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Wrestlers allowed off leash in aid of animal shelter

Pro grapplers limbering up for second charity show to boost survival fund
Richmond News
Scotty Mac
Richmond secondary grad and pro wrestler Scotty Mac shows his softer, animal-loving side with a kitten at the Richmond Animal Protection Society shelter as he prepares for a charity fundraising event on Aug. 8 to help local, shelter animals get the specialized medical treatment they need. Photo by Philip Raphael/Richmond News

It’s round two for a fundraising wrestling event to benefit local shelter animals in need of expensive, specialized medical care.

On Aug. 8 a group of pro wrestlers will return to the ring at the Ukrainian Community Centre for RAPS Unleashed.

For Richmond’s Scotty Mac, who owns and runs ECCW (Elite Canadian Championship Wrestling), a repeat performance with some fellow wrestlers was an easy decision following last year’s Drop Kicks for Kona event.

“I guess I’ve always been an animal lover,” said Mac who had a black lab growing up and now has a pair of cats at home. “So, coming back to support this event was always going to happen.”

Drop Kicks for Kona was held to help fund surgery for Kona, a then one-year-old Rottweiler in care at the no-kill, Richmond Animal Protection Society’s (RAPS) shelter on No. 5 Road.

For her to live a pain-free life required $6,000 worth of work to deal with a disorder known as luxating patella that meant she had little or nothing keeping her knee joints in place.

The $2,000 or so raised back then helped Kona get adopted following her surgery, and now she is living a normal life.

That’s thanks to the shelter’s Tovi Fund that sets aside funds for animals who need the extra care.

“That’s for animals who would never be able to make it through,” said Wendy Riley, community development coordinator with RAPS.

“In those situations, like Kona’s, animals needing that degree of veterinary care don’t get the opportunity to live.

“But we’re a no-kill shelter, so we give them every opportunity to live and have a happy life.”

And that means plenty of bake sales and other fundraising activities, such as the wrestling event next month that came about after Shane Burnham, Richmond’s animal control officer, got his high school friend, Mac, to hold the wrestling card.

“We’re all about taking part in good causes like this one,” said Mac.

Tickets to RAPS Unleashed are $25 for front row seats, and $20 for general admission. They are available at the door, or in advance from RAPS which is located at 12071 No. 5 Road.

For more information about RAPS Unleashed, visit eccw.com or call 604-351-1051.