Hinkle: Welcome to Richmond, dog capital of the world

Richmond civic leaders returning from a visit to Austin earlier this month came back convinced that our city needs a vision. Austin — known to locals as Weird City — touts itself as the live-music capital of the world. It also has a track record of cooperation and collaboration among government, business, and nonprofit entities that has revitalized its downtown and become a magnet for innovation and jobs.

Or at least that's the official version. InterCity visits such as the one to Austin — it's the 19th one sponsored by the Greater Richmond Chamber — don't necessarily give a warts-and-all picture of life in the host locale.

That caveat aside, it's true that folks here in River City have long wrestled with the region's identity. It's widely felt that Richmond — not just the city but the greater metro region — lacks a brand. Sure, it was the capital of the Confederacy. But that's as problematic as it is promising — more an albatross than a selling point.

Doug Burford, of Burford Advertising fame, has suggested Richmond brand itself as the World's Most Historic City. That's sure to generate contention, but contention gets attention. As Burford put it around this time last year, "the more [the claim] is challenged, the more awareness it will bring." That's an ad man for ya.

Now, there's nothing wrong with history. We wouldn't be here at present if it weren't for the past — which, as Faulker once said, is not even past. All the same, there's something very somber and starched about history. It makes you feel as though you should speak in whispers while you gaze up at the oil-on-canvas portraits or down at the parchments preserved under glass.

So here's another idea. Why not make Richmond the dog capital of the world?

We've already got a leg up (pardon the image) on the competition. See, for starters, Friday's Times-Dispatch story about Dogs on Call, the therapy-dog program at the VCU Medical Center that brings dogs in to cheer up patients. And there's Stony Point Fashion Park, a mall whose many charms include its dog-friendly policies. The City of Richmond has gotten more dog-friendly as well: Three years ago, Richmond wisely adopted a chaining ordinance that forbids tethering a dog for more than one hour out of every 24. It was a much-needed measure to reduce the cruel neglect of companion animals, and it came at a good time: just a few weeks after Michael Vick pleaded guilty on dogfighting charges.

The sordid tale of Vick's involvement in blood sports led to action at the General Assembly and helped raise some consciences, though there remains considerable work to be done. Sanctions for animal cruelty are not as tough as they need to be, and dogfighting continues to vex the commonwealth — just last week federal officials busted a dogfighting operation in Halifax.

But for every Vick or Vick wannabe, there are hundreds of dog lovers. You can find them at Stony Point — and in Carytown, and at dog parks such as Barker Field near the Carillon and Phideaux Field near Forest Hill Park — to say nothing of the area's numerous dog events, such as the upcoming Paws in the Park at Innsbrook.

Then there's the Richmond SPCA, a no-kill facility that enjoys the high regard of the animal-welfare community, thanks in no small measure to its devoted CEO, Robin Starr. As Wayne Pacelle of the Humane Society wrote about her a while back, "She was one of the first to put no-kill principles into practice in a major American city, and she's done it in a brilliant way. . . . Her operational model is one to emulate." In a chat on Friday, he again cited her "outstanding leadership," "determined work" and "innovative programs."

The SPCA hardly stands alone. Central Virginia has a host of dog-saving organizations, including AARF (the Animal Adoption and Rescue Foundation), Ring Dog Rescue, FLAG (For the Love of Animals in Goochland), and numerous others. The Commonwealth of Virginia has a program in which prison inmates at several facilities help train and socialize rescue dogs, too.

Granted, New York City has the annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show at Madison Square Garden. And New York can keep it. Richmond should embrace a muttier ethos – the kind that thinks dogs belong not on a display shelf, but on the couch. And on the bed. And the front seat. Or even in shops, offices buildings, and restaurants, as you can find them in some parts of Europe.

Also granted, branding Richmond as the dog capital of the world might not be what Central Virginia's movers and shakers have in mind when they speak of a unifying vision for the region. It doesn't summon images of investment bankers writing checks to high-tech startups with growth plans that would make Facebook look like a buggy-whip factory.

On the other hand, as MCV can testify, nothing can cheer people up like a dog. Which means making Richmond the doggiest city in the world also might make it just about the happiest. And who wouldn't want to move to the happiest place on Earth?