April 2009
NEWSLETTER
HIGHLIGHTS
- Bully Breeds Day
- Bonnie
- DNA My Dog Day
- Easter Bunnies
- Ramon
- Cat Sponsorship
- Mario
- Pigeons
- Duk-Duk
- Grant for Adoption
- Training Tips!
- Salem for Adoption
- Website Tour
- School Visit Questions
- Save-On Donations
- Animal Update
- Coins Count!
- Pet Paper
Adoption Profile: Grant
Grant
is an attractive black Labrador retriever with a great personality. He
is great with people although he needs to learn some manners (i.e., no
jumping up!). He is very affectionate and would make a great family
dog. Grant will need obedience lessons and an experienced home as he is
95 pounds and full of beans! With long walks and leadership, he will
flourish into a very loyal companion. Grant is ready for his new
forever home.
See more pictures of Grant.
Dog Training Tips from Downtown Dogs 
Tip
#1: Practicing sit-stays at the front door of your house is a great way
to get your dog's focus at the beginning of a walk as well as being
great for safety.
Leave your dog in a sit-stay inside the house
and step through the door. If your dog moves with you, put him/her
right back where s/he was and try it again. Only release your dog from
the stay when s/he is waiting patiently.
As your dog gets better
and better at the stay, you can make it more difficult by increasing
the length of time s/he is expected to stay and adding distractions
like a squeaky toy- no matter what else is going on, your pup is
expected to stay put!
Master Dog Trainer, Christine Reynard, provides these tips.
Adoption Profile: Salem
Salem
is a one-year-old big black cat. He has personality plus. He loves to
hug and be cradled in your arms. He also will entertain you for hours
with his spunky playfulness. Come visit Salem at the
RAPS City Shelter.
Take the RAPS Website TourNow
there are more resources, information and stories than ever on the RAPS
website, and you'll be surprised by what you find. Here is just a
quick tour to help you find something of interest to you.
The
RAPS Home Pagecontains a brief introduction to our organization, all the latest
upcoming events and ongoing programs. You can also download adoption applications and donation forms, and donate online.
The
About RAPS Pageprovides
a more detailed history about the two RAPS shelters. There is
also a link from this page to the older RAPS website with all the great
resources and Sanctuary cat photos.
The
Support Us & Volunteer Page contains the 15 different ways you can volunteer or donate to RAPS.
The
Educational Resources & Newsletter Archive is exactly that. Find information on animal welfare, a link to our petition, and past RAPS newsletters.
The
Contact Us Page is everything you wanted to know about our phone number, email address and directions to the shelter.
The
RAPS Blog
contains all the latest and greatest adoption, animal and event stories
related to RAPS. You'll never get bored on this page.
School Visit Questions are AnsweredA
few months ago, two RAPS volunteers and a former shelter dog visited an
elementary school in Delta. The class drew some pictures of their
own pets, some shelter pets and some pets they would like to care for
in the future, and they also had some questions for RAPS. Some of
those drawings are on the walls of the RAPS City Shelter, and the
questions have been answered on the RAPS blog.
Check it out!
Donating Save-On Points is Super Easy!During
a recent visit to Save-on at the Ironwood mall, I remembered that
Cindy, a RAPS volunteer, had arranged for the store to accept Save-On
points to be made into a cash donation to RAPS. It was so
easy! I simply told the cashier that I'd like to donate my 17,000
points, and within seconds it was done! Next time you're at
Save-On in Ironwood, see how easy it is to
donate your points!
Update on Tank, Marbles and Rajah!Tank
is a pit bull that was adopted out to a wonderful family. They
recently wrote to us with wonderful pictures of Tank and his
family.
Check out the blog listing and pictures of Tank.Marbles was featured in the February edition of RAPSity News and now has found a wonderful home.
Check out Marbles on the RAPS Blog loving life.
Rajah had a long history with RAPS, and found a wonderful home at Whistler. Check out
Rajah recent update on the RAPS Blog.
Coins for Cats Really Counts
Last year, RAPS launched
Coins for Cats and Dollars for Dogs. Thanks
to the spare change that people have brought in, RAPS has been able to
help more animals than ever. Thanks everyone!
The Richmond Pet Paper
RAPS has launched its first ever edition of
the Richmond Pet Paper.
This one-page paper covers all the latest news from the Richmond Animal
Shelter in a quick format to read over coffee. Look for it in
local coffee shops and community centres around Richmond.
The
Richmond Animal Protection Society is a registered charitable
organization that operates two shelters in Richmond, BC -- the RAPS
City Shelter and the RAPS Cat Sanctuary.
