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Dog found on Cedar Street
03/30/2009 1:30 PM by John M
Contact Lenny at (804)347-9202 if you’ve lost this dog…
Getting into my car this morning a very cute puppy ran up to me. […] I took him to the Church Hill Vet’s office, they said they will hang onto him and contact animal control, he’ll probably end up @ the SPCA.
I hate to be a downer, but he won’t go to the Richmond SPCA. The SPCA doesn’t take pit bulls or pit bull mixes under 2 years old. He will go to Richmond Animal Control until, hopefully, he is adopted. He looks young so he should have a good chance at finding a home at RAC or maybe a rescue will take him.
He was taken care of by the folks @ Church Hill Vet. He had worms, no tags, no microchip and was “intact”, that is no longer the case. More likely than not he was not being properly looked after. He is not going to the pound, and will most likely go to one of the bully rescues in town.
Our first-hand experience with the rescues in general is that they are already overburdened with an abundance of guys (and gals) like this one. You should contact Ring Dog, put ads up on PetFinder, etc. We were lucky to have a friend who was able to adopt a dog that we found, but were prepared to foster for as long as it took. Please do you best to not let him end up at Animal Control. Kathleen is right that he will not end up at the SPCA. Also, we have found CH animal hospital to be less than friendly when it comes to pits. Good luck.
Also, if he was that unhealthy, you might want to think about forgoing signage so as not to let him end up back in the same, wrong hands.
Great job on scooping him up. He’s super cute.
Chris
The folks at the vet took care of his health issues. He had worms, which they gave him meds for, and they neutered him. AFAIK as of now Ring Dog will not take him b/c he had been fixed. Hopefully another rescue in town can find a foster home for him or someone will come forward to care for the little guy. Otherwise he will end up in the pound.
I can’t keep him as much as i’d like to, I have 2 apbt mixes and one of them is very aggresive towards strange dogs.
Richmond Animal Control will put him down (kill) him after a short wait period. Hope someone adopts him directly from you. I have 3 dogs otherwise I would take him.
All of the dogs that Ring Dog Rescue places are spayed or neutured. They probably do not have room right now to take in any more dogs.
Church Hill Vet does NOT hate pit bulls. They dislike handling pit bulls with poor and inappropriate temperaments – those being the ones that show aggression toward humans.
Ring Dog is a great organization. Unfortunatly they are overwhelmed with foster dogs and operate on a very tiny budget. They need help with welcoming families to help foster these special cases and financial support for the great work they do. Our city, as most cities, is unable to cope with the unwanted pet population and is up to the few organizations dedicated to provide these wonderful animals basic care. Check them out.
http://www.ringdogrescue.org/
Correct, Kathleen. Church Hill Animal Hospital has nothing against Pits! I have two pits and they get a lot of love and affection every time they go in!
Lenny, I’ll be ready for a foster soon. If you’re desperate I could take him for a little bit. I have spring break coming up so I could help take care of him. Contact me. (bbaber@gmail.com)
Church Hill Animal hospital… has DONE alot for pits and animals of all breeds in this neighborhood. Instead of posting your opinions and or assumptions get your facts straight!!!
My pit/lab mix is also treated very well at Church Hill Animal Hospital!
Just put it down. The breed is too dangerous.
It’s good to hear that CHAH is apparently doing some good for pits in the neighborhood. It has not been my first-hand experience that this has been the case, so my post was based neither on opinion nor assumption. I have two pits that I happily drive to Cary Street when they need it. I also know others with pits who no longer go to CHAH based on their first-hand experiences. I will not justify this further because it’s not the point of this thread, but getting attacked for my post is not surprising – this is CHPN, after all.
I hope this little guy finds a home, temporary or otherwise, soon.
Yeah Boy, let me give my props to Dr.’s Jack and Clay at the Church Hill Animal Hospital. They are good folks who are invested and vested in the community. They take great care of my “aggressive breed of dog.”
There are also some really loving and caring people that work at Richmond animal control; it is a tough darn job that many of us could not do. My interactions with both organizations have been super. You can throw shots and dings at either; but may I remind you, they are rubber and you are glue….
This little guy deserves some committed love. I pray he gets it. Sounds like Lenny and CHA have started the love mending cycle.
OMG! When I saw the picture I almost fell over because I thought it was Buddy for a split second!!
I would love to adopt a puppy, but Oliver doesn’t take too kindly to the young ‘uns. This just breaks my heart. He is so cute.
I have not had much experience with Richmond Animal Control, but I have them to be somewhat unreponsive when dealing with sick or injured animals.
Maybe that is not their mandate, but the few times I have been forced to seek their help I have been disappointed.
They would be my last resort.
About Richmond Animal Control – remember a couple of years ago when the wild dogs were roaming our neighborhood? How many calls did it take for that to get taken care of? As I remember, there was almost no action until the story appeared on the 6:00 news. And I was one of the people call Animal Control.
Scott from post 11:
“Just put it down. The breed is too dangerous.”?
