Lost Pets
- Sugar, Lost near Ashburn VA
- Rick, Lost near Fairfax
- Gadsy, Lost near DC
- Harry, Lost near Arlington VA
- dad, Lost near sdad
- Reignbeau, Lost near RlgajSCDEEBUUtLMB
- Peyton, Lost near Herndon Virginia
Lost a pet? Click here to post your pet on our website! Triple your chances for finding them within the next 48 hours!
Adoption
Some shelters have developed a no-kill policy, to help lower the number of animals euthanized keeping their animals as long as it takes to find them new homes. City shelters rarely have this policy because of the large number of animals they take in. No-kill shelters are usually run by groups utilizing groups of volunteers or individuals with enough space to foster pets until a permanent home can be located. Many of these groups and individuals have a finite number of spaces available, meaning they will not take in new animals unless a space opens up, although they will often take back pets that they have adopted out previously.
The central issue in the adoption of a pet is whether a new owner can provide a safe, secure, and permanent home for the animal. Many shelters, pounds, and rescue organizations refuse to supply animals to people whom they judge cannot supply the animal with a suitable home, for fear that the animal may be returned, or worse, sold.
A new owner might also face training challenges with a pet who has been neglected or abused, making it difficult to place certain pets. In those cases, the owner must be extra patient with the animal and provide it with the right care to help the pet overcome the past, and be able to enjoy their future.
Featured Shelter
Furry Friends Shelter
Started in 2000 by a vet tech and his wife, they started by taking animals into their homes that were about to be euthanized. They found others in their community who had the love and passion for animals, and formed FFS. They pride themselves with never having an animal returned, which is probably due to their extended adoption process. "While we know our process might be a bit lengthy, our goal is to match the family or individual with their perfect pet. Our shelter will hopefully be their last stop to their forever home!" - Melissa Cross, co-owner.
Programs
In 2002 FFS started their spay/neuter program for all their pets. This expanded in 2004, thanks to many kind benefactors, and they have monthly spay and neuter clinics available to the general public. Each family pays based on a scale of how much they make, making the process affordable to low income families, and thus ensuring there are fewer accidental litters each year.
Their adoption program is an extensive one, starting with filling out their 4 page application. Once it has been reviewed, a home inspection is scheduled. Assuming the person passes, their references are contacted (vet and dog walker/day care if that will be used). Once all that is out of the way, the applicant will come to the shelter and spend time with the animal they are interested in adopting. A time is then scheduled where a shelter member will bring the pet to the applicant's home to see how they interact with the rest of the family and other pets. If all goes well, the application will be able to take the pet home within 2-3 business days. The entire process takes about 3 weeks, but FFS has found that when they started this program they were not seeing any pets being returned. Clearly their rigerous process is proving to be beneficial to the animals.
