2009 Fur Ball a howling success

A sold-out crowd of animal lovers attended the Richmond SPCA’s Eleventh Annual Fur Ball on Friday, Oct. 2 to support the Cinderella Fund, a special pool of resources dedicated to providing medical care to sick, injured and neonatal homeless animals at the Robins-Starr Humane Center. The non-profit organization raised about $416,000 at the event, which was title sponsored by Dominion and chaired by Pat Manning.

“This was the most successful Fur Ball in the 11-year history of the event,” said Robin Robertson Starr, chief executive officer of the Richmond SPCA. “The remarkably generous support of our guests and sponsors will enable us to provide life-saving treatment and rehabilitation in the coming year to thousands of sick and injured orphaned pets in our care.”

The event at The Jefferson Hotel was a delight to the 438 human guests and 39 canine companions in attendance.  The evening began with a cocktail reception in the rotunda sponsored by The HelpDesk Company and a silent auction sponsored by MetAmerica Mortgage Bankers along with a raffle sponsored by Holiday Barn Pet Resorts. The spotlight turned to the furry guests in the traditional and beloved Parade of Pets down the grand staircase, sponsored by BB&T and emceed by P. Emerson Hughes. Leading the parade was Willoughby, a wire haired Fox Terrier, accompanied by William Hall, a Dominion executive and Richmond SPCA Board member.

Dinner in the ballroom, sponsored by Wachovia Wealth Management, began with opening remarks by Richard S. “Major” Reynolds who, along with his wife Pam and their beloved dog Rob Roy, served as the honorary chair. Following dinner, Board President Allen King presented the 2009 Ellen Glasgow Award for Humane Service to Ukrop’s Super Markets. Bobby Ukrop accepted the award in recognition of the Partnership for Healthy Pets that has provided a consistent and healthy diet of Ukrop’s Paws Premium pet food to the animals at the Richmond SPCA for seven years along with all of the shelter’s cat litter and pet treats.  The organization bestows the award annually to an individual or corporation that has contributed greatly to improving the well being and prospects for life for thousands of orphaned pets in the community.

Guests also enjoyed bidding on a lively auction sponsored by the ASPCA, which contributed greatly to the event’s success.

Cinderella Fund saves precious lives
Fern, an adorable toy poodle, and Baird, a tiny kitten, owe their lives to the Cinderella Fund of the Richmond SPCA. They were presented at the 2009 Fur Ball as living examples of what that Fund has accomplished. Fern was one of nearly 100 dogs the Richmond SPCA rescued from puppy mills in 2009. Following removal of mammary tumors and treatment for infections and dental decay from years of dreadful neglect in a puppy mill, she is now on her way back to health. Baird was one of the more than 400 baby orphaned kittens who received around-the-clock care and bottle feeding through an expanded Richmond SPCA foster care program made possible by Cinderella Fund resources.

Thousands of pets like Fern and Baird arrive at the Richmond SPCA each year with painful and debilitating injuries and ailments. Because generous animal lovers support the Cinderella Fund, the resources exist to save those pets’ lives. In many communities, these wonderful animals would die because of no funding to pay for the medical care they desperately need.

Robin Robertson Starr, Richmond SPCA chief executive officer, said, “We are profoundly grateful to the wonderful people who, by giving to our Cinderella Fund, are permitting us to provide the medical care these precious animals must have when they have no one else to depend on but us.”

Fern and Baird look forward now to healthy lives with loving families and so will thousands of other pets because of the Cinderella Fund.

It is not too late to support the Cinderella Fund and save the lives of pets who need you! To give sick, injured and neonatal pets at the Richmond SPCA the medical care they need to live, please call 804-521-1308 or visit http://www.richmondspca.org/cinderella. Your gift will guarantee a healthy future to so many homeless dogs and cats who will come to the Richmond SPCA in need of life-saving treatment this year.