Cary Street Cafe benefit concert Sunday August 1st

Chester Applebee's - Dine to Donate July 30th

Summer Field Day & Farmer's Market - July 24th

Create a memory with your entire family at our Field Day at Strange's. This event is family and dog friendly. We encourage you to come out and spend the day with us. There is absolutely no cost to you. Learn about nature, vegetables, farming and more.
Read more...

Event Details:
Date: July 24th, 2010
Time: 8:00 am - 2:00 pm
Admission: Free!

Heartworms!!

Heartworms in dog are very easy to prevent, however they are very difficult, and costly, to treat once a dog already has them. Sadly, it is quite common for a rescued dog to have heartworms, as they have not had access to the same preventative treatment an owned pet would. If left undetected and untreated, a dog with heartworms will almost certainly die from them eventually. Thankfully for a lucky few of those dogs in our area with heartworms, Ring Dog Rescue is committed to treating heartworms and giving the dog the time it needs to heal during this treatment. Currently six dogs (Gatsby, Pauletta, Stella, Nilla, Layla, and Fatso) need to be treated through Ring Dog for heatworms, with a total cost of about $1,800, that is quite a hefty bill for a rescue to foot. Each dog will need a minimum of eight weeks to heal before it is able to be adopted out to its' new family. Any donations towards the treatment of these deserving bullies would be greatly appreciated!

Dine to Donate 7/21 @ Cheeburger Cheeburger

Comments on Recent Animal Cases including the Petersburg Fire Captain's "conviction"

Recently, many cases of animal abuse have been front and center in the local news. All of these stories are equally horrific and saddening, but the varying verdicts in the cases when brought to court seem to pose a troubling double standard in the courts when it comes to animal cruelty. In Richmond last week, an amazing victory was won on behalf of the pit bulls Ardeller Morris and her son abused in their home. Her son, Richard Robinson, received the harshest punishment ever delivered in the state of Virginia for dogfighting, with a sentence of 10 years in prison. Robinson's mother was also prosecuted for allowing the dog fighting ring to operate out of her home, however she maintained she knew nothing of the 12 pit bulls found chained in her yard that were in deplorable conditions and chained with chains weighing more than the dogs themselves. The City of Richmond proved itself a shining example of animal rights in this case, though nothing can lessen the pain these dogs endured, at least justice will be served to their tormentors. The same can not be said of Chesterfield County however, in the same week Richmond successfully prosecuted a 60 year old woman for abuse against dogs, Chesterfield set free a prominent Petersburg official accused of animal cruelty. While he was convicted, Jeffrey Ivey, a fire captain for the City of Petersburg, will serve no jail time for his 4 misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty. Four dogs were found dead on Ivey's property, with four more left to die in pen. Ivey will pay a fine, but is allowed to keep is job, and even to own animals again! This decision is absolutely a slap in the face to animal lovers everywhere, but especially to those living in Chesterfield, their county did not even have the guts to stand up to someone who was completely fine with letting eight dogs perish and suffer at his hand. This decision sends a very mixed message to those who may think that it is okay to do the same thing, to those to have that "it's just a dog" mentality. This a dangerous lack of judgement on Chesterfield's part, that in the same week someone can receive the highest sentence ever delivered for an animal related crime, and someone can get out of jail time completely just to keep their local government job. I greatly hope, for the sake of all animals, that this decision is the exception and not the rule.

Medical Challenges

Sometimes with all the sadness of the heartbreaking stories behind many of the rescued bullies that Ring Dog saves, it's easy to forget just how remarkable Ring Dog Rescue really is. Many other rescue groups, while of course still doing a very noble deed, have difficulty rescuing pit bulls. Many do not accept bully breeds at all, much less ones with special needs, due to the cost and time invested in taking on less than perfectly healthy animals. Ring Dog does not turn down an animal for any medical condition it may have, treating dogs with heartworms, puppies with parvo, even Georgia, who required an amputation. Dogs such as Indy who uses a wheelchair, or Sailor who required two leg surgeries would certainly not still be alive without Ring Dog's commitment to doing what is right for the animal and not just what is cost effective.Ring Dog gives these animals time to heal until they are ready to go home and be a wonderful friend to some lucky person.These animals will be eternally grateful for the multiple 2nd chances they were given, and that gratitude alone is worth all the debt incurred from their treatment.

Layla - The Pregnant Pit Bull

So, the purpose of this blog is to talk about Layla..the lovely young, very pregnant, pit bull we pulled from the Hopewell Shelter last week. We were told she was less than a week away from giving birth, which she was, as she gave birth to 11 puppies between last night and this morning! Believe it or not we're getting flack because we didn't abort the puppies as we all know there are too many pit bulls in this world. Well, allow me to explain. Most of the time we will abort a pregnant female, but we will not when she is that close to giving birth when we acquire her. Those puppies deserve a chance to live when they have survived 65 days inside their momma who happened to be tied to the shelter door and left. RDR will fully vaccinate and spay/neuter all of these pups prior to adoption so not to perpetuate the problem. I want to thank her foster mom, Nikki, for staying up 24 hours to help Layla give birth, and our founder for staying available via phone all night despite having to work today! You guys have done a great thing and we have 12 beautiful pit bulls pups to help us prove our theory that "The behavior of a dog is directly influenced by the use or function he plays in the life of his owner." Karen Delise - Fatal Dog Attacks

Chance - my training experience!

So I have been at Holiday Barn for a little over 5 weeks now learning all sorts of new things. I know how to walk very well on a leash, sit and stay...even with distractions! I come when called and Melanie's favorite is the "Climb" command. I get up on a bed in the lobby and just lay there while other dogs and people come and go. I am so good at it and all the other customers love my big smile. I have been spending time with other dogs and enjoying that, I don't even react if another dog gets too pushy with me. Winnie, Melanie's Foster, jumped right on my back the first time she met me and I let Melanie correct her instead of doing it myself. Everyone here is so proud of me...and after 3 years of waiting I have an adoption pending...can you believe it! I am so excited about having a forever home and I am very thankful for the people at RDR for sticking by me while I waited. As always if you or someone you know is looking for some bully to love check out the adoption page, you may just find you best friend waiting for you!

Papa John's Dollars for Dough