Richmond Animal Protection Society
12071 No. 5 Road
Richmond, BC
(604) 275-2036
Executive Director:
Carol Reichert
Newsletter Writer/Editor:
Christie Lagally
Newsletter Copy Editor:
Leslie Landa
Contributing Writers:
Shane Burnham
Marianne Moore
Sonya Kamp
Christine Reynard
Christine Williams
Contributing Photographers:
Tracey Garbutt
Lynda Harrison
Jennifer Reid
Some
dogs can be hard to adopt because they are untrained or elderly,
but it never seems fair that dogs that are full or part pit bull or
other bull terrier breeds seem to have the hardest time finding a good
home. This is especially sad because these dogs are often
friendly and well-mannered, but are plagued by the stigma that bully
breeds are aggressive. This myth couldn't be further from the
truth. 
Bonnie
McQueen has volunteered at the RAPS Cat Sanctuary for six years.
She started volunteering shortly after one of her cats passed away, and
she was naturally feeling very empty. Her veterinarian suggested
that she visit the RAPS Cat Sanctuary. She did so and immediately
felt comforted by caring for the cats. 
Do you wonder what kind of dog you have? If so, join RAPS on April 5th for 
Shortly
after Easter, many shelters see a dramatic rise in the surrender or
abandonment of young rabbits. These animals are bought for
children or perhaps as gifts to a partner at Easter. However,
soon thereafter the realities of bunny ownership become apparent and
people realize they can't keep this rabbit for the next 8 to 15 years.
That's why it's never a good idea to buy a bunny at Easter, and it's
never good to give a pet as a gift. The novelty will wear off in
a matter of weeks or days. The solution? Don't buy rabbits
at Easter, and spread the word! 
Ramon
was a five-year-old cat that came to RAPS as a stray. He was blind in
one eye, and we later found out the eye was cancerous and had to be
removed. Ramon was soon adopted by a wonderful young woman,
Kirby, who is dedicated to his care. Ramon and Kirby wrote to
RAPS to let us know how they are doing. 
When
I first thought about sponsoring a cat, I didn’t have any cats at
all. I wasn’t sure if I was quite ready, but I knew I wanted to
help out in some way. Shortly after contacting the Richmond Cat
Shelter, I received a photograph of “Timothy”’ a dignified looking
Tabby with feline AIDS. On Sundays I’d visit him and for a
couple of hours we’d just sit, enjoying each other’s company.
When I received the very sad news that he had passed away, I was as
affected as if we had shared more than just Sundays. Thanks to
Timothy I have since felt ‘ready’ to have five cats, four that live
with me and one that lives as my new sponsoree at the shelter. I
still have Timothy’s picture and I still like to think of him as my
‘first’ cat and the one that started it all.
Howie
was one of Mario’s first admirers. Their relationship is a
special and long-standing one. Howie is very good-looking too, as
you can see – blonde and blue-eyed – but, until Mario appeared at the
cat sanctuary several years ago, Howie was not a friendly cat.
Although he would entice people to pet him, he would swat at them when
they tried, and then look very pleased with himself for having deceived
another gullible human. Under Mario’s calming influence, Howie
now enjoys being petted and brushed, and loves to sit on a lap.
He loves to snuggle up to Mario even more, and they make a very
handsome couple. Unfortunately, poor Howie has chronic mouth
ulcers and often has to be confined to a cage for treatment. Of
course, Mario has visiting privileges when that happens.
Sarah,
a little feral calico, was another of Mario’s first big fans.
Being half his size, she could snuggle right down into his fur and he
would wrap his big paws protectively around her. Sadly, despite
Mario’s influence, Sarah never did become tame enough to pet. 
Although
Mario is usually well-groomed, like many long-haired cats, he sometimes
has problems with matted fur. To get rid of some particularly bad
fur mats last summer, poor Mario had to be partly shaved.
Although he looked a little odd to us, his new look apparently didn’t
diminish his appeal to his followers. While Mario likes people
well enough, he really doesn’t have time for us – he’s too busy with
his feline friends. 
At
the RAPS City Shelter, the homeless pigeons and rabbits were living in
close quarters for well over a year. As more homeless rabbits
were brought in, the pigeons started to run out of space.
However, there were not a lot of people asking to adopt the pigeons;
even though they are calming, social birds. 
Duk-Duk
had made a few friends during his short time at a Richmond construction
site where he was living. Although no one knew where he came
from, several of the site personnel were feeding him until they noticed
he was injured one day. A gentleman brought Duk-Duk to the RAPS
City Shelter for care and a safer home. Now Duk-Duk has become
yet another beloved, temporary resident until just the right home is
found for him. We are so glad Duk-Duk's construction-site friends
brought him to RAPS. 
