User:Meganespires/Richmond SPCA

Additional History
Formed by a group of men who, during the Civil War, were members of Mosby's Rangers. Nellie Palmer was the only woman who was involved in the founding of the shelter.

Programs
The Richmond SPCA offers programs that help the animals within their care get adopted. They are partners with Pets For Patriots which is a program designed for military veterans to adopt a pet. The Seniors For Seniors program, created by Carol Young Godin, assists in matching senior dogs and cats with senior citizens over the age of sixty.

Along with programs, the Richmond SPCA also provides owners and their pets with resources to promote responsible ownership. The Pet Behavior Hotline is one of the resources that owners can utilize to speak to trainers as they will assist in solving pet behavior issues. The Richmond SPCA also provides the public with a guide to pet-friendly housing and other locations such as stores, restaurants, hotels, and parks in Richmond.

Events
Events and fundraisers are important to the shelter as they are nonprofit organization that fully relies on donations, adoption fees, and fundraising for income. Supper Club, beginning in January 2010, is an event where individuals who participate attend a local restaurant in Richmond that is a participant in the event. 15% of the proceeds from the restaurant obtained the night of the Supper Club event benefit the Richmond SPCA.

The Richmond SPCA annually hosts the Fur Ball which is a black tie event for people and their pets to attend. Proceeds from the Fur Ball go into the "Cinderella Fund". The Cinderella Fund is the pot of money that helps fund surgeries and veterinary care for the animals within the shelter. In 2021, the Fur Ball was awarded "Best Charity Event" by the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

The annual Dog Jog event is a 5k run where proceeds benefit the Richmond SPCA and the Susan M. Markel Veterinary Hospital. Due to Covid-19, participants for the 19th annual Dog Jog for the year 2021, were given the option to participate virtually by running their own course using the RaceJoy App.

The Richmond SPCA has made efforts to help clear the shelter at certain times by taking away the adoption fees in support of Clear the Shelters for one day. In 2019, the shelter also had an adoption special to help with Clear the Shelters where individuals or families could adopt two cats for the price of one.

Susan M. Markel Veterinary Hospital
The Susan M. Markel Veterinary Hospital is a non-emergent veterinary hospital that is designed to provide affordable veterinary care to those who qualify. This veterinary hospital caters to low income pet owners and animals that have been adopted from the Richmond SPCA.

The Richmond SPCA raised $10.5 million during the Campaign For Compassionate Care which gave the green light to begin building the Susan M. Markel Veterinary Hospital in 2015. What was once Lakeside Appliance, is now the veterinary hospital. Susan M. Markel Veterinary Hospital was built next to the Richmond SPCA in May of 2015. The animal hospital was complete and open for buisness in Januaury 2016. The veterinary hospital opened during the Richmond SPCA's 125th anniversary. This is the first veterinary hospital in Virginia to be run by a nonprofit "on a charitable basis."

The services that the Susan M. Markel Veterinary Hospital has "include general and preventive health care, dentistry, routine surgery, geriatric care, dietary management, in-house laboratory and radiology services, microchipping, and puppy and kitten care." In April 2021, the hospital received a $10,000 grant from Petco love that helped them provide veterinary care to more animals at an affordable price.

Staff
Previous CEO of the Richmond SPCA, Robin Starr was "one of the first to put no-kill principles into practice in a major American city," said Wayne Pacelle, former CEO of the Humane Society of the United States.

Additional About
After Hurricane Ida in summer of 2021, the shelter rescued 20 cats and 6 dogs from Louisiana.