The mostly friendly cats are now in caring hands who will find them great homes. The participating organizations include 4Paws Rescue Team, PetConnect Rescue, SPCA of Winchester, Frederick, & Clarke Counties, Humane Society of Warren County and Homeless Animals Rescue Team (HART). HSLC took in four of the cats, three of whom are already available for adoption.
The effort was a wonderful example of teamwork under a tight deadline. Our thanks go out to everyone who helped save these little lives and made the operation go so smoothly.
Here are the cats currently in our care:
Owl
Daffy
Boomer
Silver Fox
Do you want to get back out in the community after hunkering down at home for so long? Are you looking for a school, church or scout service project? Would you like to spend time with animals but can’t commit to a new pet right now? Volunteer at the Humane Society of Loudoun County (HSLC)! Here are the top ten reasons to volunteer with us.
Save Animal Lives: Each one of our volunteers contributes to saving animal lives.
Boost Your Health: Volunteering has both physical and mental benefits.
Meet New People: Spend time with people who have similar interests as you.
Learn New Skills: Ready for a new challenge? We have plenty of opportunities to learn new skills from animal care to project management to grant writing.
Relieve Stress: Spending time with animals relieves stress and curbs loneliness.
Have Fun: Whether you find fun in volunteering with other people or enjoy the company of animals, you can find your fun with HSLC.
Find Your Purpose: Volunteer with HSLC to see if saving animals is your purpose.
Strengthen Your Resume: Get hands-on experience to boost your resume.
Connect with the Community: Help improve the lives of animals and people in our community.
Truly Make a Difference: We need you!
Learn more at our website including available positions or send an email to our Volunteer Coordinator at volunteer@humaneloudoun.org.
8 games will be called. A packet for all games can be purchased for $15 or individual regular games are $2 and the final game is $3.
Melissa starts calling Bingo at 6:30 pm. Prizes will be given each game and are donated from House 6 Brewing, HSLC and other local businesses.
HSLC THANKS House 6 Brewing Co. for their support.
On August 17, tens of thousands of animals found their forever families as a result of Clear the Shelters adoption events across the nation.
The Humane Society of Loudoun County adopted out one of our young cats that day. His name was Mellow.
After weeks of preparing for the event, you can imagine how heartbroken we were that more of our wonderful animals didn’t find their forever homes that day—including our celebrity kitties, Margo and Mr. Meow Meow.
To help me bounce back personally, I headed to my favorite yoga studio where the instructor told us a story. While it was a story I had heard many times before, the timing couldn’t have been more perfect.
THE STARFISH Story
by Loren Eiseley
One day a man was walking along the beach when he noticed a boy picking up and gently throwing things into the ocean.
Approaching the boy he asked: “Young man, what are you doing?”
The boy replied, “Throwing starfish back into the ocean. The surf is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them back, they’ll die.”
The man laughed to himself and said, “Do you realize there are miles and miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish? You can’t make any difference.”
After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish and threw it into the surf. Then smiling at the man, he said: “I made a difference to that one.”
Mellow was that lucky starfish who got his second chance on August 17. I happened to be nearby when the teenage daughter let the foster mom know that her family was adopting Mellow.
I wish I could capture in words the pure joy I saw on the foster’s face. She was so relieved that Mellow was going to a loving home. She gave the daughter a big hug. What a wonderful addition to the family Mellow would make.
HSLC doesn’t have a physical shelter. We rely heavily on a network of dedicated foster moms and dads to provide our at-risk animals the safe haven they need while waiting for their forever families. We are so thankful to them along with our caring volunteers and generous donors who make it possible to provide the second chances these animals deserve.
Adoption events like Clear the Shelters wouldn’t be possible without our wonderful fosters, volunteers and donors.
One day isn’t going to keep us down. Together with your help, we will continue to fight—day after day—for the abused, neglected and abandoned animals who are counting on us to rescue them.
Because, after all, there are still a lot of starfish we must save.
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.
Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
~Margaret Mead
It takes a dedicated team of volunteers to make our Community Cats program a success. Over the past week, our amazing TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) volunteers have been working to help a gentleman who had become overwhelmed with what we all thought were about 40 unfixed cats on his property. He didn’t know where to turn for help until someone referred him to the Humane Society of Loudoun County (HSLC).
