Imagine being dumped on a country road to fend for yourself in unfamiliar surroundings.

Now, imagine you’re a 3-month old kitten who is totally blind.  What are your odds of survival?

And so begins the story of Daredevil, an incredibly sweet and trusting kitten abandoned and left to die – just because he couldn’t see.  Fortunately, a friend of a Humane Society of Loudoun County (HSLC) volunteer found Daredevil and he is now safe and sound with us.

His nonstop purring and fondness for snuggling tells us that he is grateful to be alive and in such caring hands—perhaps for the first time in his young life.

Daredevil isn’t going to see again and his ruptured eyes have already been surgically removed. Currently, he is being fostered by a caring vet assistant who works at Towne Animal Clinic.

It takes a village to save a kitten’s life.  From the volunteers who rescue them from unthinkable situations to the foster parents who give them a loving home to the donors who help cover their various medical expenses. But, it’s all worth it when we can give a beautiful animal like Daredevil the happy ending he deserves.

Daredevil is looking for his forever home.  Check out his video below and see if you can resist this adorable love-muffin!

 

 

 

Delta is a community cat who catches mice like a boss.  After two litters, it was time for her to be caught and spade to keep the size of her colony in check.

Community or feral cats live outside and are not socialized. This makes them wary of people and not adoptable. To improve the lives of cats like Delta, the Humane Society of Loudoun County has a Community Cats program. At its core is the concept of Trap-Neuter-Return.

 

 

How Does Trap-Neuter-Return Work?

1. Trap: Humanely trap all cats living together in an outdoor colony.
2. Neuter: Take the cats, in humane traps, to a veterinarian or clinic to be neutered, vaccinated, microchipped and ear-tipped (universal symbol indicating cats have been neutered).
3. Return: Return the cats to their original outdoor home or colony.

After recovering from her spaying at the vet, Delta was ready to return to her home. In the video below, watch TNR volunteer, Sharon, set Delta free!

201 community cats/kittens have been helped by the Humane Society of Loudoun County TNR program so far this year.  This includes 14 injured community cats from managed colonies that needed vet care and 28 community cats in colonies that needed to be relocated for safety reasons. The Foster Program has taken in 69 kittens and 7 friendly adults from the TNR program to find them forever homes. On a happy note, we found a lost cat in a community cat colony and were able to help him be reunited with his owner.

If you need help with community cats, please complete our TNR Request Form. One of our volunteers will then contact you, asking a series of questions before scheduling a visit to assess the site and develop a plan for trapping.

The Humane Society of Loudoun County (HSLC) learned about 4-year-old Sophie through one of our contacts in Wise County, Virginia.  They needed immediate transfer of dogs due to overcrowding at the Wise County Animal Shelter. Sophie had been surrendered simply because her former owners were moving. Our Animal Coordinator, Donna, and volunteer, Christina, were sitting at an adoption event when Donna mentioned the situation. Once Christina saw Sophie’s picture, she couldn’t say no.

Christina and her husband picked Sophie up on a sunny day in June from Towne Animal Clinic in Leesburg. She was super excited to see them and couldn’t stop wagging her tail. Sophie crashed out on their couch for the first couple of days then started to play with their dog, Max, and chew bones. She was super happy to sleep in the bed, cuddle, and give kisses. 

A couple of days after Christina began fostering Sophie, we found out Sophie tested positive for Lyme, roundworms, and hookworms. She was immediately put on medications to help with these issues. But Sophie started to have a tough time getting around after about a week on the medications. One morning, she couldn’t even get out of her dog bed to go potty outside. They immediately took her to Towne Animal Clinic where her medications were changed and they decided to keep her for a couple days. Sophie improved slowly but was very tired. After a couple weeks, she bounced back and was back to her normal, loving self. She again enjoyed going on long walks, binge watching Netflix, helping with dinner prep (i.e., eating extra food), and exploring in the woods.

When Sophie met her first potential adoption family, she knew it was meant to be. The family had two dogs – Buddha and George. Buddha and Sophie got along swimmingly on their first walk and she was okay with George, too. Sophie immediately took to their backyard, sniffing everywhere and trying to mow the grass with her teeth. After the second and third visits, both Sophie and her new parents knew it was a match. Sophie absolutely loves her new home and her two new adopted brothers. As foster parents, Christina and her husband miss her dearly, but are so happy she has found her forever home! 

