From Us to You

Hands Across On America

Margaret knows one trick. She will put her paws on ANYTHING. Kennel doors? Desks? People?

Yes, yes, and yes.

Today she took her show on the road and shared her love with Lite98’s Kat Simons and the awesome people of Clear Channel Communications.

Surely there is a home out there for a sweet girl who gives hugs like it is her job!

What we’ve been up to this week

A good man from Canine Adventure came to get a shelter dog for a walk today.  When he came back he stopped at my door and asked for some more information about “Diego.”  I’ve been away for the holidays, and our shelter has filled up with new recruits, and I didn’t immediately know who Diego was.  I asked if Diego had a kennel card telling his age, behavior assessment info, bio, etc.  He said, “No, it just says Diego.”

As a way to memorialize special animals who have found love at RAL, we used to offer kennel plaques for sale.  A special pup named Diego is forever remembered with this tag.

But as thousands of dogs have come and gone since Diego,  that’s actually Sardine in that kennel.  I started laughing thinking about the day Sardine must have had!

I’ll choose you, Diego! 

Come on, Diego! 

Let’s go for a ride, Diego!

Run, Diego, Run!

Diego! Heel!”

Good boy, Diego!

See you again soon, Diego.

Before the Canine Adventure Fellow left, he told us, “He was a big hit today!  Everyone loved him.  If anyone comes in to adopt “Diego”, please let Sardine know.”

RAL LOVES CANINE ADVENTURE, DIEGO, AND SARDINE. 

Kanga and Roo

There seems to be some confusion afoot about two dogs who were adopted from Richmond Animal League (RAL) almost five years ago.  Their owner, without contacting anyone at RAL, abandoned the dogs at Powhatan Animal Control.  Their microchips, which we provide every animal in our care, identified them as being adopted from RAL in 2008.

RAL works closely with Powhatan Animal Control (PAC), transferring dogs from their shelter whenever we can.  We have a great relationship with PAC, and we are very proud of their efforts that have resulted in Powhatan not euthanizing any animal for two years.  If Kanga and Roo had to be abandoned anywhere, we are grateful that they landed some place as safe a Powhatan Animal Control. 

Our Director of Kennel Operations, Pam Bridgmon, has been in touch with PAC about Kanga and Roo.  At no time were either of the dogs in danger of being euthanized. 

We’ve been accused of being careless, heartless, rash, irresponsible, and caring “only about Operation Silent Night.”  Of course we care about Operation Silent Night—it is an initiative that has resulted in almost 200 animals GOING HOME!  But to think that we care “only” about Operation Silent Night is completely inaccurate.  We work year round to provide hope, help, and homes to animals in need.  We have saved more than 1,300 animals this year. And we are so proud of our work, our staff, our volunteers, and every single animal we have sent home.We care about Kanga and Roo, too. It is a comfort to us to know that they are safe until 1) we take them back, or 2) they are adopted to permanent and loving homes from Powhatan.

As always, if you ever have questions about Richmond Animal League, you are welcome to ask us.  You can reach me at amy@ral.org.

We wish everyone, including all of the animals who rely on us as a community, a very happy holiday and a hopeful new year. 

72 Hours. 101 Pets. One Mission.

With just over 72 hours left before the end of Operation Silent Night, 101 animals are awaiting forever homes at Richmond Animal League (RAL). The cats, dogs, puppies, and kittens at the shelter have all been promised a home for the holidays; staff and volunteers are working hard to make good on their promise.

While 101 seems like a lot of pets, to those who’ve spent any time at RAL, behind each number is a face. Like DeWalt, a black lab mix who has learned to sit politely at doors and is a central part of our in-house play groups. Or Sunshine, the shelter’s resident office cat who supervises volunteer sign-in and sign-out.

Thanks to the generosity of eleven local businesses, adoption fees have been reduced to $10 for every available pet; for pets five years or older, the fee has been waived entirely. Premier Pet Products, SB&A Integrated Marketing, Baxter Perkinson & Associates, Canine Adventure, Dogtopia Chesterfield, Fi-Tech Inc., PUNCH, Butler Schein Animal Health, Holiday Barn Pet Resorts, Nature’s Select of Central Virginia, and Advanced Automotive Electronics have given financial support to offset the reduced adoption fees.

Adoption hours have been extended and adoption fees reduced to increase traffic to the shelter, located at 11401 International Drive, Richmond VA 23236. Through Friday, December 21^st, the shelter will be open to the public from noon until 8pm.

When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’ To this day…I remember my mother’s words and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers – so many caring people in this world.

- Mr. Rogers

Everyday, but especially on days like yesterday, we are grateful to be surrounded by people who are helping - helping scared animals feel safe, helping suffering animals feel better, and helping lonely animals find homes. In the very moment we are questioning the kind of world we live in, we don’t need to look far to be reminded that there are good people doing good things every day.

As we begin the second day of Operation Silent Night, we can’t say thank you enough to the families looking to give a homeless animal a loving home, and the volunteers who have made that possible for more than 1,200 pets this year.

More To Be Thankful For

Let the thanksgiving continue! The dogs of RAL are thankful for staff and volunteers who are constantly working to make their (hopefully brief) stay at the shelter the best it can be.

Volunteer Coordinator Cynthia Reed and Volunteer Extraordinaire Carolyn Turner recently attended a workshop led by shelter dog guru Aimee Sadler in which they learned about creating playgroups for dogs in shelter environments. Since returning from the workshop, Cynthia and Carolyn have been putting their new knowledge to work - and the dogs couldn’t be happier!

95% You

‘Tis the season to give thanks. And boy, do we have a lot to give thanks for. This week, we want to make sure that YOU, our volunteers, know how much you are appreciated.

YOU show up at 7am to clean dog runs and scrub kitty litter boxes.

YOU give up your Saturday afternoons to take our pets to off-site adoption events.

YOU brave the cold and the wet and the dark to make sure that all of our dogs get walked 4 times a day.

YOU poop scoop. YOU wrangle sick cats.

YOU are RAL. And we are forever grateful.

You did this

It doesn’t look like much - just a box in an office - but inside this box are 167 shirts that YOU helped deliver to women and children in need. And inside this office survivors of sexual and domestic violence are empowered to transform their lives.

Thanks to your donations, we were able to provide a basic necessity to the women seeking shelter at Safe Harbor. 

Your donations, $10 at a time, helped two Richmond organizations continue to provide help and hope for those in need.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Perdita, now renamed Freckles, was the first of our Hero Partners dogs to be adopted. Freckles was adopted by Specialist Laz Gutierrez, his wife Cassie, their three kids, and the family cat.

Hero Partners is a new initiative of RAL to give back to those who have given so much in service to our country. In conjunction with the Jeffrey A. Feed Memorial Fund, RAL is pleased to offer waived adoption fees, free basic obedience classes, and a gift card for pet supplies to active duty & retired military personnel, first responders, and their families.

For more information about Hero Partners, including how to support the program, please visit www.ral.org or email cynthia@ral.org.