom right: (pets not pictured are italicized) Dory, Kipper, Kittles, Leyland, Merrick, Phoebe, Pilot, Rhett, Scarlet, Tracey.

Scarlet and Rhett, both 2 months old, were the youngest cats adopted. Kittles, at 9 years old, was the oldest cat adopted.

Here are the dogs who were adopted this past week:

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From top left to bottom right: (pets not pictured are italicized) Ariadne, Ashley, Bambi, Buckley, Chandler, Cliff, Cornelius, Cubby, Delilah, Eleanor, Excelsior, Figgy, Garrison, Gideon, Ginger, Heron, Horton, Inky, Jean, Lilyanna, Merle, Orchid, Samantha, Seamus, Stark, Stout, Trevor.

Seven-month old Ginger was the youngest canine adopted this week. At 7 years old, Lilyanna, a sweet tricolor beagle mix, was the oldest dog who found a home.

Training classes

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 this week. Visit https://www.richmondspca.org/training to sign up with your dog!

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 the 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!

Adoption events

This weekend is PETCO's National Adoption Weekend! To celebrate, our Tail Wag'N will be at the PETCO in Carytown on Saturday, May 11 from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. for off-site adoptions. 

Adoption specials

Now is a wonderful time to come to our Robins-Starr Humane Center to meet your perfect match! It is "Be Kind to Animals" week! You can take advantage of 25 percent off all adoptions May 6-10.

In addition to the adoption special described above, we have our ongoing Seniors for Seniors 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 also include a cat starter kit, cardboard scratcher and a toy. Adoption of a dog int his program will also include a leash and collar, food and water bowl and a toy. You can learn more about this program here.

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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

We Were Adopted! (April 22-28, 2013)

We were adopted! (April 15-21, 2013)

We were adopted! (April 8-14)

Fall in love at the Richmond SPCA

Bond with your canine in agility classes

This week many of our training classes are on hiatus as we prepare for a new session that begins next week. However, our agility students aren't letting their dogs' skills get rusty! Chief of Education and Training Sarah Babcock has set up a special series of outdoor "play nights" for students to practice in a new environment.

Classes in our indoor Track & Training Center resume next week for all levels of agility. If you're wondering which class is right for you and your dog, remember your ABCs. Agility A is just right for beginners, and class names progress though the alphabet as your comfort and skill in Agility increase. Both daytime and evening classes are available, so visit our training class calendar today to enroll.

The sport of Agility features a course made up of several types of equipment. Jumps, tables, weave poles and tunnels are just a few of the obstacles dogs are introduced to through classes. To get started, the basic building blocks of a good agility student are skills like "sit" and "down" along with having a dog under control when off leash. With subsequent classes and focused training, both dog and handler will gain speed and accuracy on the course. 

Perhaps the best thing about agility training is the opportunity to bond with your dog. Weekly hour-long classes build your communication with your canine companion, and the excercise is equally good for human and dog. If you'd like to see the same eagerness and focus these dogs have as they await the next signal from their handlers, don't hesitate in signing up to take an agility class. 

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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.

Related articles

Kids are making a difference at the Richmond SPCA

Cats no longer suffering for medical training at UVa

The truth about the American Kennel Club is exposed on the Today Show

The Today show recently aired a news piece that I hope everyone who cares about animals will watch because it exposes the truth about the American Kennel Club and its actual activities, or lack thereof to adequately inspect and responsibly regulate its registered dog breeders.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

We have long known that an AKC registration of a dog or puppy provides absolutely no reliable representation of the conditions that the dog was bred in or the physical or emotional health of the pet. But, unfortunately, many members of the public think that an AKC registration is some sort of seal of approval about health of the puppy they buy and the conditions in which that puppy was raised. In fact, one would hope that the AKC would help and support the work that the Humane Society of the United States and the ASPCA have done to address the dreadful conditions in puppy mills but, in truth, they actually have worked to resist standards of care and conditions being placed on breeding operations.

After being rescued from a puppy mill, a dog is evaluated by Richmond SPCA Chief of Education and Training Sarah Babcock.

