Singing veterinarian aids animal refuge
Veterinarian Jan Richards, right, with Rhythm Ride band members M.J. Hillard, Eldon Burrow and Jan Jacobson, from left, will be one of the
opening acts for today's benefit for Second Chance Ranch.
A BENEFIT CONCERT for Second Chance Ranch begins at 3:30 today at Wheeler Theater at Fort Worden State Park.
Adult tickets are $15 if purchased before the show or $20 the day of the show. Cost is $5 for youth.
Tickets can be purchased at Dream City Café, state Highway 19 at Prospect Road; Quimper Sound, 230 Taylor St.; and Bonita's Four Legged Friends, 1433 W. Sims Way.
They can also be purchased online at www.asecondchanceranch.org.
For more information, phone 360-765-0598.
Adult tickets are $15 if purchased before the show or $20 the day of the show. Cost is $5 for youth.
Tickets can be purchased at Dream City Café, state Highway 19 at Prospect Road; Quimper Sound, 230 Taylor St.; and Bonita's Four Legged Friends, 1433 W. Sims Way.
They can also be purchased online at www.asecondchanceranch.org.
For more information, phone 360-765-0598.
By Jennifer Jackson
Peninsula Daily News
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But off duty, she is a singer and songwriter who plays in a band with friends who are also animal lovers.
Among them, the four musicians have nine pets -- five canine, four feline -- all adopted from Second Chance Ranch, a shelter for domestic and farm animals in Quilcene, or Chimacum Valley Veterinary Hospital.
So when the band members get together to practice, they have a built-in audience that vets them.
"They sing along every now and then," Richards said. "They like 'Arizona Annie.'"
Benefit concert
"Arizona Annie" is one of the songs that Richards' band, Rhythm Ride, will sing as an opening act at a benefit concert for Second Chance Ranch this afternoon at Wheeler Theater at Fort Worden State Park.
While Richards doesn't sing to animals while on duty, her musical sideline has earned her a sobriquet: the Singing Vet.
"I get called that a lot," she said. "A lot of my clients know we have a little band."
The band -- M.J. Hillard on electric bass, Jan Jacobson on guitar, Eldon Burrow on drums and Richards on octave mandolin -- play original songs that are eclectic mix of bluegrass, folk and rock.
Richards and Burrow live in Chimacum, driving to Hillard and Jacobson's home on Swansonville Road near Port Ludlow for rehearsal sessions.
There, they play to an audience made up of the house dogs -- Joey, Wiley and Poco -- and the house cats, Twisty, BeeBop and Cheetah, augmented by Richards' dogs, Gladiola and Poppy.
Richards' cat, Brutus, prefers to stay home.
While they play music, Joey likes to lie on someone's feet, Richards said, while the rest sit on the couch and listen.
The pets are a good audience, she added.
"Sometimes when I play the harmonica, they howl along," she said.
Originally from Redding, Calif., Richards grew up on a mini-farm where she raised cattle, sheep and goats.
The family also had horses from the time she was 12, and she was a member of Future Farmers of America, so she has always related to large animals.
"When I got home from school, I'd go out and do my homework sitting in the feeder of my steer's pen and listen to him chew his cud," she said.
"The smell of the cud is really sweet."
After earning a degree in genetics from the University of California Davis, Richards did pre-veterinarian studies in Reno, Nev., then graduated from Washington State University's veterinary school in Pullman and went into practice in 1991.
Mobile service
After a year in Poulsbo, she moved to Chimacum and set up a mobile service for large animals.
In addition to two dogs and a cat, she has a horse, an Arabian-mustang mix.
Richards also offers her services to care for the horses and goats that are brought to Second Chance Ranch, which has outdoor pastures for farm animals, as well as indoor space for cats, birds and reptiles.
Performing benefit concerts and adopting animals is another way she and the band do their part, she said.
"It's really important to us to bring an awareness of these animals and their condition," Richards said.
At today's concert, the band will play from their repertoire of songs, many of which mention horses or dogs.
Andy Mackie and his student proteges -- who play guitar, violin, mandolin and harmonica -- are the other opener.
The main act is Linda Gentille, a world-renowned pianist who is also donating her time.
Gentille, who as a teenager auditioned in Las Vegas for Liberace and toured with him in 1986, has performed concerts throughout the world and sold more than five million CDs, according to her Web site, www.lindagentille.com.
At today's concert she will play Broadway and ragtime songs accompanied by Chuck Easton on guitar and Tom Svornich on drums.
________
Port Townsend/Jefferson County reporter-columnist Jennifer Jackson can be reached at jjackson@olypen.com.
Last modified: May 17. 2009 12:07AM