 

 

 

 

 

You too can help dogs like Sophie by becoming a HSLC foster or adopting. For fostering information and/or to apply, visit FOSTERS NEEDED or email helpanimals@humaneloudoun.org. To view our adoptable animals visit our ADOPT page.

 

Anyone who has ever shared their home with kittens knows how unpredictable life can be. One or two kittens can turn your world upside down; so imagine juggling EIGHT of the little darlings

One of our intrepid fosters, Andi Apple-Robey, did just that. Eight little black kittens were rescued from a postal facility in Sterling in April. There were two litters, one about 7 weeks old and another 5 or 6 weeks old.

The “Clue” kittens are named after the characters from the board game, Clue. Andi used colored collars to tell the kittens apart and she started calling them by those colors. Clue is a murder mystery board game with suspects that have names like Colonel Mustard, Miss Scarlet, Professor Plum, etc., so it just seemed appropriate. Boddy is the name of the victim and Wadsworth is the butler.

Recently Andi had to handle some medical emergencies with kittens Mr. Peacock, Professor Plum, and Wadsworth.

The Humane Society of Loudoun County (HSLC) is dedicated to caring for all our animals as if they were our personal pets. This means providing the funds for whatever medical procedures are needed, sometimes causing budget overruns. But the safety and well-being of our animals are always our priority.

Here is how Andi explains what happened…

“About an hour after I brought the first of the kittens to be neutered (Messrs Peacock, Green and Boddy) home from Towne Animal Clinic, I was relaxing with some water and a snack of trail mix. Mr. Peacock stressed his incision, and was bleeding heavily (all over my kitchen!), so I immediately took him back to Towne.  They fixed him right up, and when I got him home, I found Wadsworth and Plum with their faces in the now empty bowl that had held my trail mix! Since the trail mix had both raisins and chocolate in it, I had to immediately gather them up and go back to the vet with them!  They tried to purge them, but the boys were stubborn and refused to vomit, and so they were transferred to The Life Center (TLC) ER for three days of IV fluids to try to flush their systems and prevent kidney damage (from the raisins, they weren’t as worried about the chocolate).

Since their blood work stayed stable during their time at TLC, Wadsworth and Plum were transferred BACK to Towne after just two days for Towne to perform their scheduled neuters and the third day of their IV fluid therapy. Once they were transferred and TLC was cleaning their cages, it was discovered Wadsworth likely had eaten part of his IV catheter. So not only did Towne have to finish his fluid therapy and perform his neuter, they had to X-ray him to see if he HAD eaten some of the hard plastic parts. Fortunately they didn’t find anything.”

We’re happy to report that the kittens are now healthy and happy. Only Mr Green is left waiting for his forever home.

Mr. Green is our adorable crossed eyed kitten. This challenges his eyesight but not his personality. He is a committed lap-cat and bed-time snuggler, with a little bit of a food thief thrown into the mix. He’ll sneak a piece of broccoli off your plate given half a chance! It’s a good thing he’s cute about it.  Learn more  on our adoption page.

 

 

With our coffers full of foster animals, the last few HSLC adoption events have been well attended by dozens of cats and kittens, all eagerly looking for their forever homes. But, our August 4^th adoption event at Pet Valu in Ashburn was especially exciting.

Usually the adult cats get overlooked at adoption events when they are competing with so many kittens .  But two adult cats, Rigley and Quill, were adopted together that day!  They now live in a big house with kids to play with and two small dogs to “boss around”.

 

 

At the same event, three of our kittens found a home together (Turbo, Chopper, and Milo). We encourage adopters to consider adopting kittens in pairs so the animals have companionship and can play together instead of getting into mischief. Three together is even better!

“All three are doing well and playing nicely.  They are all so loving and social, beyond our expectation”, reported adopter Margo. “To say these boys are being spoiled with love and attention is an understatement. After a long evening of play and exploration, the three climbed in human beds.”

