Volunteer Services for Animals

10/27/2026

Welcome to Volunteer Services for Animal's page! Volunteer Services for Animals (VSA) is a 47-year-old RI non-profit dedicated to improving the lives of animals via education and the laws. For information on spay neuter surgery or veterinary assistance, email [email protected].

10/23/2026

https://abcbirds.org/birds/common-raven/?utm_campaign=botw&utm_medium=email&utm_source=botw&contactdata=WtXUOqMyNq01cnjyoa22cldBn2dn0Ye6UcDou+qqROyfCKOAVCA0CwR6UIdTxYATREEYrmNrGIQ8VUjoq6DjWQ%3d%3d&ms=em_nl_botw_102326_email&omcampaign=em_nl_botw_102326_email&omhide=true&emci=453e8575-f5c7-f111-bf5b-000d3a4fbe83&emdi=d3a83800-efce-f111-bf5b-00224829f869&ceid=286090

The intelligent and sociable Common Raven has been the subject of mythology, folklore, and literature through the ages around the world.

10/20/2026

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) at the request of the animal agriculture industry wants to further speed up the chicken and turkey slaughter lines and to eliminate altogether the speed limits for the slaughter of pigs. More animals will suffer even more and workers on the slaughter lines will face increased danger. Mark Twain said: "man is the only animal that blushes. Or needs to"! When he said this, man was meant to include women.
Please let your U. S. Senator or Congressperson know how you feel about this form of cruelty and reflect on this when you purchase your food.

10/20/2026

The little Eastern Screech-Owl lives alongside people in many suburban and even urban settings throughout the eastern United States, hunting in patios and lawns and stashing extra food in the rafters of old buildings. Although widespread and amenable to developed landscapes, this nocturnal bird often goes unseen and is best detected by its vocalizations.

Eastern Screech-Owls have a rather eclectic diet, including vertebrates and invertebrates that they sn**ch from the vegetation, the ground, or even shallow water. Their young benefit from this adventurous diet as well, as the parents provision them with a wide range of prey. This may include worm-like reptiles called blind snakes, which adults bring to the nest live. The owl chicks eat some of them, but other blind snakes escape by burrowing beneath the wood chips, pellets, and other debris on the nest cavity's floor.

10/20/2026

Nathan Cornell, President of Rhode Island Old Growth Tree Society, will be giving two presentations called "Save Rhode Island's Forests" about Rhode Island's Old Growth Forests and the need to protect our natural forests and native biodiversity.

The first presentation will take place Tuesday, October 20th, at the East Greenwich Free Library on 82 Peirce St. at 6:00 p.m.
The second presentation will take place Thursday, October 22nd, at the Langworthy Public Library on 24 Spring St. in Hope Valley, Hopkinton, at 5:30 p.m.

10/19/2026

In the upcoming Rhode Island General Election on November 3, 2026 there is a bond identified as No. 5 GREEN ECONOMY BONDS.
We write to you about this because in the explantion for this bond is an expenditure called OPEN SPACE PROGRAM h . The State Land Acquisition Program will have $3 million dollars to spend and one of the items mentioned included more opportunities and enjoyment to hunt but there is no mention of wildlife preservation or education.

10/16/2026

https://abcbirds.org/birds/yellow-crowned-night-heron/?utm_campaign=botw&utm_medium=email&utm_source=botw&contactdata=FATe6Y4jzzYkKHzeVILQrjQb%2fk+kKKMw4ToAChqhQbod7NDAUOa4CVWX%2f7tgTZn9apvWOGR0T44xEXfFZupYRg%3d%3d&ms=em_nl_botw_101626_email&omcampaign=em_nl_botw_101626_email&omhide=true&emci=95c9c775-eac7-f111-bf5b-000d3a4fbe83

A stout and stocky heron, the Yellow-crowned Night Heron is a common sight along coasts and wetlands, where it hunts for crabs and other crustaceans.

10/11/2026

Dear Members of the North Kingstown Town Council and Town Manager Ralph Mollis:

Please let me begin by saying that we have many adoptable companion animals in our shelters and that is why Volunteer Services for Animals is writing to ask you to oppose puppy mill sales in your town.
You are considering an ordinance that would ban the retail sale of puppies, kittens and rabbits in North Kingstown, Rhode Island.
Without this ban adoption opportunities will be taken away from animals presently in your care at your town shelter, the Pet Refuge, Sweet Binks Rabbit Rescue and many more Rhode Island rescue groups.
There is a feline overpopulation in this state and there are always kittens at the North Kingstown Exeter Animal Protection League/Pet Refuge who will be spayed/neutered as part of the adoption process.
Puppy mills do not have a reputation for caring about the animals that they breed.
This unholy alliance between puppy mill profiteers and retail sales business owners is about making money on the hides of defenseless animals by keeping them in cages for the sole purpose of having them reproduce -- what a disgusting and immoral way to turn a profit -- there is no other way to describe it.
Please don't set the wrong example for your beautiful town by supporting the inhumane activities of the puppy mill owners and the retail business owners who align themselves with them.
Let's give the animals in the municipal and rescue shelters the chance to be adopted.

Very respectfully yours,
Joanne Rongo
Chair writing for our Board of Directors & Volunteers

10/11/2026

Please send emails to the members of the North Kingstown Town Council and ask them to prohibit pet stores from selling puppies and kittens. North Kingstown needs to join other Rhode Island municipalities like East Providence, Providence, Warwick, Smithfield, Warren, and Central Falls that already prohibit pet stores from selling puppies and kittens unless they come from an animal shelter, dog pound, or animal rescue. Pet stores are obtaining these poor souls from commercial breeding operations that put profit before proper care. The North Kingstown Town Council is meeting on October 19.

Gregory A. Mancini, President
61 Main Street
North Kingstown, RI 02852
294-5211
[email protected]
Dr. Kimberly Ann Page
24 Eden Court
North Kingstown, RI 02852
294-6378
[email protected]
Linnea M. Drew
191 Camp Avenue
North Kingstown, RI 02852
684-9774
[email protected]
Elizabeth Hill Ross
1487 Boston Neck Road
Saunderstown, RI 02874
294-9409
[email protected]
Matthew B. McCoy
381 Potter Road
North Kingstown, RI 02852
447-0984
[email protected]

credit Defenders of Animals Mondsay Morning Memo October 12, 2026.

VSA sent an email supporting the prohibition to the Town Council and the Town Manager. We wil keep you posted.

10/10/2026

IMPORTANT -- DO NOT REPLY TO A DOC U SIGN EMAIL THAT WAS NOT SENT BY VSA TO YOU.
IT IS SENT TO YOU USING VSA'S EMAIL ADDRESS BUT WE DID NOT SEND IT.
DO NOT OPEN ANY REQUESTS FOR YOUR INFORMATION.
THIS MAY OR MY NOT BE CONNECTED WITH THE WORK THAT WAS DONE WITH THE VSA WEBSITE THIS PAST THURSDAY.