HSLC continues to grow, helping more animals and pet owners because of our generous donors and marvelous volunteers. Three of our major programs reached new records in 2017: Adoptions, Low Cost Spay/Neuter, and the Loudoun Pet Pantry.
The number of animals helped by HSLC has continued to grow over the years with the help of our many volunteers. In 2017 we were able to find homes for a record number of 184 animals! This amounts to countless trips to our partner veterinarians to provide vaccinations, wellness care, spay/neuter, and microchips. Our foster families provided many hours of socializing, training, and lots of love. Dozens of adoption events helped to showcase the animals. And our administrative volunteers handled mounds of paperwork including medical records, foster tracking, and adoption applications/agreements. Click Here to see our animals currently available for adoption.
Our Low Cost Spay/Neuter Program provides discounts for Loudoun County residents through our Loudoun County veterinary partners. A record 1,056 discount certificates were downloaded in 2017! Any Loudoun County pet family can download a certificate from our website to receive a discount for the anesthesia and surgery portion of the spay/neuter process. There will be other costs involved because each participating veterinary practice has their own pre and post surgery requirements. Users of this program are encouraged to “shop around” to determine which participating veterinary practice best meets their needs. We have 11 Loudoun participating veterinary practices scattered around the county: Sterling, Ashburn, Leesburg, Purcellville, Lovettsville, and South Riding.
The Loudoun Pet Pantry has become a valuable resource for the Leesburg food pantry, Loudoun Hunger Relief, allowing them to include the family pets while feeding needy Loudoun families. This program helps keep pets in their loving homes when families fall on hard times instead of being forced to surrender them to a rescue simply because they cannot afford to feed them. The Loudoun Pet Pantry is a partnership between the Humane Society of Loudoun County, Loudoun County Animal Services, and Loudoun Hunger Relief. Donated dog and cat food is delivered to Loudoun Hunger Relief weekly.
Pet food donation bins are located around the county. We need small bags of dog and cat food (3 to 8 lbs) and cans of any size. Monetary donations help purchase food for the program when needed. Donate Online Here – be sure to dedicate your donation to the Pet Pantry.
At least 40% of families visiting Loudoun Hunger Relief for food assistance also request pet food. Currently we are only able to provide enough food for about half of these requests but we are working on ways to improve. Space is a major problem with all three organizations.
The Humane Society of Loudoun County is partnering with Becky’s Pet Care, Inc., a leading professional pet sitting company serving the Northern Virginia areas. 2018 marks Becky’s Pet Care’s 20 years in business. In honor of adopting a pet through the Humane Society of Loudoun County, Becky’s Pet Care is offering a $20 off promotional discount for any pet sitting service they offer. Adopters will receive a coupon in their Adoption Packets. Becky’s Pet Care current serves the following areas in Loudoun County: Sterling, South Riding, Stone Ridge, Ashburn, and Oak Grove. We will be expanding soon in more Loudoun area cities and divisions.
Becky’s Pet Care – Company History:
“Responding to Northern Virginia’s growing need for professional pet care services, Becky O’Neil founded Becky’s Pet Care, Inc. in her townhouse basement in 1998. Becky was a one-woman show, running the operation as sole proprietor and sole employee. Thanks to her strict professional standards and knack for hiring devoted animal lovers, Becky’s Pet Care rapidly expanded and now occupies three commercial office space locations serving over 3,500 clients. Caring for these clients and their beloved pets are nearly 150 Pet Care Professionals and a fully-staffed administrative office.
Along the road to this stunning success, Becky cultivated a formidable expertise in small business ownership, including personnel management, systemization, marketing, business planning and development, and human resources, all in a concerted effort to render her business interactions efficient and effective for employees and clients alike.
Whether you’re heading out on that quiet island getaway or just need some extra help, Becky’s Pet Care is your Partner-In-Care, helping at home by looking after your dog, cat, or small animal. Just let us know when you need us, and we’ll keep your pets happy while you are away. Our trained Pet Care Professionals have been serving Northern Virginia for 18 years. We guarantee the highest-quality service at an all-inclusive price, which means you don’t have to worry about extra fees for medications or additional pets. We’re professionals, so we only charge you for the time it takes to care for your animal. No matter where in the world you travel to, Becky’s Pet Care will be there every time to keep your pet safe and content at home, with the peace of mind that your pets are in great care.”
Each Humane Society is an independent organization; “Humane Society” is just a descriptive word — like the word ‘bank’ is in US Bank and Bank of America. They are not connected to each other. It can be confusing!
Many people even mistakenly think that the Humane Society of the United States runs all humane societies. They do not! They do help animals through legislation and in disasters, but do not have a shelter themselves.
Some Humane Societies, like the Humane Society of Loudoun County (HSLC), are “limited admission”. Limited admission organizations sometimes have their animals for many months, and use foster homes. That means they do not have to euthanize animals to make room for new pets they take on. And many, like HSLC, have other programs that help the local animal population, like a pet pantry (Loudoun Pet Pantry) so families in need don’t have to surrender their pets simply because they can’t afford to feed them, partial help when medical emergencies arise, and resources for behavioral issues. The Community cat program is major part of HSLC, helping to reduce the numbers of feral cats while improving their health and quality of life.
And some Humane Societies are “open door” with animal control contracts, just like a city shelter, so they do euthanize to make room. Many “open door” humane societies run programs that have helped reduce pet overpopulation in the cities they serve. They may have the pets for many weeks, and know more about their behavior and health than a city shelter.
So it’s important to understand the nature of your local animal rescues and support them for the benefit of your community. We all work together to help animals but we are separate, independent organizations.