No need to be bored this summer – help animals!

Kids can make a big difference in the lives of animals in our communities. All it takes is deciding what you want to do, making a plan and then carrying it out. Talk to some friends and ask them to help. You’ll get more done and have a lot of fun at the same time!
Not sure what to do? Here are some suggestions.

Organize a pet food drive

The Loudoun Pet Pantry is always accepting dog and cat food to help families in need to keep their beloved pets. The summer is a very slow time for donations so this would be a really big help.  We specifically need small bags of dog and cat food (3 to 8 lbs) and any size cans. CLICK HERE to visit our website for more information. Contact HSLC at petpantry@humaneloudoun.org and we can pick up the food you collect.

Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Get friends and family to help with the collection and in spreading the word about your food drive. Set a goal and let everyone know about it. Use social media to generate buzz around your effort.
• Decide on a theme and a time frame. Be creative in naming your event –
  • Hunger Walk, Run, Bike; Dance-a-thon or Hoop-a-thon: Have sponsors pledge food donations for each mile completed, how many baskets made, etc.
  • Celebration Presents Drive: Guests bring a food donation instead of bringing gifts to a birthday party, pool party, etc.
  • Wash Away Hunger: Organize a car wash or dog wash and the payment is a food item donation.
  • Fill it Up! Fill an inflatable pool, or other things with food.

Contact HSLC at petpantry@humaneloudoun.org and we can pick up the food you collect.

Raise money for animals

Animal rescue groups always need money. The money you raise could be used for food, medical care, and more for the animals we help. Be sure to let people know the money goes to help the animals.

Contact us at helpanimals@humaneloudoun.org to make your donation.

• Hold a garage or yard sale. To get items to sell, ask neighbors and friends to clean out their closets. Advertise your event, letting people know the time, place and date.
• Look for jobs you can do to raise money, such as raking leaves, washing windows, collecting cans or bottles for recycling, washing and/or walking dogs, or taking care of a neighbor’s pet.
• Sell something that you’ve made. You could create homemade cards from recycled paper, have a lemonade stand, or prepare goodies for a bake sale.
• Ask local businesses to donate prizes and then sell raffle tickets.
• Put on a special event – like an art show, a play or a dog walk – and sell tickets to people attending the event.

 

 Help animals in your neighborhood

• To help wild animals, build bird or bat houses, or put out water and feeders for the birds.
• Organize a neighborhood cleanup to pick up trash, fishing line and other things that can hurt animals.
• Start a Neighborhood Animal Watch for animal emergencies. Make a list of numbers to call, including
  — A Veterinarian (your family vet, if you have pets)
  — An Emergency vet in your area: CLICK HERE for a list
  — A Wildlife Rehabilitator: CLICK HERE for a list
  — Loudoun County Animal Control

• If you know an elderly person or someone who’s sick who has a pet, volunteer to help feed, walk or bathe the person’s dog, or change the kitty litter.
• Take good care of your own pet. Walk your dog or clean the kitty litter.

 

Whatever you decide to do, remember to be polite and thank people for helping. Be sure to feel good about all you’ve done to help the animals. You can make a difference!

Let us know what you plan to do or what you have done and we can include your efforts in a future newsletter!  Contact us at helpanimals@humaneloudoun.

 

 

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 Washington Area Parrot Head Club, Parrotheads of the Old Dominion, and Pirates of the Potomac clubs are banding together to help Loudoun County pet families in need. Come party on March 24, 2018 at the Bungalow in Chantilly 7 – 10 pm; live music; Raffles and Silent Auctions; food and drink specials.

All proceeds and pet food go to the Loudoun Pet Pantry, a partnership between the Humane Society of Loudoun County, Loudoun County Animal Services, and Loudoun Hunger Relief  to help keep pets in their homes by providing dog and cat food supplies to Loudoun County pet families in need.

So put on your best Hawaiian shirt
Change your latitude & attitude
And join the party for pets 

Parrot Head simply refers to someone who is a fan of Jimmy Buffett’s music and the lifestyle that he promotes; a fan of Tropical Rock which incorporates elements and influences of rock and roll, reggae, country music, Caribbean, Calypso music and zydeco, with themes and musical compositions inspired by an island style. The typical parrothead is pictured to wear a Hawaiian shirt, flip-flops, and other tropical attire, and to enjoy drinking margaritas on the beach.

 

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.

Join HSLC at the Cascades Arts and Crafts Fair.  We will have our tent up and will be having a Pet Food Drive for the Loudoun Pet Pantry program which we partner with Loudoun County Animal Services to stock shelves with pet food at Loudoun Hunger Relief.  Stop by and say Hi and donate food for the cats and dogs in our community!

Volunteers – Please click here to sign up to assist with our booth.

The Dulles 28 Target recently donated over 900 lbs of pet food to the Loudoun Pet Pantry (LPP)!  

Diane Kendall with the Reston Bible Church Food Pantry contacted HSLC about this surplus of food and helped us go over to pick it all up.  We were able to share some of the dog food not eligible for LPP with Virginia German Shepherd Rescue and some of the cat food will help to feed fosters and community cats.

Community involvement is an essential component of the No Kill Equation and HSLC is so grateful to be able to partner with such a compassionate community.