 

 

Watch Turbo, Chopper, and Milo play at their new home:

 

Interested in adopting or know someone who is?  Please visit our calendar for our next adoption event.

Thank you to everyone who completed our Pet Owner Survey earlier this summer. The results were doggone interesting!

Here are some fun findings:

 

• 69% of you have two or more pets and 71% of you have been pet owners for 16 years or more! Companionship is—by far—the number one reason you brought a pet into your home.

• Dog people (65%) outnumber cat people (63%) but only by a nose! And, let’s not forget about the folks with birds (2%), fish (4%), rabbits (4%) and other pets (10%).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• Only 29% of you leave the TV or other entertainment on for your pets, but a whopping 100% of you talk to them. Over two-thirds of you take photos or videos of your pets.

• Most pets sleep in or on a bed – either their own or a human bed. Only 8% of pets sleep outside.

• Two-thirds of you met your pet through an adoption event or at a rescue center. You considered a variety of factors when choosing a pet:

If you are thinking about adopting an animal, please visit our website to learn more about the many animals looking for their forever homes.

The Humane Society of Loudoun County (HSLC) is pleased to announce the appointment of Neal Donahue as Treasurer and Anne Senft to our Board of Directors. The two newest members of the board will support HSLC in its mission to partner with the Loudoun community to save as many animals as possible.

Neal Donahue, newly appointed Treasurer, obtained a bachelor’s degree in Accounting and a master’s degree in Business Administration from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He previously was a member of the non-profit team of a large regional accounting firm and also spent 14 years as the CFO of a non-profit. He is currently the Partner in Charge of Business Clients for Crowe Donahue PLLC, a public accounting firm in Ashburn, Virginia.

“It resonated with my wife and I that the two dogs we adopted during our 33 years of marriage have been the most loving and thankful animals we’ve encountered,” Mr. Donahue says. “That alone made it important for me to be a part of the Humane Society of Loudoun County.” He and his wife Lynn have resided in Ashburn since 1995 where they raised their two sons and currently reside with their two Australian Cattle dogs, Riley and Gauge.

New Officer Anne Senft began volunteering with HSLC in 2017, helping with online and direct mail fundraising campaigns. She has worked for Avalon Consulting since 2015 and has 24 years of direct response industry experience. Prior to Avalon, she spent 12 years with the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) in several capacities, including Vice President of Philanthropy.

Regarding her volunteer work with HSLC, Ms. Senft says, “The significant impact this all-volunteer organization has made in the Loudoun community reminds me of one of my favorite quotes from Margaret Mead: ‘Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.’ I want to be a part of this change.” Anne lives in Sterling, Virginia with her husband, Tom, who also volunteers for HSLC. They have two cats, Sweet Pea and Mr. Fat Cat.

“HSLC is thrilled to add two such impressive and dedicated people to our Board,” states HSLC President Juanita Easton. “We look forward to their contributions to our mission.” Terms of service for the new Board members will run for two years.

 HSLC is currently seeking volunteers to fill other positions on the Board, including one for a veterinarian and one for an attorney. HSLC also welcomes volunteers seeking to make a difference for animals through the variety of programs offered. More information about opportunities to volunteer is available on the HSLC website.

Thursday the HSLC Trap/Neuter/Return (TNR) Team was contacted by a business in Chantilly that we did TNR for late last year. We trapped all the cats there, all of whom were beautiful Russian blues. All turned out to be friendly so we put them in the foster program and got them all adopted.

Considering the site closed, imagine our surprise when a few days old kitten was found on the grounds yesterday, with no sign of mama or any other cats anywhere.

So our contact there reached out to us for help. Our TNR Coordinator, Donna, immediately started networking to find a place to put the kitten in order to save its life. Normally we try to keep kittens with mom til they are old enough but we couldn’t in this case since we couldn’t find her.

Donna reached out to Marnie Russ, who runs the kitten nursery at the Animal Welfare League of Arlington. She is also one of founders of National Kitten Coalition.  Fortunately one of our volunteers and fosters, Molly Boyne, also fosters for them too and currently has a nursing mom. So Marnie and Donna felt placing the kitten with Molly would be our best option. 