Our goal was to humanely trap the community cats and have them microchipped, vaccinated and neutered to stabilize the population and stop the proliferation of feral kittens. Unchecked, the population of this colony would have expanded exponentially very, very quickly.
Timeline to Date
Sunday, April 7 – Over a dozen intrepid volunteers spent about 10 long hours trapping 35 community cats. Our team worked together to set and place the traps, organize the cats, label the traps and get the paperwork ready for their surgery (spay or neuter) the next day.
Tuesday, April 9 – We returned most of the cats to the site and our volunteers trapped more cats while they were there.
Friday, April 12 – We returned the second group of cats and trapped additional cats as well.
To date, we have trapped 51 community cats at this site, with several more left to get. We also think there are at least three litters of kittens born within the past week that we will try to find and trap when they are about five weeks or so old, along with the moms.
By the time we are finished, we will have helped 60-70 cats and kittens at this one site. This is the biggest site at which HSLC has ever performed a TNR operation. We are so grateful to our great team of volunteers without whom we never would have been able to get so many cats so quickly. Thanks to them, the kittens from this colony will find safe, loving forever homes and the community cats returned to the site will live longer and healthier lives.
Please check out our photo galleries below compliments of Marty McKee and Julia Grosz (aka the Cat Hustler). Click on the photos to enlarge them. And, be sure to scroll to the end to learn how you can help control the pet population in Loudoun County.
TNR Operation
Community Cats
How You Can Help
- Donate: The price-tag for neutering, vaccinating and microchipping dozens of community cats is literally in the thousands. Each donation adds up and is greatly appreciated.
- Kitten Care: Just like human babies, kittens require a lot of food and supplies. Visit our amazon.com wish list for a current list of needed items.
- Spay/Neuter: Encourage friends, family and neighbors to spay/neuter their pets. There are many low-cost Spay/Neuter options available in Loudoun County and in communities all across the country.
- Foster: Since HSLC has no physical shelter, we rely on individuals to open their hearts and homes to at-risk animals. Our foster program has the most direct impact of saving lives of any of our programs.
Playtime (see video below)
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.
Resting after surgery
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!
Juli Bowman is the Youth Volunteer Coordinator for the Humane Society of Loudoun County. Recently, she has been particularly busy working with students on their senior service projects in numerous Loudoun County high schools. Learn more about these projects and Juli’s contribution to HSLC.
How long have you been a volunteer with the Humane Society of Loudoun County (HSLC) and how did you first get involved?
I started volunteering along with my kids several years ago. We encountered an HSLC adoption drive outside of Rust Library and spent some time looking at the cats and speaking with the volunteers. We were already fostering kittens with the Loudoun County Animal Shelter, but I saw this as another way to get involved – getting more out into the community, helping animals. HSLC really welcomed my kids (and put them to work!). My children loved working with me at adoption drives and events such as the Flower and Garden Festival.
What are the rewards and challenges of being an HSLC volunteer?
It thrills me to hear when an HSLC animal gets adopted. We have many goals as a part of our mission, but to me the knowledge that there is one less homeless animal and one more happy family member is rewarding news. I like to feel that I am, even if indirectly, a part of that.
It’s challenging to know that we cannot do it all. Keeping that fact from becoming a demotivator takes mental and emotional energy. I say this knowing that there are many HSLC volunteers who put in a lot more time and effort than I do, but I think we all feel this from time to time. However, I remind myself that every little bit helps. We can take a moment to celebrate a rescue or an adoption or an injured or sick animal pulling through, and that’s enough to gather new energy to do more.
Please share a recent initiative you supported.
I am both proud and thankful to have participated in senior service project programs in multiple Loudoun County high schools these past few weeks. HSLC sponsored seniors from the Freedom High School Capstone Program, the Loudoun County High School Raider Outreach Program, the Loudoun Valley High School Capstone Program, and the Tuscarora High School Capstone Program. In these programs, seniors gain foundational skills through short-term externships during the final weeks of the school year. Because HSLC is all-volunteer organization and does not have a shelter or central location, the independent project model is a perfect fit.
What role did you play in this initiative?
I provided initial and ongoing as-needed mentorship and guidance, while the students took on everything from planning, scheduling, time management, interaction with businesses and citizens of the community, all without direct supervision.
Please tell me about the specific service projects.
