We’ve got a winner!

Richmond mom wins jackpot in RAPS big 50/50 draw.

Linda Ford wasn’t terribly surprised to get a call from Keith Liedtke. Keith is Linda’s Realtor. But when he called her just after 10 a.m. on August 3, he wasn’t wearing his Realtor hat. He was calling in his capacity as a member of the Regional Animal Protection Society board of directors. And he had good news!

He was calling to tell Linda she had won $30,277.50 in RAPS’ 50/50 draw.

It was a “complete surprise,” Linda says, adding that the money will come in handy.

“I’m a single parent of two kids,” she says. “I’ve been raising them by myself this whole time and so there are things that I sometimes can’t pay for like my son’s wisdom teeth extraction and driving lessons, credit card debt, and my leaking roof needs to be replaced.”

She will also be making some donations to charity.

The Ford family – Linda, 20-year-old Noah and 17-year-old Matthew – are animal people. They have two cats and a dog, who they adopted altogether about 10 years ago.

The cats, calicos who are siblings, and the dog, an amiable Golden Retriever (aren’t they all?!) are best friends who sleep together and complete “one big happy family,” says Linda.

“I wanted a good family dog that was very tolerant because my younger guy has autism and I wanted to make sure that the dog would be tolerant of anything,” she says. “That’s why I got a Golden.”

The other half of the prize pot will go to supporting the RAPS Cat Sanctuary and future construction of a  Dog Sanctuary and Adoption Centre, where dogs with physical or behavioural challenges will receive all the rehabilitation, socialization, veterinary care and other attentions they need to prepare for their forever homes.

To everyone who participated in this 50/50 draw, THANK YOU!

To Linda and family: CONGRATULATIONS!