The Richmond SPCA has worked with the HSUS and the ASPCA to break up heart-breaking puppy mills in Virginia and other states in which innocent animals were being subjected to horrifying conditions all for the financial gain of the heartless people in charge. As a result, we know first-hand the serious need for the imposition of standards for the safety, health and cleanliness of these breeding operations. For that reason, we worked hard a few years ago to urge the members of the Virginia General Assembly to pass a bill that would have placed reasonable requirements on commercial breeding operations in Virginia. That bill was strongly and vocally opposed by the AKC.

The bottom line is that, if you really care about the welfare of the wonderful dogs and cats that share our world, then you should always find your new family member at a shelter. When you adopt a dog or cat from the Richmond SPCA, it allows us to immediately go save another deserving pet from a shelter where his or her life may be at risk. You will not only have a wonderful new best friend but you will also sleep well knowing that you saved a life. That sure beats supporting the sorts of horrifying breeding operations that are documented in the Today segment.

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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.

Related articles

Inaction and inaccuracies lead to animal suffering in Goochland County

MARTIN'S is a true hometown hero to orphaned animals

Superb WaPo editorial issues call for openness in agriculture, defeat of "ag-gag" bills

Today's Washington Post editorial page provides a beautifully written and deeply affecting editorial about the despicable recent efforts of a number of state legislatures to pass "ag-gag" bills to prevent the American public from knowing the truth about the horrifically abusive treatment of animals in factory farming operations. 

Six states have enacted these bills already and six more are considering some version of them.  There is no suggestion ever made by the proponents of these bills that the undercover videos made in these agribusiness operations demonstrating the stomach churning animal abuse are not truthful. The legislation's purpose is simply to ensure that the public is not permitted to see these abuses for fear that it might drive them to vegetarianism (OMG, we have a lot of rights but the right to be a vegetarian in not one of them apparently!).  This is not only a shocking display on the part of elected representatives of callousness to animal suffering but also an appalling disregard of our first amendment rights.  

We are deeply grateful for the great and courageous work that the Humane Society of the United States has done to document the awful realities of the cruelties to which animals are subjected in these agribusiness operations and for their laudable successes in achieving change for the better.  It is of course those successes that are really behind these efforts to prevent the public from seeing and knowing the truth.  As Justice Brandeis said "Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants."  Please read the editorial and help us to promote sunlight on the conduct in factory farms.

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.

Related articles

Cats no longer suffering for medical training at UVa

MARTIN'S is a true hometown hero to orphaned animals

Inaction and inaccuracies lead to animal suffering in Goochland County

6 states that might criminalize taping animal cruelty

Board member Bartholomew Broadbent invites you to “torture” him in the name of fundraising

Bartholomew Broadbent and Ollie at the Fur Ball, the Richmond SPCA's signature black-tie fundraiser at The Jefferson Hotel

Fundraising through social media is nothing new, but last week a member of our Board of Directors announced via Facebook that he was getting on the fundraising bandwagon by going on the wagon, quite literally. Bartholomew Broadbent is much more than a fan of consuming wine and beer; he has built his career around wines and founded Broadbent Selections in 1996. But after inquiring if his friends on Facebook thought he could go 14 days without a drop of alcohol, he has pledged to stop drinking with the goal of raising $10,000 for the orphaned pets in our care.

This two-week challenge got off to a quick start on gofundme – the first four pledges added up to $400 to launch Bollew’s “Stop drinking wine for the Richmond SPCA” campaign. We’re hearing quite a bit about how boring meals have become without an accompanying glass of wine or beer, but Bartholomew says it’s well worth the torture of abstaining from his favorite beverages to save animal lives. It’s also given him time to do some additional calculations on how the goal might be met:

• If 500 Facebook friends donate $18.30 each, I’ll reach the goal!
• If all of my Facebook contacts (he has 4,999 friends on his personal profile and 4,232 likes on the Broadbent Selections page) donate $1.83, the goal will be met!
• I only need 92 people to give $100 each for the goal to be met!

We like his spirit and the odds of raising $10,000 to support the lifesaving programs and services of the Richmond SPCA! If you’d like to give, head over to http://www.gofundme.com/2o1jl8. You can also help make this a viral campaign by sharing the link with your own network.

