The Richmond City Council has put the skids on a plan to reassign the city’s animalcontrol division to the Department of Public Works. The council voted 5-4 to postpone last night’s scheduled vote on a proposal to abolish the Department of General Services and to align its func tions to other departments. The vote is set for March 22.

Call it dog day. On the same day last week, two humane organizations and a group of residents offered to help Chesterfield County reduce the number of homeless dogs and cats killed each year and increase the number sterilized and adopted.

How Would SPCA Normally React?
Editor, Times-Dispatch: Why didn’t the SPCA and Robin Starr make known the tragic event concerning her dog in a more timely fashion? Hmmmm! A cover-up, or arrogance? Listening to past comments through the years by Starr, I know the answer: arrogance! Individuals in the public eye must realize that their actions are always subject to review. This information was not released in a timely fashion! Why not?

What makes an event newsworthy? Where should we draw the line on free speech? Our readers often disagree with us, and with one another, on the answers to these important questions. On Wednesday morning on TimesDispatch .com, we broke the story that a dog belonging to Robin Starr, CEO of the Richmond SPCA, died after being left unattended in her car for four hours on a day when temperatures topped 90 degrees.

As dog killer Michael Vick resumed his pigskin career amid cheers this week, the animal-welfare advocate who stridently opposed his return is under siege. Irony abounds in the heat-related death of a dog belonging to Robin Starr, the CEO of the Richmond SPCA. Her deaf and blind cocker spaniel/poodle mix, Louie, died Aug. 19 after being left in Starr’s Volvo for four hours. Ed Starr said he put the dog in his wife’s car before she drove to work but forgot to tell her.

The 16-year-old dog of Robin Starr, CEO of the Richmond SPCA, died last week after being left in her hot car. Richmond’s Animal Care and Control Division is investigating the heat-related death of a dog belonging to the head of the Richmond SPCA. Jody Jones, program manager for animal control, said in a statement yesterday that while the case remains under investigation, “at this time, charges are not forthcoming for Robin Starr.“

Thanks in large part to the leadership of Robin Starr, the Richmond SPCA has earned a reputation as a model for humane societies. Starr vigorously and eloquently promotes the gentle treatment of animals. The SPCA has implemented a no-kill policy. Starr has contributed guest columns on the topic to our opinion pages. Her recent tribute to Black Dog struck a responsive chord in the community.

Richmond Animal Care and Control is investigating the death of a pet belonging to the head of the Richmond SPCA. Jody Jones, program manager for animal care, said today in a statement, “At this time, charges are not forthcoming for Robin Starr,“ and added the case is under investigation. Yesterday, Robin Starr’s husband, Ed, took responsibility for the dog’s death last week. Robin Starr is the chief executive officer of the Richmond SPCA.

The experience of losing her favorite dog after accidentally leaving it in a hot car for four hours will strengthen the credibility of the Richmond SPCA’s leader, say those who work closely with her. A 16-year-old dog belonging to Robin Starr, the SPCA’s chief executive officer and one of the area’s most outspoken advocates for animals, died last Wednesday.

The Richmond SPCA believes Michael Vick’s reinstatement by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is premature and questions the former Atlanta Falcons quarterback’s remorse. Robin Starr, chief executive officer of Richmond SPCA, said last evening that, “the action of the NFL commissioner to reinstate Michael Vick is both premature and unwise. Vick has not yet demonstrated that his remorse is sincere or that his irresponsible, cruel and criminal behaviors are likely to change.

The mystical Black Dog, who died recently, was loved and admired by many, including me. Like other folks in “his” neighborhood, I irrationally believed him to be eternal. At the end, he was revealed to be a real dog, not a phantom. If his life had to end, his admirers would have preferred for him to have evaporated into thin air, but it did not diminish his place in our hearts that he ultimately died a corporal death.

“All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.“—Arthur Schopenhauer, 19th-century German philosopher. No healthy homeless animal has died for the lack of a home in the City of Richmond since 2005. It is an accomplishment of which few cities in the United States can boast.

The Walker Hound is now named “Numbers,“ a sardonic reference to the callous way he was identified in his early years. He is the beloved pet of a minister who adopted him from the Richmond SPCA. When Numbers first arrived at our humane center, he was emaciated and suffering from worms and other ailments indicative of lack of veterinary care and poor diet.