The nursing mom foster, Snowflake, accepted the kitten and she was able to nurse for a while and fill her belly, which probably saved her life. But Snowflake is an inconsistent feeder and needs a human to remind her to feed the kitten. So we decided it would be best to move the kitten to another AWLA foster that lives nearby and is already bottle feeding a couple of young kittens. The next best option if a nursing mom isn’t available is to place a solitary kitten with other similar kittens to increase the chance of survival.

Last we heard the kitten is doing okay. Thank you to all involved for helping to save this little life.

 

Our TNR program is only possible because of caring friends like you. Please make more rescues like this possible by making a tax-deductible donation today. Thank you!

 

 

Dr. Krista Wiechmann, owner of Loudoun Cat Care (LCC), is a veterinarian and member of the American Association of Feline Practitioners. Since 2007, she and her health care team have been providing feline-exclusive veterinary care and boarding in Leesburg. As a full-service facility with medical, dental and surgical care, her practice prioritizes the bond that forms between clients and their cats and is dedicated to ensuring they have long and healthy lives together. LCC also offers an on-site boarding facility featuring luxury cages with separate “living” and “potty” rooms for feline clients whose families are out of town.

Focusing on one species allows the practice to stay on top of the most current therapeutic techniques, according to Alison Trent, one of LCC’s Veterinary Technicians. “Feline practice allows us to provide a much more friendly, positive environment for our feline patients, many of whom are very upset by dogs, and trips away from home in general,” she says. “Our practice is much quieter than the average mixed practice, and we tailor our exams to cat preferences.” Special features such as exam tables with soft covers, cat-specific pheromones, and fear-free distraction techniques are designed specifically to help alleviate the anxiety felines often feel at the vet.

LCC has been partnering with HSLC for the last 4 or 5 years, providing affordable healthcare for cats who may never have received veterinary care before. Juanita Easton, President of HSLC, is grateful for the partnership with LCC, stating, “Dr. Wiechmann is great at working with us on our difficult cat cases.” Services provided include examinations, treatment for parasites and medical conditions, testing for communicable diseases, spaying and neutering, vaccinations, permanent microchip identification, and counseling on behavioral considerations. Ms. Trent shares that for the staff of LCC, “Using our education, resources, and talents to help animals live happier and healthier lives is our life’s work, and our passion. Also, the ability to give back to a volunteer-run organization that strives to rescue at-risk cats is a wonderful feeling.”

HSLC and LCC share the goal of making a difference in the plight of homeless animals, with education being one of the most important ways we can collaborate to try to address common issues. For example, according to Ms. Trent, “Most people don’t know that left unchecked, one female cat can turn into 100 cats in just over a year. Spaying and neutering is vital to controlling the homeless pet population.” By offering services at a reduced cost, LCC provides crucial support to HSLC’s Trap/Neuter/Return program and its efforts to improve the lives of stray and feral cats in Loudoun County.

HSLC relies on our community partners to help us help as many animals as possible. Specialists such as LCC teach us that, as in human medicine, innovations in veterinary care occur constantly. By specializing in feline veterinary care, LCC is able to stay on top of innovations in the field, and their willingness to share their knowledge and passion with HSLC demonstrates their commitment to caring for cats and their understanding of those who love them. For LCC, the most important thing anyone who lives with feline family members can do is “understand, respect, and celebrate their cat-ness!”—something LCC does each and every day.

By Valerie Burton
June 24, 2018

Annie came to HSLC from a shelter in Russell County about a year ago. As a young dog we felt that she had a lot of potential even though she was surrendered because she “was chasing the chickens”. We came to learn that Annie has a very, very strong prey drive. Some dogs do. Annie does.  If it runs, she will chase it. She does not like cats and some dogs, usually dogs bigger than her.  But she LOVES people.

Her foster came to know her as a goofy, loving dog.  Just look at some of these pictures! We worked with Annie to help her with some of her issues but we can’t change her nature. It came down to finding a family that understands her personality and loves her because of it. After months and months of meet and greets, inquires going nowhere, and working with her to help her be more social with dogs, the perfect family finally came along.

         

 

 

 

 

 

Annie now has a great life in Leesburg with a family that loves her and understands her limitations. Isn’t that what we all need?