According to the ASPCA, approximately 3.1 million dogs and 3.2 million cats enter the shelter system every year in the U.S.
Of those, just over 4 million animals find a new home, a statistic that leaves an ever-increasing number of animals to languish in shelters. Inevitably, kittens and puppies are adopted more frequently than older animals. Of that 6.3 million animals who enter the system, approximately 2.7 million cats and dogs are killed annually because shelters are at capacity.
Under Virginia law, each county is required to maintain its own public animal shelter or contract with another group or entity to maintain one. Since they serve the public, most county animal shelters are open admission, meaning they accept all animals regardless of why—as strays or surrendered by their owners—they came into the shelter. As a result, public shelters often find themselves over shelter capacity and if not helped by a rescue organization, animals may have to be euthanized due to lack of space.
Sometimes county funds are not sufficient to provide optimal services or space. County departments are funded by county taxes, while other shelters and rescues tend to be mainly funded by donations and grants. “Working together with like-minded shelters and rescues is vital to the housing of these animals and without helping each other I don’t think it’s feasible to accomplish our goals,” says Barrett Worley, manager of the Middlesex County Animal Shelter. “We provide support in services to each other as well as work together to get these animals in loving homes.”
Animal rescues are private, often nonprofit, organizations that provide care and support for animals in need and many focus on helping public animal shelters. Some rescues only focus on certain breeds, allowing them to pick and choose the animals they will take in and the number. Many rescues are volunteer-run and rely on donations. Often they operate using foster care–based systems, meaning they rely on volunteers to house and care for the animals in their own homes until they find a permanent home. Both public animal shelters and rescue organizations focus on finding permanent homes for the animals in their care.
The Animal Welfare League of the Northern Neck is a hybrid rescue and animal advocate that works with local county animal control as a Virginia Department of Agriculture–designated home-based rescue. Most dogs or cats that go into foster care come from a county shelter when the staff feel the animal cannot tolerate shelter life; others are direct surrenders from their owners. “We have a foster and adoption program, but not a shelter,” says Sara Ford, president of AWL. “If the dog or cat is at risk for euthanasia at the county shelter, but no foster is available, we’ll transfer the animal to another rescue.”
Garfield’s Rescue is a private home-based rescue organization working through a network of private foster homes to save homeless, injured and abandoned cats and kittens. Once placed in a Garfield’s private foster home, they’re given 24/7 care before adoption into a loving home. No cat is released until it’s been spayed/neutered, vaccinated to treat and prevent the spread of disease, given a veterinarian wellness exam, and microchipped, dewormed and administered flea/tick treatment. “By adopting a pet from a private rescue organization, you have the choice of animals of all ages and temperaments that are already house-trained,” says Karen Peterson, president of Garfield’s Rescue. “And you’re helping rescue another homeless animal by making space available at the rescue.”
Despite stereotypes to the contrary, potential cat owners may want to specifically look for a black cat. There’s long been a stigma surrounding black cats, ranging from tales of superstition and bad luck to witchcraft, causing potential pet parents to be wary of bringing home a black cat. But since they face the highest euthanasia rates, choosing a black cat makes him or her very lucky indeed.
When it comes to adopting versus buying, the pros far outweigh the cons. When adopting a pet, you become part of the solution to animal overpopulation. By choosing to adopt from an animal shelter rather than buying from a breeder or online, a deserving pet gets a second chance. But it’s not only the sense of fulfillment that comes from giving a home to an animal in need, it’s also the solid bond that develops between a shelter pet and its adopter, which often extends to emotional support. “There’s the good feeling of knowing you saved a life and that you’re providing a safe and loving home for an animal in need,” says Gabby Vaculovicova, manager of the Northumberland County Animal Shelter. “You may not always know their real age and medical history, but you will have the pleasure of watching your new pet blossom.”
