A note from our Executive Director

November 16, 2011

Last night during our fall event,
I got to announce a very special initiative
that I hope our entire community rallies for.
Since the world began (in 1979) volunteers have been
coming to the shelter every day of the year
to care for the animals here.
Those days include rainy days, weekend days,
and all holidays—including Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. 

Some of the animals at RAL now have been here for months—
a few of the adult cats have been here for years.
At a staff meeting in late summer we daydreamed
about how wonderful it would be if no animal,
not one, was left here for the holidays.

What if we could become
RICHMOND ANIMAL LEAGUE—
WHERE EVERY ANIMAL IS HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS. 
(I left the question mark off because we are going to make it happen)
With increased adoptions, and foster homes,
we hope to hang signs one by one
on every single cage that say “Tulip is home” and
“Hollister is not here. She is home for the holidays.”
This is OPERATION SILENT NIGHT.
And I can’t wait to walk through an empty shelter
on Friday, December 23 at 8:00 pm.

We are doing this for two reasons.
1)  Every animal in the shelter tonight deserves to go home.
2)  We want to call attention to the need for shelter adoptions community wide.

While we are in love with this idea,
and our mission, we realize OPERATION SILENT NIGHT
is not any sort of fix to the problem of
homeless pets in our area.
Indeed, on the 26th, our shelter will fill up again
with animals that have been waiting
for us to bring them to safety.

We hope that the stories that come
out of this project will help even more animals
find good homes, and will bring awareness
to Richmond Animal League and the work
we do every day for the homeless animals in our
community.

We need your help to make it happen.
Spread the word--share this note!
If you know anyone who has been thinking
of adopting, now is the time.
If you are willing to foster an animal
for a few days over Christmas, please contact
us (pam@ral.org).

Thank you in advance for helping spread the word
about this very special initiative.

All the best,

Amy McCracken
Executive Director