The video opens with remarks by Robin Robertson Starr, CEO of the Richmond SPCA, followed by Governor Tim Kaine. 

• Roll one down the hallway.
• Bounce one down the hallway.
• Thread or tape a long string to a ball and drag it under the sofa.
• Thread several on to one long string and drape the string over your doorknob.
• Cut a few holes in the top and sides of a shoe box.  Drop 2 in and fish for them. 
• Cover the bottom of a low flat bucket with about a half inch of water and float them.
• For even more fun, use the bathtub.
• Fill a small cardboard box half full with ping pong balls, then put a couple treats in the bottom.
• Put 5 or 6 of them on the floor of your bathroom and chase them around.
• Put a couple in a stopped bathroom sink and start a slow stream of water running.  (This one, of course, assumes your cat has permission to be on the bathroom sink.)
• Put a couple in a large metal or glass mixing bowl and put it on the floor.

Tell us about your cat’s favorite cheapy play toy!  We love creative ideas. 

Today’s blog author is Marie Tripton. Marie is the senior behavior/training specialist at the Richmond SPCA. Call the Behavior Helpline at (804) 643-SPCA for help with crate training and other pet behavior topics.

The Richmond SPCA is committed to finding a loving home for every cat and dog in our care and for ending needless loss of life for homeless animals in our community. The writer is correct that we do not perform invasive background checks as part of our adoption process. The adoption procedure at the Richmond SPCA is one often referred to as “open adoptions.” This means that in most cases we try to find a way to make a placement work – by providing education and other tools to help a new adopter provide the best home possible for a pet – rather than seeking reasons to disqualify a person from bringing a pet into his or her home. 

While there are several reasons that our counselors can deny an adoption, we take any denial very seriously and would prefer to provide education to help the adopter become a better pet guardian whenever possible. Consider that being denied adoption by a humane group does not prevent a person from acquiring a pet. It simply sends him or her to seek another source. Pets available for sale through pet stores or newspaper and internet advertisements do not come with the education and training resources we provide and usually are not spayed/neutered and vaccinated, as are all pets adopted from the Richmond SPCA. We would rather a person chose adoption and be given the support we can provide, and every adoption at our center is two lives saved. When you adopt from the Richmond SPCA, you’ve enabled us to save the life of another homeless animal in our community.

Today’s blog author is Tabitha Hanes, community relations manager at the Richmond SPCA.

A: This is actually an easier problem to resolve than it seems.  Your dog’s behavior is telling you that he actually feels more comfortable eliminating in your presence.  And that’s a good thing.  The simple solution to this problem is to make your presence present outside.  In other words, don’t send your dog outside alone.  Go with him – for a while. 

Your dog may actually be worried about being outside alone.  If you take him outside on a regular schedule for a few weeks, you can gradually decrease the time you spend outside with him.  Or you may find you actually enjoy spending time with your dog outside.  Long walks with a friendly companion are actually good therapy for people.  And long walks help your dog eliminate more comfortably outside.  Nothing like a little activity to get the juices flowing – if you know what I mean.  Walking in slow small circles or figure 8’s has also been known to trigger a dog’s need to relieve himself.  Then you’ll be able to praise your dog for relieving himself in front of you – because he did it outside. 

Today’s blog author is Marie Tripton. Marie is the senior behavior/training specialist at the Richmond SPCA. Call the Behavior Helpline at (804) 643-SPCA for help with crate training and other pet behavior topics.

Compassionate members of our community have clearly voiced that the lives of feral cats are not disposable, and the news coverage has provided a platform to provide education about humane and non-lethal approaches to caring for feral cats. The Richmond SPCA supports Trap-Neuter-Return and provides the resources to enable caretakers to manage colonies. Trapping feral cats is rewarding and more simple than it sounds. We will provide the training and perform the sterilization surgery for free (along with rabies vaccination). A nominal trap rental fee is refunded once the trap is returned.

Still have questions about feral cats? Download our frequently asked questions.
Get involved! Sign up for trap-neuter-return training and other volunteer opportunities.

We wish to correct misleading statements that have been made to members of the public who have expressed their concern about this important issue. WRLH Fox General Manager Steve Genett has issued a misleading generic form response to concerned citizens who have expressed their outrage with him, WRLH, and Sinclair Broadcast Group over their reckless and inhumane treatment and killing of the feral cats on and around their station. We have also heard from several Richmond SPCA supporters that the person answering the phone in the office of Sinclair Broadcast Group President and CEO David Smith is calling our account of the actions shown on local news and seen by dozens of eyewitnesses untrue. This duplicity is quite troubling.