This year, six student groups opted to complete independent service projects of their own choosing with HSLC. Projects included the following:
- At Freedom High School, Brennan George, Mia McKinley, Sophia McKinley, and Tim McKinley sponsored a school-wide pet food drive for the Loudoun Pet Pantry.
- A group from Loudoun County High School consisting of Daniel Butler, Jack Hartmann, Collin Hughes, Matthew Martwinski, George Taliaferro, Ryan Vinci, Ryan Wigglesworth, and Jared Williams created a public service announcement video to convey the message “Adopt, Don’t Shop”.
- Loudoun County High School’s Katrina Cokain, Alexandra Saravia, and Sarah Van Hook ran a pet food drive for the Loudoun Pet Pantry in front of a local pet supply store.
- From Loudoun Valley High School, Riley Herr and Meagan Kennedy created a kit for HSLC’s humane education outreach program, making it easier for our volunteers to deliver talks to local youth groups.
- Tuscarora High School’s Quinn Herbine, Sarah Howorth, Olivia Shaw, and Lindsey Sestak conducted an adoption campaign to get the word out about a few animals that have been with HSLC for quite a while.
- Also from Tuscarora, Adriana Apintiloaiei, Sydney Bowman, Rosie Hackman, and Alex Nichols designed and constructed a cat tree for HSLC to use in fundraising. They also raised extra cash for HSLC through a bake sale.
What are the benefits of these projects?
All of these projects benefitted the animals in our community in many different ways, including funding, food, finding homes, and getting the word out to the community about HSLC and helping animals. In addition, these students got an opportunity to practice organizational, professional, and life skills through independent volunteer work.
What recommendations do you have for younger students?
It can be difficult for youth under 18 years old to find opportunities to volunteer with animals. HSLC offers kids the chance to help animals in the community through independent, group, or family projects. They can make a big difference through pet food drives, fundraising, awareness, and more. This type of work cultivates planning, communication, and time management skills, while at the same time provides for flexible hours and adaptability to any age.
Is there any advice you could share with someone, adult or youth, who is considering becoming a volunteer with HSLC?
HSLC can be quite a flexible organization to work with – there are so many varied ways to help. Volunteers of any age and capacity can and do make an impact through this organization. We are always looking for fresh ideas and enthusiasm. From very young children conducting fundraisers and awareness campaigns, to the full-time employee/parent/student who can lend technical skills, to the full-time volunteer who fosters and runs events, HSLC truly appreciates everything you do for animals.
How long have you been a volunteer with the Humane Society of Loudoun County (HSLC) and how did you first get involved?
I’ve been with HSLC for 5 years now. I got involved not long after losing my best side kick, Black Jack, my Standard Poodle. I was devastated, of course, and not quite ready to find a new fur friend. I saw an ad for an open house that HSLC was having at the Leesburg Library. So, I decided that I would go and see what it was all about. As soon as I walked in the room, a very friendly volunteer and former board member greeted me and told me all about HSLC and what they stood for. I was taken in and very impressed. Not long after talking to this former board member, we both realized that she had once dog sat for me. I knew at that moment it was a sign for me to start volunteering, and since I wasn’t ready for a new fur friend just yet, I could at least help save and find homes for others. It’s been a heaven sent ever since. This organization is amazing, and so dedicated at everything they do. I couldn’t be more proud to be a part of them.
What activity do you support at the Human Society of Loudoun County? 
I support many activities at HSLC. I help at fundraisers. I help out at many events like the Leesburg Flower and Garden Show to spread our mission to others. I sometimes help with graphic arts, like fliers or anything else they may need. I help at adoption events when I can and I’m also on the event committee that organizes the fundraisers and many other events that come up.
What are the rewards of being an HSLC volunteer?
The reward, of course, is helping the animals and knowing that we can help save and find homes for them. That makes my heart very happy; they need our voice and love when there’s no one else. Plus, it’s fun and you can meet some wonderful people and make new friends.
What are the challenges?
The challenges are that we need more volunteers and fosters. There are many that go above and beyond because there just isn’t enough help at times. For me, I wish I could give more of my time, but working a full-time job and the distance that I have to travel to and from work keeps me from being able to do more.
Please share your favorite memory as an HSLC volunteer:
My favorite memory as a volunteer is seeing an animal find a new home and knowing that it’s the perfect fit for the animal and family. Having the family share pictures showing how happy they all are is the best feeling.
