The Supreme Court of Virginia issued its decision last Friday in the case of Susan Mills vs. the Board of Supervisors of the County of Henrico. This case began in 2011, when the county issued a notice of zoning violation, and finally Susan has prevailed before the Commonwealth’s highest court.... Continue reading

When I started working at the Richmond SPCA in 2005, it was as an admissions counselor. The admissions department is almost unanimously considered the toughest area to work at the Robins-Starr Humane Center. It can be emotionally draining to counsel people who have reached the end of their rope and... Continue reading

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... Continue reading

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... Continue reading

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... Continue reading

Looking back on the five years I’ve worked at the Richmond SPCA, I realize how naïve I was about animal welfare before it became my life’s work. Like many, I’ve always had a love of animals. My family always had pets, both dogs and cats at different times, but many... Continue reading

It’s always difficult to comprehend why someone would part with a family member, but there are a multitude of reasons why pets are surrendered to shelters. From this data, we gain insights that lead to programs and services that will make an impact on keeping pets in homes. One of... Continue reading

Visitors to our Robins-Starr Humane Center often exclaim with glee or envy when they discover one of our favorite staff benefits. Here, every day is Take Your Dog to Work Day. My own dog, a 4-year-old Rottweiler named Frieda, is introduced on tours for new volunteers as the “official greeter”... Continue reading

Over the last year, our foster care program has grown exponentially. While the majority of the 750 pets who were fostered by dedicated volunteers in 2009 were orphaned, neonatal kittens, there is also a great need for adult animals to be fostered. Some will need foster care as they recover... Continue reading

In today's Richmond Times-Dispatch, syndicated columnist Steve Dale addresses what he considers "responsible breeders," and we thought this a good occasion to revisit a blog that was first posted in 2007. What is a “responsible breeder”? Google the term and you’ll find innumerable opinions on the subject of ethics and... Continue reading

Richmond is preparing for the third significant snowfall of the season. On Twitter, it’s being tagged with #snOMG and #snopocalypse, and last week Richmond.com’s Karri Peifer wrote an astute assessment of how snow is handled (or not) in Richmond. Sure, there’s plenty of expectant peering out of windows here at... Continue reading

Last week I chose an adorable dog named Hank to accompany me to 96.5 KLR as the “Klassic K9.” As I often do, I took his photo on the way and posted it to our social media sites. When I arrived at the station I saw that someone had replied,... Continue reading

It’s an understatement to say I’m a big fan of the Richmond SPCA. Each day I’m immersed in the programs and services we provide to the Greater Richmond community, yet at times I also realize that I’ve come to take some of these services for granted. Because I’m such a... Continue reading

Every other week I get to play my own special version of Santa. Ten dogs take their turns sitting on my lap, but instead of telling me what they want for Christmas, I tell the camera what we all know they want most – a home of their own for... Continue reading

This morning on the Today Show, correspondent Jill Rappaport focused her report on cats in need of permanent homes. They visited the felines in the care of New York City’s Animal Care and Control, where it was reported that they receive twice as many cats as dogs. Similarly, at the... Continue reading

Last year, I adopted the most ornery cat at the Robins-Starr Humane Center. At least, he was the most ornery one here at the time. Frisco, as he is now known, can also be the most affectionate, the most playful, and oddly, the most tolerant of my two dogs. But... Continue reading

On Aug. 24 we held our first microchip clinic in conjunction with our municipal partners. The event was a tremendous success. During the 3-hour clinic session, 561 cats and dogs had microchips implanted for the very affordable cost of $20. Microchips ensure that should pets be separated from their families,... Continue reading

At one time, the prevailing thought in animal welfare was that the best way we could protect pets from harm was to immediately take in any animal whose owner was unable or unwilling to continue providing care. Owners could be absolved from responsibility, even if this meant that the shelter... Continue reading

This Sunday Angi Baber, our adoption center director, and I traveled to Wilson County, N.C., to assist the Humane Society of the United States (the HSUS) and a small group of other animal welfare organizations in efforts to rescue approximately 250 dogs from a puppy mill. The Wilson County Sherriff’s... Continue reading