Summer is all about having fun. Our Wish List this month focuses on some of the fun things we like to offer our resident companion animals.

For Our Dogs
On Thursday nights, we watch movies with our dogs. This gives the dogs a chance to cuddle up on a comforter with a volunteer or staff member. We always need DVD’s and microwaveable popcorn for Movie Nights. If you have a used, family-friendly DVD to share, we’d appreciate additions to our collection! We’ve seen Babe, Wall-E, Marley and Me, and The Incredible Journey. Of course, our dogs love to snack on hot dogs as rewards for training success. If you have an extra package, we can put them to good use!

For Our Cats
Stretch and Scratch cat scratchers were designed with shelter cats in mind. These cardboard scratchers can easily be attached inside our cat condos and provide shelter cats with an opportunity to scratch to their hearts’ content! To send some to our kitties, please visit the Stretch and Scratch website, where they offer free shipping! www.stretchandscratch.com

The AWLA extends a very special thank you to Hannah Miller and her friends and family who helped her operate a lemonade stand on June 28th. Hannah and her crew sold lemonade, human cookies, dog treats and dog toys. She generously sent all the proceeds to help the animals here at the AWLA.

Hannah raised $245 that day!

On behalf of every cat, dog, guinea pig, bird, turtle, bunny, hamster, gerbil and human here at the League: Thank You, Hannah!

Hannah (right) and her friend Abby Snowdon (left) making lemonade.

Registration in August
Starting in August, we will accept photo entries for our annual pet photo calendar contest. Any pet can enter, regardless of their age, breed or place of residence. This year’s calendar will be formatted as a weekly planner—with more opportunities for all pets to be seen!

As in years past, we will encourage contestants to secure votes for their pet to win the prized cover shot or be highlighted on the cover of one of the calendar months.

This year, we will make it even easier for you to earn votes for your pet. Each entrant will be able to make their own personal pet page online and send emails to friends and family asking for votes for their pet. One vote costs one dollar, and the pet with the top number of votes will win a professional photography session and his or her portrait on the calendar cover!

Check our website in early August and your email inbox for an announcement of when online registration opens.

Have you seen the new movie, “G-Force?” Well, we’ve got our own save-the-day Guinea Pigs: Bruno and Zeus! Before their arrival at the League, this dynamic duo was busy protecting the world from diabolical villains, but now that they have finished this mission, they are looking for a permanent home!

Bruno and Zeus are handsome, smooth-coated Guinea Pigs who love attention, snuggling and time out of their habitat. They also have a fine appreciation for home-grown lettuce and fresh herbs---basil is a favorite! These two have lived together their entire lives, and keep each other great company. How could we ever split up such an extraordinary pair?!?

Guinea Pigs make excellent pets for those who appreciate their cute squeaks and giggles. Come to the League to meet with Bruno and Zeus and learn what fun companions Guinea Pigs can be!

Visit www.alexandriaanimals.org to view more animals available for adoption or stop by the Vola Lawson Animal Shelter, located at 4101 Eisenhower Ave., for a personal visit with our adoptable animal friends.

Updates to this year’s walk include online registration, the opportunity to ask friends and family to pledge their support for you, and the ability to enter “Virtual Walkers,” pets who may not want to join a bunch of boisterous dogs for the walk! Perhaps your cat wants to support the League, but would never DREAM of walking with dogs, or your pet hamster is just too tiny to keep pace. This year, they can participate from the comfort of their own homes while you do all the work! Either way, you and your pet can support the AWLA and the animals we care for everyday.

Online registration will open in early August. Please check www.alexandriaanimals.org for registration information!

To be added to our email list, please send an email to staff@alexandriaanimals.org.

Due to the program’s success, the League has extended our Certified, Pre-Owned Cat program through the end of July!

With help from our friends at Lindsay Lexus and Don Beyer Volvo, the AWLA is promoting cat adoptions with a variety of special incentives that will get our cats’ motors purring!

As part of our Adopt-A-Cat month activities which started June 1, the League is offering fun promotions for all cat adopters including reduced adoption fees and autographed copies of Go Home! (Libby Phillips Meggs’ story of her adopted cat James).

Continuing through the end of July, adoption fees for our “older model” cats (those over one year of age) are reduced from $50 to $20. Our “2009 model” kittens are adoptable for our standard “list price” of $50. Sterilization fees are extra.

Although we cannot guarantee our feline companions for 100,000 miles, we do promise a lifetime of love for anyone who adopts one of our “Certified, Pre-Owned Cats.”

Books-A-Million
Saturday, August 1st
Buy books and help our furry friends!
On August 1st from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. the League will have some of our wonderful, adoptable animals at the Books-A-Million at 503 King Street. In addition to hosting our companion animals for an afternoon out of the shelter, Books-A-Million will donate a percentage of their sales during those hours to the League. If you are looking for some summertime reading, stop by the Books-A-Million for books and remember to say hello to our League representatives.

Tracking Seminar
Saturday, August 8th and 15th
On August 8th and 15th from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. AWLA volunteer Joan MacKenzie will offer a two-day seminar in scent-games and tracking at the League. This popular dog sport involves the handler laying a scent trail and planting an object at the end of the trail for the dog to find.

At a similar seminar last winter, Joan demonstrated that dogs can pick up a trail with very little encouragement. After just two one-hour sessions, all the canine participants were tugging on their handlers to let them find the hidden object. All dogs are welcome and should have current vaccinations and a handler eager to have fun!

As always, the League extends its thanks to our annual sponsors: Alexandria Animal Hospital, Olde Towne School for Dogs, the Holiday Inn Hotel and Suites and Kingsview Animal Hospital.

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