Is there any advice you could share with someone who is considering becoming a volunteer with HSLC?
I would recommend that they come to one of the volunteer orientations and find what you’re interested in and what would be fun for you. There are so many ways to help! Ask many questions if you’re unsure how to help and find a mentor to shadow if you’re not sure where to begin. We are here to help make it awarding and fun at the same time.
HSLC works to control community cat populations in Loudoun County through its Trap-Neuter-Release (TNR) program. Sharon Nylec has been a volunteer supporting the TNR program since 2004 and talked to us about her experience.
What activities do you support at the Human Society of Loudoun County?
I am active in the TNR program, I am also active in our Loudoun Working Cats program that places community cats with individuals, businesses, or farms that have a rodent problem. And last, but not least, I am a foster. Right now I have a mom cat with five babies, and a teenager kitten.
When did you first get involved and what prompted you to volunteer?
I first got involved with community cats when I started my job as a medical technologist at Inova Loudou
n Hospital in 1998. There were a bunch of resident cats roaming around our back, having litter, after litter, after litter. Every so often the plant operations engineers would load up a box with kittens and ask the hospital employees to adopt them. I adopted one, then another, and finally said this reproduction cycle has GOT to stop. I am at my limit of two cats!!! Of course, that two cat limit is a joke right now!
Anyway, I started doing some research with the local animal rescue groups and Alley Cat Allies, and found out about their Trap Neuter Return program. They sent someone out to help, and I was fascinated with the process. I asked them to teach me how to do it so I could manage the hospital colony, and the rest is history. We went from 20 cats in 1998 to placing our very last kitty in a home in 2016. There aren’t any more cats at the hospital, so as you can see-TNR takes time, but it works!!
After the hospital cats were trapped I looked for a group more local than Alley Cat Allies that had a TNR program, and the Humane Society of Loudoun County (HSLC) was that group.
What do you most enjoy about your volunteer work?
I love working with people who adore their outdoor cats and want to make their lives better and more comfortable. I also like working with hissy, spitty feral kittens and showing them how great human company can be.
What are the challenges/rewards?
There are so many challenges…working with HSLC is a passion of mine, but I also have a job, my own family, and my pets. Trying to find that perfect balance, trying to make it all fit in takes a lot of effort. I truly wish there were more hours in the day so I could squeeze more work in.
Trapping community cats takes a lot of patience and perseverance, too. We have to work with the cats’ schedule, so a lot of times we are out late at night in sketchy neighborhoods or up really early when we could be sleeping in. If it’s a huge cat colony, it can take up to two years to complete it. Some cats are so smart, they learn what a trap is and avoid it. You have to really think outside the box trap to get them!
You also asked about rewards. Oh my, the euphoria you feel when you finally get that last smartypants mommy cat…it’s a rush! Totally worth all the time and effort I put in, just to get that feeling when the trap door closes on the last cat and you can officially say the site is done!! One colony I did had over 50 cats. It took me over two years and we pulled and placed 25 or more kittens. We are still actively caring for that colony because they are too much for the current property owner to handle, but at least they are done! No more babies!
I must also mention another rewarding aspect regarding a different program with HSLC. The foster program gives you all the “feels.” I feel good rescuing kittens from their hard lives outdoors, and I feel good pulling tame, beautiful cats out of high kill shelters. I’ve had many litters of sick kittens that got better because HSLC sponsored their vet care, and it is a thrill when they are finally healthy and get adopted. Honestly, there is nothing better than knowing you made a difference and you saved a life.
What should people do if they see a feral cat?
First of all, is it truly feral? There is a difference between a domesticated stray and true feral. Strays are usually vocal, and may allow you to approach. A true feral would like you to mind your own business and they will just go on about their day, thank you very much. They are furtive, occasionally defensive, and hardly ever vocalize. Regardless of feral or stray, put out a bowl of food for them the same time every day and fill out our TNR request on line at https://humaneloudoun.org/tnr-application/
We will answer your requests and come to assess the cats. If it is indeed a stray, we try to find the owner. If we can’t find the owner or it is feral, we take them to the vet to be spayed, vaccinated, treated for parasites and microchipped to identify their location. It’s an EXCELLENT program! By the way, we take care of the community cats regardless of the caretaker’s ability to pay, but if someone has the means, we do like to mention they can ‘Spay it forward‘.
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.