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RVA Loves Our Animals

VPM | By Rich Meagher
Published May 20, 2026 at 2:32 PM EDT
A person walks with their unleashed dog on a hiking path as they are surrounded by green trees.
Shaban Athuman
A person walks with their unleashed dog on a hiking path as they are surrounded by green trees.
From Francine the cat to drunken raccoons, we love our animals in RVA. But how are they doing, especially the most vulnerable: the ones who need new homes? On this episode, we talk animal adoptions. Plus: bears. Fat ones.

Featuring:
Christie Chipps Peters, Director of Richmond Animal Care and Control
Larry Eason, Executive Director of Richmond Animal League
Robin Keegan, Reading Interventionist at Frances W. McClenney Elementary School

Listen now wherever you get your podcasts and follow @RichGotIssues for bonus content.

About RVA’s Got Issues

VPM’s award-winning podcast exploring the politics and big issues in the news that are defining life in and around Richmond, Virginia.

Hosted by Rich Meagher, Professor of Political Science at Randolph-Macon College, this weekly show tackles everything from housing and public transportation to education policy and local government transparency.

Each episode features expert guests who provide insights into Richmond’s biggest issues while offering actionable solutions for community engagement. Whether you’re curious about City Council decisions, school board policies, or how to get involved in local politics, RVA’s Got Issues delivers the knowledge you need.

New episodes every Wednesday — available on all major podcast platforms.

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Rich Meagher

Richard J. Meagher [pronounced MARR] is Professor of Political Science, Director of Social Entrepreneurship at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, Virginia, and the host of RVA's Got Issues.

Meagher is an expert observer of local and state politics in Richmond and has been featured everywhere from print to television to radio. He is a political analyst for WRIC 8 News, and his commentary and opinion have appeared in the New York Times, Washington Post, the Richmond Times-Dispatch, and his own RVAPolitics site.

He is also a Faculty Fellow for Brandeis University’s Educational Network for Active Civic Transformation (ENACT), a national program engaging undergraduates in state-level legislative change. Meagher's 2020 book, Local Politics Matters, argues for the importance of participation in city and county politics.

In 2023, he launched the Virginia Amendments Project, a resource for scholars and citizens about amendments to the Constitution of Virginia.

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