Paying it forward this month is VADA’s Executive Director, Sherma Mather!  Since 2017, Sherma has volunteered with Richmond Animal Care and Control (RACC), Richmond’s only open admission animal shelter.  Her roles over the years with RACC have been many.  Sherma is a frequent dog walker.  She also assists with transporting dogs, whether it’s between shelters, to and from a rescue, or bringing them one step closer to their forever family.

As those who know her will attest, Sherma has an especially soft spot in her heart for senior shelter dogs, as well as those who are terminally ill or otherwise in need of special time and attention.  Fondly recalling each one, she has opened her heart and her home over the years to a number of special pups, giving each the opportunity to live their remaining years in a loving home, with proper care, and surrounded by as much love, comfort, and pampering as she and her husband Mike can muster. 

“I have been blessed with a lot,” Sherma says.  “With all of the fear, pain, and other unpleasantness in the world today, if I can give back and make that one dog’s life better, that, to me, is the most rewarding.”

Thank you, Sherma, for giving so freely and selflessly of your time and yourself in support of such a worthy cause!  Thank you, too, for paying it forward and making such a positive, real- world impact in our community!