The SPCA wants you to foster a dog for Christmas, to give just one dog a home, if only for the holidays. Orientations are next month. Fostering is great! #
News and meta-news about Charlottesville, VA, since 2001.
Sideblog
Police announced this afternoon that their investigation into what was initially believed to be a fatal fire on Rugby Avenue is now a homicide investigation. #
The Virginia Supreme Court has denied George Huguely’s appeal. His second-degree murder conviction will stand, WRIC reports. #
In a carefully worded story, and not citing specific sources, WTVR reports that forensic evidence belonging to Jesse Matthew Jr., the main suspect in the disappearance of Hannah Graham, matches forensic evidence collected during the investigation of Morgan Harrington’s 2009 murder. #
In the wake of Hannah Graham’s disappearance, and the evidence that came from private security footage, city officials are revisiting the question of installing security cameras on the downtown mall. #
Both Charlottesville Registrar Sheri Iachetta and former Electoral Board member Stephanie Commander have turned themselves in to the police on
foursix and four felony counts of embezzlement, respectively. #Ten years ago, the National Institutes of Health budget doubled and schools like the University of Virginia built massive new research facilities. A decade later, those buildings remain largely underutilized. NPR visits UVA in this story on the effect of federal binge and spurge spending in the sciences. #
In 2012, Council approved a new student housing complex on West Main—now some council members are questioning whether what they were shown matches what was built. #
The Architectural Review Board has approved a bike-themed mural on West Market, below the McGuffey Art Center, although at least one member expressed concerns that it might look like the bicyclists were riding away from Charlottesville’s downtown. #
City Police Chief Tim Longo is meeting with city leaders to work on protocols regarding the use of military surplus police weapons in Charlottesville. #
A 100-year-old Colonnades resident received military honors for her service in the WWII Women’s Army Corps #
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Here’s coincidence- the same hour I log in and read your post and then click thru and read the story link. I go to my email account and find an amazon.com advertisement for the Hallmark movie mentioned in the story “A dog named Christmas.” Which is supposed to air on CBS Sunday Nov 29th.
I’ve got cats. Too many really. And I feed the ferals (which is how I got some of my cats- tamed feral).
Unfortunately I just don’t have enough time to give to a dog. If I had a job where I could take the Dog to work- that would be different. But having a dog just so he could keep the cats company. That’s not fair to the dog.
But everyone else should definitely foster an animal!!
TrvlnMn- thanks for thinking of the ferals too! Have you had them spayed or neutered yet through the free clinics that Voices for Animals puts on throughout the winter? That’s where I took mine. VFA also vaccinates the cats after the operation. It’s a really great service they provide to the community.
I can speak personally to the benefits of BOTH programs, fostering and feral-spay/neuter. One of our cats was a kitten from a feral litter that got trapped and then adopted out via VFA, and the other was an SPCA foster kitten (that Waldo advertised, incidentally!).
My wife and I are such big fans of fostering that we’re having our new house (under construction now) built with a room designed for (among other things) accommodating foster dogs and cats.
I discovered Voices for Animals a few years ago right after two fertile female ferals had two separate litters of kittens (3 each).
The first group I caught, socialized and planned on giving away- but couldn’t. The 2nd group I caught and socialized- and had to take them to the SPCA. Shortly after that both females were trapped neutered and released. That gave me a more or less stable population.
One neutered female was eventually killed by a car. The 2nd neutered female returned after an extended absence of almost a year, I was able to tame it to such an extent that I could pick it up at will (the cat purring loudly every time) and so that the cat would seek me out whenever we were both outside and around. At that point it was a short bridge from that- to hauling it to the vet for the standard shots (with none of the drama during the first trip when it was feral) and re-connecting the mama cat with the kittens I took from her.
FWIW: My cats are indoor only cats.