In my work at The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), I am always thinking about leadership and initiative, and what they mean in the life of an organization. The HSUS’s four founders took a big risk in 1954, borrowing off of their life insurance policies to form a new kind of animal protection society, based on their view that a renewal of leadership and initiative was needed in humane work. They sought to create a truly national organization, with a mass membership, that worked on the big picture animal protection issues on which local societies could not afford to focus. At the same time, they sought to build strong partnerships with local societies, working closely to advance local, statewide and national priorities. Lastly, they were pragmatic, determined to drive as much reform as was possible, without compromising their core values. They were interested in progress, not perfection.
By 1963, two of the four original founders of The HSUS had moved on, and its principal leader in thought, Fred Myers, had passed away. Built for the long term, however, the organization continued to grow, to thrive and to extend its mission, with new leaders and new personnel filling the void. They struggled at times, but working in true collaboration with local societies, they secured remarkable early gains, including the passage of the Humane Slaughter Act in 1958 and the Laboratory Animal Welfare Act in 1966, and in subsequent generations, we’ve continued to carry the fight for animals into every quarter.
Wayne Pacelle joins Robin Starr, who is holding Lottie Dula, on the set of Virginia This Morning in 2011 for an interview with Cheryl Miller and Jessica Noll about the publication of his book "The Bond."
The history of the Richmond SPCA is not so different than that of The HSUS; it too has seen its highs and lows, lost good leaders, survived in lean times, but persisted, endured and flourished. Today, we at The HSUS consider it one of our greatest partners in humane work. So much of that has to do with the leadership and initiative of Robin Robertson Starr, who has been a true mainspring of the Richmond SPCA over the last two decades.
It would be difficult to overestimate Robin’s impact on the evolution of the Richmond SPCA and on animal welfare in the communities it serves. She led successful fundraising efforts to build a new headquarters and a new veterinary hospital. She helped to bring the society’s live-release rate to nearly 99 percent. And the Richmond SPCA's animal hospital, humane education programs, pet behavior and retention programs, and shelter transfer program have become the gold standard in animal sheltering, setting a standard for progressive shelter work for communities not just in Virginia but across the country.
During a joint rescue effort in 2009, Richmond SPCA animal care technician Sheon Mallory takes a puppy into her arms who has just arrived on the HSUS Emergency Services transport vehicle.
Richmond SPCA is a good neighbor and partner to sister societies all across the country. Its transfer program, in which animals move from shelters elsewhere in Virginia where they are at risk of euthanasia or unlikely to be adopted, are brought to Richmond for treatment and adoption, a win-win for all parties and producing lifesaving outcomes. Richmond SPCA has also accepted animals rescued by HSUS emergency responders countless times. Dogs rescued from the meat trade in South Korea, saved from hurricanes and tornadoes and other natural disasters, and freed from the fighting ring and the suffocating cruelty of puppy mills have all found loving homes thanks to the joint efforts of The HSUS and Richmond SPCA.
While Robin has done her utmost to strengthen and transform the sheltering work of the society she leads, she has also understood that the needs of animal welfare go far beyond the brick walls of the Richmond SPCA. She has championed animal protection through the legislative process, advocating tirelessly to make animal fighting a felony, to make animal cruelty a felony, to shut down puppy mills in Virginia, to prohibit the sale of dogs in parking lots and on roadsides, to bring an end to the cruel practice of fox penning, and to protect exotic animals being kept as pets and in roadside zoos. In Richmond, she's advanced ordinances to free dogs living their lives at the end of chains and to protect elephants in circuses from the cruelty of the bull-hook. These efforts help to account for the fact that Virginia is ranked fourth in the nation for humane laws and regulations by The HSUS.
Lisa and Wayne Pacelle celebrate the Richmond SPCA's Fur Ball in 2016 with Robin and Ed Starr.
Anyone who founds an organization designed to do good in the world does so with the hope and faith that others will come along to nurture and strengthen it, and the Richmond SPCA is no different. More than 125 years ago, concerned citizens in the city came together to establish a new and visionary force, whose existence would bring great benefits to animals and to those who care for and about them. The human lifespan being what it is, none of those good people lived long enough to see what the Richmond SPCA under Robin Starr has become. But I am confident that they would recognize the organization they founded, and find in her a kindred spirit, who has continued to provide the leadership and initiative they intended, and who shows no sign of letting up. It takes no imagination of creativity to acknowledge Robin’s tremendous achievements on the occasion of her twentieth anniversary with the Richmond SPCA, and it’s an honor to have worked so closely with her during so much of that time. She’s a special person, a friend and a compatriot in our shared cause. We are all fortunate to have the benefit of her enlightened leadership and drive.
Wayne Pacelle is president and CEO of The Humane Society of the United States. Visit Wayne's blog, A Humane Nation.
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