You can’t be serious…people with such narrow-mindedness as yourself are what’s wrong with society today. Perhaps you should educate yourself on the breed a bit more. While I do not own a Pit myself, I know quite a few others who do and all pits that I have been in contact with are loving and good dogs. None that I know should be put down simply because of ignorance such as yours. While it is true that there are those pits out there that are not suitable for homes, the majority of them can lead a healthy and good life with a responsible pet owner. One thing I would urge you to keep in mind is that’s it’s not the dog that’s dangerous…it’s the idiots (we know who they are) that bring the dogs up and raise them for fighting witch makes them dangerous. Please get your facts straight before condemning something.
Chris F,
Sorry your experience was poor… I’m a little surprised because Dr. Jack and Clay go out of their way to accomodate all kinds of animals and people in this neighborhood. That has been my experience and I have a pit.
Please don’t bash AC, there is a only a handful of officers responsible for the entire city.
But given the dog’s rep, you have to wonder why someone would choose to own this type of dog to begin with, especially in an urban enviroment like Richmond’s where so many of the citizens are not “animal friendly” to begin with.
Maybe this thread should return to its original purpose and try to find this dog a home. It really doesn’t matter what you think about the breed, or what you know or purport to know about this vet, that vet, animal control or other organizations. If you’re not putting out leads to find a safe home for this dog, why are you posting?
Why “own” a pit bull?? Because once you have shared your life with a pit bull – one of sound temperament and accurate physical standard – no other dog will do. There is not another breed of dog that is as easy to train or as motivated to please their human. They love people and should never show aggression toward a human, unless provoked. They are physical gladiators, capable of participating in many sports – agility, fly ball, frisbee, go to ground, rally ob, etc. They are fantastic companions for the active person that likes to hike or bike or skate with their dog. They travel well and are easy to care for with minimal shedding and a shiny seal-like coat that dirt doesn’t stick to. They are not for couch potatoes, and they are not meant to be stuck in someone’s back yard on a chain. They are challenging dogs and meant to be a companion dog, not ornaments for the end of some thug’s chain. They are family dogs and good with children. They were known as the “nanny dog” in the late 1800s and early 1900s. I am describing an American Pit Bull Terrier, not one of the morphed versions called a “pit bull”. An APBT should weigh 30-60 lbs. and can be easily kept in an apartment, as long as they are provided adequate exercise. APBTs are much smaller than people think because the “pit bulls” they usually see are the razor’s edge type, with their bulked-out muscle-bound bodies and huge heads, which is not an accurate representation of the APBT breed description (see http://www.apbtconformation.com for more info). A razor’s edge APBT can have an awesome temperament but they do not have the physical strength and stamina that is one of the hallmarks of the APBT breed. They look tough but that’s about it.
A ‘reputation’ is not always an accurate portrayal of what is real or true. TVnewsbadge should well know that, given the media’s bent on reporting any dog attack as the work of a ‘pit bull’, although most wouldn’t know an American Pit Bull Terrier if they tripped over one.
Good point Moore! I wish I could take him- he has the sweetest face! I would encourage anyone who is interested to consider taking care of this dog. All of my experiences with pits and pit mixes have been that they are incredibly smart, loving, and loyal dogs.
tvnewbadge:
“the dog” has no rep. he’s just a happy little puppy. there was another dog in the office when i took him in and all he wanted to do was play.
It’s my sincere hope that one of the other rescue groups in the area will be able to find him a foster/permanent home or someone who is willing to do so until such an opportunity arises.
Dr. Jack (Church Hill vet) is awesome!!!
Most of the City of Richmond agencies are really outstanding too. However, my experience with Richmond Animal Control is the same as was alluded to in an earlier post – that they were almost totally unresponsive / useless / unprofessional…for weeks on end… when all those dog attacks were happening in 2006. I don’t know what their policy on pit bulls is, but I wouldn’t expect a lot of good from them.
Please go back to post #19. This is a very true and unfortunate statement about our city government. The AC folks are trying the best they can but there is a big urban city out there that needs to be covered. If we can be a proactive element in the civic community we should call City Council and demand that the budget be amended to fully fund an effective AC department. This is a public health and safety issue that should not be ignored.
“About Richmond Animal Control – remember a couple of years ago when the wild dogs were roaming our neighborhood? How many calls did it take for that to get taken care of? As I remember, there was almost no action until the story appeared on the 6:00 news. And I was one of the people call Animal Control.”
There are 4 – four – ACOs for the entire City of Richmond. We have thousands of people who own dogs and only 4 – four – ACOs. If you want issues to be taken care of in a timely manner, then make obtaining more ACOs a priority. The City keeps cutting funding for adding anymore officers and for the shelter. Just this term they were on the chopping block again.
What happens when one of our current ACOs gets sick? Then there are only 3. What happens when one of our current ACOs gets hurt on the job and has to be out for a short while? Then there are only 2.
How can 2 ACOs, let alone 4, handle an entire City of dog owners? They have to prioritize.
