Construction of Barb’s Run gets underway at the Richmond SPCA
Outdoor play options have been limited for the dogs awaiting adoption at our humane center. While our indoor training spaces — the second floor Track & Training Center and adjacent Smoky’s Training Center where hundreds of training classes are hosted — can also provide a welcome break from the kennels for dogs awaiting adoption that is invaluable on stormy days or during the hot summer heat, there’s nothing quite like romping outdoors. Volunteers go above and beyond to provide additional opportunities for them, such as field trips to local parks or even their own fenced-in yards. Those outings are weather-dependent and require time and transportation.
What we’ve been missing is a safe, accessible and flexible outdoor space right here on our grounds. That’s where the idea for Barb’s Run was born.
A tail-wagging tribute
Barbara Brunckhorst believed in caring for the world around her — whether it was through her love of animals or her passion for protecting the environment. A longtime supporter of the Richmond SPCA, Barbara passed away in 2020, but her legacy lives on in a joyful, tail-wagging tribute that will take shape on our campus.
Thanks to a generous gift from the Barbara Brunckhorst Foundation, our new outdoor dog recreation area will be named in her honor. Fittingly, it will be called Barb’s Run — a place where shelter dogs can stretch their legs, chase balls and simply be dogs.
Paving the way for Barb’s Run
Today we broke ground on the project that will transform the paved parking area behind our center into 4,000 square feet of exercise space. Our dear friends Emily and Todd Stravitz from the Barbara Brunckhorst Foundation joined us for the start of demolition. Emily and Todd are devoted adopters. Emily is a dedicated volunteer who gives her time on our Green Team, which provides training and enrichment to our shelter dogs. Todd’s mother, Barbara, has provided a lasting legacy, and Barb’s Run, named in her honor, will enrich the lives of thousands of the dogs she loved so much.
The design concept for Barb’s Run originated with Barclay Finck, former Richmond SPCA facilities manager and a recent architecture graduate from the University of Maine at Augusta. Todd Dykshorn, a Richmond SPCA Board member, and his firm, Architecture Design Office (ADO), generously developed Barclay’s vision into a reality, with civil engineering support from Timmons Group.