Fox Richmond is misleading the public by stating that they are working with humane organizations on a non-lethal, humane solution. They have not been in contact about working on a non-lethal solution with the Richmond SPCA, and other humane organizations have confirmed to me that WRLH has not been in contract with them either. Furthermore, WRLH’s plea to have individual members of the public trap and relocate or re-home the feral cats at the station is irresponsible and poses a serious threat to the well being and safety of the cats involved. 

It is vitally important that all who are concerned with the survival of the colony understand that WRLH’s suggestion that individuals trap and relocate or care for the cats themselves is an unacceptable proposition and one that will seriously jeopardize the cats’ safety. 

The Richmond SPCA stands willing and able to work with WRLH Fox on a valid humane and non-lethal program that is in the best interests of the cats and their safety. I will be happy to discuss with WRLH what can be done to achieve those ends but I have not been contacted by them to accept that help as of this time.

For more information about Trap, Neuter, Return please tune in to NBC 12 tonight from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. when members of our Smoky’s Spay/Neuter Clinic staff will answer questions on the Call 12 line. If you have specific questions about caring for feral cats and Trap, Neuter, Return, please call 804-345-1212 or 1-800-733-2812. You may also learn more by visiting our Smoky’s Spay/Neuter Clinic website.

I appreciate your continued interest in this lifesaving subject and all the efforts of our supporters to spread awareness of the value of the lives of feral cats.

Sincerely,

Robin Robertson Starr
Chief Executive Officer
Richmond SPCA

Yesterday I spoke with a representative of Sinclair Broadcast Group, current owner of the Fox affiliate and recent acquirer of WTVR Channel 6. This representative was unswayed by our offers to assist. This morning I spoke with Steve Genett, General Manager of Fox Richmond. At first he seemed willing to discuss a compromise solution that would incorporate non-lethal methods, but later in our conversation he admitted that bulldozers were plowing through the cat habitat at Fox’s offices at that very moment. I immediately rushed to the location and was shocked and horrified to see the swift and total destruction of the area.

Sinclair Broadcast Group and Fox Richmond’s unconscionable actions are cause for great concern throughout our community. I cannot begin to understand what manner of corporate culture and leadership it would take to behave in this cruel way. I encourage you to contact the following individuals and companies to express your outrage: 

Fox Richmond WRLH Channel 35
Phone: (804) 358-3535
General Manager: Steve Genett
Online Feedback Form: http://www.fox35.com/inside/contact.shtml
Mailing Address: 1925 Westmoreland Street, Richmond, VA 23230

Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc
Phone: (410) 568-1500
President and CEO: David D. Smith
Online Feedback Form: http://www.sbgi.net/contact/contact.shtml
Mailing Address: 10706 Beaver Dam Road, Hunt Valley, MD 21030

It is also important that other members of the media are made aware of just how upsetting this series of events is to our community. Please let them know by sending e-mails to the following addresses:

news@wric.com
newstips@wtvr.com
newsroom@nbc12.com
letters@timesdispatch.com

I know that Richmonders consider the plight of homeless animals and feral cats to be a very high priority and a cause that is close to their hearts. I had hoped that Fox and Sinclair Broadcast Group would reconsider and continue to operate as a kind and responsible media partner in our community, but that hope was dashed with their inhumane actions this morning.

Sincerely,

Robin Robertson Starr
Chief Executive Officer
Richmond SPCA

In honor of Richmond SPCA Humane Education Day, we’re inviting all area kids to visit our Robins-Starr Humane Center today. We’ll be passing out free Waggles’ World memberships and dolls in our Lora Robins Gift Shop and will host a kids story time in our Exploratorium at 11 a.m. Waggles, our Humane Education mascot, may even make an appearance!

The Robins-Starr Humane Center is located at 2519 Hermitage Road in Richmond and is open to the public today from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. There is no fee to attend these events.

Humane Education at the Richmond SPCA includes programs for both kids and adults that help to instill compassion, kindness and empathy for both humans and animals, develop character, and promote a sense of responsibility. Here’s how you can help!

