Serving as a HSLC volunteer since 2001, Juanita is one of HSLC’s longest serving volunteers. Juanita’s contributions over 20 years are staggering and inspirational. She has helped tens of thousands of animals find loving homes, helped feed tens of thousands of animals whose families were in need, developed and led Loudoun County’s only low-cost spay-neuter program for companion animals, and touched the lives of thousands of volunteers.

Juanita currently serves as HSLC’s President, Pet Pantry Lead, Education Lead, and Financial Assistance Lead. As President, she is the cornerstone of HSLC’s success. When HSLC struggled to find its footing in the 2010s, Juanita rejoined the board as President not only to save the organization but to make it flourish. Her leadership has enabled HSLC to thrive and serve as an animal rescue nonprofit leader in Virginia.

Juanita’s leadership with the Loudoun Pet Pantry (LPP) Program is extraordinary. Under her leadership, 27000+ pounds of food were distributed via Loudoun Hunger Relief to families in need in 2020, ensuring that 4400+ animals could been fed in Loudoun County. She goes above and beyond typical volunteer work, hosting HSLC’s contribution to the LPP in her own garage. On top of all her other duties, she organizes vibrant community events, processes financial and legal paperwork, and oversees content for newsletters and outreach.

Juanita has always been the heart of HSLC. Her humility, passion for animal welfare, generosity, and kindness are infectious, and the reason why so many volunteers continue supporting HSLC. She sets the example that one person can truly make an impact on the world, and certainly in animal rescue. Although she is a vocal educator on animal rescue and our volunteers’ loudest cheerleader, Juanita is beyond modest in celebrating her own accomplishments and impact. She is long overdue to receive recognition for her decades of heart-filled hard work and dedication.

In Amy’s own words, “I just want to do whatever I can to help.” That pretty much sums up Amy’s passion for animals and her very strong work ethic. Not only does she serve as the HSLC Foster Coordinator but she also drives the marketing of our adoptable animals. Her boundless creativity and energy have helped to make HSLC animals stand out and shine. She also played a key role in the success of the Giving Tuesday campaign gathering up success stories and photos that gave us an abundance of compelling content to work from. On top of that, her house is always swimming with new foster animals that she and her husband are caring for. HSLC is so very lucky to have Amy as one of our super pawsome volunteers!

Diane joined HSLC in 2016 and has since participated in virtually every program while also serving on the Board of Directors. From 2017-2020, Diane served as the Board Secretary where she transcribed and distributed board meetings, kept records of all HSLC accounts, and gave due notices of all meetings, among other duties. She is the administrative arm of HSLC and ensures that our animal care-focused volunteers have the organization, support, and resources needed to do their work.

In addition to her secretarial duties, Diane participates in most of our community and adoption events, feeds a feral cat community, and frequently fosters dogs for HSLC. She volunteers with the Loudoun Pet Pantry and orders microchips for our animals.

Diane’s herculean efforts and down-to-earth personality are inspirational. She sets the example that one person can truly make an impact on the world, and certainly in animal rescue. Diane is beyond humble and rarely speaks of the importance of her impact. She is one of the many invisible hands behind the scenes of HSLC, and she is overdue to receive recognition for her wide-reaching impact.

Ms. Pam Harvey is recognized for her superb work serving as the Adoption Program Lead. Pam single handedly managed all incoming adoption applications in 2020 which requires outstanding communication skills, responsiveness, and mastery of multitasking. Additionally, Pam demonstrates excellent judgement to ensure potential adopters share our dedication to providing our animals a happy and healthy forever home. Leveraging her expertise in animal rescue, she councils new adopters on how to introduce new pets to existing pets, how to introduce adoptees to a new home environment, what to expect when bringing a new pet home, and many other topics. Pam’s focus and dedication has resulted in a record number of adopted animals. Pam is truly invaluable, and HSLC sincerely appreciates Pam’s dedication to ensuring homeless animals find their forever homes.

Ms. Juli Bowman is recognized for her outstanding work serving as the HSLC Youth Volunteer Coordinator. Juli has single handedly served as the HSLC advisor for dozens of senior capstone projects, a youth animal rescue club, and numerous youth fundraising projects (e.g., bake sales). Her leadership has enabled youths to provide real impact in animal rescue, educated youths on humane treatment of animals, and instilled passion for volunteering in hundreds of youth. Her positivity, approachability, energy, creativity, and passion have been key to engaging the youth population in Loudoun County. Juli is an inspiration to HSLC volunteers, and HSLC sincerely appreciates Juli’s dedication to youth volunteers and to the animal rescue mission.

In October 2020, HSLC recognized Sam Hartmann, a youth volunteer and the first recipient of the HSLC Hero award. Sam’s contributions include assisting HSLC in various fundraiser events, recruiting other student volunteers, and even forming a club in Loudoun County High School named the LCHS Animal Rescue and Support Club. His initiative led to increased volunteer participation in animal rescue projects by his school peers. Sam also ran a pet food drive through the LCHS club. His energy and passion are highly commendable!

HSLC held the first virtual volunteer appreciation event on October 18, 2020 where we recognized Sam Hartmann for his outstanding work. He was presented with a certificate and a trophy by the President of HSLC, Juanita Easton, in the presence of Sam’s family members, LCHS English teacher and club sponsor – Kathryn Ives, HSLC Board Member Anne Senft, and the volunteer management team members – Christina Levendosky, Juli Bowman, and Sruthy Menon. It was a very joyous and proud moment for Sam. HSLC wishes Sam the best as he transitions to college and we hope that he continues to serve as an animal rescue advocate in the future.

