September is Emergency Preparedness Month, and with storms on the way and winter right around the corner, be sure to take all of your loved ones into account, including your furry family members! The best way to cope with an emergency is to be prepared in advance, and here are some steps you can take today to help you be …
Taking a Holistic Approach to Understanding Shelter Dogs
A black and white Great Dane named Top raced around the large yard at the Animal Welfare League of Alexandria (AWLA), nipping at the heels of a brindle Shepherd/Lab mix called Marble, who was frolicking with a rowdy teenaged dog named Pumpkin. They splashed in the yard’s plastic pool to the tune of barked greetings from other dogs. It was …
The Kittens of “Kitten Season”
When you think of seasons, you probably consider, spring, summer, winter and fall, but another very important season at the AWLA is “Kitten Season.” Spanning as long as eight or nine months, Kitten Season begins when our first newborn kitten comes to us in the earliest months of the year, and lasts until our final kitten is adopted in the …
Video From Our Campers: Meeting a New Dog
It’s our last week of summer camp at the AWLA, and campers, staff members and Alexandria’s Animals will have memories from this summer that will last a lifetime! Each week dogs (and other animals) from the shelter joined camp as honorary camp counselors to teach the campers about meeting new dogs and understanding dog body language. Our campers learned so …
A Cheat Sheet to Clear the Shelters
Clear the Shelters is this Saturday, and we wanted to share some tips for everyone who will be joining us on August 18 to make sure the event is fun and successful for everyone involved. During Clear the Shelters, adoption fees will be waived on all adoptable animals, which makes this one of our busiest days of the year. We will …
Sleepovers Supporting Animals in Need
The Animal Welfare League of Alexandria hopes to share a wide variety of viewpoints from all of our community through this blog, and today we are pleased to share a guest post written by one of our amazing volunteers. I live in an apartment and work in Northern Virginia, but my home is in the Southwestern U.S. where my husband and …
Rabbits, Turtles, Fish and More
People often think of cats and dogs when they think of the AWLA, so they can be surprised when they visit the shelter and meet a much wider variety of animals, including rabbits, ferrets, guinea pigs, hamsters, birds, turtles, snakes, lizards and sometimes even fish! And those are just animals available for adoption. Our Animal Services officers also assist wild …
Five Things Your Local Animal Shelter Staff Want You to Know
The Animal Welfare League of Alexandria wants to share a wide variety of viewpoints from all of our community through this blog, and today we are pleased to share a guest post written by our amazing Behavior and Training Coordinator Erin: When residents stop by the Vola Lawson Animal Shelter for business, we’re always happy to help! But we often …
Rabbits 101
As an open-access shelter, the AWLA sees a lot of different animals besides dogs and cats, and we want to make sure every pet owner has the information they need to care for their new furry, feather or scaled friend. If you’ve always wanted a pet with a little more “bounce” in their step, then a bunny might be just …
Summer Safety for Your Pet
As summer heats up, it’s important to keep your pets safe and cool so they can enjoy the season too! How your pet responds to heat and humidity varies between species, breeds and individual animals. Our June 28 “How to Help Your Pet Beat the Heat” Speaker Series event featured Dr. Jerry Hinn, DVM of Vola Lawson Animal Guardian Hayfield Animal …