Ginger Walker and her Give Back Team of Coldwell Banker Elite will hold their sixth annual “Clear the Shelter” event next month at the Stafford County Animal Shelter, and it couldn’t come at a better time.
As part of the effort, the team will pay fees for all pet adoptions from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 10. The adoption fee normally is $35 for cats and $45 for dogs.
When Walker moved to Stafford in 2002, she went to the shelter to adopt and saw the need for more people to do the same. She encourages co-workers and Instagram followers (more than 16,000 of them) to support the local shelter, either through adoption or donation of pet food, cleaning supplies and toys.
The Stafford County Animal Shelter is at 26 Frosty Lane. More information is available by contacting the shelter at 540/658-7387 or Walker at ginger@GiveBackTeam.com.
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The program may be one way Fredericksburg-area shelters can make a dent in the ever-increasing number of dogs available. Shelter and humane society officials say they’re seeing almost unprecedented numbers of dogs being given up for adoption.
On July 19, the Fredericksburg SPCA is bringing back its popular Adventure Tails, a program designed to give dogs a daylong respite from the stress of shelter life. Participants can take the dogs out for a ride, a hike or a stroll.
After the program launched in 2016, SPCA workers saw significant decreases in stress behaviors, such as barking, pacing and jumping, said Von Young, director of communications.
They also saw an unexpected return, a 22% increase in adoptions by allowing people to see dogs in a more relaxed setting.
“With the shelter at critical capacity, alleviating the mental strain on our canine residents is more crucial than ever,” Young said.
The Fredericksburg SPCA also has a P.E.T.S., or People Empowered through Support, program that helps residents of the Fredericksburg region with monthly food supplies or help with vaccination costs.
More information is available by contacting 540/898-1500, ext. 130, or PETS@fredspca.org.
Reasa Currier, a member of the board of directors for the Virginia Federation of Humane Societies, encourages pet owners who are having problems keeping their dogs because of rising costs reach out to their local shelter.
There may be programs in place to help with the cost of food, spaying and neutering or even behavioral training for dogs that didn’t get the proper schooling during the COVID-19 isolation.
“Pet owners who are making really hard decisions right now, I encourage them to reach out to their local shelter or rescue and not wait until they get to the end of the rope,” she said. “We do everything we can to help families stay together. Your local shelter shouldn’t be your last resort, they should be your first phone call.”
Cathy Dyson: 540/374-5425
cdyson@freelancestar.com
