Richmond SPCA aids shelters, taking in 24 animals in two days

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — After Petersburg Animal Shelter closed temporarily to tackle a parvo outbreak Tuesday, the Richmond SPCA has opened its doors to 14 cats.

“We wanted to offer our support of the Richmond SPCA, so we reached out to the Petersburg Animal Shelter to ask how we could support them,” said SPCA Communications Director Tabitha Treeloar. “They asked for assistance with their cat population… they’re here now.”

The influx in the cats and kittens comes at the same time the SPCA has been preparing for a scheduled disaster transfer of animals from a shelter in Marion, South Carolina.

“That shelter had evacuated ahead of Tropical Storm Debbie, and then unfortunately the shelter experienced some damages that made it impossible for the animals to go back,” Treeloar said. “So we’re taking 10 dogs who will become available here for adoption.”

Treeloar said because they were already preparing to make shelter room for the 10 dogs, the Petersburg outbreak happened at the perfect time.

“In the last week we’ve been doing an empty the shelters initiative with the Bissell Pet Foundation,” Treeloar said. “That meant that we’ve actually freed up even more space than we anticipated because the response has been so great, and that just really prepared us to leap into action and say yes to Petersburg.”

The initiative reduces adoption fees to $25 for adult dogs and cats, and it’ll continue through Aug. 16.

Petersburg’s Animal Shelter will be closed for at least two weeks.

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