“We will be receiving 17 cats from Animal Friends of Barbour County tomorrow,” the email to the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria (AWLA) staff read. “There are three litters (under the age of 6 months), one of them without mom, and one single adult. In addition, we will be receiving 2 rabbits.”

At least once a week a similar email goes out to the AWLA staff.  “We have such a pet-friendly community here and a great demand for pets,” said AWLA Chief Operating Officer Tony Rankin. Along with helping animals who come in from within the City of Alexandria, he said, “we’re able to help dogs and cats from many areas that might otherwise not be able to find homes.” Some of the animals have waited in their local shelters for years.

At any given time, up to one-third of the cats, dogs and other animals at the AWLA have been transferred in from other areas. A new relationship with Animal Friends of Barbour County (W.Va.), for example, regularly brings cats from a county that lacks resources to house and adopt out pets. Another West Virginia rescue group, One by One, also regularly transports cats to the AWLA, where they have a much better chance of finding a family.

The AWLA regularly partners with about 10 groups to bring animals to Alexandria to find homes. The AWLA and Potomac Highlands Animal Rescue (PHAR) have been working together for more than 20 years to rescue animals in Hardy County, W.Va., where a lone warden takes care of unclaimed animals in a shelter not open to the public. Newer relationships have brought in dozens of animals from Virginia’s Rockingham Harrisonburg SPCA as well as Smyth Animal Rescue & Resource Center, which transports dogs from the Smyth County, Va., animal shelter.

Some partner groups drive the animals to the shelter, and other times the AWLA goes to them, often delivering pet food and supplies donated by the Alexandria community. “Barbour County was here recently and dropped off 16 cats and kittens and then loaded up the van with supplies,” said the AWLA’s Director of Veterinary and Foster Care, Arianne Killen. “One of our volunteers who heard what was needed went out and bought the cat food for the Barbour group.”

A gray-and-white cat from Animal Friends of Barbour County, known as Marcus, arrived with painfully inflamed eyelids because of a birth defect. Marcus had resided at a shelter for more than six months awaiting surgery to address the problem. Once he arrived in Alexandria, the AWLA arranged for the procedure at a local veterinary office. It was successful, and Marcus was adopted.

As the AWLA learns of need across the country, new partners are added. A Florida-based rescue known as True & Faithful Pet Rescue Mission has brought animals to the AWLA on a nearly monthly basis since 2020. The relationship made all the difference for a shih tzu named Bugsy, who arrived from Florida with irritated skin and a hairless tail. Depressed after his elderly owner in Florida had died, Bugsy hid behind AWLA office furniture for days until he finally made friends with a staffer’s dog. He eventually was adopted and now has two “sisters”— another shih tzu and a cat. More recently, that same rescue group brought an emergency transport to the AWLA: more than a dozen dogs who needed to be evacuated when Hurricane Ian devastated the rescue facility.

This year has brought a relationship with the national ASPCA, which operates as a middleman between shelters that are overwhelmed with unwanted pets and facilities like the AWLA who can help them. The ASPCA does a thorough medical and behavioral assessment of the animals before transporting them, and many have been spayed or neutered before arriving. “We’re getting the opportunity to help some really great dogs through this relationship,” Rankin said.

Along with ongoing partnerships, the AWLA tries to lend a hand to any group experiencing a crisis. A relationship with the Humane Society of the United States brought beagles to the AWLA last month from Envigo, a breeding and research facility in Cumberland, Va., that had been found guilty of violating federal regulations. AWLA staff members drove a van to the facility to pick up some of the more than 4,000 beagles that would be removed, taking them to the AWLA to be evaluated and prepared to meet their families. Lacking in normal socialization, some of the adult dogs were fearful, but all of the dogs eventually were adopted by the community, and adopters are already sharing stories and pictures of these dogs in their new, loving homes.

“We’re just trying to save as many animals as we can,” Rankin said.

This story was originally printed in the Alexandria Gazette on October 19 (page 10).