Bullwinkle: I know for a fact their policy is the same across the board, regardless of breed. If someone is abusing an animal, that takes precedence because that animal (and sometimes animals) need to be removed from the home immediately. It’s also hard to catch dogs who are constantly moving around a 30 block radius. A dog is a dog is a dog to them. They do not care about breed and trust, they have to deal with some pretty bad stuff. (If you’ve ever watched any sort of Animal Cops show on Animal Planet, you would have a teensy bit of an idea.)
Something to keep in mind: An abusive husband wants to get back at his wife for leaving him so he kills the dog. How about the guys who keep their pits on chains just far enough away from each other but in mud with no shelter or water, some with visible sores? Or the people who just don’t know any better or have the financial ability to take their dog to the vet?
Why are we contacting AC about sick or hurt animals? If it’s an emergency, take them to a vet or the emergency vet in Carytown. Most are willing to work with you on a charity basis.
I remember when there were 2 dogs hanging out on the on-ramp to 95. When I called Animal Control, they told me they had been looking for the dogs all morning but couldn’t seem to catch them because dogs can go where trucks, and a lot of the time people, cannot. This is something that needs to be remembered.
They do the best they can with what they have. Again, if you want response times to be better, advocate for more ACOs to be added to the City’s roster. There are city’s smaller than ours who have more ACOs than we do so it is possible.
Kathleen is correct. The APBT is only supposed to be 35-60lbs. They are loving, loyal and so eager to please they will do most anything you ask of them. This is also what gets them killed. I call them “Velcro dogs†as that’s what mine are. Two of mine sleep with my son, who is 9. The 3rd is the last hold out and still loves to sleep with me. These dogs are now my life and I feel called to save them for the very reasons some of you have expressed here.
/rant. A nerve was touched and this is an issue I hold dear.
Thanks for your comments – all I said regarding the breed issue was that “I don’t know what their [Animal Control’s] policy on pit bulls is.”
when all those dog attacks were taking place two years ago, I was one of dozens who called AC about them, and I was essentially told that nothing could be done. The general tone of the response SEEMED to suggest that no one at AC was terribly concerned (maybe they were just understaffed / overwhelmed though).
In the end, my cat was one of the pets that was actually killed by the dogs. Other folks here had similar experiences with AC, and it just seemed like a lot of heartache could have been prevented by a little more ambitious response from AC / the city… thus the comments you’re seeing posted in the blog here…
I’ll add that I have contacted a friend who is active in a rescue operation in Chesterfield to see about finding a home about this (just found) puppy – which is really the more pressing issue now.
“Franklin” is safe and sound and will be moving to another foster home tomorrow. Please call the SPCA and demand they do a better job of spay/neuter education and offer some sort of transportation to pet owners who want to spay/neuter their pets but do not have their own cars – GRTC won’t let them ride to the SPCA to access spay/neuter surgeries!!!! I have personally transported over a dozen dogs to and from spay/neuter surgeries at the SPCA for Church Hill residents who care deeply about their pets and WANT to prevent unwanted litters of kittens and puppies once they understand the consequences of letting their pets have even a single litter. The SPCA’s recent door-to-door spay/neuter effort in Church Hill was very helpful and a great PR opportunity but MUCH more outreach and education is needed to respond adequately to our “backyard breeders” and unwanted pups and kittens the SPCA leaves for Animal Control to “handle”.
Thank goodness for Dr. Jack, PetFix Coalition, Ring Dog Rescue AND Animal Control! These volunteers, vets, vet techs and ACO’s are the ones forced to pick up unwanted, mistreated and neglected animals. They are the ones that must euthanize animals too sick, too dangerous or other “unadoptable” animals that aren’t “saved” by the SPCA’s “no-kill” shelter. Richmond Animal Control’s hands are often tied by the political b.s. at the SPCA. While the SPCA provides a valuable service to the community, much more must and should be done to address the City’s unwanted pet population in a nonjudgemental manner. (Sorry for the rant and overuse of quotation marks.)
Bullwinkle, you bringing up cats, who are outside and wandering freely, getting killed by dogs, who are also outside and wandering freely, is another subject of contention.
My opinion is: if you want your animals to live a long healthy happy life, keep them indoors. I think this should apply to both cats and dogs, not just the latter. It is a dogs nature to prey on cats. You can fault the owner for letting the dog wander, but you can’t fault the dog since they don’t have the ability to use reason and/or logic. And if you *must* let your cat out to wander, have it spayed/neutered first and keep a collar with tags on him/her. The Richmond SPCA is constantly having campaigns where all cats are free (not just stray/ferals) and even when they’re not, it’s on $55 whereas Prevent-a-Litter charges $30. That’s a 75% discount from a regular vet.
I have spent precious time trapping cats here in Church Hill and taking them to the SPCA in hopes of combating the stray cat population. Sometimes I even catch someone’s pet and they get spayed/neutered, too. In another month or so I’ll be starting yet another round of trapping so if you see any cohorts or clusters, let me know.
Okay, I promise I won’t say anything else on this subject. It’s a hot button topic for me and Mary Anne and while I can’t speak for her, I have a hard time sitting on my hands when it comes up.