Remembering Richard: The Struggle for Safe Humane Communities

by Ledy VanKavage · 2010-07-03 14:19:00 UTC
Topics:

No matter who we are or where we are, we all want to live in safe, humane communities. Richard did, too — but he was killed, a victim of gun violence. He was shot on the South Side of Chicago, two days before the Supreme Court ruled against the city's ban on handguns.

I never met Richard McGill, but I heard my friends at Safe Humane sing his praises. He was a dog lover who came to  Safe Humane Chicago's Pittie Puppy Classes with his young Jack Russell Terrier pup, Bugsy, and one of his young daughters. Richard said that he had three well-behaved pit bulls at home, but Bugsy was rambunctious and rowdy, not nearly as well mannered as his beloved American Pit Bull Terriers. He brought one of his pit bulls, Corleone, in one day to prove it. The big lug loved everyone and was a hit.

According to trainer Janice Triptow, Richard had an innate understanding of what training approach a particular dog or circumstance might call for. He informally wore the neighborhood "dog trainer" hat, and it was well deserved because of his compassionate treatment of his dogs and his acumen in training them. He was always willing to help. His raw talent working with the dogs was so extraordinary that Safe Humane Chicago was looking for a way to incorporate him into helping train in their next round of classes.

Richard McGill is survived by his wife, his three young children, and his dogs. I'm making a contribution to Safe Humane Chicago in his memory.

Safe Humane Chicago's mission is "to reduce violence by showing people how kindness and compassion towards animals makes our communities safer and more humane." Richard's death is a sobering reminder, to his community and his family (including his Safe Humane family), that our work is far from over, and we must strive to work together to stop the violence toward animals and people.

Next time the Supreme Court rules on gun violence, I hope they remember Richard.

Photo: Richard McGill and his daughter with Bugsy by Safe Humane Volunteer Priscilla Kienzell

Ledy VanKavage has worked extensively on behalf of animals for over 25 years. She is currently the Senior Legislative Attorney for Best Friends Animal Society.
PREVIOUS STORY:
Will BP Stop Burning Sea Turtles to Avoid a Lawsuit?
NEXT STORY:
Petitions Delivered Around the World for Release of Indonesian Circus Dolphins

COMMENTS (2)

    Comment Policy

    · All fields are required to comment.

    [X]

    Comments on Change.org are meant for further exploration and evaluation of the campaign on Change.org. To that end, we welcome constructive comments. However, we reserve the right to delete comments which, as determined solely in our discretion: (1) are offensive, abusive, or off-topic; (2) include content solely intended to personally attack the campaign creator, (3) are designed to subvert or hijack comment threads rather than contribute to them; and/or (4) violate our terms of service and/or privacy policy. Repeat offenders may be permanently removed from the site at our discretion. Please also be advised that: (A) we do not actively curate and/or monitor in any manner whatsoever the comments made on the Change.org platform, and (B) the creator of each campaign on Change.org may remove any comment at her/his/its discretion.