Meet the Regional Animal Protection Society, a Pet Valu Companions for Change™ supported charity

The Regional Animal Protection Society (RAPS) in Richmond, BC is a multi-faceted animal rescue organization that runs an education and adoption centre, a pet fostering network, and one of the country’s largest cat sanctuaries.  Since 2018, RAPS has also grown to include a large non-profit veterinary hospital that aims to make animal care more affordable for Canadians.  As a passionate advocate for subsidized vet care, RAPS CEO and Executive Director Eyal Lichtmann is working to change the way that veterinary medicine is practiced in this country.  “Most families — and not just low income — but your average family in Canada cannot afford a $5,000 bill at their local veterinary hospital or clinic,” he says. “If your animal is injured, you're looking at anywhere between $5,000 to $10,000 cost, especially if surgery is involved. Most people don't have that kind of cash lying around to be able to afford veterinary care. Our mission is to find ways to subsidize veterinary care.”  The RAPS clinic is unique in that it offers no-interest payment plans to pet parents in need. Payments are structured according to a pet family’s ability to afford them and paid on a monthly basis, interest free — regardless of how long it takes to pay in full. In the six years since they opened, says Lichtmann, the hospital has given away over five and a half million dollars in subsidized veterinary care.  RAPS, however, wants vet care to be more affordable for all Canadians so they’ve also launched a public campaign to petition the federal government for support.  “We think that [vet care] should be tax deductible,” says Lichtmann. “Upwards of 50% of the population owns animals and these animals, our pets, are part of our families.” The organization also advocates for corporations to offer vet care as part of employee benefit packages.  In the meantime, the RAPS clinic is working to increase its reach beyond Richmond with an urgent medical transport unit. Through a $25,000 sponsorship from Pet Valu, they have retrofitted a donated van that allows them to pick up and drop off patients whose pet parents can’t otherwise access the clinic. “There's just so many people in that situation,” says Lichtmann.  Pet Valu also supports the RAPS cat sanctuary with essential donations of food and supplies. The sanctuary is typically home to more than 500 cats at a time, many of whom would face euthanization elsewhere. When an emergency occurs, Lichtmann explains, it can exert pressure on already scarce resources.  “During the massive forest fires in British Columbia [a few years ago], RAPS offered to take cats from existing shelters so that they could empty their shelters and take in new cats that were coming in because of the fires,” he recalls.  “Pet Valu was fabulous in offering $10,000 worth of product for the wildfire rescues that we were doing. We took in over 50 cats within a very, very short period of time and 50 cats require a lot of food and a lot of medical attention. I can't thank Pet Valu enough because these sorts of initiatives go an extremely long way in assisting rescue organizations.”