By Kat Williams, Animal Welfare League of Arlington
Animal lifesaving doesn’t begin and end at a shelter. Although shelter staff take pride in our work and love the animals in our care, our real goal is to help all animals stay in a loving and caring home. It’s kind of like how your dentist encourages you to brush and floss, all in the hope that you will not have to come in for a filling.
By knowing and working within their communities, shelters can prevent at-risk animals from being brought in as strays, surrenders, or seizures. Helping pet owners with the little things, like behavior challenges, pet care items, and routine veterinary needs can prevent potential problems from escalating into big, expensive issues that result in pets being surrendered.
Animal lifesaving doesn’t begin and end at a shelter. Although shelter staff take pride in our work and love the animals in our care, our real goal is to help all animals stay in a loving and caring home. It’s kind of like how your dentist encourages you to brush and floss, all in the hope that you will not have to come in for a filling.
By knowing and working within their communities, shelters can prevent at-risk animals from being brought in as strays, surrenders, or seizures. Helping pet owners with the little things, like behavior challenges, pet care items, and routine veterinary needs can prevent potential problems from escalating into big, expensive issues that result in pets being surrendered.
In fact, the Animal Welfare League of Arlington (AWLA) was recently awarded a grant by PetSmart Charities to do just that. With the grant, AWLA will expand the shelter’s intake prevention programs to serve low-income pet owners better in targeted neighborhoods throughout Arlington County. We will invest in simple interventions like expanding the shelter’s pet food pantry. AWLA will also be increasing the availability and affordability of pet care services, flea and tick preventatives, microchips, rabies vaccine vouchers, spay/neuter surgery vouchers, and enrichment toys.
AWLA predicts it will be able to improve the lives of hundreds of animals in the community, and prevent them from being surrendered to the shelter. Investing in preventative services not only keeps animals in loving homes; it also makes financial sense. It costs far less to provide a microchip for a wandering dog than it does to intake, house, and care for a lost animal with no identification. Similarly, if a chew toy and some peanut butter can prevent a bored dog from barking incessantly, a family at risk of eviction can keep their beloved pet and stay in their home.
As Benjamin Franklin famously advised fire-threatened Philadelphians in 1736 “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Translated into animal welfare terms, “A Kong and some kibble can save a pet’s life and keep a family together.”
AWLA is one of nearly 100 community nonprofit members to the Chamber. To learn more about how you can get involved with AWLA, visit their website. To learn about other nonprofit members and how you, and your teams, can give back to Arlington through them, visit the Chamber’s online business directory, or join us on Thursday, November 1 for our community engagement-focused Breakfast Connection.
AWLA predicts it will be able to improve the lives of hundreds of animals in the community, and prevent them from being surrendered to the shelter. Investing in preventative services not only keeps animals in loving homes; it also makes financial sense. It costs far less to provide a microchip for a wandering dog than it does to intake, house, and care for a lost animal with no identification. Similarly, if a chew toy and some peanut butter can prevent a bored dog from barking incessantly, a family at risk of eviction can keep their beloved pet and stay in their home.
As Benjamin Franklin famously advised fire-threatened Philadelphians in 1736 “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Translated into animal welfare terms, “A Kong and some kibble can save a pet’s life and keep a family together.”
AWLA is one of nearly 100 community nonprofit members to the Chamber. To learn more about how you can get involved with AWLA, visit their website. To learn about other nonprofit members and how you, and your teams, can give back to Arlington through them, visit the Chamber’s online business directory, or join us on Thursday, November 1 for our community engagement-focused Breakfast Connection.
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