Tag Archive for: #ruincreekanimalprotectionsoceity

TownTalk: Preview Of Ruin Creek Animal Protection Society Cruise-In

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The upcoming Ruin Creek Cruise-In is the perfect time to celebrate the successes of a collaboration of public and private agencies whose mission is to reduce the number of unwanted dogs and cats in the area.

The Cruise-In will be held on Saturday, July 30 from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the former Boyd dealership, 284 U.S. Hwy 158 Bypass. Admission is free to the public; all proceeds will benefit the Ruin Creek Animal Protection Society.

RCAPS founder and president Brandon Boyd said the Cruise-In is the group’s largest fundraiser of the year. This year’s presenting sponsor is Vance County Department of Tourism.

“Not only is it a fundraiser event, but it’s also a time of community fellowship for people in our area to get together and share an evening of safe and enjoyable fun together,” Boyd said in a written statement to WIZS News.

“This is a time we get to see all of our generous donors that allow the work of Ruin Creek to take place and gives us the opportunity to simply tell everyone, ‘thank you,’” Boyd added.

The Cruise-In is surely an event for human enjoyment, but the real winners are the hundreds of dogs and cats that find their way to rescue organizations for foster care or for adoption.

Vance Animal Services Director Frankie Nobles said RCAPS, working alongside his staff, has been a valuable partner.

In the last six years or so, the number of dogs and cats coming through the animal shelter has basically been cut in half – from more than 3,000 a year to last year’s count of below 1,800, Nobles told John C. Rose during Tuesday’s Town Talk.

“We’re seeing that number of animals drastically dropping,” he said, but over the past several weeks, the daily intake is a dozen or more animals. “The shelter is seeing a lot of intakes,” Nobles added.

But RCAPS programs like the Friday Freedom Rides get animals out of the shelter, freeing up space and reducing the need to euthanize animals because there simply is no room to house them.

“The more money they can raise, the more animals we can help get out of here,” Nobles said. Some of that money is used to pay for the transport, but RCAPS also helps offset the cost for the shelter’s spay and neuter program, as well as provide vet care for sick or injured animals who are brought in to the shelter.

County residents who receive government assistance – like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid – can qualify to get their pets spayed or neutered for free through the shelter. The only out-of-pocket expense for eligible pet owners is their animal’s rabies shot, $5 at the shelter or $10 on the day of the spay or neuter procedure.

Residents who don’t qualify for the free spay or neuter services can still get their animals fixed at a reduced rate – $50 for male cats and $60 for female cats, and $70 for male dogs and $80 for female dogs.

Nobles said they’ve done more than 400 community animals – and that doesn’t include those animals that are in the shelter.

The spay/neuter program, coupled with education programs in the community, Nobles said the unwanted pet situation has improved.

“That’s our goal – to reduce that number as low as we can get it,” he said.

In just a few months, the shelter will celebrate six years at the new facility on Brodie Road. Nobles said he appreciates the work of Lead Officer Megan Cottrell as well as Animal Service Officers Chris Vick and Waverly Saunders.

Heather Lovings is the shelter’s office assistant and ever-present volunteer Ellen Wilkins provide invaluable service to keep the office running smoothly.

Nobles said RCAPS volunteers Michelle Wood and Taylor Pitkowsky are a big help, too.

The Cruise-In is a chance to say “thank you” to the community for its support of the work of all the staff at the shelter and the volunteers at RCAPS. Last year’s crowd was in the 3,200 to 3,500 range, and organizers are hoping to exceed that number.

Classic and collector cars from all across North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia will be participating in this event, and local vendors will offer a variety of craft items for sale as well. Vehicle owners can register and check in beginning at 1 p.m.

Stock car racing television broadcaster and classic car enthusiast Mike Joy will be on hand for the festivities, as will Richard Petty’s “Petty Garage,” a traveling display with some of the latest gizmos and gadgets from the world of car racing. There will be demonstrations of some of the equipment for participants to enjoy, too.

South Hill’s Shep Moss and Party Time Music will provide musical entertainment during the Cruise-In, Boyd said, and there will be raffle drawings for prizes throughout the evening.