• Talk to the kids in your life about what to do if they witness animal or any other abuse. Let them know that it’s okay to tell someone they trust about what they saw.
• Talk to the kids in your life about how to be safe around animals. For example, never pet an animal without asking the owner first, never pet an animal that is loose without an owner, don’t interfere with a dog while it is eating, and don’t bother or surprise a sleeping dog.
• If you volunteer at your child’s school, talk to teachers about the possibility of introducing humane education messages in the classroom.
If you are an educator or administrator, consider ways that you can support humane education in the classroom. There are lots of quality lesson plans available on the internet, and our Humane Education Department would be happy to assist.
• Choose an activity that your child can participate in at the Richmond SPCA during his or her summer vacation or throughout the school year. Learn more
Refer a friend to our behavior helpline, which offers free animal behavioral assistance by our expert training staff. 804-643-SPCA or .
• Tell five friends about our free and low-cost Smoky’s Spay-Neuter Clinic, which in 2007 performed more than 11,000 spay and neuter surgeries. Learn more
• Share with friends, family, co-workers and neighbors your thoughts about adopting an orphaned pet and encourage them to look to the Robins-Starr Humane Center when searching for a canine or feline companion to enrich their lives. Learn more

For more information about our Humane Education Program, please call Phyllis Harris at 804-521-1327 or e-mail .

Birds of prey
Disease
Worms
Injuries
Dogs
Automobiles
Very tall hiding places

What are… “Things that could happen to a cat when he’s left outside?”
That’s correct!  All of these things are dangers for cats left outside unattended.  Cats roaming free can also cause people to have accidents.  It’s all-in-all an unsafe habit to begin – letting your cat outside. 

However, there are safe ways to expose your cat to the outdoors.  Cats can be trained to walk on a leash and harness.  OK, maybe not as reliably as dogs, but that just makes them easier to “walk.” Cats are typically happy to pounce around in the grass chasing twigs or simply bask in the sun.  So you may find it only necessary to walk your cat to the front porch and just sit there with him, holding on to a long light line attached to a harness.  What an enjoyable way for both of you to enjoy the nice weather. 

Do make sure your cat is used to sporting a leash and a harness inside before attempting it outside, though.  If he’s going to be frightened of the equipment, you are best off discovering that inside rather than outside.  Give him time to get used to the idea before trying it outdoors.  And make sure he gets play time and/or treats from you outside as well.  That way he knows who to run to if he gets worried.  Teach your cat to enjoy the outdoors with you rather than running from you. 

Today’s blog author is Marie Tripton. Marie is the senior behavior/training specialist at the Richmond SPCA. Call the Behavior Helpline at (804) 643-SPCA for help with crate training and other pet behavior topics.

For your dogs at home, if at all possible, keep them indoors during the hottest times of day. Modify their exercise routine to ensure they don’t over-exert themselves. While outside, make sure they have access to shade and fresh water. It’s a good rule of thumb that if you’re uncomfortable, your pal wearing the full-body fur coat feels it worse than you. Remember, he can only release heat through his tongue and the pads of his feet.

Additional tips:
• When walking or jogging with your dog, stay on the grass or concrete sidewalks and away from the blacktop as much as possible, as the asphalt is typically much hotter and has more debris that could potentially injure your pet’s paws.
• Do not overexert your dog.  If your pet has been ill or injured recently, undergone surgery, is aged or significantly overweight, or has known cardiovascular disease, start slowly and increase your pace over time.
• If your dog is a braciocephalic breed (such as a pug, Boston terrier, or boxer), he or she may be more prone to heatstroke due to the conformation of his or her nose and face.  Make sure you provide your pet with plenty of breaks and water stops.
• Heatstroke is a serious, often unexpected problem.  Some of the more common signs of heatstroke are excessive panting, drooling, bright red tongue/gums, swollen tongue and eventual collapse.  If you think your dog is experiencing signs of heatstroke, stop and seek veterinary attention immediately.  Offer your pet plenty of water and then fan.
• Your dog should not exercise after a meal in high heat.
• Do not allow your dog to drink large amounts of water too quickly before or after exercising.  In some dogs, especially larger breeds or those with deep, narrow chests, this can cause a serious condition called bloat.  Signs could include attempts to vomit with no production, a distended abdomen, shock and collapse.  Seek veterinary attention immediately if you are concerned about your pet.
• Keep your dog out of a parked car. Even with the windows cracked on a 75 degree day, the car temperature can reach 120 degrees in a matter of minutes.
• Dogs can get sunburn just like humans.  Use sunscreen.  A good hypoallergenic product should be used on noses and other exposed areas.