Do you have a fun, social, creative fundraising idea that you’d like to launch in support of the orphaned dogs and cats in the care of the Richmond SPCA? We have a page on our website dedicated to helping you be successful, and our development team is also available to answer questions. Start your own campaign by visiting our fundraising ideas page.

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Tabitha Frizzell Hanes is the director of communications 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. 

Related articles

Fall in love at the Richmond SPCA

Kids are making a difference at the Richmond SPCA

We were adopted! (April 15-21, 2013)

Last week was a fantastic week in our adoption center as we united 69 pets with loving families. Our goal is to find homes for 55 homeless pets in the current week. If you enjoy flipping through adorable pictures of pets and reading adoption updates, be sure to look for our alumni features on our Facebook, tumblr and Pinterest pages. If you're a fan of Instagram, you can find us there, too!

We have some exciting offsite events coming up! On Friday, April 26, the Tail Wag'N will be at James River Cellars for Fridays on the Patio from 6:30 - 9 p.m. You can also celebrate National Adoption Weekend with the Richmond SPCA! Our Tail Wag'N will be at the Petsmart in Shortpump on Saturday, April 27, from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m.

Here are the dogs who were adopted this past week: 

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From top left to bottom right: (pets not pictured are italicized) Achilles, Adonis, Annie, Apollo, Bagheera, Baloo, Balsam, Blaze, Bluebird, Calypso, Cardinal, Cher, Chiclet, Daffodil, Daisy, Duck, Ethel, Finch, Flora, Gabriella, Genevieve, Georgie, Hank, Hazelnut, Horace, Howie, Inga, Isis, Jewel, Kaa, Keith, Ladybug, Louie, Mars, Mowgli. Musketeer, Myrtle, Obie, Raksha, Rhubarb, Rolonda, Sonny, Sparrow, Swan, Templeton, Trixie, Wayne

Here are the cats who were adopted this past week:

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From top left to bottom right: (pets not pictured are italicized) Bella, Buttons, Cameron, Carolina, Dorothy, Goose, Juliet, Kenneth, Madison, McKenna, Memphis, Morpheus, Pocky, Pretzel, Sedona, Shila, Sprinkles, Tallahassee, Tiffany, Tootsie, Veronica, Winnie

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 many of the wonderful 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!

Adoption specials

Celebrate Earth Day with our Every Life on Earth is Precious adoption special! All adoptions will be discounted by 25 percent through Friday, April 26.

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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

We were adopted! (April 8-14)

Richmond SPCA receives a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator

We were adopted! (April 1-7, 2013)

Fall in love at the Richmond SPCA

Trick training at the School for Dogs can help your canine reach his or her full potential

Have you ever thought that your dog could learn creative tricks like the talented pups you see on television? They can, just like our star students at School for Dogs!

Trick training is a fun way to challenge dogs‘ minds and let them show off their potential. Positive reinforcement and the use of a handy clicker encourage dogs to think about what we are asking them to do for their next treat.

A great form of teaching a dog to do a trick is shaping. Shaping is a training style where the end result is broken down into many steps, making it easier for "Fido" to learn in stages. If a dog is learning to shake, for example, we would start by rewarding the dog for just lifting their paw off the ground. The next step may be rewarding the dog to lift higher. The dog learns that treats are offered for the step by step actions that turn into the final trick!

Each dog is unique and will have certain tricks that they perform better than others. One dog may enjoy dancing on his hind legs while another would rather roll over. Once a dog learns the idea of clicker training, they tend to start offering certain behaviors, trying to figure out how to earn a treat. This is the fun part where the trainers get to be creative figuring out a trick that uses the canine's excitement.

If you think your dog has hidden talents or you just want to bond, trick training is for you. Check out some of the tricks one of our School for Dogs trainers, Joyce, is working on with student Iggy:

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Jessica Powell is a behavior and training specialist for the Richmond SPCA. 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.