The Heritage Humane Society is an open-admission animal shelter that services James City County, the City of Williamsburg and District 1 of York County. They work with various local rescue organizations, other shelters throughout Virginia and the local animal control agencies. “Always remember that if you rescue a pet, you’re saving two lives: the one you take home and the one that moves into the kennel or cage that’s now available,” says Kimberly Laska, the executive director of Heritage Humane Society. “Due to overpopulation, many shelters have a wait list of community pets that can’t have a space in the facility until other pets are adopted. That’s why it’s so important to spay and neuter your animals.”
Opened just this summer, Northern Neck Partners for Pets is a nonprofit, privately run, no-kill animal shelter that works with local rescue organizations to accept the cats and dogs they send them. President Terrie Dort says NNPP coordinates its activities with the existing county animal shelters by re-sheltering—for as long as necessary—animals that remain in the county shelters beyond their county-mandated prescribed stay. “We hope to serve as a resource for the four local county shelters so that we can all achieve no-kill status,” says Dort. “Because we’re privately run and maintained, we’re able to take in animals that may not be accepted into the county shelters.”
NNPP’s private designation gives them the flexibility to make their own rules regarding the care of their animals and how long they keep them, provided they follow state laws and regulations. “For example, if there’s a situation where someone is in a desperate situation and needs to temporarily house a pet, we’ll be able to help,” Dort says. “County shelters aren’t set up to be that kind of resource for local residents.”
Animals are often surrendered to a shelter not by choice, but because a pet owner’s situation has changed. Evicted owners or those leaving an abusive relationship may be awaiting some other kind of housing but aren’t allowed to bring their pet with them. Often the owner has died or moved to a nursing home, making no plan for their pet. Relatives, unable to find a suitable home for the pet, turn to their local shelter. The otherwise adoptable pet is temporarily housed by the county shelter, but risks euthanasia in overcrowded shelters. NNPP prevents that happening.
One thing shelters and rescues have in common is a need for volunteers, especially when an unplanned event like a natural disaster occurs. Volunteers provide all the extras that keep animals happy and the shelter running, from answering phones to maintaining websites and Facebook pages. “We’re fortunate to have a large group of talented volunteers who help with everything from dog walking and cat socializing to administrative duties,” says Caitlin Donnelly, the Gloucester-Mathews Humane Society’s manager of communications and development. “Our volunteers pitch in when and where they’re needed most, sometimes at high-profile events and some-times folding the mountains of laundry generated every day.”
For those who have resources but not time to volunteer, monetary donations are always welcome and put to good use. For those who don’t feel comfortable donating money, shelters and rescue groups appreciate donations of pet food, litter and cleaning and sanitizing supplies, among other things. Most organizations keep on their website a running list of materials and supplies they need. If you can’t find it, you can call the organization.
The Animal Welfare League of the Northern Neck gives dog and cat food monthly to the Healthy Harvest Food Bank in Warsaw, which delivers pet food to 16 food pantries in the Northern Neck for distribution. Since the inception of this Feed Me, Too! partnership in 2021, AWL has provided more than 99,000 pounds of pet food to the pantries.
They also give out pet food directly from their thrift store in Kilmarnock to people who don’t qualify for the food bank but need temporary assistance to feed their pet. “We give about 2,400 pounds of food a year to pet parents in this way,” says Ford. “In addition, we feed the pets of around 40 residences in the Northern Neck who find themselves overwhelmed with the cost of feeding the cats that live on their property.”
Although the lives of most pet parents who adopt a deserving animal are greatly enhanced, occasionally, the match isn’t a good one. In that case, both shelters and rescues will take the animal back to find a more suitable match. Often, it’s part of the adoption agreement that if it doesn’t work out, the pet must be returned to the place where it was adopted.
Happily, in most cases, adoptions do work out and the human and the animal are both better for it. A century ago, writer Anatole France said, “Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.”
Think of it as the old adage about how before you adopt a pet, you can’t quite imagine what living with one might be like. Afterward, it’s just about impossible to imagine living any other way.
Visit our 2025 Animal Shelters Resource Guide: Adopt. Volunteer. Foster. Donate.