This is Peggy.  And, if we’re honest, Peggy has resting “witch” face. It’s not her fault, of course. But, many adopters overlook cats with inner beauty, like Peggy, in favor of the outwardly pretty kitties.

To add insult to injury, Peggy only has three legs. Actually, that’s not as bad as it sounds as many tripods get around pretty well. But, she will still need a forever family who is patient with her mobility issues.

When we rescued Peggy last May (yes, she’s been waiting that long to be adopted), she was hungry and in pain. Her leg and paw were broken and had to be amputated. Plus, she had just given birth a week before and was desperately trying to care for her kittens. Sadly, only two survived but they were immediately placed into foster care and adopted into a wonderful home.

After all she’s been through, Peggy definitely deserves a second chance at happiness. Unfortunately, she faces a lot of competition for attention. So, for special cats like Peggy, having a sponsor–aka Guardian Angel–can help improve the odds that they will find their purr-fect forever home.

How to get your wings

Making a direct and meaningful difference in the life of an animal in need will give you a warm and fuzzy feeling. And, it’s super easy to do. To become a Guardian Angel for Peggy or any of the animals in our care, please visit our donation page. In the dedication section, let us know which cat(s) you would like to sponsor. Through a one-time donation, you can cover the $150 adoption fee in part or full. If you are donating through a mobile device, the dedication field may not appear. In that case, simply send an email to anne@humaneloudoun.org and let us know which animal(s) you are sponsoring. Thank you!

Because the Humane Society of Loudoun County is a foster-based rescue – WE NEED FOSTERS – especially dog fosters. Fostering saves lives. If you have ever thought about fostering, now is the time. We need your help to help them.

HSLC rescues both cats and dogs. The problem we have right now is our lack of foster homes for dogs. Over the last few years we have helped many dogs from some overcrowded shelters – all sweet, loving dogs that just needed an understanding foster to teach them what it means to be loved.  Right now we can’t take in dogs because we don’t have fosters. The picture below is of some of the fabulous dogs we have helped.

How do you foster a dog or cat without getting attached? You don’t. You love them with all your heart. From the minute you bring him home, there’s no better feeling than getting him out of the shelter, giving him his first hug, cleaning him up, and watching what happens when he finally finds out what family is and starts to fall in love with the world.

Sometimes it just takes a few days, and sometimes it takes months. But when his fur shines and he’s smiling nonstop, that’s when you know your job’s almost done.  You’ll want to keep him. You’ll cry. You’ll say no one is good enough for him. But when you see him with his new forever family, and see the love in their eyes, you’ll know that you gave him this life and he gave you the sweetest memories. You’d much rather cry over him going home than over him being stuck in a shelter.

The house might be empty without him but that just means one thing – there’s room for someone else who needs you, who will steal your heart all over again.

(adapted from “The Dodo”)

Contact us at foster@humaneloudoun.org for more information about fostering or visit https://humaneloudoun.org/adopt/fosters-needed/

By Valerie Burton

Have you ever been wandering around Petco and seen some adorable cats living in luxurious digs? We caught up with Donna Drake, HSLC’s Animal Director and board member-at-large, to give us the inside scoop on the cat condos. 

HSLC:   What’s the story of the cats at Petco? How do they get to live in the condos?

DONNA: We carefully screen the cats that are placed at Petco for their suitability for the location. Timid, shy, high energy or aggressive cats aren’t placed there because of the stress of confinement, the noise, and the amount of people stopping by to look. The ideal candidate is a friendly, very social cat who loves attention and will come to the front of the cage when people stop by and try to get folks to interact with them by sticking their paws through the holes in the plexiglass or by meowing for attention.

HSLC:   Who takes care of them?

DONNA: I am one of a small group of volunteers, 6 or 7, most of whom have taken daily care of the cats on rotational basis since HSLC took over the Leesburg Petco cat condos in December 2019. We provide food, water, clean the litter and cubbies, make sure the bedding is clean and that the cats are ok and healthy. We will also take them to vet appointments and facilitate meet and greets with potential adopters. Most importantly, we spend time giving them lots of love and attention. In addition to taking care of the cats, we promote HSLC and our other adoptable cats to anyone who stops by to look at them as we take care of them. 

HSLC:   Do a lot of cats find homes by showing off their personalities living in the condos?

DONNA:  The Leesburg Petco store is a great location for marketing HSLC’s adoptable cats! The condos are located near the grooming salon and visible from the check-out stations, so they get lots of exposure and attention from customers in the store. The Petco staff is great at promoting our cats to their customers, and also give them lots of attention.  We have adopted lots of cats out of these condos since we took them over. Since the condos are fairly roomy with separate cubbies for food, litter, resting and hiding, we’ve been able to put some bonded pairs in them and get them adopted. Both the HSLC volunteers and the Petco staff become emotionally attached to these cats and highly invested in seeing them find forever homes!

HSLC:   Do the cats ever need a break from all that attention?

DONNA:  We do try to rotate them out to a foster home after a couple of weeks so that they get a week or two cage break. This is another opportunity for people to do short-term fostering for us!

HSLC:   How can people get involved, in addition to fostering and adopting?

DONNA:  Leesburg Petco is now our only venue for showcasing our adoptable cats, besides online or at in-person events. This is why it is so important that we have volunteers to help care for any of our cats located in the condos. We are always looking for volunteers to help care for these kitties. It doesn’t take a lot of time or effort, and the cats are so grateful for the attention!

HSLC:  Great, so interested people should go to the HSLC website and sign up to volunteer, foster or adopt!

Donna, thank you so much for shedding light on the story of these cat condos! You are making a huge difference in the cats’ lives, and we’re sure if they could they’d say THANK YOU for all you and the other volunteers are doing to find loving homes for them!