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Fall in love at the Richmond SPCA

We were adopted! (April 8-14)

While we did not meet our adoption goal, last week was a great success as we united 39 pets with families. Our goal is to find homes for 78 homeless pets in the current week. If you enjoy flipping through adorable pictures of pets and reading adoption updates, be sure to look for our alumni features on our Facebook, tumblr and Pinterest pages. If you're a fan of Instagram, you can find us there, too!

We have some exciting offsite events coming up! On Saturday, April 20, the Tail Wag'N will be at the Collegiate Village Green Faire from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. If you're fascinated by Richmond's rich history, the History Hounds tour on April 27 is the event for you! One of our adoptable dogs will join the walking tour of Hollywood Cemetary.

Here are the dogs who were adopted this past week: 

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From top left to bottom right: (pets not pictured are italicized) Abigail, Abraham, Alvin, Ares, Ariel, Athena, Bonnie, Cadpig, Celia, Clyde, Cooper, Damien, Dill, Duke, Ellie, Eva, Gage, Gideon, Gidget, Marley, Millie, Othello, Pip, Roxy, Smooch, Snickers, Sophie, Willow

 

Here are the cats who were adopted this past week:

 

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From top left to bottom right: (pets not pictured are italicized) Allison, Arizona, Cheddar, Harley, Mack, Madeline, Rosaline, Shooky, Snuggles, Tanya, Trixie

Cheddar charmed everyone at WRIC 8 on Friday and quickly found her new home! Shooky made his first on-air appearance at NBC 12 and was united with his new family soon after!

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 many of the wonderful 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!

Adoption specials

April is a great month to come to our Robins-Starr Humane Center to meet your perfect match! Take advantage of 20 percent off all adoption fees every Tuesday in April. Our adoption counselors can't wait to help you meet your new best friend!

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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

We were adopted! (February 24-March 3, 2013)

We were adopted! (April 1-7, 2013)

We Were Adopted! (March 25 - 31, 2013)

We were adopted! (March 18-24, 2013)

Fall in love at the Richmond SPCA

We were adopted! (Feb. 18-24, 2013)

We were adopted! (April 1-7, 2013)

We are thrilled to announce that our adoption counselors united 62 pets with families last week! Our goal is to find homes for 62 homeless pets in the current week. If you enjoy flipping through adorable pictures of pets and reading adoption updates, be sure to look for our alumni features on our Facebook, tumblr and Pinterest pages. If you're a fan of Instagram, you can find us there, too!

Love dogs and art? Our Tail Wag'n will be at John Tyler Community College on Saturday, April 13, for the "Fool for Art Festival" from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Here are the dogs who were adopted this past week:

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From top left to bottom right: (pets not pictured are italicized) Ally, Champ, Cherry, Claire, Clyde, Demetre, Dino, Doogie, Edgar, Faith, Gabby, Heinz, Horatio, Horton, Iggy, Juliet, Kelly, Kitana, Mabon, Malone, Marsha, Mary, Max, Mila, Mimi, Octavious, Orin, Phoebe, Pollyanna, Princeton, Ralph, Roo, Sarah, Shanti, Sherlock, Shiloh, Sierra, Spencer, Steinbeck, Tegan, Truffles, Tucson

Steinbeck was adopted after being featured on WRIC 8 News on Friday. Cherry, Horatio, Pollyanna and Ralph were adopted after coming all of the way from Pasadena, California to find their new homes!

Here are the cats who were adopted this past week:

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From top left to bottom right: (pets not pictured are italicized) Allegra, Althea, Amadeus, Aurora, Bonnie, Glinda, Jane, Lou Lou, Marcus, Merriweather, Mozelle, Nixon, Norton, Paisley, Primrose, Priscilla, Shadow, Spaghetti, Ted, Toulouse

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 many of the wonderful 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!

Adoption specials

April is a great month to come to our Robins-Starr Humane Center to meet your perfect match! Take advantage of 20 percent off all adoption fees every Tuesday in April. Our adoption counselors can't wait to help you meet your new best friend!

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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

We Were Adopted! (March 25 - 31, 2013)

Fall in love at the Richmond SPCA

We were adopted! (March 18-24, 2013)

We were adopted! (March 11-17, 2013)