 

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TownTalk: Ruin Creek Animal Protection Society Continues Its Mission To Save Animals

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The mission of Ruin Creek Animal Protection Society is to find homes for dogs and cats that, through no fault of their own, wind up at the Vance County Animal Shelter. RCAPS is in its 10th year of work in Vance County, and Brandon Boyd told Bill Harris on Tuesday’s Town Talk that a new facility is almost ready to further the RCAPS mission.

The construction phase is nearly complete to transform the former animal shelter facility on Vance Academy Road into a low cost spay and neuter clinic for dogs and cats.

Boyd said being a responsible pet owner can be expensive – from food and vet visits to spay and neuter procedures. But spaying and neutering is the best way to reduce the unwanted pet population, he said. And this low-cost clinic is one step toward supporting pet owners in this effort.

The weekly trips that RCAPS van driver James Jackson makes up the Northeast corridor takes adoptable animals as far away as New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania to find homes. It’s all possible through the generosity of local donors, Boyd said. From the weekly gas fillups from Rose Oil to videographer Dawn Hedgepeth who posts on Facebook Live each dog being crated and loaded on the van for their “freedom ride,” Boyd said he is thankful and appreciative of the local support that RCAPS enjoys.

“Ruin Creek is volunteer-strong and donor-supported,” he said. “Donors are the ones that make it possible.”

But when demand for companion animals – especially cats – there needs to be a different plan of action. “The (shelter’s) cat room has been full,” Boyd said, adding that the shelter staff and RCAPS has been working hard to find adoptive homes for them.

The spay and neuter clinic will hopefully be an avenue for residents to help reduce the unwanted pet population. “It’s a service we’re going to be able to provide to the citizens of Vance County,” Boyd said.

He called the feral cat situation in Vance County “rampant.”

“We’re very, very excited about it…within months, I hope we’re able to see the impact of this (clinic).”

He invited area vet techs and veterinarians to reach out to RCAPS at info@rcaps.org to learn more about how they can help with the clinic.

 

 

TownTalk: Saturday Cruise-In A Success

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Combine two things that Brandon Boyd is passionate about – cars and animal welfare – and the result is overwhelmingly positive. And that’s just what happened Saturday, July 31 at the annual Classic Car Cruise-In event in Henderson.

Folks came in from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. to the show at 284 US 158 Bypass in Henderson to see classic cars and to learn about Ruin Creek Animal Protection Society. Boyd told John C. Rose Monday on Town Talk that people came from all over to admire the cars. Attendance estimates range from 3,200 to 3,500 on the lot at one time, he said. “It was absolutely fantastic!” As visitors milled about, they also got a chance to see and hear about RCAPS and its mission to find homes for adoptable animals, and also to educate the public about caring for pets.

He said he would love for RCAPS to be able to go in to schools to talk with students about being responsible pet owners. That responsibility includes spaying and neutering pets.

He hopes to one day be able to provide an affordable spay and neuter program in Vance County. “That’s been a vision of the team at Ruin Creek,” Boyd said, adding that perhaps through grant funding or other means, RCAPS can help reduce pet overpopulation.

“There are so many things that we can do, that we want to do,” he said. “I think the people of this area are going to see some really great things” from RCAPS in the future.

Throughout the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, pet adoptions nationwide spiked, he said. Now, however, with loosened restrictions on travel and people getting out more, those dogs and cats that were such a good idea a year ago are now finding themselves in shelters.

And the Vance County shelter is no exception.

From the Carolinas to California, Boyd said shelters are loaded with animals that people adopted. Now, those pet owners have the mentality of ‘let’s take him to the shelter and someone else will take him,’ Boyd said.

“They’re overrun by animals as a result of this problem.”

A pet owner has responsibilities to care for, to look after these animals. From proper veterinary care, to spay and neutering, to discipline, the responsibilities are many.

That’s one reason Boyd wants to start early and introduce pet owner responsibilities to school children. “I don’t want to just find fault,” he said. “I want to correct the fault.”

He said RCAPS enjoys support from a wide base of donors from all 50 states and from 13 countries. Because of this support, RCAPS can keep transport vans on the road that take animals from Vance County up the East Coast, from Virginia to New York, and everywhere in between.

Boyd said the RCAPS staff deserves much credit for being good stewards of donor funds. “We’re so proud that people trust us to that degree” to send money to support the cause. “It speaks volumes to me…and I’m so very proud of it.”

Visit www.rcaps.org to learn more.

Listen to the full interview with Brandon Boyd here.