Earlier this month a dear supporter of the Richmond SPCA, Pat Manning, experienced the goodbye every person who has loved a pet dreads. Pat’s dear companion Katie passed away after a short but courageous battle with cancer.
Katie could not have been a luckier dog. In Pat she found the type of guardian we wish for every homeless pet to encounter, and their meeting was entirely by chance. Pat took Katie into her home when the young shepherd mix was left behind by a neighbor who moved away. Where some would have seen a dog with too much energy and too little focus, Pat saw a need for training and provided it. Together they enrolled in classes at the Richmond SPCA where Katie’s eagerness to learn began to shine and her bond with Pat grew stronger. Last fall when we launched the Richmond SPCA School for Dogs, Katie was soon enrolled in the program.
Katie’s vivacious spirit comes through in the video below.
As a tribute to this dog who was loved so well and learned with such zeal, we have created the Katie Manning Memorial Scholarship Fund that will provide access to training services that will benefit future dogs like her, keeping them in their homes and building stronger bonds with their guardians. To make a contribution in her memory visit www.richmondspca.org/donate and select "Katie Manning Memorial Scholarship Fund" as the designation for your gift.
If you've experienced the loss of a pet, the pet loss counseling group at the VCU School of Medicine's Center for Human-Animal Interaction can provide support. Call 804-827-PAWS or visit them online.
Tabitha Frizzell Hanes is the director of communications for the Richmond SPCA. Video editing by Eric Steigleder, community relations coordinator. 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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